Light-Horse Harry & Robert E. Lee: The Lees of Leesylvania

Light-Horse Harry & Robert E. Lee: The Lees of Leesylvania

From The Old World with Will Tanner by Will Tanner

August 5, 2026 · 56 min

About this episode

The episode explores the history of the Leesylvania branch of the Lee family, highlighting their contributions to Virginia's gentry and society.

This is the story of the family that produced Light Horse Harry and Robert E Lee: the Lees of Leesylvania, the Virginia branch of the Lee family that produced a long line of planters, soldiers, politicians, and lawyers. In it, I contrast the Leesylvania Lees with the Stratford Hall Lees and show how the Leesylvania line developed its own place in Virginia history as some of the greatest and most memorable members of the gentry through landholding, public service, and military command. Listen ad-free here: https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/light-horse-harry-and-robert-e-lee The story begins with Henry Lee I, the founder of the Leesylvania line. Born to Richard Lee II and Letitia Corbin, he became a major tobacco planter and militia officer who managed plantations, defended the Northern Neck, and expanded into frontier lands along the Potomac. He established holdings at Freestone Point and later developed the area that became Leesylvania. Henry Lee II then turned that inherited tract into the family seat. After marrying Lucy Grymes, the famed "Lowland Beauty" whose hand he won despite competition from George Washington, he built the house at Freestone Point and named it…

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Host: Will Tanner

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Places: Leesylvania, Northern Neck, Potomac, Freestone Point, Stratford Hall, Virginia

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