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Lee was educated by private tutoring at the family home, his father intending for him to become a lawyer. In 1770, he matriculated at the College of New Jersey (now [[Princeton University]]) and graduated in 1773. Though he received good marks during his time of study, he was said to have given less attention to the law than to the classics, especially the ancient Romans and their ideas on virtue, perhaps indicating that he was already looking forward to a future test of wills with the British over their policies of American taxation.
Lee was educated by private tutoring at the family home, his father intending for him to become a lawyer. In 1770, he matriculated at the College of New Jersey (now [[Princeton University]]) and graduated in 1773. Though he received good marks during his time of study, he was said to have given less attention to the law than to the classics, especially the ancient Romans and their ideas on virtue, perhaps indicating that he was already looking forward to a future test of wills with the British over their policies of American taxation.
==Revolutionary War Soldier==
In 1777, Lee was commissioned (by then-governor [[Patrick Henry]]) as a captain in the 1st Continental Light Dragoons, a cavalry regiment led by Colonel Theodorick Bland, a relation of the Lees. He and his unit first saw significant combat in 1778, with Lee (by now promoted to major) distinguishing himself in the defeat of a Hessian regiment outside [[New York City]] in September. At other times, he was highly successful in carrying out the conventional duties of the cavalry: gathering intelligence on enemy movements, screening the Continental Army's own movements from the British, and raiding around and behind enemy lines to gather supplies and cause disruption. It was these exploits that earned Lee the nickname "Light-Horse Harry," and a grateful [[George Washington|General Washington]] offered him a position on his staff. Lee declined, however, preferring a field command; as he put it, "I am wedded to my sword." Impressed, Washington saw to the creation of an independent unit under Lee's command that would later include both cavalry and infantry and come to be known as "Lee's Legion."
==Works==
==Works==