Lee was once the third-highest-ranking general in the American army during the Revolutionary War. Born in England, he first came to America as a British officer during the French and Indian War and was wounded at the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga in 1758. He later fought in Europe before returning to America in 1773 and settling in what is now Jefferson County.

Lee supported American independence and became a major general in the Continental Army. He fought well early in the war but was later captured. During his capture, he gave the British a plan to defeat the Americans. After his poor leadership at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, he was court-martialed and suspended. He was dismissed from the army in 1780 and lived at his home, Prato Rio, until shortly before his death in 1782.