During the first year of the Civil War, he served in minor combat operations and as a senior military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. When Virginia declared secession from the Union in 1861, Lee chose to follow his home state, despite his desire for the country to remain intact and an offer of a senior Union command. While he opposed slavery from a philosophical perspective, he supported its legality and held hundreds of slaves. He married Mary Anna Custis Lee, great-granddaughter of George Washington's wife Martha. He served across the United States, distinguished himself extensively during the Mexican–American War, and was Superintendent of the United States Military Academy. He led the Army of Northern Virginia-the Confederacy's most powerful army-from 1862 until its surrender in 1865, earning a reputation as a skilled tactician.Ī son of Revolutionary War officer Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee III, Lee was a top graduate of the United States Military Academy and an exceptional officer and military engineer in the United States Army for 32 years. Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army.
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