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Robert Edward Lee, born January 19, 1807, at his family's plantation (Stratford) in Westmoreland County, Virginia, was destined for greatness. Through his father, General Henry Lee, the celebrated "Light Horse Harry" of Revolutionary War fame, and his mother, Ann Hill Carter, he was a member of two of the most distinguished families of early America. The Lees and Carters belonged to the politically and socially influential planter aristocracy of the South. Lee counted among his ancestors members …

…even before his death, Lee was referred to as the "Knight of America "and "The Last Gentle Knight." It is this legacy which was adopted as the moving force of Kappa Alpha Order. Lee died in the President's House at Washington College on October 12, 1870, and his body was entombed in the campus chapel building. Later, the grave was covered by a magnificent marble recumbent statue of Lee, lying as if asleep, carved larger than life.