The son of Revolutionary War officer Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee III and a top graduate of the United States Military Academy, Robert E. Lee distinguished himself as an exceptional officer and combat engineer in the United States Army for 32 years. During this time, he served throughout the United States, distinguished himself during the Mexican-American War, served as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy, and married Mary Custis.

In 1860, Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee relieved Major Heintzelman, Fort Brown, and the Mexican authorities offered to restrain “their citizens from making predatory descents upon the territory and people of Texas…this was the last active operation of the Cortina War”. Rip Ford, Texas Rangers at the time, described Lee as, “dignified without hateur, grand without pride…he evinced an imperturbable self-possession, and a complete control of his passions…possessing the capacity to accomplish great ends and the gift of controlling and leading men.”

Abraham Lincoln’s originally wanted Robert E. Lee to lead the Union army. Lee, however, chose to remain with his home state of Virginia, and instead lead the Confederate army, in effect turning down the president.

When Lee rode to the Appomattox Court House to surrender on April 9, 1865, he was riding his favorite and most well known horse. This gray colored horse was Traveller. After the Civil War, when Robert E. Lee was president at Washington University (later renamed to Washington and Lee University), Lee’s favorite old war-horse Traveller was still with him. When Lee died, the horse Traveller walked behind Lee’s hearse in the funeral procession. Traveller walked with his head bowed and in a slow gait. Traveller is buried outside of the Lee Chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee University. Robert E. Lee is interred in a crypt beneath the Lee Chapel.

Around 1725, the first purebred Arabian horse was imported to America by Nathan Harrison of Virginia. This first Arabian stallion on American soil was said to have sired over 300 foals from grade mares. Eventually, the strength of the purebred Arabian was utilized in helping to colonize and build America throughout the 18th and 19th century.

The Chicago World’s Fair showcased Arabian horses to over 27 million people. Their popularity continued to rise and there was a significant importation of Arabian horses to America in the early 1900’s. Their growing influence was especially seen as the Arabian Horse Club of America was formed in 1908 (known today as the Arabian Horse Association). From there, many stud farms were created, again, aimed strictly at maintaining the Arabian’s pure blood.

In the United States, Arabians appealed to the meritocracy, people who had made their fortunes elsewhere and then indulged a lifelong dream of breeding Arabian horses. Two luminaries were W.K. Kellogg, who built his fortune in cereal, and William Randolph Hearst, the legendary newspaper magnate. Presidents Martin Van Buren, in 1840, and Ulysses S. Grant, in 1877, received Arabian horses as gifts from Sultans.

Carl Reinhard Raswan (7 March 1893 – 14 October 1966), born Carl Reinhard Schmidt, was one of the greatest connoisseurs and patrons of the Arabian horse. He authored numerous books on Arabian horses and the Bedouin people who raised them. A scholar of Arabian bloodlines, he also published the Raswan Index, an extensive compilation of Arabian horse pedigree and strain information. He advocated tolerance and understanding of Bedouin ways of life and culture in Arabia.

The Arabian Horse Association (AHA) recognizes five colors for Arabians: bay, gray, chestnut, black and roan. Their average lifespan is 20 to 25 years, and when full-grown, they weigh about 800 to 1,000 pounds, and stand 14.1 to 15.1 hands high (57 to 61 inches).

The Arabian is, in the words of the Arabian Horse Association, “not only a beautiful breed, but one that excels at many activities.”