Robert E. Lee is one of the most well-known generals of the Civil War. He was born January 19, 1807, in Stratford Hall, Virginia. He later went on to study at West Point and help out with John Brown's raid. One of his nicknames was the King of Spades because he often ordered his soldiers to dig trenches and fortifications in preparation for fighting. He was a very interesting man for many reasons. First of all, Lee did not support secession. This would lead most people to believe that he was on the Union's side, but no. Robert refused to fight against his homeland, so he fought for the Confederacy. Also, Lee fought for the whole Civil War, and he won some major battles, including the Battle of Chancellorsville and the Second Battle of Bull Run. At the end of the war, in 1865, Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle of Appomattox Court House, after a long correspondence between the two generals. Only after Robert E. Lee realized that the Union had hold of some of their most crucial supplies did he bow down to the North. He died on October 12th, 1870, of a huge stroke.