A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves... and include all men capable of bearing arms. . . To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms... The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle.
Richard Henry Lee, Additional Letters From The Federal Farmer, 1788, at 169
No free government was ever founded, or ever preserved its liberty, without uniting the characters of the citizen and soldier in those destined for the defense of the state...such area well-regulated militia, composed of the freeholders, citizen and husbandman, who take up arms to preserve their property, as individuals, and their rights as freemen.
Richard Henry Lee, State Gazette (Charleston), September 8, 1788
To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them...
Richard Henry Lee, 1788, Additional Letters From The Federal Farmer 53, 1788
Richard Henry Lee was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
statesman from
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
best known for the motion in the
Second Continental CongressThe Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
calling for the colonies' independence from
Great BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. He was a signatory to the
Articles of ConfederationThe Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution...
and his
famous resolutionright|thumb|[[Richard Henry Lee]] proposed the resolution on June 7, 1776.The Lee Resolution, also known as the resolution of independence, was an act of the Second Continental Congress declaring the United Colonies to be independent of the British Empire...
of June 1776 led to the
United States Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
, which Lee signed. He also served a one-year term as the
President of the Continental CongressThe President of the Continental Congress was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, the convention of delegates that emerged as the first national government of the United States during the American Revolution...
, and was a
U.S. SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
from 1789 to 1792, serving during part of that time as one of the first
Presidents pro temporeThe President pro tempore is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate. The United States Constitution states that the Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate and the highest-ranking official of the Senate despite not being a member of the body...
of the United States Senate.He was also the grandfather of famous Confederate general
Robert E. LeeRobert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
.
Early career
In 1757, Lee was appointed
justice of the peaceA justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Westmoreland County. In 1758 he was elected to the Virginia
House of BurgessesThe House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...
, where he met
Patrick HenryPatrick Henry was an orator and politician who led the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779 and subsequently, from 1784 to 1786...
. An early advocate of independence, Lee became one of the first to create Committees of Correspondence among the many independence-minded Americans in the various colonies. In 1766, almost ten years before the American Revolutionary War, Lee is credited with having authored the
Westmoreland Resolution which was publicly signed by prominent landowners who met at Leedstown, Westmoreland County, Virginia on 27 Feb 1766. This resolution was signed by four brothers of George Washington as well as Gilbert Campbell.
American Revolution
In August 1774, Lee was chosen as a delegate to the
First Continental CongressThe First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. It was called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts by the...
in Philadelphia. In Lee's Resolution on the 7th of June 1776 during the
Second Continental CongressThe Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
, Lee put forth the motion to the Continental Congress to declare Independence from
Great BritainThe former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
, which read (in part):
Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.
Lee had returned to Virginia by the time Congress voted on and adopted the
Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
, but he signed the document when he returned to Congress
Quotes
"These United colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states."
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
"The first maxim of a man who loves liberty, should be never to grant to rulers an atom of power that is not most clearly and indispensably necessary for the safety and well being of society."
Political offices
- Justice of the Peace for Westmoreland County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,718 people, 6,846 households, and 4,689 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 9,286 housing units at an average density of...
(1757)
- Virginia House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...
(1758–1775)
- Member of the Continental Congress (1774–1779, 1784–1785, 1787)
- A Signer of the Declaration of Independence (1776)
- Virginia State House of Burgesses (1777, 1780, 1785)
- United States Senator
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
(March 4, 1789 – October 8, 1792)
- President pro tempore
A President pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer...
during the Second Congress (April 18 – October 8, 1792)
Marriages and children
Richard married first on December 5, 1757, Anne Aylett (1738–1768), daughter of William Aylett and Elizabeth Eskridge (1719), who married secondly, Dr. James Steptoe, Col. (1709–1757). Anne died December 12, 1768 at Chantille, Westmoreland Co., Virginia. The couple had four surviving children:
- Thomas Lee (1758–1805).
- Col. Ludwell Lee, Esq. (1760–1836), who married Flora Lee (1771–1795), daughter of Hon. Philip Ludwell Lee, Sr., Esq. (1727–1775) and Elizabeth Steptoe (1743–1789), who married secondly, Philip Richard Fendall I (1734–1805).
- Mary Lee (1764–1795).
- Hannah Lee (1765–1801), who married Hon. Corbin Washington (1764–1799), son of Col. John Augustine Washington
John Augustine Washington was a member of the fifth Virginia Convention and a founding member of the Mississippi Land Company. During the American Revolution he was a member of Westmoreland County's...
(1736–1787) and Hannah Bushrod (1738–1801).
- Marybelle Lee (1768), who died in infancy.
Richard re-married in June or July of 1769 to Anne (Gaskins) Pinckard. The couple had five surviving children:
- Anne Lee (1770–1804), who married Hon. Charles Lee
Charles Lee was an American lawyer from Virginia. He served as United States Attorney General from 1795 until 1801....
(1758–1815), U.S. Attorney General under John AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
. Charles was the son of Maj. Gen. Henry Lee IIHenry Lee II of “Leesylvania”, Prince William County, Virginia was the father of Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee III and grandfather of Robert E. Lee....
(1730–1787) and Lucy Grymes (1734–1792).
- Henrietta "Harriotte" Lee (1773–1803), who married Hon. George Richard Lee Turberville (c. 1770), son of Hon. George Richard Turberville, Jr. (1742–1792) and Martha Corbin (1742).
- Sarah Caldwell "Sally" Lee (1775–1837), who married Edmund Jennings Lee I
Edmund Jennings Lee was a prominent legal and political figure in Alexandria, Virginia. He was a member of the Lee family of Virginia and lived for some time at the Lee-Fendall House in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.-Early Life and Career:...
(1772–1843), son of Maj. Gen. Henry Lee IIHenry Lee II of “Leesylvania”, Prince William County, Virginia was the father of Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee III and grandfather of Robert E. Lee....
(1730–1787) and Lucy Grymes (1734–1792).
- Cassius Lee (1779–1850).
- Francis Lightfoot Lee II (1782–1850), who married Jane Fitzgerald (d. 1816), daughter of Col. John Fitzgerald and Jane Digges. (grandparents of Francis Preston Blair Lee)
- ? Lee (1784), who died in infancy.
- ? Lee (1786), who died in infancy.
Francis Lightfoot Lee II
Richard honored his brother,
Francis Lightfoot LeeFrancis Lightfoot Lee was a member of the House of Burgesses in the Colony of Virginia. As an active protester of issues such as the Stamp Act, Lee helped move the colony in the direction of independence from Britain. Lee was a delegate to the Virginia Conventions and the Continental Congress...
(another signer of the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence), by naming his youngest son after him.
The younger Francis married Jane Fitzgerald on 9 Feb 1810. In 1811 he purchased the estate
Sully in
Fairfax County, VirginiaFairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
from his second cousin Richard Bland Lee.
[Gamble, Robert S. Sully:Biography of a House (Chantilly, Virginia: Sully Foundation Ltd., 1973)] Jane died on 25 Jul 1816, shortly after the birth on their fifth child.
Children
- Jane Elizabeth Lee (January 1, 1811 – June 25, 1837); married Henry T. Harrison
- Samuel Philips Lee (February 13, 1812 – June 5, 1897); Rear Admiral; married Elizabeth Blair
Elizabeth Blair Lee was an American woman who lived through the American Civil War, and wrote hundreds of letters describing the events of the times to her husband, Samuel Philips Lee.-Biography:...
, daughter of Francis Preston BlairFrancis Preston Blair, Sr. was an American journalist and politician.-Biography:Blair was born at Abingdon, Virginia. He moved to Kentucky, graduated from Transylvania University in 1811, took to journalism, and was a contributor to Amos Kendall's paper, the Argus, at Frankfort...
- John Fitzgerald Lee (May 5, 1813 – June 17, 1840)
- Arthur Lee (February 18, 1815 – August 3, 1841)
- Frances Ann Lee (June 29, 1816 – December 5, 1889); married Goldsborough Robinson
Ancestry
Richard was the son of Col.
Thomas LeeThomas Lee was a leading political figure of colonial Virginia. He was a member of the Lee family, a political dynasty which included many figures from the pre-American Revolutionary War era until the late 20th century. Lee became involved in politics in 1710 and he became the resident manager of...
, Hon. (1690–1750) of "
Stratford HallStratford Hall Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, was the home of four generations of the Lee family of Virginia, including two signers of the Declaration of Independence, and it was the birthplace of Robert Edward Lee , who became the Confederate General-in-chief during the American...
", Westmoreland Co., Virginia. Thomas married Hannah Harrison Ludwell (1701–1750).
Hannah was the daughter of Col. Philip Ludwell II (1672–1726) of "Greenspring", and Hannah Harrison (1679–1731).
Thomas was the son of Col.
Richard Lee IICol. Richard Henry Lee II, Esq. was a Colonel, planter, member of the Upper House and the King's Council.Richard Henry II, was termed "Richard the Scholar". Richard was the son of Col. Richard Lee I, Esq., "the Immigrant" and Anne Constable Col. Richard Henry Lee II, Esq. (1647-1715) was a...
, Esq., "the scholar" (1647–1715) and Laetitia Corbin (c. 1657–1706).
Laetitia was the daughter of Richard’s neighbor and, Councillor, Hon. Henry Corbin, Sr. (1629–1676) and Alice (Eltonhead) Burnham (c. 1627–1684).
Richard II, was the son of Col.
Richard Lee ICol. Richard Lee I, “the Immigrant” arrived in Jamestown in 1639 at the age of 22 with very little to his name other than the patronage of an influential man, Sir Francis Wyatt, the 1st Governor of Virginia. Once there he became Attorney General of the Colony of Virginia, Colonial Secretary of...
, Esq., "the immigrant" (1618–1664) and Anne Constable (c. 1621–1666).
Anne was the daughter of Thomas Constable and a ward of Sir John Thoroughgood.
Jason Barfield II (1626 - 1700
Legacy
Lee County, GeorgiaLee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 24,757. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 33,050...
is named in his honor.
Richard Henry Lee Elementary School in
Rossmoor, CaliforniaRossmoor is an affluent planned census-designated place located in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 10,244, down from 10,298 at the 2000 census...
and
Richard Henry Lee School in Chicago, Illinois are also named in his honor. Richard Henry Lee Elementary in Glen Burnie, Maryland is also named after him.
Representations in fiction
Richard Henry Lee is a key character in the musical
17761776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The story is based on the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence...
. He was portrayed by
Ron HolgateRonald "Ron" Holgate is a American actor and opera singer. He is known for winning the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor as Richard Henry Lee in the original Broadway production of 1776.-Early life:...
in both the Broadway cast and in the 1972 film. The character performs a song called "The Lees of Old Virginia," in which he explains how he knows he will be able to convince the Virginia House of Burgesses to allow him to propose independence.
External links