Robert E. Lee

Introduction & Top Questions
Early life and U.S. military service
Slavery and racial attitudes
Role in the Civil War
Postwar life and legacy

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Lee Chapel and Museum, Washington and Lee University

Granite relief carving at Stone Mountain, Georgia, depicting Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas Stonewall Jackson on horseback.

At a Glance

Robert E. Lee summary

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54th Massachusetts Regiment. "Storming Fort Wagner," by Kurz & Allison, c. 1890. Depicts the assault on the S.C. fort on 7/18/1863. American Civil War, 54th Regiment Massachusetts Infantry, 1st all African-American regiment, black soldiers, black history

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Related Questions

How did Robert E. Lee become commander of the Army of Northern Virginia?
How did Robert E. Lee change Washington College as its president?
How did Robert E. Lee organize the Army of Northern Virginia before the Gettysburg campaign?
How did Robert E. Lee serve during the Mexican-American War?
How did Robert E. Lee win the Battle of Fredericksburg?
How did the Lost Cause tradition portray Robert E. Lee?
How did the Seven Days’ Battles affect Robert E. Lee’s reputation?
How many children did Robert E. Lee have?
How many soldiers were killed or wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg?
How was Robert E. Lee related to George Washington’s family?
What branch of the U.S. Army did Robert E. Lee join after graduating from West Point?
What did Robert E. Lee do after the Civil War?
What did Robert E. Lee do during John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry?
What happened during the Seven Days’ Battles?
What promotions did Robert E. Lee receive for his service in Mexico?
What ranks did Robert E. Lee hold in Virginia’s forces and the Confederate army?
What responsibility did Robert E. Lee take for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg?
What was Robert E. Lee’s strategy at the Second Battle of Bull Run?
When and how did Robert E. Lee die?
When and where was Robert E. Lee born?
When did Robert E. Lee join the Confederate army?
When was Robert E. Lee superintendent of the United States Military Academy?
Where did Robert E. Lee attend military school?
Which battles were part of the Overland campaign between Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant?
Who were Robert E. Lee’s parents?
Whom did Robert E. Lee marry?
Why did Robert E. Lee become a controversial historical figure?
Why did Robert E. Lee decline command of the U.S. Army?
Why did Robert E. Lee describe John Brown as an enemy of the country?
Why did Robert E. Lee invade Pennsylvania in 1863?
Why did Robert E. Lee order Pickett’s Charge?
Why did Robert E. Lee resign from the U.S. Army in 1861?
Why did Robert E. Lee surrender at Appomattox Court House?
Why did Robert E. Lee’s father leave the family in financial difficulty?
Why did the siege of Petersburg weaken Robert E. Lee’s position?
Why was Gettysburg an important location during Robert E. Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania?
Why was Robert E. Lee called the “Marble Model” at West Point?
Why was Robert E. Lee out of touch with Jeb Stuart before Gettysburg?
Why was the Battle of Antietam the bloodiest day in U.S. history?
Why was the Battle of Chancellorsville considered one of Robert E. Lee’s greatest victories?
Why were statues of Robert E. Lee removed from public places in many cities?
What was Robert E. Lee’s family like?
Where was Jefferson Davis educated?
Why was George Armstrong Custer important?
How did George Armstrong Custer die?
What did George Armstrong Custer accomplish?
What were Abraham Lincoln’s politics?
How did Abraham Lincoln get into politics?
What were Abraham Lincoln’s chief goals in the American Civil War?
What is Abraham Lincoln’s legacy?
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Quick Facts

In full:: Robert Edward Lee

Born:: January 19, 1807, Stratford Hall, Westmoreland county, Virginia, U.S.

Died:: October 12, 1870, Lexington, Virginia (aged 63)

Awards And Honors:: Hall of Fame (1900)

Role In:: American Civil War; Battle of Antietam; Battle of Appomattox Court House; Battle of Chancellorsville; Battle of Fredericksburg; Battle of Gettysburg; Battle of Spotsylvania Court House; Battle of the Wilderness; Peninsular Campaign; Petersburg Campaign; Second Battle of Bull Run; Seven Days’ Battles; Shenandoah Valley campaigns; Battle of Cold Harbor; Battle of Five Forks

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External Websites

African American Registry - Robert E. Lee, Confederate General born
Essential Civil War Curriculum - Robert E. Lee
American Battlefield Trust - Robert E. Lee
Encyclopedia Virginia - Robert E. Lee
Virginia Center for Civil War Studies - Robert E. Lee: The Eternal General
Public Broadcasting Service - American Experience - Biography of General Robert E. Lee
National Park Service - Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial - Biography of Robert Edward Lee
Potter's Wax Museum - Robert E. Lee
The National Confederate Museum - Robert Edward Lee (PDF)
World History Encyclopedia - Robert E. Lee: General-in-Chief of the Southern Confederacy
Georgia Southern Commons - What Happened to Robert E. Lee after April 12, 1865

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Robert E. Lee - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
Robert E. Lee - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Robert E. Lee

Confederate general

Also known as: Robert Edward Lee

Written by

Gary W. Gallagher

John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War Emeritus, University of Virginia. Author of Lee and His Army in Confederate History and others.

Gary W. Gallagher

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 8, 2026 •History

What was Robert E. Lee’s family like?

On both sides, Robert E. Lee’s family had produced many of the dominant figures in the ruling class of Virginia. His father, Col. Henry (“Light-Horse Harry”) Lee, had been a cavalry leader during the American Revolution, a post-Revolution governor of Virginia, and the author of a popular congressional memorial eulogy to his friend George Washington.

What was Robert E. Lee’s childhood like?

Robert E. Lee’s father’s financial mismanagement left Lee, his mother, and his siblings in circumstances that rendered them less wealthy than the plantation owners in his extended family.

Why is Robert E. Lee significant?

Robert E. Lee commanded the Army of Northern Virginia, the most successful of the Southern armies during the American Civil War, and ultimately commanded all the Confederate armies. As the military leader of the defeated Confederacy, Lee became a symbol of the American South.

What was Robert E. Lee’s occupation after leaving the military?

Robert E. Lee spent several months recuperating from the Civil War and then, in 1865, became the president of Washington College (later Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia. He died in 1870.

Robert E. Lee (born January 19, 1807, Stratford Hall, Westmoreland county, Virginia, U.S.—died October 12, 1870, Lexington, Virginia) was a U.S. Army officer (1829–61), Confederate general (1861–65), college president (1865–70), and central figure in contending memory traditions of the American Civil War.