Fitzhugh Lee Fitzhugh Lee ( November 19 , 1835 – April 28 , 1905 ) was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War , the 40th Governor of Virginia , diplomat , and United States Army general in the Spanish - American War . He was the son of Sydney Smith Lee , a captain in the Confederate States Navy , and the nephew of General Robert E . Lee . Early life . Lee was born at Clermont in Fairfax County , Virginia . He was the grandson of " Light Horse Harry " Lee , a nephew of Robert E . Lee and Samuel Cooper , and cousin of George Washington Custis Lee , W . H . F . " Rooney " Lee , and Robert E . Lee , Jr . His father , Sydney Smith Lee , served under Commodore Perry in Japanese waters and rose to the rank of Captain ; his mother , Anna Maria Mason Lee , was a granddaughter of George Mason and the sister of James Murray Mason . Graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1856 , Lee was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 2nd Cavalry Regiment ( later redesignated the 5th Cavalry Regiment ) , which was commanded by Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston , and in which his uncle , Robert E . Lee , was lieutenant colonel . As a cavalry subaltern , he distinguished himself by his gallant conduct in actions against the Comanches in Texas , and was severely wounded in a fight in Nescutunga , Texas , in 1859 . In May 1860 , he was appointed instructor of cavalry tactics at West Point , but resigned his commission upon the secession of Virginia . Civil War . Lee joined the Confederate States Army as a lieutenant of cavalry and served at first as a staff officer to Brig . Gen . Richard S . Ewell at the First Battle of Bull Run . He was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 1st Virginia Cavalry in August 1861 , serving under Colonel J . E . B . Stuart . Lee became colonel of the regiment in March 1862 and was promoted to brigadier general on July 24 , 1862 . During the Northern Virginia Campaign , Lee received notoriety by arriving late for a concentration of cavalry , which allowed Federal cavalry to raid Stuart ' s headquarters and capture his famous plumed hat and cape . However , during the subsequent Confederate raid on Catlett ' s Station , he captured the headquarters tent and dress uniform of Union Maj . Gen . John Pope . Lee gave Pope ' s coat to Stuart as compensation for the hat he had lost . Lee performed well in the Maryland Campaign of 1862 , covering the Confederate infantry ' s withdrawal from South Mountain , delaying the Union Army advance to Sharpsburg , Maryland , before the Battle of Antietam , and covering his army ' s recrossing of the Potomac River into Virginia . He conducted the cavalry action of Kelly ' s Ford ( March 17 , 1863 ) with skill and success , where his 400 troopers captured 150 men and horses with a loss of only 14 men . In the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863 , Lee ' s reconnaissance found that the Union Army ' s right flank was " in the air " , which allowed the successful flanking attack by Maj . Gen . Thomas J . " Stonewall " Jackson , a movement led by Lee ' s cavalry . After Chancellorsville , Lee was incapacitated by inflammatory rheumatism , missing a month of action , which included the significant cavalry operations at the Battle of Brandy Station . He recovered in time to lead a brigade in Jeb Stuart ' s ride around the Union Army in the early days of the Gettysburg Campaign , with his most significant contribution being at the Battle of Carlisle . During the Battle of Gettysburg , his brigade fought unsuccessfully in the action at East Cavalry Field . Stuart ' s report singled out no officer in his command for praise except Fitz Lee , who he said was " one of the finest cavalry leaders on the continent , and richly [ entitled ] to promotion . " Lee was promoted to major general on August 3 , 1863 . In the Overland and Petersburg campaigns of 1864 , he was constantly employed as a divisional commander under Stuart , and , after Stuart ' s death , under Maj . Gen . Wade Hampton . Hampton , who had been Lee ' s peer for much of the war , was promoted to replace Stuart due to his seniority and greater level of experience ; some observers at the time had cynically expected Robert E . Lee ' s nephew to receive the command . Despite Lee ' s abilities , in 1864 he was unable to break through United States Colored Troops defense of Fort Pocohontas in Charles City County . Lee took part in Lt . Gen . Jubal A . Early ' s campaign against Maj . Gen . Philip Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley , and at Third Winchester ( September 19 , 1864 ) three horses were shot under him and he was severely wounded . When General Hampton was sent to assist General Joseph E . Johnston in North Carolina , the command of the whole of Robert E . Lee ' s cavalry devolved upon Fitzhugh Lee on March 29 , 1865 , but the surrender at Appomattox followed quickly upon the opening of the campaign . Fitzhugh Lee himself led the last charge of the Confederates on April 9 that year at Farmville , Virginia . Postbellum life . After the war , Lee devoted himself to farming in Stafford County , Virginia , and was conspicuous in his efforts to reconcile the Southern people to the issue of the war , which he regarded as a final settlement of the questions at issue . In 1875 , he attended the Battle of Bunker Hill centennial at Boston and delivered a remarkable address . In 1885 , he was a member of the board of visitors of West Point , and from 1886 to 1890 was governor of Virginia having defeated Republican John Sergeant Wise with 52 . 77 % of the vote . Lee commanded the third division at both of President Grover Cleveland ' s inaugural parades in 1885 and 1893 . In April 1896 , Lee was appointed consul - general at Havana by President Cleveland , with duties of a diplomatic and military character added to the usual consular business . In this post ( in which he was retained by President William McKinley until 1898 ) he was from the first called upon to deal with a situation of great difficulty , which culminated with the destruction of the warship . Upon the declaration of war between Spain and the United States , he re - entered the army . He was one of three ex - Confederate general officers who were made major generals of United States Volunteers ( the others being Joseph Wheeler and Thomas L . Rosser ) . Fitzhugh Lee commanded the VII Army Corps , but took no part in the actual operations in Cuba . He was military governor of Havana and Pinar del Río in 1899 , subsequently commanded the Department of the Missouri , and retired in 1901 as a brigadier general , U . S . Army . Lee was an early leader of the committee for the Jamestown Exposition , which was held at Sewell ' s Point on Hampton Roads in 1907 . Lee died in Washington , D . C . , and was buried in Hollywood Cemetery , Richmond , Virginia . Lee wrote the article about Robert E . Lee in the " Great Commanders " series ( 1894 ) , " General Lee " , a wartime biography ( 1894 ) , and " Cuba ' s Struggle Against Spain " ( 1899 ) .