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A Revealing New Biography of Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) on the 200th Anniversary of His Birth

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This page indexes a recent presentation in Arlington National Cemetery, at Arlington House, the home of Robert E. Lee, now under the aegis of the US National Park Service. The speaker is Elizabeth Brown Pryor, author of a new book, Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters. After her talk, she entertained questions from the audience. Pryor's book is based on a huge cache of original letters by Lee, of which she had the privilege of first use outside of the Lee family. Pryor not only talks about Lee, but has a lot to say about the estate, and its remarkable metamorphosis from George Washington shrine to national military cemetery.

The full program runs almost 84 minutes.  On this page, we extract 32 minutes of material, as 25 short segments, re-ordering the sequence of materials to improve topical consonance.  These files are playable with RealPlayer.

Setting: Arlington House (home of Robert E. Lee)
Date: May 19, 2007
Total time of excerpts 32:07

The Book and its Author


Matt Penrod, US Parks Service, on book author and historian Elizabeth Brown Pryor

Re-evaluating the classical Lee myth

Inspiration for the book: thousands of unpublished letters

Neglected- and censored?- sources

First person outside family to use these letters- a de facto Lee autobiography

Arlington House


The original Greek Revival home in the US

Creator of Arlington House: George Washington Parke Custis

Custis: grandson-curator of the George Washington legacy, father-in-law of Robert E. Lee

Vignette from Haralson County creation year 1856: surprise visit from US President

Arlington as doomed next-door neighbor to the Union capital

Arlington as Union army post, venue of historical events, site of national military cemetery

Lees lose Arlington, but are eventually compensated

The Civil War


Lee meets, impresses, disappoints Lincoln

The tortured decision to become a Condederate

Lee as new Confederate partisan on the inevitability of war

Lee on military discipline

After the War


Surrender: Lee, Lincoln, and Grant

Finest hour? Escaping execution for treason, diplomatic silence during parole


Dignified public parole, angry private partisan, unrepentant reactionary

Slavery


Matt Penrod, US Park Service, on the shadow and regret of slavery


Headlines from the letters: slavery?


Aside: Some traditional apologetic facts about Lee from HCHS's 1856 Handbook

Origins of "abolitionist" myth as salve to defeat

Lee: facts versus myth and the solidarity of dissemblance


Slavery at Arlington under the Custises and Lees: manumission, insurrection, escape and beating


Lee as cruelly exploitative and unapologetic slave owner

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  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • HCHS Archives
    • Managed Properties
    • Exhibits
    • Projects
    • External Links
  • News and Events
  • Donate
    • Merchandise
    • Join Us
  • Contact Us
  • Fried Pie Festival