Calvin E. Johnson Jr.
Sunday, Jan. 19, 2003

All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government, as originally organized, should be administered in purity and truth. – Robert E. Lee

The men and women who serve our nation in its armed forces are true American heroes. Gen. Robert E. Lee served this country valiantly and will always be a hero among the people. This article is dedicated to all the great people who have served and are presently serving to keep their country free. God bless them all!

Many commemorations will be held throughout the country to honor and pay tribute to Gen. Robert E. Lee on his birthday, Jan 19. In the past, memorials have been held in the Capitol in Washington, D.C., where Statuary Hall is located.

Robert E. Lee was born on Jan. 19, 1807, at "Stratford" in Westmoreland County, Va. Robert was the son of Revolutionary War general "Light Horse Harry" and Ann Hill (Carter) Lee. He grew up in a place where people still remembered George Washington and the heroes of the Revolutionary War.

Lee was educated at the schools of Alexandria, Va., and he received an appointment to West Point Military Academy in 1825. He graduated second in his class and without a single demerit.

While serving as 2nd Lieutenant of Engineers at Fort Monroe, Va., Lee married Mary Ann Randolph Custis. The Lees had seven children, three of whom served the Confederacy.

Lee was appointed Superintendent of West Point in 1852.

Believing in his family and friends, he turned down an offer by President Abraham Lincoln to command all armies of the Union and resigned his Army command when the state of Virginia seceded from the Union. He offered his sword to President Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy.

He commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and in 1865, was given command of all Confederate forces.

When the War Between the States ended, many Americans worked hard to rebuild this nation. No one worked harder than Robert E. Lee.

"So far from engaging in a war to perpetuate slavery, I am rejoiced that slavery is abolished."

Gen. Lee was offered and accepted a position as president of a financially troubled institution of higher learning – Washington College in Lexington, Va. This school, which has become one of the best schools in the nation, was named after the father of our country and first president, George Washington.

After Robert E. Lee's death on Oct. 12, 1870, Washington College was renamed Washington-Lee College in his honor.

At 9:30 on the morning of Oct. 12, 1870, Gen. Lee died of a heart attack on the college campus.

That evening, five cadets of the college were selected to stay the night with his body, which was removed on the 13th to the college chapel, where he lay in state to be buried on the 14th.

The buildings of Washington-Lee College and the town of Lexington were draped in black and the cadets were required to wear badges made from black crepe for six months.

Many people came from near and far to pay final respects to Lee on the Oct. 14. A funeral procession made its way from the school grounds to the town and back. The school brass band led the procession, playing the death march, and artillery cannons were fired in respect.

On Aug. 5, 1975, 110 years after Gen. Lee's formal application, President Gerald Ford signed Senate Joint Resolution 23, restoring posthumously the long-overdue full rights of citizenship to Gen. Robert E. Lee. (www.ford.utexas.edu/library/speeches/750473.htm)

A native of Georgia, Calvin Johnson now lives near the historic town of Kennesaw, home to the locomotive "The General" from the War Between the States. He believes that this country needs to get back to its original Constitution and began writing when he realized that the history of our forefathers and mothers is being forgotten.

Calvin Johnson may be reached at Dix414036@aol.com.