A man remembered

He was born 200 years ago on Jan. 19, 1807 at Stratford in Westmoreland County in the state of Virginia.

His father was a hero of the Revolutionary War who served in high political office before losing nearly everything in bad financial investments. When the boy was 5 or 6 years old, his father left the family, never to return, dying when the lad was 11 at Cumberland Island, Ga.

His mother was an invalid who was in great pain much of the time. This child, the youngest of four sons, cared for his mother and attended to her every need until he finally was able to secure an appointment to enter West Point. He recognized that, had it not been for this opportunity, he would never have had the funds to attend college.

While at West Point, he received not one single demerit, graduated second in his class, and received a commission as a brevet second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. Weeks after graduation, his mother died. Seven years later he finally received promotion to first lieutenant.

In 1846, the Mexican War began and he received orders to report to Brigadier General John E. Wool in San Antonio and later joined the staff of General Winfield Scott in 1947. Scott would later call this man the “greatest military genius in America.” The war ended in 1848 and, in 1852, he became the ninth superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

A deeply devout Christian, he received confirmation in the Episcopal Church the following year.

He married and had six children, but his wife soon became an invalid, too, and for the rest of his life he cared for her and was faithful to her all his days.

In 1857, his father-in-law died and he inherited over 120 slaves, which, by 1862 he either freed or paid passage to Liberia for those desiring to go.

In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected as President of the United States and South Carolina seceded from the union. In April 1861, he was offered command of the United States Army. Although he abhorred slavery and believed secession was wrong, he resigned his commission, refusing to take up arms against his native Virginia.

Later that month he was offered command of the military and naval forces of Virginia and accepted the rank of major general. As the war progressed, he assumed command of all the armies of the Confederate States of America. Recognized as a military genius, he nevertheless, was forced to surrender his army on April 9, 1865.

After the war, he was one of the first to apply for a pardon and sign a loyalty oath to the United States.

On a Sunday in Richmond, Va., a few weeks after war’s end, he was attending services at an Episcopal Church when the priest invited the congregation to come to Holy Communion.

A tall, well-dressed “very black man” rose from his seat and went forward to kneel at the altar rail. No one in the church moved. After a moment of tense silence, the former general got up, went forward and knelt at the altar not far from the black man. Everyone else in the church followed suit and the matter was settled.

In August of 1865 he was asked to accept the presidency of Washington College, a bankrupt and struggling institution of about 40 students in Lexington, Va., established as a Presbyterian school in 1749.

Although he received many offers for lucrative positions, he refused them all, choosing to stay at the college which, under his tenure, prospered and became an educational beacon that other schools would come to imitate.

Many times, he was encouraged to run for political office but refused, believing himself to be unqualified. Even some Northern newspapers clamored for him to run as a Democrat for the Presidency of the United States. Again, he refused, preferring to remain at Washington College believing that the future of the reunited country was to be found in its youth.

On Sept. 28, he attended a meeting of the vestry at the Episcopal Church in Lexington and, after arriving home, suffered a stroke and died on Oct. 12.

In 1975, he was finally restored to United States citizenship by President Gerald Ford, receiving 105 years after his after his death what he greatly coveted in his life.

His name was Robert E. Lee. In 1870, Washington College was re-named Washington & Lee University. Today, this lasting legacy boasts over 2,100 students, has an endowment of over 530 million dollars, and is ranked 12th among the best liberal arts colleges in the United States.

Field Marshall Viscount Wolseley, commander in chief of the British army, said after interviewing Lee: “I believe he will be regarded not only as the most prominent figure of the Confederacy, but as the greatest American of the 19th century...”