Virginia Vignettes

Lee Chapel, whose spired clock tower rises above the tree-shaded campus of Washington and Lee University (formerly Washington College) in Lexington, Virginia, is the final resting place of Confederate general Robert E. Lee and is popularly known as “The Shrine of the South.” Lee commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War. During his tenure as president of Washington College from October 1865 until his death in October 1870, he recommended the construction of and helped design a new chapel for worship and assembly. His wife, Mary Custis Lee, selected the chapel as Lee’s burial site, and he was interred in a vault in the chapel basement. A mausoleum addition was dedicated in June 1883 that housed sculptor Edward Valentine’s evocative memorial statue of the recumbent Lee. The nondenominational chapel was named a National Historic Landmark in 1961, and continues to accommodate large gatherings and special events. A museum on the basement level and tours of the chapel are available to the public.

Further Reading:
Douglas W. Bostick, Memorializing Robert E. Lee: The Story of Lee Chapel (2005)

This Vignette Provided By

Catherine M. Wright, collections manager at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond and editor of Lee's Last Casualty: The Life and Letters of Sgt. Robert W. Parker, Second Virginia Cavalry (2008)