LEE. 



419 



between Great Britain and her colonies had now 

 assumed a serious aspect, and Lee formed the resolu- 

 tion to espouse the cause of the latter. Travelling 

 through the colonies, he became acquainted with the 

 most conspicuous friends of colonial emancipation, 

 and, though yet a British officer on half-pay, was 

 active in encouraging the Americans to resistance, 

 and in censuring the measures of the ministry. In 

 1775, Lee received a commission from congress, and 

 immediately resigned the one he held in the British 

 service; at the same time declaring to the secretary 

 of war his readiness to engage in any honourable 

 service for the king, but reprobating the present 

 measures as inconsistent with the liberty of the sub- 

 ject. In the quality of major-general in the conti- 

 nental service, Lee accompanied general Washington 

 to the camp before Boston. In 1776, lie was directed 

 by the Commander-in-chief to occupy New York, and 

 to defend that city and the North river against the 

 enemy. On his arrival there, Lee set about 

 strengthening the defences of the city, disarming 

 and securing those who were inimical to the Ameri- 

 can cause, and checked the intercourse subsisting 

 between the British and the townsmen. He was 

 afterwards invested with the chief command in the 

 southern department. His presence in the south 

 inspired a happy ardour and confidence in soldiers 

 and people, while his conduct on the memorable 

 attack of the British upon Sullivan island raised his 

 military reputation. After the discomfiture of the 

 British at this fortress, Lee passed into Georgia, 

 where he remained some weeks, employing himself 

 in fortifying the colony, and chastising the frontier 

 Indians. Congress anticipating a concentration of 

 the British forces, for the purpose of making a 

 powerful effort at New York, Lee was ordered to 

 Philadelphia, and was despatched to the camp at 

 Haarlem, with permission to visit the posts in New 

 Jersey. He reached the army just in time to recom- 

 mend its extrication from a situation, where, had the 

 British used proper diligence in their operations, it 

 would have been completely destroyed. The opin- 

 ion of Lee induced the council of war to make a 

 precipitate movement during the night, by which 

 they escaped the toils into which they would other- 

 wise have fallen. While marching through the Jer- 

 seys to. join general Washington, Lee was made 

 prisoner by the British (December 13, 1776), as he 

 lay carelessly guarded, at a considerable distance 

 from the main body, and carried to New York. 

 Washington proposed to exchange for him six field 

 officers ; but general Howe affected to consider Lee 

 as a deserter from the British army, and refused to 

 release him on those terms. Several British officers 

 were confined, and held answerable for the treatment 

 of general Lee. The latter was, however, treated 

 in a manner unworthy of a generous enemy, until 

 the surrender of Burgoyne, October 17, 1787. After 

 that event, he was exchanged. The battle of Mon- 

 mouth concluded the military course of general Lee. 

 Being directed by general Washington to advance 

 and attack the enemy's rear, he approached very 

 near, but, instead of obeying his instructions, suffered 

 his troops to make a disorderly retreat. The com- 

 mander- in-chief met him in the flight, and repri- 

 manded him for his conduct. Lee replied in improper 

 language, but executed the subsequent orders of 

 general Washington with courage and ability. Stung 

 with the indignity which he conceived to have 

 been offered him, he wrote two letters to the com- 

 mander-in-chief, after the action, of a disrespectful 

 tenor, challenging him to substantiate the charges 

 implied in his expressions on the field. General Lee 

 was arrested, and arraigned before a court-martial, 

 for disobedience of orders, misbehaviour before the 



enemy, and disrespect to the commander-in-chief. 

 August 12, 1778, he was found guilty of the charges, 

 and sentenced to be suspended from any commission 

 in the armies of the United States for the period 

 of one year. The concurrence of congress in this 

 sentence was thought necessary ; and, while yet in 

 suspense as to their determination, he published a 

 defence of his conduct. His abuse of general Wash- 

 ington's character, in this pamphlet, led to a duel 

 with colonel Laurens, one of the aids of the comman- 

 der-in-chief, in which Lee was wounded. Congress 

 confirmed the sentence of the court-martial in his 

 case, though not without previous discussion. Lee 

 retired to an estate he had purchased in Virginia, 

 where he lived, secluded in a small hovel, destitute 

 of glass windows or plastering, amusing himself with 

 his books and dogs. While in this situation, he 

 composed a set of political and military queries, in 

 which his bitter feelings were freely vented, and 

 which were afterwards published in Baltimore, where 

 they created considerable disturbance. In 1782, he 

 went to Philadelphia, where he engaged lodgings in 

 a tavern, and, a few days after his arrival, was seized 

 with a fever, of which he died in obscurity, October 

 2, 1782. His thoughts would appear to have been 

 employed to the end in the profession which had 

 engaged the best portion of his life, for the last words 

 he was heard to utter were, " Stand by me, my 

 brave grenadiers." From respect to his former ser- 

 vices, a large concourse of the people, including 

 many public characters, both French and American, 

 joined in the funeral solemnities. 



General Lee was brave in action, of a sound judg- 

 ment in military affairs, and possessed of the affection 

 of his officers and men. Sensible of his military 

 talents, and insatiably ambitious, he aspired to the 

 chief command, and was little scrupulous about the 

 means to be employed to attain that dignity. What- 

 ever might have been his motives for engaging in 

 the American cause, he ( sacrificed much for it, and 

 was useful in its advancement. He was a classical 

 scholar, and possessed an excellent memory and a 

 brilliant fancy. His temper was morose and avari- 

 cious. His satirical spirit made him many enemies. 

 Though a gentleman in his manners, when he chose 

 to appear such, he was often coarse, and, towards 

 the latter part of his life particularly, became very 

 negligent about his personal appearance. He was 

 very fond of dogs, which he even carried into the 

 company of ladies. With all his faults, however, he 

 was distinguished for sincerity, veracity, and adhe- 

 rence to his friends. He was rattier above the 

 middle size. His countenance was not agreeable. 

 Many persons considered him an atheist, though some 

 exalted ideas of a Supreme Being appear in his corre- 

 spondence. He published some essays on military, 

 political, and literary subjects, which, together with 

 his extensive correspondence, were collected in a 

 volume in 1792. A pamphlet which he wrote on 

 American affairs, in the earlier part of his life, was 

 much approved of by the Americans, and particularly 

 commended by doctor Franklin. It was his earnest 

 desire, expressed in his will, that he should not be 

 buried in any church or churchyard, or within a mile 

 of any Presbyterian or Anabaptist meeting-house ; 

 and he assigned as his reason, that since his residence 

 in America, he had kept so much bad company while 

 living, that he wished to avoid it when dead. See 

 Memoirs of Charles Lee (Dublin, 1792); Anecdotes 

 of Charles Lee (London, 1797); Girdlestone's Facts 

 proving Charles Lee to have been Junius (London, 

 1813.) 



LEE, HENRY, general, a distinguished officer of 

 the American revolution, was born in the colony of 

 Virginia, January 29, 1756, of a highly distinguished 

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