Lee, Henry (1756-1818), was a noted American cavalry leader during the Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783). His success as a scout and in making lightning raids won him the nickname of “Light-Horse Harry.” After the war, Lee became a leading statesman. He was a member of the powerful Lee family of Virginia and the father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Lee became a captain in the Virginia cavalry in 1776, and the next year his company joined George Washington’s army. In 1778, Lee was made a major in charge of a force of cavalry and infantry that became known as “Lee’s Legion.” In 1779, he led the group in a daring raid on the British post at Paulus Hook, New York (now Jersey City, New Jersey). In 1780, Lee became a lieutenant colonel and was assigned to fight under General Nathanael Greene in the South.
After the war, Lee entered the Virginia House of Delegates. He served in the Congress of the Confederation from 1785 until 1788. He was also a member of the Virginia convention that ratified the Constitution of the United States. Lee served as governor of Virginia from 1791 to 1794, and commanded the troops that President Washington sent in 1794 to end the Whiskey Rebellion (see Whiskey Rebellion ). Lee was a member of the Federalist Party. From 1799 to 1801, he served as a member of Congress. He wrote the famous epitaph of George Washington, “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”
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Lee fell deeply into debt in later years, and was imprisoned in 1808 and 1809. During this time, he wrote his Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States. In 1812, he was injured while trying to protect a friend from rioters in Baltimore. He never fully recovered from this injury. He died on March 25, 1818.
Lee was born on Jan. 29, 1756, at “Leesylvania,” Prince William County, Virginia. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1773.
