A member of the politically-powerful and influential Lee family of Virginia, United States, Fitzhugh Lee served as a cavalry general for the Confederacy in the American Civil War, then went on to election as the 40th governor of the State of Virginia, and as a general in the Spanish-American War.

He was born in 1886 in Fairfax County, Virginia. He was the son of Sydney Smith Lee, who was brother to Confederate General Robert E. Lee. A Virginian through and through, he was the grandson of Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee and on his mother's side was descended from George Mason.

Upholding family tradition of public and military service, Lee enrolled at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1856, where he attained the rank of second lieutenant in the Second Cavalry Regiment. While Lee eventually graduated from West Point, he was known as a prankster and was often in trouble for misbehaving. Indeed, he came close to being expelled at one point.

His uncle Robert, also a West Point alum, finished his four years there with only a single demerit. Perhaps West Point administrators thought it wise to place the younger Lee under the command of his uncle, who served at that time as lieutenant colonel in the same regiment. Later he was appointed as instructor at West Point, but resigned when Virginia seceded from the Union at the start of the Civil War.

He accepted a commission of lieutenant of cavalry in the Confederate States Army, later serving under Colonel J.E.B. Stuart. As was often the case during the Civil War, Lee rose through the ranks quickly, even for a man who possessed Lee's skills and courage. Thus, he became a colonel in March 1862, but within a few months was promoted to brigadier general. He was known for arriving late for drills and other military gatherings.

In 1863, Lee became seriously ill with inflammatory rheumatism and was out of action for one month. Stuart missed Lee's valuable assistance, but following his stellar performance at Gettysburg that same summer, Stuart was prompted to single Lee out from the rest of his command and bestow high praise, saying that Lee was "one of the finest cavalry leaders on the continent, and richly [entitled] to promotion. He was appointed major general in August 1863.

Late in the war he was compelled to take on most of his uncle's cavalry, as other generals were dispatched to assist General Joseph Johnston, who was in North Carolina. Lee himself led the final Confederate charge on April 9, 1865, at Farmville, Virginia, while his famous uncle was surrendering to U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant, in nearby Appomattox, Virginia. Following the surrender, Lee returned to his farm in Stafford County, Virginia and worked hard to improve relations between southerners and northerners. From 1886-1890 he served a term as governor of Virginia.