For St. Clair County, the year 2007 has been named “The Year of Lee” in recognition of Robert E. Lee’s 200th birthday and his service to country.The St. Clair County Commission, at the request of St. Clair Camp 308 Sons of Confederate Veterans, declared the year of Lee in St. Clair County with a resolution outlining Lee’s life, education and service.
Benjamin Hestley, member of St. Clair Camp 308, said lee should be recognized for his achievements before and after the War Between States and not just for his gallantry and sense of nobility he took to the battlefields.
“Lee made a great impact on not just the South,” Hestley said. “He was a good Christian man of good moral character and exhibited great leadership abilities.”
Robert Edward Lee was born to Henry Lee III and Anne Carter Lee in Westemoreland County, Virginia Jan. 19, 1807. He graduated second in his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1829. He was the first man ever to graduate without a single demerit.
Lee continued to serve in the U.S. Army for almost 32 years and was appointed superintendent at West Point in 1852. At the outset of the Civil War, Lee was offered command of the federal army. He declined the offer, stating he could “not lift his hand against his own people.”
In November 1861, Lee returned to Georgia as a brigadier general in charge of the defenses of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. On June 1 of the following year, he assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia.
After the war, Lee accepted the position o president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. He died Oct. 12, 1870 in Lexington.
In recognition of Lee’s values, valor and moral character, Sir Winston Churchill, former British Prime Minister, said of lee that he “was the noblest American who ever lived and one of the greatest commanders known in the annals of war.”
Hestley said activities honoring Lee and celebrating his life would be scheduled throughout the year.
