Robert E. Lee and George Washington
Credit: Bettmann via Getty Images; Heritage Images / Hulton Archive via Getty Images Robert E. Lee and George Washington These two Americans were born in Virginia’s Westmoreland County 75 years apart (in 1732 and 1807, respectively) and served as senior generals in two of America’s most influential wars — the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, the daughter of Martha Washington’s grandson (from her first marriage). This means he was also related, by marriage, to the first President of the United States, George Washington. And the unlikely connection between the two figures doesn’t stop there. After the Civil War, Lee became President of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, named after both men.