Lee Chapel - Lexington, Virginia - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com

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 was named a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and from 1962 to 1963 the chapel was restored with the support of the Ford Motor Company Fund. A major renovation of the Lee Chapel Museum was completed in 1998, commemorating the University's 250th anniversary in 1999.
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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. 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.

Type of site: Church Address: Washington & Lee University Campus Lexington, Va. United States 24450 Phone Number: 540-458-8768 Admission Charged: No Charge Website: [Web Link] Driving Directions: Travel interstate 81 to Exit 188-B Exit onto Route 60 West Follow 60W into Lexington (approximately 3 miles) At the 6th traffic light, turn right onto Main Street. Go three blocks, then turn left onto Jefferson. As you turn onto Jefferson, you will see the rear of Lee Chapel to the right. The Lee Chapel parking lot is located through the brick columns on the right. Other parking is available in the large, adjacent lot or on the street

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