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Robert E. Lee Facts & Worksheets

Robert E. Lee was a general who led the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War.

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General Robert Edward Lee was the overall commander of the Confederate States Army since 1862. He was known for being a skilled tactician that led the most powerful army of the Confederacy, the Army of Northern Virginia.

See the fact file below for more information about Robert E. Lee, or download the comprehensive worksheet pack, which contains over 11 worksheets and can be used in the classroom or homeschooling environment.

Key Facts & Information

Robert E. Lee

  • His father was Revolutionary War hero Henry Lee, also known as Light-Horse Harry.
  • He was born in Stratford Hall, Virginia, on January 19, 1807.
  • Despite their financial difficulties, his father persuaded him to join the military. In 1829, he graduated second at the United States Military Academy in West Point, but he did not immediately enter the battlefield.
  • In 1831, he married the daughter of the adopted son of George Washington, Mary Anna Randolph Custis.
  • He worked as an officer in the Corps of Engineers for seventeen years after graduating, supervising and inspecting the construction of coastal defenses.
  • During the 1846 war with Mexico, he began his official military service and received three brevets for gallantry.
  • He was superintendent of West Point from 1852. During his term, he educated men; some would later serve under him, while some would later oppose him during the Civil War.
  • In 1859, he was ordered to put down a raid at Harpers Ferry planned by John Brown, a well-known abolitionist.

Early Life

  • Henry Lee III, a descendant of Richard Lee I, was his father, and Anne Hill Carter was his mother.
  • Henry faced financial difficulties as a result of failed investments and debts that led to his imprisonment.
  • When his father was released, they immediately moved to Alexandria which was part of the District of Columbia during that time. In Alexandria, he had access to high-quality schools and they were near his mother’s relatives.
  • They moved to Oronoco Street in 1811, along with his newly born sister, Mildred.
  • His father moved to the West Indies in 1812, so he attended Eastern View, a school for young gentlemen. He also attended Alexandria Academy, where he excelled in math.
  • William Henry Fitzhugh, one of his maternal relatives, allowed them to stay at his country home. Fitzhugh made him deliver a letter to John C. Calhoun without knowing that its content was about convincing the US Secretary of War to give him an appointment to the US Military Academy at West Point which he attended in the summer of 1825.
  • He graduated with no demerits and finished second to the top of the class, Charles Mason.
  • In June 1829, he was appointed as a brevet second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers.

Military Engineer Career

  • He was assigned to Cockspur Island, Georgia, on August 11, 1829. Brigadier General Charles Gratiot tasked him with leading the construction of a fort on the marshy island. He worked in the early stages of construction but then he got a reassignment at Fort Monroe in 1831.
  • He was appointed as a junior officer at Fort Monroe and was tasked with budgeting and building design. He was the only engineering officer who remained at Fort Monroe after the War Department transferred everyone else. He was given the order to live across the river from the fort. He fired all workers and informed the Department that he needed the fort’s facilities for his work.
  • He began working as an assistant to General Gratiot in Washington in 1834. In the meantime, his family was residing in Arlington.
  • In mid-1835, he was transferred to Michigan to assist Andrew Talcott.
  • His wife wrote him a letter urging him to come to Arlington, but he did not. When he returned to Washington following his assignment on Talcott, he discovered that his wife was sick. Mary had been bedridden for months after giving birth to their second child.
  • He was promoted to first lieutenant in October 1836.
  • In the summer of 1835, he assisted in the establishment of the border between Ohio and Michigan.
  • In 1837, he oversaw the St. Louis harbor as well as the Mississippi and Missouri river engineering works. He also led the mapping of the Des Moines Rapids, which earned him the rank of captain.
  • He worked as a post engineer in Fort Hamilton around 1842.

Views on Slavery

  • Many historians describe his views on race and slavery as contradictory. He felt sympathy for Blacks while asserting superiority over them. He views slavery as evil but accepts it because of its benefits. He assisted in the liberation of enslaved people, believing that they would be freed eventually.
  • In 1856, he published a letter describing slavery as a moral and political evil. Despite this, he defended slavery against abolitionists.

Civil War

  • He established a good reputation in the military, which led to Abraham Lincoln offering him command of the Federal forces in April 1861. But he turned down the offer, and his resignation from the army followed because Virginia also seceded (on April 17).
  • The Northern Virginia Army became the most famous and successful Confederate army under his command. James Longstreet, Stonewall Jackson, and J.E.B. Stuart were among those in the army.
  • By launching an invasive attack on Maryland in September 1862, he hoped to shift the focus of the war away from Virginia. However, the attack was discovered by Union Commander George McClellan, resulting in the Battle of Antietam.
  • The heavy casualties brought by the battle led him to withdraw from the war. The army then concentrated on defense against the Union army.
  • The army of Northern Virginia won another victory at Chancellorsville in May 1863. As a result, he launched another invasion in June 1863.
  • On July 3, 1863, he ordered a massive assault on Meade’s center. Major General George Pickett led the attack. When the attack failed, he ordered the army to retreat.
  • He accepted total accountability for the defeat and resigned to Jefferson Davis, but his resignation was ignored.
  • The Federal armies beat his army under the command of Ulysses Grant because they lacked supplies.
  • The Confederates were forced to fight a total war outside of Petersburg in 1864.
  • He gave up his army to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, because his commanding army could no longer fight the Union army. It effectively put an end to the Civil War.
  • When the Civil War was over, as a member of the defeated Confederacy, he wrote, “Dismiss from your mind all sectional feeling, and bring up to be Americans.”

Death

  • On October 12, 1870, he died of pneumonia-related complications, two weeks after suffering from a stroke. Before he died, he said, “Tell Hill he has to come up! Strike the tent,” but the reality of his last words was questioned because his stroke was caused by aphasia, which tends to result in his inability to speak.
  • When he died, the roads around Lexington were too flooded for anyone to get in and out of the town, so finding a coffin for his corpse became hard. One of the three coffins ordered from Richmond washed ashore undamaged and was used for his body, despite being too short for him. He was buried without shoes for him to fit in the coffin.

Robert E. Lee Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about military general Robert E. Lee across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Robert E. Lee worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Robert E. Lee, who was the general who led the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. 

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Robert E. Lee Facts
  • Marse Robert
  • Linking Lee
  • Famous War Generals
  • Confederate Victories
  • Civil War Leaders
  • American Civil War Hunt
  • Battle of Chancellorsville
  • The Surrender
  • Be the Judge!
  • Fascinating Lee

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Robert E. Lee most famous for?

General Robert Edward Lee was the overall commander of the Confederate States Army since 1862. He was known for being a skilled tactician that led the most powerful army of the Confederacy, the Army of Northern Virginia.

Why did Robert E. Lee choose to fight for the Confederacy?

His views on race and slavery as contradictory. He felt sympathy for Blacks while asserting superiority over them. He views slavery as evil but accepts it because of its benefits. He assisted in the liberation of enslaved people, believing that they would be freed eventually. In 1856, he published a letter describing slavery as a moral and political evil. Despite this, he defended slavery against abolitionists.

Was Robert E. Lee a good leader?

The Northern Virginia Army became the most famous and successful Confederate army under his command. James Longstreet, Stonewall Jackson, and J.E.B. Stuart were among those in the army.

What were the last words of Robert E. Lee?

On October 12, 1870, he died of pneumonia-related complications, two weeks after suffering from a stroke. Before he died, he said, “Tell Hill he has to come up! Strike the tent,” but the reality of his last words was questioned because his stroke was caused by aphasia, which tends to result in his inability to speak.

What did General Lee say after the war?

When the Civil War was over, as a member of the defeated Confederacy, he wrote, “Dismiss from your mind all sectional feeling, and bring up to be Americans.”

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