General Henry Lee, 1756-1818, a member of the celebrated Lee family of
Virginia, was born in Westmoreland County in that state, and died on
Cumberland Island, Georgia. He graduated at Princeton in his eighteenth
year. In 1777 he marched with a regiment of cavalry to join the patriot
army, and served with fidelity and success till the close of the war. He
was noted for his bravery, skill, and celerity, and received the nickname
of "Light-horse Harry." He was a great favorite with both General Greene
and General Washington. In 1786 Virginia appointed him one of her
delegates to Congress; he also took an active part in favor of the
adoption of the constitution in the Virginia Convention of 1788. On the
breaking out of the "Whisky Rebellion" in Pennsylvania, in 1794, the
President sent General Lee with an army to suppress the disturbance. The
insurgents submitted without resistance. In 1799 he was again a member of
Congress; and, on the death of Washington, that body appointed him to
pronounce a eulogy upon the life and character of the great and good man.
The following extract contains the closing part of the oration.
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Who is there that has forgotten the vales of Brandywine, the fields of
Germantown, or the plains of Monmouth? Everywhere present, wants of every
kind obstructing, numerous and valiant armies encountering, himself a
host, he assuaged our sufferings, limited our privations, and upheld our
tottering Republic. Shall I display to you the spread of the fire of his
soul by rehearsing the praises of the hero of Saratoga, and his much-loved
compeer of the Carolinas? No; our Washington wears not borrowed glory. To
Gates--to Greene, he gave without reserve the applause due to their
eminent merit; and long may the chiefs of Saratoga and of Eutaw receive
the grateful respect of a grateful people.
Moving in his own orbit, he imparted heat and light to his most distant
satellites; and, combining the physical and moral force of all within his
sphere, with irresistible weight he took his course, commiserating folly,
disdaining vice, dismaying treason, and invigorating despondency; until
the auspicious hour arrived, when, united with the intrepid forces of a
potent and magnanimous ally, he brought to submission Cornwallis, since
the conqueror of India; thus finishing his long career of military glory
with a luster corresponding to his great name, and in this his last act of
war, affixing the seal of fate to our nation's birth.
First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen,
he was second to none in humble and endearing scenes of private life.
Pious, just, humane, temperate, sincere, uniform, dignified, and
commanding, his example was edifying to all around him, as were the
effects of that example lasting.
To his equals, he was condescending; to his inferiors, kind; and to the
dear object of his affections, exemplarily tender. Correct throughout,
vice shuddered in his presence, and virtue always felt his fostering hand;
the purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues.
His last scene comported with the whole tenor of his life. Although in
extreme pain, not a sigh, not a groan, escaped him; and with undisturbed
serenity he closed his well-spent life. Such was the man America has lost!
Such was the man for whom our nation mourns!
NOTES.--At Brandywine Creek, in Pennsylvania, 18,000 British, under Howe,
defeated 13,000 Americans under Washington.
Germantown, near Philadelphia, was the scene of an American defeat by the
British, the same generals commanding as at Brandywine.
The battle of Monmouth, in New Jersey, resulted in victory for the
Americans.
The hero of Saratoga was General Gates, who there compelled the surrender
of General Burgoyne.
At Eutaw Springs, General Greene defeated a superior force of British.
Cornwallis, Charles, second earl and first marquis (b. 1738, d. 1805),
surrendered his forces to a combined American and French army and French
fleet at Yorktown, in 1781, virtually ending the war.