Robert E Lee
Uploaded by Admin on Jan 22, 1999
Robert Edward Lee was born on January 19th, 1807 in Stratford, Virginia. Robert's father was thrown in debtors jail many times for not paying on time. He was introduced to war early in his life; his brother Sydney had shown him a cannon ball and told him about the revolution. Mrs. Lee's stepson was old enough to claim the mansion where they lived that his dead mother had gave to him in his will. The Lee's left to live in Alexandria. Lee was brought up in a Christian family.
When Lee was 18, he went to West Point. There were only 6,000 other men in the entire army. Later that year, Lee said goodbye to his mother and took a stagecoach from Virginia to New York. At the end of his first year at West Point, he was appointed Staff Sergeant. When he was twenty-two, he took his money that he earned; $103.58 in cash and he started a home.
On July 26, 1829, Lee's mother died. Robert was at her bed when she died. Then on June 30, 1831 Lee married Mary Curtis. On September 16, 1832, Mary gave birth to George Washington Curtis Lee. Then in 1835 they had their second child, Mary Curtis. Mrs. Lee was put on bed-rest for many months due to illness. They had five more children: William Henry Fitzgerald, Annie, Agnes, Robert and last Mildred. When he was home, they all attended episcopal Church where he was raised.
On May 13, 1846 the United States declared was on their southern neighbor. When Lee was 39, he headed for Mexico. Lee's will said that he was worth about $38,750 with few depts. He only had few slaves: Nancy and her children. And they were to be freed "soon as it can be done to their advantage and that of others. On Christmas, Lee wrote to his wife that he hoped this woul.d be the last time he would be away from her. While they were at war, even though is was hard, he attended church. He returned on June 29, 1843. On September 1, 1852 he was appointed to superintenent of the military acadamy where he had graduated. In 1853, a distressing message reached Lee: Mrs. Curtis had died unexpectedly. The death made him do something he had never thought of doing. He wanted to be confined to the church.
It was gunners at Charlestown Harbor who forced...