FORT DAVIS AND THE TEXAS FRONTIER: Paintings by Capt. Arthur T. Lee, Eighth U. S. Infantry. by Thomas, W. Stephen - 1976

Fort Worth: Amon Carter Museum and Texas A& M University Prs, 1976. First Edition. Hardcover. FINE IN NEAR FINE DJ/fine. 28 color plates, 30 b/w, 109pp., index, biblio, no names or writing in oblong brown cloth folio in near fine dust jacket with one edge tear.

Artist and soldier, Lee spent 12 years in West Texas, arriving in 1849, building forts and protecting emigrants from the Indians. He was fascinated with the little known arid country few had seen before. Lee's regiment was placed under the command of Gen. Zachary Taylor and transferred to Texas in September 1845 with the "Army of Occupation." At the outbreak of the Mexican War, Lee was given command of a company of the Eighth Infantry at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. In 1848 he returned to his regiment in Texas as commander of Company C. He remained in the state for twelve years, at Fort Croghan, the building of which he supervised, and then at Fort Martin Scott, Fort Graham, Fort Mason, Fort Chadbourne, Ringgold Barracks, and Fort Davis. In 1854 he helped to establish Fort Davis in a location in Jeff Davis county that he described as "beautiful beyond description." After serving as temporary commander there, Lee was sent with two companies of the Eighth, in September 1858, to establish Fort Quitman, some 120 miles to the west. After that duty he served briefly in the so-called "Cortina War" In addition to his capabilities as a soldier, Lee was a talented painter. Of his 154 extant paintings, all but two are in watercolor, and at least thirty are of Texas scenes. These include views of the Rio Grande, Brazos, and Guadalupe rivers; San Antonio, Rio Grande City, and Brownsville; and forts Croghan and Davis and their environs. Lee's company was stationed at Fort Stockton when news of Texas secession came. Marching for the coast by way of Fort Clark and San Antonio, Lee and his company were intercepted in San Antonio and placed under arrest. He was appointed major of the Second Infantry on October 26, 1861, but could not do active duty without violating the parole that he had been given in San Antonio. Exchanged at last, he saw service with the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War and received a promotion to brevet lieutenant colonel "for gallant and meritorious conduct" at the battle of Gettysburg in 1863, where he was seriously wounded in the right ankle and hip. Lee retired from active duty on January 20, 1865, but on July 28, 1866, received a retroactive promotion to the rank of colonel.