cal reasons had been placed in command over him. In point of fact, Lee's military experience, as sketched above, had been scarcely more extensive than Washington's. Such little reputation as he had in Europe was not that of a soldier, but of an unscrupulous political pamphleteer. Yet if he had been the hero of a dozen great battles, if he had rescued Portugal from the Spaniard and Poland from the Turk, he could not nave claimed or obtained more deference in this country than he did. On arriving at Cambridge he was placed in command of the left wing, with his headquarters at Winter Hill, in what is now Somerville. The only incident that marked his stay at Cambridge was a correspondence with his old friend Burgoyne, then lately arrived in Boston, which led to a scheme for a conference between Lee and Burgoyne, with a view to the restoration of an amicable understanding between the colonies and the mother country. The scheme, being regarded unfavorably by the Provincial congress of Massachusetts, was abandoned. In December, 1775, when Sir Henry Clinton was preparing to start from Boston on his southern expedition, fears were entertained for Rhode Island and New York, and accordingly Lee was sent to Newport, where his military genius displayed itself in the arrest of a few Tory citizens. Thence he proceeded in January to New York, where he did good service in beginning the fortifications needed for the city and neighboring strategic points. On the news of Montgomery's death, Lee was appointed to command the army in Canada; but scarcely had he been informed of this appointment when his destination was changed. It had become clear that Clinton's expedition was aimed at some point in the southern states, and Lee was accordingly put in command over the southern department, and in March went to Virginia. His recommendation to the Virginians to raise and discipline a cavalry force was sensible and useful. On 7 May he wrote a letter to Patrick Henry, strongly advocating a declaration of independence. Shortly after this Clinton, re-enforced by Sir Peter Parker's fleet with fresh troops under Lord Cornwallis, arrived in Charleston harbor; and Gen. Lee, following him, reached that city on the same day, 4 June. Preparations had already been made to resist the enemy, and Col. William Moultrie was constructing his famous palmetto fort on Sullivan's island. Lee blustered and found fault as usual, sneered at the palmetto fort, and would have ordered Moultrie to abandon it; but President Rutledge persuaded him to let Moultrie have his way. In the battle of 28 June between the fort and the fleet, Moultrie won a brilliant victory, the credit of which was by most people inconsiderately given to Lee. On the departure of the discomfited British fleet, the “hero of Charleston,” as he was now called, prepared to invade Florida; but early in September he was ordered to report to congress at Philadelphia. The question of his indemnification had been laid before congress in a letter from Rutledge, dated 4 July, and action was now taken upon it. The bills for £3,000 drawn upon his agent in England to repay the sum advanced by Robert Morris had been protested for lack of funds, as Lee's property in England had been sequestrated. Congress accordingly voted, 7 Oct., to advance $30,000 to Gen. Lee by way of indemnification. Should his English estate ever be recovered, he was to repay this sum.
Lee then went to New York, where he arrived on 14 Oct., and took command of the right wing of Washington's army upon Harlem heights. By the resignation of Gen. Ward in the spring Lee had become senior major-general, and in the event of disaster to Washington he might hope at length to realize his wishes and become commander-in-chief. The fall of Fort Washington, 16 Nov., seemed to afford Lee the opportunity desired. At that moment Washington, whose defensive movements had been marked by most consummate skill, had placed half of his army on the New Jersey side of the river, in order to check any movement of the British toward Philadelphia. He had left Lee at Northcastle, with the other half of the army, about 7,000 men, with instructions to await his orders and move promptly upon receiving them. As soon as the nature of Howe's designs had become apparent, Washington sent an order to Lee to cross the Hudson river and effect a junction of the two parts of the army. But Lee pretended to regard the order in the light of mere advice, raised objections, and did not stir. While Washington was now obliged to fall back through New Jersey, in order to avoid fighting against overwhelming odds, his messages to Lee grew more and more peremptory; but Lee disregarded them. Many people were throwing the blame for the loss of Fort Washington upon the commander-in-chief, and were contrasting him unfavorably with the “hero of Charleston,” and Lee busied himself in writing letters calculated to spread and increase this disaffection toward Washington. The latter had left Heath in command in the Highlands, with very explicit instructions, which Lee now tried, but in vain, to overrule. On 2 Dec., Washington had retreated as far as Princeton, with a force diminished to 3,000 men. On the same day, after a fortnight's delay, Lee crossed the Hudson and proceeded by slow marches to Morristown, with his force diminished to 4,000 men. The terms of service of many of the soldiers had expired, and the prospect was so dismal that few were willing to re-enlist. At this moment Gates was coming down from Ticonderoga with seven regiments sent by Schuyler to Washington's assistance; but Lee interposed, and diverted three of these regiments to Morristown. By this time Washington had retreated beyond the Delaware, and most people considered his campaign hopelessly ruined. Lee's design in thus acting independently seems to have been to operate upon the British flank from Morristown, a position of which Washington soon afterward illustrated the great value. The insubordinate commander wished to secure for himself whatever advantage might be gained from such a movement. For some unexplained reason, he made his headquarters at Baskingridge, four miles from his army, and here he was captured, 13 Dec., by a party of British dragoons. His troops, thus opportunely relieved of such a commander, were promptly marched by Sullivan to Washington's assistance in time to take part in the glorious movement upon Trenton and Princeton. The capture of Lee was considered a grave misfortune by the Americans, who did not possess the clew to his singular behavior. Of his conduct in captivity, which would soon have afforded such a clew, nothing whatever was known until eighty years afterward. Lee was taken to New York and confined in the city hall, where he was courteously treated, but he well understood that his life was in danger in case the British government should regard him as a deserter from the army. Sir William Howe wrote home for instructions, and in reply was directed to send his prisoner to England for trial. Lee had already been sent on board ship, when a letter from Washington put a stop to these proceedings. The letter informed Howe
