The person whose story we are now about to tell was not a Jerseyman;
but, as most of the incidents which make him interesting to us occurred
in this State, we will give him the benefit of a few years' residence
here.
This was General Charles Lee, who might well have been called a soldier
of fortune. He was born in England, but the British Isles were entirely
too small to satisfy his wild ambitions and his roving disposition.
There are few heroes of romance who have had such a wide and varied
experience, and who have engaged in so many strange enterprises. He was
a brave man and very able, but he had a fault which prevented him from
being a high-class soldier; and that fault was, that he could not bear
restraint, and was always restive under command of another, and, while
always ready to tell other people what they ought to do, was never
willing to be told what he ought to do.
He joined the British army when he was a young man; and he first came to
this country in 1757, when General Abercrombie brought over an army to
fight the French. For three years, Lee was engaged in the wilds and
forests, doing battle with the Indians and the French, and no doubt he
had all the adventures an ordinary person would desire. But this
experience was far from satisfactory.
When he left America, he went to Portugal with another British army, and
there he fought the Spanish with as much impetuosity as he had fought
the French and Indians.
Life was absolutely tasteless to Lee without a very strong sprinkle of
variety. Consequently he now tried fighting in an entirely different
field, and went into politics. He became a Liberal, and with his voice
fought the government for whom he had been previously fighting with his
sword.
But a few years of this satisfied him; and then he went to Poland, where
he became a member of the king's staff, and as a Polish officer
disported himself for two years.
It is very likely that in Turkey a high-spirited man would find more
opportunities for lively adventure than even in Poland. At any rate,
Charles Lee thought so; and to Turkey he went, and entered into the
service of the Sultan. Here he distinguished himself in a company of
Turks who were guarding a great treasure in its transportation from
Moldavia to Constantinople. No doubt he wore a turban and baggy
trousers, and carried a great scimiter, for a man of that sort is not
likely to do things by halves when he does them at all.
Having had such peculiar experiences in various armies and various parts
of the world, Lee thought himself qualified to occupy a position of rank
in the British army, and, coming back to England, he endeavored to
obtain military promotion. But the government there did not seem to
think he had learned enough in Poland and Turkey to enable him to take
precedence of English officers accustomed to command English troops, and
it declined to put him above such officers, and to give him the place he
desired. Lee was not a man of mild temper. He became very angry at the
treatment he received, and, abandoning his native country again, he went
to Russia, where the Czar gave him the command of a company of wild
Cossacks. But he did not remain long with the Cossacks. Perhaps they
were not wild and daring enough to suit his fancy, although there are
very few fancies which would not be satisfied with the reckless and
furious demeanor generally attributed to these savage horsemen.
He threw up his command and went to Hungary, and there he did some
fighting in an entirely different fashion. Not having any opportunity to
distinguish himself upon a battlefield, he engaged in a duel; and of
course, as he was acting the part of a hero of romance, he killed his
man.
Hungary was not a suitable residence for him after the duel, and he went
back to England, and there he found the country in a state of excitement
in regard to the American Colonies. Now, if there was anything that Lee
liked, it was a state of excitement, and in the midst of this political
hubbub he felt as much at home as if he had been charging the ranks of
an enemy. Of course, he took part against the government, for, as far as
we know, he had always been against it, and he became a violent
supporter of the rights of the colonists.
He was so much in earnest in this matter, that in 1773 he came to
America to see for himself how matters stood. When he got over here, he
became more strongly in favor of the colonists than he had been at home,
and everywhere proclaimed that the Americans were right in resisting the
unjust taxation claims of Great Britain. As he had always been ready to
lay aside his British birthright and become some sort of a foreigner, he
now determined to become an American; and to show that he was in
earnest, he went down to Virginia and bought a farm there.
Lee soon became acquainted with people in high places in American
politics; and when the first Congress assembled, he was ready to talk
with its members, urging them to stand up for their rights, and draw
their swords and load their guns in defense of independence. It was
quite natural, that, when the Revolution really began, a man who was so
strongly in favor of the patriots, and had had so much military
experience in so many different lands, should be allowed to take part in
the war, and Charles Lee was appointed major general.
This was a high military position,--much higher, in fact, than he could
ever have obtained in his own country,--but it did not satisfy him. The
position he wanted was that of commander in chief of the American army;
and he was surprised and angry that it was not offered to him, and that
a man of his ability should be passed over, and that high place given to
a person like George Washington, who knew but little of war, and had no
idea whatever how the thing was done in Portugal, Poland, Russia, and
Turkey, and who was, in fact, no more than a country gentleman.
All this showed that these Americans were fools, who did not understand
their best interests. But as there was a good chance for a fight, and,
in fact, a good many fights, and as a major-generalship was not to be
sneered at, he accepted it, and resigned the commission which he held in
the English army.
He was doubtless in earnest in his desire to assist the Americans to
obtain their independence, for he was always in earnest when he was
doing anything that he was inclined to do. But he did not propose to
sacrifice his own interests to the cause he had undertaken; and as, by
entering the American army, he risked the loss of his estate in England,
he arranged with Congress for compensation for such loss.
But, although General Lee was now a very ardent American soldier, he
could not forgive Mr. Washington for taking command above him. If that
Virginia gentleman had had the courtesy and good sense which were
generally attributed to him, he would have resigned the supreme command,
and, modestly stepping aside, would have asked General Lee to accept it.
At least, that was the opinion of General Charles Lee.
As this high and mighty soldier was so unwilling to submit to the orders
of incompetent people, he never liked to be under the direct command of
Washington, and, if it were possible to do so, he managed to be
concerned in operations not under the immediate eye of the commander in
chief. In fact, he was very jealous indeed of Washington, and did not
hesitate to express his opinion about him whenever he had a chance.
The American army was not very successful in Long Island, and there was
a time when it fared very badly in New Jersey; and Lee was not slow to
declare that these misfortunes were owing entirely to the ignorance of
the man who was in command. Moreover, if there was any one who wanted to
know if there was another man in the Colonies who could command the army
better, and lead it more certainly and speedily to victory, General Lee
was always ready to mention an experienced soldier who would be able to
perform that duty most admirably.
If it had not been for this unfortunate and jealous disposition, Charles
Lee--a very different man from "Light Horse Harry" Lee--would have been
one of the most useful officers in the American army. But he had such a
jealousy of Washington, and hoped so continually that something would
happen which would give him the place then occupied by the Virginia
country gentleman, that, although he was at heart an honest patriot, he
allowed himself to do things which were not at all patriotic. He wanted
to see the Americans successful in the country, but he did not want to
see all that happen under the leadership of Washington; and if he could
put an obstacle in the way of that incompetent person, he would do it,
and be glad to see him stumble over it.
In the winter of 1776, when the American army was making its way across
New Jersey, towards the Delaware River, with Cornwallis in pursuit,
Washington was anxiously looking for the troops, under the command of
General Lee, who had been ordered to come to his assistance; and if ever
assistance was needed, it was needed then. But Lee liked to do his own
ordering, and, instead of hurrying to help Washington, he thought it
would be a great deal better to do something on his own account; and so
he endeavored to get into the rear of Cornwallis's army, thinking, that,
if he should attack the enemy in that way, he might possibly win a
startling victory, which would cover him with glory, and show how much
better a soldier he was than that poor Washington who was retreating
across the country, instead of boldly turning and showing fight.
If Lee had been a true soldier, and had conscientiously obeyed the
commands of his superior, he would have joined Washington and his army
without delay, and a short time afterward would have had an opportunity
of taking part in the battle of Trenton, in which the Virginia country
gentleman defeated the British, and gained one of the most important
victories of the war.
Lee pressed slowly onward--ready to strike a great blow for himself, and
unwilling to help anybody else strike a blow--until he came to
Morristown; and, after staying there one night, he proceeded in the
direction of Basking Ridge, a pretty village not far away. Lee left his
army at Bernardsville, which was then known as Vealtown, and rode on to
Basking Ridge, accompanied only by a small guard. There he took lodgings
at an inn, and made himself comfortable. The next morning he did not go
and put himself at the head of his army and move on, because there were
various affairs which occupied his attention.
Several of his guard wished to speak to him, some of them being men from
Connecticut, who appeared before him in full-bottomed wigs, showing
plainly that they considered themselves people who were important enough
to have their complaints attended to. One of them wanted his horse shod,
another asked for some money on account of his pay, and a third had
something to say about rations. But General Lee cut them all off very
shortly with, "You want a great deal, but you have not mentioned what
you want most. You want to go home, and I should be glad to let you go,
for you are no good here." Then his adjutant general asked to see him;
and he had a visit from a Major Wilkinson, who arrived that morning with
a letter from General Gates.
All these things occupied him very much, and he did not sit down to
breakfast till ten o'clock. Shortly after they had finished their meal,
and Lee was writing a letter to General Gates, in which he expressed a
very contemptible opinion of General Washington, Major Wilkinson saw, at
the end of the lane which led from the house down to the main road, a
party of British cavalry, who dashed round the corner toward the house.
The major immediately called out to General Lee that the Redcoats were
coming; but Lee, who was a man not to be frightened by sudden reports,
finished signing the letter, and then jumped up to see what was the
matter.
By this time the dragoons had surrounded the house; and when he
perceived this, General Lee naturally wanted to know where the guards
were, and why they did not fire on these fellows. But there was no
firing, and apparently there were no guards; and when Wilkinson went to
look for them, he found their arms in the room which had been their
quarters, but the men were gone. These private soldiers had evidently
been quite as free and easy, and as bent upon making themselves
comfortable, as had been the general, and they had had no thought that
such a thing as a British soldier was anywhere in the neighborhood. When
Wilkinson looked out of the door, he saw the guards running in every
direction, with dragoons chasing them.
What all this meant, nobody knew at first; and Wilkinson supposed that
it was merely a band of marauders of the British army, who were making
a raid into the country to get what they could in the way of plunder.
It was not long before this was found to be a great mistake; for the
officer in command of the dragoons called from the outside, and demanded
that General Lee should surrender himself, and that, if he did not do so
in five minutes, the house would be set on fire.
Now, it was plain to everybody that the British had heard of the
leisurely advance of this American general, and that he had left his
command and come to Basking Ridge to take his ease at an inn, and so
they had sent a detachment to capture him. Soon the women of the house
came to General Lee, and urged him to hide himself under a feather bed.
They declared that they would cover him up so that nobody would suspect
that he was in the bed; then they would tell the soldiers that he was
not there, and that they might come and search the house if they chose.
But although Lee was a jealous man and a hasty man, he had a soul above
such behavior as this, and would not hide himself in a feather bed; but,
as there was no honorable way of escape, he boldly came forward and
surrendered himself.
The British gave him no time to make any preparations for departure.
They did not know but that his army might be on the way to Basking
Ridge; and the sooner they were off, the better. So they made him jump
on Major Wilkinson's horse, which was tied by the door; and in his
slippers and dressing gown, and without a hat, this bold soldier of
wide experience, who thought he should be commander in chief of the
American army, was hurried away at full gallop. He was taken to New
York, where he was put into prison. It is said that Lee plotted against
America during his imprisonment; but General Washington did not know
that, and used every exertion to have him exchanged, so that his
aspiring rival soon again joined the American army.
But his misfortune had no good effect upon General Charles Lee, who came
back to his command with as high an opinion of himself, and as low an
opinion of certain other people, as he had had when he involuntarily
left it. It was some time after this, at the battle of Monmouth Court
House, that Charles Lee showed what sort of a man he really was. He had
now become so jealous that he positively determined that he would not
obey orders, and would act as he thought best. He had command of a body
of troops numbering five thousand, a good-sized army for those days, and
he was ordered to advance to Monmouth Court House and attack the enemy
who were there, while Washington, with another force, would hasten to
his assistance as rapidly as possible.
Washington carried out his part of the plan; but when he had nearly
reached Monmouth, he found, to his amazement, that Lee had gone there,
but had done no fighting at all, and was now actually retreating, and
coming in his direction. As it would be demoralizing in the highest
degree to his own command, if Lee's armed forces in full retreat should
come upon them, Washington hurried forward to prevent anything of the
sort, and soon met Lee. When the latter was asked what was the meaning
of this strange proceeding, he could give no good reason, except that he
thought it better not to risk an engagement at that time.
Then the Virginia country gentleman blazed out at the soldier of
fortune, and it is said that no one ever heard George Washington speak
to any other man as he spoke to General Lee on that day. He was told to
go back to his command and to obey orders, and together the American
forces moved on. In the battle which followed, the enemy was repulsed;
but the victory was not so complete as it should have been, for the
British departed in the night and went where they intended to go,
without being cut off by the American army, as would have been the case
if Lee had obeyed the orders which were given him.
General Lee was very angry at the charges which Washington had made
against him, and demanded that he should be tried by court-martial. His
wish was granted. He was tried, and found guilty of every charge made
against him, and in consequence was suspended from the army for one
year.
But Charles Lee never went back into the American army. Perhaps he had
had enough of it. In any event, it had had enough of him; and seven
years afterwards, when he died of a fever, his ambition to stand in
Washington's shoes died with him. While he lived on his Virginia farm,
he was as impetuous and eccentric as when he had been in the army, and
he must have been a very unpleasant neighbor. In fact, the people there
thought he was crazy. This opinion was not changed when his will was
read, for in that document he said,--
"I desire most earnestly that I may not be buried in any church or
churchyard, or within a mile of any Presbyterian or Anabaptist
meetinghouse; for since I have resided in this country I have kept so
much bad company when living, that I do not choose to continue it when
dead."