Monument
to Robert E. Lee
Monument Avenue, Richmond, Virginia
#NC-10203-MM - Notecards
Also available in Assortment Pack #AST-830
#PR-10203-MM - Open Edition Print
After finishing
second in his class at the U.S. Military Academy at Westpoint,
Robert E. Lee distinguished himself in the Mexican War as a bridge
builder, scout and army engineer. When John Brown attacked and
captured the U.S. arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Lee took command
of a Federal detachment that captured the abolitionist and his
forces on October 17, 1859.
As tensions
grew between northern and southern states, President Lincoln offered
Lee command of the Union forces. Lee declined. After Virginia
seceded from the Union in 1861, he resigned to become military
advisor to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Lee ultimately
took command of Confederate forces in Virginia. Even Lee's brilliant
strategizing, which continues to be studied in military schools,
could not overcome the superior troop strength and resources of
the Union.
Jean Antonin
Mercie created the bronze sculpture in Paris. It was shipped in
four large wooden crates containing its separate pieces to New
Jersey, hauled by rail to Richmond, and ushered to its site by
about 10,000 volunteer workers, who took part pulling four decorated
wagons to the monument site. The May 29, 1890 unveiling of the
60-foot monument, which attracted well over 100,000 people, was
preceded by a parade of about 50 generals, governors of the Confederate
states and 15,000 Civil War veterans. At the time, it stood alone
in an open field, the first of five memorials honoring Confederate
heroes to grace Monument Avenue.
Text
© 2000 Terry White, Drawing © 2000 Bill Harrah
.
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