Lee, Robert E.

Autograph letter signed (“R.E. Lee”), 1 1/2 pages plus integral address leaf (9 3/4 x 7 3/4 in.; 247 x 196 mm), Alexandria, VA, 8 July 1858, to William Overton Winston, Hanover Court House, Virginia, with cancelled stamp, docketing on address page “Custis Ex[ecu]tor”; formerly folded, some soiling at folds, a few small fold-tears. — Autograph letter signed (“R.E. Lee”), 1 1/2 pages (8 x 4 7/8 in.; 203 x 124 mm), Alexandria, VA, 10 July 1858, to Winston, Hanover House, docketed on verso “Custis Ex[ecu]tor”; formerly folded, some soiling at folds, small stains at top edge. — Autograph letter signed (“R.E. Lee”), 2 1/2 pages (8 x 4 7/8 in.; 203 x 124 mm), San Antonio, TX, 29 February 1860, to Winston; formerly folded, torn in central folds.

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Lee disposes of his father-in-law’s slaves.

In 1855 Lee was promoted to second in command of the Second Cavalry Regiment in Texas, protecting settlers from attack by the Apache and Comanche, but his tenure there was interrupted by the death (in 1857) of his father-in-law George Washington Parke Custis, whose vast estate, both land and slaves, had to be disentangled. These letters to William Winston (1812-1862), Clerk of the Hanover Circuit Court who was evidently acting on Lee’s behalf, show him in this role, trying to find placement for three men and three women. The letters provide valuable evidence in the long-standing controvery over Lee’s attitude toward slavery.

(8 July) “I have made an arrangement to send down the three men on Monday next … the man who is to carry them is now undetermined whether he will go by the mail boat or by Gordonsville … He will have orders to deliver them to you at Richmond, or in the event of not meeting you, to lodge them in the jail in that city subject to your order … I may wish to send at the same time three women. One about 35 years old, one 22 & the other 17 — They have been accustomed to house work, the eldest a good washer & ironer … I wish you to hire them out for one or more years, to responsible persons, for what they will bring — should you not be able to hire any or all these people, you may dispose of them to the end of the year to the best advantage, on some farm, or set them to work at the White House [the Custis mansion] as you may judge best.” (10 July) “In the absense therefore of hearing from you, I will send the three men referenced to in my letter to Richmond on the morning of the 12^th Inst. via the Alex[andri]a Gordonsville R.R.”

In the third letter Lee apologizes for his sudden departure: “I had hoped to have rec’d your accounts for the year 1859, & to have placed them in the hands of the Commission; but was obliged to come off suddenly, & left the ma[tter] after & acc[ording] my orders — If you have not already sent them to Arlington, will you do so at your earliest convenience, that they may be presented within the period prescribed by law. … I must therefore at this distance thank you for all the trouble you have taken for me & my afairs, & hope you will give such advice to my son Fitzhugh as he may require & you find necessary.”