Editing Robert E. Lee (section)

==Dates of rank==
{| class="wikitable"
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! Rank !! Date !! Unit !! Component
|-
|[[File:Union army 2nd lt rank insignia.jpg|50px]] [[Second lieutenant#United States|Second lieutenant]] || July 1, 1829<ref>{{cite book|first=George|last=Cullum|title=Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. From Its Establishment In 1802 to 1890 with the Early History of the United States Military Academy|url=https://archive.org/details/usmilitaryacadem0000unse|url-access=limited|year=1891|page=[https://archive.org/details/usmilitaryacadem0000unse/page/420 420]|publisher=Houghton, Mifflin and Company|location=New York}}</ref>|| [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Corps of Engineers]] || [[United States Army]]
|-
|[[File:Union army 1st lt rank insignia.jpg|50px]] [[First lieutenant#United States|First lieutenant]] || September 21, 1836<ref name="auto">{{harvnb|Cullum|1891|p=420}}.</ref>|| Corps of Engineers || United States Army
|-
|[[File:Union army cpt rank insignia.jpg|50px]] [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]] || August 7, 1838<ref name="auto" /> || Corps of Engineers || United States Army
|-
|[[File:Union army maj rank insignia.jpg|50px]] [[Brevet (military)#United States|Brevet major]] § || April 18, 1847<ref name="auto" />  || Corps of Engineers || United States Army
|-
|[[File:Union Army LTC rank insignia.png|50px]] [[Brevet (military)#United States|Brevet lieutenant colonel]] † || August 20, 1847<ref name="auto" /> || Corps of Engineers || United States Army
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|[[File:Union Army colonel rank insignia.png|50px]] [[Brevet (military)#United States|Brevet colonel]] ‡ || September 13, 1847<ref name="auto1">{{harvnb|Cullum|1891|p=421}}.</ref> || Corps of Engineers || United States Army
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|[[File:Union Army LTC rank insignia.png|50px]] [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|Lieutenant colonel]] || March 3, 1855<ref name="auto1" /> || [[5th Cavalry Regiment|2nd Cavalry Regiment]] || United States Army
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|[[File:Union Army colonel rank insignia.png|50px]] [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] || March 16, 1861<ref name="auto1" /> || [[1st Cavalry Regiment (United States)|1st Cavalry Regiment]] || United States Army
|-
|[[File:Union Army major general rank insignia.svg|50px]] [[Major general (United States)|Major general]]{{efn|During his brief tenure as commander of Virginia forces, Robert E. Lee was authorized to wear the insignia of a major general on the blue Union Army jacket, but continued to wear his U.S. Army colonel's uniform until the start of 1862.  By this time he began wearing the familiar grey Confederate Army coat with colonel's insignia, signifying the last rank he held in the United States Army.}}|| April 22, 1861<ref>{{cite book|first=Noah|last=Trudeau|title=Robert E. Lee: Lessons in Leadership|year=2009|page=[https://archive.org/details/roberteleelesson0000trud/page/37 37]|publisher=Palgrave MacMillan|location=New York|isbn=978-0-230-10344-3|url=https://archive.org/details/roberteleelesson0000trud/page/37}}</ref> ||  || [[Provisional Army of Virginia]]
|-
|[[File:Confederate States of America General-collar.svg|40px]] [[General officers in the Confederate States Army#Brigadier general|Brigadier general]] || May 14, 1861<ref>{{cite book|first=John & David|last=Eicher|title=Civil War High Commands|year=2001|page=810|publisher=Stanford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8047-3641-1}}</ref>||  || [[Confederate States Army]]
|-
|[[File:Confederate States of America Colonel.png|40px]]{{efn|Throughout the Civil War, with only a handful of exceptions, Robert E. Lee wore the insignia of a Confederate colonel, although he held the rank of full general.  Lee would later state that he wore a colonel's insignia in homage to his original United States Army rank, which he considered to be the last permanent rank he had legally held.  Lee also reportedly disliked the heavy braid and raised collar of the standard Confederate general's uniform.}} [[General officers in the Confederate States Army#General (Full general)|General]] || June 14, 1861<ref>{{harvnb|Eicher|2001|p=807}}.</ref>||  || Confederate States Army
|-
<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not add the position of "General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States" (to which Lee was appointed on February 6, 1865) as it would be historically inaccurate. Although "General in Chief..." was the highest command in the Army, he continued to hold the rank of "General" until April 12, 1865. Thank you. -->
|}
* § Breveted for conduct in the [[Battle of Cerro Gordo]]
* † Breveted for conduct in Battles of [[Battle of Contreras|Contreras]] and [[Battle of Churubusco|Churubusco]]
* ‡ Breveted for conduct in [[Battle of Chapultepec]]