[American Revolution]: [Lee, Charles]:

$2,250 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

CHARLES LEE, ESQR. MAJOR GENERAL OF THE CONTINENTAL-ARMY IN AMERICA [caption title]. Engraved three-quarter length portrait of Major General Charles Lee, showing him in his Continental Army uniform with one hand upraised and pointing forward, while he looks off the the left; firing cannons and a flag that reads "An Appeal to Heaven" are in the background. This print is one in a series of portraits of officers in the American Revolution, the intent of which was obviously to glorify the Americans and demonize the British. The British Museum Catalogue notes that several of the likenesses were imaginary, and the imprint lines may have been fictitious.Lee was a British soldier turned Virginia planter and supporter of the American Revolution. He took a commission in the Continental Army, all but presuming that with his experience he would be asked to lead the American forces, but was commissioned instead as a major general and was, effectively, Washington's second in command. Despite his support of the American cause, he constantly scorned nearly everything and everyone around him, leading eventually to a court martial for insubordinate behavior and ignoring General Washington's direct orders. The DNB says of Lee: "Eccentric in personality, whiggish in politics, more comfortable in opposition to causes than in support of them, he left a mixed legacy for the American cause that he so ardently embraced."A nice portrait of this controversial American figure.

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