The Birthday of Eternity

Fitzhugh Lee, died April 28, 1905

In April 1896, Fitzhugh Lee was appointed consul-general at Havana, Cuba by President Grover Cleveland, with duties of a diplomatic and military character added to the usual consular business.

Grover Cleveland

Lee arrived in June to an island torn by civil war and mass poverty. Three weeks after his arrival he informed the State Department that Cuban rebels did not have the strength to drive the Spanish out, but that the Spanish were equally unable to subdue the rebellion.

He railed against the Spanish tactics to suppress the rebels and fought for the rights of American citizens in Cuba (including some suspected by the Spanish of aiding the rebels and held captive in Cuba, such as crewmen of the filibustering vessel Competitor, and Dr. Ricardo Ruiz de Ugarrio y Salvador, a naturalized American citizen).

Havana, Cuba

December, 1897 saw more unrest in Havana. While much of the violence was actually caused by the Cuban rebels (often directed toward American-owned sugar plantations), Lee's concern was chiefly the safety of Americans in Cuba, thus causing him to exaggerate the threat he feared from Cubans loyal to Spain. Lee requested a warship be ready in Key West in case violence erupted.

The Maine

The Maine was ordered to Florida in January, and Captain Charles Sigsbee maintained steady communication with the consul-general's office.

Charles Sigsbee

Early that month, the situation appeared to Lee to have taken a turn for the worse. He sent a preliminary signal to Sigsbee, prompting him to ready his ship. Whether Lee felt he had over-estimated the danger or the situation calmed, he never sent a further call.

William McKinley

President William McKinley and Navy Secretary John Long, however, did order the Maine to Havana.

John Long

Though Lee was unnerved by the Maine's sudden arrival, months later he would recall the arrival as "a beautiful sight and one long to be remembered." Adding to the uncertainty was the prospect of growing German influence in the Caribbean. Proponents of Lee saw his actions as decisive and pro-American, leading to a "splendid little war," while later critics would charge that his misreading of the Cuban situation moved both sides closer to war.

The Maine in Havana Harbor

The Maine arrived in Havana on January 25, 1898. Lee and Sigsbee were treated to a bullfight by hosting Spanish officers as part of the "good will" visit. Underneath it all, however, was an undeniable tension. One of those who worried about overstaying his welcome was Secretary of Navy Long. Nearly the opposite of his fiery assistant, Theodore Roosevelt, Long openly considered pulling the Maine out of Cuba. Both Lee and Sigsbee strongly opposed withdrawing the Maine unless it was relieved by another warship. "Many will claim Spain demanded it should go," Lee wrote Washington; "We are master of the situation here and I would not disturb or alter it."

Theodore Roosevelt

The explosion of the Maine on February 15, 1898, killing 266 American sailors, suddenly changed everything.

While McKinley and Washington moved closer to war by the day, Lee's chief concern was the safety and evacuation of Americans in Cuba.

As threats and ultimatums grew more intense, Lee cabled the president for more time, stating that he could not assure the safety of all Americans.

Wreckage of the Maine

He requested that McKinley delay any statements until at least Saturday, April 9. Under intense pressure McKinley stalled, delaying the message that would lead to war until Monday, April 11, a day after Lee's arrival in Florida. He was one of the last Americans to evacuate Cuba.

Following his return to a hero's welcome in the U.S., Lee was commissioned major-general of volunteers and assigned the VII Army Corps. On May 4, 1898, Lee put on a blue uniform for the first time in thirty-seven years. The appointment was largely political, as McKinley made it a point to place three well known former Confederate general officers in key commands to unite the nation. VII Corps trained in preparation of a major role in a fall offensive, though the war's quick end kept VII Corps from any action. After the war he commanded what amounted to an army of occupation in Havana and was charged with the restoration of order on the island.

Fitzhugh Lee in Uniform

He was military governor of Havana and Pinar del Rio in 1899. During his two-year stint, he strove to ease the suffering of a people long mired in subjugation and poverty, but his efforts were hampered by his government's lack of a clear-cut plan for Cuba beyond its pacification.

Pinar del Rio

Lee wrote Cuba's Struggle Against Spain (published in 1899).

In November 1900, Lee, frustrated by his inability to influence occupation policy, vacated his post. He completed his military career as commander of the Department of the Missouri, headquartered at Omaha, Nebraska. Fitzhugh Lee retired a brigadier-general on March 2, 1901. Returning to Virginia, he spent his final years in Charlottesville.

At the time of his death, during a business trip to Washington, D.C., he was president of the Jamestown Exposition Company, formed to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the settlement of the nation's first permanent English-speaking community. On a train from New York to Washington, D.C., Lee suffered a stroke involving his left side. A physician, who was traveling with him, administered strychnine. Though Lee was immediately transported to a hospital following his arrival in Washington, he died later that day, April 28, 1905. He was 69 years old.

He was survived by his wife of 34 years, Ellen. His two surviving sons were commissioned into the 7th United States Cavalry; each of his three daughters married officers in their brothers' regiment.