Elizabeth Blair Lee was an American woman who lived through the American Civil War and wrote hundreds of letters describing the events of the times to her husband, Samuel Phillips Lee. She played a pivotal role in several Washington, D.C. charities, particularly the Washington City Orphan Asylum where she was a manager and director for decades.

Samuel Phillips Lee was an officer of the United States Navy. In the American Civil War, he took part in the New Orleans campaign before commanding the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, covering the coastlines and inland waters of Virginia and North Carolina, and finally the Mississippi River Squadron. As a cousin of Robert E. Lee, his refusal to join the Confederates' side by remaining loyal to the U.S. demonstrated how the war had divided families. Lee married Elizabeth Blair the daughter of Francis P. Blair Sr., and their house in Washington is now the president's official guest house.