Charles Lee continued to attack the character of General George Washington. After his 'Vindication' appeared in the Pennsylvania Packet, he was called out on December 3, 1778 by Colonel John Laurens, one of Washington's aides. Lee received a wound in the side from the duel and was unable to accept another challenge from Maj. General Anthony Wayne. By July 1779, he was back at his estate in the Shenandoah Valley. When his year of suspension was up, Lee heard a rumor that the Continental Congress intended to dismiss him. Lee wrote a letter in response, which was so offensive that they did indeed release him from duty on January 10, 1780.
On January 12, 1780, he left his Virginia home and moved to Philadelphia. While there he took ill and died on October 2, 1782. His unexpected death moved people and though he had been unpopular only months before, his funeral was well attended, including the president and other members of the Continental Congress and the assembly of Pennsylvania, General Baron de Viomenil, the minister of France and other officers of distinction.
