Lee, Fitzhugh, 1835-1905

Fitzhugh Lee, grandson of Henry "Light-Horse Harry" and nephew of Robert E. Lee was Major General of the Confederate Army. After the war, he wrote about and taught the history of the South during the Civil War and wrote a biography of Robert E. Lee. In 1885-1889, he served as governor of Virginia.

Fitzhugh Lee was born in 1835 and was the nephew of Robert E. Lee. He graduated from the United States Military Academy. He served in the Confederate Army as staff officer to Richard S. Ewell and to Joseph E. Johnston and as lieutenant-colonel of 1st Virginia Cavalry. He was senior cavalry commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Served as governor of Virginia 1886-1890 and as consul-general in Havana. He died in 1905.

Confederate general.

James Barron Hope was born 23 March 1829 in Norfolk, Virginia. He was the grandson of James Barron and son of Wilton and Jane A. (Barron) Hope. James Barron Hope graduated from the College of William and Mary. He practiced law and was commonwealth's attorney for Norfolk. He married Anne Beverley Whiting. The couple had two daughters, Jane A. Barron (Janey Barron Marr) and Nanny Hope. Hope is known primarily for his poetry, serving as the official poet of the 250th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement. He published several volumes of writings and also edited newspapers. Hope died in 1887.

Cavalry commander and governor of Virginia.

Fitzhugh Lee, soldier and public servant, was born in 1835. An 1856 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, he entered the Confederate Army when the Civil War broke out and distinguished himself in various campaigns. He fought in the Spanish-American War and was Governor-General of Cuba in 1899. He died in 1905.

Confederate general; governor of Virginia; Consul-General to Havana.

Confederate general, Governor of Virginia (1886-1890), and military governor of Havana (1899).

Fitzhugh Lee was appointed consul-general to Havana April 13, 1896. Prior to that date he apparently served as a collector of revenue for the federal government in the district surrounding Lynchburg, Virginia.

Joseph S. Miller was the Commissioner of Internal Revenue in Washington, D.C.

Robert Morton Hughes, an alumnus of the College of William and Mary, attended the University of Virginia Law School. He was the son of Robert William and Eliza M. (Johnston) Hughes. He practiced law in Norfolk, Virginia. Hughes was the president of the Virginia Bar Association; biographer of Joseph Eggleston Johnston; a member of the Virginia Board of Education; and served as a member and as rector of the Board of Visitors of the College of William and Mary.

The central figures in this collection are Cuthbert Powell (1775-1849), his son, Charles Leven Powell (1804-1896), Charles Leven Powell's wife, Selina (Lloyd) Powell (d. 1871), and their children.

Cuthbert Powell Cuthbert Powell (1775-1849) was born in Middleburg, Loudoun County, Virginia to parents Leven Powell (1737-1810) and Sarah (Harrison) Powell. He was one of eleven children. Cuthbert made his fortune alongside his brother, Leven Powell, Jr. (1772-1807), as a merchant and ship owner. He retired to "Llangollen," Loudoun County, Virginia in 1812 after a decline in business. Later he was elected to serve in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly; the Virginia State Senate in 1829 and the Virginia House of Delegates in 1840. In 1788, Cuthbert married Catherine Simms, daughter of Col. Charles Simms. The couple had ten children including; Anne Maria Powell (1800-1885), who married 1st cousin Dr. William Levin Powell; Dr. Llewellen Powell (1802-1870), who married cousin Sarah Elizabeth Harrison; Charles Leven Powell (1804-1896), who married Selina Lloyd; Mary Emily Powell (b.1807), who married cousin Cuthbert Powell and later Rev. George Adie; Ellen Douglas Powell (1813- 1862) who married Judge William H. Gray; Cuthbert Harrison Powell (1814-1897); and Jane Simms (Fanny) Powell, who married Wellington Gordon.

Charles Leven Powell and Family Charles Leven Powell (1804-1896) married Selina Lloyd (d. 1871) in 1830. The couple had six children, including; Rebecca Powell (1831-1921), Harriet Lee "Hattie" (Powell) Smoot (1833-1870), Lloyd Powell (1834-1861), Charles Leven Powell, Jr. (1835-1862), Minna Powell (1837-1854), and Selina "Nina" (Powell) Hepburn (1842-1918). Harriet Lee "Hattie" (Powell) Smoot (1833-1870) married Rector Smoot. In 1871, Selina "Nina" (Powell) Hepburn (1842-1918) married Sewell Stavely Hepbron. At some point, the last name Hepbron was changed to Hepburn.

Charles Leven Powell (1804-1896) graduated from Yale College in 1825. After unsuccessful attempts at starting a law practice in Alexandria, Virginia, he was able to support his family as a teacher. Still hoping to advance his law career, the family moved to Henry, Illinois in 1850. After the death of their daughter, Minna Powell (1837-1854), the family returned to Virginia leaving the two sons behind. The parents opened a girls boarding school in Winschester, Virginia, but at the start of the Civil War in 1861 were forced to shut down. Lloyd Powell (1834-1861) returned to Virginia to enlist in the war and was killed at the 1st Battle of Bull Run, 21 July 1861. Following his death, Charles Leven Powell, Jr. (1835-1862) returned to Virginia to enlist and was killed in a skirmish in August 1862. The rest of the family scattered across the state to live with various relatives until the end of the war. The family reassembled in Alexandria, Virginia and opened another school for girls called the "Arlington Institute." The teachers on staff include Charles Leven Powell (1804-1896), his wife and his three remaining daughters. This school supported the family for 30 years until its closure in 1894.

Fitzhugh Lee (1835 – 1905), the nephew of General Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate cavalry general, Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and US Army general in the Spanish-American War. Lee taught and wrote about the history of the Civil War south, including authoring a biography of his uncle. Fitzhugh Lee served as governor of Virginia from 1885-1889 and, following an unsuccessful bid for the Senate, he was appointed consul-general at Havana by President Cleveland in April of 1896. He retained this post through 1898 and, during this time, dealt with the destruction of the warship USS Maine. Upon the declaration of war between Spain and the United States, Lee re-entered the army and became one of three ex-Confederate general officers who were made major generals of the United States Volunteers. He commanded the VII Army Corps, but took no part in the actual operations in Cuba. He served as military governor of Havana and Pinar del Rio in 1899. Cuba's Struggle against Spain with the Causes for American Intervention and a Full Account of the Spanish-American War: Including Final Peace Negotiations ... with a Story of Santiago by Theodore Roosevelt, a Description of the Destruction of the "Maine" by Richard Wainwright was authored by Fitzhugh Lee and Joseph Wheeler (1899). Lee was also responsible for the Report of Commanding General Fitzhugh Lee Outlining Governmental, Economic, and Social Conditions in Department of Havana and Pinar del Rio at Beginning of U.S. Occupation, and Resulting Changes (1899).

Interviewed on the topic of Cuba by the New York Times 29 October 1899 (published 30 October, 1899), Lee noted that "Cuba, on the whole, is doing well; the condition of the island is improving. The Cubans are tractable and quiet, and the revolution has given them self-respect and self-reliance. They have come out of their fight hopeful and confident, and the people of the island are to-day eager to make the most of their opportunities ... Whether or not they desire independence, whether or not they are in favor of annexation to the United States and whether or not it would be wise for the this country to annex Cuba and incorporate the island within our political system, are questions which I do not wish to discuss. As a soldier I have no inclination to make any recommendations along that line."

Captain Fitzhugh Lee of the United States Army, 3rd Cavalry, was appointed aide-de-camp to Major General Frederick Funston in February 1916. Less than a month later, on March 9, Mexican Revolutionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa ordered a cross-border raid on Columbus, New Mexico. Though the raid was largely unsuccessful, President Woodrow Wilson received permission from General Alvaro Obregon, Mexican secretary of war, to pursue Pancho Villa in Mexico. Major General Funston and Captain Lee (who had been stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas) served under General John J. Pershing in this operation. United States and Mexican forces failed to capture Villa and U.S. troops were ordered home in January 1917.

After the conflict, Captain Fitzhugh Lee served as an officer for the 7th Cavalry, stationed at various forts in Texas. By 1919, Lee had been made a colonel. He remained in command of the 7th Cavalry until at least 1927.