Robert Edward Lee Essay, Research Paper

Robert Edward Lee

Robert Edward Lee was born of two distinguished Virginia families. He

was a devoted son, an outstanding Westpoint cadet, and an United States army

officer for thirty two years. He graduated second in his class.

Lee started his impressive Military career as a Lieutenant in the Corps

of Engineers. His first assignment was to work on the construction of Fort

Pulaski in 1830 near Savannah, Georgia. Then in 1831 he was transferred to Fort

Monroe, Virginia where he worked on harbor defenses.

In 1834 he moved to Washington, D.C. as an assistant to the chief of

engineers. In 1835 he was assigned to resolve the Ohio-Michigan boarder

conflict.

In 1837 he went to Saint Louis to work on stabalizing the Mississippi

river channel. He was promoted to captain in 1838. Being sucessful in Saint

Louis he was assigned to Fort Hamilton in 1841 to work on the New York Harbor

fortifications.

When war broke out with Mexico in 1840 Lee was sent to Mexico for two

years as an engieneering officer. There he was praised for his galantry and

good conduct. In the war with Mexico he was wounded in the Storming of

Chapultepec in 1847. The Mexican war was suposed to be the help that Lee needed

in the experance of commanding troops.

After the Mexican war Lee was assigned to Baltimore in 1848, he was to

supervise the construction of Fort Carrol for nearly four years.

In 1852 the United States military academy at West Point became Lees

home when he was appointed superintendent. During his three year stint he

raised acidemic standards, lengthened the program from four to five years, and

improved facilities.

In 1859 in Arlington, Texas Lee was given command of Federal forces

which were there to make sure Mexicans did not invade Texas. Then Lee was sent

to capture the abolitionist, John Brown at Harpers Ferry.

Then when war seemed impossible to avoid, President Abraham Lincion

summond Lee and asked him to lead the Union army, but Lee declined. On April 23

he became commander and chief of the military forces in Virgnia, just three days

after he resigned from the U.S. Army.

In February 1865 Lee was made commander and chief of all confederate

forces. His great battles of the Civil wars include Antietam, Chancellorsville,

Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg. He won many, many battles in the Civil war.

Finally on April 9, 1865 General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Uylesses S.

Grant at the Appomattox courthouse.

He had a knack for anticipating the actions of his opponents and for

comprehending their weaknesses. Many of Lees tactics were not fully understood

until the twentyth century.

After the war Lee accepted the Presidency of Washington College, now

Washington and Lee University in the fall of 1865. He died there on October 12,

1870.

Lee is arguably the greatest General in American Warfare history. He has

been called a hero by many Americans. He was a great soldier and commander on

the battlefield. The Robert Lee memorial is now a national memorial.