{⋆★⋆} MG Lee, Fitzhugh Sr.

Fitzhugh Lee Sr.

:CSA1stNat:
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Born: November 19, 1835

Birthplace: Clermont Plantation, Fairfax County, Virginia

Father: Sydney Smith Lee 1802 – 1869
(Buried: Old Christ Church Cemetery, Alexandria, Virginia)​

Mother: Anna Maria Mason 1811 – 1896
(Buried: Old Christ Church Cemetery, Alexandria, Virginia)​

Wife: Ellen Bernard Fowle 1853 – 1933
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)​

Children:

Colonel Fitzhugh Lee Jr. 1875 – 1954​
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)​
Ellen Bernard Lee Rhea 1873 – 1959​
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)​
Anna Lee 1872 – 1872
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Colonel George Mason Lee 1877 – 1934​
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)​

Education:

1856: Graduated from West Point Military Academy – (45th in class)​

Occupation:

1856 – 1861: Served in United States Cavalry, rising to 2nd Lt.​
1859: Severely Wounded in a fight at Nescutunga, Texas​
1860 – 1861: Instructor of Cavalry Tactics, West Point Military Academy​

Civil War Career:

1861: Lt. And Staff officer during the First Battle of Bull Run​
1861 – 1862: Lt. Colonel of 1st Virginia Cavalry​
1862: Colonel of 1st Virginia Cavalry​
1862 – 1863: Brigadier General of Confederate Army Cavalry​
1862: Participated in the Maryland Campaign​
1863: Participated in the Battle of Kelly's Ford
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1863: Participated in the Battle of Chancellorsville​
1863: Incapacitated by inflammatory rheumatism for a month​
1863: Participated in JEB Stuart's ride around Gettysburg​
1863 – 1865: Major General of Confederate Army Cavalry​
1864: Participated in the Overland and Petersburg Campaigns​
1864: Participated in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign​
1864: Wounded during the Third Battle of Winchester, Virginia​
1865: Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia Cavalry​
1865: Led the last confederate charge of cavalry at Farmville, Virginia​

Occupation after War:

Farmer in Stafford County, Virginia​
1875: Attended the Battle of Bunker Hill Centennial
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1885: Member of Board of Visitors of West Point Military Academy​
1885: Commander of third division Presidential Inaugural Parade​
1886 – 1890: Governor of Virginia​
1893: Commander of third division Presidential Inaugural Parade​
1896 – 1898: United States Counsel General at Havana, Cuba​
1898 – 1901: Major General of United States Volunteers​
1899: Military Governor of Havana and Pinar del Rio, Cuba​
1899 – 1901: Commander of U.S. Army, Department of Missouri​
Member of the Jamestown Exposition Committee​

Died: April 28, 1905

Place of Death: Washington, D.C.

Cause of Death: Apoplexy

Age at time of Death: 69 years old

Burial Place: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia

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Thanks for sharing! Fitzhugh Lee is one of the characters that are all too easily overlooked.

Maybe some might be interested to know that Fitzhugh Lee was the nephew of Robert E. Lee, the son of Robert E. Lee's older brother Sidney Smith Lee, former commandant of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis and after Virginia's secession a Captain in the Confederate Navy.

Fitzhugh Lee published a biography of his (even more) famous uncle Robert E. Lee, which is free for download on archive.org
 
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Here comes a bit more about Fitzhugh Lee, that may illustrate his character. This is from the introduction to the 1989 edition of his book "General Lee", about "Uncle Bob" :wink:.
From what is described here about the younger Lee's conduct at West Point, Uncle Bob was obviously not too pleased about the amount of demerits young "Fitz" earned there, especially as he did so while his uncle was superintendent at West Point. Twice Fitz escaped a court martial only at hair's breadth.
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He may have been a fun-loving guy from a famous family, but he was instrumental in the politics of the 1880s when he led unreconstructed Confederates, conservatives, and reactionary Democrats in defeating the racially progressive Readjuster Party in Virginia once and for all, putting Virginia in the hands of Jim Crow (and Ku Klux Klan) for decades to come.
 
Fitz was short and prone to being overweight. By the time of the Spanish-American War, he weighed over 300 pounds at about 5'6" and was nearly as wide as he was tall. Finding horses that could carry him was a real challenge. He was too obese for service in the field in 1898, and ended up as the military governor of Cuba.

Here's an image of him shot at that time. That poor horse.

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While serving as Governor of Virginia, in January of 1887, Lee called up the state militia to suppress unrest in Newport News during a strike by black longshoremen. In order to help deescalate the racial tensions, one of the three companies he called up were the State Guards, a middle class black company from Richmond. This was the first and only time in which a black militia company was called up for service by a southern governor.
(Cunningham, Roger D. "'They Are as Proud of Their Uniform as Any Who Serve Virginia': African American
Participation in the Virginia Volunteers, 1872-99". The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 110, No. 3 (2002), pp. 293-338)
 
Fitz was short and prone to being overweight. By the time of the Spanish-American War, he weighed over 300 pounds at about 5'6" and was nearly as wide as he was tall. Finding horses that could carry him was a real challenge. He was too obese for service in the field in 1898, and ended up as the military governor of Cuba.

Here's an image of him shot at that time. That poor horse.

View attachment 398775
He wore the uniform of a Major General in both gray and blue.
 
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