Was Robert E. Lee a slave owner?

Answer 1

Yes he was a slave owner, part of the "Lee Myth" is that Lee didn't personally own slaves. Not true.

In late 1857, Lee inherited some 63 enslaved Africans from his father-in-law, G.W.P Curtiss.

Technically, these slaves were the property of Lee's wife, Mary. However, it would be hard to seriously argue that a white man of property in pre-Civil War Virginia didn't also own and control his wife's property. These men, women and children were forced to labor on Lee's plantation, and were brutally punished by him if they attempted to escape.

Curtiss' will specified that the slaves were to be freed within five years of his death, which occurred on Oct. 10, 1857. The five-year period was to allow the will's executors to take care of the legal paperwork for emancipation "in such manner as may to [them] seem most expedient and proper."

Lee was one of the executors. He did file a "deed of manumission" with the Court of the City of Richmond, but waited until Dec. 29, 1862 - more than five years after Curtiss' death.

In other words, this man whose apologists claim was opposed to slavery kept these scores of human beings in bondage as long as he legally could, and then some.

Answer 2

Yes...He said they belong to his wife but two words: Community Property!