Henry A. G. Lee (c. 1818 – 1851) was a soldier and politician in

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...

in the 1840s. A member of Virginia's Lee family, he was part of the Fremont Expedition and commanded troops during the Cayuse War in what became the Oregon Territory. He also was a member of the Oregon Provisional Government and the second editor of the ''

Oregon Spectator ''The Oregon Spectator'', was a newspaper published from 1846 to 1855 in Oregon City of what was first the Oregon Country and later the Oregon Territory of the United States. The ''Spectator'' was the first American newspaper west of the Rocky M ...

''.

Early life

Lee was born in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, circa 1818.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. In 1843, Lee was a part of

John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...

's Army expedition through the Western United States, including what is now the state of Oregon.Flora, Stephenie
Emigrants to Oregon in 1843.
Oregon Pioneers, accessed September 25, 2007. During the expedition he was sent with a note to Kit Carson ordering Carson to catch up to the group, and later when the party split into two Lee remained with Fremont before returning to Oregon on September 22.

Oregon Country

Fellow pioneer John Minto described Lee as a "natural leader," but contrasted his style with that of

James Nesmith James Willis Nesmith (July 23, 1820 – June 17, 1885) was an American politician and lawyer from Oregon. Born in New Brunswick to American parents, he grew up in New Hampshire and Maine. A Democrat, he moved to Oregon Country in 1843 where he e ...

; Lee, he contended, was less domineering than Nesmith, and attracted young men eager to serve. After settling in Oregon, Lee was elected to the Provisional Legislature of Oregon in 1845.Oregon Legislative Assembly (1st Provisional) 1845 Regular Session
/ref> He represented the Clackamas District and served as Speaker of the body for part of the December session. In 1846, Lee became the second editor of the ''

'', the first newspaper in the region. He replaced William G. T'Vault and would remain editor for nine issues of the paper before George Law Curry took over the position.

Cayuse War

On November 29, 1847, the Whitman Mission near present-day Walla Walla, Washington, was attacked by members of the Cayuse tribe in the Whitman Massacre. This led to further violence in the ensuing Cayuse War prosecuted by the Provisional Government of Oregon and later the United States government against the Native Americans in what became the Oregon Territory in 1848. In December 1847 when word of the attack reached the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...

, the Provisional Government and Gov.

George Abernethy George Abernethy (October 7, 1807 – March 2, 1877) was an American politician, pioneer, notable entrepreneur, and first governor of Oregon under the provisional government based in the Willamette Valley, an area later a part of the American sta ...

called for volunteers to fight against the Cayuse, with Lee volunteering and being selected as captain of a 50-man unit to be dispatched immediately to The Dalles. The

Oregon Rifles The Oregon Rifles was the first military force organized for the protection of Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest of North America. Shortly after the Whitman Massacre, Oregon Governor George Abernethy communicated to the legislature his con ...

under the command of Lee formed on December 8, and gathered at

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of the ...

on December 10 where they purchased supplies from the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

(HBC) post.Fagan, David D. 1885. History of Benton County, Oregon: including its geology, topography, soil and productions, together with the early history of the Pacific Coast, compiled from the most authentic sources : a full political history ... incidents of pioneer life and biographical sketches of early and prominent citizens : also containing the history of the cities, towns, churches, schools, secret societies, etc. regon D.D. Fagan. The HBC would not extend credit to the Provisional Government, so the volunteer soldiers pledged their individual credit in order to purchase supplies with the hope that the government would be able to repay them at a later time.Rogue River War.
GlobalSecurity.org, accessed September 25, 2007. The group was to protect the Methodist Mission there and prevent any hostile forces from reaching the Willamette Valley. While preparation were made for war, the Provisional Government also attempted to negotiate with the Cayuse and other tribes. Lee was appointed as one of the peace commissioners, along with Joel Palmer and Robert Newell to seek a truce with the Cayuse and demand they turn over the killers from the massacre at the start of hostilities.Oregon Blue Book: Oregon History: Cayuse Indian War.
Oregon Secretary of State, accessed September 25, 2007. Lee and his troops, with John E. Ross and Joseph Magone as lieutenants, then marched off to The Dalles, arriving on December 21. Upon arriving there, Lee led his men against a band of Native Americans and drove them off, but not before they stole 300 head of cattle. There the troops built a stockade and named the post Fort Lee for the commander, though the small fortification was also called Fort Wascopam. Lee's forces continued defending the

Wascopam Mission The Wascopam Mission or Dalles Mission was a branch of the Methodist Mission active in the Pacific Northwest. It was the first post established outside the Willamette Valley, opened at Celilo Falls along the Columbia River on March 21, 1838, by Re ...

and settlers until Colonel

Cornelius Gilliam Cornelius Gilliam (April 13, 1798 – March 24, 1848) was a pioneer of the U.S. state of Oregon who was best known as the commander of the volunteer forces against the Cayuse in the Cayuse War. A native of North Carolina, he served in the Black ...

arrived with a larger force in February 1848, at which point Lee became third in command after Gilliam and Lieutenant-Colonel James Waters. With a larger force, the militia forces pressed east towards the Whitman Mission, with Lee commanding some troops and carrying out reconnaissance. By March 4 the forces reached the mission after a battle at Sand Hollows. After reaching the mission, Gilliam set out for The Dalles with a small force to supply that settlement, before continuing to Oregon City to report to the governor when he was accidentally shot and killed. Lee continued west with Gilliam's body and was promoted to Colonel before returning to the front. Once at the front he discovered that the troops had elected Waters as Colonel, so Lee resigned as colonel and took the role as a subordinate to Waters.

Later life

After leaving the war, Governor Abernethy appointed Lee as superintendent of Indian Affairs in 1848. In 1849, he sought his fortune in the gold mines of the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

. He successfully mined there before returning to Oregon and setting up business in

Oregon City ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

in 1850. That year Lee traveled by ship to New York to acquire inventory for his store, but died of Panama fever on his return to Oregon in 1851.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Henry A. Cayuse War Members of the Provisional Government of Oregon 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Journalists from Virginia 1818 births 1851 deaths Henry American people of English descent Oregon pioneers 19th-century American journalists American male journalists