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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;green18, post: 2084391, member: 10103&quot;]This is one of my favorites from the series.........</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]388549[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Major Henry Lee is depicted on the fifth medal of the series Americas First Medals originally commissioned by the Continental Congress. Major Lee commanded light cavalry and was at the battle for Stony Point under the direction of General Washington to do reconnaissance work and assess the British defenses there. After storming the British positions and upon the achievement of victory by the colonials, Major Lee asked Washington if he could undertake a similar operation at Paulus Hook, now present day Jersey City, NJ. General Washington agreed , but limited Lee to a force of 200 men and made clear to Lee that the main purpose of the operation was to surprise the garrison, take prisoners and to in no way attempt to hold the fort. Just before daybreak on August 19, 1779, Lee&#039;s forces stealthily advanced and without firing a shot, cleared the abatis, crossed the ditch around the fort and entered the works. Lee and his men handily captured 158 prisoners and further intended to burn the barracks before embarking on their retreat, but the presence of wounded soldiers and women &amp; children within the confines prevented Lee from doing so. Having achieved their objective, Lee and his men retreated back to Hackensack arriving there safely but were constantly harried by a British force along the way.</p><p>The original medal was struck in gold and bears the distinction of being the only medal in this series to be designed by an American, Joseph Wright (1st engraver of the US Mint). The obverse (in Latin) reads: &quot;The American Congress to Henry Lee, major of cavalry.&quot; The reverse, inscribed in Latin, reads: &quot;Notwithstanding rivers and ramparts, he conquered, with a handful of men, the enemy by skill and valor, and attached by his humanity those vanquished by his arms. In commemoration of the Battle of Paulus Hook, August 19, 1779.&quot;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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