Named in memory of Robert Edward Lee (1807–1870), general-in-chief of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. The son of Revolutionary War patriot Henry “Lighthorse Harry” Lee and great-grandnephew of George Washington {see planet  (886)}, Robert E. Lee attended the U.S. Military Academy of West Point and distinguished himself in the Mexican War. He was a career soldier whose expertise as an engineer served the U.S. Army well until his native state, Virginia, seceded from the Union. Lee’s actions throughout the Civil War demonstrated a cunning ability to out-command many of his opponents, despite having a smaller, poorly-fed army. With his grandfatherly bearing and grey-white beard, Lee came to epitomize the southern gentleman, and, after the war was over, he stirred dream-like memories of an Old South that would never return. (M 16442) _ _.