= Lee "They say you had to see him to believe that a man so fine = could exist.=20 Hewas handsome. He was clever. He was brave. He was gentle. He = was=20 generousand charming, noble and modest, admired and beloved. He had = never=20 failed atanything in his upright soldier's life. He was born a winner, = this=20 RobertE. Lee. Except for once. In the greatest contest of his life, = in a=20 warbetween the South and the North, Robert E. Lee lost" (Redmond). = Through=20 hislife, Robert E. Lee would prove to be always noble, always a = gentleman,=20 andalways capable of overcoming the challenge lying before him. = Robert Edward Lee was born on January 19, 1807 (Compton's). He = was=20 borninto one of Virginia's most respected families. The Lee family = had=20 moved toAmerica during the mid 1600's. Some genealogist can trace the = Lee's=20 rootsback to William the Conqueror. Two members of the Lee family = had signed=20 theDeclaration of Independence, Richard Lee and Francis Lightfoot. = Charles=20 Leehad served as attorney General under the Washington = administration=20 whileRichard Bland Lee, had become one of Virginia's leading=20 Federalists.Needless to say, the Lees were an American Political dynasty = (Nash=20 242).Lee's father was General Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee. He had = been=20 aheroic cavalry leader in the American Revolution. He married = his=20 cousinMatilda. They had four children, but Matilda died in 1790. On = her death=20 bedshe added insult to injury upon Henry Lee by leaving her estate = to=20 herchildren. She feared Henry would squander the family fortune. = He was=20 wellknown for poor investments and schemes that had depleted his = own=20 family'sfortune (Connelly 5). Henry Lee solved his financial problems by marrying Robert's = mother=20 AnneCarter, daughter of one of Virginia's wealthiest men (Nash = 242). Henry=20 Leeeventually spent his family into debt. Their stately mansion,=20 StratfordHall, was turned...
