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Welcome to the PAS Report Podcast.
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If you're tired of censorship, outraged by government abuses and thirsty for real insights,
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then you're in the right place.
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Get ready, because here, the fight for freedom never ends.
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Here's your host, Professor Nick Teardano.
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So he was one of George Washington's most trusted commanders, a hero of the American Revolution,
1:00
a man so respected, so trusted that when Washington died, it was Henry Lighthorse Harry Lee,
1:07
who gave the words that would come to define Washington forever.
1:12
First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.
1:17
Those words have been etched into the fabric of American history for more than two centuries,
1:22
and the sad thing is most Americans probably never even heard of Henry Lighthorse Harry Lee.
1:28
His life is one so remarkable that few would believe it.
1:32
But he ended his life.
1:34
Henry Lee lost everything.
1:36
His fortune was gone, his reputation was shattered, he was beaten merely to death by a mob
1:43
He died in 1818, 200 years ago this week, a shadow of the man he once was, so the question
1:52
How does a man rise to the inner circle of greatness, and then fall so completely?
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Today, we uncover the story of Henry Lighthorse Harry Lee, a brilliant cavalry officer,
2:04
a trusted confidant of George Washington, and one of the most fascinating and forgotten
2:09
figures of the American Revolution.
2:12
Welcome to the PAS Report podcast.
2:14
This is the America's Founding Series.
2:16
I'm your host, Nick Dino.
2:17
Make sure to follow and subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode.
2:21
And share this episode with three to four Patriots you know.
2:24
So they too can learn about the founding of the country, the little known Patriots that
2:29
sacrificed everything for our nation.
2:32
Because when we look at the life of Henry Lee, we have to go back to the beginning.
2:37
And Henry Lee, the third was born into the Virginia aristocracy.
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He wasn't supposed to become a battlefield legend.
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He was born into Virginia's Planta Elite in 1756.
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His destiny seemed clear.
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Education, land, influence, wealth, power, the life of a gentleman, not a soldier.
2:57
But life has a way of rewiring destinies and when tensions between the colonies and
3:02
Great Britain escalated into war, Lee made a decision that would come to define who he
3:08
It would define his life.
3:09
He joined the Continental Army.
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At first, he was just another young officer, but it didn't take long for something to stand
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Lee wasn't just brave.
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He was calculating, precise in his planning, disciplined in battle.
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And most importantly, he understood that something that many officers don't understand, speed.
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It could be just as powerful and effective as strength.
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And while traditional armies of the time relied on formations and firepower, Lee excelled
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He specialized in Calvary, but what made him unique was how he used it.
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He didn't just charge into battles.
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He disrupted supply lines.
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He struck where the enemy was most vulnerable, where they were weakest.
3:55
And then he would disappear before they had a chance to respond.
3:59
The court washer tens eyes, he took notice and soon Lee was given command of what would
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become one of the most effective units in the Continental Army, Lee's Legion.
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It wasn't just Calvary who's a hybrid force of mounted troops and infantry troops.
4:16
They were trained to operate independently to move fast, it hard to adapt to the changing
4:21
environment of the battlefield.
4:23
And they carried out raids behind enemy lines.
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They disrupted British supply chains.
4:28
They forced the enemy to constantly look over their shoulders and worry.
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So Lee became known for his results.
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And with that reputation came a nickname that would stick with him forever, Light Horse
4:42
But more importantly, he became something else.
4:45
Someone George Washington could trust and rely on.
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When Washington needed speed, he turned to Lee.
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When he needed strategies outside the box, he turned to Lee.
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When he needed someone who could operate without constant oversight, he turned to Lee.
4:59
Lee wasn't just a soldier.
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He was becoming one of Washington's most trusted operators.
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And as the war progressed, that trust continued to deepen.
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Lee wasn't just executing orders.
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He anticipated them.
5:13
He understood Washington strategy.
5:15
He understood what was at stake.
5:17
He understood the mindset of George Washington and he understood the bigger picture.
5:21
And that's what set him apart from so many others.
5:25
Because while many officers for battles, Lee understood leadership.
5:31
But then the war ended and that's where things would change.
5:35
And for men like Lee, the next chapter is going to prove far more difficult than any battlefield,
5:40
any military campaign.
5:42
If you've been listening to the PAS report, you know this show is more than just the headlines
5:48
It's more than just understanding the issues.
5:52
It's also about the principles, the history and the ideas that help shape our country.
5:56
And we just left Henry Lee at his peak, rising up to become one of Washington's most trusted
6:03
But while his public life was soaring, his private life was a disaster.
6:10
The colonies had won their independence, but victory is going to bring new challenges.
6:15
The work comes after the revolution.
6:18
For many soldiers, the transition to civilian life was difficult and this problem exists
6:26
The structure, the purpose, the clarity of war, it's all gone.
6:31
Henry Lee is going to return to Virginia and he's going to return a hero to rebuild his
6:36
He had Washington's trust.
6:38
He had a reputation built on discipline and success.
6:41
He had the kind of standing that could carry him into political life and that's exactly
6:45
what it did for a time.
6:47
Lee served as the governor of Virginia.
6:50
He remained connected to the political and social lead of the young republic as it's moving
6:55
along, but his most defining moment wouldn't come in battle.
7:00
Wouldn't he become one of his in office?
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It would come in grief when the nation was in mourning.
7:06
December of 1799, George Washington dies.
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A nation he single handedly held together through its roughest times.
7:18
The nation was stunned.
7:21
Washington wasn't just a former president.
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You know, it's interesting because if he has people, give me the top five presidents.
7:29
Washington's going to be on that list, but then you ask him, name one policy Washington
7:33
executed as president of the United States and most have no answer.
7:37
What made Washington great was he became the symbol of the American experiment.
7:42
American greatness, the one figure that everyone trusted to hold it together.
7:48
And someone that was willing to give up power when he didn't have to.
7:55
The country needed someone to give voice to what they were feeling, the sadness, the
8:00
depression and despair, and that responsibility fell to Henry Lee.
8:05
Standing before the grieving nation, Lee delivered words that would echo through history.
8:11
First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.
8:21
In that moment, Lee didn't just honor Washington.
8:26
He cemented his legacy into the annals of history.
8:29
And those words became the way generations of Americans would understand who Washington
8:35
was, what Washington represented.
8:38
And it wasn't by accident.
8:40
His Lee had seen Washington up close.
8:43
He had witnessed his discipline, his restraint, his ability to hold this fragile coalition that
8:49
existed together when everything was on the brink of collapse.
8:52
Lee understood what made Washington exceptional.
8:55
And that exceptionalism filtered into what would become this new nation.
9:01
For a moment, standing there as the voice of the nation, Henry Lighthorse Harry Lee was
9:07
at the height of his influence, respected, trusted, remember, but that moment's not going
9:13
to last long because outside the spotlight, things are beginning to unravel.
9:18
There was a lot of people of his time.
9:19
Lee invested heavily in land speculation, and it was common path to wealth.
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The early republic is filled with stories of people that took on that risk.
9:31
And for Lee, it was a disaster, just like it was for Robert Morris, who I covered in
9:36
a previous episode of America's Founding Series.
9:39
For Lee, the debt began to mount.
9:41
Opportunities didn't work out the way he intended, and slowly the man who once outmaneuvered
9:46
the British found himself trapped by something far less predictable, and that was financial
9:53
Eventually it became unavoidable.
9:56
He was sent to debtors' prison.
9:59
Think about that stunning fall that took place.
10:01
The revolutionary war hero, former governor, a man who stood at the center of the nation's
10:05
grief when Washington died, the next you're sitting in a prison cell because of unpaid debts.
10:11
But that financial room was only part of the story, because at the same time the country
10:16
itself was changing.
10:18
At fragile unity that Washington was able to cobble together by sheer willpower, and personal
10:25
character was now gone.
10:27
In its place something sharper, more personal, more dangerous was taking hold than that
10:31
was political division.
10:32
The battles between federalists and democratic republicans weren't just policy disagreements.
10:38
They were ideological fights over the future of this country, and they were becoming increasingly
10:44
It was Madison's federalist tent warning about factions, and Henry Lee a federalist found
10:50
himself on one side of that divide.
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That divide would nearly cost him his life in 1812.
10:57
These tensions were great Britain are escalating once again, political passions reach a boiling
11:02
point in Baltimore.
11:04
There was an anti-war newspaper aligned with federalist views.
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It became the target of an angry mob, and sometimes there is nothing more dangerous
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Lee went down there to protect the newspaper from the mob, but what followed was chaos.
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The mob attacked Lee.
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Others were dragged out beaten, brutalized.
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The violence was relentless by the time it was over, Henry Lee was barely alive.
11:28
The injuries he sustained would never fully heal, and in that moment the contrast becomes
11:34
impossible to ignore.
11:36
The man who had fought for American liberty was nearly killed by Americans.
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The hero of the revolution was now a broken man in the nation he helped create.
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Lee would spend the rest of his life trying to recover, but he never truly did.
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Eventually he left the United States, seeking out a climate that might help his frail health,
12:01
so he goes to the Caribbean.
12:02
In 1818, his health is getting even worse.
12:05
Henry Lighthorse Harry Lee decides he's going to try and make his way back home to Virginia,
12:11
but he would never make it.
12:12
He would die in Georgia from a nation that he served well.
12:16
Henry Lee's story doesn't end with his death.
12:19
His legacy actually continued, and it continued in ways that few could have predicted.
12:26
Henry Lighthorse Harry Lee was the father of Robert E. Lee, a man who would rise to prominence
12:32
in a very different conflict.
12:34
One that would test whether the nation Henry Lee helped build could survive its own divisions.
12:39
And that's what makes this story so powerful.
12:42
Because it reflects something deeper than one man's rise and fall.
12:45
It reflects the trajectory of a country itself, and it offers a lesson that is just as relevant
12:52
today as it was back then.
12:54
Henry Lee's life is a reminder of how fragile our reputations are.
12:59
Here's a man who's celebrated as a hero, trusted by Washington, respected by the nation,
13:05
and yet in such a relatively short period of time, that reputation unraveled.
13:10
Not because he changed overnight, but because circumstances change.
13:16
The country changed, and we see that same dynamic at play today, do we not?
13:22
Today we live in a time where reputations are built up quickly, and they tore down even faster,
13:28
where public figures are elevated and then scrutinized and discarded in real time.
13:33
Yesterday's hero becomes today's villains.
13:36
It all depends on which way the political wind is blowing.
13:39
It all depends on the mob mentality that exists out there.
13:42
But there's something else his story reminds us of.
13:46
While many people look at the division that we see today, they believe it's something new.
13:51
But history tells a different story.
13:53
The early republic was deeply divided, bitterly divided from the very beginning,
13:57
from our founding patriots versus loyalists,
14:00
federalists versus anti-federalists,
14:02
federalists versus democratic republicans.
14:04
These conflicts between political factions weren't polite disagreements.
14:10
They were intense, they were personal, and at times it got violent.
14:14
Henry Lee lived through that, he nearly died because of it.
14:17
So division isn't new.
14:20
But there is a warning to us because something has changed in America.
14:24
And what changes is that we've forgotten what unites us,
14:26
what binds us together as a society.
14:29
The generation of Lee and Washington disagreed, often fiercely.
14:34
But they were still bound together by a shared belief in something
14:38
greater than themselves, a belief in liberty and independence,
14:41
in the idea that this country was worth building, preserving, and sacrificing for.
14:48
Today, that foundation is weaker,
14:50
as more and more Americans are historically ignorant of the very basics
14:55
that created and built the United States.
14:57
That's the real danger right there.
15:00
Because when a nation doesn't know what binds it together,
15:04
when it loses sight of what unites us,
15:06
division stops being something that can be managed.
15:10
It becomes a force that seeks to dismantle the very ideals the nation was built upon.
15:16
Henry Lighthorse, Harry Lee, his story isn't just about one man's rise and fall.
15:21
It's a warning, it's a reminder.
15:23
That as a nation, we are fragile.
15:25
As a nation, division is inevitable.
15:27
What unifies us, what links us together, has to be understood.
15:32
Now, if you enjoyed this episode of America's Founding Series,
15:34
make sure to subscribe, leave a review on Apple Podcasts,
15:37
and Spotify, and share it with other people
15:40
want to better understand the history that helped shape this nation.
15:44
I want to thank you for joining me, and I'll be back next week
15:46
with more great episodes at a PAS report podcast.
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Thank you for listening to the PAS Report.
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Don't forget to rate, share, and hit that subscribe button.
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That way, you'll never miss an episode.
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For more exclusive content and updates, visit us at PASReport.com
17:46
and follow Professor Giordano on all social media platforms