Robert E. Lee
Confederate general who led the Army of Northern Virginia.
After the war, he served as president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia.[1]
Quick Facts
- Born
- 19 January 1807
- Birthplace
- Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County, Virginia, U.S.
- Died
- 12 October 1870
- Place of death
- Lexington, Virginia, U.S.
- Spouse
- Mary Anna Randolph Custis (1831)
- Children
- Custis
- Mary
- Rooney
- Anne
- Eleanor
- Rob
- Mildred
- Relations
- Lee family
- Education
- United States Military Academy
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
In 1857, he took a leave of absence to manage his father-in-law's estate, which included hundreds of enslaved people.[2] Wesley Norris stated in an 1866 interview that Lee ordered him, his sister, and a cousin whipped after they fled for freedom.[3][4] He died in 1870 and became a cultural icon in the South.[1] At Arlington House on June 30, 1831, Robert Lee wed Mary Anna Randolph Custis, who was a great-granddaughter of Martha Washington by her first husband Daniel Parke Custis.[5][6]
What the cited sources add
Wesley Norris's 1866 interview in the National Anti-Slavery Standard provides a firsthand account of the whipping he received under Lee's orders.[3][4] Norris stated that Lee told them he would teach them a lesson they would never forget.[3][4] Norris reported that when the overseer declined, a county constable performed the whipping while Lee stood by and urged him to "lay it on well"[3][4] Norris also stated that Lee then ordered their backs washed with brine.[3][4]
The University Chapel at Washington and Lee University was completed in 1868 at the request of President Robert E. Lee.[7] In his 1866 interview, Wesley Norris stated that Lee ordered the overseer to strip the three escapees to the waist and administer fifty lashes to the men and twenty to Norris's sister.[3][4]
References
- Wikipedia, "Robert E. Lee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bunting, "Ulysses S. Grant", Time Books, 2004, p. 62; Luvaas, "Lee and the Operational Art: The Right Place, the Right Time", Parameters, September 1992, p. 2–18; Bonekemper, "Grant and Lee", Regnery Publishing, 2014, p. xiv (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Robert E. Lee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Will of George Washington Parke Custis", ChickenBones: A Journal for Literary & Artistic African-American Themes; Micki McElya, "The Politics of Mourning", Harvard University Press, 2016, p. 24–; . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wesley Norris, interview in National Anti-Slavery Standard (April 14, 1866) 4, reprinted in .. facts only, no text reused. fair-use.org
- Wesley Norris, "Testimony of Wesley Norris" , National Anti-Slavery Standard, April 14, 1866.. facts only, no text reused. fair-use.org
- Wikipedia, "Robert E. Lee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "William Fitzhugh", Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, National Park Service (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Robert E. Lee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pryor 2007, p. 95 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "About the Chapel", Washington and Lee University, 2020. facts only, no text reused. my.wlu.edu
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Robert E. Lee (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Rulers & Leaders
Elsewhere in Historical Figures
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced