Robert Edward Lee was a great general who commanded the Confederate Army in the Civil War.  He had great military achievements.  He is one of the most beloved figures in American history.

     Lee’s fame rests on his military achievements as Confederate commander in the face of overwhelming odds, and on his outstanding personal character.  He won the admiration and respect of Northerners as well as southerners.  Le fought for one section of the young nation, but the struggle did not make him intolerant.  He fought, not for personal gain, but to prove himself worthy of a cause. 

      Union General Ulysses S. Grant, to whom Lee was finally forced to surrender, said about Lee, “there was not a man in the Confederacy whose influence with the whole people was as great as his.”