dination than before. In 1779 his commission was revoked in consequence of an insulting note to the presiding officer of Congress. He died on Oct. 2, 1782. See his Life by Jared Sparks in his Library of American Biography and that by G. H. Moore.
Lee, Fitzhugh, an American soldier, was
born in Fairfax County, Va., Nov. 19, 1835.
FITZHUGH LEE
He graduated at West
Point in 1856. At the
Civil War he entered
the Confederate service,
advancing to the
rank of major-general.
In 1885 he was elected
governor of Virginia,
serving until 1890. He
was appointed
consul-general to Havana by
President Cleveland,
and was retained at
that post by President
McKinley. He cared
for the interests of the United States with
signal ability during the investigation of the
destruction of the Maine and throughout
the trying times preceding the
Spanish-American War. In that war he served as
major-general of volunteers, and after peace
was declared he was made governor of the
province of Havana. He was later
appointed brigadier-general in the regular
army, retiring in 1901. He died in 1905.
Lee, Henry, a Revolutionary soldier, was
born in Virginia, Jan, 29, 1756. He graduuated
at Princeton College, and in 1776 was
appointed a captain of cavalry, and in the
following year joined the main army. His
vigor and ability attracted the attention of
Washington, and his command was soon
distinguished for the rapidity of movement
and soldierly daring which afterward made
Lee's legion so famous and gave him the
name of Light-Horse Harry. In 1786 Lee
was sent to Congress by the Virginia assembly,
and in 1792 he was elected governor
of Virginia. As a member of Congress, at
the death of Washington in 1799, he was
appointed to prepare the eulogy upon the
life and character of his dead chieftain.
His resolutions contained the often quoted
words: “first in war, first in peace and first
in the hearts of his countrymen.” Lee was
in Baltimore in 1814, when the office of
The Federal Republican was sacked by a
mob. He took an active part against them,
and with his friends was placed in jail for
safe-keeping, but the mob broke into the
building and killed or seriously injured all
its inmates. Lee never recovered from his
injuries, and soon made a voyage to the
West Indies in a vain search of health. He
died on March 25, 1818.
Lee, Richard Henry, a Revolutionary statesman and orator, was born in Virginia, Jan. 20, 1732. Soon after he was of age he was elected a delegate to the house of burgesses, where his first speech was in opposition to slavery, which he proposed to abolish by placing a heavy tax on all future importation of slaves. In 1767 he spoke against the acts which levied duties upon tea and other articles, and in the following year he suggested private correspondence between the friends of liberty in the different colonies. He is also said to have originated the idea of a congress of the colonies, which was carried into effect in 1774, when the first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia. Lee was one of the delegates from Virginia, and took active part in its deliberations, the delegates from other colonies being not only impressed with his great ability and knowledge, but with the “fire and splendor” of his eloquence. He also wrote the address to the people of Great Britain, directed by Congress in 1775, which was one of the strongest state papers of the time. On June 7, 1776, by the instruction of the Virginia house of burgesses, he introduced the famous resolutions declaring “that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown.” During his long service Lee became a warm supporter of Washington, sustaining him in all the more important acts of his administration. He was popular on account of his liberality and amiable disposition as well as his ardent patriotism. He retired from public life in 1792, and died on June 19, 1794. See Life by R. H. Lee.
Lee, Robert Edward, “Marse Robert,”
as the great military leader of the
ROBERT EDWARD LEE
Confederacy was
affectionately
called by the
people of the
south, died five
years after the
close of the
Civil War. He
knew the day
would come
when Blue and
Grey would
clasp hands
above all those
graves. Could
he have lived
until the
centenary of his own
birth, Jan. 19,
1907, he would have heard his eulogy
pronounced by a Massachusetts Adams.
He would have seen all parties and
a national press united to do honor not
only to his genius as one of the greatest
soldiers America has produced, but also to
the nobility of his character as a man.
Lee was born at Stratford, Westmoreland County, Virginia. His father was Light-
