Henry Lee III | |
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 Posthumous portrait byJames Herring, (c. 1838), after an original 18th century painting | |
| 9th Governor of Virginia | |
| In office December 1, 1791 – December 1, 1794 | |
| Preceded by | Beverley Randolph |
| Succeeded by | Robert Brooke |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's19th district | |
| In office March 4, 1799 – March 3, 1801 | |
| Preceded by | Walter Jones |
| Succeeded by | John Taliaferro |
| Delegate to theConfederation Congress from Virginia | |
| In office 1786–1788 | |
| Preceded by | James Monroe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1756-01-29)January 29, 1756 |
| Died | March 25, 1818(1818-03-25) (aged 62) Cumberland Island,Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting place | University Chapel |
| Party | Federalist |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 9, includingHenry IV,Sydney, andRobert |
| Parent | Henry Lee II (father) |
| Relatives | SeeLee family |
| Alma mater | College of New Jersey |
| Signature |  |
| Nickname | "Light-Horse Harry" |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
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Henry Lee III (January 29, 1756 – March 25, 1818) was an early AmericanPatriot and politician who served as the ninthGovernor of Virginia and as the VirginiaRepresentative to the United States Congress. Lee's service during theAmerican Revolution as acavalry officer in theContinental Army earned him the nickname by which he is best known,"Light-Horse Harry".[note 1] He was a member of theLee Family of Virginia and the father of Confederate generalRobert E. Lee, who led the Army of Northern Virginia against the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Lee was born onLeesylvania Plantation inPrince William County in theColony of Virginia. He was the son ofCol. Henry Lee II (1730–1787) of "Leesylvania" and Lucy Grymes (1734–1792). His father was the first cousin ofRichard Henry Lee, twelfthPresident of the Continental Congress. His mother was an aunt of the wife ofVirginia GovernorThomas Nelson Jr. His great-grandmother Mary Bland was also a grand aunt of PresidentThomas Jefferson. Lee was the grandson ofHenry Lee I (1691–1747), a great-grandson ofRichard Bland, and a great-great-grandson ofWilliam Randolph.[1] He was also a descendant ofTheodorick Bland of Westover and GovernorRichard Bennett.
Lee graduated from the College of New Jersey (nowPrinceton University) in 1773 and began pursuing a legal career.
With the outbreak of theAmerican Revolutionary War at theBattles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, Lee became acaptain in adragoon detachment in theColony of Virginia, which was attached to the1st Continental Light Dragoons.
In 1778, Lee was promoted tomajor and given the command of a mixed corps of cavalry and infantry known asLee's Legion, with which he won a great reputation as a capable leader of light troops. At the time, highly mobile groups oflight cavalry provided valuable service not only during major battles but also by conducting reconnaissance and surveillance, engaging the enemy during troop movements, disrupting the delivery of supplies, raiding and skirmishing, and organizing expeditions behind enemy lines;[2][3] part of such tactics now are known asguerrilla warfare andmaneuver warfare. In August, Lee led a detachment on a raid on a British fort, culminating in theBattle of Paulus Hook in New Jersey on August 19, in which 50 enemy soldiers were killed or wounded and 158 captured, while the Americans suffered two dead, three wounded and seven captured. (Despite his success, some of his fellow officers saw to it he was brought before acourt martial on eight charges, over George Washington's disapproval; he was acquitted on all counts.[4]) In September of the same year, Lee commanded a unit of dragoons which defeated a Hessian regiment at theBattle of Edgar's Lane.
During his time as commander of the Legion, Lee earned the moniker of "Light-Horse Harry" for his horsemanship. On September 22, 1779, the Continental Congress voted to present Lee with a gold medal, an honor given to no other officer below the rank of general, for the Legion's actions during the Battle of Paulus Hook.[5][6]
Lee was promoted tolieutenant colonel and was assigned with his Legion to the southern theater of war. Lee's Legion attacked a British outpost atGeorgetown, South Carolina alongside GeneralFrancis Marion in January 1781 and helped screen the British Army in its race to the Dan River the following month. Lee united with General Francis Marion and GeneralAndrew Pickens in the spring of 1781 to capture several British outposts in South Carolina and Georgia, includingFort Watson,Fort Motte,Fort Granby,Fort Galphin,Fort Grierson, andFort Cornwallis.[7] Lee and his legion also served at theBattle of Guilford Court House, theSiege of Ninety-Six, and theBattle of Eutaw Springs. He was present atCharles Cornwallis's surrender atYorktown but left the Army shortly after, claiming fatigue and disappointment with his treatment from fellow officers.
Colonel Lee was an Original Member of the VirginiaSociety of the Cincinnati.
From 1786 to 1788, Lee was a delegate to theCongress of the Confederation. In 1788, he served in the Virginia convention and supported ratifying theUnited States Constitution. From 1789 to 1791, he served in theVirginia General Assembly, and from 1791 to 1794, he wasGovernor of Virginia.A new county of Virginia was named after him during his governorship.[8]
In 1794, PresidentGeorge Washington summoned Lee to suppress theWhiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. Lee commanded the 12,950 militiamen sent to quash the rebels; there was no fighting because of a peaceful surrender. In 1798, in anticipation of a war with France, Henry Lee was appointed amajor general in theU.S. Army.
At Washington's funeral on December 26, 1799, Lee famouslyeulogized him to a crowd of 4,000 as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."[9]
From 1799 to 1801, he served in theUnited States House of Representatives as a member of theFederalist Party. After retiring from public service in 1801, he lived with his family atStratford Hall and unsuccessfully tried to manage his plantation. ThePanic of 1796–1797 and bankruptcy ofRobert Morris reduced Lee's fortune.
In 1808, he was recommissioned by PresidentThomas Jefferson as major-general when war with Great Britain was imminent; Lee organized the Virginia militia. In 1809, he became bankrupt and served one year indebtors' prison inMontross, Virginia; his son, Robert Lee, was two years old at the time.[10] After release, Lee moved his family toAlexandria, Virginia.
He asked PresidentJames Madison for a commission at the onset of theWar of 1812 but without success. In 1812 he published hisMemoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States, where he summarized his military experiences during theRevolutionary War. During thecivil unrest in Baltimore, Maryland in 1812, Lee received grave injuries while helping to resist an attack on his friend,Alexander Contee Hanson, editor of the Baltimore newspaper,The Federal Republican on July 27, 1812. Hanson was attacked by aDemocratic-Republican mob because his paper opposed theWar of 1812. Lee, Hanson, and two dozen other Federalists had taken refuge in the paper's offices. The group surrendered to Baltimore city officials the next day and were jailed.[clarification needed] Laborer George Woolslager led a mob that forced its way into the jail and removed the Federalists, beating and torturing them over the next three hours. All were severely injured, and one Federalist,James Lingan, died.[11][12]
Lee suffered extensive internal injuries and head and face wounds, and even his speech was affected. His observed symptoms were consistent with what is now calledpost-traumatic stress disorder. After an unsuccessful recovery at home, he sailed to theWest Indies to recuperate from his injuries. On his way back to Virginia, he died on March 25, 1818, atDungeness, onCumberland Island, Georgia, cared for byNathanael Greene's daughter Louisa. "Light-Horse Harry" was buried with full military honors, provided by an American fleet stationed nearSt. Marys, Georgia, in a small cemetery at Dungeness. In 1913, his remains were moved to the Lee family crypt atUniversity Chapel, on the campus ofWashington & Lee University inLexington, Virginia.[13]
Between April 8 and 13, 1782, atStratford Hall, Lee married his second cousin, Matilda Ludwell Lee (1764–1790), who was known as "the Divine Matilda". She was the daughter of Philip Ludwell Lee Sr. and Elizabeth Steptoe. Matilda had three children before she died in 1790:
On June 18, 1793, Lee married the wealthyAnne Hill Carter (1773–1829) atShirley Plantation. Anne was the daughter of Charles Carter,Esq., of Shirley, and his second wife Ann Butler Moore, daughter of ColonelBernard Moore, Esq., of Chelsea, King William County, Virginia. According to William Winston Fontaine's research, Ann Butler Moore's paternal pedigree dates back to SirThomas More. Her mother, Ann Catherine Spotswood (1728[14] –c. 1802), was the daughter of Virginia GovernorAlexander Spotswood, who was the great-grandson of John Spotswood and wife Rachel Lindsay; Rachel's ancestors wereDavid Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford, and Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of KingRobert II of Scotland.[15][16] They had six children and were ancestors ofHelen Keller:
According to screenwriterRobert Rodat, the fictional character of Colonel Harry Burwell in the 2000 filmThe Patriot was inspired by the historical exploits of Henry Lee.[18]
In the 1969 musical1776, Lee's nickname is mentioned (anachronistically) during the song "The Lees of Old Virginia," sung by the character of his older cousinRichard Henry Lee.
Henry Lee III was a member of theSociety of the Cincinnati in the State of Virginia.[19]
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| Preceded by | Governor of Virginia 1791–1794 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 19th congressional district March 4, 1799 – March 3, 1801 (obsolete district) | Succeeded by |
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William Sturgis Thomas, Members of the Society of the Cincinnati, Original, Hereditary and Honorary; With a Brief Account of the Society's History and Aims (New York: T.A. Wright, 1929) page 93.
