In the robert e lee hat of the Civil War, Lee became the picture-perfect symbol of the noble southern warrior, an icon of the Lost Cause (a rose-colored ideology that emerged in the decades following the war, perpetuating the false idea that the war was fought to defend slavery rather than states’ rights). This massive equestrian sculpture and pedestal, erected to honor the general who led the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War, stands twenty-six feet high and is dedicated to Robert Edward Lee 1807-1870. The hat on which the general is seated is the one he was wearing at the time of his surrender at Appomattox.

Although the general’s victories inflicted heavy casualties on the Union army, he was unable to turn the war’s tide. In the end, he was forced to surrender at Appomattox Court House. He died a few years later at the age of seventy-five, leaving behind a large collection of letters and diaries and an illustrious military family, including his father, Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, a hero of George Washington’s Third Crusade in the Holy Land.

Honoring History: The Robert E. Lee Hat and Its Cultural Impact

In modern times, Lee has become the subject of numerous biographies and books, including a series of alternate history novels by the Shaara family—The Killer Angels (1974), Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure (1995) and the film adaptations of Gettysburg (1993) and Lee and Grant at Appomattox (2004) starring Martin Sheen as the general. Despite the criticisms of military historians who think that the general designed less effective strategic plans than other Confederate commanders, Lee remains an iconic figure in American culture.