Robert E. Lee

Name at birth: Robert Edward Lee

Lee was the Confederacy's most famous general in the American Civil War. He attended West Point (graduating second in his class) and became an engineer in the United States Army, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War. As the Civil War broke out he resigned his commission and joined the forces of the South. In 1862 he was made commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, and over the next three years became famous as he led the army to a series of victories over the larger and better-equipped Union forces. He was defeated at the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg and finally surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on 9 April 1865, effectively ending the war.