American Studies Term Paper
The Civil War of the United States of America was a grave time for the whole nation. Many thousands died on each side and in the end there was no true victor. From the war emerged many heroes, and one of them is the great Robert E. Lee. Because of Lee, the poorly supplied Confederacy was able to fight the Union for a time longer than anyone had ever expected.
Lee was born on January 19, 1807 in Stratford, Virginia. He died on October 12, 1870 in Lexington, Virginia. Lee was born to Henry Lee and Ann Carter Hill. Lee had descended from two important families in Virginia. His father, Henry Lee, was a Revolutionary war hero who had gained military praise for fighting under George Washington. His mother, Ann Hill Carter, came from a prominent aristocratic family that held many government positions in Virginia (Discovering Biography).
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digital graphic of StonewallThough he was born into aristocracy, Lee never experienced any benefits. This was due to his father wasting the family's fortune in a series of bad investments and businesses. Soon after, Lee's father died in 1822. Because Lee was the oldest child in the family, he had to take care of his family and his sick mother. Perhaps, because of Lee's struggles, he grew up to be a man filled with duty and honor to his country (U*X*L Biographies).
After his formal education in his home state of Virginia, Lee enrolled in the United States Military Academy, also known as West Point Military Academy, in 1825. He quickly excelled there and was soon around the top of his class in academics. In military training, Lee was the top of his class. Lee soon graduated without ever breaking any rules. Many of his classmates even called him the "Marble...