Robert Edward Lee
Robert Edward Lee (1807-70) US general. He fought in the Mexican War (1846-48) before commanding the Confederate Army of North Virginia in the US Civil War (1861-65). He inflicted a number of defeats on the Federal forces of General Grant and protected the important towns of Richmond and Petersburg. Defeated at Gettysburg (1863), he continued his brilliant defensive operations but was forced to surrender at Appomattox Court House (1865). As a defeated hero he helped to rebuild the nation’s confidence after the War and became president of Washington College at Lexington in Virginia.
