General Robert Edward Lee

Kacy

General Robert E. Lee was born January 19,1807 in westmoreland County, Varginia. He studied academics untill he graduated in 1829, 2 years before he married Mary Ann Randolph Custis (Martha Washington's great-granddaughter from first marriage).  

Robert Edward Lee had a career as a United States Army officer, an engineer, in the Army. He was a superintendent of West Point for three

years. Then he served in Texas. In 1861, In Texas, Robert E. Lee's home state of Virginia and other southern states seceded (suh-seed-ed) or

left the United States. And, the civil war started that same year. Robert Lee resigned from the U.S army and defended Virginia, even though he

didn't want to see the country get divided. So Lee took command of the Army or Northern Virginia. His job was basically impossible, but he won

several important battles. In 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg was fought in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania but, after three days of 25,000 men as casualties, Lee's army lost.

Early in 1865, Lee was made chief of all the Confederate armies. His troops were tired and hungry. They had to retreat. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union, or northern, Army on

April 9, 1865, at Appomattox, Virginia.

Lee spent his last years as president of Washington College, now Washington and Lee University. His home has been preserved in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.

~Fareena

Resources:

-http://go.grolier.com