Category: General Robert Edward Lee

Charlottesville, Virginia, General George Armstrong Custer, General Robert Edward Lee

Major General Thomas Lafayette Rosser – A Roommate Of General George Armstrong Custer, At The United States Military Academy, Who Fought Under General Robert Edward Lee Until Appomatox

Hamilton Historical Records

On October 15th, 1836, Major General Thomas Lafayette Rosser was born in Campbell County, Virginia. The Rosser family would later move to the the Texas, the state from where Thomas Lafayette Rosser would apply to join the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. While attending West Point, Rosser was roommates with future General George Armstrong Custer. Custer, who was from Ohio, nicknamed Rosser “Tex” since his family was from Texas.

After West Point, Major General Rosser served in the Confederacy and later for the United States Army during the Spanish-American War. Between those two wars, Major General Rosser was the Chief Engineer of the Northern Pacific Railroad and for the Canadian Pacific Railroad. On March 29th, 1910, Major General Rosser died in Charlottesville, Virginia and was buried in the Riverview Cemetery, that had been established eighteen years prior.

Edward Virginius Valentine, General Robert Edward Lee, Lexington, Virginia

The Transportation Of Edward Virginius Valentine’s “Sleeping” General Robert Edward Lee Statue To The Washington And Lee College

Hamilton Historical Records

In 1875, two Richmond College literary societies, Mu Sigma Rho and Philologian, paid for the expenses related to transporting the General Robert Edward Lee statue, created by sculptor Edward Virginius Valentine, to the Washington and Lee College in Lexington, Virginia.

In return for paying for the travel expenses, associated with transporting the General Lee statue via rail to Lynchburg and via canal boat to Lexington, the members of both literary societies requested that the students, within their organizations, be the escorts for the General Lee statue that was being transported to the North Dormitory of the Washington and Lee College.

At the time General Robert Edward Lee’s son Custis Lee was president of the Washington and Lee College, and the statue of the “Sleeping General” was kept at the North Dormitory until a mausoleum could be constructed at the Lee Chapel.

“My experience of men has neither disposed me to think worse of them nor indisposed me to serve them; nor in spite of failures which I lament, of errors which I now see and acknowledge, or of the present aspect of affairs, do I despair of the future.

The truth is this: The march of Providence is so slow and our desires so impatient; the work of progress so immense and our means of aiding it so feeble; the life of humanity is so long, that of the individual so brief, that we only see the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged. It is history that teaches us to hope”.

– General Robert Edward Lee

General Robert Edward Lee, Hampshire County, Virginia, Hardy County, Virginia, Henry Lee III, Light-Horse Harry, Lost River State Park, William Edward West

The West Virginia Summer House Of Former Virginia Governor Henry Lee III – General Robert Edward Lee’s Father

Hamilton Historical Records

Henry Lee III served in the American Revolutionary War, as a member of the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788, the Virginia House of Delegates, three one year terms as a Virginia Governor, under the Federalist Party, and was appointed by President George Washington, as a U.S. Army Major General, to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion. On December 26th, 1799, Henry Lee III spoke at George Washington’s funeral in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania where he famously stated, “First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen”. Soon after the first U.S. President’s death, in 1800, Henry Lee III had a summer home built in Hardy County, Virginia, a county that on December 10th, 1785, was formed by the Virginia General Assembly from parts of Hampshire County. From 1808 to 1809, Henry Lee III was imprisoned for unpaid debts. During that time he wrote the book about the American Revolutionary War, which was titled, “Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States”.

Artist William Edward West created this posthumous portrait of Virginia Governor Henry Lee III.

Presently, the historical house, of the Lee family, is situated within the “Lost River State Park” in Mathias, West Virginia. The house operates as the “Lee House Museum”, also known as the “Lee Cabin Museum”.

Fort Pulaski, General Robert Edward Lee, Joseph King Fenno Mansfield, Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski of Ślepowron

Fort Pulaski – Named After A Revolutionary War Hero And Constructed Under The Leadership Of Army Engineers Robert Edward Lee And Joseph King Fenno Mansfield

Hamilton Historical Records

Fort Pulaski, located in the Cockspur Island in Georgia, is named after an American Revolutionary War Hero, Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski of Ślepowron, who died at the Battle of Savannah on October 9th, 1779. In 1829, Robert Edward Lee, who recently graduated from West Point, was assigned to work as the assistant engineer for the construction of Fort Pulaski. Lee worked on the preliminary construction of the fort until 1831, the same year that he married Mary Custis, when Joseph King Fenno Mansfield, the Second Lieutenant of the Army Corps of Engineers in charge of building southern coastal defenses, took over the construction efforts. Mansfield oversaw the construction of Fort Pulaski, which was designed to mount 146 cannons, until its completion in 1847.

Author’s Note:

The year before Fort Pulaski was completed, Captain Robert Edward Lee was sent to fight in the Siege of Vera Cruz, during the start of the Mexican-American War, where Lee was frequently engaged in reconnaissance behind enemy lines and where he saved a wounded Mexican drummer boy who was trapped under the weight of a dying Mexican soldier.

During the Mexican-American War, Joseph King Fenno Mansfield served as the chief engineer for General Zachary Taylor, a future United States President. Mansfield was promoted to major for his service at Fort Brown, Texas. Later in the war, Mansfield was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel after he was wounded in his leg at the Battle of Monterey and he received a third promotion to Colonel after his service at the Battle of Buena Vista.

Photograph of Joseph King Fenno Mansfield during the United States Civil War.
Charles Carter Lee, General Robert Edward Lee, Winsor Farm

General Robert Edward Lee’s Last Camp Site After His Surrender At The Appomattox Courthouse

Hamilton Historical Records

After surrendering at the Appomattox Courthouse General Robert Edward Lee skipped the official surrender ceremony. On April 14th, General Lee visited his brother Charles Carter Lee. However, since General Lee did not want to inconvenience his brother, he ended up camping on the property of the Gilliams Family. This was the last time that General Lee camped during his journey from Appomattox back to his family’s home in Richmond, Virginia.

Battle of Palmito Ranch, General Robert Edward Lee

Battle Of Palmito Ranch – The Last Battle Of The U.S. Civil War

Hamilton Historical Records

Union forces from Brazos Island launched the Brazos Santiago Expedition, leading to the last battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Palmito Ranch, fought in Texas form May 12 to 13th, 1865, well after Robert Edward Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865, at Old Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

The Battle of Palmito Ranch was a victory for the confederate army. However, due to the surrender of the armies of the remainder of the confederacy, the victory did not change the outcome of the war.

The site of the last Civil War battle has been designated as the the Palmito Ranch Battlefield National Historic Landmark.

General Robert Edward Lee, Orange County, Virginia

Saint Thomas Episcopal Church – General Robert Edward Lee’s Former Place Of Worship

Hamilton Historical Records

In 1740, the Historic Saint Thomas Episcopal Church was founded as a Colonial Parish of the Church of England. The church served as General Robert E. Lee’s place of worship during his encampment in Orange County in the winter of 1863 to 1864. During that winter essential movement of troops and supplies for General Lee’s Confederate Army, occurred in preparation for larger battles in the Spring, such as battle where Generals Lee and Grant’s armies clashed for the first time in May 1864. This first engagement resulted in 26,000 casualties and marked Grant’s first step toward Appomattox.

Arlington National Cemetery, General Robert Edward Lee, Lieutenant Colonel William Henry Russell, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, President William Howard Taft

The Arlington National Cemetery

Hamilton Historical Records

Graves in front of the Custis Lee home, the former home of Confederate General Robert Edward Lee.

The Arlington National Cemetery began when the Union Army decided to bury their war dead on the property of Confederate General Robert Edward Lee, while his home was occupied by the Union Army.

Burial site of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his wife Jackie Kennedy.

Two former U.S. Presidents, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and William Howard Taft are buried in the Arlington Cemetery.

Author’s Note:

Philip Andrew Hamilton’s Great Uncle William Henry Russell, who served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Gravemarker for William Henry Russell and his wife Lillian Russell (maternal name Lillian Newkirk).

Arlington County, Virginia, Custis Lee Mansion, General Robert Edward Lee

The Custis Lee Mansion – The Former Home Of General Robert Edward Lee

Hamilton Historical Records

The Custis Lee Mansion is the former home of former Confederate General Robert Edward Lee and his wife Mary Lee.

Robert Edward Lee resigned his U.S. Army Commission on April 20, 1861. Robert Edward Lee and his wife left the home, due to its proximity to Washington, D.C. and it’s likelihood of invasion.

Photograph of Officers of the 8th New York State Militia at the Custis Lee Mansion on June 1861.

Soon after the Lees left the Union did occupy the house, since the home was on a hill overlooking Washington, D.C.

On June 1862, the 37th Congress mandated that all property taxes within insurrectionary areas be paid in person. Mary Lee has arthritis and was unable to pay the taxes in person, hence the house was auctioned and purchased by the U.S. Government.

As punishment for joining the Confederacy, the Union military decided to bury hundreds of war dead in the grounds of the Lee home, to make it unsightly if they were to buy the mansion from the government and return to their former property. This decision by the Union military laid the foundation for the present day Arlington National Cemetery.

The Custis Lee Mansion has been renamed to the Arlington House and is currently owned by the U.S. National Park Service.

Chantilly, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia, General Robert Edward Lee, Richard Bland Lee, The Sully Plantation

The Sully Plantation Of Chantilly, Virginia

Hamilton Historical Records

In 1799, construction of the Sully Plantation was completed by Richard Bland Lee, Northern Virginia’s first representative to U.S. Congress, whom was the uncle of Confederate General Robert Edward Lee.

Painting of Virginia Congressman Richard Bland Lee.

Presently, the Sully Plantation is also called the Sully Historic Site and is owned by the Fairfax County, Government.

Alexandria, Virginia, General Robert Edward Lee

Robert Edward Lee’s Boyhood Home In Alexandria, Virginia

Hamilton Historical Records

In 1812, Robert Edward Lee’s father Henry Lee decided to move his family to a home in Alexandria, Virginia, that President George Washington once dined in while it was the home of William Fitzhugh. Robert Edward Lee stayed at the home until 1825, when he left for Westpoint.

Five years after the end of the Civil War, Robert Edward Lee returned to visit his childhood home.

General Robert Edward Lee, George Town, Virginia, Leesburg, Virginia

The Founding Of Leesburg, Virginia

Hamilton Historical Records

In 1757, the area of George Town, Virginia, named after King George II, was established, from part of Lord Fairfax’s land in Fairfax County, after the House of Burgesses decided to establish a County Courthouse there. In addition, George Town was established as the county seat for Loudoun County.

Before the Revolutionary War, George Town was one of the first towns in Virginia to vote to separate from the authority of the English Parliment.

After the U.S. Civil War, the city was renamed to Leesburg, Virginia, in honor of General Robert Edward Lee’s family.

General Robert Edward Lee, General Ulysses S. Grant, Orange County, Virginia, Spotslyvania County, Virginia

The Battle Of The Wilderness – Were General Grant’s And Lee’s Armies Meet For The First Time

Hamilton Historical Records

The Battle of the Wilderness was the beginning of General Ulysses S. Grant’s Union Army offensive to overtake the Confederate Capital in Richmond, that began in Febuary 1964. The Battle of the Wilderness was the first time General Grant’s and General Lee’s armies combated one another during the U.S. Civil War.

While the Union army outnumbered the Confederate army, the advantage in numbers was undermined by the thick woods, that the troops encountered during the parts of the battle in the wilderness of Orange and Spotslyvania Counties, that made it difficult to advance forward in an orderly fashion.

Part of the Battle of the Wilderness occurred during a forest fire. Some soldiers returned to fight were the fire occurred to see skeletons of dead soldiers who had their bodies burned.