Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was very courageous in battles of the Mexican War, Bull Run, and his last battle at Gettysburg. For his fearless actions Robert E. Lee is one of the most respected military officer that has ever been in the military. Lee was born on January 19, 1807, at Stratford Hall, on the family plantation in Westmoreland, Virginia. His father was a Cavalry officer during the Revolutionary War. His nickname was Light-Horse Harry, for being brilliant on his horse in battle. At the age of thirteen, he went to Alexandria Academy to study Latin, Greek, and mathematics. Due to lack of funds, Robert Lee went to the free military collage of West Point in New York. Because of his father, Robert got in with the help of five senators, three congressmen, and meeting the future President, Andrew Jackson.
After getting out of West Point, Lee's first duty was as an engineer, building roads and bridges for the Army to travel on in the Mexican War. On the days of the 22nd and the 23rd of February, 1847, Robert E. Lee provided General Taylor with information from a scouting mission that made the defeat of Santa Anna possible. After that, Lee was sent to Veracruz to construct earthworks to protect the batteries, or groups of cannons, that would fire on the city. The morning of March 24, 1847, Robert E. Lee and his brother, Sydney Smith Lee, faced their first battle together. The Mexicans formally surrendered Veracruz on March 29, 1847. For Lee's brave campaign in Mexico, he was promoted to the rank of colonel of the United States Army.
On May 28,1852, Lee was ordered to serve as superintendent of West Point. Robert E. Lee earned a reputation of being one of the best superintendents West Point had ever had. After three years at West Point in March, 1855, Lee was transferred into the new Second Cavalry. He became a Lieutenant Colonel, reporting to Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston. On February 13, General Windfield Scott asked Robert E. Lee to command the entire U.S. Army. Lee said," I tender my resignation and offer my services to my native state." Which was the hardest decision of his life.
Lee then went to the South to fight with his native state. Lee accepted a much lower rank than he had in the Union; Brigadier General. The first year was one of frustration for Lee because he had to stay behind a desk and do paper- work and politics.
The Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, appointed Lee a General in the Confederacy after Joseph E. Johnston was wounded. Lee was then appointed Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. By an act of the Confederate Congress Robert E. Lee became the Commander of all the Confederate Army in 1863. Many thought that the war would not last long. Northern volunteers signed up for three months. Robert E. Lee wrote to wife Mary, "The war may last ten years."
On July 21,1865 at a creek called Bull Run, the North and South met for the first time. The Union, led by Irvin McDowell, had 30,000 men to the Confederate's 22,000. Lee asked to go to the battlefield, but President Davis thought that Robert should stay at Headquarters. The South won this battle, which shocked the North.
On April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee, dressed with his best sword and red silk sash, fought the last battle of the Civil War and surrendered to General Grant.
On October 12, 1870, two weeks after having a stroke, General Robert E. Lee said something that's meaning is not yet known, "Strike the tent."
That was the last thing that Robert E. Lee said before he died on October 12, 1870, a little after nine am. Robert E. Lee may have been on the losing side of the war but some people say that he was the best General that served in the Civil War. We will never know what would have happened in the Civil War if General Lee would have stayed with the Union.
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