Major Henry Lee was the leader of a small cavalry force that conducted a raid on the Fort of Paulus Hook in 1779 relying primarily on bayonets. Congress recognized Lee with this medal for his success in leading the raid as well as his humane treatment of prisoners.
The medal, engraved by Joseph Wright, depicts a right-facing bust of Lee on the obverse and Latin text within a laurel wreath on the reverse. The text translates to “Overcoming rivers and ramparts, by his skill and valor, he with a small band of men conquered the enemy and bound to him by his humanity those whom he had defeated in arms. In commemoration of the battle at Paulus Hook, the nineteenth day of August 1779.”
