Lee Chapel

Lee Chapel is a National Historic Landmark in Lexington, Virginia, on the campus of Washington and Lee University. It was constructed during 1867–68 at the request of Robert E. Lee, who was President of the University (then known as Washington College) at the time, and after whom the building is named. The Victorian brick architectural design was probably the work of his son, George Washington Custis Lee, with details contributed by Col. Thomas Williamson, an architect and professor of engineering at the neighboring Virginia Military Institute. General Lee, along with much of the rest of the Lexington community, attended church services at Grace Episcopal Church, a hundred yards south, at the edge of the college campus. (In 1903, that church was renamed R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church; in 2017, its governing board voted to change its name back to Grace Episcopal Church.)

Lee Chapel, Washington and Lee University
Lee Chapel
LocationWashington and Lee University campus, Lexington, Virginia
Coordinates37°47′14″N 79°26′32″W
Built1867
Architectural styleLate Victorian
Part ofWashington and Lee University Historic District (ID71001047)
NRHP reference No.66000914
VLR No.117-0019
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHLDecember 19, 1960[2]
Designated NHLDCPNovember 11, 1971
Designated VLRSeptember 9, 1969[3]

When Lee died in 1870, he was buried beneath the chapel. His body remains there to this day, and for this reason among others, the Chapel is one of Lexington's major historical tourist attractions.

"Recumbent Statue" of Robert E. Lee asleep on the battlefield, by Edward Valentine. Located in the Lee Chapel in Lexington, Virginia, it is often mistakenly thought to be a tomb or sarcophagus, but Lee is actually buried beneath the chapel. In the summer of 2014, the replica Confederate flags pictured in this photo were removed from the chapel after student protests.

A centerpiece in the sanctuary of the chapel—where the altar would be in a church— is a statue of Lee, in his uniform, asleep on the battlefield (the "Recumbent Lee"), designed by Edward Valentine. On the walls are two paintings: one of General Washington himself, by Charles Willson Peale, from the Washington family collections, and the other of Lee in his uniform, painted by Edward Pine. There is also a plaque given by the Sigma Society on one of the walls that honors two Sigma alumni from the classes of 1912 and 1915 who lost their lives in World War I.

In the basement a crypt (added after Lee's burial) contains the remains of much of Lee's direct family: the General himself, his wife Mary, his seven children, and his parents—Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, who had been a general during the Revolutionary War, and Anne Carter Lee. Lee's favorite horse, Traveller, is buried just outside the Chapel, where students of Washington and Lee traditionally leave coins or apples in hopes of being compensated with good fortune in their studies. In the basement of the Chapel is a museum that illuminates the history of the family of George Washington and Lee as well as that of the university itself. Lee's office has been meticulously preserved in almost exactly the same condition as it was when he died.

Chapel plays a role in the modern operation of Washington and Lee. It seats about 600 in its main area and in a small, three-sided balcony. Freshmen assemble there to hear the President of the University's student-run Executive Committee speak on the school's Honor System. Important school-wide lectures, concerts, and other notable activities are held there from time to time. On August 6, 2014, the Confederate flags in the chapel were removed after student protests.[4] It was then agreed that the chapel's original flags, which were retired in the 1990s due to deterioration,[4] were to be put on display on a rotating basis in the chapel's museum.[4]

Lee Chapel was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963. It is open for tours based on the following schedule:

  • Apr 1 - Oct 31: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays
  • Nov 1 - Mar 31: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "Lee Chapel, Washington and Lee University". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2007-12-29. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  3. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2014-09-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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