Robert E. Lee Few episodes in history are more painful to Americans than the Civil War, fought between the North and the South. This biography, Great American Generals - Robert E. Lee, by Ian Hogg, takes the reader through the life of one of the greatest heroes of that war, Robert E. Lee. It is a thorough, in depth record of the life of Lee and begins with a detailed account of his family history and his birth, through his college years, military experience and his work in later life to his death on October 12, 1870. The first few pages set the scene by listing a substantial amount of facts about the names and backgrounds of his parents Harry and Ann and Lee's wife,