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1064 West Mill Drive
Kennesaw, Georgia 30152
Phone: 770 428 0978
January 2, 2006
Is our nation's history taught in public
schools?
Do young people still hear stories about George
Washington, Booker T. Washington and Robert E. Lee? There was a
time when schools and businesses closed in respect for the
birthday of one of the South's favorite sons---Robert E. Lee.
Today, sadly, Lee's birthday is not included on
many calendars.
Robert E. Lee, a man whose military tactics
have been studied world wide, was an American soldier, educator,
Christian gentlemen, husband and father. Many include Lee as among
the top 10 of the greatest American's who ever lived.
Lee loved his country and supported the United
States Constitution.
General Robert E. Lee said, "All the South has
ever desired was that the Union, as established by our
forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government, as
originally organized, should be administered in purity and truth."
It has been said "A land without memories is a
people without liberty."
A birthday tribute to General Lee will be held
in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday, January, 19, 2006. This the 199th
birthday of Robert E. Lee will begin with a parade at 11:00AM to
the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta. At 11:30AM a memorial will
be held inside the state capitol building. This is the 18th year
the Georgia Division Sons of Confederate Veterans has sponsored a
memorial to Lee in Atlanta, Georgia. Everyone is invited to
attend.
Let America not forget that General Robert E.
Lee was born in Stratford, Westmoreland County, Virginia, on
January 19, 1807. The winter was cold and fire places were little
help for Lee's Mother, Ann Hill (Carter) Lee who suffered from a
severe cold.
Ann Lee named her son "Robert Edward" after her
two brothers.
Robert E. Lee's love of country undoubtedly
came from his close association with those who had lived during
the American Revolution.
His Father, "Light Horse" Harry Lee, was a
Revolutionary War Hero, Governor of Virginia and member of the
United States House of Representatives. Members of his family also
signed the Declaration of Independence.
Lee was educated in the schools of Alexandria,
Virginia. In 1825, he received an appointment to West Point
Military Academy in New York. He graduated in 1829, second in his
class and without a single demerit, a record that stands today.
Lee was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant of the United States
Engineer Corps. He served on engineering projects in Georgia,
Virginia and New York.
Robert E. Lee wed Mary Anna Randolph Custis in
June 1831. Robert and Mary had grown up together. Mary was the
daughter of George Washington Parke Custis, the grandson of Martha
Washington and adopted son of George Washington.
Mary was an only child; therefore, she
inherited Arlington House, located across the Potomac River from
Washington, D.C., where she and Robert E. Lee raised seven
children.
In 1836, Lee was appointed to first Lieutenant.
In 1838, with the rank of Captain, Lee fought in the Mexican War.
His service in this war began under General Wool but he was
reassigned to the staff of General Winfield Scott. General Scott
would write that Lee was "the best soldier I ever saw in the
field."
In 1852, Lee was appointed Superintendent of
West Point.
President-to-be Abraham Lincoln offered command
of the Union Army to Lee in 1861, but he refused. In A letter to
his sister on April 20, 1861, Robert E. Lee said, "With all my
devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty as an
American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise
my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I therefore
have resigned my commission in the army and save in defense of my
native state, with the sincere hope that my poor services may
never be needed.
General Lee and his family left "Arlington
House" at the beginning of the War Between the States. Lee served
as advisor to President Jefferson Davis, then commanded the
legendary Army of Northern Virginia.
After four terrible years of death and
destruction, General Robert E. Lee met General Ulysses S. Grant at
Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia on April 9, 1865, that ended
their battles.
Lee was called Marse Robert, Uncle Robert and
Marble Man. He was loved by the people of the South and adopted by
folks from the North.
Lee was a man of honor, proud of his name and
heritage. After the War Between the States, he was offered $50,000
for the use of his name. His reply was: "Sirs, my name is the
heritage of my parents. It is all I have and it is not for sale."
His refusal to this offer came at a time when he had nothing.
In the fall of 1865, Lee was offered and
accepted the president of troubled Washington College in
Lexington, Virginia. The school later was renamed Washington and
Lee College in his honor.
General Robert E. Lee died of a heart attack at
his home at Washington College at 9:30 on the morning of October
12, 1870. His last words were "Strike the Tent."
Robert E. Lee is buried at his college's Lee
Chapel near his family and favorite horse "Traveller." A memorial
service is planned there on Saturday, January 14, 2006, at noon
and is open and free to the pubic.
A prolific writer, Lee wrote his most famous
quote to his son Custis in 1852:
"Duty is the sublimest word in our
language."
Lest We Forget our American Heritage!
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ember
and celebrate one of America's legendary leaders of our Heritage.
Of course the politically correct demean the character of Robert
E. Lee - but as we all know facts never stand in the way of the
politically correct.
