Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States (Classic Reprint)
(Excerpt from Memoirs of the War in the Southern Departmen...)
Excerpt from Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States
IN testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and affixed the public seal of my office, the day and year aforesaid.
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Henry Lee was an American soldier and statesman, better known as "Light-Horse Harry" Lee. He served as the ninth Governor of Virginia and as the Virginia Representative to the United States Congress.
Background
Henry Lee, the brother of Richard Bland and Charles Lee, was born at "Leesylvania" near Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia. He was the son of Henry Lee, a cousin of the Lees of "Stratford, " and a descendant of Richard Lee. His mother, Lucy Grymes, is claimed by tradition as one of Washington's boyhood loves.
Education
Lee graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1773 at the age of seventeen. He was preparing to go to England to study law, having been admitted to the Middle Temple, but the impending Revolution changed his plans and his career.
Career
In 1776 Lee was appointed a captain in Theodorick Bland's regiment of Virginia cavalry and in April 1777 his company joined Washington's army, which was weak in horse. Lee's soldierly qualities were recognized from the first and, young as he was, he was admitted to Washington's friendship and confidence. The relations between the two men continued to be intimate until death separated them.
In January 1778, Lee was promoted major and put in command of a somewhat irregular force consisting of three troops of cavalry and three companies of infantry and known as "Lee's Legion. " This force, on July 19, 1779, performed one of the most brilliant feats of the war by surprising the British post at Paulus Hook near New York, in which 160 of the enemy were captured almost without loss. It was comparable to Wayne's taking of Stony Point.
In 1780, Lee, now a lieutenant-colonel, was sent south to Greene, who was in great need of a competent cavalry commander. His subsequent story is the history of the Southern campaign. In the remarkable retreat across North Carolina to Virginia, in February 1781, Lee covered the rear of Greene's army, constantly skirmishing with Tarleton's British troopers, who were unable to prevail over the American cavalry. Turning suddenly aside from the main issue, Lee cut to pieces a force of Tories on the way to join Cornwallis, thereby greatly discouraging the British faction in the Carolinas. At Guilford Courthouse, March 15, 1781, he fought brilliantly but failed to keep Greene informed of his position and after a hard-fought battle he was forced to retreat. It was Lee who gave the advice to Greene that decided the latter to march south instead of following Cornwallis into Virginia.
He continued his brilliant career by capturing several British forts, among them, Augusta, Georgia, and he seems to have saved the drawn battle of Eutaw Springs, September 8, 1781, from being an American defeat. It was his good fortune to be present at the siege of Yorktown and to witness the surrender of Cornwallis on October 19, 1781. Lee now came to the conclusion that the war was over and resigned his commission.
Turning to politics, he entered the House of Delegates in 1785 and in the same year was sent to the Continental Congress, where he served, with one brief interruption, until 1788. He was an active member of the Virginia convention that ratified the United States Constitution in 1788 and voted for that measure. He was always a consistent Federalist and follower of Washington.
In 1790 he thought of going to France for military service, as he was still young and still enamored of war. It was unfortunate that he did not do so, for he was unfitted for civil life. From 1792 to 1795 he served as governor of Virginia. While still governor, in 1794, he was chosen by Washington to command the army assembled to put down the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania. Lee managed to quell this uprising without the loss of life, and enhanced his prestige. In 1799 he entered Congress. The resolutions offered by John Marshall on the death of Washington were drawn by Lee and contained the description of Washington as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen" (Annals of Congress, 6 Cong. , 1 Sess. , col. 204). Lee repeated the phrase in his memorial oration in Philadelphia on December 26, 1799.
Thus far Lee's life had been prosperous and happy; it was never again to be anything but sad and troubled. For some years he lived at "Stratford, " harassed by debt and besieged by creditors. One of the most dashing and capable of soldiers, a fine orator, a learned and accomplished man of letters, Lee was wanting in all the qualities of a business man. His income was small and his expenditures were enormous, and he became heavily involved in land speculations. In 1808-1809 he was imprisoned for debt and engaged himself in writing his Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States, published in two volumes in 1812. He left "Stratford" in 1811 to live in Alexandria, where his wife and second family would have suffered want but for Mrs. Lee's own means. He was always adventurous and whimsical.
While in Baltimore, in July 1812, he attempted to aid his friend, Alexander C. Hanson, in defending the press of the Federal Republican against a mob which threatened violence. Lee and others were taken to jail. The following night the mob was admitted to the jail and in the riot which followed he received injuries from which he never recovered. Handicapped now by ill health as well as by poverty, he succeeded, by the aid of the government, in reaching the West Indies, where he remained for several years, hoping for a cure. It was all in vain. Warned that death was approaching, he set sail for home but his strength gave out on the way. He was set ashore at Cumberland Island, Georgia, and was tenderly cared for by the daughter of his old commander, Greene. There he died and was buried. In 1913 his remains were transferred to the Lee chapel of Washington and Lee University at Lexington, Virginia.
(Excerpt from Memoirs of the War in the Southern Departmen...)
Connections
Lee won the hand of his cousin, Matilda Lee, heiress of "Stratford, " whom he married in 1782. By her he had several children, of whom a son, Henry Lee and a daughter survived. His wife died in 1970. On June 18, 1793, he married his second wife, Anne Hill Carter, of "Shirley. " The fifth child of this marriage was Robert E. Lee.