The Legacy of the Historic Lee Family

The Lee family

The Lee family played a prominent role in American history, beginning in the colonial era and continuing through the Revolutionary War and Civil War. Members of this Virginia dynasty served as statesmen, military commanders, and educators, significantly shaping politics, leadership, and regional culture across centuries of the nation's development.

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Birth Death Origin Age (Death)

1807
1832
1835
1837
1843

Timeline

Category
Element

Year	The Lee family
1807	Birth of Robert E. Lee (Period: January 19, 1807, Location: Montross, Westmoreland County, Virginia)
1825	West Point admission and graduation (Robert E. Lee)
1831	Marriage (Robert E. Lee, Mary Anna Randolph Custis)
1832	Birth of George Washington Custis Lee (Period: September 16, 1832, Location: Hampton, Virginia)
1835	Birth of Fitzhugh Lee (Period: November 19, 1835, Location: Near Alexandria (Clermont, Fairfax County, Virginia))
1837	Birth of William Henry Fitzhugh Lee (Period: May 31, 1837, Location: Arlington, Virginia)
1843	Birth of Robert Edward Lee Jr. (Period: October 27, 1843, Location: Arlington, Virginia)
1846	Mexican-American War
1850	West Point admission (George Washington Custis Lee)
1852	Appointment as Superintendent of West Point (Robert E. Lee)
1854	West Point top-of-class graduation (George Washington Custis Lee) Service in the United States Army Corps of Engineers Admission to Harvard University (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee)
1856	Fighting against the Comanche tribe West Point graduation (Fitzhugh Lee)
1857	Estate management of the Custis family of Arlington Utah War Enlistment in the United States Army (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee)
1859	Norris incident Resignation from the U.S. Army and plantation management (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee) Marriage (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, Charlotte Georgiana Wickham) Wounded in the Battle of Nestugunga (Fitzhugh Lee) John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
1860	Appointment as instructor of cavalry tactics at West Point (Fitzhugh Lee) Admission to the University of Virginia (Robert E. Lee Jr.)
1861	American Civil War Resignation from the U.S. Army and joining the Confederacy (George Washington Custis Lee) Joining the Confederate cavalry (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee) Command of the 1st Virginia Cavalry (Fitzhugh Lee) Appointment as aide-de-camp to his brother Custis Lee (Robert E. Lee Jr.) Appointment as Commander of Virginia Forces (Robert E. Lee) Resignation from the U.S. Army and joining the Confederacy (Fitzhugh Lee) Appointment as Aide-de-Camp to President Jefferson Davis (George Washington Custis Lee)
1862	Burning of the White House Plantation Participation in Stuart's cavalry operations (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee) Promotion to Brigadier General (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee) Enlistment in the Rockbridge Artillery (Robert E. Lee Jr.) Appointment as Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia (Robert E. Lee) Encounter with his father at the Battle of Antietam (Robert E. Lee Jr.)
1863	Participation in the Gettysburg Campaign (Fitzhugh Lee) Wounded and captured at Brandy Station (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee) Wounded at the Battle of Brandy Station (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee) Battle of Gettysburg Appointment as Commander of the Cavalry Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (Fitzhugh Lee)
1864	Command of the defense of Richmond Participation in the Siege of Petersburg Command of the Cavalry Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (Fitzhugh Lee) Return to the Confederacy via prisoner exchange (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee) Promotion to Major General (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee)
1865	Appointment as President of Washington College (Robert E. Lee) Appointment as Professor at the Virginia Military Institute (George Washington Custis Lee) Treason indictment and pardon (Fitzhugh Lee) Agriculture and sectional reconciliation activities Inheritance of Romancock Plantation (Robert E. Lee Jr.) End of the Civil War and return to farming (Robert E. Lee Jr.) Appomattox Campaign Captured at the Battle of Sailor's Creek Surrender at Appomattox Court House Surrender after the capitulation at Appomattox (Fitzhugh Lee)
1867	Marriage (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, Mary Tabb Bolling)
1870	Death of Robert E. Lee
1871	Appointment as President of Washington and Lee University (George Washington Custis Lee) Marriage (Fitzhugh Lee, Ellen Bernard Fowl) Marriage (Robert E. Lee Jr., Charlotte Taylor Hucklesome)
1876	Election to the Virginia Senate (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee)
1877	Arlington House ownership lawsuit
1883	Sale of Arlington House
1886	Election as Governor of Virginia (Fitzhugh Lee)
1887	Election to the United States House of Representatives (William Henry Fitzhugh Lee)
1891	Death of William Henry Fitzhugh Lee
1894	Marriage (Robert E. Lee Jr., Juliet Carter)
1896	Appointment as Consul General to Havana (Fitzhugh Lee)
1897	Retirement as President of Washington and Lee University (George Washington Custis Lee)
1898	Spanish-American War Command of the VII Corps (Fitzhugh Lee) Sinking of the USS Maine Appointment as Major General of United States Volunteers (Fitzhugh Lee)
1899	Military Governor of Cuba (Fitzhugh Lee)
1900	Commander of the Department of the Missouri (Fitzhugh Lee)
1904	Publication of the book "Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee"
1905	Death of Fitzhugh Lee
1913	Death of George Washington Custis Lee
1914	Death of Robert Edward Lee Jr.
Unknown	Marriage (George Washington Custis Lee, none, Period: Lifelong unmarried, Location: None)

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Category
Element

United States World

Group	List
New England	Abolition Movement, Ideology, and Activist Industrialization of New England Merchants, investors, and upper elites Literature, Thought, and Intellectuals Underground Railway & Getaway Network Region, System, and Network
South	Key Confederate Officers The Lee family Southern politician

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The Legacy of the Historic Lee Family

The Lee family

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