Robert E Lee biography

Lee was a serious child, who spent much of his time in his father's library reading books. Everybody always commented on what a good boy he was - neither his devoted mother nor his father could recall one moment of trouble with little Robert.  There was a constant stream of visitors to the Lee house, many of them old soldiers who used to fight with Light Horse Harry. As he grew up, Lee was always listening to stories about great battles and heroic men, but especially stories about George Washington, the family's idol. A formal portrait of Lee's mother painted around this time, shows her wearing a long necklace from which hangs a medallion with a picture of Washington. Occasionally his father would read aloud from the book he was writing, which was a history of the Revolution and contained many effusive passages about Washington's skill and bravery.

When Lee was five years old, his father was attacked by an angry mob when he tried to help a friend in a fight - the mob was furious that Lee's friend had opposed the war against the British in 1812. "Light Horse Harry" was assaulted with clubs and knives and left for dead. Although he survived, he was never again the same man in body or in spirit. The following year he left for Barbados, where he hoped to regain his health. But when Robert, his brothers and sisters, and his mother waved goodbye from the dock at Alexandria, it was the last time they would ever see him. For six years the old general wandered from island to island, until he finally collapsed and died. His letters home had been full of advice and wisdom that Robert never forgot, such as: "Self-command is the pivot upon which the character, fame, and independence of us mortals hang," and "fame in arms or art, however conspicuous, is naught unless bottomed on virtue."

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