“What If”: The Lee Legacy

Of all the great “what ifs” of history, there is one that has especially grabbed my attention as of late; one that seems hardly studied and yet incredibly significant: what if Robert E. Lee had not died at the relatively young age of 63 in October 1870?

So much of W&L history revolves around that event. Lee’s death brought to the college and — one might even say — the entire nation, a tragic loss. Lee was one of the most famous men in the world, an innovator both in the field and the academy, a hero to many and an adversary to others.

Practically speaking, Lee brought Washington College a necessary financial boon. His name, his reputation, attracted even the most zealous Northerners to support his educational cause. With his death, the renamed “Washington and Lee University” was certain to face an economic crisis.

But Lee brought much more than finances to the college. He brought a new perspective, an optimism for a united nation’s future. He instilled a powerful feeling of reconciliation among a war-torn campus and country. Many of Lee’s friends and comrades failed to uphold such a position, and with Lee’s death, the wounds of the Union and Confederate dead failed to fully heal. Ironically, Americans seem to be reopening those wounds some 150 years later.

And so, I return to the question of “what if?” What if Lee had lived just five years longer? What would have come of this great institution, and even, the nation itself? What might he have achieved, and what would have remained incomplete?

We also encourage you to watch our latest video https://youtu.be/Q8s0oxqIZMQ?si=qNm3EOP-wql3Vyf on Robert E. Lee’s legacy. Because at the end of the day, Lee did not give us five more years. Nevertheless, the trustees honored him all the same. They expressed their immense gratitude at his service, both in war and peace. And they implemented many traditions that W&L alumni have long cherished.

Our hope today is to share these traditions with current students, and to explain to them why Lee has been foundational to the university’s identity since his passing in 1870.

THE GENERALS REDOUBT
Kamron M. Spivey
Campus Director and Research Fellow

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