At the Hallowell school, Lee chiefly excelled in mathematics, a study
which was later to be of great value to him, in the engineers' corps of
the army. Hallowell paid a tribute to his pupil after the latter
became famous, saying: "He was a most exemplary student in every
respect."
One could wish, however, that instead of such idle compliments, the
schoolmaster had really searched his memory and given us some personal
anecdotes of Lee at school. There is actually very little on record
about his early life. He seems to have grown into an attractive and
likeable boy, studious, somewhat reserved, and by no means remarkable.
One kinswoman writes:
"I have often said since he entered on his brilliant career that,
although we all admired him for his remarkable beauty and attractive
manners, I did not see anything in him that prepared me for his so far
outstripping all his compeers."
Lee's older brother, Sydney, had already entered the navy, and Lee
himself decided upon the army, as his choice of profession. At the age
of eighteen he applied for a cadetship at the Military Academy at West
Point, and received it direct from President Andrew Jackson himself.
There is a tradition that when Lee presented himself before the hero of
New Orleans, that doughty Tennessean looked him over from head to foot,
then passed him on with the terse comment, "You'll do!"
And Robert Lee did.
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