Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution [Paperback]

Charles Royster (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 1982

Soldier, statesman, landowner, historian of the young republic, and member of one of the best Virginian families - Henry Lee endeavoured throughout his life to realise his dream of a free and prosperous America. His career embodied the visionary promises that inspired the American Revolution, as well as the inability of the revolutionary generation to put all its ideals into practice. Charles Royster shows how, both during the war and afterward, Lee continually risked himself in the service of his vision and how he repeatedly failed to win the victories he sought. This book was first published in 1981 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., and has already won wide critical acclaim. It will appeal to general readers as well as students of American history.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Charles Royster shows how, both during the American Revolution and afterward, Henry Lee continually risked himself in the service of his vision of a free and prosperous America and how he repeatedly failed to win the victories he sought. It will appeal to general readers as well as students of American history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (October 29, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521270650
• ISBN-13: 978-0521270656
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,623,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Burning the Candle at Both Ends, July 18, 2000

By 

Kevin F. Kiley - See all my reviews

This review is from: Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution (Paperback)

Charles Royster is one of the premier historians on the period of the American Revolution. He has done excellent work on the Continental Army and he knows his business.

This volume is no different. Lee is one of the celebrated personalities of the Revolution, especially for his excellent service in the southern theater under Nathaniel Greene. Commanding a green-uniformed legion of infantry and cavalry, he performed superbly with the main army and working happily with Francis Marion and his partisans harrying the British and Tories in the South Carolina back country.

The first part of the book covers this portion of Lee's life. To me it was the most interesting, the Revolution in general and the Continental Army in particular being two of my favorite subjects. however, the rest of the book covers Lee's later life, which steadily went downhill after the Revolution's ending, with bouts of debt, sickness, failure, and an early death. Lee, the father of Robert E., is an interesting, sad figure, egotistical, patriotic, more than competent, and somewhat politically naive.

Royster presents Lee as a whole person, and deftly intertwines his tale with Revolutionary exploits, first hand accounts, family and financial problems, and brings the legend into line with the man's humanity, frailties, and strengths.

This book is a must for all interested in the Revolution and one of the most fascinating personalities to grace the American stage in the 18th century.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Light-Horse, August 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution (Paperback)

I was hoping for basically a biography of Lee's war time exploits but this book goes a lot further. The author does devote a good portion of the book to Lee's Revolutionary War time but also to his life after the war. Much research and commentary goes into this period of Lee's life to include his flawed business practices, which ultimately lead to his imprisonment for not being able to pay his debts. Overall a good biography of the father of Robert E. Lee but it is slow in some areas. RECOMMENDED.