American Experience: Robert E. Lee

The season premiere profiles Confederate general Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), a fascinating figure who turned down President Lincoln's request to lead the Union Army and, instead, became head of the rebel Army of Northern Virginia. The biography features excerpts from Lee's letters, including from his courtship of his wife Mary, as well as remarks from historians Peter S. Carmichael, Michael Fellman, Gary W. Gallagher, Joseph Glatthaar, Lesley J. Gordon, Elizabeth Brown Pryor and Emory Thomas.