George Washington Custis Lee's Contributions

George Washington Custis Lee

George Washington Custis Lee was the eldest son of General Robert E. Lee and a military officer and educator who was active during the Civil War and the Reconstruction era. After graduating at the top of his class from the United States Military Academy (West Point), he served as an aide-de-camp to Confederate President Jefferson Davis and as a major general during the Civil War. Following his father's death, he succeeded him as the second president of Washington and Lee University, dedicating over 20 years to expanding higher education, nurturing Southern youth after the defeat, and contributing to regional reconstruction.

Timeline

Category
Element

Year	George Washington Custis Lee
1832	Birth of George Washington Custis Lee (Period: September 16, 1832, Location: Hampton, Virginia)
1850	West Point admission (George Washington Custis Lee, Age: 17 years old, Period: 1850, Location: West Point, New York)
1854	West Point top-of-class graduation (George Washington Custis Lee, Age: 21 years old, Period: 1854, Location: West Point, New York) Service in the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Age: 21 years old, Period: 1854–1861, Location: California, Georgia, Florida, Washington, D.C., etc.)
1861	American Civil War (Age: 28 years old, Period: 1861–1865, Location: North Carolina, Virginia, etc.) Resignation from the U.S. Army and joining the Confederacy (George Washington Custis Lee, Age: 28 years old, Period: Spring 1861, Location: Washington, D.C., and Virginia) Appointment as Aide-de-Camp to President Jefferson Davis (George Washington Custis Lee, Age: 28 years old, Period: August 1861–1864, Location: Richmond, Virginia, etc.)
1864	Command of the defense of Richmond (Age: 31 years old, Period: 1864, Location: Richmond, Virginia)
1865	Appointment as Professor at the Virginia Military Institute (George Washington Custis Lee, Age: 32 years old, Period: Late 1865–1870, Location: Lexington, Virginia) Captured at the Battle of Sailor's Creek (Age: 32 years old, Period: April 6, 1865, Location: Sailor's Creek, Virginia)
1871	Appointment as President of Washington and Lee University (George Washington Custis Lee, Age: 38 years old, Period: 1871–1897, Location: Lexington, Virginia)
1877	Arlington House ownership lawsuit (Age: 44 years old, Period: 1877–1882, Location: Arlington, Virginia, and the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C.)
1883	Sale of Arlington House (Age: 50 years old, Period: 1883, Location: Arlington, Virginia)
1897	Retirement as President of Washington and Lee University (George Washington Custis Lee, Age: 64 years old, Period: 1897, Location: Lexington, Virginia)
1913	Death of George Washington Custis Lee (Age: 80 years old, Period: February 18, 1913)
Unknown	Marriage (George Washington Custis Lee, none, Period: Lifelong unmarried, Location: None)

Map

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Element

United States World

Related Links

Group	List
Key Confederate Officers	Thomas Jonathan Jackson James Longstreet Joseph Egleston Johnston Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard Braxton Bragg John Bell Hood Jubal Anderson Early Nathan Bedford Forrest John Brown Gordon
The Lee family	Robert E. Lee George Washington Custis Lee William Henry Fitzhugh Lee Fitzhugh Lee Robert Edward Lee Jr.
Southern politician	Jefferson Finis Davis Alexander Hamilton Stephens Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter John Cabell Breckinridge Judah Philip Benjamin John Henninger Reagan Wade Hampton III Francis Richard Lubbock Luke Pryor Blackburn Joseph Emerson Brown Alfred Holt Colquitt James Lawson Kemper Zebulon Baird Vance

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People Timeline

George Washington Custis Lee's Contributions