Mark Cole
Early on, Francis Lightfoot Lee caught the spirit of his older brother, Richard Henry Lee. Yet, while they both believed the same things, they were very different men. Richard Henry was flashy, eloquent, fiery and passionate. Francis Lightfoot was steadfast, earnest, quiet and reticent.
Richard Henry Lee brought fire and an encyclopedic knowledge of history to the movement. Francis Lightfoot brought sobriety and a keen and almost infallible sense of political judgment. With Richard Henry and Francis Lightfoot, the Lee family had both heart and head.
Like Richard Henry, Francis Lightfoot was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses as a young man. He served Virginia in that capacity for a decade before being elected to the Continental Congress first in 1775 and again in 1776.
Though he did not speak often while in Philadelphia, there was no question where he stood on the grave questions facing the members of the Continental Congress. And when his brother introduced the bill which that body would vote on to declare their independence, Francis Lightfoot Lee must have felt a silent, deep and very personal sense of satisfaction and family pride.
Francis Lightfoot Lee was spared any severe personal loss during the Revolutionary War. He was able to retire to the quiet country life he always sought after America won her independence. He reluctantly served briefly in the Virginia Senate, giving his time and his talent to the people of Virginia, purely out of duty, not out of ambition. After that, he was able to fully enjoy his life as a studious, prosperous farmer and family man.
In 1797, within days of each other, he and his beloved wife, Rebecca, died. They were buried in the graveyard of Rebecca’s family, side-by-side.
We could perhaps recall the famous passage in the Old Testament:
Francis Lightfoot Lee lived such a life.
Check out Mark’s book: Lives, Fortunes, Sacred Honor: The Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence
