Lee, Henry

Lee, Henry
born Jan. 29, 1756, Prince William county, Va.
died March 25, 1818, Cumberland Island, Ga., U.S.

American army officer and politician.

In the American Revolution he rose to cavalry commander (earning the nickname "Light-Horse Harry") and led victories at Paulus Hook, N.J., and in the South. As governor of Virginia (1791–94), he commanded the army that suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion (1794). In the U.S. House of Representatives (1799–1801), he wrote the resolution eulogizing George Washington as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." After 1800 Lee failed in several land and financial speculations and was twice imprisoned for debt. He was the father of Robert E. Lee.

* * *

▪ United States military officer
byname  Light-horse Harry Lee  
born Jan. 29, 1756, Prince William county, Va. [U.S.]
died March 25, 1818, Cumberland Island, Ga., U.S.
 American cavalry officer during the American Revolution. He was the father of Robert E. Lee and the author of the resolution passed by Congress upon the death of George Washington containing the celebrated apothegm “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

      A graduate of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), Lee joined Washington's army immediately upon the outbreak of the American Revolution (1775–83). In 1778 he advanced to the rank of major and commanded three troops of cavalry and three companies of infantry with which he won notable engagements and gained his nickname. His storming of Paulus Hook, N.J. (Aug. 19, 1779), won praise from Washington, and as a lieutenant colonel of dragoons in the Southern theatre (1780–81) he added further lustre to his name.

      After the war Lee served in the Virginia legislature (1785–88; 1789–91), in the Congress under the Articles of Confederation (1785–88), in the Virginia Convention of 1788 that ratified the federal Constitution, and as governor of the state (1791–94). In 1794 his political career was interrupted while he commanded the army assembled to put down the Whiskey Rebellion, an uprising of farmers resisting the federal whiskey tax, in western Pennsylvania. From 1799 to 1801 he served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

      After 1800 he became involved in unfortunate land speculation and was twice imprisoned for debt. In 1812 he was badly crippled in a Baltimore riot while defending the editor of an antiwar newspaper. The next year he went to the West Indies for his health, although some said he had gone to escape his creditors. He died while returning home.

      Lee was the author of Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States, published in 1812 and reprinted in 1869 with a biographical sketch by Robert E. Lee.

Additional Reading
Thomas Boyd, Light-Horse Harry Lee (1931); Charles Royster, Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution (1981).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Lee,Henry — Lee, Henry. Known as “Lighthorse Harry.” 1756 1818. American Revolutionary politician and soldier. He served in the Virginia legislature (1785 1788 and 1789 1791) and as governor of Virginia (1792 1795). * * * …   Universalium

  • Lee Henry — Biography Lee Henry is a singer, songwriter and producer from Harrow, London. Henry has already featured in the former MTV BASE no1. video Y Did You Leave? which was released under his production pseudonym “Tru Menace”.Inspired by the sounds of… …   Wikipedia

  • Lee, Henry — (29 ene. 1756, cond. Prince William, Va., EE.UU.–25 mar. 1818, Cumberland Island, Ga.). Oficial de ejército y político estadounidense. Durante la guerra de la independencia de los Estados Unidos de América ascendió a comandante de caballería y… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Gregg Lee Henry — (* 6. Mai 1952 in Lakewood, Colorado, USA) ist ein US amerikanischer Schauspieler und Sänger. Leben und Werk Henry begann seine Karriere 1976 mit einem Auftritt in der Fernsehserie Reich Arm II und absolvierte seitdem über 75 Auftritte in Serien… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Henry Lee — Henry Lee, von William Edward West, um 1838 Henry Lee III (* 29. Januar 1756 in Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia; † 25. März 1818 auf Cumberland Island, Georgia) war ein Kavallerieoffizier des Amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieges,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Henry Lee III — Gobernador de Virginia 1791 – 1794 Predecesor Beverley Randolph Suc …   Wikipedia Español

  • Henry Lee III — Henry Lee, von William Edward West, um 1838 Henry Lee III (* 29. Januar 1756 in Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia; † 25. März 1818 auf Cumberland Island, Georgia) war ein Kavallerieoffizier des Amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieges,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Lee — /lee/, n. 1. Ann, 1736 84, British mystic: founder of Shaker sect in U.S. 2. Charles, 1731 82, American Revolutionary general, born in England. 3. Doris Emrick /em rik/, born 1905, U.S. painter. 4. Fitzhugh /fits hyooh / or, often, / yooh ; fits… …   Universalium

  • Henry Lee IV — Henry (Black Horse Harry) Lee IV (28 May, 1787 ndash; 30 January, 1837) Biographer and historian born in Stratford, Virginia to Major General Light Horse Harry and Matilda Lee. He was a half brother of General Robert E. Lee. In 1808 he graduated… …   Wikipedia

  • Lee — Lee, Anna Lee, Nathanael Lee, Robert Edward Lee, Vernon Lee, Yuan Tseh * * * (as used in expressions) Bench, Johnny (Lee) Berners Lee, Tim Chennault, Claire L(ee) De Forest, Lee Frost, Robert (Lee) Glashow, Sheldon Lee …   Enciclopedia Universal

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”