aide to Gen. James Wilkinson and afterward to Gen. George Izard. On his return from Canada he met in New York Lord Jeffrey, the "Edinburgh" re- viewer, and both men were much sought after in society on account of their brilliant conversational powers. At the close of the war Major Lee retired to his estate in Virginia. He was first impelled to authorship by the publication of Judge William Johnson's " Life of Gen. Greene," in which he con- sidered that both his father's good name and that of the latter's " Legion " were unjustly assailed. He resolved to defend both, and did so in an octavo volume entitled '• The Campaign of 1781 in the Carolinas " (Philadelphia, 1824). Major Lee, hav- ing been by education and conviction attached to the Federal school in politics, was proscribed by the dominant party. On the nomination of Gen. Jackson, who had, in 1812, opposed this proscrip- tion, he became one of the most influential advo- cates of the latter's election, publishing a series of essays in his support. As a reward he was ap- Eointed consul at Algiers, where he went in 1829 ; ut, the appointment not being confirmed by the senate, he remained there less than a year. Journeying through Italy on his way home, he met Madame Mere, the mother of Napoleon. His admiration of the latter's Italian campaigns induced him to vindicate Napoleon from slander. He was somewhat delayed in the execution of this task by the necessity of entering the field again in defence of his father's memory from assaults in the published writings of Jefferson. After the completion of his " Observations on the Writings of Thomas Jefferson" (New York, 1832; Philadelphia, 1839), he devoted himself to his " Life of Napoleon," of which only one volume was published before his death (New York, 1835). Subsequently tins instalment, together with the additional matter he had prepared, was issued in a single volume with the title, "The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte down to the Peace of Tolentino, and the Close of his First Campaign in Italy" (London and Paris). — Richard Henry's grandson, Samuel Phillips, naval officer, b. in Fairfax county, Va., 13 Feb., 1812, entered the U. S. navy in 1825, was com- missioned lieutenant in 1837, commander in 1855, captain in 18G2, commodore in 1866, and rear- admiral in 1870. In 1861 he commanded the war- sloop " Oneida " in the attack on Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, and in various battles on the Mississippi river from New Orleans to Vicksburg. In 1862 he was ordered to the command of the North Atlantic blockading squadron. He was as- signed to the Mississippi squadron in 1864, and in December of this year, when Gen. John B. Hood was advancing upon Nashville, and the safety of the National troops under Gen. George H. Thomas largely depended on the prompt arrival of re-en- forcements and supplies, Lee kept open Cumber- land river, which was the only channel of com- munication. During this campaign he received a vote of thanks from congress. He was president of the board to examine volunteer officers for ad- mission into the regular navy in 1866-'7, and at the latter date commanded the North Atlantic fleet. In 1873 he was retired. He published " The Cruise of the ' Dolphin ' " in the " Reports of the U. S. Naval Department" (Washington, 1854). — Another grandson of Richard Henry, Richard Henry, author, b. in Westmoreland county, Va., in 1794; d. in Washington, Pa., 3 Jan., 1865, was son of Ludwell Lee. He was graduated at Dickinson in 1812 and studied law, but in 1833 accepted a chair in Washington college, Pa. He took orders in 1856, and was rector of a church there till his death. He published " Memoirs of the Life of Richard Henry Lee" (2 vols., Philadelphia, 1825); "Life of Arthur Lee" (2 vols., Boston. 1829); and " Life of Harriet Preble " (New York, 1856).
LEE, Rohert Edward, soldier, b. in Stratford,
Westmoreland co., Va., 19 Jan., 1807 ; d. in Lex-
ington, Va., 12 Oct., 1870. He was the son of the
Revolutionary general Henry Lee (q. v.), known
as " Light-Horse Harry," was graduated from the
U. S. military academy at West Point in 1829,
ranking second in a class of forty-six, and was
commissioned as a 2d lieutenant in the engineers.
At the beginning of the Mexican war he was as-
signed to duty as chief engineer of the army under
Gen. Wool, his rank being that of captain. His
abilities as an engineer, and his conduct as a sol-
dier, won the special admiration of Gen. Scott,
who attributed the fall of Vera Cruz to his skill,
and repeatedly singled him out for commendation.
Lee was thrice brevetted during the war, his last
brevet to the rank of colonel being for services at
the storming of Chapultepec. In 1852 he was as-
signed to the command of the military academy at
West Point, where he remained for about three
years. He wrought great improvements in the
academy, notably enlarging its course of study and
bringing it to a rank equal to that of the best
European military schools. In 1855 he was ap-
pointed lieutenant-colonel of the 2d regiment of
cavalry, and assigned to duty on the Texan fron-
tier, where he remained until near the beginning
of the civil war, with the exception of an interval
when, in 1859, he was ordered to Washington and
placed in command of the force that was sent
against John Brown at Harper's Ferry.
On 20 April, 1861, three days after the Virginia convention adopted an ordinance of secession, he resigned his commission, in obedience to his con- scientious conviction that he was bound by the act of his state. His only authenticated expression of opinion and sentiment on the subject of secession is found in the following passage from a letter written at the time of his resignation to his sister, the wife of an officer in the National army : " We are now in a state of war which will yield to noth- ing. The whole south is in a state of revolution, into which Virginia, after a long struggle, has been drawn ; and though I recognize no necessity for this state of things, and would have forborne and pleaded to the end for redress of grievances, real or supposed, yet in my own person I had to meet the question whether I should take part against my native state. With all my devotion to the Union, and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an Ameri- can citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the army, and, save in defence of my native state — with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed — I hope I may never be called upon to draw my sword."
Repairing to Richmond, he was made commander-in-chief of the Virginia state forces, and in May, 1861, when the Confederate government was removed from Montgomery to Richmond, he was appointed a full general under that government. During the early months of the war he served in- conspicuously in the western part of Virginia. In the autumn Lee was sent to the coast of South Carolina, where he planned, and in part constructed, the defensive lines that successfully resisted all efforts directed against them until the very end of the war. He was ordered to Richmond, and on 13 March, 1862, assigned to duty '• under the direction of the president," and " charged with the conduct
