Robert E. Lee

Hello. My name is Robert E. Lee. I was born a long, long time ago, on January 19th, 1807. My home was in a big, beautiful house in Virginia called Stratford Hall. I loved Virginia very much. It had green fields and big trees, and it was my home. My father was a famous soldier, and I always wanted to be brave like him. I looked up to him and hoped that one day, I could be a leader who helped people. It was my biggest dream as a little boy.

When I was a young man, I went to a special school for soldiers. It was called West Point. There, I learned how to be a good leader. I also learned how to be an engineer, which is someone who builds important things. For many years, I was a soldier in the United States Army. I helped build strong forts to keep people safe. I also helped make rivers easier for boats to travel on. Later, a very sad time came when our country was divided. I had to make a very hard choice. I decided to be a general for my home state of Virginia because I loved it so much.

After all the fighting ended in the year 1865, I wanted to help everyone be friends again. It was important to bring our country back together. I stopped being a soldier and put away my uniform. I decided to become a teacher. I became the president of a school called Washington College. I loved working with my students every day. It made me happy to help them learn and get ready for their future. I lived to be 63 years old. Today, people remember me as a soldier who tried to lead with courage and as a teacher who worked to bring peace.