Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-30

fngton- Lee and not Arnold was the
arch traitor of the revolution. Lees trea-
son was not discovered until nearly sew
enty years after he was dead. The find
ing among the old papers of the British
war office of the documents disclosing his
treason came SO late that they never
have received the attention from histo-
Rams they would have commanded had
they come to light in the early days of
the nation. Before they came TO light
public opinion regarding the various
characters In the great revolutionary
drama had formed
Lee was viewed vain, Jealous, bit
ter man, whose appointment TO such hlgh
command in the Continental army was
mistake, and whose conduct at the pat
tie of Monmouth was dtSgracetul. Inere
was a suspicion, too, regarding his deVo-
tion to the cause of the struggling patrl-
OTIS, but that was about as far as 1t went.
Possibly historians would have been more
eager to ascertain everything they could
in relation to him had he been American
born. But Lees crime was a more SIN
lister and more shocking one than AT
nold's In the case of Arnold there was
Ill treatment, injustice and persecution
that drove him into a frenzy and aroused
every base passion in the man. In the
case of Lee there was nothing to warrant
even reSe ntnlent. HOnorS had been snow
cred on him, Congress had given small
fortune to him to safeguard him against
financial loss through his connection with
the Continental service, and at the very
moment when he was betraying the gov
eminent Washington was working Tor
him as he worked for no other man In
all the war
Apparently Lee had little gratitude and
TO conscience But he did have brazen
impudence beyond all understanding
Among historical rascals he stands
UNIQUE, for after his treason he returned
TO the service he had betrayed, had COM
mand of an army, and then, II Woulu
\ seem, deliberately planned 10 nave llldl
army slaughtered i5efore the discovery
of those papers in the British war ONCE
the conduct of Lee at the battle OF Mon
mouth was fncomprehensible. 1t WouIU
seem to be SO no longer.
Lee was born in 1a31, at Ournnail !,
Cheshire England. His family was an
aristocratic one and quite wealthy. lie
was we'll educated, was a rare lingulst ana
was a great traveller He had two pas
sions-one for scoidlng people anu ,,.,t M
other for writing letters. There propd-
bly, never has been more unhappy or
discontented man. He could start a ITO.
in a meeting OF Quakers. A master OF
satire and witty in the extreme, he oe-
lighted in exercising these qualities. he
had a very high opinion of himself and
very poor opinion of everybody else
1t angered him that he was not &C
himself to be. Vain and imperlous, rest,
less and ambitious, clever in speech and
clever in writing, with brain that
worked much quicker than that OF tne
average man, he was without tolerance
and without self-control. Possibly MS
physical defects affected his Judgment or
men and things. He was extraordinarily
thin and extraordinarily ugly. his nose
was out of all proportion to the rest OF
his face, being big that people VINO
saw him for the first time looked at 1t
with establishment Wherever he went ne
was sure to command attention. Peopie
forgot his uglineSS when he began TO talk
He talked a great deal and always talked
we'll His memory was s1nguiarIy Teten-
tive He would have made a fine lawyer
He was studious, quick to see point
apt in Illustration and logical in argu-
ment. Alexander Hamilton, VINO was no
poor judge Of men, said Lee had d pre-
conceived notion that he was very great
man and that this operated in his favor
Hamilton considered Lee specifically
clever. but in reality shallow.
The first military experience Of Lee was
in Braddock's expedition against Fort
Duquesne In this Inflated campaign he
served as a lieutenant. Next he was sent
to serve under Sir William Johnson In the
Mohawk country. The Indians gave him
name which fitted him admirably. 1t
meant Boiling Water or 1.-The Spirit
That Never Sleeps" He liked the In
dams. Their life appealed to him He
was a nomad by nature and he craved
adventure In 1856 he bought a commits
sion as captain and was in the force
organized for the conquest of Louisburg,
He got into trouble through lampooning
the commander Lord Loudon. Even thus
early he was severe in his structures OF
persons in authority. After the Louis
burg fiasco he took part in the assault
on Ticonderog and distinguished himself
Iyyh lie
body and had two ribs shattered. When
he recovered he led an expedition against
the French fort at Niagara and took an
active part in Lord Amhersts campaign
that completed the conquest of Canada.
Soon after the fall of Montreal he re-
turned to England and was promoted to
be major of the 1o3d Foot In 1l62 he
was made lieutenant colonel and was sent
to Portugal with Burgoyne 10 assist in
repelIng the Spanish invasion Of that
kingdom. There he won renown by brill
liant night attack on the Spanish camp
at Villa Velha. He blew up the Span
ish magazine. spiked lot Of guns and
captured many prisoners.
When he returned to England he ex
pected promotion. but did not get 1t. de-
spite the fact that his family had great
influence at court. Probably Lee had Of
cious tongue. He always did talk too
much Instead of promotion he was put
on half pay. This ranked.
Unable to overcome the subtle opposition
of the war minister, he offered his serv-
ices to Poniatowski, King of Poland
There was a prospect of Poland furnish
ing excitement. for that kingdom was
sorely oppressed. Lee was an aid-de-
camp on the kings staff. but when the
war he expected did not develop he went
10 Turkey. He was in Constantinople
when an earthquake shook up the old city
and in the CONFUSION he had narrow
escape from death. Back TO London he
went and once more he sought promotion
and active service Again he was diSap-
pointed In disgust he returned to Poland
and Poniatowski made him major gen.
eral He served In one campaign in Rus
STA against the Turks and then became
wanderer over Europe. visiting Italy Ger
many Switzerland and France. The Let
ters Of Junlus," which were published
about the time he returned home. were
credited to him and he privately acknowl-
edged their authorship, but there is little
reason to doubt that he knew no more
about their production than did the man
in the moon.
In 1773 he left England. He had been
so bitter in his denunciauon of the gov
eminent that he could hope for little
favor In England, he determined to
begin life anew In the colonies. He had
espouSed the cause OF the coloniSts In
England and had been vigorous in his
ton that course of the gov