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Battleline -> CSA Bios: Rooney Lee, GWC Lee, Fitzhugh Lee, E. Lee (9/18/2007 12:41:55 AM)
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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.
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