Mathew Brady photographed Confederate General Robert Edward Lee, shown here, a few days after Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox, Virginia. He is wearing his uniform, but it is stripped of all insignia and honors.
After the surrender, Lee returned as a prisoner of war to Richmond and an uncertain future. However, just months after the surrender, he was offered and accepted the position of President of Washington College, now Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia.
