Tag: “Lighthorse” Harry Lee

While Fathers are Very Important to Sons, Mothers in the Absence of Fathers Can Help Mold a Young Man’s Character

By design, I contend, our Creator designed us to be raised for a time in a home with both a father and a mother. In a broken world, this is not always achievable no matter how hard we might try as death, divorce and estrangement can all drive a wedge in a family. Sometimes the fallout, both bad and good might not be known for years or even decades. I also contend, that God can redeem all this and then some!

In reading a literature piece from 1877 I am amazed that both George Washington and Robert E. Lee lost their fathers at about age 11. For the purposes of this post, I will focus on the life that Robert E. Lee lived, his relationship with his mother and eventually his wife that shows the grace of God through providing a man who could be both tough and loving in every situation that this broken world threw at him.

The foundation for Robert’s life came in part from the following, couple this with his own free will and willingness to decide in his own mind what his character’s pillars would reside on, his life is a testament to what God can reveal about himself through just one individual.

Having read a majority of Robert E. Lee’s personal correspondence from his time in the Mexican War to that of his duties out West and eventually when he was a General in the Confederate States of America, I have only admiration as to the humble and Christian nature this man had in the extremes that life had to offer.

The following is a great resource (no longer free on Amazon probably due to the Political Correctness Movement) for understanding Robert E. Lee’s character (as well as Stonewall Jackson’s in later chapters):

This piece then goes on to assess:

.. the character of those women with whom General Lee was associated in the ties of family consanguinity, who, doubtless, had their share in moulding his character, most certainly in promoting his happiness.

Happiness. That word. Some believe money, fame or fortune will lead one to happiness, but just wait until you see what it was for Robert E. Lee:

The maiden name of General Lee’s mother, to whom he was accustomed to say he ‘owed everything’, was Anne Hill Carter, and she was a daughter of that branch of the well-known Virginia family of Carters residing at Shirley, a scat of old-time splendor and hospitality, on the James river.

Lee’s mother was born into a wealthy family .. and had quite an education, not in a boarding school, but in life and all that was brought her way:

In summer, an open-handed hospitality brought such an abundance of company to their homes, that the young people found little occasion for seeking amusement in places of dissipation and pleasure. And in the long winter months, the reading of English classical authors, foreign periodicals, new books, the study of music, etc., laid the foundation for thorough and practical education, such as is not always supplied in the famous boarding-school of to-day. No more skilled housekeepers, faithful nurses, and pleasant companions, were to be found than the Virginia matrons and maids of that day. Such was the home of Anne Carter, who became the second wife of that Henry Lee of the Revolutionary war, so well known under the sobriquet of ‘Light Horse Harry’

Marriage then removed her from this foundational environment as she sought to raise a family of her own:

For some years after their marriage they resided at Stratford, in Westmoreland county, Va., the old seat of the Lee family, and a most charming residence, situated on the banks of the Potomac. Here their illustrious son Robert Edward was born, January 19th, 1807, in the same chamber where two signers of the Declaration of Independence had first seen the light—Richard Henry and Francis Lightfoot Lee.

Within a few years, some tough circumstances came about:

When his son Robert, however, was only four years old, General Henry Lee moved to Alexandria, that his children might enjoy greater advantages of education. But in a few years his health failed, and, after sustaining a severe injury in endeavoring to quell a riot in Baltimore, in 1814, he continued rapidly to grow worse. In a vain attempt to recover his strength he repaired to the West Indies, hoping for beneficial effects from the change of climate; leaving his wife, also an invalid, in charge of their children, with the exception of the eldest son, Charles Carter Lee, who was absent from home, going through a collegiate course at Cambridge. In his correspondence, the husband showed that he had perfect confidence in the guardianship to which he had committed his sons as well as daughters. In one place he thus speaks of his wife and youngest son: ‘Robert, who was always a good boy, will be confirmed in his happy turn of mind by his ever watchful and affectionate mother’.

So with the father away in the West Indies attempting recuperation, and Lee’s mother, an invalid needing care, this all fell on young Robert.

We are told by one who knew Mrs. Lee intimately, that ‘she inculcated upon her children, by precept and example, the difficult duties of self-denial and self-control, as well as the strictest economy in all financial concerns’. This is the more remarkable, as we have seen she had been reared in the lap of wealth, and been used to living in style and elegance.

Lee’s mother, born into wealth, was able to be humble in this circumstance of life, and was quite a role model to her young son.

General Henry Lee was never to be reunited to his family, but died on his way home to the United States, in 1818, on Cumberland Island, near St. Mary’s, Georgia. Speaking of Mrs. Lee at this period, Miss Emily V. Mason writes:—’ This good mother was a great invalid; one of her daughters was delicate, and many years absent in Philadelphia, under the care of physicians. The oldest son, Carter, was at Cambridge; Sidney Smith was in the navy, and the other daughter was too young to be of much aid in household matters. So Robert was the housekeeper, carried the keys, attended to the marketing, managed all the out-door business, and took care of his mother’s horses. At the hour when the other school-boys went to play, he hurried home to order his mother’s drive, and would then be seen carrying her in his arms to the carriage, and arranging her cushions with the gentleness of an experienced nurse. . . .

Awwww .. how tender that Robert would be the one to help his mother through this difficult time. Oh how this helped to form his character as it could either have him grow more resentful or have him learn to self-sacrifice as he served.

When he left her to go to West Point, his mother was heard to say:—” How can I live without Eobert? He is both son and daughter to me”.’

General Lee always preserved a tender recollection of those scenes of his childhood and youth. …

Note that his response to these years as a servant for his mother, he still cherished that time. How honorable and noble is that?

For a long series of years Mrs. Lee was a sufferer, and, being left a widow in reduced circumstances, cumbered with the care of children, her trials must have been of a complicated nature. Yet she seems not only to have submitted with uncomplaining gentleness to the hardships of her lot, and not only to have risen superior to her own trials, but also to have sustained and cheered all about her. Her sick-room was airy and bright; all its arrangements were conducive to cheerfulness and comfort; the invalid, tall and stately in form, with finely cut features, added to these marks of a born gentlewoman a saintliness and purity of expression, which made still more beautiful her naturally lovely countenance. Her declining days were cheered by the most tender nursing on the part of her children, especially Robert, who, after graduating at West Point, devoted himself most tenderly to his mother, of whose fostering care and judicious counsels he was so soon to be deprived.

It seems that Lee’s mother also modeled a cheerfulness in the midst of pain and financial worry without her husband leading the family. The fact that Lee returned to his mother after West Point is quite a testament to his character!

Yet, it seems that this experience of his youth made him the perfect fit for his wife, Mary Randolph Curtis, who was described after her death:

Of Mrs. Lee it may be truly said, that she was worthy to grace the home and cheer the eventful life of this king of men. Though rendered by sickness incapable of walking, and never free from pain, she bore her sufferings with Christian cheerfulness, and always seemed contented and happy.

.. and after they as a family lost the Curtis mansion at Arlington (current site of Arlington National Cemetery):

No one ever heard vain words of lament, anger, or revenge pass her lips. In meekness she bowed to this sorrow as to a dispensation of Providence; in the silence of a true magnanimity she quietly laid this sacrifice beside many heavier ones upon the altar of country, and unmurmuringly, even cheerfully, accepted her lot among the reprobated ‘refugees’ of her stricken laud.

Furthermore, the character of Lee’s wife can be seen once again here:

When, after the war, General Lee lived upon a moderate salary, the compensation for his yearly labors as president of Washington and Lee University, the authorities of the college, who were so gratefully reaping the benefits of those labors, voted him a new and handsome residence as a gift, the General declined most positively to accept the gift, and would only reside in the new mansion which they persisted in rearing for him, on condition that it should remain college-property, and be called ‘The President’s House’, and reserved for future incumbents of the chair.

All unknown to himself and to his family, the board of trustees deeded the property to Mrs. Lee. When, after his death, the fact was delicately communicated to her, in order that she might know that the affliction of leaving her comfortable, pleasant home was not to be superadded to the irreparable one she had just experienced, and that, moreover, an annuity of $3000 per annum was hers for life, with the same high-mindedness as her husband had shown, she gracefully, but politely, declined to accept the annuity so generously proffered her, the house, or in anywise to tax the funds of the college for her support.

Founded as the institution had been by Washington, and fostered into a sudden prosperity beneath her husband’s rule, surely Mary Custis Lee might have accepted these offers with dignity; but she did not think so; and who can fail to admire the lofty self-respect and uprightness of soul which dictated the refusal of that which would have softened for her the asperities of life?

After Lee’s death, his wife would actually care for their own daughter:

After General Lee’s death, in 1870, his widow grew rapidly more infirm; yet still her fingers, stiff though they were with rheumatism, were employed mainly in a work of piety and love —her object being to aid in completing the memorial chapel which was to commemorate her noble husband’s deeds and the love borne him by the people.

Mrs. Lee seemed to find a sad, sweet solace for her grief in tinting the photographs of General Lee and herself, the proceeds of their sale to be used for the benefit of the chapel fund. It was sad to see almost a fevered glow flush her pallid cheek, as she would go on with her task, despite pain, weariness and soul-sickening grief. And another proof she gave, even then, of the modesty and humility of her character, in the low estimate she made of the value of this work; although those who are now fortunate enough to own them, regard them as inestimable mementoes, to be treasured with sacred care.

But, her labors were soon to cease. In the fall of 1873, her lovely daughter Agnes — the sweet and congenial sharer of her every fortune — sickened unto death. Day after day the agonized mother was moved, in her invalid’s chair, to her daughter’s bedside, her only comfort seeming to be in clasping the hand of the sweet sufferer, or gazing with fondest grief upon her loved and lovely form. Often too she was seen to be wrestling in prayer, that the word of healing might yet be spoken. But when finally the stroke of death came, the strength of the mourner gave way, and she was lifted to a bed from which she never arose.

Nature seemed to have no power to rally from the shock, and in a few weeks more, Mary Custis Lee was released from the pains and sorrows of this mortal life, and admitted to the dear companionship of her loved ones, who had ‘but gone before’. The whole Southern people grieved for her loss; and, as when General Lee died, the fountains of their grief for the disastrous close of the war seemed to open afresh, and from one end of the land to the other was heard the voice of mourning.

A mother’s love touches so many, and endures all things, until they return Home to a place where there are no tears.

-SF1

14APR-22APR1781: Tough Times Can Produce Innovations that Matter

In my last American Revolutionary War post, I suggested that after some darkness, that change was in the air, and that a new course might be upon the efforts in South Carolina to exit the British Empire. Time to hoist the sails, capture that wind and move forward:

Francis Marion believes it is time to slip away into North Carolina to preserve their numbers in light of the nearby British force bent on Marion’s destruction. On this night, a detachment from Lt. Col. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, part of the Continental Army, arrives and all talk of slipping away is put aside. The rest of Lee’s Legion is on their way. Not only that, news was delivered that Gen Greene had stopped Corwallis at Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina.

Marion and Lee wasted no time in embarking on some new tactics toward controlling most of South Carolina and Georgia for the cause. It is interesting that the great military minds that do adapt to new strategies sometimes, when they have a second chance, they can then secure a region militarily. In this case, General Greene of the Continental Army was about to adopt the “war of posts” strategy that he had dissed before.

What had allowed the freedom to operate was that Cornwallis was so impacted by the Guilford Court House battle in North Carolina that he decided to move his troops to Wilmington NC on the coast to recover. After this his plan was to then invade Virginia never again to enter South Carolina. Greene used this opportunity to secure South Carolina and Georgia land so that if a peace treaty were to be achieved, the colonies would have these territories.

With Cornwallis’ exit from the deep south colonies, the various Tory elements in South Carolina started to melt away into the countryside as news spread of Cornwallis’ departure from the region. The British left only significant forces at Camden, Georgetown and Charleston along with other troops at various posts across the colony numbering 8,000 in total. These posts were along the supply line that kept forces 800 strong supplied in Camden which is over one hundred miles away from the coast and ports.

Greene’s army numbered only 1,400 but was on the move now deep into South Carolina. In this scenario, Watson gave up chasing Marion and dumped his artillery and heavy baggage into a creek and sped toward Camden to join forces with British officer Rawdon and then circled back steering clear of the rebel forces going back to the coast at Georgetown.

“Lighthorse” Harry Lee arrived at Marion’s camp on April 14th, 1781 and filled in Marion on the details of Guilford CH, a bloody battle that the British technically won but having outrun their own supply line, Cornwallis’ troops were a mess. British cavalry officer Tarleton himself had several finger amputated from wounds he suffered in the conflict.

Lee articulated how his troops would now focus on the larger garrisons at Camden and Ninety-Six while the militia (Pickens, Sumter and Marion) work away on the smaller posts in SC. However, it was another target that Lee had in mind that Marion did not see “eye-to-eye” on. Lee wanted to lay siege to Fort Watson WITH Marion, while Marion wanted to continue his chase of British office Watson. Marion had seen first hand both the disastrous Savannah siege in 1779 and also Thomas Sumter’s attempted siege in which he got impatient and lost a lot of his men.

While the 49 year old Marion was technically in charge and 25 year old Lee was second in command, the fact that Lee had 300 troops to Marion’s 80 at this time probably led to Marion acquiescing.

Fort Watson was surrounded on April 15th, however, all the trees around the fort were gone so there was no way sharpshooters could be utilized. The British had learned much from previous militia encounters. Cutting off the water supply was also attempted but the the well right outside the fort could be used at night through a covered passage had been built. After the siege had started, the 120 defenders started digging a well inside the fort and struck water on the fourth day of the siege.

The rebels had requested a six-pounder from Greene which would have made quick work of this fort since it had no cannon of its own, but the men bringing the cannon got lost and returned to Greene’s location outside Camden.

The bottom line was that Marion’s men were not prepared for a siege and were not experienced at it. This was not their strong suite. Morale was sinking and Marion was corresponding with various militia’s around the state about some significant issues that distracted Marion from a situation he was not comfortable in:

  1. Militia Capt. Snipes was free-lancing/looting around the state and bad-mouthing Marion suggesting that people should not send supplies to him
  2. “Sumter’s Law”, which paid ten months of service to men with plunder from local Tories (horses, clothing and slaves), was causing many potential militia members to join Sumter instead of Marion’s militia. Marion did not agree with the plunder reward, but was in the minority opinion on this one.
  3. Rumor was out that Marion’s men killed three prisoners in their care according to the Brit commander in Charleston and Marion’s mentor suggested in a letter that he half-believed it.

The siege was taking its toll on the ones facilitating the siege until an innovative spirit emerged in militia leader Lt. Col. Hezekiah Maham. A tower would be built out of range from the Brits in the fort, but tall enough for sharpshooters to do their work. The fort walls were 7 foot on top of a 23 foot mound so the tower would have to be very, very high. Geometry as well as ballistics played a part in this experiment.

By April 22nd it was ready with a perch at the top with openings for the long rifles. The rebels sharpshooters rained down fire into the fort and simultaneously a patriot unit was taking down the stockade section of the fort itself. A surrender request was made and the commander McKay put up the white flag. In his journal it seemed the British inside the fort refused to fight any longer. Generous terms were offered and the British troops made their way to Charleston.

Lee and Marion reaped a bounty of ammunition and public praise was awarded to Maham and his innovation. Lee, whose ego usually precedes himself, actually came to praise Marion publicly and asked to be formally placed under Marion’s leadership “in some degree”. Greene wrote Marion and said praise would travel to General Washington and the world.

With Fort Watson out of the picture, it would be the first of many dominoes to fall for the British in South Carolina as the summer heat started returning to the region.

-SF1

01-13APR1781 – Marion’s Militia Targets British Regulars and Loyalist Militias

In my previous post, it was said that Francis Marion might have responded to the British destruction of his winter quarters:

“It ain’t winter anymore”

For the British it was again about “too little, too late”. The arrogance (“British Exceptionalism” maybe?) …

… as this attitude would dog them as underestimating a guerrilla leader operating in decentralized command structure is never a good idea, ask the US political and military leaders about Vietnam.

On 03APR1781, Marion’s 100 militia catch up with the British force of 300 after Brig. Gen. Francis Marion ordered Lt. Col. Hugh Horry to take his mounted infantry and find Lt. Col. Welbore Ellis Doyle.

At Witherspoon’s Plantation, Lt. Col. Doyle has some foragers there collecting food for his troops. When Lt. Col. Horry arrives at the plantation, they engage the Provincials, killing nine men and capturing sixteen. The Patriots pursue the fleeing enemy to Witherspoon’s Ferry and catch the British rear guard scuttling a ferryboat. The Patriots fire.

Lt. Col. Doyle quickly forms his men along the bank of Lynches Creek and delivers a volley of musket fire in return. After this, the British gather up their belongings and head towards the Pee Dee River no longer being able to forage for food. This daily task, still tough because it is springtime, will have to wait for another opportunity. Marion’s edge is the psychological warfare he uses that make the enemy always assume that behind ever tree, in every swamp, is Marion and his men.

By 08APR1781, Marion and his growing army crosses the Pee Dee River at
Mars Bluff and camps on the other side at Wahee Neck. He now has
nearly 500 men but their ammunition is very low, down to only two rounds per man. 500 men is impressive, however about the same time Lt. Col. John Watson Tadwell-Watson nears Marion’s location and he encamps along Catfish Creek with over 900 men.

Marion hears about the amassed troops and he calls a “Council of War” with his key officers, Lt. Col. John Baxter, Lt. Col. Alexander Swinton, Lt. Col. Hugh Horry, Lt. Col. Peter Horry, Lt. Col. John Ervin, Lt. Col. James
Postell, and Maj. John James. Francis Marion believes it is time to slip away into North Carolina to preserve their numbers in light of the nearby British force bent on Marion’s destruction. On this night, a detachment from Lt. Col. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, part of the Continental Army, arrives and all talk of slipping away is put aside. The rest of Lee’s Legion is on their way. Not only that, news was delivered that Gen Greene had stopped Corwallis at Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina.

The cat (British/Loyalist Militia) and mouse (Militia) quickly becomes the cat (Continentals/Militia) and mouse (British/Loyalist Militia).

With the news that Continentals have joined with Marion’s militia at Wahee Neck, the nearby enemy is soon panicked. Maj. Micajah Gainey
slips away quietly. Lt. Col. John Watson Tadwell-Watson realizing
that his position is now tenuous at best, burns his baggage and dumps
two small field pieces into Catfish Creek and marches double-time
back to the safety of Georgetown on the coast.

Another aspect of this phase of the American colonial war against the British Empire was the fact that in March 1781, the Articles of Confederation was signed by all the colonies and it did not give the Continentals, or the politicians in Philadelphia, clear power and control over these militia units. When Lee’s Continentals arrived in South Carolina, they in fact partnered with Marion’s militia who was under the guidance of the South Carolina governor, in exile in North Carolina, John Rutledge. Further confusing the chain of command was that Francis Marion still held his Continental commission as an officer. But with the tide changing, these leaders were about to target British outposts in South Carolina toward restoring trust in the cause of freedom and liberty in the southern colonies.

-SF1

 

JAN1781: A New Year on Paper, A New Title for Marion .. However – Same Mission

While it always looks good on paper, a new title and all, the men of principle stay the course and so not let promotions distract from their mission.

In January of 1781, Marion’s mission was intact. This was not an easy thing to do as we will see this month unfold. When the militia asks for resources (like having more than the typical 3-4 rounds of ammo these men had on them at any one time), the larger Continental force would ask for horses.

Nathaniel Green’s appetite for horses almost harmed this regular / militia partnership. Greene realized that the fight in the south meant traversing deep rivers (horses swim better than most men, so horses helped) and and moving in and around impassible creeks/swamps. Greene was a quick study using maps to understand the geography and in weeks he knew more than Cornwallis did in half a year. Marion would sometimes not reply directly to the request for horses since he had none to spare as his own men, who routinely had little ammo needed the horses in their hit-n-run style. His men were also farmers, and horses were essential to a good working farm. Greene would remind Marion and would drop the exiled SC governor’s name (Rutledge) to force the issue and even ask how many Marion had and how many he could spare. Marion’s men, unpaid volunteers, giving their horses to an army that was supplied by the Continental Congress? Some of Marion’s men deserted him when they learned of this, and rightly so.

The fact of the matter was, Marion’s cavalry tactic meant that the British could never force a decisive action on the militia. Even with bird shot, effective at only 20-30 yards, Marion’s men could effectively harass the British. In time Greene admitted that taking horses from the militia was like robbing Peter to pay Paul, so eventually he got the message.

By 14JAN1781 Marion thanked Greene for a shipment of ammo and also addressed the need for some reinforcements as the Tories near the North Carolina border were joining forces with other Tories around Georgetown. Within about a week (delayed because of difficulty in finding the Swamp Fox) a detachment of 250 men (mix of cavalry and infantry) led by Lt. Col. “Light-Horse” Harry Lee age 25 (father of Robert E. Lee) arrived at Snow’s Island.

So with a new year arrives a new partner in this mission with a different style than Marion’s. “Light-horse” Harry was different in being a highly educated Virginia gentleman who dressed elegantly and had his men in full uniform with short green coats (similar to Tarleton’s on the British side). This color accent hampered his ability to find Marion as the locals were very suspect of the green!

Also, Light-horse Harry was an egotist, a self-promoter ,unlike Marion BUT similar to Francis with being small in stature as well. Both were believers in discipline, agility and speed.

Light-horse Harry would eventually tout his own achievements in his memoirs while settling scores with his enemies including Thomas Jefferson. But in the end, Harry would speak fondly of Francis Marion even though in his reports he used “I” where he should have used “we”.

By the last week of January 1781 there would emerge a target that both Marion and Lee would need to engage. Little did they know, until after this next battle near Georgetown, South Carolina (alternative seaport that the British used to keep it inland forces supplied) that there was a huge patriot victory at Cowpens, South Carolina on January 17th where Daniel Morgan achieved a double pincer movement that utilized militia in the front lines to supply 2-3 volleys and then retreat which then brought Tarleton’s dragoons into a trap (remember that from the movie ‘The Patriot’?) and resulting of 85% loss in the dragoon’s 1050 man force (100 dead, 230 wounded and 600 captured). Also captured was two field cannon, 800 muskets and 100 horses.

On the heels of this action at Cowpens, Cornwallis chose the offensive and even after having lost 25% of his force, proceeded to chase Morgan and Greene. These two commanders headed towards VA (called later “The Race for the Dan (River)”) for supplies and reinforcements. Cornwallis with Gen Alexander Leslie’s 1500 men would burn their own supply train, including the rum, and chase Greene throughout NC.

That pretty much covers up the January 1781 action with Marion and his militia except for the “amphibious” landing in Georgetown, the source of most of the salt in the region which is critical for the preservation of meat. This action will be covered in my next post in this series that follows the calendar year events of Francis Marion during his two year effort to keep the British Empire from prevailing in their attempt to retain control of the American Colonies.

-SF1