In 1846 Captain Robert E. Lee was en-route to Fort Hamilton to report for service in Mexico. This was an anxious time for Lee, as it was his first anticipated real live action. The relations between Mexico and the United States had reached a boiling point and a conflict had begun, the Mexican-American War. Lee's life and legacy were nearly ended when he came to a bush along the path and encountered a US soldier who uttered, "Who goes there?" Captain Lee replied, "Friend" and the solider, certain he was facing a Mexican, leveled his pistol at Lee and fired. The ball passed between Lee's left arm and his body, singeing his coat as it flew by. Lee would go on to be a great contributor in the Mexican-American war, and then to serve the Confederates during the Civil War. But on that one day in 1846, it was nearly ended because of one jumpy soldier who fired too casually.
-Professor Walter
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