Lee Chapel-Murray Manley

I am honestly so ashamed that I haven't visited Lee Chapel and the museum during my time here at Washington and Lee University. I know that one of the major things I will take away from this class is an appreciation for the history that surrounds our school and community, and a better understanding of the complex layering of perspectives, stories, and controversies that come with it. When visiting Lee Chapel today, I was surprised to see several other visitors in the atrium area with the Recumbent Lee, and many many other visitors in the downstairs museum. Lucy Wilkins mentioned that the RE Lee Chapel and Museum get as many as 40,000 visitors a year, which is incredible for a destination like Lexington that is considered relatively remote and out of the way. Seeing the Recumbent Lee up close for the first time, I was surprised by the simplicity of the room in which the statue is held, although the simplicity does contribute to the focus on the statue itself. I also am still a little shocked that the Lee Memorial Association settled on a recumbent statue as opposed to a more formidable, upright statue. After all, many visitors fail to realize that the statue is not, in fact, a fancy sarcophagus, but rather an image of Lee sleeping on the battlefield.  Finally, I was surprised that the RE Lee staff and all involved in the curation and upkeep of the chapel chose to completely hide all remnants of the old sconces that once held the flags in the room with the statue. One would think that leaving the sconces would be a sort of apology and acknowledgement of wrong-doing in the past. However, the sconces and the holes where they once were are completely erased, leaving little to no trace that there ever were any decorations on the walls.

In the museum below, I loved getting to see more of Lee's personal belongings. Before the tour today, I had no idea that Lee was the instigator of the major/minor system, the president that first allowed dances, or the president who increased the student body by tenfold during his time here. I wish the school focused more on his role as an educator here, possibly during O-week. I realize that Lee's name to this day is shrouded in controversy, but as long as some of that is addressed in the conversations, his role here at W&L should be more widely publicized. I think all students, regardless of their opinion of Lee, should be more educated about the history of Lexington and the namesakes of the school.