The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-01-30
ny RICHARD spILLANE.

treason Bad as was Arnold, he was |
not so bad as General Charles Lee |
senior maior-general Of the Continent
tai army and second In command to
Washington. Lee, and not Arnold, was
the arch traitor of the Revolution.
Lees treason was not discovered I'M
III nearly seventy years after he was /
dead. THE finding among the old I
papers OF the British War Office of the |
documents disclosing his treason came
go late that they ,never have received |
he attention from historians they /
would have commanded had they come |
to light In the early days of tho nation. |
Before they came to light public opin-
lon regarding the various characters
IN The great Revolutionary drama had
formed. Lee was viewed as u vain
jealous, bitter man. whose appoint
tnent to such high command In the
Continental army was mistake and
whose conduct at the battle of Mon
mouth was disgraceful. There was sus-
picion, too, regarding his devotion to
the cause of the struggling patriots,
but that was about as far as it 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 sinister and more shock
ing one than Arnold's. In the case
of Arnold there was ill-treatnent in.
Justice 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 resentment Honors had been
showered on him, the Congress had
given small fortune to him TO safe
guard him against financial loss
through his connection with the Con
In al a m
nent when he was betraying the gov
eminent. Washington was working for
him as he worked for no other man |
in all the war.
A Rascal Unique.
Apparently Lee had little gratitude
and no conscience. But he did have
brazen impudence beyond all under
standing. Among historical rascals he
stands unique, for, after his treason
he returned to the service he had be-
trayed. had command of an army, and
then. 1t would SEEM deliberately
planned to have that army slaughtered.
Before the discovery of those papers
in the British War Office the conduct
of Lee at the battle of Monmouth was
jncomprehensible. 1t would seem to
be so no longer.
Lee was born in 1881, at Durnhall,
Cheshire, England. His family was
an aristocratic one and quite wealthy.
He was well educated, was rare
linguist and was a great traveller He
had two passions-one for scoding
people and the other for writing let
ters. There probably never has been
a more unhappy or disconnected man.
lie could start a riot in a meeting of
Quakers. A master of satire and witty
in the extreme, he delighted in exer-
cising these qualities He had very
high opinion of himself and very
poor opinion of everybody else.
1t angered him that he was not ac-
cepted for what he, in his wisdom.
knew himself to be. Vain and inn
perious, restless and ambitious, clever
in speech and clever in writing. with
brain that worked much quicker
than that of the average man, he
was without tolerance and without
seif-control. Possibly his physical de-
fects affected his judgment of men
and Things. He was extraordinarily
thin and extraordinarily ugly His
nose was out OF all proportion to the
resi- of his face, being so big that
people WHO saw him for the first time
looked at 1t with establishment. Wher-
ever he went he was sure to command
attention. People forgot his ugliness
when he began to talk He talked q
great deal and always talked we'll
His memory was singularly reten-
tive. He would have made a fine law
yer. He was studious. quick to see a.
point. apt in illustration and logical
in argument. Alexander Hamilton.
who was no poor judge of men, said
was very great man and that this
Lee had prscanceiyed notion that he
operated In hts. faver. Hamilton con.
sidered Lee superfcially clever, but in
reality shallow.
with Brnddock.
The first military experience of Lee
was in Braddock's expedition against
Fort Duquesne In this Inflated cam
patgn he served rs lieutenant Next
he was sent to serve under Sir Will
lam johnson the Mohawk country.
The Indians gave him a name which
fitted him admirably. 1t meant Boil
Ing Water" or 1.-THE Spirit That Never
Sleeps" He liked the Indians Their
Life appealed 10 him. He was
nomad by nature and he craved ad-
venture. In 1855 he bought a COM
mission as captain and he was in the
force organized for the conquest OF
Louisbourg. He got into trouble
through lampooning the commander,
Lord Doundon. Even thus early he was
severe In his structures of persons in
authority. After the Louisbourg
dasco he took part in the assault on
Ticonderoga and distinguished himself
by his bravery. He was shot through
the body and had two ribs shattered
When he recovered he led an expedi-
ton against the French fort at Niagara
and took an active part In Lord AM
hersts campaign that completed the
conquest of Canada. Soon after the
fall OF Montreal he returned to Eng
land and Was promoted to be major
OF the One Hundred and Third foot. In
1852 he was made lieutenant colonel,
and was sent to Portugal with Bur
Royne to assist In repelling the Span
ish invasion of that kingdom. There
he won renown by a brilliant night at
tack on the Spanish camp at Villa
velha He blew up the Spanish maya
zine spiked lot Of guns and cap
tured many prisoners,
When he returned TO England he ex-
pccted promotion, but did not get it,
despite the fact that his family had
great influence at court Probably
Lee had offended some one in au-
thority by his vicious tongue He al
ways did talk too much. Instead OF
promotion he was put on half nav.