25309

Robert E. Lee 1836 Autograph Document Signed "R.

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD
Robert E. Lee 1836 Autograph Document Signed  R.
<B>Robert E. Lee 1836 Autograph Document Signed</B></I> "R. E. Lee", one page, 7" x 4.5", Washington, 1836 June 6. In full: "<I>Received of John Lloyd, One hundred and Eighty Dollars, in full payment of interest of Money in his hands up to the 8th of March 1836.</B></I>" The docketing on the verso indicates that this is in reference to the Deed of Trust on a Salisbury farm. Robert E. Lee graduated second in his West Point class of 1829 (without a single demerit) and then married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, a great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington. He was appointed first lieutenant in 1836 and captain two years later. He distinguished himself in combat during the Mexican War (1846-7), fighting alongside many of the officers he would later fight against in the Civil War. He returned to duty as an engineer, served as superintendent of West Point (1852-5), transferred to the cavalry and served on the Texas frontier, and commanded the troops that put down John Brown's raid in Harpers Ferry, VA (1859). President-to-be Abraham Lincoln offered command of the Union Army to Lee in 1861, but Lee refused. He would not raise arms against his native state. Lee was torn- he had served in the Army for 30 years but he decided to resign his commission and headed home to Virginia where he joined the forces of the South. In 1862 he was made commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, and over the next three years became famous as he led the army to a series of victories over the larger and better-equipped Union forces. He was defeated at the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg and finally surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on 9 April 1865, effectively ending the war. After the Civil War, Robert E. Lee became president of Washington College in Virginia, a post which he held until his death. After his death the school was renamed as Washington and Lee. Fine condition, several folds. Included in this lot is a 14" x 18" color print of Lee in uniform, copyright 1957, New York Graphic Society Ltd. Two items. <I>Accompanied by COA from PSA/DNA.</B></I>