During the Battle of Sharpsburg in September 1862, young Robert watched his father ride up to his artillery battery, which had already been heavily engaged. Junior stood by expecting to hear a few words of affection from his father, but Lee did not recognize his own son, hidden by the grime of black powder on his face. When Junior finally spoke up to ask if they would be thrown back into the fight, the general recognized him by his voice. "Yes, my son. You must do what you can to drive those people back," Lee said.[2] After the Maryland Campaign, he was promoted to lieutenant and assigned as an aide to his older brother General William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, rising to the rank of captain before the end of the war.[3]
"He frightened the family near the end of the war by disappearing for nearly a month after his horse was wounded on the retreat from Petersburg. By the time he had found another, the Federals were between him and his father's army. He turned south and was in the room in Greensboro, North Carolina, when Jefferson Davis got confirmation that the elder Lee had surrendered at Appomattox."[4]
Lee also became a writer, gathering his memories of his family and life in Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee (1904). The first-hand account provides a valuable source of information on day-to-day life at Arlington House during his youth, and includes many items of interest regarding his father's entire life.
Robert E. Lee Jr. died in 1914. He was interred with his parents and siblings in the college chapel, now known as University Chapel in Lexington, Virginia, where his father and brother Custis each had served as a president of the college now known as Washington and Lee University.
Marriage and family
Robert Lee married twice. On November 16, 1871, he married Charlotte Haxall (October 23, 1848 – September 22, 1872). No children survived her.
On March 8, 1894, in Washington D.C., he married Juliet Case (April 6, 1860 – November 17, 1915), who was 16 years younger than he. They had two daughters, Anne Carter Lee (July 21, 1897 - November 8, 1978) and Mary Custis Lee (December 23, 1900 - December 26, 1994).[5]
^Johnson, Clint. (2011) "Touring Virginia's and West Virginia's Civil War Sites. p. 131
^Lee, Edmund Jennings (2008). Lee of Virginia, 1642-1892. Heritage Books, p. 507.
^Johnson, Clint. (2011)"Touring Virginia's and West Virginia's Civil War Sites. p. 131
^Alexander, Frederick Warren (2010) [1912]. Stratford hall and the Lees connected with its history; biographical, genealogical and historical. Nabu Press (reprint). p. 330. ISBN978-1-178-21224-2.