WOODBRIDGE — The Friends of Leesylvania State Park remembered Henry “Light Horse” Harry Lee III on the 200th anniversary of his death on Sunday.
A wreath was laid Sunday at the park’s bicentennial monument commemorating the Revolutionary soldier who was born and raised in what today is the park.
After he was raised there, Henry “Light Horse” Lee III frequented the plantation that today is Leesylvania State Park in Woodbridge. Later, he was the father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee,
“Light Horse Harry” was born in 1756 and died on March 25, 1818. He served as a Commander in the Continental Army in the Virginia Dragoon Light Horse Regiment, appointed by General George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
His parents Henry Lee II and Lucy Grimes lived at Leesylvania on the shores of the Potomac River, and Harry “Light Horse” Lee would visit often, said Leesylvania Park Ranger Sarah Percival.
The brick foundation of Lee and Grime’s old home can be seen on one of the Lee’s Woods Trail. It’s not to be confused with a chimney and remnants of another old house that belonged to John Fairfax, of the Fairfax family for which the Virginia county is named.
The park is located on the Potomac River at 2001 Daniel K. Ludwig Drive in Woodbridge and is known for its fishing, boating, hiking trails, and as a spot for families to gather for picnics.
The park is open from 6 a.m. to until a half hour after sunset weekdays, and from 5 a.m. to a half hour after sunset on weekends.
