The Robert E. Lee Boyhood Home Virtual Museum

General Lee
Portrait of General Robert E. Lee,
by David Silvette after a photograph by J.W. Davies.

Robert E. Lee's Alexandria Youth
and Its Influence on His Character

In summation, there were five factors in Robert E. Lee's background which contributed to greatness in his latter life.

  • First, there was the element of tragedy. The financial collapse of Light Horse Harry Lee's economic base, his subsequent fall from political power, his departure and death in 1818 steeled Robert E. Lee against adversity,
  • Secondly, Lee was the product of two great Virginia families -- the Carters and the Lees. In six generations out of 54 known male descendents, 37 held public office, 10 were members of the House of Burgesses, 16 members of the council, and two were signers of the Declaration of Independence.
  • Thirdly, Ann Lee, Lee's mother, virtually an invalid in later life, taught her sons self denial, self control, and rigid economy in financial affairs She constantly warned Robert against such vices as gambling, drinking and excess.
  • Fourthly, Robert E. Lee excelled academically and received a superb education primarily from William B. Leary and later Benjamin Hallowell.
  • Finally, Lee grew to manhood in a town where the influence and example of George Washington, the pater patriae, was deeply engrained among its citizenry.

    As Robert E. Lee marched off to West Point in June 1825, little did he foresee the momentous impact his life would later have on American history. His fame and prowess as a military leader would come later, but his character had already been shaped by his boyhood years in Alexandria.

    In speaking of the town during an 1869 reception, he said:

    "There is no community to which my affections more strongly cling than that of Alexandria, composed of my earliest and oldest friends, my kind school-fellows, and faithful neighbors."


    From an address: "The Formative Years of Robert E. Lee" by T. Michael Miller, and based on Douglas Southall Freeman's, R.E. Lee, a Biography.