family money in various adventures and poor business deals, that Lee's lifetime military career wasn't remunerative enough for slave ownership, and that any slaves owned by his "nuclear family" were owned by his far wealthier wife, a Custis. In other words almost exactly analogous to the Julia and Ulysses Grant situation.

Where do you stand on George Washington? My understanding is that the brief period where Lee had any interaction with managing slaves was when he was executor of his father-in-law's (George Washington'a adopted son's) estate, a task he did not relish but was duty-bound to fulfill. The slaves he managed in this capacity included descendants of slaves owned by George Washington.

When they tear down the Washington Monument it will leave a pretty noticeable gap in the DC skyline, that's for sure!