Robert E. Lee

Lee commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia against Union forces under George McClellan at Antietam. The battle was the bloodiest single day in American history, with over 22,000 casualties, and ended Lee's first invasion of the North.

Lee's forces decisively defeated Union General Ambrose Burnside's army at Fredericksburg. The Union suffered over 12,000 casualties against Lee's well-entrenched positions, a victory that boosted Confederate morale but failed to change the strategic situation.

Lee, with Stonewall Jackson, defeated a larger Union army under Joseph Hooker at Chancellorsville. The victory was Lee's greatest tactical triumph, but came at the cost of Jackson's death, a severe blow to the Confederate command.

Lee's second invasion of the North culminated in a three-day battle at Gettysburg. After initial successes, the Confederate assault on the Union center (Pickett's Charge) failed, forcing Lee to retreat. The defeat ended Confederate hopes of foreign recognition.

Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. The surrender effectively ended the American Civil War, and Lee's terms set a precedent for reconciliation, allowing Confederate soldiers to return home.