Robert E. Lee, who led the Army of Northern Virginia through the Civil War, opposed the construction of monuments commemorating the vanquished Confederacy.

Within the past week, NASCAR announced a ban on the Confederate flag, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi renewed calls to have Confederate statues removed from the Capitol, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio insisted anything named after Lee in his city “has to go,” and thousands of protesters across the country tore down Confederate monuments. After the Civil War, Lee repeatedly voiced his objection to statues or monuments that honor the Confederacy.