Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Lee, Robert E., 1807-1870 to William Fitzhugh (Rooney) Lee

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05979 Author/Creator: Lee, Robert E., 1807-1870 Place Written: Camp Orange, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 24 April 1864 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 25.4 cm, Width: 20.3 cm Order a Copy

General Lee offers condolence to his son Rooney on the death of his wife, Charlotte Wickham, from tuberculosis. Although Lee mourns her death, he maintains that "we cannot indulge in grief however mournful yet pleasing." Lee experienced a series of profound personal loss during the war; along with the death of his daughter-in-law, his daughter Annie and two of his grandchildren also died. But Lee's dedication to duty remained firm, and was demonstrated in his advice to his bereaved son. He urged Rooney to return to his brigade, reminding him that "Our Country demands all our thoughts, all our energies. To resist the powerful Combination now forming against us, will require every man at his place."

Lee, Robert E., 1807-1870
Lee, William Henry Fitzhugh, 1837-1891
Wickham, Charlotte, fl. 1864

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources