Details: [JACKMAN, Willam G.] (engraver). Gen. R. E. Lee. [circa 1870]. Original steel printing plate, engraved by Jackman, indistinct manufacturer and agent's name impressed on verso. Plate Size: 7 1/8 x 5 1/32 inches.

A very rare original 19th-century printing plate: a portrait of General Robert E. Lee

This perceptive portrait shows General Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), head and shoulders, in the Confederate uniform of a three-star general, half turned towards the viewer, with the identifying title "Gen. R. E. Lee" (in reverse) beneath. There is a very faint and illegible imprint line beneath the title.

According to Stauffer, the engraver William G. Jackman "was born in England and came to the United States about 1841. He established himself in business in New York and was largely employed by Harpers, Putnams, and Appletons, publishers of that city. He was a very good engraver of portraits and subject works, in both line and stipple."

After the Seccession, Lee had great difficulty deciding whether to stand by his native state of Virginia or remain with the Union: "...in my own person I had to meet the question whether I should take part against my native state. With all my devotion to the Union, and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I had not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the army, and, save in defense of my native state--with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed--I hope I may never be called upon to draw my sword."

Lee is the best known and most highly regarded losing general in American history. The dignity of bearing that characterised his conduct during his career has continued to attract admiration throughout the century and a half since the war. Unlike most high profile figures in the Civil War, Lee's reputation remains unscathed.

Stauffer, American Engravers Upon Copper and Steel, I, p.139.

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