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Robert E. Lee born at the Stratford Plantation in Virginia
Robert was the son of Major General Henry Lee III, who had previously served as the 9th Govenor of Virginia, and his second wife, Anne Hill Carter. -
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General Robert E. Lee
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Begins West Point academy
Lee studied engineering while attending the academy. He graduated second in his class in 1829. -
Joins U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Assigned to Cockspur Island, Georgia. -
Marries at Arlington House
Robert Lee married Mary Custis at his Arlington House on the grounds of what is now Arlington National Cemetary. -
Travels the country as a surveyor
Lee worked as a civil engineer and lived in Washington D.C. During this time, he worked around the United States, including jobs in Ohio, New York, Michigan, Mississippi and Missouri. He continued this career into the early 1840's. -
Works to contain the Mississippi River
As a captain of engineers, Lee spends months in St. Louis channeling the river back to the city, allowing a major river port to remain open. -
Lee gains experience in the Mexican American war
Lee began working as a reconnaissance officer and was promoted to the rank of Colonel by the end of the war. During the war, he met and worked with Ulysses S. Grant. -
Robert Lee, circa 1850
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Becomes superintendent at West Point
He would serve in the position unitl 1855. -
Manages father-in-law's estate
Lee is forced to clean up the financial mess left behind at the Arlington Estate when his father-in-law, George Washington Curtis, passes. The 195 slaves, promised freedom upon Curitis' death, refuse to keep working to settle debts. Lee pays to have runaways captured and punishes insubordinate slaves. -
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
The raid was an attempt by white abolitionist John Brown to start an armed slave revolt by seizing the United States Arsenal at Harpers Ferry in Virginia. Brown's raid was defeated by a detachment of U.S. Marines led by Col. Robert E. Lee. -
Attack on Fort Sumpter, Civil War begins
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Lee offered command of the Union Army
Lee declines the appointment, refusing to fight against his home state of Virginia, which had seceded the day before. -
Takes command of Confederate Army
After resigning from the US army, Lee takes command of the Southern army. -
Lee is relieved of his command after a defeat at the Battle of Cheat Mountain
After losing his command in West Virginia, he is called back to Richmond. -
Lee takes command of the Army of Northern Virginia
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The Seven Days Battle
Lee's gains his first major victory agains the Northern troops, dividing them and driving them back from their approach on Richmond, VA. The battle costs the Confederate 20,000 casualties. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
With relentless attacks, Lee turns the tide of the war in favor of the South. -
Lincoln delivers the Emancipation Proclamation
The declaration greatly raises the stakes of winning the war for both sides. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Lee's bold tactics fail due to miscommunication, as three days of battle leave 23,000 Confederate casualties and deal a blow to the South's confidence about winning the war. -
Lee attempts to resign to Jefferson Davis
Davis refuses the letter, saying no one can replace Lee. -
Surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant
In a ceremony at the courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia, Lee signs a surrender document. -
President of Washington University
Lee overhauls the curriculum of the school, located in in Lexington, Virginia. It is now Washington and Lee University. -
Dies in Lexington, Virginia
The body is laid to rest under this statue in the Church of Washington and Lee University.
