Robert Edward Lee was born on the
Stratford Hall Plantation-Lee Birthplace in
Westmoreland County on January 19, 1807. He graduated from West Point in 1825 with high honors and was admired by his classmates for his brilliance, leadership and devotion to duty.
Lee's first assignment was to the Corps of Engineers and was praised highly for his work with bridges and roads during the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. Beginning in 1852, he served three years as superintendent of West Point.
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Lee chose his native state, family and friends over the Union, even though he didn't believe in slavery. He is credited with a now-famous remark: "It is well that war is so terrible--we would grow too fond of it."
Despite several victories over Union troops, the Battle of Gettysburg signaled the beginning of the end for the South. After the "Wilderness Campaign" against Ulysses S. Grant, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865 after being surrounded by the North.
