Robert E. Lee, famous Confederate (Southern) general during the Civil War.
Most people think of Lee as a brilliant commander (which he was) and a fearless, pious soldier (which he also was), but he had a gentler side, as the following anecdote indicates:
After the war ended, Lee eventually became president of Washington College. A regular churchgoer, he became acquainted with a four-year-old boy at his church who liked to sit on Lee's lap during services. Come graduation day, when Lee was sitting on the podium ready to hand out the diplomas, the same little boy was in the audience. He caught sight of the elderly general and ran up onto the stage to sit on Lee's lap. The boy proceeded to fall asleep. Lee, not wanting to disturb his small friend, handed out the diplomas sitting down with the boy slumbering on his lap.
I thought that was interesting. We all think of military leaders as soldiers, perhaps political figures, but rarely as men and women with a capacity for gentleness as well as steely resolve and determination.