This year marks the Bicentennial Celebration of Robert E. Lee, a career officer of the U.S. Army, and without a doubt the most revered Confederate general during the War Between the States.

At first, Lee was opposed to the Confederacy, and he nearly became a commander in the Union, but when Virginia seceded he made the choice to fight for his home state. His initial command took place in 1862 when he took command of the Army of Northern Virginia, perhaps the finest combat force of the Confederacy. Their mission; to defend Richmond.

Lee's finest victories were the Seven Days Battles and Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, but his two invasions of the North proved losses. At Antietam in 1862, he barely escaped defeat and faced a return to Virginia. With escape routes cut by flooded rivers, he was defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg. Because of chase by General Meade, Lee escaped back to his home state.

In 1864, Union commander Ulysses S. Grant began a war to tear away at Lee's army. With both the Overland Campaign and the Siege of Petersburg, General Lee inflicted numerous casualities on an enemy that was far superior in terms of numbers and material, but he could not replace the losses and his army came apart. He had even promoted a plan to arm slaves to fight for the Confederacy and free them. With no resources for an offensive, he was forced into the trenches. Outnumbered by 1865, he fled but found himself surrounded. The surrender at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, marked the end of the war, but Lee managed to block some opposed from launching a campaign to continue the war.

After the war, Robert E. Lee supported Reconstruction and opposed proposals to give newly freed slaves the vote and take the vote away from former Confederates. He promoted reconciliation between the North and South. Lee became the great Southern hero of the war. Today, he remains an icon of history.

Click any of the links to the left if you wish to purchase a garment or a wall clock with one of our many designs saluting General Robert E. Lee