Henry A. G. Lee
| Henry A. G. Lee | |
|---|---|
| Speaker of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon | |
|
In office December 10, 1845 – December 19, 1845 |
|
| Preceded by | Robert Newell |
| Succeeded by | Asa Lovejoy |
| Constituency | Clackamas District |
| Member of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon | |
|
In office June 24, 1845 – December 19, 1845 |
|
| Constituency | Clackamas District |
| Captain of the Oregon Rifles | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | circa 1818 Virginia |
| Died | 1851 At sea |
Henry A. G. Lee (c. 1818 – 1851) was a soldier and politician in Oregon Country 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.
Lee was born in Virginia, circa 1818. In 1843, Lee was a part of John C. Frémont’s Army expedition through the Western United States, including what is now the state of Oregon. 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.
After settling in Oregon, Lee was elected to the Provisional Legislature of Oregon in 1845. 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 Oregon Spectator, 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.
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 Provisional Government and Gov. George Abernethy 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 under the command of Lee formed on December 8, and gathered at Fort Vancouver on December 10 where they purchased supplies from the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) post. 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. The group was to protect the Methodist Mission there and prevent any hostile forces from reaching the Willamette Valley.
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