Mary Anna Custis Lee in the context of George Washington Parke Custis

⭐ Core Definition: Mary Anna Custis Lee

Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee (October 1, 1807 – November 5, 1873) was the wife of the Confederate general Robert E. Lee and the last private owner of Arlington House. She was the daughter of George Washington Parke Custis, who was the grandson of Martha Washington, the wife of George Washington. Lee was a highly educated woman, who edited and published her father's writings after his death.

Mary married Robert E. Lee in 1831 at her parents' home, Arlington House, in Virginia. The couple had seven children. Although she sometimes lived with Lee when he was assigned elsewhere, she preferred to reside at Arlington House with her parents. Robert E. Lee resigned from his commission with the U.S. Army to serve his home state of Virginia during the Civil War; he eventually commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

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Mary Anna Custis Lee in the context of Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general whose early actions in the American Civil War led to his appointment as the overall commander of the Confederate States Army near the end of the war. He led the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederacy's most powerful army, from 1862 until its surrender in 1865, earning a reputation as one of the war's most skilled tacticians.

A son of Revolutionary War officer Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee III, Lee was a top graduate of the United States Military Academy and an exceptional officer and military engineer in the United States Army for 32 years. He served across the United States, distinguished himself during the Mexican–American War, and was Superintendent of the United States Military Academy. He married Mary Anna Custis, great-granddaughter of George Washington's wife Martha. He supported the legality of slavery and held hundreds of slaves. When Virginia declared its secession from the Union in 1861, Lee chose to follow his home state, despite his desire for the country to remain intact and an offer of a senior Union command. During the first year of the Civil War, he served in minor combat operations and as a senior military adviser to Confederate president Jefferson Davis.

View the full Wikipedia page for Robert E. Lee

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