SS Robert E. Lee was a steam passenger ship built for the Eastern Steamship Lines in 1924.

In February 1942, Robert E. Lee was chartered by the Alcoa Steamship Company to transport goods and personnel from New York to ports located in the Caribbean.

One month later, she was contracted by the War Shipping Administration as a freight carrier and was subsequently armed with a stern gun and degaussed to prevent magnetic mine attacks.

[3] The ship began to list to port, and then starboard, before finally sinking by the stern about 15 minutes after the torpedo hit.

[3] In 1986, an oil and gas survey conducted by Shell Offshore discovered the shipwreck of Robert E. Lee in the Mississippi Canyon.