What's It All About?

Hi! I am Michaela. I have loved history since I was six years old. I was reading chapter books about Abraham Lincoln by then. When I was seven I started to learn and read about more United States presidents and their lives. I became fascinated with history. In this blog I will share with you my love for history and the things we learn from the past.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Robert E. Lee Before He Was a General

Robert Edward Lee was born at Stratford Hall in Alexandria VA on January 19th 1807.  His parents names were General Henry Lee and Anne Carter Lee.  In 1812 another war between the Patriots and the British started.   Henry was against the war.  Since General Henry Lee assisted antiwar causes he was attacked by an angry mob and was seriously injured.  To regain his health he went to Barbados without his family.  The family struggled for many years to make ends meet with out their father.  Years later while returning home from Barbados Henry Lee died.

Robert attended Alexandria Academy in Virginia.  After graduating from the academy he went to The U.S. Military Academy at West Point.    In June of 1825 Robert took a stagecoach to New York City and from there he took a steamer up the Hudson.  When Robert climbed the steep hill to West Point he knew that it would be his home for the next four years.  Robert and forty six other men were now cadets.  They got up at 5am in the morning and walked in formation, also known as drills.  Robert attended classes and studied hard 9-10 hours a day. 

Some of his fellow cadets would get drunk and break the rules.  Robert never joined them.  They called him "Marble Model".  This bothered the young Lee. He made two good friends at West Point Jack Mackay and Joe Johnston both from the South.  He graduated 2nd highest in his class of forty six cadets.  He had zero demerits.  Robert was made a second lieutenant and appointed to the Engineer Corps.
Robert in his engineer corps uniform.
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4 comments:

  1. OutofmymindAugust 9, 2011 at 12:35 PM

    Look how handsome he was. Thanx for the info!!!!

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  2. Evil EdnaAugust 9, 2011 at 1:18 PM

    ok that was good to know as, I am ashamed to say the only thing I knew about General Lee was that it was the name of the car in the Dukes of Hazard.EE

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  3. Sherry HickeyAugust 9, 2011 at 2:52 PM

    Hi Michaela, I learned about your blog at your Mom's wonderful blog. I'm so happy to know of your love for history; it's so important! Yesterday my sister and I were on a "road trip" driving around Northumberland County in Virginia; that's where Stratford Hall is! I saw the sign for it, but we'll have to check it out another time. We did go visit George Washington's Birthplace near there; it's absolutely beautiful. So much history in Virginia! Good luck with your blog!

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  4. CherylAugust 17, 2011 at 8:00 PM

    Great post!

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