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Subject: Excerpt Of History
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2004 14:18:20 EDT
October 12
1870 Robert E. Lee dies
General Robert Edward Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern
Virginia, dies peacefully at his home in Lexington, Virginia. He was 63
years old.
Lee was born to Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee and Ann Carter Lee at
Stratford Hall, Virginia, in 1807. His father served in the American Revolution under
George Washington. Lee attended West Point and graduated second in his class
in 1829. He did not earn a single demerit during his four years at the
academy.
Lee sided with the Confederacy and spent the first year of the war as an
advisor to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. He assumed command of the Army
of Northern Virginia when Joseph Johnston was wounded in battle in May 1862.
Over the next three years, Lee earned a reputation as one of the greatest
military leaders in history for his use of brilliant tactics and battlefield
leadership. His invasions of the north, at Antietam and Gettysburg, however, en
ded in defeat.
After Lee surrendered his army at Appomattox in 1865, he returned to
Richmond and an uncertain future. With his military career over, he accepted the
presidency of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. Under his leadership,
the struggling institution's enrollment increased from a few dozen to more
than 300 students. He contributed to faculty stability, revamped the curriculum,
and improved the physical condition of the campus. He also became a symbol
of the defeated South, a dignified and stoic figure who was lionized by North
and South alike. He suffered a stroke on September 28, 1870, and lingered for
two weeks before passing. The school changed its name to Washington and Lee
College soon after he died.
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