Robert E. Lee

General Robert E. Lee was the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia for much of the American Civil War.  After refusing command of Union forces, Lee pledged to serve the Confederacy and took command of the Army of Northern Virginia in the spring of 1862.  Robert E. Lee led his forces in two unsuccessful invasions of the North but gained a reputation for tactical genius, defeating Union armies in several engagements.  After the war, Robert E. Lee served as president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia, and died in 1870 at the age of 63.  The school was later renamed Washington & Lee University.