Register of the Robert E. Lee Papers, 1749-1975

Collection Overview

Family and military correspondence of Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), Confederate general in chief; and of his descendants; and a few letters of Francis Lightfoot Lee, Richard Henry Lee, Henry Lee, and Mary Ann Randolph (Custis) Lee. The letters deal with many phases of Robert E. Lee's life from his marriage in 1832 until his death, including family and personal affairs, especially in his letters to a cousin, Mrs. Anna M. Fitzhugh; settlement of the Custis estate; and improvements at Arlington. During the Civil War the correspondence consists of official and family letters, the former containing much information on military activities. The postwar letters reveal details of domestic arrangements following the family's removal to Lexington, Virginia. One volume contains 295 telegrams (collected and arranged by C. C. Jones, Jr., and published: D. S. Freeman, Lee's Dispatches, New York, 1915) sent by Lee from the field to Jefferson Davis and the Confederate War Department, many having been endorsed by James A. Seddon. These dispatches relate to troop movements, reports of the intelligence service, skirmishes, enemy activities, transportation of prisoners and wounded men, and other details of military operations. Included also are two scrapbooks of Memorials to Lee; a small notebook in R. E. Lee's hand, 1857-1860, containing amounts of meat purchased for the Arlington household; and a letterpress book of Robert E. Lee III, a lawyer of Washington, D.C.

(Description from: Guide to the Cataloged Collections in the Manuscript Department of the William R. Perkins Library, Davis, Richard C., and Miller, Linda Angle, 1980)

Descriptive Summary

Title: Robert E. Lee Papers, 1749-1975
Creator: Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870
Extent: 199 Items and 5 Vols.
Repository: Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library Durham, North Carolina 27708-0185
Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language: English.

Series Quick Links

Robert E. Lee Papers, 1749-1939

Administrative Information

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Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

However, patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.

Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Use Restrictions

None

Contents of the Collection

Browse List of Series

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Robert E. Lee Papers, 1749-1939

(3 boxes)

Correspondence (Letters), 1769-1923 and undated

(4 folders)

Box 1A

Military Papers, 1860-1866 and undated

Box 1A

Clippings, 1864-1975

Box 1A

Use Copies for Box 1A

Includes use copies of all material in Box 1A.

Box 4

Robert E. Lee, III, letterpress book, 1892-1903

(452 pp.)

Box 1B

Volume: Official Telegrams of Gen. Robert E. Lee, 1862-1865

Includes 295 telegrams bound into one volume.

Box 2

Printed Material, 1928-1955 and undated

Box 2

Miscellaneous, 1749-1887

Includes a small notebook in R. E. Lee's hand, 1857-1860; a message from Thomas Lee of Williamsburg, Va. to the House of Burgesses, 1749; and a copy of R. E. Lee's last will and testament.

Box 2

Lee Memorial (scrapbook), Vol. 1

Scrapbook chiefly contains newspaper clippings and has bookplate of Charles C. Jones, Jr., Augusta, Ga.

(244 pp.)

Box 2

Lee Memorial (scrapbook), Vol. 2

Scrapbook chiefly contains engravings of Lee and newspaper clippings; has bookplate of Charles C. Jones, Jr., Augusta, Ga.

(215 pp.)

Box 3

Land Grant signed by Henry Lee, 1793

Grant, signed by Gov. Henry Lee of Va., for a parcel of land in Montgomery County given to Alexander Stewart near the headwaters of Island Creek and commonly known as "Three Forks."

Oversize Folder 1