MEDIA
Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee in full dress military uniform with epaulettes
Original Author: James Herring, after Gilbert Stuart
Created: ca. 1834
Medium: Oil on canvas

Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee

Henry Lee, also known as "Light-Horse Harry" Lee or Henry Lee III (1756–1818), poses in full dress military uniform with epaulettes. A distinguished cavalry officer in the Continental and U.S. armies, Lee served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1799–1801), in the House of Delegates (1789–1791), and as the governor of Virginia (1791–1794). Master of Stratford Hall, Lee was the father of eight children who survived to adulthood, including Henry Lee IV, Charles Carter Lee, and Robert E. Lee, who would become a Confederate general. Despite his successes, Lee was plagued by financial mismanagement, served time in debtor's prison, was disfigured by a Federalist mob during the War of 1812, and abandoned his family and exiled himself to the Caribbean in 1813. He returned to the shores of the United States and died within months.

This circa 1834 painting by James Herring is a copy of an earlier painting by Lee's contemporary Gilbert Stuart.