Lee Chapel

Lee Chapel

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Lee Chapel, Washington and Lee University
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
U.S. National Historic Landmark District Contributing Property
Virginia Landmarks Register
Lee Chapel
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Location	Washington and Lee University campus, Lexington, Virginia
Coordinates	37°47′14″N 79°26′32″W / 37.78722°N 79.44222°W / 37.78722; -79.44222Coordinates: 37°47′14″N 79°26′32″W / 37.78722°N 79.44222°W / 37.78722; -79.44222
Built	1867
Architectural style	Late Victorian
Part of	Washington and Lee University Historic District (#71001047)
NRHP reference #	66000914
VLR #	117-0019
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966[2]
Designated NHL	December 19, 1960[3]
Designated NHLDCP	November 11, 1971
Designated VLR	September 9, 1969[1]

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.)

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 on the stage of the chapel—where the pulpit would be in a less secular place of worship—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[edit]

• List of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lexington, Virginia
• List of memorials to Robert E. Lee

References[edit]

1. Jump up ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013. 
2. Jump up ^ National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 
3. Jump up ^ "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. 
4. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b c} "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2014-09-25. 

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lee Chapel.

• Lee Chapel and Museum
• Lee Chapel in Encyclopedia Virginia
• Washington & Lee University, Lee Chapel, Lexington, Lexington, VA: 10 photos, 10 data pages, and 1 photo caption page at Historic American Buildings Survey

hide v t e Washington and Lee University
Academics	The College Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics School of Law
Student life	Lexington Triad Omicron Delta Kappa Cadaver Society Sigma Society Washington and Lee Mock Convention Washington and Lee Generals Old Dominion Athletic Conference "Washington and Lee Swing"
Media	Shenandoah WLUR Lee Family Digital Archive Washington and Lee Law Review German Law Journal
People	George Washington Robert E. Lee Presidents Alumni and faculty
Campus	Colonnade Lee Chapel Liberty Hall Site Sydney Lewis Hall
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Categories:

• 19th-century Episcopal church buildings
• Churches completed in 1868
• Churches in Lexington, Virginia
• Episcopal churches in Virginia
• Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia
• Historic district contributing properties in Virginia
• History museums in Virginia
• Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia
• Lee family of Virginia
• Monuments and memorials to Robert E. Lee
• Museums in Lexington, Virginia
• National Historic Landmarks in Virginia
• National Register of Historic Places in Lexington, Virginia
• Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
• University and college chapels in the United States
• University museums in Virginia
• Confederate States of America monuments and memorials in Virginia
• Washington and Lee University
• Robert E. Lee