LEE, a co. in s.e. Iowa, organized in 1837, has for its eastern boundary line the 'Mis sissippi river, on the n.e. the Skunk river, and on the s.e. the Des Moines,which empties into the Mississippi, at its southern extremity. It is traversed in the southern section by the Des Moines Valley railroad, and centrally by the Keokuk division of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad, and the Burlington and South-western; 500 sq.m.; pop. in '80, 34,859-28,930 of American birth.. Hiekory,walnut, and cottonwood trees grow on the river banks, and a few sycamores; a vast amount of locust has been raised. The surface is a succession of gentle elevations and depressions. with hold bluffs along the streams. and rich bottom-lands unsurpassed for fertility. The soil is a drift deposit, with a deep covering of vegetable mold. Considerable attention is paid to wool-grow ing, to fruit-culture. and the raising of fine cattle and horses. Beds of bituminous coal, gypsum and limestone for building purposes, appear on the banks of the Des Moines and Skunk rivers. Gypsum is found from 25 to 30 ft. in thickness. The Cardiff giant was manufactured from this deposit. Potters' c ry is abundant. furnishing material for extensive potteries. The streams afford many excellent mill-sites. Pure well-water is easily obtained. Valuation of real and personal estate in 1870. $20,000,000. Estimated value of farm productions, including additions to stock, etc., $1,948,977. Value of manu factures, $2,323,133. Seat of justice, Fort Madison.
LEE, a co. in e. Kentucky, watered by the middle, n. and s, forks of the Kentucky river, flowing into it from the n.w., is separated from the county on its eastern border by high ridges of mountains;. 250 sq.m. ; pop. '80, 4,254. Its surface is mountainous, but well wooded, and its valleys are fertile. Beds of bituminous coal and iron are found in the hilly region, and near the villages. Its productions include live stock, every variety of grain. tobacco, sweet potatoes, sorghum, maple-sugar, dairy products, and flax: It produced, in 1870, 3;118 lbs. of honey. Scat of justice, Beattyville.
LEE, a co. in n.e. Mississippi, intersected by the Mobile and Ohio railroad, is drained by the head waters of the Tombigbee river; 520 sq.m. • pop. 80, 20,461. Its surface is generally level, consisting of fertile plains. covered ior long distances with a thick growth of hickory, elm, and oak, diversified by the ttilip-tree and magnolia. Its soil, which has a substratum of limestone, is very productive, and adapted to the raising of live stock and every variety of grain, tobacco. cotton, sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, dairy products, and the vine. It produced, in 1870, 3,159 lbs. of honey. Cash value of farms in 1870, $1,463,074, numbering 1970, including one of more than 1000 acres. Seat of justice, Tusselo.
LEE, a co. in s.w. Virginia, having for its s. boundary part of the state lines of Tennessee and North Carolina, and for its w. and n. the Cumberland mountains, sepa rating it from Kentucky, about 450 sq.m.; pop. '80, 15,116-15,110 of American birth, 1005 colored. It is drained by Powell's river. rising in the county which bounds it on the n., and flowing s.w, through it into e. Tennessee. It is bounded on the e, by a range of mountains, through which is a natural tunnel 400 ft. in length. Stone moun tain occupies part of the central portion, and the intervening valleys are very fertile, having a formation of limestone, and being well wooded with hickory, oak, ash, maple, and pine. Its agricultural productions include the raising of grain, sweet potatoes, sorghum, maple-sugar, and live stock. It produced, in 1870, 26,535 lbs. of honey. Cash value of farms in 1'870, numbering 930, $2,184,205. It employs capital in Hour-mills, tobacco-factories, and manufactories of woolen goods. Its mountains abound in coal, iron ore, limestone, sandstone, and saltpeter. Seat of justice, Jonesville.
LEE, a t. in w. Massachusetts, incorporated in 1777, among the Berkshire hills, in the co. of Berkshire, on the Housatonic river; pop. '80, 3,039. It is divided into East Lee, South Lee, and Lee Center; the two bitter having stations on the Housatonic rail road. It is 110 in. from Boston, 115 m. from New York, 99 in. n. of Bridgeport, Conn., 11 m. s. of Pittsfield, Mass., and 38 m. sm.of Albany. It has a national bank, a weekly newspaper. 8 churches, several hotels, a public library, and superior public schools. There are a number of woolen but the principal industry is the manufacture of paper, employing 25 mills. It is celebrated for its ledges of fine, white marble, which has been extensively quarried to supply building material for exportation. This stone was used in the extension of the capitol at Washington, and in the ere:tion of the Roman Catholic cathedral in New York. It is near the center of a dist rite, much resorted to in summer by urban residents, and which is noted for its delightful scenery and ancient air of respectability.
LEE, the name of a distinguished Virginian family. Their ancestor, Rrctrarna LEE, emigrated with a numerous household to Alnerica, in the reign of king Charles I., and settled in the country lying between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers. He was a bold royalist, and during the protectorate of Cromwell was mainly instrumental in inducing the colony of Virginia to assume a semi-independent attitude.—Ricuann HENRY LEE, great-grandson of the preceding, and the most illustrious member of the fatuity, was born at Stratford, in Virginia, 20, 1732, He was educated first at home, and afterwards in England. He did not come prominently before his country men till after the British parliament had passed (1764) the act declaring its right to tax the colonies, amd also the stamp act (1765), when he immediately became the 'center of an active opposition among the colonists, associated himself with Patrick Henry (q.v.),
and drew up most of the •' resolutions" of the period. He was sent as a delegate from Virginia to the first American congress, which met at Philadelphia (Sept. 5, 1774), and at once became a leader in the assembly. He wrote most of those addresses to the king, the people of England, and the colonies, which compelled the great Chatham to admit that "for solidity cf reasoning, force of sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion, under such complication of circumstances, no nation or body of men can stand in preference to the general congress at Philadelphia." When war between the mother-country and the colonies became inevitable, Lee wits placed on the committees charged with prepar ing the munitions of war, and with devising all other means of offering a vigorous resistance to the British government. His labors at this time were enormous. On June 7, 1776, Lee made the most celebrated (and important) of all his speeches. when intro ducing before the congress of Philadelphia a measure declaring the "united colonies" to be " free and independent states," and "absolved from all allegiance to the British crown." During the war of independence, lie was—in spite of ill-health—one of the most active of the patriotic party, chiefly, however, as a civilian. In 1784 he was elected president of congress, and when the federal constitution was established lie entered the senate for Virginia. Towards the close of his career he be•tune a decided federalist, although originally he had viewed that system of government with great suspicion. as tending towards it despotic centralization of power. In 1792 be retired from public affairs, and died in his native state, June 10. 1704. His Up and Correspmdence was published by his great-grandson, R, H. Lee (2 vOls., Philadelphia,1825).—LEK, Airmen, youngest brother of the preceding, was born in Virginia. Dec. 20, 1740. He was edu cated at Eton, then studied medicine at Edinburgh, and after traveling on the continent for some time, returned to America, and started as a physician. Circumstances, how ever, soon drew him into the field of politics; lie returned to England, advocated the rights of the colonies in the English newspapers, and in 1776 took up his residence at Paris, as the secret agent of the American conwress. this' capacity he was busily employed hiring the whole struggle, and conducted his business on the continent greatly to the advantage of the colonists. He died Dec. 12, 1792. Lee, like his brother, was an admirable scholar and writer, enjoyed the friendship of some of the most eminent men of his time—Burke, Wyndham, sir William Jones, the abbe Raynal, and the duke de Rochefoucauld. Sec Life and Correspondence, by R. H. Lee (2 vols., Boston, 1829).— LEE, HENRY, a distinguished American general, whose father was cousin of the preced ing, was horn in Virginia, Jan. 29, 1756. He was one of the most daring, vigilant, and successful cavalry officers on the side of the colonists. "Lee's legion" was probably the most effective and courageous body of troops raised in America. In the famous retreat of Greene before loreCornwalfis, it formed the rear-guard, the post of honor, and covered itself with glory. At the battles of Guildford courthouse and Eutaw, at the sieges of forts Watson, Motte, and Granby and Augusta, .and at the storming of fort Grierson, Lee particularly signalized himself. After the war, lie was sent to congress as a delegate from Virginia, advocated the adoption of a federal constitution, and in 1792 was chosen governor of Virginia. In 1809 he published a valuable work, entitled Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States. He died at Cum berland island, Ga., Mar. 25, 1816.—LEE, ROBERT E., gen. and commander-in-chief of the army of the confederate states of America, was a son of the preceding, and was born in Virginia about 1810. He was educated at the military academy of West Point, entered the army of the United States, served as of engineers under gen. Scott in the war with Mexico,' was raised to the rank of lient.col., and brevetted col. for distinguished services. Ile was employed in the office of the commander-in-chief at when Virginia seceded from the union, April, 1861, when he resigned his commission, and was appointed commander-in-chief of the forces of Virginia. When that state entered the confederacy, he was appointed to its highest military rank of gen., and though not the senior, was selected by president Davis as commander-in-chief. In July, 1862. he defended Richmond against the federal army under gen. 31eClellan, and after six clays of sanuinary battles, drove him to the shelter of his gun-boats. Marching n., he defeated gen. Pope, Aug. 29, in the second battle of Manassas. Cross ing the Potomac into Maryland, with a force of 40,000, he was met at Antietam by gen. McClellan with 80,000, and after a bloody but indecisive conflict, Sept. 17, recrossed the Potomac, and took a position at Fredericksburg, on the Rappahannock,where, Dec. 13. he was attacked by gen. Burnside, whose army he defeated with great'slaughter. Gen. Hooker, the successor of generals McClellan, Pope, and Bu•nside,whom Lee had successively defeated, crossed the Rappahannock, May 1, 1E63. and was attacked by gen. Lee on the 2d and 3d, routed with heavy loss, and compelled to escape in the night across the river. He afterwards carried the war into the northern states; but finally, being overpowered, he surrendered to gen. Grant. After the war he was appointed p.ov ernor of Lexington college. He died Oct. 12, 1870, leaving a character extolled for integrity and piety. Lee married the adopted granddaughter and heiress of Washing ton, by whom he had five sons. See Lee's Life and Campatuns, by his nephew, Ed. Leo Childe (1874).