8. Robert E. Lee did not own slaves, nor did he support slavery
This myth, repeated by those glorifying Lee as one of America’s greatest soldiers, is clearly debunked by legal records in Virginia. In 1857 Lee’s father-in-law died. His wife inherited the Arlington estate, some other properties, and 189 enslaved people. His will mandated their emancipation,”…to be accomplished in not exceeding five years from the time of my decease”. As an executor of the estate, Lee also encountered significant debts. Lee took a leave of absence from the Army, established residence at Arlington, and oversaw the operation of the plantation himself. He also undertook legal delays to prevent emancipation and began to sell the enslaved people to service the extensive debt. He did so indiscriminately, breaking up eventually all but one of the slave families his wife had inherited. Lee also encountered resistance from the enslaved, who believed they should be set free in accordance with George Washington Parke Custis’s will.
Lee wrote extensively of his difficulties with the enslaved people on the estates. He jailed some of the slaves, sent others to far-off estates as hired labor, and advertised rewards for runaways. His expressed intent was to keep all of the enslaved people in that condition for the five-year period, and if possible beyond. Though some claim Lee personally whipped an enslaved person in at least one instance, most historians consider that claim as incorrect. But he did order them whipped. Lee believed slavery to be a “greater evil to the White man than to the Black race”. In testimony before a congressional committee after the war, Lee opined Blacks were “…not disposed to work”. It was his expressed hope that Virginia could rid itself of Black people after the Civil War, as he did not believe the races could peacefully coexist as equals.