Henry Lee "Lighthorse Harry Lee"
Henry Lee was born in Virginia in 1756 and entered the military arena in 1776 with the rank of Captain of Cavalry. At the battle of Germantown his company was the body guard of Washington. In 1780 he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel and put in command of the celebrated "Lee's Legion" so often referred to and which was a terror to the enemy during the war. At Eutaw Springs and in numerous battles he gained imperishable laurels. From 1786 to the time of the adoption of the Federal Constitution he was a member of Congress and a member of the Convention that framed that sacred instrument. In 1799 he was elected to Congress and selected to pronounce the funeral oration of President Washington. In 1792, he was Governor of Virginia. For military courage, skill and prudence Colonel Lee stood in the front rank. His capture of the garrison of Paulus Hook opposite New York in open day without the loss of a man and in sight of the main British Army and navy, was a feat scarcely equalled during the Revolution. So perfect were his plans, and so rapid were his movements that he eluded pursuit and took every man found in the garrison to the American camp. He commanded the Army that put a quietus on the Whisky boys in Pennsylvania. With all his honors fresh upon him he was incarcerated in prison for the crime of debt. He there wrote his "Memoirs of the Southern Campaign." He was severely wounded at the riot in Baltimore in 1814. He died at Cumberland Island in Georgia at the house of a friend in 1814. His remains repose near those of General Greene who was his warm friend and companion in arms. His relentless creditors could rob him of his personal liberty but could not chain his noble mind nor rob him of a well earned fame or of the glorious title of an honest man."
Sources: The Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution by L. Carroll Judson; Battle of Sullivans Island, South Carolina by Jeannette Holland Austin, published on medium.com
Where Light Horse Harry Lee Died by Jeannette Holland Austin, published on medium.com
The Southern Recorder, March 3, 1818. "Died on Cumberland Island on the 25th inst., General Henry Lee of Virginia. He was an officer in the Revolutionary War, and for many years a member of Congress. He delivered the funeral oration on the death of the lamented Washington. He received severe wounds when, with the venerable Lingan, they were attacked by a mob in Baltimore in 1812, and never recovered. Had been for sometime traveling for his health and had arrived at Cumberland from Bermud only a few days before."
Quoted from Hero Implants by Jeannette Holland Austin:
" Henry Lee was known for his equestrian skills for which he earned the sobriquet of "Light-Horse Harry." On September 22, 1779 the Continental Congress voted to present Lee with a gold medal; a reward not presented to any other officer below the rank of general. It was given for the action of Lee Legion during the Battle of Paulus Hook in New Jersey during August 19th of that year.
Lee was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was assigned with his Legion to the Southern Campaign. During January of 1781, his Legion proceeded to raid the British outpost of Georgetown, South Carolina with General Francis Marion. Then, Lee joined with General Francis Marion and General Andrew Pickens in the spring of 1781 to capture numerous British outposts in South Carolina and Georgia including Fort Watson, Fort Motte, Fort Danby, Fort Galphin, Fort Grierson, and Fort Cornwallis, Augusta, Georgia. But it was General Nathanael Greene who sent Lee to Augusta to prevent British occupation. From there, Lee's Legion and local militia companies engaged to intimidate the Loyalists in the region. The Butcher. There was a wide turn out of militia especially after Colonel Banastre Tarleton (the butcher) cut down the rebels under a flag of truce.
Their revenge would come at the Battle of Cowpens, when Tarleton lost and retreated into North Carolina followed by Lee and his Legion to fight in the battles of Guilford Court House, the Siege of Ninety-Six and the Battle of Eutaw Springs. Lee was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. As a result, Lee signed many certificates granting bounty lands in Georgia to soldiers who had served under him. This is an important fact for genealogists, because Lee signed so many land grants. Hence, the history of Lee's campaigns represents the history of many soldiers who served under him. From the time that Lee entered the Southern Campaign until the end, he knew victory and defeat, and shortly after the surrendered at Yorktown, he left the Army claiming fatigue and disappointment with his treatment from fellow officers. But his service did not end there.
In 1794, Lee was summoned by Washington to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. Lee commanded the 12,950 militiamen sent to quash the rebels; there was no fighting due to peaceful surrender. In 1798, Henry Lee was appointed a major general in the U.S. Army with the threat of a war with France. In 1808, he was re-commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson as major-general to fight an expected war with Great Britain wherein he organized the Virginia militia.
During the war and all of his personal struggles, Lee had loaned money to his friends who could not repay. This dilemma caused Lee to turn himself in during 1809 and he was placed in debtor's prison. It was there that he wrote his memoirs.
General Henry Lee, in his account of the battle of the Cowpens, mentioned two Virginia companies of militia as participating; viz: Capt. Triplett and Capt. Tate. Congress presented a sword to Capt. Triplett who was also killed.