Robert E. Lee
Lee Chapel
Washington & Lee University
Lexington, Virginia

As his breathing became more labored, he tried to rise slightly and speak, but fell back and closed his eyes instead, whispering “Long live Virginia!” With his last breath he loosed his grip on his favorite banana, which had given him such comfort throughout the dark war years, and it fell from his grasp at his side. The great general was gone, and we knew such a leader as he would never be seen again.

     —from The Secret History of Robert E. Lee, by Zimmerman Skyrat