My Photograph shows the Lee Chapel and Museum on the 55-acre campus of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va.

Lee Chapel and Museum, a National Historic Landmark was built in 1867 during Robert E. Lee’s tenure as President of Washington University.  Lee died on October 12, 1870 and was buried beneath the chapel.  In 1883, an addition was made to the building, which houses the famous statue by Edward Valentine portraying a recumbent Lee resting on the battlefield.  A family crypt was also constructed and Lee's remains were removed there.  The crypt contains the remains of Lee, his wife, mother, father, the famous "Light-Horse" Harry Lee, all of the Lee children and other members of the Lee family. 

Not only is Lee buried in the chapel but it was he who planned and supervised its building.  As president of Washington College, now Washington and Lee University, from 1865 to his death in 1870, he obtained funds and drew up plans for the building, which was to serve as the religious and administrative center of the college.  In its auditorium students met every morning for devotionals led by ministers of Lexington.  College functions, speeches, entertainments, and graduation exercises were held there. In the basement, now a museum, were the offices of the president, the college library, Y. M. C. A., and several classrooms.  The mausoleum was not added to the chapel until 1883.

Also in the chapel, one will see Lee’s office, which has been preserved as he left it for the last time on September 28, 1870.  His beloved horse, Traveller, is interred in a marked plot outside his office.  The Museum houses many items that belonged to Lee and his family and is the most complete collection of Lee memorabilia anywhere in the country. The museum and Chapel are home for a group of portraits called the "Washington-Custis-Lee Collection." The collection includes the famous Charles Wilson Peale portrait of General George Washington and the Theodore Pine portrait of General Lee.

The university was founded by Scotch-Irish pioneers in the 1740s as Augusta Academy. Later, renamed Liberty Hall Academy, it was just north of Lexington.  The school was saved from bankruptcy when former President George Washington bequeathed $50,000. The school was renamed Washington University. After the Civil War, General Lee accepted the university’s presidency and infused new vitality into the school.  After Lee died in 1870, the school name was changed to Washington and Lee to honor the two most prominent men in its history.