Lee, Robert E.

Autograph letter signed ("R E Lee"), 1 page (8 3/8 x 5 3/8 in.; 212 x 136 mm) on a leaf of blue-ruled machine-laid paper, Lexington, Virginia, 2 June 1866, to Wesley E. Gatewood, with original holograph envelope directed to Gatewood at Morgan County, Ohio, with cancelled postage stamp and Lexington postmark; small chip to right margin of letter, extremities of envelope a bit soiled. [Accompanied by:] Printed document signed ("R E Lee"), 4 pages (9 3/4 x 7 3/4 in.; 249 x 197 mm) on a bifolium of wove paper, Lexington, Virginia, 2 June 1866, being a student prospectus for Washington College, with several holograph emendations by Lee; small splits at intersecting holes.

Autograph letter signed ("R E Lee"), 1 page (8 3/8 x 5 3/8 in.; 212 x 136 mm) on a leaf of blue-ruled machine-laid paper, Lexington, Virginia, 2 June 1866, to Wesley E. Gatewood, with original holograph envelope directed to Gatewood at Morgan County, Ohio, with cancelled postage stamp and Lexington postmark; small chip to right margin of letter, extremities of envelope a bit soiled. [Accompanied by:] Printed document signed ("R E Lee"), 4 pages (9 3/4 x 7 3/4 in.; 249 x 197 mm) on a bifolium of wove paper, Lexington, Virginia, 2 June 1866, being a student prospectus for Washington College, with several holograph emendations by Lee; small splits at intersecting holes.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

An uncommon and revealing artifact of Lee's tenure as President of Washington College.

On the last day of August, 1865, less then four months after surrendering the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee was officially announced as the new President of Washington College in the war-ravaged town of Lexington, Virginia. In the letter of conditional acceptance that Lee sent to the trustees of the college, 24 August 1865, he made clear his commitment to the reconciliation of the South and the North: "I think it the duty of every citizen, in the present condition of the Country, to do all in his power to aid in the restoration of peace and harmony, and in no way to oppose the policy of the State or General Government directed to that object. It is particularly incumbent on those charged with the instruction of the young to set them an example of submission to authority ..." (quoted in Freeman 4:218). Throughout the remaining five years of his life, Lee continually promoted education as the best and most efficient means of rebuilding the South and reuniting the country.

Lee, of course, had served as the Commandant of West Point before the Civil War, so he had both experience and success in higher education. But Lee could little foresee the financial constraints facing Washington College, which forced him to handle his own clerical duties. The present letter was written in response to an inquiry about admission from a young man in Ohio. Perhaps, though, Wesley Gatewood's motives were not as "high" and "noble" as he claimed; his application to Lee (which survives in special collections at Washington and Lee) concludes with a discordent request: "Please send me some memento that you wore during that immortal conflict that has endeared you to all." Lee's reply addressed only Gatewood's future education:

"In answer to your letter of the 17th ulto: I send a prospectus of the Course of Studies at Washington College, which I hope will furnish you with all the information you desire concerning that Institution." Lee's concluding paragraph demonstrates that, even in enrolling the first class to start under his administration, he was not an aggressive recruiter: "As you are so desirous of obtaining an education, I feel assured that you will make adequate efforts to secure one, and as the various Colleges in the Country afford such ample opportunities, I have no doubt of your Success."

The prospectus he sent with the letter to Gatewood lists eight professors and three assistant professors, but Lee—already expanding the faculty—has added two more names to the ranks of the latter by hand. In addition to a Preparatory Course, "organized temporarily, to meet the wants of young men whose education has been interrupted by the war," the prospectus describes nine courses of study: Latin, Greek, Modern Languages, Moral Philosophy, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and Practical Chemistry. Annual tuition, fees, board, and lodging were estimated at $122 to $125; then, as now, text books were an additional expense. Whether due to the cost, the distance of the campus from Ohio, the rebuff of his souvenir seeking, or some other impediment, Wesley Gatewood did not in fact matriculate at Washington College.

During his brief presidency, Lee was able not only to secure but to expand Washington College. Under his direction, the school added a College of Law and offered some of the earliest courses in business and journalism available in the United States. After Lee's death, 12 October 1870, the trustees changed the name of the institution to Washington and Lee.