CSA Bios: Rooney Lee, GWC Lee, Fitzhugh Lee, E. Lee

[Battleline]

Maj. Gen. William H.F. Lee (b. 1837, d. 1891) At the time William Henry Fitzhugh “Rooney” Lee was promoted to major general, he was the youngest at that rank in the Confederate army. The second son of Robert E. Lee, Rooney was born at “Arlington” May 31, 1837. His grandparents were famous as well. Revolutionary War solder “Light Horse” Harry Lee was his paternal grandfather. Martha Washington was his maternal grandmother. Educated at Harvard, Lee was a skilled oarsman and was commissioned directly into the U.S. Army in 1857 as a second lieutenant in the 6th U.S. Infantry. He resigned two years later to farm “White House,” a plantation in New Kent County on the Pamunkey River he inherited from his Grandfather Custis. When Virginia seceded, Lee entered the Confederate army as colonel of the Ninth Virginia Cavalry, ironically part of his cousin Fitzhugh Lee’s brigade. He fought with Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry corps through much of the war. During the Battle of South Mountain, he was knocked off his horse and rendered unconscious. He received promotion to brigadier general to rank from Sept. 15, 1862. He led the cavalry’s third brigade through Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Wounded in the leg at Brandy Station in June of 1863, Lee was captured while recuperating. He was exchanged back in March of 1864 and promoted to major general to rank from April 23, 1864. He returned to cavalry operations with the Army of Northern Virginia. At Globe Tavern, he commanded the cavalry. He was second in command by the time of the surrender at Appomattox, leading the army’s right flank. After the war, he returned to farming, rebuilding “White House” and was president of the Virginia Agricultural Society. He served four years as a state senator. In 1887, Lee was elected to the U.S. Congress and held that seat until his death Oct. 15, 1891, at “Ravensworth” near Alexandria. He was buried in the family ground, but his remains were moved to the Lee mausoleum in Lexington, Virginia, in 1922.

Maj. Gen. George W.C. Lee (b. 1832, d. 1913) Eldest son of Robert E. Lee, George Washington Custis Lee served mainly in a advisory role during the Civl War. Custis Lee was entrusted with special missions from Pres. Jefferson Davis and consulted by his father. For the most part, Lee saw little field service until he organized a force for the emergency defense of Richmond, consisting of clerks and mechanics. Lee was born at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, Sept. 16, 1832, the eldest son of two prominent Virginia families. His paternal grandfather was Revolutionary War soldier “Light Horse” Harry Lee. His maternal grandmother was Martha Washington. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at the head of the Class of 1854. He served as an engineer in different places until he resigned his commission as a first lieutenant May 2, 1861. Commissioned as a captain of engineers in the Confederate army, Lee worked on fortifying Richmond. Promoted to colonel, he served on the staff of Pres. Jefferson Davis. He was promoted to brigadier general to rank from June 25, 1863, and to major general to rank from Oct. 20, 1864. The promotion to major general was confirmed Feb. 3, 1865. On the retreat from Richmond, Lee was attached to Ewell’s Corps, but was captured with several other generals at Sayler’s Creek April 6, 1865. He was paroled quickly due to the illness of his mother. He could take possession of “Arlington,” his inheritance, as the estate was in Federal hands. Instead, he accepted a position teaching at Virginia Military Institute. When his father died, he became the president at Washington College (Now Washington & Lee University). Lee resigned in 1897 and moved to a home in Fairfax County not far from “Arlington.” He died there Feb. 18, 1913, and was buried in Lexington, Virginia.

Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee (b. 1835, d. 1905) The nephew of Robert E. Lee, and Gen. Samuel Cooper (on his mother’s side) and son of longtime U.S. Navy officer Sydney Smith Lee, Fitzhugh Lee served as a major general in two different armies in two different conflicts. Besides his Confederate service, he also was a major general of volunteers in the Spanish-American War. Fitzhugh Lee was born at “Clermont” in Fairfax County, Virginia, Nov. 19, 1835. He attended the U.S. Military Academy and graduated 45th among 49 in the Class of 1856. He was lucky to graduate and nearly was expelled by his uncle for misbehavior. After graduation, he was assigned to instruct recruits at the cavalry school at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. He was posted to the Texas Frontier with the 2nd Cavalry in Texas. In a pursuit of nearly 2,000 Kiowa and Comanche warriors near the Washita River, Lee was shot through both lungs with an arrow. He stayed on the field until the action ended. Recovery took more than three months. After his recovery, he returned to West Point as an assistant instructor of tactics at the rank of first lieutenant. In May of 1861, he resigned from the U.S. Army to take a job in the Confederate Army with the same rank. At First Manassas, Lee served on the staff of Gen. Joseph Johnston. He became lieutenant colonel of the First Virginia Cavalry in August 1861. He quickly became a favorite of Gen. J.E.B. Stuart and played a major role in operations of the cavalry corps. For services in the Peninsular Campaign, he earned promotion to brigadier general July 24, 1862. He was promoted to major general Aug. 3, 1863, following his return from the Pennsylvania Campaign. At Spotsylvania Court House, Lee’s division made a stand which kept the Federal I Corps from securing a vital crossroads in advance of Gen. Grant’s arrival with the main column. When Gen. Wade Hampton was ordered to North Carolina in January of 1865, Lee ascended to command the cavalry corps. Wounded at Third Winchester, Lee was out of action for much of the rest of the war. His cousin, Rooney Lee, led the cavalry in his absence. Fitzhugh Lee returned just before the end of the war and surrendered just after Appomattox. Following the war, he took up farming in Stafford County, Virginia. He also wrote a biography about his uncle and other Civil War topics. Turning to politics, he was elected Virginia governor in 1885. He served as president of the Pittsburgh & Virginia Railroad. He made an unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate in 1893, but was appointed consul-general at Havana by Pres. Grover Cleveland. At the start of the Spanish-American War, he was commissioned as a major general of volunteers. At the end of the war, he was the military governor of Havana. He retired with the rank of brigadier general, U.S.A., in 1901. Lee died in Washington, D.C., April 28, 1905. He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

Brig. Gen. Edwin G. Lee (b. 1836, d. 1870) Edwin Gray Lee served just two months as a brigadier before health issues forced him to take a leave of absence. Lee would die of a “disease of the lungs” at the age of 34. Born at “Leeland” in Virginia, Lee was educated at Hallowell’s School in Alexandria, Virginia, and later the College of William and Mary. He then studied law. Lee entered Confederate service as a second lieutenant in the Second Virginia. He moved up the ranks, being promoted to major, lieutenant colonel and colonel of the 33rd Virginia. Lee was an aide to Gen. Stonewall Jackson at Harpers Ferry in June and July of 1861. He took part in Jackson’s Valley Campaign in 1862, the Seven Days Campaign, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg. In December of 1862, he resigned due to health issues. He was recommissioned as colonel in 1863 and given duty in Richmond. On May 17, 1864, Lee was given orders to command the post at Staunton, Virginia, and recruit troops for the defense of the Shenandoah Valley. He was appointed brigadier general Sept. 23, 1864, to rank from Sept. 20. The nomination later was rejected by the Confederate Senate Feb. 24, 1865, likely because he was on leave, but still on the army rolls. On Nov. 28, 1864, Lee took a six-month leave of absence and ran the blockade with his wife, the daughter of Gen. William N. Pendleton, and went to Montreal. They stayed there until the spring of 1866. Lee died at Yellow Sulphur Springs, Virginia, Aug. 24, 1870, and was buried in Lexington, Virginia.

[jkBluesman]

Now the Lee family is almost complete, great work. I will do Stephen D. Lee soon.
One remark on George Washington Custis Lee. In the Ewell bio I got I read that his mother was not really sick but that Union army friends of Custis had set up the ploy to prevent Lee from going to Fort Warren.

[Gil R.]

Copied. Let me know if any changes are made to G.W.C. Lee's bio regarding his mother.

[Gil R.]

jkBluesman, I just saw that you edited the previous post, but only by chance, since the Matrix forum only indicates new posts, not new edits. Be sure to flag these things. (Come to think of it, are there other edits like that I might have missed?



And, in the We're Making Progress Department, here's Fitzhugh Lee's bio, which I'm quite pleased with. A few notes, though:

It’s unclear to me just what “Clermont” was and what its role in Lee’s life was. I took the information about growing up there from Heidler, but Wikipedia says he was born there. Also, I would think that it would be an estate rather than a home, but can’t find anything on that by using Google. Moreover, Heidler says he was born in Fairfax but that Clermont is in Alexandria. But rather than going crazy over a trivial point, I’m following Heidler – unless someone has something more informative.

I took out the reference to Rooney Lee to save space. (I did note that this info isn’t in Rooney’s own bio, though. I would have added it, but wasn’t sure of the details.)

I also took out the year he ran for Senate because there’s something goofy going on. Based not just on the unedited version of the bio but the U.S. Congress’s own website, it looks as if he ran in 1893 for a seat that became vacant at the end of 1895. It’s easier just to leave out the date, than to figure out what was happening. Also to save space, I took out this sentence, since the info is there by the time one gets to the end: “Besides his Confederate service, he also was a major general of volunteers in the Spanish-American War.”

Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee (b. 1835, d. 1905). Lee was born into a family with a great military tradition, and devoted much of his life to continuing it: the grandson of Revolutionary War her Gen. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, nephew of both Robert E. Lee and Gen. Samuel Cooper (on his mother’s side), and son of longtime U.S. Navy officer Sydney Smith Lee, he served as a major general in two different armies in two different conflicts. Lee was born in Fairfax County, Virginia, on November 19, 1835, growing up at Clermont, his maternal grandfather’s home in nearby Alexandria. He attended the U.S. Military Academy and graduated 45th among 49 in the Class of 1856. He was lucky to graduate, nearly having been expelled by his uncle for misbehavior. After graduation, he was assigned to instruct recruits at the cavalry school at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, and later was posted to the Texas frontier with the 2nd Cavalry. In a pursuit of nearly 2,000 Kiowa and Comanche warriors near the Washita River, Lee was shot through both lungs with an arrow in 1859, but stayed on the field until the action ended. After his recovery, which took three months, he returned to West Point as an assistant instructor of tactics at the rank of 1st lieutenant. In May of 1861, he resigned from the U.S. Army to take a position in the Confederate Army with the same rank. At the Battle of First Bull Run, on July 21, Lee served on the staff of Gen. Richard S. Ewell, who was commanding a brigade in Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard’s Army of the Potomac. He was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 1st Virginia Cavalry in August 1861 and quickly became a favorite of cavalry commander Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, playing a major role in operations of the cavalry corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. For services in the Peninsular Campaign the following spring and early summer, Lee earned promotion to brigadier general on July 24, 1862 (while Stuart rose to major general and was given command of the army’s newly formed cavalry division). Having performed well during the Maryland Campaign of September 1862, at Chancellorsville in May 1863 (when he discovered the Union’s exposed right flank), and during the Gettysburg Campaign two months later, he was promoted to major general, dating to August 3, 1863, and given a cavalry division in Stuart’s new cavalry corps. At Spotsylvania Court House in early May 1864,, Lee’s division made a stand that kept the Union’s I Corps from securing a vital crossroads in advance of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s arrival with the main column. During the Shenandoah Valley Campaign that began that August, Lee commanded the cavalry under Gen. Jubal Early until he was wounded at the Third Battle of Winchester on September 19, leaving him out of action for a few months. When Gen. Wade Hampton, who commanded the cavalry corps after Stuart was killed on May 12, was ordered to North Carolina in January 1865, Lee ascended to corps command. He last saw major action on April 1 in the Battle of Five Forks, the defeat that forced his uncle to withdraw from Petersburg and surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9. Following the war, Lee took up farming in Stafford County, Virginia. He also wrote a biography of his uncle and works about other Civil War topics. Turning to politics, he served as Virginia’s governor from 1886-1890. After this he was president of the Pittsburgh & Virginia Railroad. After an unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate, Lee was appointed consul-general at Havana by Pres. Grover Cleveland in 1896. At the start of the Spanish-American War, Lee was commissioned as a major general of volunteers, and after the war ended he was appointed the military governor of Havana. Lee retired with the rank of brigadier general in the regular army in 1901, and died in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 1905. He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. (Bio by Bill Battle)

[jkBluesman]

I only deleted a typo. If I change the content in a post I always let you know so do not worry about missed messages.

[Gil R.]

Oh, okay.

[Battleline]

As far as I can tell about the Custis Lee mother story, if it was made up to keep him out of prison it has become the accepted version over the years. I believe deeper research would be needed to find out how sick Mrs. Lee actually was. I would be happy to let you gentlemen decide how you want it stated.
Thanks,
Battleline