The greatest literary genius of Virginia is generally considered to be Edgar Allan Poe. Although born in Boston, Poe was adopted just prior to his third birthday by the John Allan family of Richmond. He is said to have once remarked to a friend: "I am a Virginian. At least I call myself one." His early years were spent in Richmond, and his early education was acquired in Richmond. Upon the death of his stepmother, his stepfather arranged to get him appointed to West Point. He had published two sets of poems before he was twenty: "Tamerlane and Other Poems" and "Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems." After he had been dismissed from West Point one year later, he decided to dedicate his life to writing. His third volume of poetry entitled "Poems" was published by the age of twenty-two. Poe spent the rest of his life combatting mental sickness, poverty and loneliness. At the age of twenty-four, he began writing prose work. He created the modern short story, the detective story and wrote critical essays for the Southern Literary Messenger which thrived through his writings. He became editor of this publication in 1835. Other works written by Poe include "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym," "Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Man That Was Used Up," "Tales," "The Raven and Other Poems" and "Eureka: A Prose Poem." He died at the age of forty, the greatest literary purist the country had yet produced. Another writer who contributed much to the Southern Literary Messenger was Philip Pendleton Cooke of Martinsburg, Virginia (now West Virginia). Although a lawyer by career, he spent much of his time writing. His best-liked poem is "Florence Vane," a memorial lyric. He wrote several poems and prose during his comparatively short life of thirty-three years. A survey of outstanding Virginia authors of the Mid-Nineteenth Century Period would not be complete without mentioning the name of Matthew Fontaine Maury who is not only recognized for his broad knowledge of science and his unique ability of mapping winds and ocean currents but also for his numerous articles on scientific information. His "Physical Geography of the Sea" (1855) is the first textbook written on modern oceanography and two other books, a "Manual of Geography" and "Physical Geography," were well received by the public. Robert E. Lee became famous in a literary sense for his sincere, humble, cleverly worded letters, particularly those concerning his declining the command of the Federal army, his acceptance of the command of the Virginia forces, his farewell to his Confederate colleagues at the end of the War between the States and his acceptance of the Presidency of Washington College after that war.