Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution

I was hoping for basically a biography of Lee's war time exploits but this book goes a lot further. The author does devote a good portion of the book to Lee's Revolutionary War time but also to his life after the war. Much research and commentary goes into this period of Lee's life to include his flawed business practices, which ultimately lead to his imprisonment for not being able to pay his debts. Overall a good biography of the father of Robert E. Lee but it is slow in some areas. RECOMMENDED.

Charles Royster is one of the premier historians on the period of the American Revolution. He has done excellent work on the Continental Army and he knows his business.This volume is no different. Lee is one of the celebrated personalities of the Revolution, especially for his excellent service in the southern theater under Nathaniel Greene. Commanding a green-uniformed legion of infantry and cavalry, he performed superbly with the main army and working happily with Francis Marion and his partisans harrying the British and Tories in the South Carolina back country.The first part of the book covers this portion of Lee's life. To me it was the most interesting, the Revolution in general and the Continental Army in particular being two of my favorite subjects. however, the rest of the book covers Lee's later life, which steadily went downhill after the Revolution's ending, with bouts of debt, sickness, failure, and an early death. Lee, the father of Robert E., is an interesting, sad figure, egotistical, patriotic, more than competent, and somewhat politically naive.Royster presents Lee as a whole person, and deftly intertwines his tale with Revolutionary exploits, first hand accounts, family and financial problems, and brings the legend into line with the man's humanity, frailties, and strengths.This book is a must for all interested in the Revolution and one of the most fascinating personalities to grace the American stage in the 18th century.