At the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, he commanded a company of the regiment, serving alongside 1st Lieutenant James Longstreet.

[6] During his command here, he had daily contact with southern Comanches, including Buffalo Hump, Yellow Wolf, Ketumsee, and Sanaco.

Lee wrote on May 15, 1852, "I have upon all occasions found them to be friendly & well disposed towards the whites, provided they were supplied with food necessary to sustain life.

The 8th US Infantry was ordered in October 1854 to establish a fort in the Davis Mountains, which was further west, entering Apache territory.

When they were about 1½ miles southeast of the town, twenty men were pushed forward as skirmishers to probe enemy pickets, which could be seen beyond a body of woods.

After skirmishing for about 2 hours and suffering light casualties, they were withdrawn and marched two miles to the left rear, where they rested.

After ordering his unit to double-quick, Lee was able to force the sharpshooters back, driving them from the edge of the Rose Woods on Houck's Ridge.

[1] After some severe fighting, a fresh column of Confederate infantry appeared on the right and Lee was ordered to withdraw his regiment.

They retired slowly to the woods, stone wall, and then the marsh, all while under fire from sharpshooters on the left at Devil's Den and from the columns of infantry to the right.

Returning to his battle line, Lee transferred command of the regiment to Captain Samuel A. McKee, under advice from the surgeon.

Lee received a retroactive promotion to colonel on July 28, 1866, for years of service in the United States Army.

In 1871, two of his literary works, Army Ballads, and Other Poems and "Reminiscences of the Regiment," which was featured in the History of the Eighth U.S. Infantry, were published.