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CHARLES LEE

Charles Lee was an English soldier. He was born in 1731 and died in 1782. He served in the army at Edward Braddock's defeat and through the French and Indian War. Some years of miscellaneous experiences in the Portuguese service and on the Polish staff, interspersed with pamphleteering, left him a lieutenant-colonel on half-pay. Removing to America in 1773 he contrived to pose as a great military light, and was in 1775 appointed the second in rank of the major-generals. He was at the siege of Boston, commenced the fortifications of New York, and received the credit of the victory at Charleston in 1776. In the autumn campaign of that year he disregarded George Washington's orders to leave Northcastle, and was soon afterward captured at Baskingridge in New Jersey. He had intrigued against George Washington, and it has believed that while in captivity he negotiated with the Howes. He was exchanged in time to receive command of the van at Monmouth where he behaved ignominiously. After the battle he was suspended for disobedience, misbehaviour and disrespect, and was eventually dismissed from the army.
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