Edwin Gray Lee

Son of a wealthy lawyer Edmund Jennings Lee (1797-1877), he graduated from Judge J.W. Brockenbrough's Lexington Law School (later part of Washington College, now Washington and Lee University) and began to practice in Shepherdstown, VA. In 1860 he was a 24 year old lawyer living with his parents and 5 younger siblings in Shepherdstown.

In April 1861 he was appointed 2nd Lieutenant of Company B, 2nd Virginia Infantry, which soon became part of the Stonewall Brigade. He was an aide to Colonel Thomas J. Jackson during June and July 1861 and following the First Battle of Manassas, on 26 July, was promoted to Major of the 33rd Virginia Infantry. He was elected Lieutenant Colonel on 22 April 1862, and served with his regiment during Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862, the Seven Days battles, at Second Manassas, and at Cedar Mountain.

He was in poor health , but remained with his regiment on the Campaign. He may not have actively commanded at Sharpsburg on 17 September 1862.

He was captured soon after at his father's home in Shepherdstown, VA, but was paroled on 26 September 1862 and rejoined his regiment by Fredericksburg on 13 December 1862. His health forced him to resign shortly after the battle. In 1863, his health improved, he returned to active duty, and was appointed Colonel of Cavalry on 19 November 1863 and assigned to the staff of Gen. Robert Ransom Jr. in the Richmond defenses. He subsequently recruited troops and fought in defense of the Shenandoah Valley.

He was promoted to Brigadier General on 23 September 1864 and then served with Gen. Rosser in the cavalry in the Valley. In November 1864 he took sick leave, and in December he and his wife Susan ran the blockade to Canada on a secret service mission. His commission as Brigadier General was rejected by the Confederate Senate on 24 February 1865.

He remained in Montreal until the spring of 1866 before returning to Virginia. By 1870 he was back in Shepherdstown, WV again practicing the law and living with his parents. He continued to suffer from disease of the lungs and died at Yellow Sulphur Springs, where he had sought a cure, at age 34.

His service and life basics from a concise biography in the 10 October 1999 Lexington (VA) News-Gazette, by Bob Driver with details from his Compiled Service Records,1 online from fold3. Carman2 (based on Major Hazael J Williams' report) does not list Lee in command at Sharpsburg. Personal details from family genealogists and the US Census of 1860 & 1870. His gravesite is on Findagrave. His picture from a photograph hosted by Masonic Lodge 67 in Lexington, VA.

He married Susan Sarah Pendleton (1833-1911; daughter of William Nelson Pendleton) in November 1859 and they had a daughter Susan, who died in infancy.

He was a second cousin to General Robert E. Lee.

5/27/1836; Shepherdstown, VA

08/24/1870; Yellow Sulphur Springs, VA; burial in Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery, Lexington, VA