1893 Fitzhugh Lee ALS Mentions Robert E. Lee & Sydney Smith Lee Civil War

  

Rare Confederate General & Virginia Governor Autograph Letter Signed (ALS), 2pp, Glasgow, Virginia, October 5, 1893, written to Mr. Lee, and his father, Sydney Smith Lee, a U. Fitzhugh contrasts Army and Navy life, recalling his family's service and sharing his own preference for the Army, noting that he intends to guide one of his sons into that branch of service. The content, family connections, and signature make this an exceptional piece of Lee family history with strong Civil War and post-war resonance. Glasgow, Virginia - October 5th, 1893.

I have just written a reply to Mr. Mills of your town on the same subject mentioned in your letter, as follows. My father, a brother of General Robert E. Lee, was an officer in the Navy, and I was an officer in the Army.

The gravest feature in Navy life is the long absence from family and home. I prefer the Army, and shall certainly place one of my two boys in that branch of the service. Nephew of General Robert E. Lee, Fitzhugh Lee was a Confederate cavalry general during the Civil War, noted for his daring leadership and later reconciliation with the Union. Consul General in Havana, and as a U.

Army general during the Spanish-American War. His career bridged both Confederate service and later distinguished U.

Military service, making him a figure of national reconciliation. Uncle of Fitzhugh Lee, Robert E. Lee was the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and one of the most famous military leaders in American history.

A graduate of West Point, Lee served with distinction in the Mexican-American War and became Superintendent of West Point. Though he opposed secession, he declined command of the Union Army and instead led Confederate forces. After the Civil War, he became President of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) and remains a central, though controversial, figure in American history. Father of Fitzhugh Lee and elder brother of Robert E.

Lee, Sydney Smith Lee served as an officer in the United States Navy. When Virginia seceded in 1861, he resigned from the U.

Navy and joined the Confederate States Navy, commanding the Gosport Navy Yard and later serving as chief of the Bureau of Orders and Detail. His service and career highlight the divided loyalties of the Civil War era. Two pages, very clean and legible, bold ink signature. Letters of Fitzhugh Lee that directly reference his uncle Robert E. Lee and father Sydney Smith Lee are rare and highly desirable. This letter ties together three significant figures in Civil War history and provides Fitzhugh's personal perspective on Army versus Navy service.