“Light Horse Harry” Lee

Young men of courage and daring are always prized in time of war. So much the better when providence places them in a situation that calls forth their natural talents. Such was the course of the Virginian Henry Lee in the War for American Independence. A member of the large and politically connected Lee families, he graduated from Princeton at age 17 but saw his burgeoning law career cut short by the War. After receiving a cavalry commission in the dragoons from Governor Patrick Henry, the patriotic young soldier showed real promise as a leader of light cavalry, performing dangerous reconnaissance behind enemy lines in the 1st Continental Dragoons.