LEE, Ann, foundress of the Society of Shakers in America. See SHAKERS.
LEE, Arthur, American diplomatist: b. Stratford, Westmoreland County, Va., 21 Dec. 1740; d. Urbana, Middlesex County, Va., 12 Dec. 1792. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh; entered the practice of medicine at Williamsburg, Va.; studied law in the Tem ple, London (1766-70) ; practised in England in 1770-76; closely observed colonial questions; was a member of the society known as "The Supporters of the Bill of Fights," by which ministerial measures were discussed, and in 1770 was appointed associate of Franklin as London agent of Massachusetts colony. When Congress appointed Franklin, Jay and Dickin son a committee to correspond with friends of the colonies in other parts of the world, Lee became secret agent in London of the commit tee; and in 1776 he was chosen by Congress joint commissioner with 7ran1din and Deane to obtain a treaty of alliance with France. In 1777 he dispatched special missions to the gov ernments of Spain and Prussia; in 1778 became commissioner to Spain; but in 1779 was recalled owing to his disagreements with Franklin and Deane. He was a representative in the Vir ginia general assembly in 1781; I; delegate to the Continental Congress in 1781-84, and a member of the board of treasury in 1784-89. 1-le opposed the adoption of a Federal constitu tion. Consult Lee, R. H., 'Life of Arthur Lee> (1829).
LEE, Blair, American legislator and law ,yes; Springs, Md., 9 Aug. 1857. He was graduated from Princeton University in 1880 and from the Columbian (now George Washington) University in 1882, and was ad mitted to the bar in Maryland and in the Dis trict of Columbia. He was elected to the Maryland State senate in 1905 and in 1909, and on 4 Nov. 1913 he was elected to the United States Senate to fill the term of Senator Jack son, expiring 3 March 1917.
LEE, Charles, American soldier: b. Dern hall, Cheshire, England, 1731; d. Philadelphia, 2 Oct. 1782. In 1751 he entered the English army as lieutenant of the 44th, which he ac companied to America in 1754, and with which he was present at Braddock's defeat on the Monongahela (9 July 1755). lie was wounded in AbercrOmbie's attack on Ticonderoga (1 July 1758), took part in the capture of Montreal in 1760 and was promoted major in 1761. He served in Burgoyne's division in Portugal in 1762, and was for a time busy with a scheme for establishing in America two colonies, one on the Ohio, the other on the Illinois, to be recruited from Switzerland and Germany as well as New England. In 1764 he went to Poland, there was appointed to the staff of King Stanislaus Augustus, in 1766 accompanied the Polish embassy to Turkey, in 1769 as a major-general in the Polish army fought in a campaign against the Turks, and having called his superior officers fools, left the service and returned to England. He was made lieutenant
colonel on half-pay in 1772, but was further unrecognized by the British government, and in disappointment came to America 10 Nov. 1773, and by skilful display of what military knowledge he possessed attracted the attention of the Continental Congress, then eager to.ob tain competent leaders for the Revolutionary army. His career thenceforth was perhaps the strangest in the annals of the Revolution. He wished to become commander-in-chief of the American forces, but accepted the appointment as second of the major-generals, Artemas Ward (q.v.) being the first. To inspire public con fidence he purchased for L5,000 Virginia cur rency (about 13,000 sterling), an estate in Berkeley County, Va.; but he did not assume his rank until guaranteed by Congress pecuniary indemnity for possible losses incurred in so doing. He undeservedly received popular credit for Moultrie's successful defense of Charles ton, S. C. (28 June 1776), and was called the "Hero of Charleston.) In 1776 he became first major-general upon the resignation of Ward. He failed to obey when ordered by Washington to cross the Hudson from Westchester County with his 7,000 troops andjoin the latter in New Jersey; but when Washington was com pelled to fall back on Princeton (2 Dec. 1776) crossed the river to Morristown and encamped there with 4,000 troops. Gates marched from Ticonderoga with seven regiments for Wash ington's aid, but Lee diverted three of the regi ments to Morristown. Washington crossed the Delaware into Pennsylvania, and Lee diligently spread reports of the commander-in-chief's in capacity and planned a flank movement upon the British army whose success he intended should secure his own appointment to replace Washington. He was, however, captured at Baskingridge (13 Dec. 1776), and imprisoned at New York, where he deserted the American cause, and designed a plan for the subjugation of the American colonies, the original draft of which was found among the private papers of the Howes in 1857. He was exchanged in 1778, and re-entered the American service for reasons not fully known; but his insubordination at Monmouth (28 June 1778) nearly lost the day, and he was suspended from command for one year. A subsequent disrespectful letter to Con gress caused his dismissal from the army. His treasonable correspondence with the British au thorities was not discovered till many years after. He wrote 'Strictures on a Friendly Ad dress to all Reasonable Americans) (1774) in reply to Dr. Myles Cooper (q.v.) ; and made a foolish claim to be the author of the "Junius)) letters. Consult the 'Memoirs,) edited from his papers by Langworthy (1792), and Moore, 'The Treason of Charles (1858).