Bee was born in
Charleston, South Carolina on February 8, 1824. He was the son of
Barnard E. Bee Sr., and Ann Wragg Fayssoux, both of whom came from prominent Charleston families of
English descent. His mother's paternal line also included
French Huguenots. In 1833, the Bee family moved to
Pendleton, South Carolina, where the junior Bee attended the Pendleton Academy. In 1836, Bee's parents moved to Texas, which had achieved independence as the Republic of Texas. Bee remained in Pendleton living with his mother's three sisters to pursue his education. Bee graduated from the
United States Military Academy on July 1, 1845, thirty-third in his class of forty-one and assigned as a
brevet second lieutenant to the
3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. He accumulated many demerits while at West Point, including several for chewing tobacco while on duty. Bee's first posting was to serve in the United States military occupation of Texas during the
Mexican–American War. He was twice
brevetted for gallantry in the War, first at
Cerro Gordo to
first lieutenant, where he was wounded, and then to
captain at
Chapultepec. Bee was posted after the war to garrison duty at
Pascagoula, Mississippi, where he served as
adjutant. From 1849 to 1855, he was on frontier duty in
New Mexico. He was stationed primarily at
Fort Fillmore near
Las Cruces, New Mexico. In 1855, Bee was promoted to captain of Company D of the Tenth Infantry and posted to
Fort Snelling,
Minnesota. While at Fort Snelling, he met and married Sophia Elizabeth Hill, the sister of a fellow officer. In 1857, Bee's company took part in the
Utah War, which involved confrontation with members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormons. He was placed in command of the Utah Volunteer Battalion and brevetted to the rank of
lieutenant colonel. In 1860, Bee was posted to
Fort Laramie,
Wyoming, where he briefly served as the fort's commanding officer. Bee served as best man at the wedding of his West Point classmate
Nathan G. Evans. ==Civil War==