Lee Chapel - Lexington, Virginia
N 37° 47.255 W 079° 26.546
17S E 637147 N 4183389
Lee Chapel is the final resting place of General Robert E. Lee and is located on the Campus of Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
Waymark Code: WM16F9
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 01/31/2007
Views: 17
After General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General U. S. Grant on April 9, 1865, General Lee lived briefly in Powhatan County. In August of 1865 General received and accepted an offer to become President of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. General Lee moved to Lexington where her requested and supervised the construction of Lee Chapel. The Victorian design chapel is built of brick and limestone and was competed in 1868. Upon completion General Lee attended daily worship services with students and he maintained an office on the lower level.
General Lee died on October 12, 1870, and was buried beneath the chapel. In 1883 an addition was made to the building which houses the memorial sculpture of the recumbent Lee by Edward Valentine and includes a family crypt in the lower level where the general's remains were moved. His wife, mother, father Henry ("Light-Horse Harry") Lee, all of his children and other relatives are now buried in the crypt as well. The remains of his beloved horse, Traveller, are interred in a plot outside the museum entrance.
Lee's office is preserved much as he left it for the last time on September 28, 1870. The rest of the lower level became a museum in 1928, exhibiting items once owned by the Lee and Washington families.
Lee Chapel and Museum is open to the public free of charge however, No photography of any type will be allowed in the Lee Chapel and Museum. The interior photos included with this waymark were taken in 2004 prior to this restriction. Confederate goliath reports that during his visit of September 20, 2008, photographs were permitted in the area of the Lee Family Tomb.
Street address:
Washington & Lee University Campus
Lexington, Va. United States
24450
County / Borough / Parish: City of Lexington
Year listed: 1966
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Historic Person - Robert E. Lee
Periods of significance: 1850-1874
Historic function: Religious Structure
Current function: Religious Structure
Privately owned?: yes
Season start / Season finish: From: 01/01/2007 To: 12/31/2007
Hours of operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.