Robert E Lee The Great Emancipator

[L Verge]

Prior to the Civil War, Lee's family had owned three or four plantations along one of the lesser known rivers of Virginia (Indian name that I don't remember, Betty). When Lee inherited these in 1857, he sent some of the Arlington slaves to work those plantations. I can only assume that those lands were confiscated by the Yankees also.

Also, in regards to Lee seeing the handwriting on the wall and manumitting the slaves before the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, please remember that the Proclamation did not affect those states currently in rebellion against the U.S. - that included Virginia. Yes, those rebelling states would free their slaves once they were "conquered," but in 1862-63 that seemed a long ways off, if ever. It was not until the fall of Vicksburg and the battle of Gettysburg simultaneously in July of 1863, that a Union victory seemed a distinct possibility.