Charles Lee
Perhaps the most interesting, and certainly the most mystifying of the three was Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, third ranking officer in the Continental Army, right behind Washington and Artemus Ward. Another British officer who saw service in the French and Indian War under Braddock and later at Ticonderoga, he had also resigned his commission to become a soldier-of-fortune before finally coming to rest here near Gates at this modest home, unfinished in his time, he called somewhat grandiosely
Prato Rio, or "beside-the-river", in memory of his service in Portugal as a subordinate of John Burgoyne's.
Prato Rio is now also a private residence, but briefly following his downfall at Monmouth and Gates' at Camden, reputedly they met here along with the disgraced Stephen to commiserate with each other and no doubt condemn the
unqualified provincial, George Washington.
In brief, Lee was another friend of the Commander-in-Chief who traveled with him to Boston and helped create the Continental Army. Considered an intellectual and a political radical, Lee became something of a "troubleshooter", visiting New York, Virginia, and South Carolina assisting with the war effort and making recommendations for everything from recruitment to fortification. Later it was realized the Battle of Sullivan's Island had been won
despite rather than because of advice Lee had given its defender Moultrie. Lee missed the action and ensuing blame at New York, arriving back in time to assume command over half the army at White Plains. Things began to go sour soon afterwards, as Lee resentful over Washington's position, began to willfully disobey orders to reunite his force with the latter for the defense of Philadelphia. It's suggested he may have even contrived his own capture by Tarleton's dragoons, becoming a prisoner of Howe and Cornwallis prior to Trenton and Princeton.
Washington continued to think highly of Lee and miss his service, so exchanging him was a top priority the winter of Valley Forge, which Lee passed comfortably in New York. He even wrote Howe a memorandum on how to defeat the Rebellion while waiting to rejoin the army! Exchanged before the British left Philadelphia, Lee joined Washington in time to lead the pursuit of Clinton through New Jersey. However, it was a vastly different army Lee found, and his caution was not appreciated by the veterans of Brandywine, Germantown, and Valley Forge trained by Von Steuben and led by confident men like La Fayette and Anthony Wayne. Lee bungled badly in the opening phase of Monmouth and was relieved of command on the field by an irate Washington. Lee never knew when to keep quiet, so instead of letting things blow over, he demanded a court-of-inquiry which ultimately found him guilty of disrespectful language to the Commander-in-Chief!
Disgusted at his suspension from command for a year, Lee resigned from the army and spent the short remainder of his life criticizing Washington, Congress, and anyone else who drew his ire. He lived only briefly here at Prato Rio from July, 1779 to Jan., 1780. It's said the unfinished house had no interior walls, the "rooms" being indicated with lines chalked on the stone floors. Lee was said to prefer the company of his many dogs to people, and since it was also said that he infrequently bathed or changed clothes that was probably a good thing! This true eccentric of the Revolution soon departed for liberated Philadelphia where he continued to agitate against his former commander and the government to anyone who would listen until his untimely death there in 1782 at the age of fifty. Below, his gravestone outside the church where he is buried in downtown Philadelphia, placed in recent times over what had been his unmarked grave.
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