Robert E. Lee's Last Meal...

Robert E. Lee. General-in-chief to the Confederate armies
during the American Civil War. It was after the war that Lee settled down and tried to resume a normal life. He applied for post-war amnesty, but was never granted due to some bureaucratic mix ups in Washington D.C.

It turns out that Lee never got a pardon until President Gerald Ford granted him a pardon and U.S. Congress restored his citizenship in 1975. Quite a haul considering he'd been dead for 105 years. Lee wasn't a total bad guy, considering he was on the wrong side of the war in slavery. There were many debates through the years, that he never supported slavery, even though he himself owned about 10-12 slaves.

In his later years, he became president of Washington College in Virgina.
It was only in September of 1870, that Robert E. Lee fell ill. Unable to speak, all his doctors could do was put him to bed and hope for the best. It appeared he suffered a stroke.
The stroke damaged the frontal lobes of the brain, which made speech impossible, and made him unable to cough or expectorate. This would lead to his demise.

Loosing strength, a friend, from the Virgina Military Institute, sent out for a meal to restore Lee's health. This meal would turn out to be Lee's last.

It was:

Beef Tea.

Lee died two days later after being fed the meal. What had happened is the stroke put Lee in a position that he couldn't cough. The liquids from the Beef tea found their way into his lungs and pneumonia developed. With no ability to cough, Lee died from the effects of pneumonia .

However, don't let Beef tea detract you from trying it, especially if you or a loved one is sick. The tea does nourish really sick people back to health, as attested by many people who have tried it.

The recipe is below:

Beef Tea
1 lb Beef - prime lean beef.
1 c Water
1 t Salt

Put beef through a food grinder.
Place in top of double boiler and add the water. Simmer over a very low flame about 3-1/2 hours. Add salt. Strain and keep liquid in a cool place. If too strong, it may be diluted with some boiling water to strength desired.

Source: Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book - Fine Old Recipes, Culinary Arts Press, 1936.