LAWOESTINE, MARQUIS DE. 



LEE, ROBERT E. 



LAWOESTINE, ALEXANDER CHARLES ANA- 

 ALEXIS, Marquis <le, a French General 



iiinl Si-iiator, l>orn in Paris December 25, 1786;* 

 dieil there May 1, 1870. He was descended 

 mi liis father's side from a German ancestry, 

 : lie grandson of Madame de Genlis, and 

 the godson of Louis Philippe. At the age of 

 nineteen he was a sub-lioutentant of cavalry, 

 and took part in the groat campaigns of tho 

 h armies between 1805 and 1814. In 

 Spain he served as aide-de-camp of General 

 Sebastiani, and, in the campaign of 1812, in 

 Russia, was promoted to be major after Mos- 

 kowa, and colonel after the battle of Arcis-sur- 

 Aube. At Waterloo ho commanded the Third 

 regiment of Chasseurs. Under the Bourbon 

 Restoration he retired from tho service, but, 

 after the Revolution of 1830, he was made 

 colonel of the Fifth Hussars, and was promoted 

 to the lieutenant-generalship in 1841. After 

 the revolution of 1848 he was removed from 

 command, but was reinstated tho following 

 Having attached himself to the fortunes 

 of. the Prince-President, he was put in com- 

 mand of the National Guard of Paris some 

 days before the coup d'etat. In January, 1852, 

 he was made a Senator ; in October, 1863, ap- 

 pointed governor of the Hospital des Invalides, 

 and authorized by the Emperor to receive the 

 special title of "Excellency." The marquis 

 was promoted to be Grand Officer of the Legion 

 of Honor in 1847, and Grand Cross in 1853. 



LEE, ROBERT EDWARD, LL. D., an American 

 soldier and educator, born in Stratford, West- 

 moreland County, Va., January 19, 1807; 

 died in Lexington, Va., October 12, 1870. He 

 was the son of General Henry Lee, the " Light- 

 Horse Harry Lee" of the Revolutionary War, 

 the personal and political friend of Washington. 

 Hi> father died when ho was eleven years of 

 age ; but his example and influence led him to as- 

 pire to the profession of arms, and in 1825, at tho 

 age of eighteen, ho entered the Military Acad- 

 emy at West Point, where he was graduated 

 in 1829, second in rank in a class of forty-six. 

 Among his classmates were Generals O. M. 

 Mitchel, James Barnes, Swords, 0. J*. Buck- 

 ingham, Burbank, Brice, Thomas A. Davies, 

 llotl'man, and Caleb 0. Sibloy, of the Union 

 Army, and Generals Joseph E. Johnston, T. H. 

 Holmes, and Blanchard, of the Confederate 

 Army. The young cadet, was at once ap- 

 pointed to a lieutenancy in tho corps of Topo- 

 graphical Engineers, and through the unevent- 

 ful years of military life between his appoint- 

 ment and the Mexican War rose only to the 

 rank of captain. His singular capacities had, 

 however, impressed themselves strongly on his 

 superiors, and, when General Scott invaded 

 Mexico, Captain Lee was appointed Chief En- 

 gineer of the army under General Wool. In 



this branch of the service, Captain Lee, like 

 the great Bonaparte, won his first recognition, 

 and General Scott instantly advanced the young 

 officer to whose skill he attributed the reduc- 

 tion of Vera Cruz. He was placed on the gen- 

 cfral staff and directed almost exclusively the 

 engineering operations of the army of invasion. 

 In every action subsequently fought during the 

 campaign, General Scott took occasion to men- 

 tion tho skill, enterprise, and wonderful judg- 

 ment, of his young aid. Lee received three 

 promotions for his services in the campaign. 

 In April, 1847, he was breveted major in recog- 

 nition of his brilliant cooperation at Cerro 

 Gordo ; in August, for gallant and meritorious 

 conduct at Contreras and Churubusco, he was 

 raised to tho rank of lieutenant-colonel ; and 

 in September of the same year received the 

 brevet rank of colonel for services at Chapul- 

 tepec. He was assigned in 1852 to the im- 

 portant post of Superintendent at West Point, 

 retaining his field-rank. ' 



In this position he remained three years, 

 initiating valuable reforms and augmenting the 

 efficiency of the Institute by wise measures and 

 profitable suggestions to Congress. Through 

 his recommendation, the course of study, which 

 had hitherto covered but four years, was in- 

 creased to five, rendering it as complete and 

 rigorous as those in Europe. In the midst of 

 this brilliant administrative career, Congress 

 authorized the raising of two cavalry regiments, 

 and of the second Brevet-Colonel Lee was ap- 

 pointed lieutenant-colonel. The regiment was 

 commanded by Albert Sydney Johnston, who 

 afterward preceded Colonel Lee in the command 

 of the Army of Northern Virginia. The regi- 

 ment, when organized, in 1855, was sent to 

 Texas, and remained on duty on our Southwest- 

 ern border until 1859, fighting Indians and per- 

 forming general garrison duty. In the autumn 

 of this year Colonel Lee returned to Washing- 

 ton and took active part in the hunting down 

 of John Brown. He proceeded vigilantly 

 against the feeble band at Harper's Ferry, and 

 in a short time all who were not killed were 

 prisoners. He resorted to no extreme meas- 

 ures, and it is on record that the prisoners were 

 saved from the fury of the Virginia mob solely 

 by his firmness. 



In February, 1861, Colonel Lee rejoined his 

 regiment at San Antonio, Texas, and remained 

 there until December 12, 1860, when he re- 

 turned to Virginia on leave of absence. On 

 the 16th of March, 1861, ho was commissioned 

 colonel of the First Cavalry. On the 20th of 

 April, 1861, Colonel Lee, after a service of 

 twenty-five years, resigned his position in tho 

 United States Army, sending his letter of res- 

 ignation to General Scott, at Washington. It 

 was in the following terms : 



