Robert E. Lee

Hello! My name is Robert E. Lee. I was born a long time ago, on January 19th, 1807, in a big house in Virginia called Stratford Hall. My father was a famous soldier, and ever since I was little, I dreamed of becoming one, too. When I was old enough, I went to a special school for soldiers called the United States Military Academy at West Point. I studied very hard and graduated in 1829 near the top of my class!

For many years, I served as a soldier and an engineer in the United States Army. I was proud to serve my country. But then, a very sad time began. Our country started to argue and split into two sides: the North, called the Union, and the South, where I was from, called the Confederacy. In 1861, a terrible war began between them, the American Civil War. The President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, asked me to lead the entire Union army. It was a huge honor, but my heart was with my home state of Virginia, which had joined the South. I made the very difficult choice to lead the army for the Confederacy because I felt I could not fight against my own family and home.

The war was very long and difficult, and it ended in 1865. I knew it was time for the country to heal and come together again as one. I wanted to help. Instead of being a soldier, I took a new job as the president of a small school, Washington College, in Virginia. I loved working with the students. I taught them to be kind, to work hard, and to help build a better, more peaceful country for everyone.

I lived to be 63 years old and spent my last years working for peace and education. Today, people remember me as a famous general from a very complicated time in American history. They also remember that after the war, I encouraged everyone to reunite and move forward together. My greatest hope was that the country would learn from its past and become a stronger, more united family.