LEE, ROBERT E.
Autograph letter signed as President of Washington College. Lexington, Virginia: 11 May 1867. Single leaf of ruled paper, one page, 9 9/8 x 7 3/4 inches (25 x 20 cm), 22 lines, addressed to John A. Sims Esqr., accompanied by the original stamped envelope in Lee's hand and a fair-copy--in another hand--of an accounting of the expense of two boys (the sons of the recipient). Also included is a rare brochure (apparently an original enclosure) for Washington College, listing the faculty (with General Lee as President), the various classes organized by schools (Latin, Greek, Modern Languages, etc.). Usual folds, the contents generally in excellent condition.
Lee writes to John A. Sims, advising him of his sons' tuition status, discussing various disbursements on their behalf, and advising him that, though both have been suffering from chills and fever "...I presume this mountain climate will in time eradicate the disease."
Robert E. Lee had been superintendent of the United States Military Academy on the Hudson River at West Point, and in the aftermath of the Civil War, he accepted the role of college president of Washington College, which had been endowed by George Washington in 1796 with a $20,000 gift of stock. Doubtless, this last fact had bearing on his decision; his wife, Mary Custis, was a great-granddaughter of Martha Washington, and Lee himself venerated George Washington. Lee significantly improved the curriculum during his tenure (which ended with his death in 1870), adding engineering and journalism courses, a business and a law school etc. No mere figurehead, his hands-on approach is manifested in this letter to a concerned father (who was situated in Memphis, Tennessee).