Born at Charleston, SC, he was a brother of General Hamilton P. Bee. His family moved to the Republic of Texas where his father later became its Secretary of State. Bee entered the Military Academy in 1841 and graduated July 1, 1845 with a brevet to 2nd Lieutenant, 3rd Infantry. He served in the Military Occupation of Texas, 1845-1846 before entering the Mexican War.

Bee was engaged in the Battle of Palo Alto, May 8, 1846 and Battle of Resaca-de-la-Palma, May 9, 1846. He was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant, 3rd Infantry, September 21, 1846. Thereafter he was on Recruiting Service, 1846-1847 but returned to the War being engaged in the Siege of Vera Cruz, March 9-29, 1847 and the Battle of Cerro Gordo, April 17-18, 1847, where he was wounded in storming the enemy's trenched heights. He was breveted to 1st Lieutenant, April 18, 1847, for gallant and meritorious conduct at the Battle of Cerro Gordo.

Thereafter, he was engaged in the Skirmish of Ocalaca, August 16, 1847; Battle of Contreras, August 19-20, 1847; Battle of Churubusco, August 20, 1847; Storming of Chapultepec, September 13, 1847; and the Assault and Capture of the City of Mexico, September 13-14, 1847. He was breveted to Captain, September 13, 1847, for gallant and meritorious conduct in the Battle of Chapultepec.

Bee served as Adjutant, 3rd Infantry, July 25, 1848-March 3, 1855; in garrison as East Pascagoula, MS, 1848. He was on Frontier Duty at San Antonio, TX, 1848-1849; Santa Fe, NM, 1850-1851; Ft. Bliss, TX, 1851; and Ft. Fillmore, NM, 1851-1852. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, 3rd Infantry, March 5, 1851. He continued on Frontier Duty Scouting, 1852; at Ft. Fillmore, NM, 1852-1853; Albuquerque, NM, 1853; Ft. Fillmore, NM, 1854-1855; and Scouting, 1855.

Promoted to Captain, 10th Infantry, March 3, 1855, he was in garrison at the Cavalry School for Practice, Carlisle, PA, 1855; on Frontier Duty at Ft. Snelling, MN, 1856-1857; Ft. Ridgely, MN, 1856-1857; Ft. Snelling, MN, 1857; and on the Utah Expedition, 1857-1858 as Lieutenant Colonel, Utah Volunteer Battalion, December 8, 1857- December 1, 1858. After a leave of absence, 1858-1860, he returned to Frontier Duty at Ft. Laramie, Dakota Territory, 1860-1861. He resigned March 3, 1861.

Bee entered Confederate service as a Lieutenant Colonel, 1st South Carolina Regulars, an artillery regiment. He was commissioned a Brigadier-General, June 17, 1861, serving under Joseph E. Johnston in command of the 3rd Brigade at Manassas Junction. His troops sustained the initial Union assault in the battle of June 21, 1861. The necessity of holding raw levies to their work required desperate exertions and reckless exposure on the part of the officers. Bee was mortally wounded just as the tide began to turn in favor of the Confederacy and died the following day in a small cabin near the battlefield he had used as his headquarters. He was 31 years old. The Provisional Congress confirmed his appointment as a Brigadier- General over a month after his death, in tribute to him. He is buried in Pendleton, SC.

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