Robert E. Lee – Beloved Leader in Life, Admired by Friend and Foe In Death

Few Americans have been honored by friend and foe alike the way Robert E. Lee was. In life, he was loved by the soldiers who followed him for four hard years. In death, he was mourned across the South and respected by many of the men he had fought against.

A Leader His Men Loved

The soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia called him “Marse Robert” and “Uncle Robert.” He shared their hardships, lived simply in the field and never asked them to do anything he would not do himself. When he rode along the lines, men cheered him. At the Wilderness and again at Spotsylvania in 1864, when Lee rode forward to lead a counterattack himself, his Texans and Virginians shouted “Lee to the rear!” and refused to advance until he went back to safety.

Grace at Appomattox

When Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in April 1865, both men treated each other with respect. Grant allowed Lee’s men to keep their horses and mules for spring planting and sent rations to the hungry Confederate army. In his memoirs, Grant wrote that he felt anything but rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and so bravely.

Lee’s farewell to his army, General Order No. 9, told his men that they had been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources, and that they could take with them the satisfaction of duty faithfully performed.

His Last Years

After the war, Lee refused offers that would have made him rich. Instead, he became president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia, a small school struggling to survive. He spent his final five years educating young men from both North and South and urging Southerners to rebuild their lives as good citizens.

Lee died in Lexington on October 12, 1870. Thousands mourned him, and the college was soon renamed Washington and Lee University in his honor. He is buried in the chapel he built on campus.

Honored Long After

Respect for Lee only grew with time. In 1975, more than a century after the war, Congress restored his U.S. citizenship, and President Gerald Ford signed the measure, praising Lee’s character and example. Even President Dwight D. Eisenhower kept a portrait of Lee in his office at the White House.

Read more in General Eisenhower on Robert E. Lee and Happy Birthday, Robert E. Lee, and browse our Confederate flag collection.

Source: Virginia Flaggers: Robert E. Lee, Beloved Leader in Life, Admired by Friend and Foe in Death

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