Robert had to journey from the Confederate camps to Fredericksburg, Va., and he stopped by his father’s headquarters near Orange Court House along the way. The general lent Traveller to Robert for the 30-mile trek to Fredericksburg, and the young Lee recounted the trip in his 1904 book Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee:

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The general had the strongest affection for Traveller, which he showed on all occasions, and his allowing me to ride him on this long march was a great compliment. Possibly he wanted to give me a good hammering before he turned me over to the cavalry. During my soldier life, so far, I had been on foot, having backed nothing more lively than a tired artillery horse; so I mounted with some misgivings, though I was very proud of my steed. My misgivings were fully realized, for Traveller would not walk a step. He took a short, high trot — a buck-trot, as compared with a buck-jump — and kept it up to Fredericksburg, some thirty miles. Though young, strong, and tough, I was glad when the journey ended. This was my first introduction to the cavalry service. I think I am safe in saying that I could have walked the distance with much less discomfort and fatigue. My father having thus given me a horse and presented me with one of his swords, also supplied my purse so that I could get myself an outfit suitable to my new position, and he sent me on to join my command, stationed not far away on the Rappahannock, southward from Fredericksburg.

Despite the strong association Lee shared with Traveller, he did not begin to regularly ride him until after the spring 1862 Peninsula campaign. From that point on, he was the general’s most-used mount, even after Traveller reared and threw his owner shortly after the Second Battle of Manassas. His hands badly damaged in the fall, Lee was unable to mount up again until the day of the Battle of Sharpsburg.

Some of the most dramatic incidents involving Lee and Traveller occurred during the Overland campaign in 1864, when soldiers literally grabbed the horse’s reins to prevent their commander from personally leading attacks on six occasions between May 6 and May 12.

The most notable incident occurred in the Wilderness on May 6, when soldiers of the Texas Brigade surrounded Traveller and shouted, ‘Lee to the rear!’ That day Traveller carried Lee until well after midnight, and when they finally returned to camp, Lee dismounted, and overcome with exhaustion, he threw his arms around Traveller’s neck to hold himself up.

After the war, one of Lee’s most cherished pastimes was taking a ride on Traveller. His daughter Mildred would accompany him on another favorite mount, Lucy Long. On one occasion, Mrs. S.P. Lee (daughter of General W. N. Pendleton, chief of artillery of the Army of Northern Virginia, and widow of Colonel Edwin Grey Lee) related this story to Lee’s son Robert:

One afternoon in July of this year, the General rode down to the canal-boat landing to put on board a young lady who had been visiting his daughters and was returning home. He dismounted, tied Traveller to a post, and was standing on the boat making his adieux, when someone called out that Traveller was loose. Sure enough, the gallant grey was making his way up the road, increasing his speed as a number of boys and men tried to stop him. General Lee immediately stepped ashore, called to the crowd to stand still, and advancing a few steps gave a peculiar low whistle. At the first sound, Traveller stopped and pricked up his ears. The General whistled a second time, and the horse with a glad whinny turned and trotted quietly back to his master, who patted and coaxed him before tying him up again. To a bystander expressing surprise at the creature’s docility the General observed that he did not see how any man could ride a horse for any length of time without a perfect understanding being established between them.

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