Here in a highly factual and lucid form is a biography of the Confederate general, Robert E Lee. Covering the entire span of his life from his birth in the ancestral Lee house to his death in a shattered but still proud Virginia, the major episodes of the Civil War are reviewed here as are Lee's earlier military exploits as a dedicated officer in the United States army. Without proselytizing for the Southern cause, this book presents a vivid depiction of the man in his full stature as soldier and patriot, a perspective which is very valuable in fully understanding one of the most complicated and meaningful segments of American history.