Fitzhugh Lee | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lee in 1885 | |
| 40thGovernor of Virginia | |
| In office January 1, 1886 – January 1, 1890 | |
| Lieutenant | John E. Massey |
| Preceded by | William E. Cameron |
| Succeeded by | Philip W. McKinney |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1835-11-19)November 19, 1835 Fairfax County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | April 28, 1905(1905-04-28) (aged 69) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia) |
| Spouse | [citation needed] |
| Children | 5[citation needed] |
| Relatives | SeeLee family |
| Signature | .png) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States Confederate States |
| Branch/service | United States Army Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1856–1861, 1898–1901 (USA) 1861–1865 (CSA) |
| Rank | Major General (USA) Major General (CSA) |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War Spanish–American War |
Fitzhugh Lee (November 19, 1835 – April 28, 1905) was an AmericanConfederate cavalrygeneral in theAmerican Civil War, the40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, andUnited States Army general in theSpanish–American War. He was a descendant of theLee Family of Virginia - the son ofSydney Smith Lee, acaptain in theConfederate States Navy, and the nephew ofRobert E. Lee.
Lee was born on November 19, 1835, atClermont inFairfax County, Virginia.[1] He was the grandson of"Light Horse Harry" Lee, a nephew ofRobert E. Lee andSamuel Cooper, and cousin ofGeorge Washington Custis Lee,W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee, andRobert E. Lee, Jr.[2] His father,Sydney Smith Lee,[3] served underCommodore Perry in Japanese waters and rose to the rank ofCaptain; his mother, Anna Maria Mason Lee, was a granddaughter ofGeorge Mason and the sister ofJames Murray Mason.[4] He attendedSt. Timothy's Hall inCatonsville, Maryland.[5]
Lee attended theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point, New York, where he graduated in 1856, and was commissioned asecond lieutenant in the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (later redesignated the5th Cavalry Regiment), which was commanded byColonelAlbert Sidney Johnston, and in which his uncle, Robert E. Lee, waslieutenant colonel. As acavalry subaltern, he distinguished himself by his gallant conduct in actions against theComanches inTexas and was severely wounded in a fight in Nescutunga, Texas, in May 1859.[6] In May 1860, he was appointed instructor of cavalry tactics at the U.S. Military Academy, but resigned his commission afterVirginia declaredsecession and alliance with theConfederacy at the beginning of theAmerican Civil War.[4]
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Fitzhugh Lee joined theConfederate States Army as a lieutenant of cavalry and served at first as a staff officer toBrig. Gen.Richard Stoddert Ewell at theFirst Battle of Manassas. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the1st Virginia Cavalry in September 1861, serving under Colonel"Grumble" Jones. Lee replaced Jones in March 1862, after theelections held in the regiment in accordance with theConfederate Conscripion Act of April 16, 1862. He was promoted tobrigadier general on July 24, 1862.
During theNorthern Virginia Campaign, Fitzhugh Lee received notoriety by arriving late for a cavalry concentration, allowing U.S. Army cavalry to raidJeb Stuart's headquarters and capture his famous plumed hat and cape. However, during the subsequent Confederate raid on Catlett's Station, he captured the headquarters tent and dress uniform ofU.S. Maj. Gen.John Pope. Fitzhugh Lee gave Pope's coat to Stuart as compensation for the hat he had lost.
Fitzhugh Lee performed well in theMaryland Campaign of 1862, covering the Confederate infantry's withdrawal fromSouth Mountain, delaying the U.S. Army advance toSharpsburg, Maryland, before theBattle of Sharpsburg around Antietam Creek, and covering his army's recrossing of thePotomac River into Virginia. Stuart's cavalry made its second ride around the U.S. Army in theChambersburg Raid before returning in time to screen Robert E. Lee's movement towardsFredericksburg, where the cavalry defended the extreme right of the Confederate line. Fitzhugh Lee conducted the cavalry action ofKelly's Ford (March 17, 1863) with skill and success, where his 400 troopers captured 150 men and horses with a loss of only 14 men. In theBattle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, Lee's reconnaissance found that the U.S. Army's right flank was "in the air", which allowed the successful flanking attack by Maj. Gen.Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, a movement led by Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry.
After Chancellorsville, Lee was incapacitated by inflammatory rheumatism, missing a month of action, which included the significant cavalry operations at theBattle of Brandy Station. He recovered in time to lead a brigade in Jeb Stuart's third ride around the U.S. Army, in the early days of theGettysburg campaign, with his most significant contribution being at theBattle of Carlisle. During theBattle of Gettysburg, his brigade fought unsuccessfully atEast Cavalry Field. Stuart's report singled out no officer in his command for praise except Fitz Lee, who he said was "one of the finest cavalry leaders on the continent, and richly [entitled] to promotion."[7] During the withdrawal from Gettysburg, Lee's brigade held the fords at Shepherdstown to prevent the U.S. Army from following across the Potomac River. Lee was promoted to major general on August 3, 1863,[2] and continued to serve under Maj. Gen. Stuart's command, despite Stuart not receiving a promotion following his questionable conduct in the Gettysburg Campaign. While his uncle maneuvered the Army of Northern Virginia back into central Virginia, Lee's division launched a successful ambush on U.S. Army cavalry at theBattle of Buckland Mills that fall.
In theOverland Campaign the following spring, Lee was constantly employed as adivisional commander under Stuart. Following theBattle of the Wilderness, Lee's cavalry division played a pivotal role in impeding the U.S. Army in its race to theBattle of Spotsylvania Court House. While fighting at Spotsylvania, Gen. Stuart was detached from the army to thwart U.S. cavalry commanderPhillip Sheridan's raid on Richmond. Stuart took Fitzhugh Lee's division with him. The mission ultimately ended in the mortal wounding of Gen. Stuart at theBattle of Yellow Tavern and Lee's inability to break through theUnited States Colored Troops' defense ofFort Pocahontas[8] inCharles City County andFort Powhatan inPrince George County.[9] After Stuart's death, Lee served under Maj. Gen.Wade Hampton. Hampton, who had been Lee's peer for much of the war, was promoted to replace Stuart due to his seniority and more significant experience; some observers at the time had cynically expected Robert E. Lee's nephew to receive the command.
At theBattle of Trevilian Station, Hampton's cavalry prevented Gen. Sheridan's cavalry from aiding GeneralDavid Hunter's force in western Virginia, where it was sure to have inflicted significant damage on General Robert E. Lee's supply and communication lines. The battle also served to screenLt. Gen.Jubal A. Early's move from Richmond to aid Lynchburg, which Hunter was set to besiege. Hampton's cavalry corps shadowed Sheridan's return to Petersburg.
Fitzhugh Lee subsequently joined Early for his campaign against Maj. Gen.Philip Sheridan in theShenandoah Valley, and atThird Winchester (September 19, 1864) three horses were shot under him, and he was severely wounded.[6] When General Hampton was sent to assist GeneralJoseph E. Johnston inNorth Carolina, the command of the whole of Robert E. Lee's cavalry devolved upon Fitzhugh Lee on March 29, 1865, but the surrender atAppomattox followed quickly upon the opening of the campaign. Fitzhugh Lee himself led the last charge of the Confederates on April 9 that year atFarmville, Virginia.[6]
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After the end of the Civil War, Fitzhugh Lee devoted himself to farming inStafford County, Virginia, and was conspicuous in his efforts to reconcile theSouthern people to the issue of the war, which he regarded as a final settlement of the questions at issue.[citation needed] In 1875, he attended theBattle of Bunker Hillcentennial atBoston and delivered an address. In 1885, he was a member of the board of visitors of West Point, and from 1886 to 1890 wasgovernor of Virginia havingdefeated in 1885 RepublicanJohn Sergeant Wise with 52.77% of the vote.[6]
Lee commanded the third division at PresidentGrover Cleveland's inaugural parades in 1885 and 1893.[10]
In 1895, Cleveland appointed Lee the collector of internal revenue for thewestern district of Virginia.[11]
In April 1896, Lee was appointed consul-general atHavana by President Cleveland, with duties of a diplomatic and military character added to the usual consular business. In this post, in which he was retained by PresidentWilliam McKinley until 1898, he was the first called upon to deal with a situation of great difficulty, which culminated with the destruction of the warshipUSS Maine. When war was declared between Spain and the United States, he re-entered theUnited States Army.
He was one of four ex-Confederate Army general officers who were made major generals of United States Volunteers; the others beingMatthew Butler,Joseph Wheeler, andThomas L. Rosser. Fitzhugh Lee commanded the7th Army Corps but took no part in the actual operations inCuba. He was military governor ofHavana andPinar del Río in 1899, subsequently commanded theDepartment of the Missouri, and retired in 1901 as a brigadier general, U.S. Army.[6]
Lee was an early leader of the committee for theJamestown Exposition, which was held after his death atSewell's Point onHampton Roads in 1907.
Lee wrote the article aboutRobert E. Lee in theGreat Commanders series (1894),General Lee, a wartime biography (1894), andCuba's Struggle Against Spain (1899).
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Lee died inWashington, D.C., and is buried inHollywood Cemetery,Richmond.
He was indicted for treason for his participation in the war, but the indictment was withdrawn in February 1869. Lee then received a pardon.[12] The Seventh Army Corps Association and Auxiliary dedicated a monument to Lee's service to the7th Army Corps from 1898 to 1899, placing it in Monroe Park, Richmond, Virginia; the City of Richmond removed the monument on July 9, 2020, in recognition of Lee's participation in the Confederacy.[13]
Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lee, Fitzhugh".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 360–361.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Virginia 1885 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Virginia 1886–1890 | Succeeded by |
