LEE 



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LEE 



pathy with the colonists, and was a recognized 

 leader in the first Continental Congress, assem- 

 bled at Philadelphia in 1774, in which he sat 

 as a delegate from Virginia. He prepared such 

 able addresses to the king, the people of Eng- 

 land and the colonies that the Earl of Chatham 

 (William Pitt) declared that "for solidity of 

 reasoning, force of sagacity and wisdom of con- 

 clusion, under such complication of circum- 

 stances, no nation or body of men could stand 

 in preference to the general Congress at Phila- 

 delphia." 



The most celebrated of all Lee's speeches 

 was made on June 7, 1776, when he introduced 

 before the Congress at Philadelphia the cele- 

 brated motion that "these united colonies are, 

 and of right ought to be, free and independent 

 states, absolved from all allegiance to the 

 British Crown." In 1784 he became president 

 of Congress, and was elected to the Senate 

 for Virginia after the Federal Constitution was 

 adopted. In 1792 he retired from public life be- 

 cause of ill health. His oratorical powers were 

 remarkable. 



THE STORY OF ROBERT E. LEE 



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Birthplace "at" Stratfoi 

 Westmoreland County. Va. 



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Recumbent Statue", J 

 'Lexington, Va. 



EE, ROBERT EDWARD (1807-1870). All 

 critics agree that Robert E. Lee, commander- 

 in-chief of the armies of the Confederacy, was 

 one of the greatest generals the United States 

 has ever produced; many believe him* to have 

 been the greatest. But so beautiful was his 

 personal character that the fame which has 

 grown steadily since his death has taken as 

 much notice of that as of his military achieve- 

 ments in the face of the most heartbreaking 

 difficulties. "Ideal soldier" he was, but "per- 

 fect man" no less, one writer has declared; and 

 the North against which he fought with all the 

 energy of his nature now holds him in as lov- 

 ing .remembrance as does the South which he 

 served. 



Early Life. "When should the education of 

 a child begin?" someone once asked Oliver 

 Wendell Holmes. "Two hundred and fifty 

 years before he is born," was the instant reply ; 

 and the life of Lee is perhaps the best example 

 in all American history of what beginning a 

 man's education two hundred and fifty years 

 before he is born can do for him. His family, 

 in England and later in the colony of Virginia, 

 was illustrious in peace and in war, the names 

 of Francis Lightf oot, Richard Henry and Henry 

 Lee standing out prominently in colonial and 

 Revolutionary history. The last-named, the 

 famous cavalry leader best known as "Light- 

 Horse Harry," was the father of Robert E. 

 Lee, who was born on January 19, .1807, at 



Stratford, Westmoreland County, Virginia. He 

 grew up with a passionate devotion to his na- 

 tive state, which was then the leader among 

 all the states, and that devotion he showed to 

 the end of his life. 



Sent in 1825 to the military academy at 

 West Point, he passed his four years there 

 without receiving a demerit or even a repri- 

 mand, and was graduated second in his class. 

 Two years later, on June 30, 1831, he married 

 Mary Parke Custis, the great-granddaughter 

 of Washington's wife, and toward her he 

 showed all his life a most beautiful devotion. 

 In 1834 he became assistant to the chief engi- 

 neer of the army at Washington, and later 

 superintended the construction of defensive 

 works in New York harbor. 



From the Mexican War to the War of Se- 

 cession. During the Mexican War his services 

 were so brilliant that he not only attained the 

 brevet rank of colonel (see BREVET), but re- 

 ceived the fullest commendation from General 

 Scott, who is reported to have declared that 

 his "success in Mexico was largely due to the 

 skill, valor and undaunted courage of Robert 

 E. Lee, * * * * the greatest military 

 genius in America." After spending three years 

 at engineering work in Baltimore, Lee became, 

 in 1852, superintendent at West Point, and in 

 his three years' term left a decided impress 

 upon the institution. Made lieutenant of cav- 

 alry in 1855, he spent the greater part of the 



