William Lee | |
|---|---|
 1780 portrait of Lee | |
| Born | c. 1750 |
| Died | 1810 (1811) (aged 60) |
| Other names | Will Lee, Billy Lee |
| Occupation | Slave Manservant |
| Known for | BeingGeorge Washington's personalmanservant. |
William Lee (c. 1750[1] – 1810[2]) was an American slave and personal assistant ofGeorge Washington. He was the only one ofWashington's slaves who was freed immediately by Washington's will. With his service by Washington's side throughout theAmerican Revolutionary War and occasional depiction next to Washington in paintings, Lee was one of the most publicizedAfrican Americans of his time.
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Born c. 1750, Lee was purchased on May 27, 1768, when he was just a teenager, byGeorge Washington, as described in Washington's account book asMulatto Will, from the estate of the late Colonel John Lee ofWestmoreland County, Virginia for sixty-one pounds and fifteen shillings. William kept the surname "Lee" from his previous owner. Also purchased at the time was William's brother Frank as well as two other slaves. Washington paid high prices for William and Frank, as they were to behousehold slaves, rather thanfield slaves. William and Frank were often chosen to serve as domestic servants.[3] Frank became Washington'sbutler atMount Vernon, and William served in a variety of roles, including Washington'svalet ormanservant. As the valet, Lee performed chores such as brushing Washington's long hair and tying it behind his head.
Washington was a frequent fox hunter, and Lee became his huntsman and was in charge of the dogs, a role that required expert horsemanship and blowing horn calls, or signals, on a hunting horn. In his memoirs, Washington's step-grandson,George Washington Parke Custis, described Lee during a hunt:
Will, the huntsman, better known in Revolutionary lore as Billy, rode a horse calledChinkling, a surprising leaper, and made very much like its rider, low, but sturdy, and of great bone and muscle. Will had but one order, which was to keep with the hounds; and, mounted onChinkling, a French horn at his back, throwing himself almost at length on the animal, with his spur in flank, this fearless horseman would rush, at full speed, through brake or tangled wood, in a style at which modern huntsmen would stand aghast.[4][5]
The hunting horn aspect of William Lee's life and other Huntsmen of African and Creole descent are largely undocumented, but they are acknowledged as "exploited for the benefit of their indentures and enslavers."[6]
Before the Revolutionary War, Lee often traveled with Washington to theHouse of Burgesses inWilliamsburg, or on journeys such as a surveying expedition to theOhio Valley in 1770 and to theFirst Continental Congress inPhiladelphia in 1774. Lee served at Washington's side throughout the eight years of the Revolutionary War, including the winter atValley Forge and at thesiege of Yorktown.[7]
According to the historian Fritz Hirschfeld, Lee "rode alongside Washington in the thick of battle, ready to hand over to the general a spare horse or his telescope or whatever else might be needed."[8]
Lee's wife wasMargaret Thomas Lee, a free African-American from Philadelphia who had worked as a servant in Washington's headquarters during the war. Slave marriages were not recognized by Virginian law, but in 1784, at the couple's request, Washington tried to arrange having Margaret move to Mount Vernon to live with her husband. Whether or not she ever came to Mount Vernon is unknown.[9]
In 1785, Lee injured a knee on an expedition for Washington. Three years later, while he went to the post office inAlexandria, he fell and injured his other knee, which rendered him seriously disabled. After Washington waselected president in 1789, Lee attempted to make the journey to New York City forWashington's first inauguration but had to be left in Philadelphia for medical treatment. He was attended by several physicians, who made a steel brace for his knee, which allowed him to join Washington's presidential household.[10] Frank's nephew,Christopher Sheels, assisted Lee in New York City and took over Lee's duties in 1790 at the PhiladelphiaPresident's House.
Even after Washington's 1797 retirement, Lee's disabilities prevented him from continuing his previous duties, and he spent the last years of his life as ashoemaker at Mount Vernon and struggled withalcoholism. TheAmerican Revolutionary War veterans who visited Mount Vernon often stopped to reminisce with Lee about the war.
When Washington died in 1799, he freed Lee in his will and cited "his faithful services during the Revolutionary War." Lee was the only one of Washington's 124 slaves to be freed outright in his will. According to the terms of Washington's will, his remaining slaves were to be freed upon the death of his wife,Martha Washington.[a][11] Lee was given a pension of thirty dollars a year for the rest of his life and the option to remain at Mount Vernon,[2] which he chose; he was buried there.
"If Billy Lee had been a white man," wrote the historian Fritz Hirschfeld, "he would have had an honored place in American history because of his close proximity to George Washington during the most exciting periods of his career. But because he was a black servant, a humble slave, he has been virtually ignored by both black and white historians and biographers."[8]
