Edwin Gray Lee

Infobox Military Person
name= Edwin Gray Lee
born= birth date|1836|5|27
died= death date and age|1870|8|24|1836|5|27


caption=
nickname=
placeofbirth= Shepherdstown, Virginia (now West Virginia)
placeofdeath= Yellow Sulphur Springs, Virginia
placeofburial=
allegiance= United States of America Confederate States of America
branch=
serviceyears= 1861–65
rank= Brigadier General
unit=
commands=
battles= American Civil War
awards=
relations= Second cousin of Robert E. Lee
laterwork=

Edwin Gray Lee (May 27, 1836 [Warner, "Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders", p. 177.] – August 24, 1870) was an American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War. He was a member of the Lee family and second cousin of Robert E. Lee.

Biography

Lee was born to Edmund Jennings Lee II and Henrietta Bedinger at their home Bedford in Shepherdstown, Virginia (now West Virginia). Lee's grandfather, Edmund Jennings Lee, Sr., was a brother of American Revolutionary War General Light Horse Harry Lee. His father was a lawyer and, unlike many of Lee's relatives, stayed out of public life. His father was opposed to Virginia seceding from the United States. [Alexander, "Stratford Hall and the Lees Connected with its History", p. 285.]

Lee attended Benjamin Hallowell's school in Alexandria, Virginia, and graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1852. He received his law degree in 1859 from Washington College.

Edwin married Susan Pendleton, daughter of Confederate General William N. Pendleton on November 16, 1856. They had no children.

During the Civil War, he initially served as an aide to Col. Thomas J. Jackson, and was at the First Battle of Bull Run, was in Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862, the Seven Days Battles, Second Battle of Bull Run, and Battle of Cedar Mountain. He was captured at the Battle of Antietam, and later paroled. He then fought at Battle of Fredericksburg, and, following health issues, was appointed Colonel on Nov. 12, 1863 on the staff of Gen. Robert Ransom Jr. in the Richmond defenses, and later in the Shenandoah Valley. He was promoted to Brigadier General on Sept. 23, 1864. and then served with Gen. Rosser in the cavalry in the Valley. In December 1864, he and his wife ran the blockade to Canada on a secret service mission. They remained in Montreal, Canada until the spring of 1866 before returning to Virginia. [http://aotw.org/officers.php?officer_id=685] [Alexander, "Stratford Hall and the Lees Connected with its History", p. 331.]

Lee died in Yellow Sulphur Springs, Virginia, and is buried in Lexington, Virginia, at the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery.

References

* Alexander, Frederick Warren. " [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC01119172&id=tlIEAAAAIAAJ&printsec=titlepage Stratford Hall and the Lees Connected with its History] " (1912) History of the Lee family
* Warner, Ezra J., "Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders", Louisiana State University Press, 1959, ISBN 0-8071-0823-5.
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10671 Find-A-Grave entry for Lee]

Notes

Persondata
NAME=Lee, Edwin Gray
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Confederate Army general
DATE OF BIRTH=May 27, 1836
PLACE OF BIRTH=Shepherdstown, West Virginia
DATE OF DEATH=August 24, 1870
PLACE OF DEATH=Yellow Sulphur Springs, Virginia