His father was not very good at managing the family’s money. He left the farm when Robert was six years old. Harry Lee died on March 25, 1818 of an unknown illness. When he came of age, he enrolled and was accepted at West Point Military Academy. A fellow student of his was Hiram Grant, otherwise known as Ulysses S. Grant. The two became friends. When Lee graduated with no …show more content…
Lee was called to the scene and within two hours he defeated Brown and his men. This news got to commanders quickly, and he was offered command of the Union army. He declined and subsequently resigned from the army. Due to his fierce loyalty to his home state of Virginia, he joined the Confederate States of America. He became a Junior Lieutenant Colonel. He led the Confederate troops in the First Battle of Bull Run. He was overwhelmingly successful. This resulted in a promotion. In 1862, Jefferson Davis asked for Lee to become his personal military adviser. He accepted. Later that year, he attempted an invasion of West Virginia. The campaign was not successful and Lee was tasked with mounting an attack at Antietam. After the battle, he stated, “It is good that war is terrible, or we would enjoy it too much.” His forces were slowly pushed back to Appomattox Court House, where he surrendered. Before meeting Grant to surrender, he told one of his lieutenants, “There is nothing left to do but go see General Grant, but I would rather die a thousand deaths.” Still, he went and surrendered April 9, 1865. This lost the war for the CSA. After Lincoln’s assassination, he helped Grant coordinate the Great