Butler 4

In April 1865 General Lee singed the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. In October 1865 Lee rode into Lexington Virginia to become president of Washington College. Later changed to Washington and Lee University in honor of Robert E. Lee.
In 1867 he oversaw the building of a new chapel. It is know as Lee Chapel. Lee and his family are buried below the chapel. There is also a wonderful museum about Lee and Washington in the basement. The museum has preserved Lee's private office just as it was on the day he retired from the position of the University's President.
A new student once asked President Lee for a copy of the rules for Washington College. Lee replied, "Young gentleman, we have no printed rules here. We have but one rule here, and it is that every student must be a gentleman." Well said General.
Lee's horse during the Civil War – Traveller – is buried just outside the chapel.
Behind the pulpit in the chapel is an awing statue of Lee by Edward Valentine that depicts Lee resting on the battlefield. (Photo by Mike Lynaugh) (Picture taking not permitted in the chapel without written permission from the director of the chapel)

New York Herald's Obituary of Robert E. Lee:

On a quiet autumn morning, in the land which he loved so well and served so faithfully, the spirit of Robert Edward Lee left the clay which it had so much ennobled and traveled out of this world into the great and mysterious land. Here in the North, forgetting that the time was when the sword of Robert Edward Lee was drawn against us—forgetting and forgiving all the years of bloodshed and agony—we have long since ceased to look upon him as the Confederate leader, but have claimed him as one of ourselves; have cherished and felt proud of his military genius; have recounted and recorded his triumphs as our own; have extolled his virtue as reflecting upon us—for Robert Edward Lee was an American, and the great nation which gave him birth would be today unworthy of such a son if she regarded him lightly.

“Never had mother a nobler son. In him the military genius of America was developed to a greater extent than ever before. In him all that was pure and lofty in mind and purpose found lodgment. Dignified without presumption, affable without familiarity, he united all those charms of manners which made him the idol of his friends and of his soldiers and won for him the respect and admiration of the world. Even as in the days of triumph, glory did not intoxicate, so, when the dark clouds swept over him, adversity did not depress.

Highlights of Lee Chapel Visit:

1) The lovely tour guide informed us about the chapel while barefoot
2) The statue by Edward Valentine
3) Traveller's gravestone
4) The reverent and respectful atmosphere