Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee (19 January 1807–12 October 1870) was the commanding general of the Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. He is known for tactical brilliance on the battlefield. He surrendered his army at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, and rejected calls for a guerrilla campaign against the northerners.

During the Reconstruction, Lee is reported to have said to the Governor of Texas,

"Governor, if I had foreseen the use those people designed to make of their victory, there would have been no surrender at Appomattox Courthouse; no sir, not by me. Had I foreseen these results of subjugation, I would have preferred to die at Appomattox with my brave men, my sword in my right hand."