William Lee ( valet ) William " Billy " Lee ( 17501828 ) , also known as Will Lee , was George Washington ' s personal servant and the only one of Washington ' s slaves freed outright by Washington in his will . Because he served by Washington ' s side throughout the American Revolutionary War and was sometimes depicted next to Washington in paintings , Lee was one of the most publicized African Americans of his time . Early life . Born circa 1750 , Lee was purchased on May 3 , 1768 , when he was just a teenager , by George Washington , as described in Washington ' s account book as " Mulatto Will " , from the estate of the late Colonel John Lee of Westmoreland County , Virginia for sixty - one pounds and fifteen shillings . William kept the surname " Lee " from this previous owner . Also purchased at this time was William ' s brother Frank , as well as two other slaves . Washington paid high prices for William and Frank , as they were to be household slaves rather than field laborers . William and Frank were often chosen to serve as domestic servants , who were given responsibilities and privileges most slaves never enjoyed . Frank became Washington ' s butler at Mount Vernon , while William served in a variety of roles , including Washington ' s valet or manservant . As valet , Lee performed chores such as brushing Washington ' s long hair and tying it behind his head . Washington was a frequent fox hunter , and Lee became his huntsman ( the person in charge of the hounds ) , a role that required expert horsemanship . In his memoirs , Washington ' s step - grandson George Washington Parke Custis described Lee during a hunt : Will , the huntsman , better known in Revolutionary lore as Billy , rode a horse called " Chinkling " , a surprising leaper , and made very much like its rider , low , but sturdy , and of great bone and muscle . Will had but one order , which was to keep with the hounds ; and , mounted on " Chinkling " . . . this fearless horseman would rush , at full speed , through brake or tangled wood , in a style at which modern huntsmen would stand aghast . Before the Revolutionary War , Lee often traveled with Washington to the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg , or on journeys such as a surveying expedition to the Ohio Valley in 1770 and to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1774 . Lee served at Washington ' s side throughout the eight years of the Revolutionary War , including the winter at Valley Forge and at the siege of Yorktown . According to historian Fritz Hirschfeld , Lee " rode alongside Washington in the thick of battle , ready to hand over to the general a spare horse or his telescope or whatever else might be needed . . . " After the war . Lee ' s wife was Margaret Thomas Lee , a free African American from Philadelphia who had worked as a servant in Washington ' s headquarters during the war . Although slave marriages were not recognized by Virginia law , in 1784 , at the couple ' s request , Washington tried to arrange having Margaret move to Mount Vernon to live with her husband . Whether or not she ever came to Mount Vernon is unknown . In 1785 , Lee injured a knee while on a surveying expedition with Washington . Three years later , while going to the post office in Alexandria , he fell and injured his other knee , rendering him seriously disabled . When Washington was elected president in 1789 , Lee attempted to make the journey to New York City for the inauguration , but had to be left in Philadelphia for medical treatment . He was attended by several physicians , who made a steel brace for his knee that allowed him to join Washington ' s presidential household . Frank ' s nephew , Christopher Sheels , assisted Lee in New York City , and took over Lee ' s duties in 1790 at the Philadelphia President ' s House . Even following Washington ' s 1797 retirement , Lee ' s disabilities prevented him from continuing his previous duties , and he spent the last years of his life as a shoemaker at Mount Vernon , struggling with alcoholism . Revolutionary War veterans who visited Mount Vernon often stopped to reminisce with Lee about the war . When Washington died in 1799 , he freed William Lee in his will , citing " his faithful services during the Revolutionary War " . Lee was the only one of Washington ' s 124 slaves freed outright in his will ; the remaining slaves owned by Washington were to be freed upon the death of Martha Washington . ( Another 153 slaves living at Mount Vernon were the property of Martha ' s first husband ' s estate , and could not be freed by Washington . ) Lee was given a pension of thirty dollars a year for the rest of his life , and the option of remaining at Mount Vernon if he wanted . Lee chose to live out the rest of his life at Mount Vernon , where he is buried . " If Billy Lee had been a white man , " wrote historian Fritz Hirschfeld , " he would have had an honored place in American history because of his close proximity to George Washington during the most exciting periods of his career . But because he was a black servant , a humble slave , he has been virtually ignored by both black and white historians and biographers . "