Traveller ( horse ) Traveller ( 1857 – 1871 ) was Confederate General Robert E . Lee ' s most famous horse during the American Civil War . Birth and war service . Traveller , originally named " Jeff Davis " , was born near the Blue Sulphur Springs , in Greenbrier County , Virginia ( now West Virginia ) and raised by Andrew Johnston . An American Saddlebred , he was of Grey Eagle stock ; as a colt , he took the first prize at the Lewisburg , Virginia fairs in 1859 and 1860 . As an adult he was a sturdy horse , 16 hands ( 64 inches , 163 cm ) high and 1 , 100 pounds ( 500 kg ) , iron gray in color with black points , a long mane and flowing tail . In the spring of 1861 , a year before achieving fame as a Confederate general , Robert E . Lee was commanding a small force in western Virginia . The quartermaster of the 3rd Regiment , Wise Legion , Captain Joseph M . Broun , was directed to " purchase a good serviceable horse of the best Greenbrier stock for our use during the war . " Broun purchased the horse for $ 175 ( approximately $ 4 , 000 in 2008 ) from Andrew Johnston ' s son , Captain James W . Johnston , and named him Greenbrier . Major Thomas L . Broun , Joseph ' s brother recalled that Greenbrier General Lee took a great fancy to the horse . He called him his " colt " , and predicted to Broun that he would use it before the war was over . After Lee was transferred to South Carolina , Joseph Broun sold the horse to him for $ 200 in February , 1862 . Lee named the horse " Traveller " ( spelling the word with a double " L " in British style ) . Lee described his horse in a letter in response to Mrs . Lee ' s cousin , Markie Williams , who wished to paint a portrait of Traveller : Traveller was a horse of great stamina and was usually a good horse for an officer in battle because he was difficult to frighten . He could sometimes become nervous and spirited , however . At the Second Battle of Bull Run , while General Lee was at the front reconnoitering dismounted and holding Traveller by the bridle , the horse became frightened at some movement of the enemy and , plunging , pulled Lee down on a stump , breaking both of his hands . Lee went through the remainder of that campaign chiefly in an ambulance . When he rode on horseback , a courier rode in front leading his horse . After the war , Traveller accompanied Lee to Washington College in Lexington , Virginia . He lost many hairs from his tail to admirers ( veterans and college students ) who wanted a souvenir of the famous horse and his general . Lee wrote to his daughter Mildred that " The boys are plucking out his tail , and he is presenting the appearance of a plucked chicken . " Death and burials . In 1870 , during Lee ' s funeral procession , Traveller was led behind the caisson bearing the General ' s casket , his saddle and bridle draped with black crepe . Not long after Lee ' s death , in 1871 , Traveller stepped on a nail and developed tetanus . There was no cure , and he was shot to relieve his suffering . Traveller was initially buried behind the main buildings of the college , but was unearthed by persons unknown and his bones were bleached for exhibition in Rochester , New York , in 1875 / 1876 . In 1907 , Richmond journalist Joseph Bryan paid to have the bones mounted and returned to the college , named Washington and Lee University since Lee ' s death , and they were displayed in the Brooks Museum , in what is now Robinson Hall . The skeleton was periodically vandalized there by students who carved their initials in it for good luck . In 1929 , the bones were moved to the museum in the basement of the Lee Chapel , where they stood for 30 years , deteriorating with exposure . Finally in 1971 , Traveller ' s remains were buried in a wooden box encased in concrete next to the Lee Chapel on the Washington & Lee campus , a few feet away from the Lee family crypt inside , where his master ' s body rests . The stable where he lived his last days , directly connected to the Lee House on campus , traditionally stands with its doors left open ; this is said to allow his spirit to wander freely . The 24th President of Washington & Lee ( and thus a recent resident of Lee House ) , Dr . Thomas Burish , caught strong criticism from many members of the Washington & Lee community for closing the stable gates in violation of this tradition . Burish later had the doors to the gates repainted in a dark green color , which he referred to in campus newspapers as " Traveller Green . " The base newspaper of the United States Army ' s Fort Lee , located in Petersburg , Virginia , is named " Traveller " . Traveller remains known to Washington and Lee students , and is the namesake of the University ' s Safe Ride Program . Students are known to exclaim " Call Traveller and you will get home safely . " Lee ' s other horses . Although the most famous , Traveller was not Lee ' s only horse during the war : James Longstreet , one of Lee ' s most trusted generals , was referred to by Lee as his " Old War Horse " , because of his reliability . After the Civil War , many Southerners were angered by Longstreet ' s defection to the Republican Party and blamed him for their defeat in the Civil War . However , Lee supported reconciliation and was also actually pleased with how Longstreet had fought in the War . ( Longstreet was one of his top subordinates . ) This nickname was Lee ' s symbol of trust .