Robert E. Lee

            
            
            
             He was born in Stratford, Virginia. But after four years he moved from Stratford and moved to Alexandria, Virginia were he spent most of his youth. His father Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, a Revolutionary War hero, along with Ann Hill Carter Lee were the parents of the soon to be famous Robert Edward Lee. Robert was the fourth of many children, the last to survive into full maturity though. Henry Lee, the father, was a propulsive gambler and was away a lot so mostly his mother raised Robert. She taught him patience, control, and discipline. He was taught Christianity and accepted it. His father lost most of the family fortune to gambling so Lee wasn't very wealthy; in fact he was actually pretty poor. He watched his father go from failed enterprise to failed enterprise. And when Robert was only 11 his father died. Seeing all this around the house made Robert strive much harder to succeed in life. Young Robert seemed to inherit all the best characteristics of both of his parents and none of the flaws. Although "Light Horse Harry" had problems with handling money Robert had no financial problems throughout his entire life. From his father he got the unnatural physical strength and endurance and from his mother he got the patience, control, discipline, and kindness that made Robert a very good candidate to be successful in life. By the time he was 12 his mother and sisters were in poor health, his father was dead, and his brothers were away. Young Robert became the head of the household. Most of his time was spent taking care of them and doing chores around the house. Sometimes when his mother was feeling well Robert would stuff newspapers in the cracks of their carriage and take his mother for rides. Many years later while Robert was leaving for West Point Military Academy, his mother wrote to her cousin, "How will I get along without Robert? He has been both a son and a daughter to me.