Light-Horse Harry Lee by Ryan Cole
He was a dashing military hero who led the fight for America's independence.His son would later become the general who almost tore America apart.
Henry Lee III, whose name “Light-Horse” came from his legendary exploits with mounted troops and skill in the saddle, was a dashing cavalry commander and hero of America’s War for Independence. By now, most Americans have forgotten about Light-Horse Harry Lee, the father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee; but this new biography reveals he may be one of the most fascinating figures in our nation's history. A daring military commander, Lee was also an early American statesman whose passionate argument in favor of national unity helped ratify the Constitution. When President George Washington needed to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion, he sent in his friend Light-Horse Harry Lee with 12,000 militia men. When Washington died, Lee was the man who famously eulogized our first president as “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” With incredible stories about Light-Horse Harry Lee's interactions with famous men and women—including George and Martha Washington, Nathanial Greene, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr—this book paints a rich portrait of an underappreciated American character, and also provides unique new insight into the upbringing and motivations of Lee's infamous son, General Robert E. Lee.
“Light-Horse Harry blazes across the pages of Ryan Cole’s narrative like a meteor—and his final crash is as destructiveCole tells his story with care, sympathy, and where necessary, sternness. This book is a great, and sometimes harrowing read.”
-- Richard Brookhiser * senior editor at National Review and author of Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington *
“Lee was a bold and often reckless character whose tragic life ended up tracing the distance between valiant Revolutionary service under George Washington and the depths of bankruptcy, debtor’s prison, and a painful end. Cole captures it all in admirably lapidary prose, in the process bringing to life the vanished world of the early American republic, a world of both opportunity and peril.”
-- Wilfred M. McClay * G.T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty, University of Oklahoma *
“This page-turning biography brings Robert E. Lee’s father vividly back to life.”
-- Harold Holzer * 2008 winner of the National Humanities Medal and 2015 winner of the Lincoln Prize *
“Ryan Cole’s new biography of Henry Lee—the daredevil cavalry master of the American Revolution and the father of Robert E. Lee—provides us with a portrait nearly as headlong and fast-paced as ‘Light-Horse Harry’ himself.”
-- Allen Guelzo * Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College and author of Gettysburg: The Last Invasion *
-- Richard Brookhiser * senior editor at National Review and author of Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington *
“Lee was a bold and often reckless character whose tragic life ended up tracing the distance between valiant Revolutionary service under George Washington and the depths of bankruptcy, debtor’s prison, and a painful end. Cole captures it all in admirably lapidary prose, in the process bringing to life the vanished world of the early American republic, a world of both opportunity and peril.”
-- Wilfred M. McClay * G.T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty, University of Oklahoma *
“This page-turning biography brings Robert E. Lee’s father vividly back to life.”
-- Harold Holzer * 2008 winner of the National Humanities Medal and 2015 winner of the Lincoln Prize *
“Ryan Cole’s new biography of Henry Lee—the daredevil cavalry master of the American Revolution and the father of Robert E. Lee—provides us with a portrait nearly as headlong and fast-paced as ‘Light-Horse Harry’ himself.”
-- Allen Guelzo * Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College and author of Gettysburg: The Last Invasion *
RYAN COLE, a former assistant to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and speechwriter at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, holds degrees in history and journalism from Indiana University. He has written extensively about American history and literature for the Wall Street Journal, National Review, the New Crite- rion, Civil War Times, the American Inter- est, and the Indianapolis Star. Additionally, he has written for Indiana University and the Lumina Foundation, and he served on the staff of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781621576976 |
| ISBN 10 | 1621576973 |
| Title | Light-Horse Harry Lee |
| Author | Ryan Cole |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Regnery Publishing Inc |
| Year published | 2019-01-24 |
| Number of pages | 426 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |