LEE, ROBERT E.

born Jan. 19, 1807, Stratford, Westmoreland county, Va., U.S. died Oct. 12, 1870, Lexington, Va. in full Robert Edward Lee Confederate general, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, the most successful of the Southern armies during the American Civil War (186165). In February 1865 he was given command of all the Southern armies. His surrender at Appomattox Courthouse April 9, 1865, is commonly viewed as signifying the end of the Civil War.