University of Virginia Library

GOVERNOR FITZHUGH LEE.

If there be aught of assurance of, and incitation to, worthy exemplification
in a heritage of lineal record of honor and dutiful action, then
might confidence have been held in the career of Fitzhugh Lee, in whom
is united the blood of patriots, whose names and deeds are indissolubly
and imperishably connected with the history of our Union and
of Virginia.

Fitzhugh Lee (or Fitz Lee, as he was familiarly styled in the army,
and is still popularly known, and as he subscribed himself until recently),
son of Commodore Sydney Smith Lee (a brother of General
Robert E. Lee), late of the Confederate States navy, and formerly of
the United States navy, was born at "Clermont," the seat of his grandfather,
General John Mason, in Fairfax County, Va., November 19,
1835. His mother, Anne Mason, was the granddaughter of George
Mason, of "Gunston Hall," the author of the Virginia Bill of Rights.
She was the sister of Hon. James Murray Mason, of Mason and Slidell
fame. The family name of Fitzhugh has been held in cherished recognition
in Virginia for two centuries.

Fitzhugh Lee was appointed a cadet at large to West Point Military
Academy, July 1, 1852, and was graduated July 1, 1856, and appointed
brevet second lieutenant of United States cavalry. Among his
class graduates were Generals Samuel S. Carroll, W. P. Sanders, J. W.

Forsyth, George D. Bayard, Herman Biggs, Francis M. Vinton, Orlando
M. Poe, Miles D. McAllister and John K. Mozart, of the Federal
Army, and Generals Wm. H. ("Mudwall") Jackson and L. L. Lomax,
of the Confederate army. His first service was in the cavalry school at
Carlisle, Pa., where he remained until January 1, 1858, when, at his own
request, he was assigned to duty with his regiment, the Second Cavalry,
on frontier service; was at Forts Inge and Mason, and Camp Radminezbec,
Texas, scouting against the Indians; on May 13, 1859, in a combat
in Nescatunga Valley, Texas, with the Comanches, was shot through
the lungs with an arrow and his life despaired of; later, at Camps
Cooper and Colorado, Texas, near the last of which was engaged in a
hand to hand combat with the Comanche Indians; in November, 1860,
was detached from his regiment and ordered to report to West Point as
instructor of cavalry, a complimentary detail. Under his tuition there
were several who were subsequently famous as cavalry officers—Generals
Kilpatrick and Custer being among them; promoted first lieutenant
of cavalry March 31, 1861; resigned his commission May 31, 1861, and
offered his services to his native state.

His first service in the Confederate States army was in the Adjutant-General's
department, under General Beauregard at Manassas, and in the
battle of July 21, 1861, he served on the staff of General Ewell. In September
following he was, upon the recommendation of General Joseph E.
Johnston (then in command of the army) and General J. E. B. Stuart,
commanding its cavalry, made lieutenant-colonel of the First Virginia
Cavalry (Stuart's old regiment), and at the reorganization of that
command in April, 1862, near Yorktown, he was elected colonel. On
the retreat from Yorktown, Lee's regiment was given the duty of
watching York river, and it was he who first gave information of the
flanking movement of Franklin, and of his locating at Barhamsville.
Lee personally reconnoitered so close to the enemy that he was enabled
to give not only the number but the names of their gunboats and
transports. In the succeeding operations around Richmond, Lee was
with the command of General Stuart, and participated in all of the
enterprises of that officer.

About the middle of June, 1862, Stuart executed his famous raid
around the army of McClellan as it lay in front of Richmond, and Lee,
with his regiment, was selected to accompany him, sharing with one
other regiment and a battalion the hazards of that feat, which "blazed
the way for Jackson's subsequent flank movement." After the battles
around Richmond more cavalry was brought from southern states and
formed into a second brigade under General Wade Hampton, and
Stuart was promoted to the rank of major-general and assigned to the
command of the division, Lee being promoted to brigadier-general and

to the command of Stuart's old brigade, composed of the 1st, 3d, 4th,
5th and 9th regiments of Virginia cavalry, with a battery of horse artillery
under Captain James Bunthed. In the latter part of 1863 the cavalry
of the Army of Northern Virginia was divided into two divisions of
three brigades each, and Hampton and Lee promoted to command them,
the two being under Stuart as senior major-general. The skill and courage
evinced by Fitz Lee occasioned the repeated mention of his name in
the exact reports of the commander-in-chief of the Army of Northern Virginia,
made it familiar to the public, and the latter, in May, 1863, soon
after the battle of Chancellorsville, in a letter, thus warmly commended
him: "Your admirable conduct, devotion to the cause of your country,
and devotion to duty, fill me with pleasure. I hope you will soon see
her efforts for independence crowned with success, and long live to
enjoy the affection and gratitude of your country." Again, he wrote:
"Your division has always had a high reputation. It must not lose
it."

In the disastrous battle of Winchester Fitz Lee was conspicuous in
his gallantry, exposing himself in every part of the field. Three horses
were shot under him, one his beautiful mare, Nelly Gray, a favorite of
the command, and at last he was brought to ground by a minie-ball
which pierced his thigh. He was kept from duty by this wound for
several months. In the spring of 1865 he was summoned to Richmond,
and, by order of the commanding general, placed in command of the
cavalry corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. He was one of the
three corps commanders (the others being Gordon and Longstreet)
who, with General Robert E. Lee, composed the council of war just
before the surrender at Appomatox C. H., April 9, 1865. The cavalry,
having cut their way through the enemy's lines, to save their horses,
before the surrender, General Fitz Lee, thus without a command,
remained to share with his loved commander and relative the cares
and trials of the bitter closing act of a resplendent drama.

The war over, he turned his attention as earnestly to a peaceful
vocation as he had been devoted in arms, and is said to have literally
put "his hands to the plough." He first farmed at "Richland," in
Stafford county, and later near Alexandria, Va. Accepting the
result of the war, General Lee endeavored by genial influence to aid as
far as in him lay the fraternization of the late contending sections, and
in his utterances and engaging presence, it is claimed, has accomplished
much in the cause of conciliation. His address at the Bunker Hill
Centennial was widely commended. At the Yorktown Centennial in
1881 he was a conspicuous figure. At the inauguration of President
Cleveland he commanded the Virginia Brigade, and received a continuous
and enthusiastic recognition. In several visits north and the west

since, he has been welcomed with the utmost cordiality. On November 3,
1885, he was elected Governor of Virginia over the republican nominee,
John Sargeant Wise, by a majority of about sixteen thousand, and
took his seat January 1, 1886. The administration of Governor Lee,
which has comprehended a serious wrangle by the English bondholders
over the state debt, has been conservative and generally
judicious. Governor Lee was urged as an available candidate for the
nomination of Vice-President by the late National Democratic Convention.
Governor Lee has a bright blue eye, and is of genial presence.
Rather below medium stature, and originally of slight physique, he
has developed into a figure, Napoleonic in bulk. He is happily married,
and has an engaging household. He married Miss Ellen Bernard,
daughter of George Fowle, Esq., of Alexandria, Va., and has five children:
Ellen Fowle, Fitzhugh, George Dashiell, Nannie Fitzhugh and
Virginia, the last named after the state, having been born in the
gubernatorial mansion.