George Washington Custis Lee

This carte-de-visite depicts Lee as president of Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA. George Washington Custis Lee, eldest son of Robert E. and Mary Lee, became president of newly renamed Washington and Lee University after the death of his father in 1870. Custis Lee served for over twenty years as president. During that time he fought the US Government in court over compensation for the seizure of the Arlington Estate. He won his case in 1882 and received $150,000, the modern equivalent of approximately $3 million.