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Chapter 1: ancestry.
Westmoreland is one of a group of counties in
Virginia lying between the
Rappahannock and
Potomac Rivers.
It was originally a portion of
Northumberland County, and, though small in geographical extent, its historical record is great.
Within a space of thirty miles in length and an average width of fifteen miles were born statesmen, soldiers, and patriots whose lives and characters adorn the pages of American history, and whose courage, genius, and learning are the proud inheritance of those who dwell to-day in the powerful republic of
America.
Here, from
England, in 1665, settled the great-grandfather of the “
Father of his country.”
Americanized, he became an extensive planter, soldier, magistrate, member of the
House of Burgesses, and a gentleman whose virtue and piety were undoubted.
In his will he expressed his “sorrow for his sins, and begged forgiveness from Almighty God, Saviour, and Redeemer.”
Here his son,
Lawrence, and his grandson, Augustine, were born.
The second wife of Augustine was Mary Ball, and their first child, born February 22, 1732, was named
George Washington.
This son was destined to establish, with stainless sword, a free republic, and by great skill, unfaltering faith, and sublime patriotism transfer power from king to people.
A grateful country acknowledged his illustrious services, and he was chosen the first
President of the
United States.
This little county was not satisfied with the high honor.
On April 28, 1758,
James Monroe
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was born within its limits.
He became a distinguished citizen, served as an officer in the
Revolutionary War, was a member of the General Assembly of
Virginia, of the
Congress of Confederation, and the Virginia Convention called in June, 1778, to consider the
Federal Constitution, a
United States Senator, envoy to
France,
England, and
Spain, twice Governor of his native State,
Secretary of State in
Mr. Madison's administration, and
President of the republic for two terms from 1817 to 1825-thus adding, by a long and meritorious public career, additional renown to the county of his birth, his State, and his country.
James Madison, fourth
President of the
United States, was born in the adjoining county of
King George seven years before
Monroe, and but a few miles distant.
To this section, from
England, came, too, the Lees, who belonged to one of the oldest families in the mother country, its members from a very early date being distinguished for eminent services to sovereign and country.
By the side of William the Conqueror, at the battle of
Hastings, in 1066,
Lancelot Lee fought, and a later descendant,
Lionel Lee, followed Richard
Coeur de Lion, taking part in the third crusade to
Palestine, in 1192, at the head of a company of “gentlemen cavaliers,” displaying great bravery at the siege of Acre.
The
Lees of
Virginia, “a family which has, perhaps, given more statesmen and warriors to their new home than any other of our old colonial progenitors,” came of an ancient and distinguished stock in
England, and neither country can boast a nobler scion than the subject of these memoirs.
General Lee had never the time or inclination to study genealogy, and always said he knew nothing beyond his first American ancestor,
Colonel Richard Lee, who migrated to
Virginia in the reign of Charles I. He believed, however, from his inherited traditions and the Coat of Arms borne by his progenitors in this country, that his family came originally from
Shropshire, England; and when the world rang with his name and fame, and he paid the usual penalty of greatness by being besieged with reiterated queries respecting his pedigree, this was all he would say. Others, however, took more interest in the subject; he was claimed
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by the Lees of
Cheshire,
Oxfordshire, Bucks, and
Essex, as well as of
Shropshire, and much was said and written
pro and
con both before and after his death.
In recent years his genealogy has been very persistently and thoroughly investigated by those learned in antiquarian research, and their conclusion is in favor of
Shropshire, though in 1663 the first emigrant,
Colonel Richard Lee, made a will in which he states that he was “lately of
Stafford Langton in the county of
Essex.”
Now, as we have every reason to believe that he was a younger son, the parental nest was probably full; neither was it such a “far cry” from
Shropshire to the near vicinity of
London, a remove preparatory, possibly, to the still greater one across the
Atlantic.
He certainly used the arms of the
Shropshire Lees.
Colonel Lee's devotion to the
House of Stuart was notorious, and had been often proved even by the manner of dating his will — viz., “The 6th of February, in the sixteenth year of the reign of our Sovereign
Lord, Charles II,
King of
Great Britain, etc., and in the year of our Lord 1663.”
1 Being
Secretary of State and Member of the Privy Council in
Virginia, he had assisted that stanch royalist,
Governor Berkeley,in holding the colony to its allegiance, so that after the death of Charles I,
Cromwell was forced to send troops and armed vessels of war to reduce it to subjection.
Unable to resist, they made a treaty with the “Commonwealth of
England,” wherein
Virginia was described as an “Independent Dominion,” this treaty being ratified in the same manner as with a foreign power.
Berkeley was then removed and another governor appointed; but the undaunted
Colonel Richard Lee hired a Dutch vessel, freighted it himself, went to
Brussels or Breda, surrendered up
Sir William Berkeley's old commission — for the government of that province-and received a new one from his present Majesty, Charles II, “a loyal action and deserving my commendation.”
2 It
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is also said that he offered the exiled monarch an asylum in the New World.
It is certain that on the death of
Cromwell he aided
Governor Berkeley in proclaiming Charles II in
Virginia King of
England,
Scotland,
France,
Ireland, and
Virginia two years before his “restoration” in
England.
In consequence, the motto to the
Virginia Coat of Arms was “
En dat Virginia quintam” until after the union of
England and
Scotland, when it was “
En dat Virginia quartam.”
The inscription on the tombstone of the second
Richard Lee, at
Burnt House Fields,
Mt. Pleasant, Westmoreland County, describes him as belonging to an “ancient and noble family of
Morton Regis in
Shropshire.”
It is clearly established that the three earliest representatives of the family in
America,
Colonel Richard Lee and his two eldest sons, claimed this
Shropshire County descent.
It is our purpose to trace the Lees in
America, not in
England.
The first emigrant,
Colonel Richard Lee, is described as a man of good stature, of comely visage, enterprising genius, a sound head, vigorous spirit, and generous nature; and when he reached
Virginia, at that time not much cultivated, he was so pleased with the country that he made large settlements with the servants who accompanied him. To his credit it may be added that when he returned to
England, some years afterward, he “gave away all the lands he had taken up, and settled at his own expense, to the servants he had fixed on them, some of whose descendants are now possessed of very considerable estates in that colony.”
After remaining some time in
England he again visited
Virginia with a fresh band of followers whom he also established there.
He first settled in
York County in 1641, where he was burgess and justice in 1647, and when later he removed to the “Northern neck,” between the
Potomac and
Rappahannock Rivers, he filled the offices of
Secretary of State and Member of the Privy Council.
Of his loyalty to the house of
Stuart we have already spoken, and of his various voyages, indicating in themselves his “enterprising genius.”
When he made his will in
London, in 1663, he was returning
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on what proved to be his last voyage.
He had with him his large, young family, his eldest son John not yet being of age; but he was so determined to establish them in
Virginia that he ordered an English estate —
Stratford — worth eight or nine hundred pounds per annum, to be sold and the money divided between his heirs.
He died soon after his return, and as John, the B. A. of
Oxford, never married, Richard, the second son, succeeded to the homestead in
Westmoreland.
He also graduated at
Oxford in law, and was distinguished for his learning, spending almost his whole life in study.
On October 15, 1667, as “
Major Richard Lee, a loyal, discreet person and worthy of the place,” he was appointed member of the council.
He was born in 1647, married
Letitia Corbin, and died in 1714, leaving five sons and one daughter.
His eldest son, Richard, the third of the name, married and settled in
London, though his children eventually returned to
Virginia.
Philip removed to
Maryland in 1700, and was the progenitor of the
Lee family in that State.
Francis, the third son, died a bachelor, but
Thomas, the fourth, with only a common
Virginia education (it could not have been much in those days), had such strong natural parts that he became a good Latin and
Greek scholar, long after he was a man, without any assistance but his own genius.
Though a younger son, with only a limited patrimony, by his “industry and parts” he acquired a considerable fortune, was a member of the council, and so well known and respected that when his house in
Westmoreland burned down Queen Caroline sent him a large sum of money out of her privy purse, with an autograph letter.
Stratford was rebuilt on an imposing scale, and, becoming the property of “Light-horse Harry,” on his marriage with Matilda, daughter of
Philip Ludwell Lee and granddaughter of
Thomas, was eventually the birthplace of
General R. E. Lee.
On the recall of
Sir William Gooch,
Thomas became president and commander in chief over the colony, in which station he continued some time, until the
King thought proper to appoint him governor, and he is always spoken of as the first native governor, though he died in 1750, before his commission could reach him. He
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married
Hannah Ludwell, of an old and
honorable Somersetshire family, originally of German extraction, and left six sons and two daughters.
Stratford is still standing in
Westmoreland County, an object of much veneration and respect.
Within its walls, in the same chamber, two signers of the
Declaration of Independence were born, while the fact that
Robert Edward Lee first saw the light there makes it yet more interesting.
It is a large, stately mansion, built in the shape of the letter “H,” and not far from the banks of the
Potomac.
Upon the roof were summer houses, with chimneys for columns, where the band played in the evenings, and the ladies and gentlemen promenaded.
Thomas Lee was buried at Pope's Creek Church, five miles from
Stratford.
George Washington was baptized at this church, and in the early days his family, the Lees, Paynes, and other prominent families of the neighborhood worshiped there.
It has been said that as
Westmoreland County is distinguished above all other counties in
Virginia as the birthplace of genius, so, perhaps, no other Virginian could boast so many distinguished sons as
President Thomas Lee.
General Washington, in 1771, wrote: “I know of no country that can produce a family all distinguished as clever men, as our
Lees.”
These sons in order of age were:
Philip Ludwell,
Richard Henry,
Thomas,
Francis Lightfoot,
Henry, and
Arthur.
Matilda, the first wife of
General Henry Lee, the father of
General Robert E. Lee, was the daughter of the eldest son,
Philip Ludwell Lee.
Richard Henry Lee, the second son, is well known to students of American history.
He has been generally styled “The
Cicero of the
American Revolution.”
He moved on June 10, 1776, that “these colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States” ; and with his
brother Francis Lightfoot signed the
Declaration of Independence.
Having moved this declaration, according to parliamentary etiquette, he might have been appointed chairman of the committee to draw up the instrument, but the sickness of his wife called him home; or he might also have been the author of the Declaration of American Independence in place of
Thomas Jefferson.
His services
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to the cause of the colony were great, and their struggle for independence was sustained by his tongue and pen. He was a great orator, an accomplished scholar, a learned debater, and a renowned statesman in that period of our country's history.
His father's brother,
Henry Lee, the fifth son of the second Richard, married a
Miss Bland, a great-aunt of
John Randolph, of
Roanoke.
His only daughter married a Fitzhugh.
His son Henry married
Miss Grymes, and left a family of six sons and four daughters.
Henry, the eldest, was the well-known “Light-horse Harry” of the
Revolutionary War, the father of
Robert E. Lee.
He and
Richard Henry Lee are frequently confounded, and their relationship has often been the subject of inquiry.
Richard Henry Lee's father,
Thomas, and
Henry Lee's grandfather,
Henry, were brothers.
The former was therefore a first cousin of the latter's father.
“Light-horse Harry” was conspicuous in the military and civil annals of his country as a dashing dragoon in the war between
Great Britain and the colonies.
His boldness and activity were frequently commended by
Washington, and he came out of the war with a brilliant reputation.
He possessed the love and confidence of the
commander in chief, and it is possible that
Washington's interest was first excited because he was once supposed to have had a tender feeling for
Lucy Grymes, his mother, a friendship which was continued by reason of the attractive qualities of the son as soldier and statesman.
This attachment was deeply appreciated by
General Henry Lee, and throughout his career he was steadfast in his devotion to
Washington.
“
Light-Horse Harry's”
father, Henry Lee, of Leesylvania, and
Lucy Grymes were married at
Green Spring, on
James River, December 1, 1753.
His mother was the daughter of
Lucy Ludwell, who married
Colonel Grymes, of the Council of
Virginia.
Bishop Porteus, of
England, was her uncle.
Their son Henry was born January 29, 1756, at Leesylvania, some three miles from
Dumfries, a village built by Scotch merchants, and then the county town of Prince William.
His brother,
Charles Lee (not to be confounded with
General Charles Lee, an Englishman, and no relation to this
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family), was subsequently
Attorney General in
Washington's second Cabinet.
The future cavalry leader was educated at
Princeton.
Dr. William Shippen writes to
Richard Henry Lee from
Philadelphia, August 25, 1770: “I am persuaded that there is no such school as
Princeton on this continent.
Your
cousin Henry Lee is in college, and will be one of the first fellows in this country.
He is more than strict in his morality, has fine genius, and is diligent.”
The profession of law was thought best for the display of his talents, and he was about to embark for
England to study it, under the direction of
Bishop Porteus, of
London, when stopped by hostilities between the mother country and her American colonies.
Possessing fine descriptive powers, application, great facility for public expression, and with character formed and mind trained by such a distinguished light of the Church of England, a great legal future would seem a safe prediction; but before the smoke cleared away from the first British gun fired in
Massachusetts, its report was heard in
Virginia.
The English volley lighted patriotic fires in the hearts of the colonists with the rapidity electricity flies in this age from the touch of the button.
The sword was substituted for the law book in the hands of
Henry Lee, and we find him, at the age of nineteen, after the
battle of Lexington, a captain of cavalry, being nominated for that position by
Patrick Henry, the orator of American liberty.
He rose rapidly in his new career.
In the Northern Department at
Brandywine,
Germantown,
Springfield, and in the operations in
Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, and New York, his address, cool courage, great ability, and unceasing activity as an outpost officer speedily drew the attention of his superiors.
Congress recognized his services, promoted him, and gave him an independent partisan corps.
Ever thereafter his position in the war was near the flashing of the guns.
His duties kept him close to the enemy's lines, and his legion was what cavalry should be — the eyes and ears of the army.
His communications to
Washington were confidential, were sent direct, and he was ordered by the
commander in chief to mark them “
Private.”
When
Washington was anxious to effect
Arnold's
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capture he consulted the commander of the “Light horse,” who planned the famous desertion of
Sergeant Champe.
He projected and executed the surprise and capture of Paulus Hook by a brilliant coup de main, and for prudence, bravery, and tactical skill was presented by Congress with a gold medal emblematical of his success — a distinction conferred on no other officer below the rank of general during the war. On one side of the medal was a bust of the hero, with the words: “
Henry Lee,
Legionis Equit.: Praefecto Comitia Americana,” and on the reverse is translated: “Nothwithstanding rivers and intrenchments, he, with a small band, conquered the foe by warlike skill and prowess, and firmly bound, by his humanity, those who had been conquered by his arms.
In memory of the conflict at Paulus Hook, 19th August, 1779.”
In November, 1780, he was promoted to be lieutenant colonel of dragoons, and his corps is spoken of as the “finest that made its appearance in the arena of the
Revolutionary War.”
Washington had it formed expressly for him of equal proportions of cavalry and infantry, both officers and men being picked from the army.
Under its victorious guidons rode
Peter Johnston, the father of the distinguished soldier,
Joseph Eggleston Johnston, who joined the legion when only sixteen years old and led the forlorn hope at the storming of Fort Watson, and was publicly thanked.
Afterward he became a judge, and was celebrated for his learning and ability.
It is curious that the sons of
Judge Johnston and
General Henry Lee were afterward classmates at the United States Military Academy, and at the marriage ceremony of
Lee,
Johnston was a groomsman.
These two eminent soldiers were in the front rank of the United States Army, and served with great distinction under the
Southern flag, even as their fathers rode boot to boot in the days of the Revolution.
When
Henry Lee's legion was selected to assist in the defense of the Carolinas and the Virginias in the Southern Department,
Washington wrote to
Mr. John Matthews, a member of Congress from
South Carolina, informing him of its march, saying: “
Lee's corps will go to the southward; it is an excellent one, and the officer at the head
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of it has great reserves of genius.”
Lafayette held the leader of the legion in high estimation, and bears testimony to his “distinguished services,” his “talents as a corps commander,” and his “handsome exploits” ; while one of the
general officers of the army said: “He seemed to have come out of his mother's womb a soldier.”
General Nathanael Greene, his immediate commander, testified that “few officers, either in
America or
Europe, were held in so high a point of estimation,” in a letter to the
President of Congress, February 18, 1782, expressed himself as “more indebted to this officer [Lee] than any other for the advantages gained over the enemy in the operations of the last campaign,” and in a letter to
Lee himself writes: “No man in the progress of the campaign had equal merit with yourself, nor is there one so reported; everybody knows I have the highest opinion of you as an officer, and you know I love you as a friend.”
After the
British colors were lowered at
Yorktown Henry Lee began a civil career which proved to be as great as his military record.
In 1778 he was a member of the convention called in
Virginia to consider the ratification of the
Federal Constitution.
In the battle of intellectual giants composing that body, with eloquence and zeal he pleaded for its adoption.
By his side, and voting with him on that important question, were such men as
James Madison,
John Marshall, afterward
Chief Justice of the
United States, and
Edmund Randolph; while in the ranks of the opposition stood
Patrick Henry with immense oratorical strength,
George Mason, “the wisest man,”
Mr. Jefferson said, he “ever knew,”
Benjamin Harrison,
William Grayson, and others, who thought the
Constitution, as it came from the hands of its framers, conferred too much power on the
Federal Government and too little upon its creator, the States.
In 1786 he was a delegate to the Continental Congress.
From 1792 to 1795 he was
Governor of
Virginia, and was selected by
President Washington to command the fifteen thousand men from
Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, and
Maryland, who were sent into
western Pennsylvania to quell what was known as the “Whisky Insurrection,” which he successfully accomplished without bloodshed.
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This rebellion grew out of a resistance to a tax laid on distilled spirits.
Washington accompanied him on the march as far as
Bedford, Pa., and in a letter, dated October 20, 1794, to
Henry Lee,
Esq.,
commander in chief of the militia army on its march against the insurgents in certain counties of
western Pennsylvania, says at its conclusion: “In leaving the Army I have less regret, as I know I commit it to an able and faithful direction, and that this direction will be ably and faithfully seconded by all.”
While
Governor of
Virginia, a section lying under the
Cumberland Mountains, projecting between
Kentucky and
Tennessee, was formed into a separate county and named after him. It has since been divided into two, the eastern portion being called after
General Winfield Scott.
In 1779
General Lee was elected to Congress, and on the death of
General Washington was appointed to deliver an address in commemoration of the services of that great man, in which occurs the famous sentence so often quoted: “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his fellow-citizens.”
3 In 1798-99, as a representative of the
County of Westmoreland in the General Assembly, he took an active part in the debate upon
Mr. Madison's famous resolutions of that date.
In his opinion, the laws of the
United States then under discussion were unconstitutional, and if they were,
Virginia had a right to object; “but,” he exclaimed, “
Virginia is my country; her will I obey, however lamentable the fate to which it may subject me.”
When he was
Governor of
Virginia, six years before, his native State occupied the first place in his heart.
In reply to a letter from
Mr. Madison, dated
Philadelphia, January 21, 1792, asking him if he would relinquish his office and accept command of an army to be organized for the protection of the western frontier, he writes: “Were I called upon by the
President to command the next campaign, my respect for him would induce me to disregard every trifling obstruction which might oppose my acceptance of the office, such as my own repose, the
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care of my children and the happiness I enjoy in attention to their welfare, and in the execution of the duties of my present station.
As a citizen, I should hold myself bound to obey the will of my country in taking any part her interests may demand from me. Therefore I am, upon this occasion, in favor of obedience to any claim which may be made on me. Yet I should require some essential stipulations-only to secure a favorable issue to the campaign.”
After speaking of how formidable the enemy was, he adds: “One objection I should only have (the above conditions being acceded to), and that is, the abandoning of my native county, to whose goodness I am so much indebted; no consideration on earth could induce me to act a part, however gratifying to me, which could be construed into disregard or faithlessness to this Commonwealth.”
His great son therefore inherited this doctrine.
It was branded into his brain and flowed through his veins; so that later when he had to meet the question of serving under the flag of the
United States or of obeying the will of
Virginia, he drew his sword in defense of his mother Commonwealth.
When the war was declared with
England in 1812,
Henry Lee was living in
Alexandria, having moved there to facilitate the education of his children; he was offered, and accepted at once, a major general's commission in the army.
Before entering upon his duties he went to
Baltimore on business, and while there visited the house of
Mr. Hanson, the editor of the
Federal Republican.
“When he was about to leave he found the house surrounded by an angry mob, who were offended with the editor for his articles in opposition to the war; as his friend's life was threatened, he determined to assist him in resisting the attack of the mob. The results of that night proved nearly fatal to
General Lee, and were disgraceful to party spirit.”
The injuries he received at the hands of the excited mob prevented him from entering upon the campaign, obliged him to go to the
West Indies for his health, and ultimately caused his death.
While abroad, amid the fatal march of his disease, his heart turned ever to his home and family.
His letters to
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his son,
Charles Carter Lee, have been preserved, and are literary models, the object being to impress religion, morality, and learning upon his children, as well as to manifest his great affection for those left behind.
“Fame,” he writes, “in arms or art, is naught unless betrothed to virtue.”
And then: “You know I love my children, and how dear
Smith4 is to me. Give me a true description of his mind, temper, and habits.
Tell me of Anne.
Has she grown tall?
And how is my last, in looks and understanding?
Robert was always good, and will be confirmed in his happy turn of mind by his ever-watchful and affectionate mother; does he strengthen his native tendency?”
He wanted to know, too, whether his sons rode and shot well, bearing in mind a Virginian's solicitude always that his sons should be taught to ride, shoot, and tell the truth.
In his opinion,
Hannibal was a greater soldier than
Alexander or
Caesar; for he thought an ardent excitement of the mind in defending menaced rights brings forth the greatest display of genius, of which, forty-four years afterward, his great son was an illustrious example.
On June 18, 1817, from
Nassau, he writes: “This is the day of the month when your dear mother became my wife, and it is not so hot in this tropical region as it was then at
Shirley.
Since that happy day, marked only by the union of two humble lovers, it has become conspicuous as the day our war with
Great Britain was declared in
Washington, and the one that sealed the doom of
Bonaparte on the field of
Waterloo.
The British general, rising
gradatim from his first blow struck in
Portugal, climbed on that day to the summit of fame, and became distinguished by the first of titles, ‘ Deliverer of the
Civilized World.’
Alexander,
Hannibal, and
Caesar, among the ancients;
Marlborough, Eugene,
Turenne, and
Frederick, among the moderns, opened their arms to receive him as a brother in glory.”
Again he tells him “that
Thales,
Pittacus, and others in
Greece taught the doctrine of morality almost in our very words, ‘ Do unto others as you would they should do unto you,’ and directs his.son's attention to the fact
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that the beautiful Arab couplet, written three centuries before
Christ, announced the duty of every good man, even in the moment of destruction, not only to forgive, but to benefit the destroyer, as the sandal tree, in the instant of its overthrow, sheds perfume on the axe that fells it.”
The principles sought to be inculcated in these admirable letters will be found running through their lives, lodged firmly in their characters, and their constant reappearance in the life of one of them is an evidence of the impression made.
At the expiration of nearly five years, finding that there was no hope of his ultimate recovery, he determined to return to his family and friends.
In January, 1818, he took passage in a
New England schooner bound from
Nassau to New Providence and
Boston.
On nearing the coast of the
United States he became so much worse that he requested the captain to direct his course to
Cumberland Island, lying off the coast of
Georgia.
He knew that his former trusted friend,
General Nathanael Greene, had an estate there, and that there resided his married daughter,
Mrs. James Shaw.
Next to dying within the limits of his native State he preferred to furl the flag of a celebrated career under the generous roof and kindly influence of the hospitable daughter of a beloved brother soldier.
He was landed at “
Dungeness,” known as the most beautiful and attractive residence on the
Georgia coast, and here he was lovingly received and tenderly cared for. From the window of his sick-room “an extensive view of the
Atlantic Ocean, of
Cumberland Sound, and the low-lying verdant shores of
Georgia could be seen upon the one side, while upon the other lay attractive gardens and groves of oranges and olives, while grand live oaks swayed solemnly to and fro loaded with pendent moss.”
General Henry Lee's sufferings, consequent upon the injuries received in
Baltimore, were intense.
Mrs. Shaw,
General Greene's daughter, said that after his arrival at “
Dungeness” they still continued, and that a surgical operation was proposed as offering some hope of prolonging his life; but he replied that an eminent physician, to whose skill and care during his sojourn in the
West Indies he was much indebted, had disapproved a
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resort to the proposed operation.
His surgeon in attendance still urging it, he put an end to the discussion by saying: “My dear sir, were the great
Washington alive and here, joining you in advocating it, I would still resist.”
His agony at times was very great, causing irritation to overcome his rarely failing amiability.
At times he would lose self-control and order his servants and every one else from the room.
At length an old woman who had been
Mrs. Greene's favorite maid, and who was then an esteemed and privileged family servant, was selected to wait upon him. The first thing
General Lee did as she entered his room was to hurl his boot at her head and order her out. Entirely unused to such treatment, without saying a word she deliberately picked up the boot and threw it back.
The effect produced was marked and instantaneous.
The features of the stern warrior relaxed, in the midst of his pain and anger a smile passed over his countenance, and from that moment to the day of his death he would permit no one except “Mom Sarah” to do him special service.
In the presence of the angel of death he recognized and rewarded pluck and spirit in an old negro nurse, even as he did courage in the breasts of his soldiers.
Not the least among the recollections of “
Dungeness” is the fact that the last days of one of the great heroes of the Revolution were passed there; and when the “flowers of spring could no longer charm by their beauty and fragrance, or the soft southern wind bring health and surcease of pain to the suffering and dying, it received into its hospitable bosom and folded in one long and affectionate embrace all that was mortal of the gallant, gifted, and honored dead.”
Henry Lee and
Nathanael Greene now sleep but a short distance apart, where the “recollections of their brave deeds and the grateful songs of the true lovers of liberty are caught up by the billows of a common ocean.”
Two months after the sick soldier landed he was dead.
Every token of respect was shown by the United States Navy vessels in
Cumberland Sound; their colors were put at half-mast, as well as the flags at the military headquarters of the army on
Amelia Island.
Citizens from the adjoining islands united in paying their respects.
Commodore
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Henley, of the navy, superintended the last details.
A full army band was in attendance, and
Captains Elton,
Finch, and
Madison, and
Lieutenants Fitzhugh and
Ritchie, of the navy, and
Mr. Lyman, of the army, acted as pall-bearers.
Upon the stone marking his grave is this inscription: “Sacred to the Memory of
General Henry Lee, of
Virginia.
Obiit March 25, 1818, Aetat.
63.”
Not long before the war of 1861-65 the Legislature of Virginia passed resolutions for the appointment of a committee who, with the consent of his sons, should remove the remains to the capital city of
Virginia, where a suitable monument would be erected to his memory.
The commencement of hostilities prevented the accomplishment of this purpose.
The sad duty had not been performed before by his sons, because one,
Major Henry Lee, was abroad, one was an officer of the army, another of the navy, the fourth a lawyer, and their respective duties kept them widely apart, so that the matter, though frequently referred to in their correspondence, had never been fully arranged.
The remains of “Light-horse Harry,” therefore, still rest amid the magnolias, cedars, and myrtles of beautiful “
Dungeness.”
In many respects this officer was one of the most remarkable men of his day. He was a patriot and soldier, whose personal courage was tested in the fire of battle; an orator, a writer of vigorous and terse
English, with a happy facility for expression rarely equaled.
His book, called the Memoirs of the
War of “76,” is the standard work to-day of events in the war in the Southern Department of the
United States. Two editions of it had been exhausted, and in 1869 a third was issued by his son,
R. E. Lee, who, forgetful of his own great deeds, was desirous only of perpetuating those of his distinguished father.
General Henry Lee was twice married: first to Matilda, the daughter of
Philip Ludwell Lee, of
Stratford, and afterward to
Anne Hill Carter, daughter of
Charles Hill Carter, of
Shirley.
Four children were born from the first marriage.
The eldest was named after his beloved commander,
General Nathanael Greene, and died in infancy.
The second son died when ten years old. The miniature of this child he always thereafter wore, and it is still preserved in the family.
The third son,
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Henry, was born in 1787, and died in
Paris, France, January 30, 1837.
He graduated at William and Mary College, and served with credit in the
War of 1812.
He was appointed by
General Jackson Consul to
Algiers in 1829.
In journeying through
Italy he met the mother of the great
Napoleon, and, being an admirer of his
Italian campaigns, determined to write his life; the book is well written, as are other works of his.
The daughter married
Bernard Carter, a brother of her stepmother.
The children by
General Henry Lee's second marriage were
Algernon Sydney,
Charles Carter,
Sydney Smith, and
Robert Edward, and two daughters, Anne and
Mildred.
The first boy lived only eighteen months. The second, named after his wife's father, was educated at
Cambridge.
“We have just heard,” writes his father from
San Domingo, June 26, 1816, “that you are fixed at the
University of Cambridge, the seminary of my choice.
You will there have not only excellent examples to encourage your love and practice of virtue, but ample scope to pursue learning to its foundation, thereby fitting yourself to be useful to your country.”
Charles Carter Lee afterward studied law, and was a most intellectual, learned, and entertaining man. His social qualities were of the highest order, his humor inimitable; his classic wit flowed, as clear as the mountain stream, from a well-stored mind.
He was a boon companion and the first guest invited to the banquet; around him all clustered, and from his vicinity peals of laughter always resounded.
His speeches, songs, and stories are marked traditions in the family to-day.
Gifted with a most retentive memory, and being a great reader, especially of history, his recollection of all he had read made him a most instructive and agreeable companion.
Every subject received its best treatment from his genius.
He was thoroughly conversant with biblical literature, and had been known to maintain the leading part in discussions of the
Bible with a roomful of ministers whose duty it was to expound it. In every drawing-room his presence was most warmly welcomed.
At every festive board his song or speech was hailed with enthusiastic greeting.
He was clever, generous, liberal, and free-hearted.
When paying visits
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with his brothers-and the three often went together — should wine happen to be offered,
Smith and Robert with their usual abstemiousness would decline;
Carter, however, would accept, remarking: “I have always told these boys that I would drink their share of wine, provided they would keep me generously supplied.”
He wrote, too, with beauty and fluency of expression, and once said to his brother Robert:. “The Government employs you to do its fighting; it should engage me to write your reports.
I admit your superiority in the exercise of the sword and in planning campaigns.
I am, however, as you know, the better writer of the two, and can make my pen mightier than your sword after the battle is over.
We could thus combine and be irresistible.”
He died, and was buried at his country seat, Windsor Forest, in
Powhatan County.
The third son,
Sydney Smith, entered the United States Navy at an early age, and served with marked distinction in that service for thirty-four years. When
Virginia withdrew from the Union of States he accepted service in the
Southern navy.
A daughter of
General R. E. Lee writes of him: “No one who ever saw him can forget his beautiful face, charming personality, and grace of manner, which, joined to a nobility of character and goodness of heart, attracted all who came in contact with him, and made him the most generally beloved and popular of men. This was especially so with regard to women, to whom his conduct was that of a preux chevalier, the most chivalric and courteous; and, having no daughters of his own, he turned with the tenderest affection to the daughters of his brother Robert.-His public service of more than thirty years in the navy of the
United States is well known.
He entered it as a boy of fifteen, and faithfully served his country by land and sea in many climes and on many oceans.
He was in
Japan with
Commodore Perry, commanding his flagship, when that inaccessible country was practically opened to the commerce of the world.
He was Commandant of the Naval Academy at
Annapolis, and afterward in command of the navy yard at
Philadelphia.
When the war of secession began he was stationed in
Washington, but when
Virginia seceded he did not hesitate to abandon the comforts and security
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of the present and ambitions of the future and cast his lot with his native State in a war which, from the very nature of things, there could be but little hope for a naval officer.
Uninfluenced then by hope of either fame or fortune, he sadly parted with the friends and comrades of a lifetime, including
General Scott, who had been likewise devoted to him as he was to his brother, and for four years served the Southern Confederacy with the same ardor and energy and unselfishness that he had previously given to the whole country.
When the end came he accepted the situation with characteristic resignation and fortitude.”
The eldest daughter married
Mr. William Marshall, and lived in
Baltimore.
When the war cloud overshadowed the land,
Judge Marshall was ardently devoted to the cause of the
Union; their only son was educated at
West Point, and remained in the army of the United States during the war which followed.
It was natural, therefore, that the wife's sympathies in the pending struggle should be with husband and child.
For many years she was a great invalid and rarely left her couch.
Sick and tortured with conflicting emotions, her days were days of trial.
It is said she would smilingly agree with her husband in the hope that the armies of the
United States would gain victories over the troops of the
South, and then into a thousand pieces dash all former arguments by shaking her head and saying: “But, after all, they can't whip Robert.”
It was the triumph of ties of consanguinity over all other bonds.
Mildred, the youngest daughter, married
Mr. Edward Vernon Childe, of
Massachusetts, who removed to and lived in
Paris, where she died, where her children were brought up and educated.
The eldest son,
Edward Lee Childe, possessing an excellent education, fine literary ability, and a love for the memory of his great uncle, wrote a life of him in
French, which has been well received by the people of that country, and was translated into
English, in 1875, by
Mr. George Litting, of
London.