Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee (1807–1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War who commanded the Army of Northern Virginia from 1862 until its surrender at Appomattox Court House in April 1865. He was appointed General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States on February 6, 1865. A West Point graduate, Lee is widely regarded as one of the war's most skilled tacticians, though his aggressive tactics and high casualty rates have drawn criticism. After the war, he served as president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia, until his death in 1870.