Fitz Lee (Medal of Honor recipient)

Infobox Military Person
name= Fitz Lee
born=
died= death date|1899|9|14
placeofbirth= Dinwiddie County, Virginia
placeofdeath=
placeofburial= Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery Leavenworth County, Kansas


caption=
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch= United States Army
serviceyears=
rank= Private
commands=
unit= Troop M, 10th Cavalry Regiment
battles= Spanish-American War *Battle of Tayacoba
awards= Medal of Honor
laterwork=

Fitz Lee (died September 14, 1899) was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Spanish-American War.

Biography

Lee joined the Army from his birth place of Dinwiddie County, Virginia, and by June 30, 1898 he was serving as a Private in Troop M of the 10th Cavalry Regiment. On that day, American forces aboard the USS "Florida" near Tayacoba, Cuba, dispatched a small landing party to provide reconnaissance on Spanish outposts in the area. The party was discovered by Spanish scouts and came under heavy fire; their boats were sunk by enemy cannon fire, leaving them stranded on shore.

The men aboard the "Florida" launched several rescue attempts; the first four were forced to retreat under heavy fire. The fifth attempt, manned by Lee and three other Privates of the 10th Cavalry (Dennis Bell, William H. Thompkins, and George H. Wanton), launched at night and successfully found and rescued the surviving members of the landing party. One year later, on June 23, 1899, all four rescuers were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in what had come to be known as the Battle of Tayacoba.

Fitz Lee died less than three months after receiving the medal; he was buried in Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, Leavenworth County, Kansas.

Medal of Honor citation

Private Lee's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

Voluntarily went ashore in the face of the enemy and aided in the rescue of his wounded comrades; this after several previous attempts had been frustrated.

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients
*List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Spanish-American War
*List of African American Medal of Honor recipients

References

*findagrave|12020 Retrieved on 2007-01-22

*cite web
publisher = U.S. Army Center of Military History
title = War with Spain Medal of Honor Recipients
work = Medal of Honor Citations
date = 2004-09-01
url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/warspain.html
accessdate = 2007-01-22

Persondata
NAME= Lee, Fitz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH= Dinwiddie County, Virginia
DATE OF DEATH= September 14, 1899
PLACE OF DEATH=