George Washington Custis Lee began his career as a military engineer after graduating first in his West Point class in 1854. He served in the United States Army's Corps of Engineers before resigning in 1861 following Virginia's secession. Joining the Confederate service, he spent much of the Civil War as an aide to President Jefferson Davis rather than as a field commander. He eventually attained major general's rank and commanded troops near the end of the conflict, when he was captured at Sayler's Creek in April 1865.

After the war Lee turned to education. He taught at the Virginia Military Institute and in 1871 succeeded his father as president of Washington and Lee University in Lexington. He remained in office until 1897, overseeing the institution through much of the postwar period. This lengthy academic career was distinct from both his earlier army service and his father's military reputation. On retirement he received emeritus status and withdrew from the daily administration of the university.

Lee also pursued recovery of the Arlington estate inherited through his mother's family. Federal authorities had taken the property during the war, and it had become a national cemetery. His challenge reached the United States Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor in 1882. Rather than resume ownership of a working plantation, he sold the property to the federal government for $150,000 in 1883. Lee spent his later years in northern Virginia and died in 1913.