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Charles Lee ( 1732 – 1782 ) was a British Soldier turned Virginia planter who was a Major General of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War . Lee was born in king Stanislaus II . Upon returning to Britain, he was not wanted in the army, and so he moved back to the colonies in 1773 . When it started to look like war was inevitable, he volunteered his services to the colonies. He expected to be named , who was not in good health, officially held this position. Lee also received various other titles: in 1776 , he was named Commander of the Canadian Department , although he never got to serve in this capacity. Instead, he was appointed as the first Commander of the Southern Department . He served in this post for six months, until he was recalled to the main army. Toward the end of 1776, Lee's animosity for Washington began to show. During the retreat from Forts Washington and Lee, he dawdled with his army, and intensified a letter campaign to convince various Congress members that he should replace Washington as Commander-in-Chief. Around this time, Washington accidentally opened a letter from Lee to Colonel Reed, in which Lee condemns Washington's leadership and abilities, and blames Washington entirely for the dire straits of the army. Although his army was supposed to join that of Washington's in Pennsylvania, Lee set a very slow pace. On the night of December 12, Lee and a dozen of his guard inexplicably stopped for the night at White's Tavern in Basking Ridge, New Jersey , some three miles from his main army. The next morning, a British patrol of two dozen horse found Lee writing letters in his dressing gown, and captured him. He was eventually regained by colonial forces in exchange for General Prescott . Lee is most infamous for his actions during the Battle Of Monmouth . Washington ordered him to attack the retreating enemy, but instead Lee ordered a retreat. He retreated directly into Washington and his troops, who were advancing, and Washington dressed him down publicly. Lee responded with "inappropriate language," was arrested, and shortly thereafter court-martialed. Lee was found guilty and relieved of command for a period of one year. It is not clear that Lee made a bad strategic decision; he believed himself outnumbered (he was: British commander Sir Henry Clinton had 10,000 troops to Lee's 5,440), and retreat was reasonable. But he disobeyed orders and he publicly expressed disrespect to his commander. Lee tried to get Congress to overturn the Court-martial verdict, and when this failed he resorted to open attacks on Washington's character. Lee's popularity plummeted. Colonel John Laurens , an aide to Washington, challenged him to a duel, in which Lee was wounded in the side. He was released from duty on January 10 , 1780 . He retired to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , where he died on October 2 , 1782 . Treachery may have been the reason for Lee's retreat at the Battle Of Monmouth . While Lee was held prisoner by British General Sir William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe in March 1777, Lee drafted a plan for British military operations against the Americans. At the time, Lee was under threat of being tried as a deserter from the British Army, because he hadn't resigned his British commission as Lieutenant-Colonel until several days after he accepted an American commission. The plan in Lee's handwriting was found in the Howe family archives in 1857. Fort Lee , on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River , across from Fort Washington , was named for him. EXTERNAL LINKS |