Subject: More info on Lee:
 From: Gene Karl

More info on Lee:

Through his father, General Henry Lee, the celebrated
"Light Horse Harry" of Revolutionary War fame, and his mother, Ann Hill
Carter, he was a member of
two of the most distinguished families of early America. The Lees and
Carters belonged to the
politically and socially influential planter aristocracy of the South.
Lee counted among his ancestors
members of Virginia's colonial House of Burgesses, two signers of the
Declaration of Independence,
members of Congress, a Cabinet official, several governors of Virginia,
diplomats and military officers.
Lee's family background presented him a tradition of patriotism, service
and duty.

This right here makes Lee a fed:
"Lee's career as a U.S. Army officer"

Heir to the throne??
"In 1831, he
married Mary Custis, great granddaughter of Martha Washington. Mary,
heiress to extensive
properties, owned Arlington, a massive white columned home dominating a
hill overlooking
Washington from the Virginia side of the Potomac."

the "Knight of America "and "The Last Gentle Knight."??

Personally, I like Lee too, but we all must keep an open mind.

sincerely,
gene karl

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/LEE/lee.html
THE LAST GENTLE KNIGHT



Former Knight Commander John Temple Graves, a famous orator of his time,
took the floor of the
1923 Convention to make one of his highly romanticized banquet toasts.
In a few moments, his
eloquence had not only raised the glass of every man in the room, but
also captured the attention of the
entire Order.

Graves' Convention toast heralded Robert E.
Lee, and first designated him "spiritual founder" of
Kappa Alpha Order. Since then, KAs have
referred to Lee as such.

The designation Graves coined in 1923
expressed the feeling KAs had held for Lee for
almost six decades. The four students who
founded KA, and a fifth who wrote the Ritual,
were profoundly influenced by Lee. He
exemplified for them the highest standards, the most chivalrous conduct
and the finest traits of
manliness. Today, portraits of Lee are proudly displayed in KA chapter
houses, and annually, on the
anniversary of Lee's birthday, active and alumni chapters gather for
Convivium, a celebration
commemorating the founding of KA and Lee's spiritual ties to the Order.

Robert Edward Lee, born January 19, 1807, at his family's plantation
(Stratford) in Westmoreland
County, Virginia, was destined for greatness. Through his father,
General Henry Lee, the celebrated
"Light Horse Harry" of Revolutionary War fame, and his mother, Ann Hill
Carter, he was a member of
two of the most distinguished families of early America. The Lees and
Carters belonged to the
politically and socially influential planter aristocracy of the South.
Lee counted among his ancestors
members of Virginia's colonial House of Burgesses, two signers of the
Declaration of Independence,
members of Congress, a Cabinet official, several governors of Virginia,
diplomats and military officers.
Lee's family background presented him a tradition of patriotism, service
and duty.

While he was still a child, the Lees moved from Stratford to Alexandria,
Virginia, on the Potomac River
near Washington, D.C. There, Lee matured quickly. He was forced to
accept, at an early age,
obligations brought on by his mother's chronic poor health, his father's
involvement in political
controversy and ruinous land speculations, and his father's frequent
absences from home and
subsequent death in 1818.

Lee entered West Point in 1825. From the beginning, he demonstrated the
qualities of leadership and
command that would characterize his long service as a soldier. When he
graduated four years later, he
was cadet corp adjutant, head of his class in tactics and artillery and
second in general standing. He
also graduated without receiving a single demerit.

By the time of his commissioning, Lee had developed traits of character
which would distinguish him
from his contemporaries and make him a legend after death. Of these
traits, moderation, self control,
duty, sincerity, consideration of others, courage, special regard for
ladies, courtesy, honor, and deep
religious conviction, he believed duty and honor to be especially
important. Lee once stated, "There is
true glory and true honor, the glory of duty done and the honor of
integrity and principles." He also
wrote, "Duty is the sublimest word in the language. You cannot do more
than your duty; you should
never wish to do less."

Lee's career as a U.S. Army officer began with assignments in Georgia
and Virginia. In 1831, he
married Mary Custis, great granddaughter of Martha Washington. Mary,
heiress to extensive
properties, owned Arlington, a massive white columned home dominating a
hill overlooking
Washington from the Virginia side of the Potomac. For the next 30 years,
Arlington was Lee's beloved
home-- where he and Mary raised three sons and four daughters and to
where he always returned
from military assignments.

After an appointment as assistant to the chief of engineers in
Washington, Lee supervised projects near
St. Louis, Missouri, in New York Harbor, and on the Atlantic coastal
defenses. Lee's first combat
experience, during the Mexican War (1846-48), earned him meritorious
mention and a promotion to
colonel. Afterward, he was Superintendent of West Point for three years
and held commands in
Missouri and Texas. In 1859, he attracted national attention when he
successfully suppressed John
Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia.

As the 1850s drew to a close, Lee was deeply concerned about the
dangerous sectional antagonisms
gathering momentum and threatening to disrupt the nation. Dreading the
thought of civil war, he
fervently hoped solutions could be found to the issues that troubled the
country. However, when the
secession crisis developed in 1860-61, and war between the North and
South seemed imminent, Lee,
compelled by his great sense of duty, resigned his commission and
followed his native Virginia out of
the Union. In making this decision, he declined President Abraham
Lincoln's offer to command the
federal armies.

As a full general in the Confederate Army, Lee contributed his
considerable talent as a military leader.
His skill as a strategist and capacity to rapidly analyze a combat
situation, combined with his ability to
arouse intense devotion in troops, furthered the Confederate cause. But,
Lee and the South faced
overwhelming numerical superiority, production capability and unlimited
supply sources.

The struggle of the War Between the States was a tragic American epic
with heroism, sacrifice and
anguish on both sides. Through four years of war, Lee moved down the
long, bloody road that led
from the Seven Days' Battle and Second Manassas, past Antietam and
Fredericksburg, to
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Petersburg and Richmond, and ended at the
Appomattox Courthouse.

The end of the War brought dramatic change to Lee's life. The Custis-Lee
fortune was greatly reduced
and Arlington was lost. His military career terminated, he was barred
from public office, for which he
was eminently qualified. Although he was among the first to accept the
result of the War and to apply
for amnesty, his petition was not acted upon until more than a century
after his death. l However, Lee
held no bitterness, nor did he indulge in self-pity. Determined to set
an example for fellow Southerners,
he hoped the emotions of war years would be forgotten and the work of
rebuilding the South and
creating a great, unified America could be accomplished. His superb
dignity, courage, and noble
character in the difficult post-war years intensified admiration for
him, earning him the respect of even
his former enemies. In defeat, Lee achieved his highest level of
greatness.

In the summer of 1865, the Board of Trustees of Washington College in
Lexington, Virginia, voted
unanimously to offer the college presidency to Lee. The College was in a
precarious position with a
very small enrollment and its buildings and facilities were seriously
damaged from a war-time raid.
Although he could have filled any of a number of honorable and lucrative
positions available to him, the
college presidency most appealed to Lee. The offer combined the
opportunity to serve others, to guide
young men in rebuilding the shattered South, and to educate them for the
purpose, as he said, of being
"good Americans." Accepting the trustees' offer, Lee moved to Lexington
in October. Thus, the final
phase of his career began--that of a gifted and innovative educator and
inspirational leader of youth.

Lee's acceptance of the presidency was the salvation of the College. The
mere word that Lee was
heading the institution caused enrollment to triple, from almost 50 to
146 in the first year. Enrollment
more than doubled the following year. His name attracted funds to
rebuild the College and expand
programs and curriculum.

Lee preserved traditional education, but added technical subjects such
as agriculture, commerce and
mechanical and civil engineering. But. most important of all was Lee's
ability to inspire his faculty and
students to excel. "Excellence" applied not only to academics, but also
to general conduct, as illustrated
by Lee's statement, "We have but one rule here and that is that every
student must be a gentleman."
One of the hallmarks of his administration was his personal interest in
every student, and students
returned his interest with the same affection, devotion, and respect.

Among the students at Washington College in 1865 were James Ward Wood,
William Nelson Scott,
Stanhope McClelland Scott, and William Archibald Walsh--all attracted by
the presence of Robert E.
Lee. These four united to found Kappa Alpha Order, which was originally
called Phi Kappa Chi. In
1866, Samuel Zenas Ammen joined the chapter and transformed KA into an
Order of Knights by
rewriting the Constitution and Ritual. To Ammen and other brothers, Lee
was the ultimate inspiration,
and they wished to perpetuate his values. He personified the heroic
knights of the past, representing
their noblest ideals and traditions of chivalrous behavior. Indeed, even
before his death, Lee was
referred to as the "Knight of America "and "The Last Gentle Knight." It
is this legacy which was
adopted as the moving force of Kappa Alpha Order.

Lee died in the President's House at Washington College on October 12,
1870, and his body was
entombed in the campus chapel building. Later, the grave was covered by
a magnificent marble
recumbent statue of Lee, lying as if asleep, carved larger than life. 

"The Varlet" Copyright 1992
Kappa Alpha Order 



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