Cousins at War: Fitz and Rooney Lee

Bee

Captain
Asst. Regtl. Quartermaster Gettysburg 2017
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
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William Fitzhugh "Rooney" Lee// Fitzhugh Lee

I get them mixed up: Fitz & Rooney Lee. Whilst visiting Carlisle, and viewing the shell damage to the pillar, it was still the same old mix-up: Was it Fitz or Rooney? One was short. One was serious. I found the definitive article that covers this topic -- not sure if it will sink in, but it is a very good read.


They were cousins. . . . They were Virginians. . . . They were Confederate cavalry leaders. . . . They were Lees. For all that, they were a study in contrasts, physically, and otherwise.

The older by eighteen months, Fitzhugh Lee was born on November 19, 1835, the son of Sidney Smith Lee, an officer in the United States Navy, on the plantation known as “Clermont,” five miles west of Alexandria. His near-namesake (with whom he is often confused, even by experienced historians), William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, was born on the last day of May, 1837, at his family's estate, “Arlington.” He was the son of Smith Lee's younger brother, first lieutenant Robert Edward Lee, of the United States Army.

The cousins were physical—and, to a degree, psychological—opposites. Fitz was small, lithe, and wiry—in his late teens he reached his full height of 5 feet, 6 inches, and his average weight of around 140 pounds. By the time he was in his early twenties, Fitz's cousin was well above average stature—at least 6 foot 3, and close to 220 pounds. During his stint in the pre-war U.S. Army, his sister, Annie, described him as (quote) “a tall . . . terrific looking creature with a great deal of beard.”

In terms of character and personality, the contrast was even sharper. Fitzhugh Lee grew to maturity as one of the most boisterous and outgoing members of his family—jovial, convivial, fun-loving—a prankster, a reconteur—and, in the words of a west point classmate, a “wild fellow.” http://leefamilyarchive.org/reference/addresses/longacre/index.html


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Robert E Lee & William Henry Fitzhugh Lee
 

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