Mildred Childe Lee

Mildred Childe Lee (February 10, 1846 – March 27, 1905) was an American society hostess and the youngest child of Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis Lee. She was the last member of the Lee family to be born at Arlington Plantation and had a privileged upbringing typical of members of the planter class, attending boarding schools in Winchester, Virginia, and Raleigh, North Carolina. A favorite of her father's, she was doted upon and given the nickname "Precious Life", often being referred to by this nickname in family letters. During the American Civil War, she sewed clothing for soldiers of the Confederate States Army and volunteered as a nurse in Confederate hospitals. Lee never married or had children, instead devoting her time to caring for her parents in their later years. After her father's death, she assisted her brother, George Washington Custis Lee, as hostess while he served as president of Washington College.

Early life and family

Mildred Childe Lee was born on February 10, 1846, at Arlington Plantation to Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis Lee. She was named after her father's sister, Catherine Mildred Lee Childe. She was the last member of the Lee family to be born at Arlington. Through her grandmother, Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis, she was a descendant of William Fitzhugh. Her maternal grandfather, George Washington Parke Custis, was George Washington's step-grandson and adopted son and the founder of Arlington House. Lee was the sister of Robert E. Lee Jr., Mary Custis Lee, Anne Carter Lee, Eleanor Agnes Lee, George Washington Custis Lee, and William Henry Fitzhugh Lee.

A member of the planter class, she had a privileged upbringing typical for American gentry. She and her siblings grew up at Arlington House, the family's plantation that had been inherited by their mother. When she was three years old, the family moved to Baltimore, where her father was stationed. At Saint Mary's, Lee studied Biblical history, music, art, astronomy, Latin, and French. She never married, and stayed with her parents as a companion. She also travelled to Venice and France.

She died from a stroke on March 27, 1905, in New Orleans. Her body was taken by train to Lexington, where a delegation of Confederate Veterans and members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy awaited the arrival. She was buried in the family crypt at University Chapel. After her death, flags flew at half mast throughout the Southern United States.