Edwin Gray Lee

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Edwin Gray Lee
May 27, 1836August 24, 1870

Place of birth Shepherdstown, Virginia
Place of death Yellow Sulphur Springs, Virginia
Allegiance Confederate States of America
Years of service 1861–65
Rank Brigadier General
Battles/wars American Civil War
Relations Second cousin of Robert E. Lee

Edwin Gray Lee (May 27, 1836[1]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.

Lee was born to Edmund Jennings Lee II and Henrietta Bedinger at their home Bedford in Shepherdstown, 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.[2]

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.[1][3]

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

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Warner, Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders, p. 177.
  2. ^ Alexander, Stratford Hall and the Lees Connected with its History, p. 285.
  3. ^ Alexander, Stratford Hall and the Lees Connected with its History, p. 331.


Persondata
NAME Lee, Edwin Gray
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Confederate 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
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