![]() In 1794, President George Washington summoned Lee to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. A new county of Virginia was named after him during his governorship. From 1789 to 1791, he served in the Virginia General Assembly, and from 1791 to 1794, he was Governor of Virginia. In 1788, he served in the Virginia convention and supported ratifying the United States Constitution. Post-war political and military career įrom 1786 to 1788, Lee was a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation. He was present at Charles Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown but left the Army shortly after, claiming fatigue and disappointment with his treatment from fellow officers. Lee and his legion also served at the Battle of Guilford Court House, the Siege of Ninety-Six, and the Battle of Eutaw Springs. Lee united with General Francis Marion and General Andrew Pickens in the spring of 1781 to capture numerous British outposts in South Carolina and Georgia, including Fort Watson, Fort Motte, Fort Granby, South Carolina, Fort Galphin, Fort Grierson, and Fort Cornwallis, Augusta, Georgia. Lee's Legion raided the British outpost of Georgetown, South Carolina, with General Francis Marion in January 1781 and helped screen the British army in its race to the Dan River the following month. Lee was promoted to lieutenant colonel and was assigned with his Legion to the southern theater of war. ![]() 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. ) In September of the same year, Lee commanded a unit of dragoons which defeated a Hessian regiment at the Battle of Edgar's Lane.ĭuring his time as commander of the Legion, Lee earned the moniker of "Light-Horse Harry" for his horsemanship. (Despite his success, some of his fellow officers saw to it he was brought before a court martial on eight charges, over George Washington's disapproval he was acquitted on all counts. In August, Lee led a detachment on a raid on a British fort, culminating in the Battle of Paulus Hook in New Jersey on August 19, in which 50 British soldiers were killed or wounded and 158 captured, while the Americans suffered two dead, three wounded and seven captured. At the time, highly mobile groups of light 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 part of such tactics now are known as guerrilla warfare and maneuver warfare. In 1778, Lee was promoted to major and given the command of a mixed corps of cavalry and infantry known as Lee's Legion, with which he won a great reputation as a capable leader of light troops. With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, he instead became a captain in a Virginia dragoon detachment, which was attached to the 1st Continental Light Dragoons. Lee graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1773 and began pursuing a legal career.Īmerican Revolution Letter from Henry Lee to Colonel Shreve, Burlington, May 12, 1780 He was also a descendant of Theodorick Bland of Westover and Governor Richard Bennett. Lee was the grandson of Henry Lee I, a great-grandson of Richard Bland, and a great-great-grandson of William Randolph. His great-grandmother Mary Bland was also a grand aunt of President Thomas Jefferson. His mother was an aunt of the wife of Virginia Governor Thomas Nelson Jr. His father was the first cousin of Richard Henry Lee, twelfth President of the Continental Congress. Lee was born on Leesylvania Plantation in Prince William County in the Colony of Virginia. ![]() Lee, who led the Army of Northern Virginia against the Union Army during the American Civil War. Lee's service during the American Revolution as a cavalry officer in the Continental Army earned him the nickname by which he is best known, "Light-Horse Harry". politician who served as the ninth Governor of Virginia and as the Virginia Representative to the United States Congress. Henry Lee III (Janu– March 25, 1818) was an early American Patriot and U.S. ![]()
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