GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER
APPOMATTOX
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General Lee's Last Picture
Made by Mr. M. Miley, Lexington, Va., in 1869 and published by General
Lee's son, Captain Robert E. Lee in his Recollections and Letters oj General Lee.
GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE
AFTER APPOMATTOX
EDITED BY
FRANKLIN L. RILEY
PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1922
All figkls reserved
.1
Copyright, 1922,
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY
Set up and printed. Published January, 1922.
^n!.A55419l
Printed in the United States of America
JAN I i iB22
D /
THIS MEMORIAL VOLUME,
ISSUED FIFTY YEARS AFTER THE TERMINATION
OF THE INCOMPARABLE SERVICES OF
GENERAL ROBERT EDWARD LEE
AS PRESIDENT OF WASHINGTON COLLEGE,
IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO THE
"LEE ALUMNI"
BY
THEIR ALMA MATER
PUBLICATION COMMITTEE
OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES:
Mr. William A. Anderson,
Dr. E. C. Gordon,
Mr. Harrington Waddell.
PREFACE
SHORTLY after the death of General Robert E.
Lee the faculty of Washington and Lee Uni-
versity began the preparation of a "Lee Me-
morial Volume," but circumstances "delayed and
finally prevented the publication " of this work. The
manuscripts that had been prepared by members
of the faculty and other papers that had been collected
for this volume were turned over to Dr. J. William
Jones and incorporated in his Personal Reminiscences
of Gen. R. E. Lee, which was published in 1874. Among
the "faculty contributions" to that volume were the
valuable sketches by Dr. J. L. Kirkpatrick, Profes-
sor of Moral Science, by Dr. Edward S. Joynes, Profes-
sor of English, and by Col. William Preston Johnston,
Professor of History.
In June, 1917, the trustees of the university decided
to collect all facts, then available, on General Lee's
connection with the institution. The executive com-
mittee of the board later requested the professor of
history of the university to undertake this work. In
carrying out his commission he sent appeals to all
living "Lee Alumni," as far as their addresses could be
obtained, asking for every item of information, however
small, that they could furnish, relative to their college
days. A suggested list of topics was also sent to aid the
X PREFACE
alumni in determining the nature and scope of the infor-
mation desired.
The responses to these appeals were hearty and gen-
erous, though it was impossible to overcome the handi-
cap of a fifty years' delay in the prosecution of the work.
It is safe to say that the contributions obtained in this
way will perhaps be the last to be had from this source.
They constitute a large part of the contents of this
volume. Unfortunately, many alumni of this unique
period had passed away before a systematic effort was
made to gather and preserve their reminiscences for
the benefit of future generations. At least two of the
contributors to this volume, Mr. F. A. Berlin and Rev.
Robert H. Fleming, have died since the inauguration
of this work. In the course of a few more years the
last of this honored group, who heard the voice and
observed the daily movements of our great President,
will cease to bear living testimony to his memory, and
the record will be closed.
The contents of this volume have also been enriched
by the reproduction of valuable contributions which
have appeared from time to time in ephemeral publica-
tions. Documents of this class were written either
by members of General Lee's faculty or by others who
came in personal contact with him after the war. Two
brief extracts have been taken from standard biogra-
phies of General Lee, because the volumes from which
they were taken are now out of print.
Although the incidents and impressions here given
will probably not alter the judgment of the reading
PREFACE xi
public on the character of General Lee, they will af-
ford something more than corroborative testimony on
the subject. They will explain, in part at least, the
methods by which this great college executive in the
brief period of five years achieved results that would
have been highly creditable to the full life-effort of a
successful educator.
Franklin L. Riley.
Washington and Lee University,
October 12, 1920.
22
CONTENTS
Preface ^**]=
List of Illustrations
How General Lee Became a College President, ^y Prof. A. L.
Nelson
Why General Lee Accepted the Presidency of Washington ' College".
By Capt. R. E. Lee
Inauguration of General Lee as President' of Washington ' College'.
By Correspondent of the New York Herald 12
General Lee as a College President. By Prof. Edward S. Joynes i6
General Lee at Lexington. By Prof. C. A. Graves
Reminiscences of General Lee as President of Washington College.
^y Prof M. W. Humphreys
Recollections of General Lee. By Mr. F. A. Berlin '. . . . . . . ' . . . . . ' ' " .' 40
Tribute of an Appreciative Student. By Mr. W. W. Estill 49
Reflections of a Lee Alumnus. By Judge Robert Ewing. 54
Remm.scences of General Lee and Washington College. By Richard
fr. Rogers
A College Boy's Observation of General Lee. "By Mr.John'B.'collyar 6?
An Incident in the Life of General R. E. Lee. By Mr. J. W. Ewing 69
Recollections of General Robert E. Lee's Administration As President
of Washington College. By Dr. E. C. Gordon 7;
Brief Statements by "LEE ALUMNI:"
Rev. W. Strother Jones. ... ^
Mr. Mike G. Harman J
Rev. Frank Bell Webb 108
Mr. John Blackmar. . .
Mr. C. W. Hedger ^°^
Dr. T. H. Somerville \^ ''.''.'. '^^.^.^.^. Ji"
Rt. Rev. James R. Winchester
Mr. Hubbard G. Carlton 116
Mr. Graham Robinson
Rev. Robert H. Fleming. . . "J
Rev. William Boyle
Mr. A. H. Hamilton "'
119
XIV CONTENTS
Brief Statements by " LEE ALUMNI " — Continued. page
Mr. Jo Lane Stern 120
Mr. Willa Viley 120
Mr. Albert L. Rees 121
Supt. J. Parry McCluer 122
Mr. James H. McCown 122
Mr. John F. Ponder 123
Mr. W. H. Tayloe 125
Judge D. Gardiner Tyler 128
Mr. Joseph John Allen 131
Mr. David J. Wilson 132
Dr. Chalmers Deadrick 135
Rev. C. C. Brown 138
President Lee and the Student. By Dr. S. Z. Ammen 142
Reminiscences of General Lee. By Mr. Edward V. Valentine 146
What General Lee Read After the War. By Franklin L. Riley 157
The Christian Character of Robert E. Lee. By Dr. J. William Jones 182
Tribute to General Lee as a Man. By Mr. JV. A. Anderson 196
Tribute to General Lee as an Educator. By President Henry Lows
Smith 203
Death and Funeral of General Lee. By Col. William Preston Johnston 206
General Lee's Last Office. By Dr. J. William Jones 223
The Mausoleum and Recumbent Statue. By Col. William Allan 226
Appendix: General Lee's Letter to Lord Acton 237
Index 243
ILLUSTRATIONS
General Lee's Last Picture (1869) Frontispiece
Facing page
Reproduction of General Lee's Letter of Acceptance 8
General Lee's Campus Homes
General Lee's OflSce in the Chapel 24
Rare Pictures of General Lee 78
General Lee on Traveller
Last Homes of General Lee and Traveller 134
General Lee during the War 146
Exterior View of Lee Memorial Chapel
Interior View of Lee Memorial Chapel 194
Recumbent Statue of General Lee
Mausoleum beneath the Recumbent Statue 224
y
GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER
APPOMATTOX
HOW LEE BECAME A COLLEGE
PRESIDENT
By Prof. Alexander L. Nelson
This sketch, written by an honored and appreciative member of General
Lee's faculty, is taken from the "Lee Memorial Number" of the Wake
Forest Student, a magazine published in January, 1907, by Wake Forest
College. It is here reproduced because it is deemed worthy of permanent
preservation. — Editor.
WHEN the war closed Washington College was
a wreck, but the board of trustees, animated
by indomitable Scotch-Irish pluck, deter-
mined to resuscitate it. It was announced that the
board would meet on the 4th day of August, 1865. The
members of the faculty were present by invitation, as
most interested spectators.
Several highly respectable gentleman and scholars
were placed in nomination for president and their mer-
its discussed.
At length the board seemed ready to take the vote.
Just then Col. Bolivar Christian arose and said, in a
somewhat hesitating manner, that he deemed it his
duty to make a statement, before the vote was taken,
which might have some influence on the election. He
then said that a lady friend of his, who was also a
friend of Miss Mary Lee, daughter of General Robert
E. Lee, recently told him that Miss Mary Lee had
remarked to her that while the Southern people were
2 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
willing and ready to give her father everything that he
might need, no offer had ever been made him by which
he could earn a living for himself and family.
A member asked Colonel Christian if he nominated
General Lee. No, he replied, he would not do that, but
he merely wanted the board to know what Miss Mary
Lee had said.
Then various members of the board said what a great
thing it would be for the college if the services of Gen-
eral Lee could be secured, and wondered if there was
any chance of doing so.
At length, after repeated urging. Colonel Christian
did make the nomination. All other names were
immediately withdrawn and the roll was called, and
General Lee was unanimously elected.
Then there was a pause, and silence prevailed for
some moments. The board seemed oppressed with the
gravity of the situation, and seemed to feel that they
had acted rashly. How could they announce to the
world that they had elected to the presidency of a
broken-down college not only the greatest man in the
South, but in many respects the greatest man in the
world? And yet it was only brave men who could seize
an opportunity like this. "There is a tide in the affairs
of men which, taken at its flood, leads on to fortune. "
At length a member summoned courage to say that
having taken that step, they must go forward, and he
moved that a committee of five members, with the
rector, be appointed to draft a letter to General Lee
apprising him of his election and urging his acceptance.
HOW LEE BECAME A COLLEGE PRESIDENT 3
Another member suggested that it would not avail to
send a letter through the mail, but that it must be con-
veyed and presented by a personal representative, and
that there was no one so well qualified for that mission
as the rector.
Judge Brockenbrough, the rector, was a large man of
imposing appearance, of courtly manners, a good talker
and an eloquent speaker. He had been federal judge
of the western district of Virginia, and had for many
years conducted a flourishing law school in Lexington.
The judge arose at once and, thanking the member
for his kind words, said that he could not go; and
glancing down at his well-worn clothes, said he could
not make an appearance in General Lee's presence
dressed as he was, and that those were the best clothes
he had, and that he had no money whatever to buy
others.
Mr. Hugh Barclay, a member of the board, who also
was a large man, replied that one of his sons who lived
in the North had sent him a suit of broadcloth which
he thought would fit Judge Brockenbrough pretty well
and that if he would wear this suit he would be welcome
to it. The judge thanked him, but said there was still
another difficulty. It would be quite a journey to
Powhatan county, where General Lee was residing, and
would necessitate some expense, and he had no money
and the college had none.
Colonel McLaughlin, another trustee, who was ever
alive to the interests of the college, and who knew
everything that occurred in town, said there was a lady
4 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
living in Lexington who owned a farm in Buckingham
county and who had recently secured the money for a
crop of tobacco, and, that the college could borrow some
of it.
Judge Brockenbrough, thus equipped and supplied,
went on his mission. When he returned he reported
that General Lee was willing to take the matter under
consideration.
On the 24th of August General Lee wrote that he
would accept the office of President of Washington
College under certain conditions, one of which was that
he could not undertake to give instruction to classes
but could only undertake general supervision. The
conditions imposed were readily accepted by the board
and the announcement of General Lee's acceptance
was made public.
Money was borrowed and every effort made to place
the college in working order. On the 1 8 th of September,
1865, General Lee rode into town on "Traveller."*
*In writing the name of his favorite war horse General Lee always fol-
lowed the English spelling, using two I's instead of one. — Editor.
WHY GENERAL LEE ACCEPTED THE PRES-
IDENCY OF WASHINGTON COLLEGE
By Captain Robert E. Lee
The following extract is taken from Capt. R. E. Lee's Recollections and
Letters of General Robert E. Lee, pages 179-184. Unfortunately, this valuable
life of General Lee is out of print. — Editor.
ABOUT this time my father received from the
Board of Trustees of Washington College a
^ notification of his election to the presidency of
that institution, at a meeting of the board held in
Lexington, Virginia, on August 4, 1865. The letter
apprising him of the action was presented by Judge
John W. Brockenbrough, rector of the college. This
was a complete surprise to my father. He had already
been offered the vice-chancellorship of the "University
of the South," at Sewanee, Tennessee, but declined it
on the ground that it was denominational, and to some
suggestions that he should connect himself with the
University of Virginia he objected because it was a
state institution. *
* The following extract from a letter written by Mr. Wm. A. Anderson,
present rector of Washington and Lee University, to the board of trustees
under date of June 17, 1901, gives additional light on this subject:
"Informally, but none the less positively and effectively, the active inter-
est of Rev. Dr. and Gen. William N. Pendleton, a lifelong personal friend
6 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
Washington College had started as an academy in
1749. It was the first classical school opened in the
Valley of Virginia. After a struggle of many years,
under a succession of principals and with several
changes of site, it at length acquired such a reputation
as to attract the attention of General Washington.
He gave it a handsome endowment, and the institution
changed its name from "Liberty Hall Academy" to
Washington College. In the summer of 1865, the col-
lege, through the calamities of civil war, had reached
the lowest point of depression it had ever known. Its
buildings, library, and apparatus had suffered from the
sack and plunder of hostile soldiery. Its invested funds,
owing to the general inpoverishment throughout the
land, were for the time being rendered unproductive
and their ultimate value was most uncertain. Four
professors still remained on duty, and there were
about forty students, mainly from the country around
Lexington. It was not a state institution, nor con-
fined to any one religious denomination, so two objec-
tions which might have been made by my father were
removed. But the college in later years had only a
local reputation. It was very poor, indifferently
of General Lee, a member of his military staff during the war, and a minister
of the same religious denomination, was at the instance of the trustees, who
were in Lexington at the time of General Lee's election, enlisted in the effort
they were making to prevail on General Lee to accept the presidency.
"At the request of Prof. James J. White, who acted as the authorized
representative of the trustees. General Pendleton wrote to General Lee
advising his acceptance of the position and assuring him, as he had been
authorized to do by Prof. White, that the institution would in the future
be absolutely undenominational." — Editor.
WHY GENERAL LEE ACCEPTED PRESIDENCY 7
equipped with buildings, and with no means in sight
to improve its condition.*
"There was a general expectation that he would
decline the position as not sufficiently lucrative, if his
purpose was to repair the ruins of his private fortune
resulting from the war; as not lifting him conspicuously
enough in the public gaze, if he was ambitious of office
or further distinction; or as involving too great labour
and anxiety, if he coveted repose after the terrible
contest from which he had just emerged, "f
He was very reluctant to accept this appointment,
but for none of the above reasons, as the average man
might have been. Why he was doubtful of undertaking
the responsibilities of such a position his letter of accept-
ance clearly shows. He considered the matter carefully
and then wrote the following letter to the committee:
"Powhatan County, August 24, 1865.
"Gentlemen: I have delayed for some days replying to your
letter of the 5th inst., informing me of my election by the board of
trustees to the presidency of Washington College, from a desire to
* The poverty of the institution at this time is shown by the following
facts:
In their report to the trustees, June 20, 1865, the faculty said that the
buildings had suffered serious damage from General Hunter's raid and that
conditions had grown worse since that time, "owing to the want of material
and means for making repairs, and partly to the impossibility of closing
them against the depredations of mischievous persons." June 24, 1865,
the trustees authorized the faculty to borrow $500.00 for repairs. In
February, 1866, the treasurer of the college was authorized to have shelves
put in the laboratory for minerals " provided the carpenter would agree to
wait for money until the opening of the next session." See MS. Faculty
Records under dates given. — Editor.
t Professor E. S. Joynes.
8 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
give the subject due consideration. Fully impressed with the
responsibilities of the office, I have feared that I should be unable
to discharge its duties to the satisfaction of the trustees or to the
benefit of the country. The proper education of youth requires not
only great ability, but I fear more strength than I now possess, for I
do not feel able to undergo the labour of conducting classes in
regular courses of instruction. I could not, therefore, undertake
more than the general administration and supervision of the insti-
tution. There is another subject which has caused me serious
reflection, and is, I think, worthy of the consideration of the board.
Being excluded from the terms of amnesty in the proclamation of
the President of the United States, of the 29th of May last, and an
object of censure to a portion of the country, I have thought it
probable that my occupation of the position of president might
draw upon the college a feeling of hostility; and I should, therefore,
cause injury to an institution which it would be my highest desire
to advance. I think it the duty of every citizen, in the present
condition of the country, to do all in his power to aid in the restora-
tion of peace and harmony and in no way to oppose the policy of the
State or general government directed to that object. It is particu-
larly incumbent on those charged with the instruction of the young
to set them an example of submission to authority, and I could not
consent to be the cause of animadversion upon the college. Should
you, however, take a different view, and think that my services in
the position tendered to me by the board will be advantageous to
the college and country, I will yield to your judgment and accept it;
otherwise, I must most respectfully decline the office. Begging
you to express to the trustees of the college my heartfelt gratitude
for the honour conferred upon me, and requesting you to accept my
cordial thanks for the kind manner in which you have communicated
their decision, I am, gentlemen, with great respect, your most
obedient servant,
R. E. Lee." *
To present a clearer view of some of the motives
influencing my father in accepting this trust — for such
he considered it — I give an extract from an address on
* By comparing this document with the photographic reproduction of
the original the reader will note that Captain Lee made some slight changes
in capital letters, of which his father made liberal use, following the custom
of his day. — Editor.
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Reproduction of autograph letter of General Lee, replying to
rttr/^.^K (f\y r/A'' { . _ . ' ^
^ ./Ay^/;"/,/ . (.,„^f{,^
notice of election to the presidency of Washington College
WHY GENERAL LEE ACCEPTED PRESIDENCY 9
the occasion of his death, by Bishop Wilmer, of Louis-
iana, delivered at the University of the South, at Se-
wanee, Tennessee:
"I was seated," says Bishop Wilmer, "at the close of the day,
in my Virginia home, when I beheld, through the thickening shades
of evening, a horseman entering the yard, whom I soon recognised
as General Lee. The next morning he placed in my hands the
correspondence with the authorities of Washington College at Lex-
ington. He had been invited to become president of that institu-
tion. I confess to a momentary feeling of chagrin at the proposed
change (shall I say revulsion?) in his history. The institution
was one of local interest, and comparatively unknown to our people.
I named others more conspicuous which would welcome him with
ardour as their presiding head. I soon discovered that his mind
towered above these earthly distinctions; that, in his judgment, the
cause gave dignity to the institution, and not the wealth of its
endowment or the renown of its scholars; that this door and not
another was opened to him by Providence, and he only wished to
be assured of his competency to fulfil his trust and thus to make
his few remaining years a comfort and blessing to his suflFering
country. I had spoken to his human feelings; he had now revealed
himself to me as one 'whose life was hid with Christ in God.' My
speech was no longer restrained. I congratulated him that his heart
was inclined to this great cause, and that he was spared to give to
the world this august testimony to the importance of Christian
education. How he listened to my feeble words; how he beckoned
me to his side, as the fulness of heart found utterance; how his
whole countenance glowed with animation as I spoke of the Holy
Ghost as the great Teacher, whose presence was required to make
education a blessing, which otherwise might be the curse of man-
kind; how feelingly he responded, how eloquently, as I never heard
him speak before, — can never be effaced from memory; and
nothing more sacred mingles with my reminiscences of the dead."
The board of trustees, on August 31, adopted and
sent to General Lee resolutions saying that, in spite of
his objections, "his connection with the institution
would greatly promote its prosperity and advance the
lO GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
general interest of education, and urged him to enter
upon his duties as president at his earliest convenience. "
My father had had nearly four years' experience in
the charge of young men at West Point. The condi-
tions at that place, to be sure, were very different from
those at the one to which he was now going, but the
work in the main was the same — to train, improve and
elevate. I think he was influenced, in making up his
mind to accept this position, by the great need of educa-
tion in his State and in the South, and by the opportu-
nity that he saw at Washington College for starting
almost from the beginning, and for helping, by his
experience and example, the youth of his country to
become good and useful citizens.
In the latter part of September, he mounted Travel-
ler and started alone for Lexington. He was four days
on the journey, stopping with some friend each night.
He rode into Lexington on the afternoon of the fourth
day, no one knowing of his coming until he quietly drew
up and dismounted at the village inn. Professor White,
who had just turned into the main street as the General
halted in front of the hotel, said he knew in a moment
that this stately rider on the iron-gray charger must be
General Lee. He, therefore, at once went forward, as
two or three old soldiers gathered around to help the
General down, and insisted on taking him to the home
of Colonel Reid, the professor's father-in-law, where he
had already been invited to stay. My father, with his
usual consideration for others, as it was late in the
afternoon, had determined to remain at the hotel that
WHY GENERAL LEE ACCEPTED PRESIDENCY II
night and go to Mr. Reid's in the morning; but yielding
to Captain White's (he always called him "Captain,"
his Confederate title) assurances that all was ready for
him, he accompanied him to the home of his kind host.
INAUGURATION OF GENERAL LEE, AS PRES-
IDENT OF WASHINGTON COLLEGE
By Correspondent of the New York Herald
The following account of the simple exercises inducting General Robert E.
Lee into the presidency of Washington College, October 2, 1865, was sent
to the New York Herald by a staff correspondent and the story was repub-
lished in the Lexington Gazette of October 11, 1865. — Editor.
GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE was to-day in-
stalled president of Washington College.
There was no pomp of parade. The exercises
of installation were the simplest possible — an exact and
barren compliance with the required formula of taking
the oath by the new President, and nothing more — was
in accordance with the special request of General Lee.
It was proposed to have the installation take place in
the college chapel, to send invitations far and wide, to
have a band of music to play enlivening airs, to have
young girls, robed in white and bearing chaplets of
flowers, to sing songs of welcome; to have congratula-
tory speeches, to make it a grand holiday. That the
proposed program was not carried out was a source of
severe disappointment to many. But General Lee
had expressed his wishes contrary to the choice and
determination of the college trustees and the multitude,
and his wishes were complied with.
INAUGURATION OF GENERAL LEE 13
The installation took place at 9 A. M. in a recitation
room of the college. In this room were seated the
faculty and students, the ministers of the town churches,
a magistrate and the county clerk, the last two officials
being necessary to the ceremonial. General Lee was
inducted into the room by the board of trustees. At his
entrance and introduction all in the room arose, bowed
and then became seated. Prayer by Rev. Dr. White,
pastor of the Presbyterian church, directly followed.
To me it was a noticeable fact, and perhaps worthy of
record, that he prayed for the President of the United
States. Altogether it was a most fitting and impressive
prayer.
Brief Eulogy Upon General Lee
The prayer ended. Judge Brockenbrough, chairman
of the board of trustees, stated the object of their
coming together, to install General Lee as President of
Washington College. He felt the serious dignity of the
occasion, but it was a seriousness and a dignity that
should be mingled with heartfelt joy and gladness.
Passing a brief eulogy upon General Lee, and congratu-
lating the board and the college and its present and
future students, on having obtained one so loved and
great and worthy to preside over the college, he said he
could say more had it not been voted against speech-
making. During the delivery of these few words — and
they came, despite the prohibitory voting, very near
culminating to the dignity of a set as well as eloquent
speech. General Lee remained standing, his arms
14 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
quietly folded and calmly and steadfastly looking into
the eyes of the speaker. Justice William White, at the
instance of Judge Brockenbrough, now administered
the oath of office to General Lee. For the benefit of
those curious to know the nature of this new oath to
which General Lee has just subscribed, and as it is
brief, I give it entire. It is as follows:
" I do swear that I will, to the best of my skill and
judgment, faithfully and truly discharge the duties
required of me by an act entitled, 'An act for incorpo-
rating the rector and trustees of Liberty Hall Academy,'
without favor, affection or partiality. So help me
God."
To this oath General Lee at once affixed his signature,
with the accompanying usual juriat of the swearing
magistrate appended. The document, in the form
stated, was handed to the county clerk for safe and
perpetual custodianship, and at the same time the keys
of the college were given by the rector into the keeping
of the new president. A congratulatory shaking of
hands followed and wound up the day's brief but pleas-
ing and memorable ceremonial. President Lee and the
trustees, with the faculty, now passed into the room set
apart for the former's use — a good-sized room, newly
but very plainly and tastefully furnished.
General Lee was dressed in a plain but elegant suit
of gray. His appearance indicated the enjoyment of
good health — better, I should say, than when he sur-
rendered his army at Appomattox Court House, the
first and only occasion before the present of my having
E^AUGURATION OF GENERAL LEE IS
seen him. His looks and bearing have been often and
minutely described, and I will not dwell upon them here.
Most pictures of him on exhibition come up to the
average of fidelity of this class of likenesses.
GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AS COLLEGE
PRESIDENT
By Professor Edward S. Joynes
The following article was taken from the Southern Historical Society
Papers, XXVIII, 243-246, and first appeared in the Richmond, Va., Dis-
patch, January 27, 1901. It was not intended by the writer, Professor
Edward S. Joynes, as a formal contribution, but was part of a letter to a
friend. His more formal and elaborate contribution on this subject will
be found in Joynes' Personal Reminiscences of General Robert E. Lee, 118-
129. Professor Joynes held the chair of Modern Languages at Washington
College while General Lee was president and later held the same position
at the University of South Carolina. He died June 18, 1917. — Editor.
MY recollections shall be chiefly of General Lee
as college president. It is as such that he is
chiefly present to my memory — always for
admiration, sometimes for contrast with later expe-
riences. I will not enlarge upon the quiet dignity and
patience with which he always presided over our often
wordy and tedious meetings, his perfect impartiality,
and unwearied courtesy, his manifest efl^ort to sink his
own personality, as if to minimize the influence which
he knew attached to his own views, and to leave to the
faculty as a body, and to each member of it, the fullest
sense of authority and independence.
Indeed, nowhere else in all my wide experience have
I found so much of personal dignity and influence
attached to the professorship as at Lexington; and this
was largely due to the courtesy and deference with
GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT 17
which General Lee treated the faculty, and every mem-
ber of it, in both official and private relations. Yet
none the less, on those rare occasions when it became
necessary, did he assert the full measure of his author-
ity. He rarely spoke in faculty meetings, and then
only at the close of debate — usually to restate the
question at issue, seldom with any decided expression
of his own opinion or wish.
I remember on one ocasion a professor quoted a cer-
tain regulation in the by-laws. Another replied that it
had become a dead letter. "Then," said General Lee,
"let it be repealed. A dead letter inspires disrespect
for the whole body of laws. "
On another occasion a professor appealed to prece-
dent, and added, "We must not respect persons."
General Lee at once replied: "In dealing with young
men I always respect persons, and care little for prece-
dent."
When General Lee became President of Washington
College it had been required that students should oc-
cupy the college dormitories; only a few of the older
students were permitted to lodge in town. General Lee
reversed this rule. As a measure of discipline it was
required that all students board and lodge in the fam-
ilies of the town; to lodge in the dormitory was accorded
as a privilege. He said the young boys needed the in-
fluence of family life; the dormitories he regarded as
offering temptations to license. The result vindicated
the wisdom of his view.
In dealing with the young men General Lee had a
1 8 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
truly marvelous success. The students fairly wor-
shipped him, and deeply dreaded his displeasure; yet so
kind, affable, and gentle was he toward them that all
loved to approach him. Still, an official summons to
his office struck terror even into the most hardened.
A young fellow, whose general record was none too
good, was summoned to answer for absence. He stated
his excuse, and then, hesitatingly, he added another and
another. "Stop, Mr. ," said General Lee, "one
good reason should be sufficient to satisfy an honest
mind," with emphasis on the word "honest," that
spoke volumes.
Another, an excellent student, now a distinguished
lawyer in Tennessee, was once beguiled into an un-
excused absence. The dreaded summons came. With
his heart in his boots he entered General Lee's office.
The General met him smiling: "Mr. M., I am glad to
see you are better." "But General, I have not been
sick." "Then I am glad to see you have better news
from home." "But, General, I have had no bad news."
"Ah," said the General, "I took it for granted that
nothing less than sickness or distressing news from
home could have kept you from your duty." Mr. M.
told me, in relating the incident, that he then felt as if
he wished the earth would open and swallow him.
To a recalcitrant student, who was contending for
what he thought his rights as a man, I once heard
General Lee say: "Obedience to lawful authority is the
foundation of manly character," — in those very words.
On rare occasions of disorder, actual or threatened.
GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT 19
General Lee would post a manuscript address to students
on the bulletin board. These were known among the
boys as his ''General Orders." They never failed of
their effect. No student would have dared to violate
General Lee's expressed wish or appeal — if he had done
so the students themselves would have driven him from
the college.
I wish to add one other important fact, illustrating
General Lee's view of discipline, in a case of frequent
occurrence. He held idleness to be not negative, but
a positive vice. It often happened that the plea was
made that an Idle student was doing no harm and
indirectly deriving benefit, etc. General Lee said, "No,
a young man is always doing something; if not good
then harm to himself and others." So that merely
persistent idleness was with him always sufficient cause
for dismissal.
General Lee's ideal of education was the training of
manly character, and that, for him, meant Christian
character. To a venerable minister of Lexington he
said: "I shall be disappointed, sir — I shall fail In the
leading object that brought me here — unless these
young men all become consistent Christians." When
he came to Lexington the old president's house was In
a sadly dilapidated condition. The trustees desired to
build at once a suitable home for the president's resi-
dence. But General Lee Insisted that the first money
collected should be devoted to building a chapel, and he
would not allow the president's house to be begun until
the chapel had been completed and furnished — that
20 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
chapel beneath which now rests his own beautiful
mausoleum. Here daily religious services were held at
an early hour by the ministers of Lexington in rotation
— but not on Sunday, for General Lee preferred that the
students should go to the church of their parents in
the town.
General Lee had very well defined opinions on educa-
tional subjects. In quoting some of these it might,
perhaps, be unjust to apply them to present conditions,
which, of course, could not then be foreseen. He was a
strong advocate of practical, even technical education,
as was shown by his plans for Washington College; but
he was equally firm in his support of training studies and
liberal culture. I have often heard him say it had been
his lifelong regret that he had not completed his classical
education (in which, however, he had a respectable
scholarship) before going to West Point. Also, he did
not believe in separate technical schools, but thought
"that scientific and professional studies could best be
taught when surrounded by the liberalizing influence of
a literary institution." Hence, he sought to unite all
these in the development of Washington College.
Especially, General Lee did not believe in a military
education for others than army officers. Military edu-
cation, he used to say, is an unfortunate necessity for
the soldier, but the worst possible preparation for civil
life. "For many years," he said, "I have observed
the failure in business pursuits of men who have re-
signed from the army. It is very rare that any one of
them has achieved success."
GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT 2i
One incident finally, which I witnessed, illustrates
the General's playful humor. A new roadway of broken
stone had just been laid through the college grounds.
Colonel J. T. L. Preston, then professor in the Military
Institute, came riding through on his way to town. As
the stones were new and rough, the Colonel rode along-
side on the grass. As he approached where the General
was standing, he halted for a talk. General Lee, putting
his arm affectionately around the horse's neck and pat-
ting him, said: "Colonel, this is a beautiful horse; I am
sorry he is so tenderfooted that he avoids our new road."
Afterwards Colonel Preston always rode on the stone-
way.
GENERAL LEE AT LEXINGTON
By Professor C. A. Graves, University, Virginia
This interesting address was delivered at the centennial celebration of
General Lee's birth, held at the University of Virginia, January 19, 1907.
It was published in the University of Virginia Bulletin of April, 1907. —
Editor.
ON August 4th, 1865, the trustees of Washing-
ton College, Lexington, Va., elected General
Robert E. Lee president of the institution.
On August 24, from his temporary home in Pov/hatan
county, General Lee accepted the office, and on Sep-
tember 18 he rode into Lexington on his famous war
horse "Traveller."
On October 30th, 1865, General Lee vi^rote: "I ac-
cepted the presidency of the college in the hope that I
might be of some service to the country and to the rising
generation; and not from any preference of my own.
I should have selected a more quiet life and a more
retired abode than Lexington, and should have pre-
ferred a small farm where I could have earned my daily
bread."
The town of Lexington during General Lee's presi-
dency of Washington College was a congenial home for
the great chieftain of the "Lost Cause," and was not
inaptly called the "Headquarters of the Southern Con-
federacy." Here had been the home of Stonewall
Jackson, and here was his tomb; here resided, when
GENERAL LEE AT LEXINGTON 23
General Lee arrived, Hon. John Letcher, the strong and
resolute war governor of Virginia; General Francis H.
Smith, the founder and superintendent of the Virginia
Military Institute, the "West Point of the South";
General William N. Pendleton, chief of artillery of the
Army of Northern Virginia; and Judge John W. Brock-
enbrough, one of the five commissioners whom Virginia
sent to the peace conference which met in Washington
in February, 1861. And to Lexington there came later
during General Lee's life Colonel William Preston John-
ston, son of General Albert Sydney Johnston; Colonel
William Allan, chief ordnance officer of Jackson's corps;
Commodore Matthew F. Maury, the geographer of the
sea, who, next, perhaps, to General Lee, sacrificed
most in order to share the fate of his people; Colonel
John M. Brooke, of "deep sea sounding" and "Merri-
mac" fame; and shortly before General Lee's death,
there came the profound lawyer and statesman, Hon.
John Randolph Tucker, who had been attorney-general
of Virginia throughout the war.
The faculty of Washington College before General
Lee's accession to the presidency, had consisted of five
men, the president, who taught moral philosophy, and
four professors, teachingLatin, Greek, mathematics, and
chemistry and natural philosophy. The number of
students had been less than one hundred. During the
five years of General Lee's presidency the number of
professors was more than trebled; the number of stu-
dents was quadrupled, and the endowment of the institu-
tion was increased many fold. He found it a college.
24 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
and left it a university, worthy of the proud title which
links the names of Washington and Lee.
It is an interesting fact that General Lee's first home
in Lexington had once been the home of Stonewall
Jackson. This was the "Old President's House," in
which General Lee lived for several years until the
present "President's House," was erected. In the
"Old President's House" had resided before the war the
then president. Dr. George Junkin, whose daughter was
General Jackson's first wife. And in this house General
Jackson, both before and after the death of his wife, had
resided as an inmate of his father-in-law's family.
But whether in the old or new house, the home of
General Lee was always open to the students; and what-
ever awe "the President" may have inspired, Mrs. Lee
and her accomplished daughters were able to make even
the most diffident forget their embarrassment. General
G. W. Custis Lee, at that time professor in the Virginia
Military Institute, was also an inmate of his father's
family. He had the reputation among the students of
the college (whose president he was destined to become)
of being the most courteous of gentlemen, and the most
brilliant of mathematicians.
And now it may be proper to describe briefly some
characteristics of General Lee as a college president,
especially in relation to the students.
I. Religion. — There was one place where General
Lee could always be seen and that was at the daily
prayer service in the college chapel. Compulsory ar-
tendance, however, was abolished by him after the first
/
General Lee's Campus Homes at Washington College
The building to the right was occupied by the Lee family until the com-
pletion of the President's home, which is the large building in the foreground.
General Lee's Office in the Chapel
The furnishings, papers and books still remain as he left them.
GENERAL LEE AT LEXINGTON 25
year of his presidency. He took a deep interest in the
Young Men's Christian Association and an account of
its work, as a matter of great importance, always came
first in his annual report to the board of trustees. On
one occasion he said: "If I could only know that all the
young men in the college were good Christians I should
have nothing more to desire. I dread the thought of
any student going away from the college without becom-
ing a sincere Christian."
2. Work. — General Lee could not tolerate idleness.
He believed that a student who did not work did harm
both to himself and to others. He thought the place for
drones was at home, and he did not excuse them on the
plea that they were "good fellows." His views with
reference to a student of this class were once expressed
as follows: "He is a very quiet, orderly young man, but
seems very careful not to injure the health of his father's
son. Now, I do not want our young men really to injure
their health, but I wish them to come as near to it as
possible. "
3. Total abstinence. — On this subject extracts from
two letters will suffice. To an organization among the
students called "Friends of Temperance, " General Lee
wrote: "My experience through life has convinced me
that, while moderation and temperance in all things are
commendable and beneficial, abstinence from spirituous
liquor is the best safeguard of morals and health."
And from Arlington, on May 30, 1858, he wrote to his
son: "I think it better to avoid it (spirituous liquor)
altogether, as its temperate use is so difficult. "
26 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
4. Literary Societies. — In these days, when so many
neglect the opportunity afforded by the debating society,
these words of General Lee are timely: "There is
scarcely a feature in the organization of the college
more improving and beneficial to the students than the
exercises and influence of the literary societies; and the
good they do renders them worthy of encouragement by
the friends of education."
I may add that the only address I ever heard General
Lee make (aside from informal remarks while he was
presiding at commencement) was at a joint meeting of
the literary societies of Washington College. He spoke
standing on the floor, surrounded by the students. He
was very brief. All that I now remember is that he
declared it " the duty of the students to do all in their
power to give eclat to the exercises of the approaching
commencement. "
It was generally believed in college that General Lee
was acquainted with the standing of each student in all
of his classes. Certain it is that his knowledge of the
students and of their work was wonderful. He kept up
with the absences and was quick to mark a change in a
student's grades, whether by way of improvement or
the reverse. His signature was on all the monthly
reports sent to parents; and he frequently wrote them
personal letters concerning their sons, sometimes of
praise, and sometimes of censure. The catalogue of
those days declared: "The President attends all exami-
nations." In performance of this duty General Lee
never failed to be present during the "oral," which at
GENERAL LEE AT LEXINGTON 27
that time formed a part of all examinations. I have
recited in the presence of General Lee many times, and
(especially in mathematics at the blackboard) it was a
severe ordeal. I have often wondered how he found the
patience to endure the many hours of attendance on the
many classes. The last year of his presidency I con-
ducted the "oral" in certain classes in the presence of
General Lee, and I do not know whether the embarrass-
ment was greater to the student or to the teacher.
But it was not only the students with whom General
Lee kept in touch, and whom he expected to do their
duty. He required the professors to be at their posts
and was displeased if they were absent from their
classes without his knowledge. Nor did he hesitate to
rebuke such a breach of discipline, as the following
instance will show, which illustrates also his usual
indirect method of conveying censure. Meeting Cap-
tain , an assistant professor, who had been absent
without leave for several days, he thus addressed him:
"Good morning. Captain. I am glad to see you back
again. It was by accident. Sir, that I learned that you
were away. " It may safely be presumed that Captain
(a gallant Confederate soldier, by the way), ob-
tained permission from the president the next time he
desired to leave town.
I may relate here a conversation with General Lee,
which shows how much he had the success of all the
students at heart. He met me one morning, the winter
before his death, when I had been teaching only a few
months, and inquired how I was getting on with my
28 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
work. I replied that I hoped I was doing fairly well.
"May I give you one piece of advice, sir?" Of course,
I said I should be delighted to receive it. "Well, sir,
always observe the stage driver's rule. " "What is that.
General?" "Always take care of the poor horses."
Since this interview with General Lee I have been a
teacher many years, and I have tried to remember that
it is the poor students who most require care, and that
for the success of even the poorest, loving hearts are
hoping and praying; and I have not dared to despair.
A word may be said of General Lee's interest in the
community in which he lived. No one was ever more
punctilious in the performance of social duties, and all
strangers visiting Lexington who had the least claim on
his attention, were sure of a visit from him. His public
spirit led him to accept the presidency of the Valley
Railroad, which he held at the time of his death, and he
made a visit to Baltimore in its interest. He was also
president of the Rockbridge Bible Society and took an
active part in its affairs.
It is not generally2> known that General Lee once
prevented a lynching in Lexington. In the spring of
1866, while I was a student at Washington College, a
report reached the campus that an attempt was being
made to force the jail in order to lynch a horse thief
named Jonathan Hughes, who, in the troublous times
after the war, had been plying his vocation in the neigh-
borhood of Lexington. Horse-stealing had become com-
mon, and by a then recent statute (enacted February
12, 1866) "to, provide more effectually for the punish-
GENERAL LEE AT LEXINGTON 29
ment of horse-stealing," the punishment had been
fixed at death, or, in the discretion of the jury, confine-
ment in the penitentiary for a period of not less than
five nor more than eighteen years. The discretion of the
jury to inflict the death penalty for the crime was re-
pealed in a short time, the occasion for it passing away.
When I reached the courthouse yard, within which
stood the jail where Hughes was confined, it was filled
with a crowd of men who had ridden in from the coun-
try to take the law into their own hands. At the top of
the jail steps, in front of the locked door, stood the
old jailor, Thomas L. Perry, holding the jail keys high
above his head, and facing, with grim and resolute as-
pect, the would-be lynchers who surrounded him. For
some reason, perhaps respect for the old man's gray
hairs, the men next to him had forborne to seize him
and snatch from him the jail keys, as they could easily
have done.
What I have described above, the eye took in with a
glance, and I was not at first aware of the presence of
General Lee. But there he was (having evidently
preceded me), moving quietly about among the crowd,
addressing a few words to each group as he passed,
begging them to let the law take its course. This scene
continued for some time and is indelibly impressed on
my memory. The end was there. Those stern Scotch-
Irishmen, whose tenacity of purpose is proverbial, aban-
doned their enterprise, remounted their horses and rode
out of town. They could not do a deed of lawless
violence in the presence of "Marse Robert," whose
30 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
Standard they had followed on many a battlefield. It
may be of interest to record that Hughes was duly
brought to trial for horse-stealing, and on April 20, 1866,
was convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary for
eighteen years.
And now it only remains to speak briefly of General
Lee's last illness and death. On March i8th, 1870, he
wrote: "My health has been so feeble this winter that I
am only waiting to see the efi^ect of the opening spring
before relinquishing my present position. I am admon-
ished by my feelings that my years of labor are nearly
over." His condition caused great anxiety to all con-
nected with the college, and later in the spring he was
persuaded by the authorities to try the effect of a visit
to the South. On his return his health seemed improved
and he was able to preside at commencement.
The session of 1870-71 began on September 15 th, the
sixth year of General Lee's presidency, and he entered
as usual upon the duties of his ofiice. We fondly hoped
that the danger was past and that his life would be
prolonged. But in less than two weeks the summons
came. On Wednesday, September 28th, he had pre-
sided over a protracted vestry meeting and reached
home late for tea. As he was about to ask the blessing
his lips refused their office and he sank down in his
chair. From the first he seemed conscious that the
stroke was fatal and to desire to withdraw his attention
from earthly affairs. Though for the most part ra-
tional and able to speak, he lay for fourteen days in
almost unbroken silence; and then "This mortal put on
GENERAL LEE AT LEXINGTON 31
immortality," and he passed "to where beyond these
voices there is peace. "
General Lee died October 12, 1870, at 9:15 A. M.
I shall never forget the knock at the door of the lecture
room and the notice handed in:
"General Lee died this morning. Academic exercises
are suspended." I read these words to the class and
dismissed them. Already the church bells were begin-
ning to toll.
REMINISCENCES OF GENERAL LEE AS PRESI-
DENT OF WASHINGTON COLLEGE
By Professor M. W. Humphreys, University, Virginia
The following contribution was prepared for this publication by an
honored "Lee Alumnus" — one of the few surviving instructors in Washing-
ton College during General Lee's presidency. — Editor.
I ENTERED Washington College about the first
of April in the session of 1865-6.
General Lee tried to learn the names, or to
seem to know the names of all the students, and would
avail himself of any opportunity to congratulate a
student on his standing in his studies if it was high.
He kept himself as well informed as possible on the
financial condition of students; who and what their
parents were; — in short all their home affairs. He made
use of this information in his management of the stu-
dents. On one occasion he happened to see a student
from Nashville throw a stone against the upper part of
the cupola of the chapel and knock a shingle off. He
knew that the student's father was wealthy, and re-
quired the student to have the shingle replaced. This
was done by a number of mechanics, who built scaf-
folding up to the necessary height. The expense was
said to be thirty-odd dollars.
He learned in some way that a certain student was
squandering money. He sent for him and among other
REMINISCENCES OF GENERAL LEE AS PRESIDENT 33
things said, "The money that you are squandering
represents the sweat of your father's brow."
He often gave students advice concerning their stud-
ies. I will cite illustrations to show his conception of
education.
A very young, poorly prepared man (Parrott) once
reported to him for matriculation. As was his wont, he
asked the applicant if he had any definite object in
view or desired any special line of studies. The applicant
replied, "I have come to take M. A." There was a
twinkle in General Lee's eye, but he commended the
applicant's purpose, and said, "Mr. Humphreys here
will tell you what studies to take up for the present."
(We had preparatory classes in those days.) I think it
required six years, but Parrott took his M. A.
One cold morning a few of us were gathered at the
source of heat in the chapel, waiting for the preacher,
about 7:40 A. M. It was about Christmas time. Gen-
eral Lee came in and joined us. A young man asked
him for permission to drop Latin and take up chemistry
instead, stating that it was his last session; that he was
going to Texas to try to make his fortune, and that he
wanted to be learning practical branches. General Lee
pointed out to him at some length the absurdity (he did
not call it that) of supposing that in a half session he
could learn enough chemistry to be of any practical use
to him, and told him that if he would, here in Virginia,
do the work and undergo the privations necessary for
success in Texas, he would succeed at least as well as he
would in Texas. He then told us about life in Texas, as-
34 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
suring us that he knew by personal observation the
truth of what he was saying. Long afterwards (1883-7)
I found his portrayal to be still remarkably accurate. I
do not think the minister came that morning. I will
here say that when the minister acting as chaplain
failed to appear General Lee would sit till nearly 8
o'clock (when lectures began), and then, without
saying a word, get up and walk out. He always at-
tended chapel. This I know, for I always attended,
even when I boarded i}4 miles in the country and often
went without my breakfast. A pious friend of mine
once said to me, "I am afraid you were worshipping
Lee rather than Jehovah." I replied, " I was."
I wish to be very clear, positive, and explicit. I once
published a statement which was quoted in an article by
Professor E, S. Joynes, who in turn was quoted by the
author of a book the title of which I have forgotten.
This author had not seen my article (in Wake Forest
Student)'* and almost expresses doubt of the correct-
ness of my statement, though, assuming it to be true,
he devotes considerable space to a discussion of the
subject.f I will presently repeat the incident. First,
however, I wish to say that General Lee's discipline was
just the opposite of what one would naturally expect
from a man who had received military training and had
exercised military authority for many years. In fact,
he seemed to have an aversion for military usages. It
* This article appeared in the Wake Forest Student for January, 1907. —
Editor,
t See Bradford's Lee the American, 233-4. — Editor.
I
REMINISCENCES OF GENERAL LEE AS PRESIDENT 35
sometimes happened that the faculties of the college
and the military institute followed by the students and
cadets marched in a joint procession. On such occasions
General Lee and General Smith (superintendent of
V. M. I.) marched side by side. General Smith always
held himself in an exact military posture and brought
his feet, especially the left one, down firmly in perfect
time, whereas not even the beating of the bass drum
could make General Lee keep step. He simply walked
along in a natural manner, but although this manner
appeared so natural, it seemed to me that he consciously
avoided keeping step, so uniformly did he fail to plant
his foot simultaneously with General Smith or at the
beat of the drum.
When the reports (at first weekly, afterwards monthly)
were handed in by the professors and other instructors.
General Lee carefully examined every detail in each
student's report. If marked neglect of study or irregu-
larity of attendance at lectures or recitations was indi-
cated, he summoned the student to his office and had
a talk with him. If this method of reforming him
proved hopeless, he wrote to the student's parent or
guardian, requesting that the student be called home.
A roommate of mine was called home in this way,
though, so far as I knew or had reason to believe, he
was not guilty of any positive vices except that he
wrote verses so persistently that he was dubbed "The
College Bard" by his fellow students; but he simply
could not make himself study, though he resolved and
re-resolved to "stand at the head of his classes,"
36 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
recording his resolutions at short intervals in his
diary.
In cases where positive vices were concerned he was
careful to have the facts established with absolute cer-
tainty. A good illustration of this was an incident which
I did not witness, but which I learned from several
professors. A student was charged with habitual dis-
sipation. Much hearsay evidence was adduced by
various professors, one of them declaring it to be *'Jama
clomosa' that the accused habitually frequented bar-
rooms and was often intoxicated. Not a voice was
raised in his favor and it was evident that, if it were put
to a vote, he would be unanimously dismissed. But
General Lee, instead of taking the vote, asked two
questions: "Have any of you seen this young man intoxi-
cated.'"' No response. "Have any of you seen him
entering barrooms?" No response. Then General Lee
startled the faculty. He said in substance: "We must
be very careful how we are influenced by hearsay. Dur-
ing the war at a time when my physical and mental
strain was intense, / was reported to the executive as
being habitually intoxicated and unfit for the discharge of
my duties. " A motion to lay on the table was unani-
mously adopted. The student remained in college. It
was currently reported that General Lee had an inter-
view [with him which led to permanent reforma-
tion.
In the session of 1866-7 ^^ students petitioned the
faculty for a week's holiday at Christmas instead of the
single day that had been adopted in imitation of the
REMINISCENCES OF GENERAL LEE AS PRESIDENT 37
University of Virginia (as it then was). The petition
was declined. A paper was started around for the signa-
tures of students pledging themselves not to attend any
lectures from Christmas to New Year's day. When
sixty-nine students, including my roommate but not
myself, had signed this paper, news of the movement
came to General Lee's ears, and he merely said in the
hearing of two or three students: " Every man that signs
that paper will be summarily dismissed. If all sign
it, I shall lock up the college and put the keys in my
pocket." I told my roommate about this and he
ran to college (a mile and a half) to scratch his name
off; but he could not find the paper. It had been
destroyed.
I now narrate, in greater detail than in the fVake
Forest Student the incident mentioned before, and I
wish to emphasize the correctness of my statement. I
cannot be mistaken about a thing that astounded me
more than anything else ever did in my long life of
many varied experiences.
When I was assistant professor of Latin and Greek and
taught four daily classes (each six times a week), a
great evil became prevalent. Very often a student,
when called on to recite, would say "unprepared,"
and then, after the class was dismissed, would tell me
that he was sick the night before, or rarely would offer
some other excuse. I undertook to put an end to this
demoralizing custom. I called at General Lee's office,
stated the above facts to him and told him that I
wished to try a remedy for the evil, but that the rule I
38 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
wished to adopt as a remedy would be hard to enforce
unless it had his approval. The rule was this: If a
student was unprepared, he must write his excuse
concisely on a slip of paper and lay it on my table (or
desk) before the recitation began. If he failed to do
this and answered "unprepared" when called on, he
must take zero no matter what his excuse might be.
General Lee pondered a moment, gave his approval and
added in substance: "But as a general principle you
should not force young men to do their duty, but let
them do it voluntarily and thereby develop their char-
acters. " I suppose I showed some surprise, for, making
some remark that showed he had read my thoughts, he
added these exact words: " The great mistake of my life
was taking a military education.'*
Whether men can or cannot conjecture what course
General Lee thought he ought to have pursued, is a
matter of no concern to me; he certainly used the above
quoted words.
As to the effect of General Lee's presidency on the
number of students (and professors, for that matter)
it is sufficient to note that during the session of 1 860-61
there were 83 (eighty-three) students (if my count was
correct, no catalogue, so far as I know, having been
published). There were a president, four professors
(Latin, Greek, mathematics, and chemistry), and two
tutors (for freshman mathematics). The president
taught "Moral Philosophy" and "Belles Lettres." A
foreigner gave private instruction in French (and possi-
bly German) to such as cared to pay him for his instruc-
REMINISCENCES OF GENERAL LEE AS PRESIDENT 39
tion. The professor of mathematics taught applied
mathematics.*
Just once it was my lot to receive a severe rebuke from
General Lee. While I was an undergraduate my
health seemed to become impaired, and he had a con-
versation with me about it, in which he expressed the
opinion that I was working too hard. I replied: "I am
so impatient to make up for the time I lost in the
army — " I got no further. Lee flushed and exclaimed in
an almost angry tone: " Mr. Humphreys! However long
you live and whatever you accomplish, you will find
that the time you spent in the Confederate army was
the most profitably spent portion of your life. Never
again speak of having lost time in the army. " And I
never again did.
* The report of the faculty to the trustees under dateof June 20, 1865, says:
"The institution has been kept open during the past session chiefly as a
preparatory school. The number of pupils in attendance has varied from 30
to 45." The next session opened Sept. 15, 1865, with 22 students. These
facts are taken from the MS. volume of Records of the Meetings of the
Faculty of Washington College commencing Feb. 24, 1857. — Editor.
RECOLLECTIONS OF GENERAL LEE
By F. A. Berlin, Oakland, California
The author of this sketch died September 3, 1920, a few months after
sending it to the editor of this publication. — Editor.
I MUST preface my remarks by saying that when
I entered Washington & Lee University I was
only seventeen years old, and like everybody
else in Virginia, I venerated the name of General
Lee. As I was quite young at that time and took a
somewhat pretentious course at the university, I was
busy every moment of the time that I was there. I
did not therefore have much time for social or recrea-
tional duties, and, of course, because of my age, and
because I was a freshman, I had a subordinate stand-
ing. Consequently there is not very much that I can
speak of from my own knowledge.
About September ist, 1864, I entered Roanoke Col-
lege at Salem, Va., and remained there until the college
closed in April, 1865, immediately after the surrender
of General Lee. I had expected to return to Roanoke
College again whenever it opened, but it became known
before the next term opened that General Robert
E. Lee would become president of Washington College.
As my parents and I thought that the influence and
example of General Lee would be of inestimable value
to the young men of the South, it was decided that I
RECOLLECTIONS OF GENERAL LEE 41
should enter Washington College on the first of Septem-
ber, 1865.
At that time my family was living at Bridgewater,
Rockingham county, Virginia, and the only means of
communication between our town and Lexington was
by stage. So I traveled to Lexington by stage and
arrived there I think on the last day of August, suppos-
ing that the term would open the next day. But when
I reached Lexington there was no one there whom I
knew, and upon inquiry at the college buildings I
found out that the buildings would not be ready for the
occupancy of the students for about two weeks, as the
property had been very seriously damaged by the
Federal troops during their raid into that town. When
I learned these facts I at once became homesick, and
as the stage had left, determined to walk home, a
distance of about sixty miles. So I left my trunk in
storage and started to walk and did walk almost the
entire distance home. On the way Mr. RuflFner, who
was then state superintendent of schools in Virginia,
with his wife, in a one-horse buggy, overtook me and
very kindly allowed me to crouch in the front part of
their buggy, for some few miles.
On arrival at home of course my family was very
much surprised to see me. But at the end of two weeks,
when I learned definitely that the college was ready to
open its exercises, I took the stage again and returned
to Lexington and was present on the opening day, some-
where about the 15th of September, 1865. A few days
after I arrived there General Lee was installed as presi-
42 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
dent of the college. I remember very well the installa-
tion exercises took place in the south end of the building.
I think it was called "South Hall," but of this I am not
sure. However, it was next to the south dormitories.
And on the second floor of that building, in a room
which had been used or prepared for a lecture room, and
where afterwards I attended lectures under Professor
John Campbell, in the physics course, and there General
Lee was inaugurated as president of the college. As I
remember, there were not more than thirty persons
present at that inauguration. It seemed to us a rather
solemn occasion. General Lee looked very serious at
that time. He doubtless felt that the whole world was
looking upon him as a defeated soldier. I do not
remember now who administered the oath to him,
but I remember that the oath was administered in the
usual form, to the effect that he would faithfully fulfill
the duties of the office of president of the university.
I do not recollect that there was any speech making on
that occasion, probably a mere introduction.
As I remember, we were not engaged in the room more
than ten or fifteen minutes, and then all retired to our
respective homes and to the tasks assigned to us for
our opening studies. I think the room adjoining this
lecture room of Professor Campbell's was selected for
General Lee's office. I know he occupied an adjoining
room during the whole time I was at the university.
I entered the college when it opened, immediately
after the war, September, 1865, and remained there for
two sessions, that is, 1865-66 and 1866-67. In the
RECOLLECTIONS OF GENERAL LEE 43
summer of 1867 my father concluded, as there were
five younger children in our family and as I had had
the benefit of three years at college, that I ought to
give some portion of my time to the instruction of the
younger children. I did not, therefore, re-enter Wash-
ington College again, but taught at home for one year,
and I then entered the University of Virginia, session
1868-69, where I remained for two years in the academic
course and finished the law course at the end of the
third year, taking the degree of B. L. in June, 1871.
It is not necessary for me to say anything about the
devotion of the people of Virginia and of the entire
South to General Lee and how they regarded him as on
a pinnacle by himself as one of the truest, bravest, and
noblest men, and yet in a certain way he was an effem-
inate man because he was so extremely kind, gentle, and
considerate of everybody, and always had a spirit of
deference for others. I remember often seeing him
cross the street at the corner between his residence and
the Episcopal church. In winter that crossing was very
bad in those days, and the only means of crossing, to
keep out of the mud, was by a board plank about a foot
wide. I have frequently seen General Lee crossing that
plank and stepping off to the side when some one was
coming in the opposite direction.
General Lee was in very close touch with all the boys.
He tried to be their friend and comrade, and in the
kindest manner made suggestions to them and in every
way encouraged them in the performance of their
duties. He would always make his appeals to them on
44 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
the ground of their duty to their parents, who were
making sacrifices for their education and that they
should take advantage of the educational opportunities
afforded them at college.
As I was very young I never had the opportunity
of attending any social functions at his home. He had
in the town of Lexington the reputation of being the most
devoted of husbands to his invalid wife. I think that
during the time I was in Lexington there was very
little, if any, entertaining done at his home because oi
Mrs. Lee's ill health.
Of course, the president's house was not built during
the first year I was at college and I do not remember
exactly when it was built, but I know that while I was
there arrangements were made for erecting this building
on the west side of the street opposite the Episcopal
church.
During the second year I was at college I was fortu-
nate enough to live in the home of Governor Letcher,
who had been the war governor of Virginia. I happened
to be there because Mrs. Letcher was my mother's first
cousin. She was one of the most charming women I
ever met, and she made my stay there as pleasant as
if I had been in my own home. At that time Governor
Letcher was in active practice of the law in Lexington^
and was one of the most prominent lawyers in that
section of the state. He was a jolly good fellow. Mrs.
Letcher was an ideal housekeeper and an ideal wife
and mother. At that time her oldest daughter. Miss
Lizzie Letcher, was a young lady and was one of the
RECOLLECTIONS OF GENERAL LEE 45
belles of Virginia, and exceedingly popular throughout
the state and particularly among the students. Gen-
eral Lee was very fond of Mrs. Letcher and Miss Lizzie
and often came to visit them, and therefore I frequently
had the pleasure of meeting him socially in their home.
General Lee visited that home in the same free and
easy manner as if he were a member of the household.
I do not remember that in all my experience I have
ever heard a harsh word or criticism of any kind spoken
of General Lee. All of the students loved and revered
him, and it was a great pleasure for us to meet him on
the street or on the campus and doflF our hats in honor
to him.
During the session of 1865-66 there were compara-
tively few boys of the South who were able to attend
college because of the financial reverses caused by the
war. If I remember correctly, there were not more
than 150 students there during that year, and for that
reason we were more of a little family at college than
subsequently; for the next year, about 400 students
matriculated. As there were then no boarding houses
on the campus and only a few dormitories the boys
were scattered all over the town and vicinity and we
could not be brought into close contact with them all.
As a result many cliques and coteries were formed
among the students.
I remember several times purchasing a number of
small photographs of General Lee and going to his office
and asking for his autograph to them, which he always
very kindly and promptly gave. I think this was the
46 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
practice among the students. One day I purchased
half a dozen small photographs of him, which I thought
to be good, and took them to his office and asked for his
autograph. He very kindly told me that he was very
busy that day and requested me to leave them, which
I did, and that I should call another day, which he
specified, and he would have them ready for me. A few
days after that I called upon him and he had signed his
name to all the photographs which I had left (some of
which I still have). He then went to his secretary and
took therefrom another photograph which had recently
been made at Washington, D. C, by Gardner, and he
said to me "I think this is one of the best photographs
of myself that I have seen. I want to give you one of
them," and he signed his name at the bottom of it and
gave it to me. This photograph I still have and prize
very highly. In those days at college it was customary
to send out a report of the student's standing at the end
of each month, so that my father received every month
a report of my standing at college. During the first
year I was at college my report was very good. It was
customary to post on Saturday in the South Hall a list
of the students with their relative standing, and I
remember that F. J. Snyder, whose name was Flavius
Joseph Snyder, always stood at the top of the list. He
had been a Confederate soldier and was somewhat
older than the rest of us and came from West Virginia.
I also remember that I was very frequently second on
that list, and always had a good standing. During the
session of 1 866-67 ^ ^^^ ^ good many studies and there-
RECOLLECTIONS OF GENERAL LEE 47
fore my standing was not so high, although very fair.
I remember a letter that General Lee wrote to my father,
telling him that I was undertaking to do too much
"notwithstanding excellent capacity." I prized this
letter very much, but this and other letters from Gen-
eral Lee were burned in my office in San Francisco
in 1906, the time of the great earthquake and fire, and
has been regarded as an irreparable loss to me.
I met General Lee a number of times after I had left
college, and he seemed to remember me and my name
and was always very kind and cordial to me.
I remember when I was at the University of Virginia
I heard one day that he was going to pass the university
on a train, on the way to Richmond. As the train
always stopped a few minutes at the university station
I went down to the station determined to see him. I
got on the car there and rode down to Charlottesville.
This was the last time I had the pleasure of meeting
him personally.
Therefore, you can well understand that the sweetest
and dearest memories of my college career, and of my
life in fact, are associated with General Lee. I do not
remember ever passing him upon the street or on the
campus at Lexington but that he stopped and spoke
to me often about some commonplace matter, but just
enough to show me that he knew I was a student there
and that I was one of his wards in the college, and
enough to assure me that he felt an interest in me as he
did in all the other boys. All that I know personally
of General Lee is these little personal contacts.
48 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
When I determined to enter the University of Vir-
ginia in 1868, I thought that as I had been at Washing-
ton College it would be proper for me to ta,ke to the
University of Virginia a letter of commendation, or at
least some statement to the effect that I had been a
student at Washington College and what my character
and standing were there; and I had a very lovely letter
from General Lee, which came very promptly in an-
swer to my request for the same, commending me to the
officers of the University of Virginia. That letter,
unfortunately, also went in the fire.
Of course, I have read a great deal about General Lee
and have read many books relating to him, but if I
had written a biography of General Lee when I was
eighteen years old, the above is about what I would
have said. These memories come back to me with the
spirit of a boy, not as a treatise on history or ethics or
biography. I do not know that these random thoughts
will be of any advantage to you, but since I have always
been loyal to Washington and Lee University, and am
willing to say and do whatever I can in memory of our
immortal Lee, I write these thoughts to show my
loyalty to the cause.
TRIBUTE OF AN APPRECIATIVE STUDENT
By W. W. Estill, Lexington, Kentucky
I HAD a cousin, who at the time of my reaching
Lexington was an assistant professor. He kindly
allowed me to become an inmate of his home.
As he was a resident of the town, an ex-Confederate
officer, and well acquainted socially, I was soon by
him introduced to all the homes where he visited. I
well recollect my first visit to the home of General Lee.
Just before we entered the house my cousin said, "It is
the custom here to introduce a stranger to the first mem-
ber of the family we meet and after that you will allow
that member to do as seems best." I met Miss Mildred
Lee that night and was charmed with her manner and
conversation. Subsequently I met all the family and
was more than once invited to social gatherings at the
house. I was never before so close to General Lee. I
was struck with his looks and bearing. I thought then
and still think that he was by far the handsomest man
I ever saw. His splendid physique, grand carriage
without "airs," universal politeness, and evident kind
heart, impressed me greatly, and to this day I can see
him as plainly as then.
Every afternoon, rain or shine, he mounted "Travel-
ler" and had a ride. He always, as I recall him, wore a
double-breasted gray coat, buttoned to the throat, with
so GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
black buttons, top boots, a pair of spurs, gauntlet
gloves, a large light-colored hat with a military cord
around it. His poise was perfect, and I enjoyed looking
at him every time he passed, and I suspect I stopped
and looked at him hundreds of times.
He was very approachable, easy to talk to and always
appeared willing to hear. I have seen little girls go up
to him on the street, take his hand, and walk and talk
with him as with a parent.
Once a Scottish gentleman, a Mr. McCrea, I think,
came to Lexington and called on General Lee. He
proposed to give a lecture at the Franklin Library and
turn over the proceeds to its treasurer. I went to hear
him and fortunately had a seat by the side of General
Lee. The lecture was very humorous and excited Gen-
eral Lee to laughter several times. This did not attract
attention, but being so close to him I could see his
body quiver with suppressed laughter. He thoroughly
enjoyed it, and said so afterwards.
A young man from Baltimore was drowned just below
the dam in the river while I was there. As soon as I
heard of it, I instinctively wanted to see General Lee,
so I went directly to his house in company with a
companion, and we asked what we could do. I do not
now remember his words, but he seemed to be master
of the situation, quickly told us what to do and we
passed out. How very careful and thoughtful he was
of the students can best be illustrated by telling how he
treated me when my mother died. I was too far from
home to attempt to return when I received a telegram
TRIBUTE OF AN APPRECIATIVE STUDENT 51
announcing her death. I handed it to my roommate,
asked him to take it to General Lee and tell him I
would not attend any classes for two or three days. At
the end of the month when my report came out there
was not a single absent mark against me. This can only
be accounted for by General Lee's going to each pro-
fessor to whom I recited and telling him. To me this is
a remarkable illustration of his kindness to and care
for the boys entrusted to him. If I had no other reason,
I would love him for that yet.
Everyone obeyed him, not because they feared but
because they loved him, and I don't think there was one
of the about 800 boys who were there but would have
died defending him if necessary. I was never called to
his office, but I have heard the boys who were say his
admonitions were as tender as a mother's and his
warnings and instructions always fatherly and wise. In
all the years that have passed I have thought of him
and to this day the things I learned from listening
to his conversation, watching his bearing and example
I carry with me as a most important part of my
education.
Some years ago I visited the rooms of the Virginia
Historical Society at Richmond chiefly to see if there
was on its walls a good likeness of General Lee. I am
sorry to say that I did not see one that pleased me and
so told the lady in charge. I have a picture of him,
which he gave me and to which I saw him attach his
autograph.
I don't want to close this bad sketch without telling
52 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
of a meeting General Lee had with one of his old soldiers
in Richmond, Virginia, a few months after the surren-
der. His daughter. Miss Mildred Lee, told me this
incident and said that she witnessed it. She and her
father were sitting one day in the back of the front hall
when the door bell rang. Her father walked to the door
and opened it. There stood in the door a long, tall,
lean man, dressed in homespun and his shoes and lower
part of his trousers covered with dust. He grabbed the
General's extending hand and spoke about as follows:
"General Lee, I followed you four years and done the
best I knowed how. Me and my wife live on a little
farm away up on the Blue Ridge mountains. We heard
the Yankees wasn't treating you right, and I come
down to see 'bout it. If you will come up thar we will
take care of you the best we know how as long as we
live." Before this was over the soldier held both of
General Lee's hands and tears were dropping from the
eyes of each. Pretty soon General Lee released one of
his hands and reached out and took up a box containing
a suit of clothes that had never been opened and spoke
about as follows: "My friend, I don't need a thing.
My friends all over the country have been very kind and
have sent me more clothes than I can possibly use, so
I want to thank you for coming and give you this new
suit." The man snatched his hand from General Lee,
crossed his arms, straightened himself up and said,
"General Lee, I can't take nothin' oflFen you." After
a few moments he relaxed, put one hand on the box and
said, "Yes, I will. General, I will carry them back home,
TRIBUTE OF AN APPRECIATIVE STUDENT 53
put them away and when I die the boys will put them
on me."
This has nothing to do with his college life, but it is
too good to die. His own daughter told me of it and I
am sure it is true. I have never seen it in print, so
presume it has never been printed.
I have taught my sons — I have no daughters — my
friends and my neighbors to love General Lee and honor
his memory. I have never seen his equal upon this
earth and never expect to. What he was, I ardently
wish all men could be.
REFLECTIONS OF A LEE ALUMNUS
By Judge Robert Ewing, Nashville, Tennessee
IT is my recollection, though it has been a long
time since I studied classical literature, that when
Queen Dido commanded ^neas to describe to her
what had taken place at Troy, the old hero said that
in doing so she ordered him "to renew his grief." At
least, that is the way my dear old professor of Latin,
Carter J. Harris, of blessed memory, used to require
me to translate those lines of Virgil. How different is
my feeling from that of the Trojan leader when, at
your request, I attempt to send a few lines embodying
some of the memories of the years 1867-8, which I
spent at Washington College, filled as they were with
the keenest pleasure.
When I read General Lee's modestly couched agree-
ment to accept from the trustees the presidency of the
college, and thus to continue to serve his country in a
different, though equally as great a way as he had just
ceased to serve it, I was, though a mere lad and wholly
unprepared for entry, fired with the desire to serve
under him, and, if possible, learn to know him as he
was, and catch from him some inspiration.
My father had died in Atlanta in 1864, serving the
same cause which General Lee had served. His fortune
had been swept away at the fall of Nashville, and I had
REFLECTIONS OF A LEE ALUMNUS S5
been compelled to work to support myself. By hard
work I had saved a little fund and felt that I could not
better invest it than by going to Lexington and placing
myself under General Lee. Though I have since sadly
realized that I did not study while there as I should
have done, and as the General was solicitous to have all
who attended do, I count not as lost the time spent
there, for at my impressionable age and with my intense
feeling, simply to have met General Lee and to have
watched so noble a hero daily performing such high
duties, was almost equivalent to the beginning, at least,
of acquiring a liberal education.
A majority of the students were young men who had,
four years before, entered the Southern Army as mere
boys. They had served as soldiers under General Lee,
and at that time had the spirit of grown men. They
needed no spur to endeavor, other than their reverence
for General Lee and their own determination to seize
upon the only opportunity existing to prepare them-
selves for useful lives. That they worked to a purpose,
their after careers in life, some of which I have kept up
with pretty closely, clearly demonstrated; in fact, the
spirit of all was admirable.
But little attention was paid to dress, or the securing
of personal comforts. Students knew the strained
financial situation of their home people at that time, and
were too proud to call for any but the most necessary
aid. Under the circumstances, entrance to the college
was made easier then than it is or should be now. The
faculty consisted of men of ability and strong common
S6 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
sense, whose sole purpose seemed to be to take hold
vigorously of the situation as it existed, and without any
sort of friction they supported General Lee very whole-
heartedly in his purposes.
Though the General himself had expressed some
doubt as to his suitability to serve as president, no one
else, I am sure, ever had occasion to feel that he was
other than the ideal executive. The college started out
lacking money, of course; but the services of very able
men were then to be obtained for comparatively small
compensation — men who truly appreciated what the
times called for and what General Lee was seeking to
accomplish. They were loyal to the core, both to him
and to the college. Then, too, it was not a difficult
matter for so great a leader of men and so accomplished
a scholar to marshal us the way he desired us to go. We
were not exactly afraid of the General, but we were so
unwilling to do anything which would justly merit his
censure that this respect really amounted to fear. I
never remember to have seen him smile. He seemed
borne down by an overwhelming sorrow, the nature of
which all knew. Besides, he was gravely intent on
what he regarded as very grave duties. I do not mean
to convey the idea that he was austere or loftily un-
approachable. Far from it! In a smiling way, I would
say that he only seemed so to those whose low marks in
their studies caused him to send for them for "personal
consultation." It is needless to say that such interviews
generally ended with pretty sincere promises on the
part of those sent for to do better. I do not remember a
REFLECTIONS OF A LEE ALUMNUS 57
single case where a student actually sought to deceive
him, though many culprits came away from his office
with his signed photographs. That was quite a popular,
transparent dodge, though such souvenirs were really
very much prized by the boys and their home people as
well. I remember sending one to my sister, and one to
another fellow's sister, though I am not going to say
what was the exact occasion for my purchasing them at
Miley's photograph gallery. I will admit, though, that
the General's close scrutiny of the progress being made
by each student was such that he did not overlook
even me.
Self-confidence in his ability to do great things in a
great way may possibly have appeared to some to have
been lacking in General Lee, but this was only an
appearance easily accounted for by his excessive mod-
esty. He knew what he had accomplished as a military
leader and what ability under such adversities had been
required. He knew that he could perform efficiently
the duties of president of the college, or he certainly
would not have accepted the office. It was not with
him a mere lending of his great name to an institution
engaged in a great cause which he himself had been
strongly advocating — the education of Southern youth.
His hesitant acceptance was simply an honest notice to
the trustees not to expect too much of him in purely
technical matters. I venture to say that the most
trained executive living at that time could not have
accomplished as much good as he did, simply because
he had the power to bring out, and did bring out, the
58 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
very best that there was in every student. He individ-
ually was able to do this because of the profound
esteem in which he was held by all. I believe the work
was agreeable to him, because he knew that the people
he loved were earnestly seeking that which he knew to
be to their best interests. I believe that those young
men who went from the halls of Washington College, the
University of Virginia, and other institutions, had very
much to do with the recovery of the South and getting
her on the plane she now occupies before the world.
As soon as the recumbent statue of the General was
finished and placed in the chapel, I obtained a large
photograph of it, and it has ever since hung in my hall as
one of my prized possessions. I see it daily, but I
never gaze upon it without feeling that I was indeed
fortunate to have known in life The Ideal Man of
THE World, for such I always considered him.
REMINISCENCES OF GENERAL LEE AND
WASHINGTON COLLEGE
By Richard W. Rogers, Zebulon, Georgia
EARLY in September, 1867, a party of young
men composed of David L. Anderson, who
died as a Methodist Missionary in China;
W. W. Collins, Louis Bond, John Powers, J. Frank
Rogers, J. W. Lockett and the writer left Macon,
'irgia, to enter Washington College. We went via
Richmond to Lynchburg, where we took a canal boat
for the remaining thirty miles of the journey. This
canal trip was a novel experience for us. The boat was
propelled by mule power, the mules walking along the
tow path on the bank. In spite of the new experience,
the trip was slow and tedious.
When we reached Lexington, we sought Dr. Kirk-
patrick, professor of moral philosophy, to whom we had
letters of introduction from Dr. David Wills, a Presby-
terian minister of Macon. Dr. Kirkpatrick became a
true friend to the "Macon club" and remained so as
long as we were in college. He soon secured board for us
at the home of an elect Virginia lady, Mrs. Estill. The
next morning, with some trepidation, we repaired to
General Lee's office to matriculate. He received us
very graciously, made inquiries about our studies, and
the classes we expected to enter. We were somewhat
6o GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
awed in the presence of "the great Virginian," so we
answered in rather few words. We were all greatly
relieved, however, to know that our certificates from
Professors R. M. McClellan and R. A. Slaughter, our
Macon instructors, would admit us without examination
to the clashes for which we applied. It is a source of
pleasure to recall that each one of our number made a
creditable record in all his work.
I have often been asked about General Lee as a
teacher. He heard no classes; in fact, I never saw him
enter a recitation room, except during the intermediate
and final examinations. These examinations lasted
from nine in the morning until the last man handed in
his papers, which in some instances was near midnight.
Some of the professors served lunch at noon; in other
rooms we fasted. General Lee would come in during
the day and sit an hour or two, but took no part. The
examinations were both oral and written; I stood
several oral ones in his presence. He knew the class
standing of every student, and there were over four
hundred of us. On inquiry of a father once as to his
son's standing. General Lee replied: "He is careful not
to injure his health by too much study." Among my
most highly prized possessions is a letter from him to my
father, Dr. C. Rogers, in regard to my class standing.
Inquiries are often made of me about General Lee
as a disciplinarian. Never was there a body of young
men under finer control, and yet there was never any
evidence of control. General Lee's slightest wish was
law for the student body. We all honored and respected
GENERAL LEE AND WASHINGTON COLLEGE 6i
him, and obeyed, yet no word was ever said of disci-
pline. At the end of each month, a list of names was
published on the bulletin board with the request to call
at General Lee's office. These were the boys who were
not making good, either in class standing or in deport-
ment. Each one was interviewed privately, no one on
the outside ever knowing what passed. It was the
rarest thing that a student needed a second interview.
In a few instances, young men were quietly sent home,
and no mention made of it in public. I once asked a
student what General Lee said to him in his interview.
He declared that he did not remember, but said that
he talked to him like a father. He said: "I was so
frightened when I first went in that I forgot to say
'Good morning.' "
About the only mischief the boys ever got into was an
occasional callithump or mock serenade. It was a
noisy time sure enough, as we used horns, fifes, tin pans,
bells and so on. The entire town was visited and the
citizens seemed to enjoy it, too. No property was ever
damaged, nobody ever hurt, though night was some-
times made hideous. Innocent pranks were often
played on the new boys, especially by the "Sons of
Confucius." However, there was never any hazing.
There were two literary societies, the Graham and
the Washington. I belonged to the former. We met
every Saturday night and generally closed about
twelve. Some of the boys were fine debaters. How we
boys were thrilled by the eloquence of George B. Peters
and the remarkable logic of Clifton Breckenridge ! The
62 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
entire student body belonged to these societies and the
deepest interest was taken.
There were four churches in Lexington then. Gen-
eral Lee, by the way, was a devout Episcopalian.
General Pendleton was rector of the Episcopal church;
Dr. Samuel Rogers was pastor of the Methodist church;
Dr. J. William Jones, of Confederate fame, was pastor
of the Baptist church, and Dr. John Pratt was pastor of
the Presbyterian church. The Presbyterian church was
the largest. Most of the students attended it, even
those belonging to other denominations. On one
occasion General Pendleton at a vestry meeting com-
plained to General Lee that the Episcopal students did
not attend their church as they should. He said, "even
my son goes to the Presbyterian church; I suppose he is
attracted by Dr. Pratt's eloquence." "I rather think,"
replied General Lee, " that the attraction is not so much
Dr. Pratt's eloquence as it is Dr. Pratt's Grace," re-
ferring to his attractive daughter of that name who was
a favorite of the students. Rev. H. Waddell Pratt, a
worthy son of a noble father, is now pastor of the
Presbyterian church in Abbeville, S. C.
Our commencements drew immense crowds; the
orator was always a man of national fame. R. A.
Holland delivered on such an occasion the most schol-
arly address I ever heard. Sometimes the speakers
eulogized General Lee; this was always offensive to him.
In personal appearance, General Lee was a fine
specimen of Southern manhood. His manner was
grave and dignified. As I recall, I never saw him laugh.
GENERAL LEE AND WASHINGTON COLLEGE 63
I used to meet him daily after the day's work was over,
mounted on his old gray warhorse, accompanied by his
youngest daughter, Miss Mildred. As they passed up
the streets of Lexington, he had a word of greeting for
every one.
I shall never forget the last time I saw him. Just after
commencement in June, 1869, a crowd of us boarded the
stage, about nine o'clock at night, for Goshen where we
were to take the train for our distant homes. The stage
stopped in front of the Lee home, the driver informing
us that one of General Lee's daughters was to be a
passenger. While we were waiting, the other boys
decided to go in and bid General Lee good-bye, I alone
remaining in the stage. He met them and invited them
in. He chatted with them awhile, then, on learning
that I was in the stage, he came out and spent the
remainder of the time with me. Boy-like, I was very
proud of this.
General Lee came to Washington College at a crisis,
both for himself and for the college. As he had been
impoverished by the war, his property confiscated, his
ancestral home at Arlington made a national cemetery,
it was necessary that he seek employment. Numerous
positions were offered him at fine salaries, simply for the
use of his name. But he turned from all of these. He
wanted work, not charity. In Washington College, the
man and the opportunity met. Her halls were empty,
her faculty scattered, her treasury empty, her equip-
ment deficient. At this crisis General Lee came. He
opened and repaired the buildings, gathered a faculty of
64 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
thoroughly equipped men, and then waited for students.
And they came, from every part of the South, and even
from the North. Under his wise administration, Wash-
ington College rose from the ashes of her poverty, and
from a small denominational college grew into a splen-
did university, the inspiration being the lofty char-
acter of her president. While I was there a magnificent
chapel was built, which afterwards became the "Lee
Memorial chapel." His office was in the basement, near
the mausoleum where he was buried.
To the few of my schoolmates left I send greeting. I
have pleasant recollections of George B. Peters, John
Martin, S. R. Cockrill, Ruperto Gonzales, and others.
I am proud of the fact that in my youth I came in touch
with Robert E. Lee, great in war and sublime in peace.
A COLLEGE BOY'S OBSERVATION OF
GENERAL LEE
By Mr. John B. Collyar, Nashville, Tenn.
The following contribution was published in the Confederate Veteran^
I, 265 (1893). It is here reproduced not only because of its historical in-
terest but because the volume of the publication in which it appeared is no
longer accessible to the general public. — Editor.
A FEW years after General Lee accepted the
presidency of the then Washington College, I
was sent to be entered in the preparatory
department, along with an older brother who was to
enter college. The morning after we reached Lexington
we repaired to the office of General Lee, situated in the
college building, for the purpose of matriculation and
receiving instructions as to the duties devolving upon us
as students. I entered the office with reverential awe,
expecting to see the great warrior, whose fame then
encircled the civilized globe, as I had pictured him in my
own imagination. General Lee was alone, looking over
a paper. He arose as we entered, and received us with a
quiet, gentlemanly dignity that was so natural and easy
and kind that the feeling of awe left me at the threshold
of his door. General Lee had but one manner in his
intercourse with men. It was the same to the peasant
as to the prince, and the student was received with the
easy courtliness that would have been bestowed on the
greatest imperial dignitary of Europe.
66 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
When we had registered my brother asked the Gen-
eral for a copy of his rules. General Lee said to him,
"Young gentleman, we have no printed rules. We
have but one rule here, and it is that every student must
be a gentleman." I did not, until after years, fully
realize the comprehensiveness of his remark, and how
completely it covered every essential rule that should
govern the conduct and intercourse of men. I do not
know that I could define the impression that General
Lee left on my mind that morning, for I was so dis-
appointed at not seeing the warrior that my imagination
had pictured, that my mind was left in a confused state
of inquiry as to whether he was the man whose fame had
filled the world. He was so gentle, kind, and almost
motherly, in his bearing, that I thought there must be
some mistake about it. At first glance General Lee's
countenance was stern, but the moment his eye met
that of his entering guest it beamed with a kindness that
at once established easy and friendly relations, but not
familiar. The impression he made on me was, that he
was never familiar with any man.*
I saw General Lee every day during the session in
chapel (for he never missed a morning service) and
passing through the campus to and from his home to
his office. He rarely spoke to any one — occasionally
would say something to one of the boys as he passed,
but never more than a word. After the first morning in
* Dr. Reid White, son of Professor White of the Washington College
faculty, tells me that whenever his father was asked if he was not "intimate
with General Lee," his invariable reply was: "No, sir, no man was great
enough to be intimate with General Lee." — Editor.
A COLLEGE BOY'S OBSERVATION OF GENERAL LEE 67
his office he never spoke to me but once. He stopped me
one morning as I was passing his front gate and asked
howl was getting on with my studies. I replied to his
inquiry, and that was the end of the conversation. He
seemed to avoid contact with men, and the impression
which he made on me, seeing him every day, and which
has since clung to me, strengthening the impression
then made, was, that he was bowed down with a broken
heart. I never saw a sadder expression than General
Lee carried during the entire time I was there. It
looked as if the sorrow of a whole aation had been
collected in his countenance, and as if he was bearing
the grief of his whole people. It never left his face, but
was ever there to keep company with the kindly smile.
He impressed me as being the most modest man I
ever saw in his contact with men. History records how
modestly he wore his honors, but I refer to the char-
acteristic in another sense. I dare say no man ever
offered to relate a story of questionable delicacy in his
presence. His very bearing and presence produced an
atmosphere of purity that would have repelled the
attempt. As for any thing like publicity, notoriety or
display, it was absolutely painful to him. Colonel Ruff,
the old gentleman with whom I boarded, told me an
anecdote about him that I think worth preserving.
General Lee brought with him to Lexington the old
iron-gray horse that he rode during the war. A few
days after he had been there he road up Main street on
his old war horse, and as he passed up the street the
citizens cheered him. After passing the ordeal he
68 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
hurried back to his home near the college. . . . He
was incapable of affectation. The demonstration was
simply offensive to his innate modesty, and doubtless
awakened the memories of the past that seemed to
weigh continually on his heart. The old iron-gray
horse was the privileged character at General Lee's
home. He was permitted to remain in the front yard
where the grass was greenest and freshest, notwith-
standing the flowers and shrubbery. General Lee was
more demonstrative toward that old companion in
battle than seemed to be in his nature in his intercourse
with men. I have often seen him, as he would enter his
front gate, leave the walk, approach the old horse, and
caress him for a minute or two before entering his front
door, as though they bore a common grief in their
memory of the past.*
* Mr. Senseney, the village blacksmith, who died in Lexington in Dec,
1915, told the editor of this volume that General Lee always took Traveller
to the shop to be shod, never trusting him to the care of a servant while
undergoing this ordeal. As the faithful old war horse was spirited and ner-
vous, the General always stood by his side while he was being shod, talking
to him and enjoining patience on the part of the blacksmith. On these occa-
sions the General would say: "Have patience with Traveller; he was made
nervous by the bursting of bombs around him during the war." — Editor.
AN INCIDENT IN THE LIFE OF GENERAL
R. E. LEE
By J. W. EwiNG, Rome, Georgia
A NY incident connected with the life of the great
/-% Lee will, I apprehend, be of interest to your
readers. The writer, in his young manhood, in
company with many others was a student at Washing-
ton College, Lexington, Virginia, now known the world
over as Washington and Lee University.
The great soldier, after the close of the Civil War, had
accepted the presidency of this college, and his name
had brought from all parts of the South a great number
of the youths, — among them, eleven young Tennesseans
from Nashville and its vicinity. Jno. M. Graham, the
father of our John and Sam, was one of these. We had
reached Lexington some three weeks before the opening
of the term and to amuse ourselves determined to go
over to the Rockbridge Baths, a famous resort in that
day, under the management of Major Harman.
While we were stopping at a spring on the side of the
road to drink and rest, who should ride up but General
Lee on old "Traveller." He stopped and asked for a
drink. We introduced ourselves and handed him the
letters of introduction we had brought from home,
written by General Ewell and other of his former
officers. These he read without dismounting, asked
70 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
where we were going and upon being told, took from his
pocket an envelope and resting it on the pummel of his
saddle, wrote this to Major Harman: "My Dear Major.
These are some of my new boys. Please take care of
them. Yours, etc. R. E. Lee." Armed with this, it's
safe to say that nothing was too good for us during our
stay at the Baths, and when we were leaving and wanted
to pay our hotel bill, we were informed by the
clerk that Major Harman had told him we owed
nothing.
After the term opened and winter had set in, Graham,
Allison, Cockrill and I rented a private room in the
college buildings where we could study and keep warm
between recitations. We would each in turn buy a load
of wood, as needed. This was sawed into stove lengths
and piled up in the corner of the room. The winter was
a bitter one, with snow on the ground for eleven weeks
successively. It had been Graham's turn to buy a cord
of hickory. This was disappearing faster than ever. So
fast, in fact, that all realized our stove was not the only
one that was being fed. The college wood pile was
nearly 200 feet from the building and the janitor lazy,
and Graham had his suspicion. He selected a round
hickory stick, bored into it with a big auger, filled the
hole with powder and sealed it with clay. This was put
back on the wood pile by Graham, who warned us
under no circumstances to put that particular stick in
our stove. The next morning early there was a tre-
mendous explosion in the room of the professor of
modern languages, Dr. Edward S. Joynes. His stove
AN INCIDENT IN THE LIFE OF LEE 71
was blown to pieces and the college building set on fire.
Of course, it created something of a sensation.*
Before the services in chapel, General Lee prefaced
his remarks with the statement that the faculty had
promulgated no rules for student government, that each
and every one was presumed to be a gentleman and that
by tacit agreement the control of the students was left
to the student body and the individual sense of honor
of each student. He then said he would be glad to
have any one who knew about the explosion call at his
office during the forenoon. Graham knew, or felt, that
it was his "depth charge" that had done the work, so at
his request, about 1 1 A. M. he and I together went to
the General's office.
Lord Wolseley, the commander of the English armies,
was in Lexington, where he had come to pay his respects
to our General. Seeing that the General was engaged,
we were about to leave when we were called back and
asked to take seats in the adjoining room, where we
could hear everything that was said. I remember the
Englishman asked General Lee whom he thought the
greatest military genius developed by the war, to which
General Lee answered without hesitation "General
N. B. Forrest, of Tennessee, whom I have never met.
* The following interesting corroborative statement is taken from the MS.
Diary of Dr. M. W. Humphreys: "Tuesday, Dec. 4, (1866) . . . Joynes
had an explosion in his room which he regarded as a malicious attempt at a
great crime and made fuss in proportion; but it turns out that a Mr. Graham
plugged some wood with powder for some person who was stealing it occa-
sionally, and the negroes stole the piece and put it in Joynes' fire-place —
a good sell for Joynes." — Editor.
72 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
He accomplished more with fewer troops than any
other officer on either side."
When Lord Wolseley took his departure we were
called in. Graham at once said: "I heard, General,
what you said this morning before chapel." He then
told about his missing wood and the course he had pur-
sued to find out who was stealing it, winding up his
remarks, "But, General, I didn't know that it was
Prof. Joynes."
This was one of the very few times I've seen the
General laugh. To close the incident he said, "Well,
Mr. Graham, your plan to find out who was taking
your wood was a good one, but your powder charge was
too heavy. The next time use less powder."
General Lee frequently had students whom he knew
at his home to tea. His family made no false preten-
sions, but lived simply. The town of Lexington in my
day was a kind of Mecca where the world came to pay
tribute of love and respect to the living Lee and the
dead Jackson. This little town in the Virginia moun-
tains is now the resting place of both.
In common with the great body of the youths of the
South my reverence for him was a matter of inheritance.
We revered his name little short of worship, and three
years of association with him increased rather than
diminished this feeling. He was one of a very few men
I have known who impressed me as being GREAT. I
know of no other word that expresses the idea I wish
to convey.
I was particularly fortunate in having been armed
AN INCIDENT IN THE LIFE OF LEE 73
with a letter of introduction from General Ewell, who
had married a Nashville lady, and whose son, Major
Campbell Brown, was a particular friend of the Gen-
eral's daughter. Miss Mildred. This gave me an ac-
quaintance with the family that made it very pleasant
to a boy away from home, and I have always felt
honored in having had this good fortune. This ac-
quaintance was of course not intimate, but gave me an
insight into a circle, that was as charming as it was
simple and unpretentious. General Lee was not a man
who carried his heart upon his sleeve, yet he had the
happy faculty of making those around him at ease dur-
ing his hours of relaxation.
I think I can safely say, without fear of contradiction,
that he was both beloved and revered by the faculty,
the citizens of the town, and the entire student body.
Probably he was more on terms of intimacy with the
Rector of Grace Church, who had been, as I now re-
member, the head of the Artillery Branch of the Army
of Northern Virginia, than with any one else. They were
often seen together, walking or riding. The General
was a most regular communicant at his church, which
was then located near a corner of the college campus.
I never heard of any code of laws or discipline for the
student body. All knew they were regarded as gentle-
men, and this feeling acted upon the students and in its
results must have been gratifying to him.
All felt an interest in old "Traveller." If there was
ever any unbending it was towards this old horse. They
were friends, and it was very pretty to see them to-
74 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
gether. Old Traveller was always at home in the front
yard, and acted like a sentinel on guard. One could
almost say that the toss of his head, whenever the
General appeared, was both a military salute and an
expression of love and admiration for his great master.
Certain it is there was love on both sides.
In this I do not pretend to give you an analysis of one
of the great characters of history, but simply the
impressions made upon one of the many youths of the
South, who felt and still feel a proprietary interest in his
greatness and immortality.
RECOLLECTIONS OF GENERAL ROBERT E.
LEE'S ADMINISTRATION AS PRESIDENT OF
WASHINGTON COLLEGE, VIRGINIA
By I Edward Clifford Gordon, St. Louis, Missouri
The Recollections herewith given were, for the most part, reduced to writ-
ing soon after the author's ofiBcial connection with General Lee and Washing-
ton College ceased. Subsequently they were enlarged and delivered as a
lecture in Missouri. For the publication of them, now authorized by the
board of trustees of Washington and Lee University, they have been revised,
and a few interesting incidents and anecdotes omitted, because it is beUeved
that General Lee himself, if he could be consulted, would so advise on ac-
count of his respect for the wishes of others.
SOME years before the Confederate war. South-
ern Episcopalians projected what at that time
was the most comprehensive educational scheme
which had been proposed by any church in this
country. General Winfield Scott was asked if he
knew of a suitable man to be placed at the head of the
enterprise. He replied: "Yes, I know a man who
would suit, but you cannot get him because the army
needs him. He is Colonel Robert E. Lee of Virginia."
It is probable that General Lee's election to the
presidency of Washington College may be traced to a
remark made by his eldest daughter in Staunton, Vir-
ginia, in the early summer of 1865, in the presence of
Colonel Bolivar Christian, who was a member of the
board of trustees of the college. Miss Lee said: "The
76 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
people of the South are offering my father everything
but work; and work is the only thing he will accept at
their hands." So far as I can learn, Miss Lee, at that
time, was not aware of Colonel Christian's connection
with the college; and her remark was not made with any
reference to the vacant presidency; but it was made a
short time before a meeting of the trustees, and sug-
gested to Colonel Christian the idea of securing General
Lee for that position. The trustees once seized of the
idea did not rest until it was realized. Judge Brocken-
brough, then rector of the board, was sent to inform
General Lee of his election; and, after full consideration,
he accepted the position. In October, 1865, the new
president rode quietly into Lexington on his favorite
horse, Traveller, took the oath of office and entered
upon the discharge of his duties.
The hopes of the trustees were soon realized. Money
was given to refit the college buildings and grounds.
Students came from all parts of the South. The faculty
was increased; extensive additions were made to the
courses of study, to the apparatus and the library; and
much needed improvements to the campus were begun
and carried on according to a well-considered plan.
During two years of General Lee's administration I
served the college as proctor, secretary to the faculty
and librarian; and one year as treasurer. I was also a
sort of secretary to the president, helping him with his
mail and otherwise in routine matters as he might
direct. But I must add that General Lee answered
most of his letters with his own hand, and that my
RECOLLECTIONS OF LEE'S ADMINISTRATION ^^
duties as secretary were confined chiefly to copying
letters in an old-fashioned letter-press book. Still I was
brought into daily intercourse with the president. I had
many, and at times unusual, opportunities of observing
him under various aspects and conditions, and of com-
paring him with other men, some of whom were dis-
tinguished for their abilities and learning. I heard him
express his opinion on a great variety of subjects. I
saw him in his home, in the privacy of his office, at the
meetings of the faculty, in his intercourse with the
students, on the commencement platform. After two
years of official relationship which was cordial and
pleasant from the beginning to the end, I left the
college to pursue my professional studies with the con-
viction that in all the elements of true greatness General
Lee was far in advance of any man I had ever known. I
have known many great and good men since; but I
have had no good reason to modify the judgment I
then formed. If extensive knowledge, if far-seeing
wisdom, if a wondrous self-control, if ability to manage
great enterprises and to master minute details, if the
spirit of meekness and of self-sacrifice, if simplicity in
thought and speech, if courtesy and an exquisite sense
of honor, if ability to estimate other men and to mold
them to his will, are elements of greatness, then General
Lee was, and is, my beau-ideal of the highest type of
Christian gentleman. I may add that this is the esti-
mate formed of him by all who were so fortunate as to
know him intimately.
Just here it may be worth while to correct some
78 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
popular errors in regard to him. First as to his size and
personal appearace. He was strikingly handsome, but
not a very large man. I have read accounts of him
which described him as being over six feet high and
weighing over two hundred pounds. He stood five feet
and eleven inches in his cavalry boots. His maximum
weight was one hundred and seventy pounds. He
carried himself very erect; had broad shoulders and
narrow hips. His neck was short and very thick, form-
ing a fit support for a massive head. His arms were
long, his hands large and his feet small. These features
gave him the appearance when on horseback or seated at
a table of being a very large man. The same impression
is made by half-length photographs of him; whereas,
among men of the Scotch-Irish race in the Valley of
Virginia where I knew him, he was constantly over-
topped by men taller and heavier than himself. His
clothes were always well fitting and extremely neat. He
did not use tobacco in any form, nor partake of intoxi-
cating liquors, except an occasional glass of wine. He
never used slang nor told a joke which his wife and
daughters might not have listened to with perfect
propriety.
It is also supposed by many that General Lee was a
man of an easy temper, naturally calm, mild and gentle,
with no special propensity to violent expression. This
was not the case. He had unquestionably great deli-
cacy and tenderness of feeling, constantly manifested in
his regard for animals, his love for children, his con-
sideration for the distressed. But these characteristics
RECOLLECTIONS OF LEE'S ADMINISTRATION 79
were combined with what I may call a fierce and violent
temper, prone to intense expression. When I knew him
he had almost perfect control of this temper; but in the
Confederate Army it was an open secret that, when he
was organizing Virginia's forces at the beginning of the
war, he was regarded by the militia and other colonels
who brought their regiments to Richmond as a sort of
" bear," that when aroused should be avoided by wise
people. It is also certain that he was fond of war. He
deliberately chose the career of a soldier. In this
respect he was a true son of his race. He plunged with
ardor into the Mexican war. When the Federal hosts
were driven back from the heights of Fredricksburg, an
officer said to him: "Isn't it splendid?" He repHed:
"Yes; but it is well war is so terrible, or we would
become too fond of it."
There was one peculiarity of his temper which I, as
well as others, had occasion to observe. It constituted
about the only foible in his character which I could
detect. When annoyed by visitors or others he gen-
erally managed to allow the culprits to escape without
displaying his annoyance in any way. But the next
comer, unless he was unusually wary, was apt to catch
the fire. I once suffered vicariously in this way. It was
near the close of the college session; and he, like the rest
of us in office, was very busy. Some committee waited
on him soon after he entered his office in the morning;
and, after transacting their business, continued to sit
and talk with him. About dinner time they went away
and with them went the last drop of the president's
8o GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
patience. I was ignorant of the precise situation, but
also rejoiced at their departure because I desired to ask
a favor of the president. The letter-book into which
were copied the reports and letters of his office and
mine was at his residence for his use at night in the
preparation of his annual report to the board of trustees
of the college. I needed a bit of information from that
book; and as General Lee was the kindest man in the
world, I did not hesitate to ask him to make a memo-
randum from it for me. But I made my request at an
inauspicious time. He said to me very sharply: "I do
not want the book; you can come and get it whenever
you like." I at once discerned that, to use our college
slang, he had been "sat upon" by that committee, and
I hastily beat a retreat. The next morning when I
entered his office he said in his kindest manner: "Mr.
Gordon, here is that memorandum you asked me to
make for you."
It is well known that General Lee was distinguished
for mental and moral courage of the highest order.
This was conspicuously displayed in more than one
great crisis of his life. It is not so well known that he
also had what we call "nerve," or physical courage,
which never failed him. This was signally displayed in
his personal scouting adventures in the Mexican war;
and also to his staff when he passed from safe to very
dangerous positions in the terrific battles of the Confed-
erate war. One of these staff officers told me he could
never discover by any word, gesture or change of
countenance on the part of General Lee that he had any
RECOLLECTIONS OF LEE'S ADMINISTRATION 8i
consciousness of personal danger. While president of
the college he had a somewhat singular adventure which
signally displayed his "nerve." Colonel Ross had a fine
farm near Lexington and the General used to ride out to
this farm and talk "farming" with his friend. The
times were unsettled and Colonel Ross had a pack of
rather vicious dogs to protect his property from petty
thieves. These dogs were usually confined during the
day, and turned out at night. One afternoon the
Colonel seated in his hall heard these dogs barking in
his front yard. Knowing that they had no business
there, he hurried out and saw this scene: General Lee
had ridden up on Traveller, dismounted, entered the
gate, and was standing with his back to the gate, con-
fronted by several dogs, the largest and fiercest of
which stood on his hind feet with his front feet on the
General's shoulders, and their noses not six inches apart.
The General stood like a statue calmly looking into
the dog's eyes. Colonel Ross called and beat off the
dogs, and apologized for their attack. He told me that
General Lee was entirely unrufiled. He playfully
chided him for not keeping his dogs tied up in the
daytime. There was no change in his countenance;
and, in the opinion of his host, his pulse had not quick-
ened one beat a minute.
This remarkable "nerve" was also highly expressed,
in my opinion, very often during the commencement
exercises. In those days every orator, graduates and
visitors, felt called upon to refer to our President, his
career, character and reputation. The adulations at
82 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
times were not in good taste, and I used to wonder why
he did not issue a general order prohibiting all public
references to himself. Self-protection is said to be the
first law of nature. He issued no such order; and no one
could tell at the time of utterance that he heard the
references to himself. He neither smiled nor frowned.
His face was as impassive as the Sphinx. Apparently
the orators might have been commenting on the man in
the moon. But he did hear; and privately admonished
the young orators that their speeches were too long;
that their references to himself were distasteful to him;
that their reflections on the "Yankees" would provoke
ill-feeling and might injure the college; that their
compliments to the ladies had better be said in private.
His intellectual powers were as remarkable as his
"nerve." His observation was keen, minute and
accurate. His memory was marvelously retentive, and
his stores of knowledge correspondingly great and at his
instant command. He could look at a mass of
mortar and at once detect whether it had too much or
too little sand or lime in it. If a step-stone was half an
inch out of line he noticed it. He remembered every
child in Lexington whose name he had heard and whose
face he had seen. It seemed to me he knew all the cows
in Lexington; for he used to say to me, when he saw
cows grazing on the yet unfenced lawn of the college, " I
wish Mr. , and " (others whom he would name),
"would keep their cows at home." He soon came to
know all the students by name and face, their class
standing and general reputation.
RECOLLECTIONS OF LEE'S ADMINISTRATION 83
But his mind was not burdened with details. His
plans for the extension of the college were comprehen-
sive and far reaching. All the resources of his opulent
knowledge, of his varied experience, of his practical
good sense, as well as his incessant industry, were
fully used for the advancement of the institution. His
wisdom, his ability to adapt means to ends, was unsur-
passed. I have known men who knew more Latin,
Greek, mathematics and philosophy than he did; but I
never knew any one who knew men as well as he did.
There was something uncanny about his ability to read
other men's thoughts. Others as well as myself ob-
served this remarkable characteristic, as did his oppo-
nents in war. It was a common saying in Lexington:
"It is no use trying to throw dust into Marse Robert's
eyes." ^ C, and they are dress
boots. Written on the lining is the following: "R. E.
Lee, U. S. A."
While on the subject of costume, I may mention that
the General wore a colonel's uniform in the army.
There was scarcely any possibility of his ever being
mistaken for an under officer, however, but on one
occasion a subordinate seemed not to recognize him.
It was a little captain, and I have the story from an old
soldier who witnessed the incident. A road had been
very badly blocked by wagons, and General Lee,
seeing that it was impassable, rode up and ordered the
said captain to have it cleared. With an oath, the little
fellow refused to obey the command. The order was
repeated, and again disobeyed. "General Lee orders
REMINISCENCES OF GENERAL LEE 153
you to remove those wagons!" said the Commander.
And no sooner had the name fallen upon the ears of the
refractory captain than his shoulders fell upon the
wheels of the wagons with all the strength he had. My
informant, who had been highly amused at this scene
between the Southern leader and his subaltern, stated
that after the General had disappeared he approached
the captain and asked him in a whisper, "Who's that
old gem 'man you was talkin' to jest now?"
The experience of an acquaintance of mine is another
illustration of the humor of the General. When hos-
tilities were about to begin, this gentleman, in great
despondence, reported to the General that it would
require some time for the old flint-lock "shooting-irons"
of his company to be changed into percussion locks. He
was in a dilemma, and the only way that the General
could suggest to get him out of his difficulty was to
"Telegraph to Mr. Lincoln to have the war put off for
three weeks."
As far as I could judge, with the exception of the
General's family, my friend the late Professor J. J.
White, of Washington and Lee University, was the
closest person in Lexington to him. The two were
accustomed to take long rides on horseback together.
On one of these rides they were overtaken by darkness,
and had to stop overnight at a farmhouse by the road.
It so happened that there was only one vacant room in
the house and one bed in that, which, to his horror, the
professor found that he had to share with his old
commander. It had to be done, but he said that he
154 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
"would as soon have thought of sleeping with the
Archangel Gabriel as with General Lee." He lay for
the night on the very edge of the bed, and did not
sleep a wink.
While General Lee never posed himself, I thought it
would be to my advantage to secure pictures of him in
different positions. He kindly consented to go to a
photograph gallery, and I had several taken of
him.
On one other occasion during my visit to Lexington he
passed through another ordeal. Mrs. Lee, being an in-
valid, could not go to the room where the bust was
modeled. It had to be removed to her parlor, where
were assembled a number of visitors. There he was by
the good wife turned in different positions and the bust
compared with the original, all of which he submitted
to without a murmur.
The last time I ever saw General Lee was on a sum-
mer's afternoon when I called to take leave of him at his
house. A gentleman and two ladies were in the parlor
at the time. During the conversation the General made
a remark which was calculated to startle the company.
"I feel that I have an incurable disease coming on
me," he said — "old age. I would like to go to some
quiet place in the country and rest."
In my profession I meet many intelligent strangers
from all sections of this country and from abroad, all of
whom I find genuinely interested in everything con-
nected with General Lee. Those who had the privilege
of his personal acquaintance at once recognize a charac-
REMINISCENCES OF GENERAL LEE 155
ter in which were blended the noblest qualities of mind
and heart.
A few expressions of his which are so far probably
unknown tell the story of his life, and I cannot close
without adding them:
THE TEST OF A TRUE GENTLEMAN
The forbearing use of power does not only form a touchstone,
but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages
over others is the test of a true gentleman.
The power which the strong have over the weak, the magistrate
over the citizen, the employer over the employed, the educated over
the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever
over the silly — the forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or
authority, or a total absence from it when the case admits it, will
show the gentleman in plain light. The gentleman does not need-
lessly or unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have
committed against him. He can not only forgive, he can forget; and
he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which
impart sufficient strength to let the past be the past.
A true gentleman of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot
help humbling others.
To conclude, the whole is summed up in one single
remark which I shall never forget. To those who have
read that most entertaining book, Four Years with
Marse Robert^ by the late Major Robert Stiles, the
following sentence will be of interest. It forcibly indi-
cates what General Lee thought "the best thing in the
world." During the sittings I spoke of Major Stiles,
of his cleverness, his culture, his bravery and other
attractive qualities, and the General added: "and,
better than all, he is a Christian gentleman."
I have been asked whether the "Recumbent Figure"
156 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
represents "Sleep or death." The lines written by
my sister, the late Miss Sarah B. Valentine, express
the idea which I wished to convey, and you can use
them in your volume if you desire to do so. They are
as follows:
ON SEEING VALENTINE'S MONUMENTAL
FIGURE OF LEE
Lines by Miss Sarah B. Valentine
I came to weep at a sculptured tomb,
But, lo! no death was there;
For I saw Life's mystical touch illume
Each shadow of deep, sepulchral gloom
With light celestial fair:
With light celestial fair, in whose gleam
My troubled soul grew blest.
As its glory fell on the marble dream.
Of that sleeper who lay at rest.
WHAT GENERAL LEE READ AFTER THE WAR
By Franklin L. Riley, Washington and Lee University
GENERAL LEE read very few newspapers and
made little effort to inform himself about the
political storm that raged throughout the
country after the war. When he appeared before
the Reconstruction Committee of Congress in March,
1866, he knew nothing about the Stewart plan of re-
construction or the proposed Fifteenth Amendment,
then before Congress, saying "I scarcely ever read a
paper." The substance of this pending legislation had
to be explained to him before his examination could
proceed. Throughout this examination he emphasized
the fact that since the war he had lived "a very retired
life," that he had had "but little communication with
politicians" and that he knew nothing more than
from his "own observation" and from such facts as
had come to his knowledge.
With the exception of a single reference to the
Washington Star^ the New York Times ^ the Watchman^
and a few casual references to other papers, not named,
his letters never referred to current newspapers. In a
letter of October 28, 1867, he said of the Seven Weeks'
War: "At the time of the occurrence, I thought I saw
the mistake committed by the Austrians; but I did
not know all the facts." In the same letter he refused
158 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
to review a book on this war because he did not have
time to "sufficiently study the campaign." A letter
to his wife, (August 14, 1879), contains a passing
reference to the Franco-Prussian War. That he was
interested in this war more from a moral than from a
military point of view, is shown by the following ex-
tract from a letter of August 23, 1870:
"I have watched, with much anxiety, the progress of the war
between France and Germany, and without going into the merits of
the question at issue, or understanding the necessity of the recourse
to arms, I have regretted that they did not submit their differences
to the arbitration of the other Powers, as provided in the articles of
the treaty of Paris of 1856. It would have been a grand moral
victory over the passions of men, and would have so elevated the
contestants in the eyes of the present and future generations as to
have produced a beneficial effect. It might have been expecting,
however, too much from the present standard of civilization, and I
fear we are destined to kill and slaughter each other for ages to come.
... As far as I can read the accounts, the French have met with
serious reverses, which seem to have demoralized the nation and
are therefore alarming. Whatever may be the issue, I cannot help
sympathizing with the struggles of a warlike people to drive invaders
from their lands."
From these facts and many others which might be
cited, one feels warranted in saying that General Lee
spent no time after the war in the study of military
strategy or in the serious study of any of the European
wars of that day. There are many evidences that he
became a civilian in the truest sense of the word. One
will suffice: "For my own part," he wrote, "I much
enjoy the charms of civil life, and find too late that I
have wasted the best years of my existence." Yet
his life as a civilian was not one of ease. It was filled
WHAT GENERAL LEE READ AFTER THE WAR 159
with numerous exacting duties and grave responsi-
bilities which left little time for literary recreation.
The following brief extracts, taken at random from his
letters, will suffice: "I have been continuously occupied
in business relating to the institution"; "My present
duties occupy all my time"; "My duties are so con-
stant and correspondence so large, that I am unable
to keep pace with their demands"; "I cannot under-
take to do more"; "I am so tired sitting at my table
I must conclude"; "I can scarcely keep pace with my
current correspondence."
For the most part, his letters afford only negative
information about the subject-matter of his reading.
For instance, he wrote (October 25, 1865), to some
gentlemen at Hartford, Conn., "I have not read the
histories of the late war to which you refer," and to
his cousin, Dr. Charles Carter, of Philadelphia he also
wrote (April 17, 1867), that he had not read Pollard's
Lost Cause. Yet this latter book, by his fellow Vir-
ginian, editor of the Richmond Examiner^ had been
pubhshed in 1866. A few months later (October 28,
1867), he wrote to Dr. A. T. Bledsoe, then editor of the
Southern Review^ acknowledging that he had not read
an article in that magazine on the battle of Chancellors-
ville and adding, "nor have I read any of the books
published on either side since the termination of
hostilities. I have as yet felt no desire to revive my
recollections of those events, and have been satisfied
with the knowledge I possessed of what transpired."
His contempt for "catchpenny" books about the war
l6o GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
was shown by his reply to an enterprising agent who
sought his indorsement in exchange for a compli-
mentary copy of a so-called history: "You must excuse
me, Sir, I cannot recommend a book which I have not
read and never expect to read."
These statements will not warrant one in concluding
that General Lee was not interested in history. He
made personal appeals to many former Confederate
officers to record the histories of their campaigns.
He advised his daughter, Mildred: "Read history,
works of truth, not novels, and romances. Get correct
views of life and learn to see the world in its true light."
In one of his most sublime paragraphs, he said: "It is
history that teaches us to hope." In a letter expressing
a hope that Generals Beauregard and Johnston would
write histories of their campaigns, he said: "Everyone
should do all in his power to collect and disseminate
the truth, in the hope that it may find a place in history
and descend to posterity." His interest in a true
history of the war was further shown by his criticism
of a glaring inaccuracy, which, as he "learned from
others" had appeared in the works of "various authors
of the 'Life of Jackson.'"
It is interesting to note that General Lee's literary
ambitions were along the lines of history and biography.
The first of these was the preparation of a complete
history of the Army of Northern Virginia. Soon after
the surrender at Appomattox he began collecting
materials for such a work. In the summer of 1865 he
sent a circular letter to many of his old officers asking
WHAT GENERAL LEE READ AFTER THE WAR l6l
for their assistance and co-operation, saying: "I am
desirous that the bravery and devotion of the Army of
Northern Virginia be transmitted to posterity. This
is the only tribute that can be paid to the worth of its
noble officers and soldiers." Dr. J. Wm. Jones makes
the following valuable comment on this phase of
General Lee's literary activity:
"Up to his fatal illness, General Lee was busily engaged in
collecting material, and seemed very anxious to write a history of his
campaigns; but his object was to vindicate others rather than him-
self. He said to one of his generals, in a letter asking for his official
reports: 'I shall write this history, not to vindicate myself, or to
promote my own reputation, I want that the world shall know what
my poor boys, with their small numbers and scant resources, suc-
ceeded in accomplishing.' "
General Lee was more fortunate in his second literary
ambition, which was the preparation of a biographical
sketch of his father for a new edition of the life of Gen.
Henry ("Light Horse Harry") Lee. The manuscript
of this "Biography," carefully written in General
Lee's well-known chirography (105 pages), is now in a
drawer of the book-case in his office at Washington
and Lee University.* It was published by the Uni-
versity Publishing Company under the title: "Memoirs
of the War in the Southern Department of the
United States, by Henry Lee ... with Revisions
* With his characteristic modesty, General Lee said in the preface to this
book: "The incidents from which the biography has been prepared were fur-
nished to the editor of the present edition by his oldest brother, Charles
Carter Lee, so that he had only to select from the materials prepared for
him what he deemed appropriate for the purpose." But the facts as set
forth in another part of this paper will show that the editor evidently studied
the subject for himself
1 62 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
and a Biography of the Author by Robert E. Lee."
This work seems to have been finished June i, 1869,
less than eighteen months before General Lee's death.
His numerous footnote references not only in the
Biography * but throughout the volume, the latter of
which are designated by the abbreviation, "Ed.,"
indicate that his investigations were characterized by
his usual patience and thoroughness.
Were there any relaxations from these arduous
literary tasks, which evidently consumed much of
General Lee's rare intervals of leisure? I am glad to
say there were occasions when he permitted himself
to read for sheer pleasure.
In the winter of 1866 Mr. Worsley, an English ad-
mirer, contributed a copy of his translation of the
Iliad to the General's meager library. In acknowl-
edging the receipt of this book. General Lee wrote:
"Its perusal has been my evening's recreation, and I have never
enjoyed the beauty and grandeur of the poem more than as recited
by you. The translation is as truthful as powerful, and faithfully
reproduces the imagery and rhythm of the bold original. f
* These references in his biographical sketch embrace the following
books: Marshall's Life of Washington; Sparks' Life of Washington; Irving's
Life of Washington; Sparks' Correspondence of Washington; Life of Charles
Lee; Johnson's Life of Greene; Lee's Observations on the Writings of Jeferson;
Elliott's Debates; Ramsay's American Revolution, and Custis' Recollections of
Washington.
t Does General Lee's appreciative reference to the "original" convey the
idea that he was sufficiently well versed in the Greek language to appreciate
"the imagery and rhythm" of the Iliad? Undoubtedly, since General Lee
could not perpetrate a fraud by pretending to have accomplishments which
he did not possess. His biographers give an account of his early training
under Mr. W. B. Leary, an Irish teacher, from whom, before entering West
Point, he ".acquired that knowledge of the classics and fondness for them
WHAT GENERAL LEE READ AFTER THE WAR 1 63
"The undeserved compliment to myself in prose and verse on the
first leaves of the volume, I receive as your tribute to the merit of
my countrymen who struggled for constitutional government. " *
One of his sons, Capt. R. E. Lee, gives a delightful
glimpse into his father's family circle shortly after
the removal to Lexington: "That winter," says he,
"my father was accustomed to read aloud in the long
evenings to my mother and sisters 'The Grand Old
Bard,' f equally to his own and his listeners' enjoy-
ment."
General Lee must have derived much pleasure from
reading also the Thoughts of the Emperor Marcus Au-
relius^ a copy of the second edition of which came from
Professor George Long, another English admirer.|
Mr. Valentine, the sculptor, treasured the following
remark made by General Lee while in the artist's
studio in Richmond, May, 1870: "Misfortune nobly
borne is good fortune." This sentiment was so ap-
propriate to the subject of their conversation that
Mr. Valentine thought it was original with General
Lee until sometime after his death. In after years this
quotation was found in the Meditations of Marcus
which surprised some of his friends who knew only of his military education."
General Lee's son says that "even with Greek he seemed somewhat familiar
and would question the students as to their knowledge of this language,
much to their astonishment."
* Reference is here made to Mr. Worsley's dedicatory poem, which was
written on a fly leaf of this book. See page 105, supra.
tThe expression, "The grand old bard," is taken from the first Hne of
the beautiful poem in which Mr. Worsley dedicated his volume to General
Lee.
% It is interesting to note that Professor Long also sent with his book a
message, expressing a hope that General Lee would "leave behind him some
commentary to be placed on the same shelf with Caesar's."
164 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
Aurelius. General Lee was so averse to every appear-
ance of pedantry that he used this noble sentiment
without giving the source from which it came.*
Captain Lee gives us a further glimpse into his
father's family circle by the statement that General
Lee would often read to his invalid wife in the evenings.
General Lee's private library after the war was
very small, since the books left at Arlington had been
scattered during hostilities. The meager salary, from
which he supported his family and made liberal con-
tributions to religious and charitable objects, evidently
afforded little means for the purchase of new books for
his own private library, though he bought "a collection
of suitable books" for the library of the newly organized
Y. M. C. A. of the college. His principal reliance for
books while in Lexington was the small library of
Washington College and the more important library
of the Franklin Society.f Fortunately the manuscript
records of both of these libraries for this period are
still accessible, the Franklin Society library having
been presented to Washington and Lee University a
number of years ago. These records show that General
Lee made constant use of both of these libraries, ex-
cept in the summer months, from February, 1866,
until December, i869.t
* See Mr. Valentine's article in this volume.
t The library of the Virginia Military Institute had been destroyed
when the buildings were burned by General Hunter.
X January 21, 1918, Dr. E. C. Gordon, who was librarian of Washington
College in the late 6o's wrote: "He [General Lee] never talked with me about
books, ... I do not recall ever seeing General Lee in the Library. I think,
WHAT GENERAL LEE READ AFTER THE WAR 1 65
The first library book he used after his removal to
Lexington was Goldsmith's Rome.* It was read about
the time, probably immediately after, he had finished
reading Worsley's Iliad, referred to above. An ex-
amination of this book will suggest reasons why it
appealed to General Lee. Chapter I treats of the rise
of Julius Caesar and the overthrow of the Roman
Republic. Chapter II treats of the period of anarchy
which followed Caesar's death and the final settlement
of the constitution and the organization of the Empire
under Augustus. Chapters III and IV contain many
suggestive passages which would have appealed to ex-
Confederates in the late 6o's, when they had many
reasons to fear wholesale confiscation, disfranchisement
and even the loss of life. He must have read and pon-
dered many sentences like the following: "The most
sacred rights of nature were violated; three hundred
senators; and above two thousand knights were in-
cluded in this terrible proscription; their fortunes were
as a rule, he gave me lists of books he desired and I brought them to him or
took them to his house. . . . He was, of course, a member of the Franklin
Society. I never saw him at any of the meetings, held always on Saturday
night; and I suspect he never attended; though now and then we discussed
subjects in which he must have had some interest; e. g., this, ' Should Ameri-
can colleges and universities open their doors to women?' The discussion of
this ran through several successive meetings of the society and set the town
by the ears. The truth is. General Lee was too busy, and his failing energies
too much taxed to do a good deal of reading. I suspect most of the books he
read bore on the two works which I think he would have liked to complete
and publish: Memoirs of his father, and an account of his own campaign,
or war-life."
* It was Volume H of the edition of 1809, now in the library of Washington
and Lee University. It seems that Volume I was never acquired by the
Franklin Society.
1 66 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
confiscated, and their murderers enriched with the
spoil." (Page 38.)
General Lee was reading this book when the clouds
of Reconstruction had begun to appear above our
political horizon. Was he studying the causes which
led to the overthrow of the Roman Republic in an
effort to see whether similar dangers were then threaten-
ing his own country? Was he trying to get light from
ancient history on the possible course of events in his
own day.^" He could not then know, of course, that
there was not another Augustus Caesar awaiting an
opportunity to overthrow the liberties of his country.
Perhaps he was testing his axiom, cited above: "It is
history that teaches us to hope."
In April or May, 1866, soon after his return from
Washington, where he was examined by the Recon-
struction Committee of Congress, he read the writings
of Rev. Alex. B. Grosart, which he had received from
the author, in Liverpool, England. This reading was
only an act of courtesy, however.
The second library book he used was the Memoirs
of the Duchess UAbrantes (Madame Junot). Un-
fortunately the particular volume which he read can-
not now be found. The three- volume edition of this
work now in the University library came as a gift from
the library of Dr. Mercer of New Orleans.* Probably
General Lee's interest in this book, came from his
desire to write an account of his own campaigns. He
* Dr. Gordon suggests: "After this one-volume copy was displaced by a
three-volume copy from the Mercer library, it somehow disappeared."
WHAT GENERAL LEE READ AFTER THE WAR 1 67
may have examined it for the purpose of learning par-
ticularly of the campaigns of Napoleon as treated by
the wife of one of Napoleon's generals. On the other
hand, he may have been interested in the conditions
which produced this modern despot, as the book treats
of the rise of Napoleon and the events leading to the
establishment of his Empire. I do not think that there
are any sentiments in the work which would have ap-
pealed to a man of General Lee's character. We must
note, however, that this was the beginning of a study
of biography which extended through a period of al-
most a year and a half.
Several weeks later he was earnestly at work on his
father's Memoirs^ as is shown by a letter of August 30,
1866, in which he said among other things, "I have
long wished to see some points in the chapter on Ser-
geant Champe in the 'Memoirs' cleared up."* Then
follows a discussion of sources and problems connected
with the relations between Sergeant Champe and
Benedict Arnold. This letter, which was written to
Mr. William B. Reed, author of a Life of General Reed,
closes with a request for "any facts tending to decide
the matter." The biographical sketch of his father
shows that he made liberal use of documents which
he obtained from Mr. Reed.
The third book, in chronological order, charged to
General Lee on the library records, was Sparks' Wash-
ington (volume omitted), which was taken out the
day after he had written the letter just referred to.
* This was Chapter XXX of the book he was editing.
1 68 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
While he was devoting his brief and irregular periods
of leisure to the study of history, his wife* and daugh-
ters at Rockbridge Baths,t eleven miles distant, were
doubtless reading the three books which followed on
the record: Bleak Houses and Leo the Tenths Vols. Ill
and IV. Shortly after Mrs. Lee's return home a
volume of Hood's Works was also taken out of the
library.
In December, 1866, he took out Marshall's Washing-
tony Vols. Ill, IV and V, and Sparks' Washington^
Vol. X, and American Constitution (edition not given).
These books were all returned December 27 and 'Tp,
This must have been the period of General Lee's most
intense literary activity while in Lexington. It is
worth recording that in this period he wrote a very
notable letter to Lord Acton.}
With the beginning of the new year (1867) he must
*Mrs. Lee was fond of reading, and was "remarkably well read in general
literature." Her son says that she was "constantly occupied with her
books, letters, knitting and painting, for the last of which she had great
talent." Mrs. Lee wrote a Memoir of her father, General George Washing-
ton Parke Custis, which was published in Philadelphia (1859) in Custis'
Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington (pages 9-72). She also
prepared the writings of her father for publication, as they appear in this
volume under her copyright. The Washington and Lee University library
now contains a copy of this work, on the fly leaf of which is the following,
in the handwriting of Mrs. Lee: "The Franklin Library, from Mary Custis
Lee. Lexington, 12th July, 1869."
t Captain Lee says that "every summer of their life in Lexington"
General Lee arranged that his wife " should spend several months at one of
the many medicinal springs in the neighboring mountains, as much that
she might be surrounded by new scenes and faces as for the benefit of the
waters. "
X This letter will be found in the Appendix to this volume.
WHAT GENERAL LEE READ AFTER THE WAR 169
have been busy with college duties, as the library record
shows that he did not resume his literary work until
February 1 9. He then took out of the library Wal burn's
Biographical Dictionary and a Gazetteer of the United
States (edition not given). March 14, he turned his
attention to Ramsey's American Revolution^ Vols. I
and II, and later (March 30) to Henning's Statutes.
About this time he wrote that he had received "from
Fitz Lee a narrative of the operations of his division
of cavalry," and he asked his son. General W. H. F.
Lee, for a full report of his war operations. These
glimpses give us the picture of a busy college executive
utilizing his small fragments of spare time at work on
his twofold literary task.
Up to this time he had made use of the Franklin
Society library exclusively. During the next two years
he used books only from the college library, not re-
turning to the Franklin Society library until February
24, 1869.
April 3, 1867, he found diversion in a copy of Cal-
culus, his first choice of books from the college library.
Three weeks later he procured from the same source a
copy of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, which as
far as the record shows was not returned.
In July and August of that year he was at White
Sulphur and Old Sweet Springs with his family, pri-
marily for his wife's health. At the latter place he
was taken ill. This prevented his return to Lexington
until the middle of September, just before the opening
of the session. He wrote to one of his sons (September
I70 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
20): "I am still so feeble that I cannot attend to the
business of the college." A month later (October 25)
he wrote: "I have been quite sick but am better now."
Yet, a fortnight before this latter date he had returned
to his literary task, using Marshall's Life oj Washington^
Vols. Ill, IV and V. With the return of these three
volumes (November 14) I find no evidence from the
library record of any further serious study on his part,
though he did not send the "Biography" of his father
and the notes to the volume he was editing to the press
until June i, 1869, judging by the date of the Preface.
The Christmas season of 1867 found only two
library books in his home. These were Goldsmith's
Vicar of Wakefield and Bunyan's Pilgrim s Progress.
What appropriate selections for Christmas reading!
One wonders whether the General still read aloud to
his family "in the long evenings" of that winter, as he
had done in other years.
As intimated above, there was a marked change in
the character of his reading after 1867. From that
date he used no more library books on American his-
tory or biography. Poetry, choice fiction, current
magazines and European history fill the remainder of
the library record. Did he regard his recent sickness
as an evidence of failing strength and a warning that
his literary activity must cease .^ Possibly so, though
Captain Lee felt sure that by the latter part of January
his father "had fully recovered." It is more probable
that this change from his own unfinished task was
prompted by the literary tastes of his invalid wife, who
WHAT GENERAL LEE READ AFTER THE WAR 171
as he said, suffered that winter and spring "more
than usual . . . from her rheumatic pains." His
son. Captain Lee, tells us: "He sat with her daily,
entertaining her with accounts of what was doing in
the college, and the news of the village, and would
often read to her in the evenings."
The college library contributed, January 7, 1868,
two large illustrated volumes oi Favorite English Poems *
to the entertainment of the household. These books,
still in the university library, are "illustrated with
300 engravings on wood." Volume I contains a col-
lection of choice poems from Chaucer to Pope, Volume
II, from "Thomson to Tennyson." That they were
read with interest in indicated by the fact that they
were renewed January 24 and were kept out until
February 11. Robinson Crusoe then came in for a six
days' reading, perhaps by General Lee's little niece,
who was a member of his household that session.
But General Lee was a man of action, and books
alone could not supply the recreation he needed. He
wrote (March 10): "Our winter which has been long
and cold I hope now is over," adding "My only pleas-
ure is in my solitary evening rides, which give me
abundant opportunity for quiet thought." Within a
fortnight he was able to write that two or three rides
on Traveller "in the mud" had, he thought, benefited
him.
About this time (March 28), he received from the
* The entry on the record, "Favorite Poets of England, 111., 2 vols.," is
evidently a mistake, as there were no books with that title in the library.
172 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
library a two-volume edition of the Lije of Goethe to be
followed, two days later, by a copy of Faust. All of
these were returned May 4. He then read, with much
interest, I am sure, the first volume of Dr. Kane's
Arctic Expedition. Probably the author, who saw
service as an army surgeon in the Mexican War, was a
personal acquaintance. The last library book used
that spring was a volume of Shakespeare's Works
(edition not given). As there were then four editions
of Shakespeare in the college library, it is impossible
to say which plays of that great author were read.
In the summer of 1868, he made another effort to
find recreation and restoration of health for his invalid
wife at some of the many celebrated health resorts
near Lexington. Additional cares also came with the
sickness of his daughter, Mildred, who had typhoid
fever while at Warm Springs. He nursed her back to
health in time to return to Lexington for the opening
of the session of 1868-9.
Then followed a period of over six months in which
he read nothing from the library, except current maga-
zines, three issues of the New Eclectic * and nine of
Blackwood's Magazines. \ In the August (1868) New
Eclectic, he found a criticism of George Bancroft's
theory as set forth in his History of the United States
* Issues of August, September and October, 1868, which were taken out
October 14 and returned November 14.
t Issues of February, April, May, July, August, September and October
(1868), which were taken out December 17 and returned January 13, fol-
lowing. The issues for December (1868) and January (1869), were taken
out in January and February respectively.
WHAT GENERAL LEE READ AFTER THE WAR 173
that the influence of the Cavalier element in Virginia
was insignificant on the events leading to the American
Revolution. The critic indorsed the view of Mr.
Rives in his Life of James Madison that many leaders
of the Revolution in Virginia were descendants of the
loyal supporters of Charles I against the Long Par-
liament, among whom were the first cousin of Wash-
ington's grandfather, the paternal ancestor of George
Mason, the ancestors of Archibald Cary, the Lees, the
Blands, the Carters, the Randolphs, the Digges, the
Byrds, etc. This issue also contains Father Ryan's
poem on "The Downtrodden Land." The September
New Eclectic has articles on "Free Religion" and
"Luther and Germany." The October issue of this
same magazine contains articles on "The Northern
and the Southern Poet" (Oliver Wendell Holmes and
Father Ryan), "The Unsettled State of Europe"
and a poem by Sidney Lanier, entitled "Life and
Song."
Blackwood's Magazine for September, 1868, was
taken out November 14 and "returned" (date not
given). Then, December 17, it was taken out again
with six other issues of the same magazine. In Janu-
ary, 1869, he also took out the December issue and in
February the January issue of the same magazine. It
is evident from an examination of the contents of these
issues that the reader was interested in only one article,
since it appeared by installments in the copies taken
from the library. Other copies, those of March, June
and November, 1868, would also have been taken,
174 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
if he had cared to read the magazines in chronological
order, without reference to any particular article.
This article is entitled "Historical Sketches of the
Reign of George II." A perusal of it will convince one
of the importance of this somewhat neglected period
of English history, and of the excellence of the literary
taste of a reader who finds pleasure in it. The sub-title
of the first installment is "The Queen" (Caroline); of
the second, "The Minister" (Sir Robert Walpole); of
the third, "The Man of the Worid" (Lord Chester-
field); of the fourth, "Lady Mary Wortley Montagu";
of the fifth, "The Poet" (Pope); of the sixth "The
Young Chevalier" (Charles Stuart, the Pretender);
of the seventh, "The Reformer" (John Wesley); of
the eighth, "The Sailor" (Admiral Anson); of the
ninth, "The Philosopher" (Bishop Berkeley). The
issues for March, June, and August, 1869, in which
appeared the remainder of the series, on "The Novelist"
(Samuel Richardson); "The Sceptic" (David Hume);
"The Painter" (Hogarth), do not appear on General
Lee's library record.
Four days after taking out the issue of Blackwood's
which contains the sketch of Admiral Anson, he turned
to the fifth volume of Macaulay's England. This
choice shows that, though still interested in English
history, the reader went from the reign of George II
back to the last days of William III. Eight days later
this book was returned.
A book entitled ^eens of the Country then
follows on the record (March 7). It was probably
WHAT GENERAL LEE READ AFTER THE WAR 175
Mrs. Jameson's Memoirs of Celebrated Female Sov-
ereigns^ since this is the only volume now in the
University library, whose title resembles that given
in the record. This volume may have been chosen
for its sketch of Queen Anne, in order to link together
the periods of English history which had already re-
ceived attention.
The remainder of the spring of 1869 was devoted to
French history. From March 15 to April 4 use was
made of volumes i and 1 of Miss Pardoe's Louis XIV;
April 7 to June 19, of Beauchesne's Louis the Seven-
teenth. Meantime Houssaye's Men and Women of the
Eighteenth Century^ Vol. II (French biography), had
been used from May 2 to June 2. Interest in
French history was undoubtedly aroused by the then
strained relations between France and her northern
neighbor, which soon culminated in the Franco-
Prussian War.
That summer General Lee was at home until after
the middle of July to attend a meeting of the Virginia
Education Association, which was held in Lexington.
In the latter part of that month he took Mrs. Lee to
Rockbridge Baths, which she had "made up her mind
to visit." "After seeing her comfortably located" he
expected to go with two of his daughters to the White
Sulphur Springs for a few weeks, on the advice of his
physicians. He wrote to his son, General W. H. F. Lee,
"I am obliged now to consider my health." The sud-
den death of his brother upset his plans while at Rock-
bridge Baths. This took him to Alexandria to attend
176 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
the funeral. He decided to return to Lexington by
way of Richmond, making a short visit to his son at
the "White House" on the James River. August lo,
he wrote to his wife from White Sulphur Springs, giving
his objections to the plan of the publisher of his father's
Memoirs to insert a portrait of himself in the volume
and asking for her "suggestions." By the end of
August he was back in Lexington. That autumn his
rides on Traveller were less frequent and more fa-
tiguing, and there were other evidences that his strength
was failing. In November he contracted a severe
cold, which was the beginning of the attack that was
to prove fatal. In December he wrote that he was
better, adding "The doctors still have me in hand,
but I fear can do no good." In fact, he seemed to realize
from the beginning that this attack was mortal.
Under these circumstances, one would not expect to
find evidence of extensive reading. Yet on November
20 two issues of Blackwood' s Magazine were brought
to his sick room. One of these, the issue of July, 1864,
contained articles on "The Education and Training
of Naval Officers" and "The Napoleonic Idea in
Mexico." The other, the issue for January, i860,
contained an article on "Rambles at Random in the
Southern States," which gives the observations of
an English traveler of keen though sympathetic
mind, who had spent some time in the South before
the war.
Here the library record closes. It reveals the fact
that his library reading, during his five years in Lex-
WHAT GENERAL LEE READ AFTER THE WAR 177
ington, which had carried him into many countries
and into different periods of history and literature
ended with a delightful article on his own beloved
Southland.
This sketch would fall far short of a true presentation
of what General Lee read after the war, if it should
omit his two favorite books, which he always kept in
his small private library, and which were in constant
use. These were the Episcopal prayer book and the
Bible. His appreciation of his prayer book is shown
by his desire to supply copies to the soldiers who
wished for them, and his present of a dozen copies, —
all he had, save one, to as many soldiers. One
of his sons says that "family prayers . . . were
read every morning just before breakfast," which
was served at seven o'clock, and another son warned
his wife that "to please his father, she must be always
ready for family prayers." His daughter-in-law said
that "she did not believe that General Lee would have
an entirely high opinion of any person, even General
Washington, if he could return to earth, if he were not
ready for prayers!"
But the greatest of all books in his estimation was
the Bible. Upon appropriate occasions, he quoted its
precepts, but never in the spirit of cant. In reproof
of a minister who had said harsh things about the
North in connection with General Lee's indictment
for treason, he said: "Doctor, there is a good book,
which I read and you preach from, which says: 'Love
your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to
178 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
them that hate you and pray for them that despite-
fully use you.*"
During the war, "even amid his most active cam-
paigns, he found time to read every day some portion
of God's Word." The habit, followed so tenaciously
on the field, was never given up in the quietude of the
home; for he could then have his "regular seasons for
this delightful exercise." His appreciation of the
Bible was shown by his interest in the Rockbridge
County Bible Society, of which he was president from
the time of its reorganization after the war (1868),
until his death. In his letter, accepting this position,
he spoke of his desire to help extend " the inestimable
knowledge of the priceless truths. of the Bible." In
acknowledging the receipt of a Bible from some English
admirers he referred to it as "a book in comparison
with which all others in my eyes are of minor im-
portance, and which in all my perplexities and dis-
tresses has never failed to give me light and strength."
In a letter acknowledging the receipt of a beautiful
Bible for use in the college chapel he said, "it is a
book which supplies the place of all others, and one
that cannot be replaced by any other." The day
after his death a watcher by his body noticed on the
table "a well-used pocket Bible, in which was
written, . . . *R. E. Lee, Lieutenant-colonel, U. S.
Army.'"* He says: "As I turned its leaves and
saw how he had marked many passages, especially
* See Dr. J. William Jones' article in this volume on "The Christian
Character of Robert E. Lee. "
WHAT GENERAL LEE READ AFTER THE WAR 179
those teaching the great doctrines of Salvation by-
Grace, Justification by Faith, or those giving the
more precious promises to the believer, I thought of
how, with simple faith, he took this blessed Book as
the man of his counsel and the light of his pathway;
how its precious promises cheered him amid the afflic-
tions and trials of his eventful life; and how its glorious
hopes illuminated for him the 'valley and shadow of
death.'"
APPENDIX
Books taken by General Robert E. Lee from the Franklin Society Library
and the Washington College Library.
* — Franklin Society Library, f — Washington College Library.
Date Taken Out Titles Date Returned
1866
* Feb. 20th Goldsmith's Rome Apr. 4th
* June 5th Madame D'Abrantes July ist
* Sept. 1st Sparks' Washington Jan. 4, 1867
* Sept. I2th Bleak House Nov. 10, 1866
* Sept. 24th Leo the Tenth, Vols. 3 and 4 Nov. 10, 1866
* Nov. loth Hood's Works Nov. 19, 1866
* Dec. 1st Marshall's Washington, Vol. 3 Dec. 30, 1866
* Dec. 6th Marshall's Washington, Vols. 4 and S ... .Dec. 30, 1866
* Dec. 22nd Sparks' Washington, Vol. 10 Dec. 27, 1866
* Dec. 22nd American Constitutions Dec. 27, i866
l8o GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
Date Taken Out Titles Date Returned
1867
* Feb. 19th Walburn's Biographical Dictionary Mch. 9, 1867
* Feb. 19th Gazetteer of the United States Mch. 9, 1867
* Mch. 14th Ramsey's American Revolution, Vols, i & 2.Mch. 23, 1867
* Mch. 30th Henning's Statutes Apr. 4, 1867
t Apr. 3rd Calculus May 16, 1867
t May i6th Webster's Dictionary, unabridged
* Oct. 1 2th Marshall's Life of Washington, Vols. 3,
4 and 5 Nov. 14, 1867
t Dec. 13th Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield Jan. 10, 1868
t Dec. 13th Pilgrim's Progress Jan. 24, 1868
1868
t Jan. 7th Favorite Poets of England. 111. 2 Vols — Jan. 24, 1868
t Jan. 24th Favorite Poets of England. 111. 2 Vols Feb. 11, 1868
t Feb. nth Robinson Crusoe Feb. 17, 1868
t Mch. 28th Life of Goethe, 2 vols May 4, 1868
t Dr. Kane's Arctic Expedition. Vol i June 3, 1868
t May 6th Shakespeare, III
fOct. 14th New Eclectic, Aug., Sept., Oct., 1868. . ..Nov. 14, 1868
t Nov. 14th Blackwood's for September " Returned"
t Dec. 17th Blackwood's for Feb., Apr., May, July,
Aug., Sept., and Oct Jan. 13, 1869
1869
t Jan. 13th Blackwood's for December "Returned"
t Feb. 20th Blackwood's for Jan Mch. 4, 1869
* Feb. 24th Macaulay's Eng., Vol. 5 Mch. 3, 1869
* Mch. 7th Queens of the Country Mch. 15, 1869
*Mch. ijth Louis XIV., Vols, i and 2 Apr. 4, 1869
* Apr. 7th Louis Napoleon and His Times May 6, 1869
WHAT GENERAL LEE READ AFTER THE WAR l8l
Date Taken Out Title Date Returned
1869
* May 8th Louis the Seventeenth June 19, 1869
* May 2nd Women of the Eighteenth Century
Vol. 2 June 2, 1869
* Nov. 20th Blackwood's for July, 1864 Dec. 15, 1869
* Nov. 20th Blackwood's for January, i860 Dec. 15, 1869
THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF ROBERT E.
LEE.
By Rev. J. William Jones
This contribution appeared in the "Lee Memorial Number" of the fFake
Forest Student, published in January, 1907. — Editor.
THERE is a natural tendency to conceal the
faults and exalt the virtues of great men.
Those whose lives gave no evidence whatever
of Christian or even moral character have been written
up, by their eulogists, as saints whom the world should
warmly admire if not worship. There have been in
these later years some very sad examples of this, which
might be cited if it were proper to do so. This makes
intelligent readers disposed to receive cum grano salts
what may be said of the Christian character of any
puMic man.
Some years ago an intelligent minister in one of
our Southern States wrote an elaborate article in one
of the papers on the question: "Was General R. E.
Lee a real Christian?" He seriously doubted whether
he was more than a mere formal professor of religion.
Now I think I can answer this question from intimate
personal acquaintance and observation. During the
four years of the great War between the States, as
private soldier or as chaplain, I followed the standard
THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF ROBERT E. LEE 183
of Lee, coming into somewhat frequent contact with
him, and learning much of his character and
actions.
But especially during his five years' life in Lexington,
Virginia, as one of the chaplains of Washington Col-
lege, over which he presided, I came into almost daily
and intimate association with him, and learned to
know and love the great soldier as a humble, conse-
crated follower of the Captain of our Salvation.
I speak, therefore, not from hearsay, or the state-
ments of others, but I speak from intimate personal
acquaintance when I write on the Christian character
of Robert Edward Lee, the greatest soldier of history,
and the model man of the centuries.
I can never forget my first interview and conversa-
tion with General Lee on religious matters. It was in
1863, while our army was resting along the Rapidan,
soon after the Gettysburg campaign. Rev. B. T. Lacy
and myself went, as a committee of our chaplains*
association, to consult him in reference to the better
observance of the Sabbath in the army, and especially
to urge that something be done to prevent irreligious
officers from converting Sunday into a grand gala-day
for inspections, reviews, etc. It was a delicate mission.
We did not wish to appear as either informers or
officious intermeddlers, and yet we were very anxious
to do something to further the wishes of those who
sent us, and to put a stop to what was then a growing
evil, and, in some commands, a serious obstacle to
efficient work of the chaplain. The cordial greeting
1 84 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
which he gave us, the marked courtesy and respect with
which he listened to what we had to say, and the way
he expressed his warm sympathy with the object of
our mission, soon put us at ease. But, as we presently
began to answer his questions concerning the spiritual
interests of the army, and to tell of that great revival
which was then extending through the camps, and
bringing thousands of our noble men to Christ, we
saw his eye brighten and his whole countenance glow
with pleasure; and as, in his simple, feeling words, he
expressed his delight, we forgot the great warrior, and
only remembered that we were communing with a
humble, earnest Christian. When Mr. Lacy told him
of the deep interest which the chaplains felt in his
welfare, and that their most fervent prayers were
offered in his behalf, tears started in his eyes, as he
replied, "I sincerely thank you for that, and I can
only say that I am just a poor sinner, trusting in Christ
alone for salvation, and that I need all the prayers
you can offer for me."
The next day he issued a beautiful order in which he
enjoined the observance of the Sabbath, and that all
military duties should be suspended on that day except
such as were absolutely necessary to the safety or
subsistence of the army.
General Lee always took the deepest interest in the
work of his chaplains and the spiritual welfare of his
men. He was a frequent visitor at the chaplains'
meetings, and a deeply interested observer of their
proceedings; and the faithful chaplain who stuck to
THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF ROBERT E. LEE 1 85
his post and did his duty could always be assured of a
warm friend at headquarters.
While the Army of Northern Virginia confronted
General Meade at Mine Run, near the end of Novem-
ber, 1863, and a battle was momentarily expected.
General Lee, with a number of general and staff officers,
was riding down his line of battle, when, just in the
rear of Gen. A. P. Hill's position, the cavalcade sud-
denly came upon a party of soldiers engaged in one of
those prayer-meetings which they so often held on the
eve of battle. An attack from the enemy seemed im-
minent; already sharpshooting along the skirmish
line had begun, the artillery was belching forth its
hoarse thunder, and the mind and heart of the great
chieftain were full of the expected combat. Yet, as
he saw the ragged veterans bowed in prayer, he in-
stantly dismounted, uncovered his head, and devoutly
joined in the simple worship. The rest of the party
at once followed his example, and those humble privates
found themselves leading the devotions of their loved
and honored chieftains.
It is related that as his army was crossing the James,
in 1864, and hurrying on to the defense of Petersburg,
General Lee turned aside from the road, and, kneeling
in the dust, devoutly joined a minister in earnest
prayer that God would give him wisdom and grace
in the new stage of the campaign upon which he was
then entering.
I was one day distributing tracts and religious news-
papers in our trenches below Petersburg when I noticed
1 86 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
a brilliant cavalcade approaching. Generals Lee,
A. P. Hill, and John B. Gordon, with their stajffs, were
inspecting our lines, and reconnoitering those of the
enemy. I stepped to one side, expecting simply to
give them the military salute as they passed. But the
quick eye of Gordon recognized me, and his cordial
grasp detained me as he eagerly inquired after my work.
General Lee reined in his horse, the others also stopped,
and the humble chaplain found himself surrounded
by a group of whose notice he might well be proud.
A. P. Hill, my old colonel and life-long friend, said:
"John (as he always familiarly addressed me), don't
you think the boys would prefer 'hard-tacks' to tracts
just now.''" "I have no doubt that many of them
would," I replied, "but they crowd around and take
the tracts as eagerly as they surround the commissary
when he has anything to 'issue'; and besides other
advantages, the tracts certainly help them to bear
the lack of 'hard-tack.'" "I have no doubt of it,"
he said, "and I am glad that you are able to
supply the tracts more abundantly then we can the
rations."
General Lee joined in the conversation, and pres-
ently asked if I ever had calls for prayer books. I
told him that I frequently had, and often distributed
them. He replied, "Well, you would greatly oblige
me if you would call at my quarters, and get and dis-
tribute a few which I have. I bought a new one when
in Richmond the other day, and upon my saying that
I would give my old one, which I had carried through
THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF ROBERT E. LEE 187
the Mexican war and kept ever since, to some soldier,
the bookseller offered to give me a dozen new prayer
books for the old one. I accepted, of course, so good
an offer, and now I have a dozen to give away instead
of one." The cavalcade rode away, and the chaplain
felt a new inspiration in his work.
I called at headquarters at the appointed hour. The
General was absent on some important duty, but he
had (even amid his pressing cares and responsibilities)
left the prayer books with a member of his staff, with
directions concerning them. In each one he had
written in his well-known handwriting, "Presented
to ... by R. E. Lee." Had I been disposed to
speculate I could easily have sold these books, contain-
ing the autograph of our great chieftain, for a large sum,
or have traded each for a dozen others. I know that
the soldiers to whom I gave them have treasured them
as precious mementos, or handed them down as price-
less heirlooms. I saw one of these books several years
ago in the hands of a son whose father was killed on
the retreat from Petersburg. It was not for sale. In-
deed, money could not buy it.
I could fill pages with quotations from General
Lee's orders and dispatches, expressing his "profound
gratitude to Almighty God" — his "thanks to God" —
his "gratitude to Him who hath given us the victory"
— his sense of "the blessing of Almighty God" — his
"grateful thanks to the only Giver of victory" — and
his "ascribing unto the Lord of Hosts the glory due
unto His name." And I regret that my space will not
1 88 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
allow me to quote in full his beautiful Thanksgiving-
day, and fast-day orders, which breathed the spirit of
the humble, devout Christian, and were not mere
official proclamations. But as a specimen of them I
quote the conclusion of his order for the observance
of the 2ist of August, 1863, after the Gettysburg cam-
paign, as a day of "fasting, humiliation and prayer."
He says:
"Soldiers! we have sinned against Almighty God. We have for-
gotten His signal mercies, and have cultivated a revengeful, haughty,
and boastful spirit. We have not remembered that the defenders of
a just cause should be pure in His eyes; that our times are in His
hands, and we have relied too much on our own arms for the achieve-
ment of our independence. God is our only refuge and our strength.
Let us humble ourselves before Him. Let us confess our many sins
and beseech Him to give us a higher courage, a purer patriotism, and
a more determined will; that He will convert the hearts of our
enemies; that He will hasten the time when war, with its sorrows and
sufferings, shall cease, and that He will give us a name and place
among the nations of the earth.
"R. E. Lee, General."
He was emphatically a man of prayer, was ac-
customed to have family prayers, and had his season
of secret prayer which he allowed nothing to interrupt.
He was a devout and constant Bible reader, and found
time to read the old book even amid his most pressing
duties. He became president of the Rockbridge County
Bible Society, and in his letter of acceptance spoke of
"the inestimable knowledge of the priceless truths of
the Bible."
In a letter to Hon. A. W. Beresford Hope, acknowl-
edging the receipt of a Bible from friends in England,
THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF ROBERT E. LEE 189
he speaks of it as "a book in comparison with which
all others in my eyes are of minor importance, and
which in all my perplexities and distresses has never
failed to give me light and strength." In a letter to
Col. F. R. Farrar, who presented a Bible to the college
chapel, he speaks of it as "a book which supplies the
place of all others, and one that cannot be replaced
by any other."
As I was watching all alone by his body the day
after his death I picked up from the table a well-used
pocket Bible, on the fly-leaf of which was written in
his well-known and characteristic chirography, "R. E.
Lee, Lieutenant Colonel, U. S. A." As I turned its
leaves and saw how he had marked many passages,
especially those teaching the great doctrines of Salva-
tion by Grace, Justification by Faith, or those giving
the more precious promises to the believer, I thought
of how, with simple faith, he took this blessed book as
the man of his counsel and the light of his pathway;
how its precious promises cheered him amid the afflic-
tions and trials of his eventful life; and how its glorious
hopes illumined for him the "valley and shadow of
death."
He was a very "son of consolation" to the afflicted,
and his letters of this character were very numerous
and very beautiful. I can give only several specimens.
On the death of Bishop Elliott of Georgia, he wrote his
wife a touching eulogy on one "whom for more than
a quarter of a century I have admired, loved and
venerated," and concluded by saying, "You have my
190 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
deepest sympathy, and my earnest prayers are offered
to Almighty God that He may be graciously pleased
to comfort you in your great sorrow, and bring you
in His own good time to rejoice with him whom in
His all-wise providence He has called before you to
heaven."
To the widow of Gen. Geo. W. Randolph he wrote
on the death of her husband:
"It is the survivors of the sad event whom I com-
miserate, and not him whom a gracious God has called
to Himself; and whose tender heart and domestic
virtues make the pang of parting the more bitter to
those who are left behind. . . . For what other
purpose can a righteous man be summoned into the
presence of a merciful God than to receive his reward?
However, then, we lament we ought not to deplore
him, or wish him back from his peaceful, happy home.
. . . Mrs. Lee and my daughters, while they join
in unfeigning sorrow for your bereavement, unite
with me in sincere regards, and fervent prayers to
Him who can alone afford relief, for His gracious sup-
port, and continued protection to you. May his
abundant mercies be showered upon you, and may
His almighty arm guide and uphold you."
He wrote Rev. Dr. Moses D. Hoge, of Richmond,
Va., the great Presbyterian preacher, after speaking
of matters connected with the Virginia Bible Society,
the following concerning the death of his wife:
"And now, my dear sir, though perhaps inappropriate to the
occasion, you must allow me to refer to a subject which has caused
THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF ROBERT E. LEE 191
me great distress and concerning which I have desired to write ever
since its occurrence; but to tell the truth I have not had the heart
to do so. I knew how powerless I was to give any relief and how
utterly inadequate was any language that I could use even to miti-
gate your suffering. I could, therefore, only offer up my silent
prayers, to Him who alone can heal your bleeding heart that in
His infinite mercy He will be ever present with you; to dry your
tears and staunch your wounds; to sustain you by His grace and
support you by His strength. I hope you felt assured that in this
heavy calamity, you and your children had the heartfelt sympathy
of Mrs. Lee and myself, and that you were daily remembered in our
prayers.
"With best wishes and sincere affection, I am very truly yours,
"R.E.Lee."
General Lee did not believe in forcing the students
to attend chapel, but sought to influence them to do
so, and I have known no other college where the simple
exercises — singing, reading the Scriptures, and prayer —
seemed to be so warmly appreciated or so thoroughly
enjoyed.
At the faculty meeting one day a member of the
faculty, who rarely attended himself, made an elo-
quent speech on the importance of inducing the stu-
dents to attend chapel, and when he closed General
Lee quietly remarked, "The best way that I know of
to induce students to attend is to set them the example
by always attending ourselves."
Accordingly, his own seat, near the front, was always
filled. I never knew a college president to exert him-
self more actively for the religious good of the students
than did General Lee. I give herewith one of the
letters he was accustomed to address to the pastors of
Lexington, asking their co-operation:
192 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
Washington College,
Lexington, Virginia, nth September, 1869.
Rev. and Dear Sirs: — Desirous of making the religious exercises
of the College advantageous to the students, and wishing to use all
means to inculcate among them the principles of true religion, the
Faculty tender to you their cordial thanks for your past services,
and request you to perform in rotation the customary daily exer-
cises at the College Chapel. The hour fixed for these services is
forty-five minutes past seven o'clock every morning, except Sunday,
during the session, save the three winter months, December, January
and February, when the hour for prayer will be forty-five minutes
past eight. The hours for lectures are fixed at eight and nine o'clock
respectively during these periods. On Sundays the hour for prayer
during the whole session is fixed at nine o'clock.
The Faculty also request that you will extend to the students a
general invitation to attend the churches of their choice regularly on
Sundays, and other days, and invite them to join the Bible classes
established in each; that you will, as may be convenient and neces-
sary, visit them in sickness and in health; and that you will in every
proper manner urge upon them the great importance of the Christain
religion.
The Faculty further ask that you will arrange among yourselves,
as may be convenient, the periods of the session during which each
will perform the Chapel services, and that during those periods the
officiating minister will consider himself Chaplain of the College for
the purpose of conducting religious worship, prayers, etc.
The present session will open on the i6th, inst. and close on the
25th June, 1870.
I am, with great respect, your obedient servant,
R. E. Lee.
To the Ministers of the Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist and Presbyte-
rian Churches of Lexington, Va.
I prize beyond price the following autograph letter:
Washington College,
Lexington, Virginia, 4th March, 1868.
My Dear Sir: — I enclose fifty dollars of the fund contributed by
the Faculty and students for the religious exercises of the College,
THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF ROBERT E. LEE 193
not in compensation for your voluntary services, but in grateful
testimony of them.
With great respect, your obedient servant,
R. E. Lee.
Rev. J. Wm. Jones.
He wrote similar letters to the other pastors of the
town, and frequently talked with us about the religious
interest of the students. He was accustomed to make
lists of the denominational preferences of the students,
giving each pastor a list of the members of his church,
and of the men whose parents belonged to his church,
and would ask him afterwards if he had visited them,
and if they attended his Bible class and his church, and
thus he would seek to promote the interests of each
student.
He said to Rev. Dr. W. S. White soon after coming
to Lexington: "I shall be disappointed, sir, I shall
fail in the leading object that brought me here, unless
these young men become real Christians, and I wish
you and others of your sacred calling to do all in your
power to accomplish this."
He said to Rev. Dr. Brown, one of the trustees of
the college, "I dread the thought of any student going
away from the college without becoming a sincere
Christian."
At the "Concert of Prayer for Colleges" in 1869 I
made an address in which I urged that the great need
of our colleges was a genuine, all-pervasive revival,
which could only come from above by the power of
the Holy Spirit. At the close of the meeting General
Lee came to me, and said with more than his usual
194 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
warmth, "I wish, sir, to thank you for your address;
it was just what we needed. Our great want is a re-
vival that shall bring these young men to Christ."
During the great revival in the Virginia Military
Institute in 1869, when there were over one hundred
professions of faith in Christ, he said to me with deep
emotion, "That is the best news I have heard since
I have been in Lexington. Would that we could have
such a revival in our college, and in all of the colleges."
He said to Rev. Dr. Kirkpatrick, the able and honored
professor of moral philosophy in the college, when
they were conversing about the religious interests of
the students, his voice choking with emotion and his
eyes overflowing with tears, "Oh! Doctor, if I could only
know that all of the young men in the college were good
Christians, I should have nothing more to desire."
He sent for me one day to consult about organizing
a Y. M. C. A. in the college, and after we had organized
it he took the liveliest interest in its success, and con-
tributed to it every year ^50 from his own scant re-
sources. With the first money that he raised after he
went to the college he built a substantial and beautiful
chapel, as, in his judgment, the most important build-
ing needed (more important than a president's house,
he insisted), and it seems a fortunate providence that
he lies beneath that chapel, which he builded almost
with his own hands, for he almost saw every block of
granite placed in position, every brick laid, and every
nail driven.
General Lee was an Episcopalian, and sincerely
'*w
Exterior View of the Lee Memorial Chapel
Interior View of the Lee Memorial Chapel, Showing the Recumbent
Statue
THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF ROBERT E. LEE 195
attached to the church of his choice, but his large heart
took in Christians of every name, and not a few will
cordially indorse the remarks made by the venerable
Dr. W. S. White, — Stonewall Jackson's old pastor, —
who said with deep feeling during the memorial serv-
ices, "He belonged to one branch of the church, and I
to another. Yet in my intercourse with him — an
intercourse rendered far more frequent and intimate
by the tender sympathy he felt in my ill health — the
thought never occurred to me that we belonged to
different churches. His love for the truth, and for all
that is good and useful, was such as to render his
brotherly kindness and charity as boundless as were
the wants and sorrows of the race."
If I have ever come in contact with a sincere, devout
Christian — one who, seeing himself to be a sinner,
trusted alone in the merits of Christ — who humbly
tried to walk the path of duty, "looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith," and whose piety
was constantly exemplified in his daily life, that man
was the world's great soldier, and model man, Robert
Edward Lee.
His illness was of such a character that he left no
"last words," but none were needed — his whole life
was "a living epistle" known and read of men, and
there can be no doubt that he laid aside his cross and
went to wear his crown —
"That crown with peerless glories bright.
Which shall new luster boast
When victors' wreathes and monarchs' gems
Shall blend in common dust!"
TRIBUTE TO GENERAL LEE AS A MAN
By Mr. Wm. A. Anderson, Rector of Washington and Lee
University
Extract from remarks made at a banquet at Washington and Lee Uni-
versity upon the Centennial of the birth of Robert E. Lee, January 19th,
1907.
WE have presented to us here to-day a striking
and most gratifying evidence of the restora-
tion of good feeling between the sections in
the pilgrimage to this Mecca of the South of a dis-
tinguished son of Massachusetts who worthily bears a
name honored and illustrious in the history of our
country, through five generations, to lay upon the
tomb of Lee the tribute of his just praise and admira-
tion.*
* Reference is here made to the visit of Mr. Charles Francis Adams and his
address at the centennial celebration of General Lee's birth, which celebra-
tion was held in the chapel of Washington and Lee University, January 19,
1907. In after years Mr. Adams wrote: " The Lee Centennial is my one
effort . . . which I now regard as having been somewhat better than a mere
waste of time and force. Indeed, from the literary point of view, I should
put it in the forefront of anything I may have done." It has "since been
for me one of the pleasantest things in life to look back on. . . . This
occasion was in every way a success and constituted a very grateful incident
in life — good and altogether pleasant to look back on. It was not marred, as
I afterwards realized, by a single untoward incident. . . . What I
offered was received with a warmth of applause which I have never else-
where or on any other occasion had equalled. Most of all, I gratified a large
number of most excellent people. Altogether pleasant at the time, it was in
GENERAL LEE AS A MAN 197
Those who were once his enemies in war, and their
descendants, have come to recognize the greatness and
goodness of him who was the very incarnation of the
Confederate cause, and whom the educated civilized
world is beginning to regard as the greatest man of
the century which gave him to mankind.
While they begin to discern the beauty, the sym-
metry, and the majestic proportions of his character,
they can never see or know him as the Southern people
saw and knew him, in all the grace, and manliness, and
glory of his perfect manhood; for to us he was what a
true and loving father is to his children, guide, coun-
selor, benefactor, and devoted friend.
And it is this which measurably explains what is,
as well the most marked feature of his career as one
of the strongest proofs of his true greatness, namely,
that he was and continues to be the most beloved man
among the masses of the people among whom he lived
and whom he served, that this land has ever known.
Not only his soldiers, but the people of the South
loved him and still love him with a devotion which is
retrospect an occasion yet more pleasant." See Charles Francis Adams,
1835-igiS, an Autobiography, 206-208.
In June, 1916, there was placed on the wall of the Lee Memorial Chapel
a bronze tablet which bears the following legend:
"Charles Francis Adams
Presented by Southern Men
In Appreciation of
His Friendship for the South
And His Noble Tribute to
Robert Edward Lee."
Above the inscription is a profile of Mr. Adams in bas relief. — Editor
198 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
very nearly akin to adoration. Thousands of his
soldiers would have esteemed it a privilege to die for
him. The world would understand this, if the world
could have seen and known him as we saw and knew
him.
It would be difficult to conceive of a nobler presence
or a more attractive personality than his! A form "of
noblest mold" crowned by a countenance perfect in
its calm benignity, and manly beauty. Large lustrous
dark brown eyes, kindly eyes — honest, earnest eyes — •
which you saw at once were the windows of a great
soul. Eyes that gleamed with a high unfaltering pur-
pose, and a dauntless courage, and could serenely look
impending disaster and death in the face; and anon
would beam with a loving sympathy and a tenderness
which were almost divine. A bearing, simple, graceful,
and natural, in which there was modesty without
diffidence, and supreme dignity without self-assertion.
It was this actual personal Lee whom his soldiers,
and hundreds of thousands of the women and children
of the Southern States knew and loved as no leader of
men, certainly none of this continent, has ever been
loved, before, or since his day.
And this was the Lee who made his home here in
Lexington for the last five years of his life on earth,
and whom it was the priceless privilege of the men,
women and children of this community to see and
know, and to honor and to love as no man has ever
been beloved by the generous and devoted hearts of a
loyal and a grateful people.
GENERAL LEE AS A MAN 199
This was the Lee who, while the people whom he had
led to victory after victory, had been compelled, by
exhaustion, to surrender to overwhelming numbers
and resources, sitting amid the ashes of their homes
and their hopes, still benumbed by the shock of their
great disaster, were slowly gathering up their energies
to wrest a livelihood for their children from a wasted
and desolate land, bade them to trust in God, take
hope, and be of good cheer. It was even then that
with a prescience which stamps him not only as a
statesman, but as a prophet, he saw clearly that im-
measurably the most important interest of the South
was the education of her children; that through their
right training and education alone the people of these
states could regain their preeminence and attain to a
degree of surpassing prosperity, power and usefulness.
He determined to devote, and he did devote, what
was left to him of strength and energy and enthusiasm
for the remaining years of his life, to this great cause —
the cause of education, and primarily to the education
of the young men of the Southern States.
This was the Lee who then accepted the presidency
of Washington College.
The institution had then already been enriched by
patriotic associations and memories, and appropriately
bore the name of the Father of his Country, till then
its greatest benefactor; but its walls had been dis-
mantled, its apparatus and educational appliances
destroyed, and its small endowment diminished in
value, so that the work of its regeneration was almost
200 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
as difficult as the building up of a new school would
have been.
Here he came on that lovely autumn day of 1865,
and from that moment till now, and for all coming
time, if the custodians of this university are faithful
to their high trust, the influence of his personality, of
his character, and his name, is, and will be, a part of
the very atmosphere and life and being of this uni-
versity, as it is now, and must ever be, its most precious
possession.
His life and the lessons of his example served while
he was here, and will serve for all time, to inculcate in
the minds of the ingenuous youth of the country who,
if we are true to his memory and his teachings, shall in
increasing numbers gather here as the years and the
centuries go by, not only the lessons of devotion to
civic duty, of duty to man, — but the higher lessons of
piety, and religion, of duty to God; for of all the Godly
and Christian men who have been connected with this
venerable institution as academy, college and uni-
versity, none were more Godly, none more devout,
none more sincere, consistent and humble followers of
the meek and lowly Jesus, than the modest Christian
gentleman who lies buried over yonder by the chapel
for the worship of the living God, which he caused to
be erected there.
Well may we cherish his memory.
Well may we again and again recall the lessons of
his life and repeat those lessons to our children and
our children's children.
GENERAL LEE AS A MAN 20I
Well may we remember the measureless debt of
gratitude which the people of this whole land, but
particularly the people of Virginia and the Confederate
South, and most of all the alumni, students, faculty,
and trustees of this university owe to him who was
their greatest benefactor.
I have spoken of Lee as a prophet. His was the
optimism which came not merely from hope, but
was founded in faith, — faith in God, faith in his
countrymen, and faith in the free institutions of his
country.
In perhaps the darkest hours which followed the
surrender of the armies of the Confederacy, when the
vials of sectional wrath were being poured out upon a
helpless and almost defenseless people, and dark and
darkening clouds seemed to cover the political and
commercial horizon of the lately Confederated States,
General Lee wrote as follows:
"Although the future is still dark, and the prospects
gloomy, I am confident that if we all unite in doing
our duty, and earnestly work to extract what good
we can out of the evil that now hovers over our dear
land, the time is not distant when the angry clouds
will be lifted from our horizon, and the sun in his
pristine brightness shine forth again."
And here to-day, and for all coming time, we who
are Virginians can have no nobler motto and no more
inspiring call to patriotic duty than the eloquent reply
which our immortal commander made to a despairing
young Virginian who had inquired of him, "what the
202 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
future had in store for us poor Virginians," an answer
which deserves to live forever in the hearts of all Vir-
ginians:
"You can work for Virginia, to build her up again.
You can teach your children to love and cherish her!"
TRIBUTE TO GENERAL LEE AS AN EDUCATOR
By Dr. Henry Louis Smith,
President of Washington and Lee University.
Extract from remarks made in opening the exercises of the Founders*
Day celebration, January 19th, 1921.
AMID the wreck and ruin of 1865 the immortal
leader of the Confederate armies, a soldier
"- from his youth, finding himself without a
professions, ought to re-invest his life for the benefit of
his stricken land.
Offers of ease, wealth, leisure, and high position
poured in on him from every side. The headship of
the Egyptian armies, with a rank next to that of the
Khedive himself, a princely estate in England, with
all its revenues, a fabulous salary as the nominal head
of a great Southern corporation, all these, with the
rest and freedom from care which his worn soul and
body craved, were laid aside at the call of duty.
Across the Blue Ridge mountains in a borrowed
coat, riding a borrowed horse, his ♦^raveling expenses
met by borrowed funds, the repr ;sentative of the
board of trustees of George Wash ngton's bankrupt
and war-wrecked college had come to offer to him the
headship of his great kinsman's institution, promising
him a salary of $1,500 per annum, but admitting that
the institution was already l4,ooo in debt for unpaid
204 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
salaries and must trust to the General's success as an
administrator for its future solvency.
At the opening of the war, with sublime self-sacri-
fice, General Lee had refused the headship of the
Union Armies, and with full knowledge and foresight
of the inevitable future, had elected to tread the fiery
path to ruin with his native State rather than prove
false to his ideals of patriotism and duty.
His choice at its close reached even higher levels of
heroic self-sacrifice, and I know of no more pathetic
and sublime picture in American history than General
Lee, on his warhorse Traveller, making his way alone
across the Blue Ridge mountains, and riding quietly
into the little village of Lexington to take up the
burdens of a new profession and rebuild in a time of
universal bankruptcy the fortunes of a disorganized
and impoverished institution.
His immortal kinsman, being rich, had endowed the
college with his money; General Lee, like his divine
Exemplar, being poor and without a place to lay his
head, followed His divine example and gave himself —
thus enriching the institution for all time.
With tireless devotion, he threw himself into the
work of education and administration. With an edu-
cational originality many years in advance of his time,
he added to the old-fashioned classical curriculum of
Washington College, schools of engineering, journalism,
commerce, and law; gathered students, teachers,
buildings, and endowments on Washington's founda-
tion; fixed for all time the institution's ideals of char-
GENERAL LEE AS AN EDUCATOR 205
acter and chivalry; and then, worn out by his cease-
less and indefatigable labors, fell at his post and
bequeathed to it his ever-widening influence, his
sacred dust, and his incomparable name.
Thus the five years' work of Lee the Educator
fittingly crowns and supplements the five stormy years
of Lee the Soldier, and undoubtedly, when the long
roll is finally called and his contribution to the up-
lift and betterment of the human race finally assessed
and determined, his self-sacrificing labors at Lexington
will outshine and outweigh all the more transient glories
of his amazing military career.
DEATH AND FUNERAL OF GENERAL LEE
By Col. William Preston Johnston
This contribution by a member of General Lee's faculty was prepared for
a Memorial Volume which Washington and Lee University contemplated
publishing shortly after the death of General Lee. When this plan was
abandoned the manuscript was turned over to Dr. J. William Jones and
published in his Personal Reminiscences of Gen. R. E. Lee, 446-459. It is
here reproduced because Dr. Jones' book in which it appeared has long
been out of print.
Death of General Lee
THE death of General Lee was not due to any-
sudden cause, but was the result of agencies
dating as far back as 1863. In the trying
campaign of that year, he contracted a severe sore-
throat, that resulted in rheumatic inflammation of
the sac inclosing the heart. There is no doubt that
after this sickness his health was always more or less
impaired; and, although he complained little, yet
rapid exercise on foot or on horseback produced pain
and difficulty of breathing. In October, 1869, he was
again attacked by inflammation of the heart-sac, ac-
companied by muscular rheumatism of the back, right
side, and arms. The action of the heart was weakened
by this attack; the flush upon the face was deepened,
the rheumatism increased, and he was troubled with
weariness and depression.
In March, 1870, General Lee, yielding to the so-
DEATH AND FUNERAL OF GENERAL LEE 207
licitations of friends and medical advisers, made a
six weeks' visit to Georgia and Florida. He returned
greatly benefited by the influence of the genial climate,
the society of friends of those States, and the dem-
onstrations of respect and affection of the people of
the South; his physical condition, however, was not
greatly improved. During this winter and spring he
had said to his son. General Custis Lee, that his attack
was mortal; and had virtually expressed the same
belief to other trusted friends. And now, with that
delicacy that pervaded all his actions, he seriously
considered the question of resigning the presidency of
Washington College, "fearful that he might not be
equal to his duties." After listening, however, to the
affectionate remonstrances of the faculty and board
of trustees, who well knew the value of his wisdom in
the supervision of the college, and the power of his
mere presence and example upon the students, he
resumed his labors with the resolution to remain at
his post and carry forward the great work he had so
auspiciously begun.
During the summer he spent some weeks at the
Hot Springs of Virginia, using the baths, and came
home seemingly better in health and spirits. He
entered upon the duties of the opening collegiate year
in September with that quiet zeal and noiseless energy
that marked all his actions, and an unusual elation
was felt by those about him at the increased prospect
that long years of usefulness and honor would yet be
added to his glorious life.
2o8 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
Wednesday, the 28th of September, 1870, found
General Lee at the post of duty. In the morning he
was fully occupied with the correspondence and other
tasks incident to his office of President of Washington
College, and he declined offers of assistance from
members of the faculty, of whose services he some-
times availed himself. After dinner, at four o'clock,
he attended a vestry-meeting of Grace (Episcopal)
Church. The afternoon was chilly and wet, and a
steady rain had set in, which did not cease until it
resulted in a great flood, the most memorable and
destructive in this region for a hundred years. The
church was rather cold and damp, and General Lee,
during the meeting, sat in a pew with his military cape
cast loosely about him. In a conversation that occu-
pied the brief space preceding the call to order, he took
part, and told, with marked cheerfulness of manner
and kindliness of tone, some pleasant anecdotes of
Bishop Meade and Chief-Justice Marshall. The
meeting was protracted until after seven o'clock, by a
discussion touching the rebuilding of the church edifice
and the increase of the rector's salary. General Lee
acted as chairman, and, after hearing all that was
said, gave his own opinion, as was his wont, briefly and
without argument. He closed the meeting with a
characteristic act. The amount required for the min-
ister's salary still lacked a sum much greater than
General Lee's proportion of the subscription, in view
of his frequent and generous contributions to the
church and other charities; hut just before the adjourn-
DEATH AND FUNERAL OF GENERAL LEE 209
ment, when the treasurer announced the amount of
the deficit still remaining, General Lee said, in a low
tone: "I will give that sum." He seemed tired toward
the close of the meeting, and, as was afterward re-
marked, showed an unusual flush, but at the time no
apprehensions were felt.
General Lee returned to his house, and, finding his
family waiting tea for him, took his place at the table,
standing to say grace. The effort was vain, the lips
could not utter the prayer of the heart. Finding him-
self unable to speak, he took his seat quietly and with-
out agitation. His face seemed to some of the anxious
group about him to wear a look of sublime resignation,
and to evince a full knowledge that the hour had come
when all the cares and anxieties of his crowded life
were at an end. His physicians, Drs. H. T. Barton
and R. L. Madison, arrived promptly, applied the
usual remedies, and placed him upon the couch from
which he was to rise no more. To him henceforth the
things of this world were as nothing, and he bowed with
resignation to the command of the Master he had fol-
lowed so long with reverence.
The symptoms of his attack resembled concussion
of the brain, without the attendant swoon. There
was marked debility, a slightly impaired consciousness,
and a tendency to doze; but no paralysis of motion
or sensation, and no evidence of softening or inflam-
mation of the brain. His physicians treated the case
as one of venous congestion, and with apparently
favorable results. Yet, despite these propitious au-
2IO GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
guries drawn from his physical symptoms, in view of
the great mental strain he had undergone, the gravest
fears were felt that the attack was mortal. He took
without objection the medicines and diet prescribed,
and was strong enough to turn in bed without aid, and
to sit up to take nourishment. During the earlier days
of his illness, though inclined to doze, he was easily
aroused, was quite conscious and observant, evidently
understood whatever was said to him, and answered
questions briefly but intelligently; he was, however,
averse to much speaking, generally using monosyl-
lables, as had always been his habit when sick. When
first attacked, he said to those who were removing his
clothes, pointing at the same time to his rheumatic
shoulder, "You hurt my arm." Although he seemed
to be gradually improving until October loth, he ap-
parently knew from the first that the appointed hour
had come when he must enter those dark gates that,
closing, reopen no more to earth. In the words of his
physician, "he neither expected nor desired to re-
cover." When General Custis Lee made some allusion
to his recovery, he shook his head and pointed up-
ward. On the Monday morning before his death.
Dr. Madison, finding him looking better, tried to
cheer him: "How do you feel to-day. General?" Gen-
eral Lee replied, slowly and distinctly: "I feel better."
The doctor then said: "You must make haste and get
well; Traveller has been standing so long in the stable
that he needs exercise." The General made no reply,
but slowly shook his head and closed his eyes. Several
DEATH AND FUNERAL OF GENERAL LEE 211
times during his illness he put aside his medicine,
saying, "It is of no use," but yielded patiently to the
wishes of his physicians or children, as if the slackened
chords of being still responded to the touch of duty or
affection.
On October lo, during the afternoon, his pulse be-
came feeble and rapid, and his breathing hurried,
with other evidences of great exhaustion. About
midnight he was seized with a shivering from extreme
debility, and Dr. Barton felt obliged to announce the
danger to the family. On October nth, he was evi-
dently sinking; his respiration was hurried, and his
pulse feeble and rapid. Though less observant, he
still recognized whoever approached him, but refused
to take anything unless presented by his physicians.
It now became certain that the case was hopeless.
His decline was rapid, yet gentle; and soon after nine
o'clock, on the morning of October 12th, he closed his
eyes, and his soul passed peacefully from earth.
General Lee's physicians attributed his death in
great measure to moral causes. The strain of his
campaigns, the bitterness of defeat aggravated by the
bad faith and insolence of the victor, sympathy with
the subsequent sufferings of the Southern people, and
the effort at calmness under these accumulated sorrows,
seemed the sufficient and real causes that slowly but
steadily undermined General Lee's health and led to
his death. Yet to those who saw his composure under
the greater and lesser trials of life, and his justice and
forbearance with the most unjust and uncharitable.
212 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
it seemed scarcely credible that his serene soul was
shaken by the evil that raged around him.
General Lee's closing hours were consonant with
his noble and disciplined life. Never was more beauti-
fully displayed how a long and severe education of
mind and character enables the soul to pass with equal
step through this supreme ordeal; never did the habits
and qualities of a lifetime, solemnly gathered into a
few last sad hours, more grandly maintain themselves
amid the gloom and shadow of approaching death.
The reticence, the self-contained composure, the
obedience to proper authority, the magnanimity, and
the Christian meekness, that marked all his actions,
still preserved their sway, in spite of the inroads of
disease, and the creeping lethargy that weighed down
his faculties.
As the old hero lay in the darkened room, or with
the lamp and hearth fire casting shadows upon his
calm, noble front, all the massive grandeur of his form,
and face, and brow, remained; and death seemed to
lose its terrors, and to borrow a grace and dignity in
sublime keeping with the life that was ebbing away.
The great mind sank to its last repose, almost with the
equal poise of health. The few broken utterances that
evinced at times a wandering intellect were spoken
under the influence of the remedies administered; but
as long as consciousness lasted, there was evidence that
all the high, controlling influences of his whole life
still ruled; and even when stupor was laying its cold
hand on the intellectual perceptions, the moral nature.
DEATH AND FUNERAL OF GENERAL LEE 213
with its complete orb of duties and affections, still
asserted itself. A Southern poet has celebrated in
song those last significant words, "Strike the tent":
and a thousand voices were raised to give meaning to
the uncertain sound, when the dying man said, with
emphasis, "Tell Hill he must come up!" These sen-
tences serve to show most touchingly through what
fields the imagination was passing; but generally his
words, though few, were coherent; but for the most
part indeed his silence was unbroken.
This self-contained reticence had an awful grandeur,
in solemn accord with a life that needed no defense.
Deeds which required no justification must speak for
him. His voiceless lips, like the shut gates of some
majestic temple, were closed, not for concealment, but
because that within was holy. Could the eye of the
mourning watcher have pierced the gloom that gathered
about the recesses of that great soul, it would have
perceived a Presence there full of an ineffable glory.
Leaning trustfully upon the all-sustaining Arm, the
man whose stature, measured by mortal standards,
seemed so great, passed from this world of shadows
to the realities of the hereafter.
Funeral
On the morning of Wednesday, October 12th, the
church-bells tolled forth the solemn announcement
that General Lee was dead. A whisper had passed
from lip to lip that he was sinking; and the anxious
hearts of the people understood the signal of bereave-
214 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
ment. Without concert of action, labor was sus-
pended in Lexington; all stores, shops, and places of busi-
ness were closed; and the exercises at the college, military
institute, and schools, ceased without formal notice.
Little children wept as they went to their homes; the
women shed tears as if a dear friend had gone from
among them; and the rugged faces of men, inured to
hardship of war, blanched as the sorrowful word was
spoken. The courtesies and little kindnesses that the
departed had strewed with gentle hand among all
classes of the community came back; and memory
recalled his stately form, not surrounded with the
splendor of his fame, but in the softer light of a dear
neighbor and friend who had vanished from sight
forever. The sense of national calamity was lost in
the tenderer distress of personal grief. General and
heart-felt 'mourning followed, and^^the ordinary pursuits
of business were not resumed until the next week.
In all the Southern States the people felt that the
death of General Lee was a loss to every community
and to each individual. By a common impulse they
met in whatever bodies they were accustomed to
assemble; and in mass-meetings, corporate bodies, and
voluntary societies, passed resolutions and voted ad-
dresses of respect and condolence. The pulpit, the
bar, the bench, the halls of legislation, municipal au-
thorities, benevolent associations, and all the organ-
izations through which men perform the functions of
society, spontaneously offered tributes to the memory
of the illustrious dead.
DEATH AND FUNERAL OF GENERAL LEE 21 5
The chosen orators of the land came forward to
eulogize his fame. A whole people, who at his counsel
had borne in silence five years of accumulated suffer-
ings, gave way to sorrow at the death of their loved
leader; but it was a sorrow in which tenderness was
exalted by the dignity of the dead, and the bereaved
felt that they shared in the heritage of an undying
name. It might seem invidious to select from testi-
monials so general and so honorable any even to serve
as illustrations or examples of the universal sorrow;
but it may be said of all that never was the sense of
public calamity more completely chastened in its ex-
pression by deep and real feeling.
The authorities of Washington College having
tendered to Mrs. Lee the college chapel as a burial-
place for General Lee, the offer was accepted; and
1.30 o'clock P. M. on the 14th of October was the time
fixed on for the removal of the remains from the resi-
dence of the deceased to the chapel, where they were
to lie in state until Saturday, the 15th of October,
the day appointed for the burial. At the hour named,
the procession to convey the body was formed under
the charge of Professor J. J. White as chief-marshal,
aided by assistants appointed by the students. The
escort of honor consisted of Confederate soldiers,
marshaled by the Hon. J. K. Edmondson, late colonel
of the Twenty-seventh Virginia Regiment. Following
the escort came the hearse, preceded by the clergy,
and attended by twelve pall-bearers, representing the
trustees, faculty, and students of Washington College,
2l6 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
the authorities of the Virginia Military Institute, the
soldiers of the Confederate army, the citizens of Lex-
ington. Just in the rear of the hearse. Traveller, the
noble white war horse of General Lee, with saddle and
bridle covered with crape, was led by two old soldiers.
Then came in order the long procession composed of
the college authorities and students, the corps of
cadets with their faculty, and the citizens. The body
was borne to the college chapel, and laid in state on
the dais; the procession passing slowly by, that each
one might look upon the face of the dead. The body,
attired in a simple suit of black, lay in a metallic
coffin, strewed by pious hands with flowers and ever-
greens. The chapel, with the care of the remains,
was then placed in charge of the guard of honor, ap-
pointed by the students from their own number.
This guard kept watch by the coffin until the inter-
ment, and gave to all who desired it the opportunity
of looking once more upon the loved and honored face.
On Friday morning, October 14th, the college chapel
was filled at nine o'clock with a solemn congregation
of students and citizens, all of whom seemed deeply
moved by the simple exercises. Rev. Dr. Pendleton
read from Psalm XXXVII, 8-1 1, and 28-40, and with
deep feeling applied its lessons to the audience, as
illustrated in the life and death of General Lee. The
speaker had for forty-five years been intimately asso-
ciated with this great and good man as fellow student,
comrade-in-arms, and pastor; and testified to his
singular and consistent rectitude, dignity, and excel-
DEATH AND FUNERAL OF GENERAL LEE 217
lence under all the circumstances of life, and to that
meekness in him that under the most trying adversity-
knew not envy, anger or complaint. "The law of
God was in his heart," therefore did "none of his steps
slide." "Mark the perfect man and behold the up-
right, for the end of that man is peace." The minister
powerfully illustrated the text of his discourse in the
career of this great and good man, and urged his hearers
to profit by the example of this servant of the Lord.
The venerable Dr. White, Stonewall Jackson's
pastor, and the Rev. John William Jones, of the Bap-
tist Church, who had served as chaplain in the Con-
federate army, and had since been intimately connected
with General Lee, followed with brief but interesting
remarks on the Christian character of the deceased.
On the 14th of October, General W. H. F. Lee,
Captain Robert E. Lee, and other members of the
family, arrived; and on this and the following day
delegations from the Legislature of Virginia and from
various places in the Commonwealth reached Lexington
over roads almost impassable from the ravages of the
recent great flood. The flag of Virginia, draped in
mourning, hung at half-mast above the college, badges
of sorrow were everywhere visible, and a general gloom
rested on the hearts of old and young.
Saturday, October 15th, was the day appointed for
the funeral. A cloudless sky and a pure, bracing air
made a suitable close to the splendid and unsullied
career of the man who was now to be consigned to the
tomb. It was desired to avoid all mere pageantry and
21 8 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
display, and that all the honors paid should accord
with the simple dignity of the dead. This spirit pre-
vailed in all the proceedings, and gave character to
the ceremonies of the day.
It was thought proper that those who had followed
his flag should lay the honored body of their chief in
its last resting place, and the escort of honor of Con-
federate soldiers, much augmented in numbers, and
commanded by General B. T. Johnson, assisted by
Colonel Edmondson, Colonel Maury, and Major
Dorman, was assigned the post of honor in the pro-
cession.
The following account of the ceremonies is taken
from a newspaper letter, written at the time, by Rev.
J. Wm. Jones:
"The order of the procession was as follows:
Music.
Escort of Honor, consisting of Officers and Soldiers of the
Confederate Army.
Chaplain and other Clergy.
Hearse and Pall-Bearers.
General Lee's Horse.
The Attending Physicians.
Trustees and Faculty of Washington College.
Dignitaries of the State of Virginia.
Visitors and Faculty of Virginia Military Institute.
Other Representative Bodies and Distinguished Visitors.
Alumni of Washington College.
Citizens,
Cadets Virginia Military Institute.
Students Washington College as Guard of Honor."
"At ten o'clock precisely the procession was formed
on the college grounds in front of the president's house,
DEATH AND FUNERAL OF GENERAL LEE 219
and moved down Washington Street, up Jefferson
Street to the Franklin Hall, thence to Main Street,
where it was joined, in front of the hotel, by the rep-
resentatives of the State of Virginia and other repre-
sentative bodies in their order, and by the organized
body of the citizens in front of the courthouse.
"The procession then moved by the street to the
Virginia Military Institute, where it was joined by
the visitors, faculty, and cadets of the institute, in
their respective places. The procession was closed by
the students of Washington College as a guard of
honor, and then moved up through the institute and
college grounds to the chapel.
"The procession was halted in front of the chapel,
when the cadets of the institute and the students of
Washington College were marched through the college
chapel past the remains, and were afterward drawn
up in two bodies on the south side of the chapel. The
remainder of the procession then proceeded into the
chapel and were seated under the direction of the
marshals. The gallery and side blocks were reserved
for ladies.
"As the procession moved off, to a solemn dirge by
the institute band, the bells of the town began to toll,
and the institute battery fired minute-guns, which
were kept up during the whole exercises.
" In front of the National Hotel the procession was
joined by the committee of the Legislature, consisting
of Colonel W. H. Taylor, Colonel E. Pendleton, W. L.
Riddick, Major Kelly, Geo. Walker, Z. Turner, H.
220 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
Bowen, T. O. Jackson, and Marshall Hanger; the
delegation from the city of Staunton, headed by
Colonel Bolivar Christian and other prominent citizens;
and such other delegations as had been able to stem
the torrents which the great freshet had made of even
the smaller streams.
"It was remarked that the different classes who
joined in the procession mingled into each other, and
that among the boards of the college and institute,
the faculties, the students and cadets, the legislative
committee, the delegations, and even the clergy, were
many who might with equal propriety have joined the
soldier guard of honor; for they, too, had followed the
standard of Lee in the days that tried men's souls.
"Along the streets the buildings were all appropri-
ately draped, and crowds gathered on the corners
and the balconies to see the procession pass. Not a
flag floated above *' e procession, and nothing was seen
that looked like ar ttempt at display. The old soldiers
wore their ordir citizens' dress, with a simple
black ribbon in t apel of their coats; and Traveller,
led by two old ?^ iers, had the simple trappings of
mourning on his . die.
"The Virginia [ilitary Institute was very beauti-
fully draped, and -om its turrets hung at half-mast,
and draped in moi rning, the flags of all of the States
of the late Southern Confederacy.
"When the procession reached the institute, it passed
the corps of cadets drawn up in line, and a guard of
honor presented arms as the hearse passed. When
DEATH AND FUNERAL OF GENERAL LEE 221
it reached the chapel, where an immense throng had
assembled, the students and cadets, about six hundred
and fifty strong, marched into the left door and aisle
past the remains and out by the right aisle and door
to their appropriate place. The rest of the procession
then filed in. The family, joined by Drs. Barton and
Madison, the attending physicians, and Colonels W.
H. Taylor and C. S. Venable, members of General
Lee's staff during the war, occupied seats immediately
in front of the pulpit; and the clergy, of whom a number
were present, faculty of the college, and faculty of
the institute, had places on the platform.
"The coffin was covered with flowers and ever-
greens, while the front of the drapery thrown over it
was decorated with crosses of evergreen and immor-
telles.
"Rev. Dr. Pendleton, the long intimate personal
friend of General Lee, his chief of artillery during the
war, and his pastor the past five y rs, read the beauti-
ful burial service of the Epif .»al Church. No
sermon was preached, and noth / said besides the
simple service, in accordance wit the known wishes
of General Lee.
"After the funeral services we? concluded in the
chapel, the body was removed tc t^e vault prepared
for its reception, and the conclud .ig services read by
the chaplain from the bank on the southern side of
the chapel, in front of the vault.
"There was sung, in the chapel, the 124th hymn of
the Episcopal collection; and, after the coffin was
222 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
lowered into the vault, the congregation sang the grand
old hymn,
*How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord.'
"This was always a favorite hymn of General Lee's,
and was, therefore, especially appropriate upon this sad
occasion.
"The vault is constructed of brick, lined with cement.
The top just reaches the floor of the library, and is
double capped with white marble, on which is the
simple inscription:
* ROBERT EDWARD LEE,
Born January 19, 1807;
Died October 12, 1870.
"This temporary structure is to be replaced by a
beautiful sarcophagus, the design of which has been
already committed to Valentine, the gifted Virginia
sculptor."
The simple services concluded, the great assemblage,
with hearts awed and saddened, defiled through the
vaulted room in which was the tomb, to pay the last token
of respect to the mighty dead. Thus ended the funeral
of General Robert E. Lee.
GENERAL LEE'S LAST OFFICE
By Dr. J. William Jones
This brief contribution from the pen of a former Chaplain in the
Army of Northern Virginia, who was also a noted author and editor
of books and magazines relating to the War of Secession, was
published in the Confederate Veteran for Sept., 1899. — Editor.
WHEN our great chieftain, after the close of
the great "War between the States," turned
his back upon offers of pecuniary assistance
and positions with large salaries and bright promise
of rich emoluments, and went to preside over Wash-
ington College, at Lexington, Va., in order, as he ex-
pressed it, to "teach young men to do their duty in
life," he built with the first money he could secure for
the purpose a commodious, neat, and substantial
chapel. In the basement of this chapel was the college
Hbrary, the office of his secretary, and General Lee's
own office. This latter was neatly but not extrava-
gantly furnished with desks, bookshelves, chairs, and
especially a large round table at which the President
sat in an arm-chair, and on which he wrote, with
letters, pamphlets, stationery, etc., conveniently ar-
ranged and always kept in that neat order which so
eminently characterized the man.
Here he received members of the faculty, students,
or other visitors with the cordial, easy grace which
made a visit to the office so pleasant.
224 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
On Wednesday, September 28, 1870, President Lee
was at his post of duty, and after attending morning
chapel service, as was his wont every day, he went into
his office and was busy all the morning with his cor-
respondence, etc. At 3 o'clock he went to his home
for dinner, leaving a half-finished letter on his table.
At 4 o'clock he presided over an important meeting
of the vestry of his Church — Grace Episcopal Church —
from which he did not return home until 7 o'clock,
finding the family waiting tea for him. He started to
ask a blessing, when he was smitten with the fatal
disease from which he died soon after 9 o'clock on the
morning of October 12.
His office has been kept ever since just as he left it.
The half-finished letter, the inkstand, pens, letter
heads, pamphlets, packages of letters, college reports,
etc., all remind one of the great President who on that
day left his busy workshop to enter so soon upon his
glorious rest.
The visitor to this Mecca of our Southland — the
tomb of Lee and the grave of Stonewall Jackson,
Lexington, in the Valley of Virginia, — will be sure to
enter this beautiful chapel and look with interest on
the pew the lamented President always occupied.
Then he will gaze long and with intense gratification
on the pure white marble just in the rear of the college
platform, in which the genius of Edward Valentine has
produced one of the most superb works of art on this
continent and given us a veritable "Marse Robert
asleep."
Recumbent Statue of General Lee, by Valentine
Mausoleum Beneath the Recumbent Statue
GENERAL LEE'S LAST OFFICE 22$
He goes below and gazes with solemn awe on the
vault in which sleep the ashes of America's greatest
soldier, the world's model man; and then he turns into
the office where there are such precious mementos,
such hallowed memories of the greatest college Presi-
dent which this country ever produced.
May the office be ever preserved just as he left it,
and future generations of students draw inspiration
from the precious memories which cluster there!
THE MAUSOLEUM AND RECUMBENT STATUE
By Col. William Allan
This description of the Mausoleum and Recumbent Statue and account
of the dedication of the latter was written by a member of General Lee's
faculty and of the executive committee of the Lee Memorial Association
which was organized to provide a suitable monument expressing the love and
veneration of the South for its great leader. It is taken from a pamphet
published by the Washington and Lee University shortly after the dedicatory
ceremonies in 1883. — Editor.
MRS. MARY CUSTIS LEE was requested
by the executive committee [of the Lee
Memorial Association], to indicate her prefer-
ence in regard to the monument to be erected by the
association, and at her suggestion, Mr. Ed. V. Valen-
tine, the distinguished Virginian sculptor, was sent
for. Mr. Valentine had, the preceding summer,
modeled a bust of General Lee from life, which was
considered an admirable work of art. Mrs. Lee, after
examining a number of drawings and photographs of
celebrated works of art, suggested, as a suitable design
for the monument, a recumbent figure of General Lee
lying asleep upon the field of battle. The design was
suggested to her by Rauch's figure of Louise of Prussia
in the mausoleum at Charlottenburg. This figure
of Lee, somewhat above life size, was to be placed upon
a sarcophagus suitably inscribed and decorated. The
THE MAUSOLEUM AND RECUMBENT STATUE 227
whole was to be of white marble and was designed to be
placed over the remains of General Lee.
On April i, 1875, ^^- Valentine reported the work
done, and the association took steps to have the
monument brought to Lexington. At this time the
students of Richmond College made application for
the "privilege of taking charge of the monument when
it is sent up to Lexington, and bearing the expenses
of its transportation." This kind and courteous pro-
posal was cordially accepted by the executive com-
mittee, and the monument was brought by canal from
Richmond under an escort of the students of Richmond
College. The escort was composed of Messrs. J. T.
E. Thornhill, W. M. Turpin, R. H. Pitt, A. M. Harris,
H. C. Smith and J. W. Martin, of Virginia; S. S. Wood-
ward of New Jersey; R. T. Hanks, of Alabama, and
C. N. Donaldson, of South Carolina. As the figure was
being taken from the artist's studio to the boat landing
in Richmond, on April 13, a large number of the citi-
zens of Richmond, headed by the students of Rich-
mond College and the First Virginia Regiment, fol-
lowed in procession to honor the memory of Lee. The
monument reached Lexington, April 17, 1875. ^^^
Thornhill, in appropriate terms, delivered it to the
committee, on whose behalf ex-Gov. John Letcher
responded. Addresses were also made on this occasion
by Lt. Gen. Early and Col. W. Preston Johnston.
The monument was temporarily stored in a room upon
228 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
the grounds of Washington and Lee University, and
confided, for the time, to the guardianship of the stu-
dents of that institution.
When the completion of the figure had been assured,
the executive committee turned their attention to
providing a suitable mausoleum in which it might
be placed. Gen. R. D. Lilly was appointed agent to col-
lect funds for this purpose in the winter of 1874-5. • • •
A year now passed, and in May, 1877, J. Crawford
Neilson, Esq., a leading architect of Baltimore, offered
to furnish a design for the mausoleum. Mr. Neilson *s
kind offer was accepted and he was invited to visit
Lexington. After full conference and investigation
Mr. Neilson proposed as the design for the mausoleum
a rectangular apse to be placed in the rear of the chapel
of the university, where General Lee was buried. His
plan was approved and adopted by the Association.
As described at the time, it "consists of a fire proof
apse, an addition to the rear of the chapel, conforming
in material and design to the chapel itself. The lower
story is a crypt of massive stone masonry, and the
superstructure is built of brick. The interior is en-
crusted with brick and Cleveland stone, of subdued
tints, and is lighted from above. The whole constitutes
a solemn and tender memorial of the warrior who rests
in peace beneath, surrounded by the ashes of those
who were dearest on earth."
The final arrangements having been completed
under the supervision of the architect, Mr. Neilson,
THE MAUSOLEUM AND RECUMBENT STATUE 229
and the artist, Mr. Valentine, the monument was
formally transferred to the association by Mr. Val-
entine on May 7, 1883, and was accepted on their
behalf by the Hon. W. A. Anderson, who in fitting
terms gave expression to the appreciation and admira-
tion felt by all present as they looked upon the beautiful
creation of the genius of Valentine and realized the
perfection of the arrangements made by the skill and
taste of Mr. Neilson for its preservation and display.
The dimensions of the mausoleum on the ground
plan are 31x36 feet. The lower story, which is con-
structed of coraline limestone to correspond with the
basement of the chapel, is a crypt containing cells or
receptacles for twenty-eight bodies. Three of these
contain the ashes of Gen. R. E. Lee, Mrs. Mary Custis
Lee, and Miss Agnes Lee.* Adjoining the crypt,
but underneath the chapel, is the room used as an
office by General Lee during the later years of his
presidency of Washington College, which is preserved
as he left it on the day he was taken ill.
The chamber containing the monument is directly
over the crypt and is of brick like the corresponding
part of the chapel. "The floor of the chamber is tes-
sellated with white-veined marble and encaustic tiles.
The walls consist of panels of grayish Indiana marble
* In more recent years the remains of other members of the Lee family
have been added, as follows:
Gen. Henry ("Light Horse Harry") Lee, father of Gen. R. E. Lee; Gen.
G. W. Custis and Capt. Robert E. Lee, sons of Gen. R. E. Lee; Misses
Mildred Childe and Mary Custis Lee, daughters of Gen. R. E. Lee, and
Mrs. Julia Carter Lee, second wife of Capt. R. E. Lee. — Editor.
23 O GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
enframed in dark Baltimore pressed brick, and sur-
mounted by semicircular compartments which can be
used for basso-rilievo medallions. In one of these com-
partments, immediately facing the chapel, is inscribed
the name of General Lee, together with the dates of
his birth and death. Immediately around the base of
the sarcophagus is a border of dark tiling. The tes-
sellated floor is on the level of the platform of the
chapel, which is raised three feet above the floor of the
audience chamber.
The figure and couch, which are of statuary marble,
are mounted on a sarcophagus simple almost to severity
in its order, and which rests on a granite base course.
The sides of the sarcophagus are composed of two
marble panels each, the space between the panels
bearing, in basso-rilievo^ on the one side the Lee coat of
arms, and on the other the arms of Virginia. The
head and foot consist of one panel each, the former
being ornamented by a simple cross, the latter bearing
the legend:
ROBERT EDWARD LEE
Born
January 19, 1807;
Died
October 12, 1870.
"The figure is over life size, and rests upon a heavily
draped couch in an attitude of easy repose, the head
being elevated to a natural position, with the face
turned slightly to the right. The feet are lightly
crossed. The right forearm lies across the breast —
THE MAUSOLEUM AND RECUMBENT STATUE 231
the hand holding by simple weight the blanket which
covers the lower part of the body — while the left arm
is fully extended along the couch, this hand holding
the hilt of a sword." The contour of the limbs is
easily discerned through the covering which falls over
the lower part of the body.
An anti-chamber connects the monument chamber
with the chapel and is separated from the former by
iron doors. A large arched opening, heavily curtained,
leads from the chapel into this ante-chamber. The
monument is so placed and the light, which falls from
the room, so arranged, that when the curtains are
drawn and the iron doors open, the figure can be seen
from nearly every part of the floor and galleries of the
chapel.
The 28 th of June, the day for the public opening of
the mausoleum, was the day after the Commencement
of Washington and Lee University, the exercises of
which had already drawn many persons to Lexington.
In addition to these a much larger concourse of ex-
Confederate soldiers gathered from every quarter on
the day itself. All old Confederates and all admirers
of General Lee were invited to attend, and special
cards were sent to all former cabinet officers of the
Confederate States, the general officers of the Con-
federate army, the principal officers of the Confederate
navy, the members of General Lee's staffs, the Governors
of the Southern States, the executive and judicial
officers of Virginia, and the representatives in Congress
and the senators from Virginia. No effbrt was spared
232 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
by the people of Lexington and Rockbridge county
to honor the day. Business was suspended, and the
people devoted themselves to the exercises of the day,
and to entertaining the crowds that came from a
distance. Special trains on the Richmond and Al-
legheny and the Shenandoah Valley railroads brought
numbers from every point within reach. A large
number of the survivors of the Stonewall Brigade, as
well as other commands of the Army of Northern
Virginia, were present. Prominent among those . on
the ground were the Maryland Line, consisting of the
survivors of the soldiers and sailors of that State, who
had served in the Confederate army and navy. Be-
sides residents of the town and county, there were
present among the distinguished persons from a dis-
tance. Gen. Wade Hampton, Gen. J. A. Early, Gen.
Fitz. Lee, Gen. W. H. F. Lee, Gen. Wm. Terry, Gen.
Geo. H. Steuart, Gen. M. D. Corse, Gen. R. D. Lilly,
Col. Wm. Norris, Chief of the Confederate Signal
Bureau, Col. H. E. Peyton and Col. T. M. R. Talcott,
of General Lee's Staff, Col. W. H. Palmer, of Gen.
A. P. Hill's Staff, Capt. R. E. Lee, Capt. J. H. H.
Figgat, Maj. E. L. Rogers, Judge H. W. Bruce, Judge
J. H. Fulton, Hon. C. R. Breckinridge of Arkansas,
Father Ryan, Rev. Dr. Alexander, Leigh Robinson,
Esq., John J. Williams, Esq., C. W. Button, Esq.,
and D. Gardiner Tyler, Esq. Mrs. Gen. Stonewall
Jackson, Mrs. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, Mrs. Gen.
Geo. E. Pickett and Mrs. Carlisle (formerly Mrs.
Gen. Geo. B. Anderson), were also present. The
THE MAUSOLEUM AND RECUMBENT STATUE 233
venerable philanthropists, W. W. Corcoran, Esq., of
Washington, and the venerable ex-Gov. Wm. Smith,
of Virginia, honored the occasion by their presence.
In the morning a procession was formed under
General Hampton as chief marshal, which visited the
grave of Stonewall Jackson in the Lexington cemetery.
Here were seen many touching evidences of the devo-
tion of his people to this great soldier. The soldiers of
the Maryland Line, under Gen. G. H. Steuart, who
had shared in many of Jackson's campaigns, brought
a handsome bronze tablet inscribed with the arms of
Maryland, which they placed at the head of his grave.
The grave itself was covered with flowers and im-
mortelles placed there by a number of ladies under
the direction of Miss Edmonia Waddell. The railing
around it was similarly decorated, and at each corner
was a shield surrounded by an evergreen wreath, and
containing a motto furnished by Mrs. Margaret J.
Preston. These mottoes were:
1. "Faith that could not fail nor yield,
Was the legend of his shield."
"Port Republic."
2. " From the land for which he bled,
Honor to the warrior dead."
"Manassas."
3 . " From the field of death and fame,
Borne upon his shield he came."
" Chancellorsville. "
4. "In the Valley let me lie.
Underneath God's open sky."
"Lexington."
234 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
More precious still was the silent tear which forced
its way to the eye of many an old soldier as the green
grave brought the scenes of twenty years ago before
his sight. Among the beautiful incidents of the day
was the following: The daughter of Ex-President
Davis, Miss Winnie Davis, had sent to General Early
two floral designs composed entirely of immortelles
and made to represent the Confederate battle flag.
They were exquisite in design and finish. One was
intended for the grave of Lee and the other for that of
Jackson. General Early selected Miss Carrie W. Daniel,
the little ten-year-old daughter of the orator of the
day, to place the tribute upon Jackson's grave. The
tomb of Lee had been beautifully decorated with
evergreens and flowers by a committee of the ladies of
Lexington under the direction of Mrs. Gen. Edwin
G. Lee. Amid these decorations was placed the Con-
federate battle flag in immortelles. After the ceremonies
of the day were over, many a bronzed and gray-headed
soldier might have been seen culling some of these
beautiful immortelles from the graves of Lee and
Jackson to commit as a sacred memento to the keeping
of his children.
The procession returned from the cemetery to the
grounds of Washington and Lee University, where in
front of the chapel a stand and seats had been placed
for the accommodation of the audience and speaker.
The day was a propitious one. It was rainless, cool
and bright. By ii o'clock a mass of from 8,000 to
10,000 people filled the grounds. As many of them as
THE MAUSOLEUM AND RECUMBENT STATUE 235
could get within sound of the orator's voice gathered
about the stand, and listened with absorbed attention.
In the absence of Gen. Jos. E. Johnston, who was
detained at home by serious illness, Lt. General Early
introduced Maj. Daniel, who for three hours held his
audience by the spell of his eloquence, moving it
now to applause, and now to tears. At the close of the
speech. General Early called upon Father Ryan to
recite his poem, "The Sword of Lee." As the poet's
voice gradually rose and spread over the throng the
intense emotion with which his form and his words were
filled spread, too, and fairly thrilled the great audience.
The moment for the unveiling of the figure was
then announced by a salute fired by the survivors of
the "Rockbridge Artillery," who used for the purpose
two guns which had constituted a part of their arma-
ment at the first battle of Manassas. These guns
were part of the cadet battery used by Stonewall
Jackson when a professor at the Virginia Military In-
stitute, and are now again in the keeping of that in-
stitution. Some fifty of the former members of this
famous artillery company had assembled for the oc-
casion, and under Col. Wm. T. Poague, who had long
been their captain, for a few moments resumed their
former organization and duties. What memories of
the past, what deeds of daring, and what days of toil,
what moving incidents of camp and field did the sound
of those guns recall as those old soldiers looked into
the faces or grasped the hands they had not seen or
felt for eighteen years!
236 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX
As the guns opened fire the chapel and mausoleum
were thrown open, the figure was unveiled by Miss
Julia Jackson (daughter of Stonewall Jackson), and
the vast throng began to move through the building
to view it. For many hours the current continued its
steady flow, and indeed only ceased at nightfall. Mean-
time the hospitable town and county was entertaining
the crowd of strangers. The houses of citizens of the
town were everywhere thrown open, and handsome
entertainments were provided at many of them. In
addition to this, a lunch, provided by the citizens of
the county and town, was served on the university
grounds to several thousand people.
The evening fell upon a day forever marked in the
annals of Lexington. It was felt by all that Valentine's
chisel had created a worthy memorial of Lee, and that
Daniel, in words not less fitting had committed it to
the keeping of the future.
APPENDIX
Letter of General Lee to Lord Acton
This letter, written while General Lee was President of Washington
College, is unique, since its author was extremely cautious and reticent
among his own people on the subject which he here discussed freely with his
foreign correspondent. It will be found in Lord Acton's Correspondencey I,
302-305. — Editor.
Lexington, Vir.,
15 Dec, 1866.
Sir, — Although your letter of the 4th ulto. has been
before me some days unanswered, I hope you will not
attribute it to a want of interest in the subject, but to
my inability to keep pace with my correspondence.
As a citizen of the South I feel deeply indebted to you
for the sympathy you have evinced in its cause, and
am conscious that I owe your kind consideration of
myself to my connection with it. The influence of
current opinion in Europe upon the current politics
of America must always be salutary; and the importance
of the questions now at issue in the United States,
involving not only constitutional freedom and con-
stitutional government in this country, but the prog-
ress of universal liberty and civilization, invests your
proposition with peculiar value, and will add to the
obligation which every true American must owe you
for your efforts to guide that opinion aright. Amid
238 APPENDIX
the conflicting statements and sentiments in both
countries, it will be no easy task to discover the truth,
or to relieve it from the mass of prejudice and passion,
with which it has been covered by party spirit. I am
conscious of the compliment conveyed in your request
for my opinion as to the light in which American pol-
itics should be viewed, and had I the ability, I have not
the time to enter upon a discussion, which was com-
menced by the founders of the constitution and has
been continued to the present day. I can only say
that while I have considered the preservation of the
constitutional power of the General Government to
be the foundation of our peace and safety at home and
abroad, I yet believe that the maintenance of the
rights and authority reserved to the states and to the
people, not only essential to the adjustment and bal-
ance of the general system, but the safeguard to the
continuance of a free government. I consider it as
the chief source of stability to our political system,
whereas the consolidation of the states into one vast
republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at
home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which
has overwhelmed all those that have preceded it. I
need not refer one so well acquainted as you are with
American history, to the State papers of Washington
and Jefferson, the representatives of the federal and
democratic parties, denouncing consolidation and
centralization of power, as tending to the subversion
of State Governments, and to despotism. The New
England states, whose citizens are the fiercest oppo-
APPENDIX 239
nents of the Southern states, did not always avow the
opinions they now advocate. Upon the purchase of
Louisiana by Mr. Jefferson, they virtually asserted the
right of secession through their prominent men; and
in the convention which assembled at Hartford in
1 8 14, they threatened the disruption of the Union un-
less the war should be discontinued. The assertion
of this right has been repeatedly made by their poli-
ticians when their party was weak, and Massachusetts,
the leading state in hostility to the South, declares
in the preamble to her constitution, that the people
of that commonwealth "have the sole and exclusive
right of governing themselves as a free sovereign and
independent state, and do, and forever hereafter shall,
exercise and enjoy every power, jurisdiction, and right
which is not, or may hereafter be by them expressly
delegated to the United States of America in congress
assembled." Such has been in substance the language
of other State governments, and such the doctrine
advocated by the leading men of the country for the
last seventy years. Judge Chase, the present Chief
Justice of the U. S., as late as 1850, is reported to have
stated in the Senate, of which he was a member, that
he "knew of no remedy in case of the refusal of a state
to perform its stipulations," thereby acknowledging
the sovereignty and independence of state action.
But I will not weary you with this unprofitable dis-
cussion. Unprofitable because the judgment of reason
has been displaced by the arbitrament of war, waged
for the purpose as avowed of maintaining the union
240 APPENDIX
of the states. If, therefore, the result of the war is to
be considered as having decided that the union of the
states is inviolable and perpetual under the constitu-
tion, it naturally follows that it is as incompetent for
the general government to impair its integrity by the
exclusion of a state, as for the states to do so by se-
cession; and that the existence and rights of a state by
the constitution are as indestructible as the union itself.
The legitimate consequence then must be the perfect
equality of rights of all the states; the exclusive right
of each to regulate its internal affairs under rules es-
tablished by the constitution, and the right of each
state to prescribe for itself the qualifications of suffrage.
The South has contended only for the supremacy of
the constitution, and the just administration of the
laws made in pursuance of it. Virginia to the last
made great efforts to save the union, and urged har-
mony and compromise. Senator Douglass, in his
remarks upon the compromise bill recommended by
the committee of thirteen in 1861, stated that every
member from the South, including Messrs. Toombs
and Davis, expressed their willingness to accept the
proposition of Senator Crittenden from Kentucky, as a
final settlement of the controversy, if sustained by
the republican party, and that the only difficulty in
the way of an amicable adjustment was with the re-
publican party. Who then is responsible for the war?
Although the South would have preferred any honor-
able compromise to the fratricidal war which has taken
place, she now accepts in good faith its constitutional
APPENDIX 241
results, and receives without reserve the amendment
which has already been made to the constitution for
the extinction of slavery. That is an event that has
been long sought, though in a different way, and by
none has it been more earnestly desired than by citi-
zens of Virginia. In other respects I trust that the
constitution may undergo no change, but that it may
be handed down to succeeding generations in the form
we received it from our forefathers. The desire I feel
that the Southern states should possess the good opin-
ion of one whom I esteem as highly as yourself, has
caused me to extend my remarks farther than I in-
tended, and I fear it has led me to exhaust your pa-
tience. If what I have said should serve to give any
information as regards American politics, and enable
you to enlighten public opinion as to the true interests
of this distracted country, I hope you will pardon its
prolixity.
In regard to your inquiry as to my being engaged in
preparing a narrative of the campaigns in Virginia, I
regret to state that I progress slowly in the collection
of the necessary documents for its completion. I
particularly feel the loss of the official returns showing
the small numbers with which the battles were fought.
I have not seen the work by the Prussian officer you
mention and therefore cannot speak of his accuracy
in this respect. — With sentiments of great respect,
I remain your obt. servant,
R. E. Lee.
Sir John Dalberg Acton.
INDEX
Acton, Lord, letter from Lee, i68,
237-241
Adams, Charles Francis, cited, 98;
address on Lee, 196 n.; tablet in
Lee Memorial Chapel, 197 n.
Ajax, Lee's horse, 112
Aldrich, James, student, 138
Alexander, Dr., at Lee exercises, 232
Alexander, Archibald, and Lee, 149
Allan, Col. William, ordnance offi-
cer, 23; of Washington College,
107, 108; on the mausoleum and
statue of Lee, 226-236
Allen, Joseph J., recollections of
Lee, 131-132
Allison, , student at Lexing-
ton, 70
Ammen, Dr. S. Z., on Lee and the
student, 142-145
Anderson, David L., at Washington
College, 59
Anderson, William A., rector of
Washington and Lee University,
letter cited, 5 n.-6 n.; on Lee as a
man, 196-202; and Lee monu-
ment, 229
Arlington, Lee's home, 63, 164
Army of Northern Virginia, mate-
rials for history of, 160-161; at
Mine Run, 185; at Lee mansoleum,
232
Barclay, Hugh, trustee of Wash-
ington College, 3
Barton, Dr. H. T., Lee's physician,
209,211,221
Beauregard, Gen. P. G. T., proposed
history by, 160
Berlin, F. A., recollections of Lee,
40-48.
Blackmar, John, recollections of
Lee, 109-111
Bledsoe, Dr. A. T., letter from Lee
cited, 159
Bond, Louis, at Washington Col-
lege, 59
Books, read by Lee, 165-181
Bowen, H., at Lee's funeral, 219-220
Boyle, Rev. William, recollections
of Lee, 119
Breckenridge, Clifton, as debater, 61
Breckinridge, Hon. C. R., at Lee
exercises, 232
Brockenbrough, Judge John W.,
rector of Washington College, 3,
4, 5, 23, 76; eulogy of Lee, 13;
son of, 129
Brooke, Col. John M., at Lexington,
23
Brown, Rev. Dr., trustee of Wash-
ington College, 193
Brown, Rev. C. C, recollections of
Lee, 138-141
Brown, Maj. Campbell, 73
Bruce, Judge H. W., at Lee exer-
cises, 232
Button, C. W., at Lee exercises, 232
Byron, Lord, incident of, 146
Cameron, Mrs., 112
Campbell, Prof. John, 42, 144
Carlisle, Mrs., at Lee exercises, 232
244
INDEX
Carlton, Hubbard G., recollections
of Lee, 116-117
Carter, Dr. Charles, letter from Lee
cited, IS9
Cary, Archibald, ancestors, 173
Chancellorsville, battle of, 159
Chase, Judge, cited, 239
Chilton, Gen. R. H., letter to Lee,
109
Christian, Col. Bolivar, trustee of
Washington College, i, 2, 75, 76;
at Lee's funeral, 220
Cockrill, S. R., 64, 70
Collins, W. W., at Washington
College, 59
Collyar, John B., observation of
Lee, 65-68
Confederate Veteran, quoted, 65,
223
Congress, U. S., reconstruction
committee, 157, 166
Corcoran, W. W., at Lee exercises,
233
Corse, Gen. M. D., at Lee exercises,
232
Crittenden, J. J., compromise offered
by, 240
Custis, Gen. G. W. P., Memoir of,
168 n.
Daniel, Maj., at Lee exercises, 235,
236
Daniel, Carrie W., at Jackson's
grave, 234
Davis, Jefferson, trial of, 96-97;
address cited, 98; attitude toward
compromise, 240
Davis, Winnie, floral designs from,
234
Deadrick, Dr. Chalmers, recollec-
tions of Lee, 135-138
Donaldson, C. N., 227
Dorman, Maj., office of, 113; at
Lee's funeral, 218
Douglas, Stephen A., on the com-
promise bill, 240
Early, Gen. J. A., at Lee exercises,
227, 232, 234, 235
Edmondson, Hon. J. K., at Lee's
funeral, 215, 218
Elliott, Bishop, of Georgia, death
of, 189
Estill, Mrs., 59
Estill, W. W., tribute to Lee, 49-53
Ewell, Gen. R. S., letters from, 69^
73
Ewing, J. W., incidents of Lee, 69-74
Ewing, Judge Robert, recollections
of Lee, 54-58
Farrar, Col. F. R., letter from Lee,
189
Fergusson, Harvey B., record at
Washington College, 1 31-13 2
Figgat, Capt. J. H. H., at Lee exer-
cises, 232
Fleming, Rev. Robert H., recollec-
tions of Lee, 118
Forrest, Gen. N. B., Lee's opinion
of, 71-72
Franco-Prussian War, Lee's interest
in, 158
Franklin Society Library, books
read by Lee, 164, 165-169, 180-
181
Fredericksburg, Va., Lee at, 79
Fulton, Judge J. H., at Lee exer-
cises, 232
Gardner, Washington, D. C, pho-
tographer, 46
Gettysburg campaign, 103, 107
Gonzales, Ruperto, 64
INDEX
24s
Gordon, Dr. Edward C, recollec-
tions of Lee, 75-105; cited,
164 n.-i65 n., 166 n.
Gordon, Gen. John B., at Peters-
burg, 186
Goshen Pass, 148
Grace Church, Lexington, Lee as
vestryman, 99, 108
Graham, John M., student, 69, 70
Graham Literary Society, 61, iii
Grant, Gen. U. S., mentioned, 96,
lOI
Graves, Prof. C. A., on Lee at
Lexington, 22-3 1
Grosart, Rev. Alexander B., writ-
ings of, 166
Hagood, Gen. Johnson, introduc-
tion by, 139
Hamilton, A. H., recollections of
Lee, 1 19-120
Hampton, Gen. Wade, at Lee exer-
cises, 232, 233
Hanger, Marshall, at Lee's funeral,
220
Hanks, R. T., 227
Harman, Maj. John A., of Lee's
staff, 69, 70, 107
Harman, Mike G., recollections of
Lee, 107-108
Harris, A. M., 227
Harris, Prof. Carter J., 54, 144
Hartford Convention, 239
Hedger, C. W., recollections of Lee,
111-112
Hill, Gen. A. P., at Mine Run, 185;
at Petersburg, 186
Hoge, Rev. Dr. Moses D., letter
from Lee, 190-191
Holden, , of Lexington, 131
Holland, R. A., commencement
address, 62
Hope, Hon. A. W. Beresford, letter
from Lee, 188
Hot Springs, Va., Lee at, 207
Hughes, Jonathan, horse thief, 28-
29. 30
Humphreys, Prof. M. W., on Lee as
college president, 32-39; diary
quoted, 71 n.; mentioned, 123
Hunter, Gen., raid, 7 n.; library
destroyed by, 164 n.
Jackson, Andrew, anecdote con-
cerning, 15
Jackson, Julia, at Lee exercises, 236
Jackson, Stonewall, home of, 22, 24;
pastor of, 217; grave of, 224, 233,
234; at V. M. L, 235
Jackson, Mrs. Stonewall, at Lee
exercises, 232
Jackson, T. O., at Lee's funeral, 220
Johns, Bishop, confirmation of Lee,
99
Johnson, Gen. B. T., at Lee's
funeral, 218
Johnston, Gen. Joseph E., proposed
history by, 160; illness of, 235
Johnston, Col. William P., at Lex-
ington, 23; on Lee's death and
funeral, 206-222; address by, 227
Jones, Dr. J. William, Baptist
pastor, 62; cited, 161, 218; on
Christian character of Lee, 182-
195; at Lee's funeral, 217; on
Lee's last office, 223-225
Jones, Rev. W. Strother, recollec-
tions of Lee, 106
Joynes, Prof. E. S., cited, 7, 34;
on Lee as college president, 16-
21; explosion in room of, 70,
71 n.; mentioned, 130, 144
Junkin, Dr. George, president of
Washington College, 24
246
INDEX
Kane, Dr., acquaintance of Lee, 172
Kelly, Maj., at Lee's funeral, 219
Kirkpatrick, Dr. J. L., professor of
philosophy, 59; and Lee, 194
Lacy, Rev. B. T., interview with
Lee, 183-184
Leary, W. B., Lee's teacher, 162 n.
Lee, Agnes, 109, 118, 120, 121
Lee, Mrs. Edwin G., at Lee exer-
cises, 234
Lee, Charles Carter, 161 n.
Lee, Gen. Fitzhugh, at Lee exer-
cises, 232
Lee, Gen. G. W. Custis, 116, 150,
207, 210, 229 n.
Lee, Gen. Henry ("Light Horse
Harry"), R. E. Lee's biography
of, 161, 167; burial place, 229 n.
Lee, Mrs. JuUa Carter, burial, 229 n.
Lee, Mary C, daughter, 1-2, 229 n.
Lee, Mary Custis, wife of Gen. Lee,
illness of, 44, 171; reminiscences
concerning, 91, 96, 108, 109, no,
118, 154, 176; literary interests,
168 n.; and Lee statue, 226; burial
place, 229
Lee, Mildred, 49, 52, 63, 73, 109,
121, 160; cited, 75-76; illness of,
172; burial, 229 n.
Lee, Robert E., as college president,
1-145 passim; 191, 199-201, 203-
205, 223-225; letters cited, 7-8,
87. 92, 93> 94. 158-159. 161, 162-
163, 167, 169, 170, 171, 175, 176,
189-191, 192, 201 ; death of, 9, 118,
119, 123, 128, 131, 140-141, 148,
206-213; on character, 18, 19;
on education, 20; at Lexington,
22-31; attitude toward religion,
25; attitude toward temperance,
25; on industry, 25; and literary
societies, 26; illness of, 30-31, 175,
176, 195, 206, 207, 209-211; statue
of, 58, 224, 226-236; as dis-
cipHnarian, 60-61, 71, 73, 84-86,
106, 110-114, 118, 121, 124, 129,
134; description and characteris-
tics, 78-79, 198; at Fredericks-
burg, 79; in Mexican War, 79, 80,
150; at trial of Davis, 96-97;
Christian character, 98-101, 182-
195; confirmation of, 99; on re-
construction, 102; poem addressed
to, 104-105; averts lynching, 129-
130; and the making of his statue,
146-156; on the test of a true
gentleman, 155; Stiles's Four
Years with Marse Robert, 155;
before reconstruction committee,
157, 166; what he read after the
war, 157-181; literary efforts,
160-161, 165 n.; private library,
164; favorite books, 177; and the
Bible, 177-179, 188-189; order
concerning fasting and prayer,
188; funeral, 213-222; office at
Washington College, 223-224,
229; mausoleum, 226-236; on
secession, 237-241; letter to Lord
Acton, 237-241; on slavery, 241;
see also Traveller; Washington
College
Lee, Capt. Robert E. (son), on Lee
as college president, 5-1 1; cited,
163, 164, 170, 171; at father's
funeral, 217; burial, 229 n.; at
Lee exercises, 232
Lee, Mrs. S. P., cited, 93 n.
Lee, Gen. W. H. F., war operations,
169; letter to, 175; at father's
funeral, 217; at Lee exercises,
232
Lee family, burial place, 229 n.
INDEX
247
Lee Memorial Association, 226, 228,
229
Lee Memorial Chapel, 64
Leech, J. M., secretary of faculty,
125
Letcher, Gov. John, home of, 23;
recollections of, 44-45, 131; and
Lee statue, 227
Letcher, Lizzie, 44-45
Lewis, negro janitor, 126
Lexington, Va., Lee at, 22-31;
churches, 62; attitude toward
Lee, 135; Lee's letter to ministers
of, 192; see also Washington
College
Leyburn, Rev. Dr., meeting with
Lee, 97
Liberty Hall Academy, aft. Wash-
ington College, 6
Lilly, Gen. R. D., and Lee's mau-
soleum, 228 at Lee exercises, 232
Lincoln, Abraham, assassination of,
98
Lockett, J. W., at Washington Col-
lege, 59
Long, Prof. George, book sent to
Lee, 163
Louisiana, New England and pur-
chase of, 239
Lyle, Prof., of Washington College,
126
McCleary, J. Harvey, iii
McClellan, Prof. R. M., of Macon,
60
McCluer, J. Parry, recollections of
Lee, 122
McCormick, Cyrus H., invitation to
Lee, 97
McCown, James H., recollections
of Lee, 122-123
McCrea, , lecture by, 50
McElwee, Rev. William, of Lexing-
ton, 121
McLaughlin, Col., trustee of Wash-
ington College, 3
Madison, Dr. R. L., Lee's physician,
209, 210, 221
Marshall, Chief-Justice John, 208
Martin, J. W., 227
Martin, John, 64
Maryland Line, at Lee exercises,
232, 233
Massie, Prof., of Washington Col-
lege, 124
Maury, Col., at Lee's funeral, 218
Maury, Commodore Matthew, F.,
at Lexington, 23; cited, 148
Mason, George, ancestors, 173
Massachusetts, constitution cited,
239
Meade, Gen. George G., at Mine
Run, 185
Meade, Bishop W., 208
Mercer, Dr., library, 166
Mexican War, Lee in, 79, 80, 150
Miley, photographer, 57
Mine Run, Lee at, 185
Neilson, J. Crawford, mausoleum
designed by, 228, 229
Nelson, Prof. Alexander L., of
Washington College, 1-4, 126, 144
New York Herald, on inauguration
of Lee as college president, 12-15
New York Times, 157
Newspapers, read by Lee, 157
Norris, Col. William, at Lee exer-
cises, 232
O'Farrell, Col. Charles T., of Lex-
ington, 112
Old Sweet Springs, Lee family at, 169
Outlook, quoted, 146
248
INDEX
Palmer, Col. W. H., at Lee's exer-
cises, 232
Parrott, , student at Wash-
ington College, 33
Pendleton, Col. E., at Lee's funeral,
219
Pendleton, Rev. Gen. William N.,
relations with Lee, 5 n.-6 n., 73;
home of, 23, 62; at Lee's funeral,
216, 217, 212
Perry, Thomas L., jailer, 29
Peters, George B., 61, 64
Petersburg, Lee at, 185, 186
Peyton, Col. H. E., at Lee exercises,
232
Pickett, Mrs. George E., at Lee
exercises, 232
Pitt, R. H., 227
Poague, Col. William T., at Lee
exercises, 235
Pollard, Lost Cause, 159
Ponder, John P., recollections of
Lee, 123-125
Powers, John, at Washington Col-
lege, 59
Pratt, Miss Grace, 62
Pratt, Rev. H. Waddell, Presby-
terian pastor, 62
Pratt, Dr. John, Presbyterian pastor,
62
Preston, Col. J. T. L., incident con-
cerning, 21
Preston, Mrs. Margaret J., motto
by, 233
Randolph, Gen. George W., death
of, 190
Reed, William B., letter from Lee,
167
Rees, Albert L., recollections of Lee,
121
Rees, Mildred Lee, 121
Reid, Col., Lee at home of, lo-ll
Richmond College, and Lee's statue,
227
Riddick, W. L., at Lee's funeral, 219
Riley, FrankUn L., on Lee's reading
after the War, 157-181
Roanoke College, Salem, Va., 40
Robinson, Graham, recollections of
Lee, 117-118
Robinson, Leigh, at Lee exercises,
232
Rockbridge Artillery, 235
Rockbridge Baths, Lee family at,
69, 70, 168, 175
Rockbridge County Bible Society,
Lee's interest in, 28, 178, 188
Rogers, Dr. C, letter from Lee, 60
Rogers, Maj. E. L., at Lee exer-
cises, 232
Rogers, J. Frank, at Washington
College, 59
Rogers, Richard W., reminiscences
of Lee, 59-64
Rogers, Dr. Samuel, Methodist
rector, 62
Ross, Col., and Lee, 81
RufF, Col., cited, 67
RufFner, , superintendent of
schools, Va., 41
RufFner, Dr., farm of, 120
Ryan, Father Abram J., at Lee
exercises, 232, 235
Scott, Gen. Winfield, opinion of
Lee, 75
Secession, Lee and, 237-241
Senseney, , blacksmith, cited,
68 n.
Seven Weeks' War, Lee's comment
on, 157
Shields, , of Washington
College, 89
INDEX
249
Slaughter, Prof. R. A., of Macon, 60
Slavery, Lee and, 241
Smith, Gen. Francis H., superin-
tendent V. M. I., 23, 35
Smith, H. C, 227
Smith, Dr. Henry L., on Lee as an
educator, 203-205
Smith, Gov. William, at Lee exer-
cises, 233
Snyder, F. J., student, 46
Somerville, Dr. T. H., recollections
of Lee, 1 1 2-1 1 3
"Sons of Confucius," college society,
61, no
South, University of the, Sewanee,
Tenn., 5, 9
Southern Review, 159
Staunton, Va., delegation at Lee's
funeral, 220
Stern, Jo Lane, recollections of Lee,
120
Steuart, Gen. George H., at Lee
exercises, 232, 233
Stiles, Maj. Robert, Four Years with
Marse Robert, cited, 155
Stonewall Brigade, at Lee mauso-
leum, 232
Stuart, Mrs. J. E. B., at Lee exer-
cises, 232
Talcott, Col. T. M. R., at Lee exer-
cises, 232
Taylor, Col. W. H., recollections of
Lee, 125-128; at Lee's funeral,
219, 221
Terry, Gen. William at Lee exer-
cises, 232
Thornhill, J. T. E., 227
Toombs, Robert, attitude toward
compromise, 240
Traveller, Lee's war horse, 4, 10, 22,
49. 63, 67, 68, 69, 73-74, 76, 81,
92, 93, 94, 106, 109, 112, ii4-iiS>
116, 120, 125, 127, 134, 136, 141,
171, 176, 204, 210, 216, 218, 220
Tucker, John Randolph, at Lexing-
ton, 23
Turner, Z., at Lee's funeral, 219
Turpin, W. M., 227
Tyler, Judge D. Gardiner, recollec-
tions of Lee, 1 28-131; at Lee
exercises, 232
Valentine, Edward V., reminis-
cences of Lee, 146-156; statue of
Lee by, 222, 224, 226-227, 229,
236
Valentine, Sarah B., lines on Lee's
statue, 156
Valley Railroad, Lee as president, 28
Van Meter, John S., student, 118
Venable, Col. C. S., at Lee's funeral,
221
Viley, Willa, recollections of Lee,
120-121
Virginia, Cavalier element in, 173;
committee of legislature at Lee's
funeral, 219-220
Virginia, University of, 5, 37, 43,
47.48,58
Virginia Education Association,
meeting, 175
Virginia Historical Society, 50
Virginia Military Institute, 21, 23;
Hbrary destroyed, 164 n.; religious
revival in, 194; and Lee's funeral,
216, 218, 219, 220; Stonewall
Jackson at, 235
Waddell, Misses, of Lexington, 113
Waddell, Edmonia, at grave of
Jackson, 233
Wake Forest Student, cited, 34,37, 182
Walker, George, at Lee's funeral, 219
250
INDEX
Warm Springs, Lee family at, 172
Washington, George, endowment to
Washington College, 6; ancestors,
173
Washington and Lee University,
24; centennial of Lee's birth, 196;
Lee exercises at, 234-236; see also
Washington College,
Washington College, Lexington, Va.,
Lee as president, 1-145 passim,
191, 199-201, 203-205, 223-225;
early history, 6, 7 n.; faculty of,
23, 38, 39 n., 55-56, see also
names of members; students, 38,
39 n-> 4S» 59; ex-soldiers at, 136;
library, 164, 169-176, 180-181;
Lee's burial at, 215-222; Lee's
office at, 223-224, 229; see also
Washington and Lee University
Washington Literary Society, 61
Washington Star, 157
Watchman, 157
Webb, Rev. Frank B., recollections
of Lee, 108-109
Weir, , teacher at West Point,
ISO
West Point Military Academy, 88
White, Dr., at Lee's funeral, 217
White, Prof James J., professor in
Washington College, 6 n.; cited,
10, II, 118, 144, 149; and Lee,
153; at Lee's funeral, 215
White, Dr. Reid, cited, 66 n.
White, Rev. Dr. W. S., prayer at
Lee's installation, 13; and Lee,
193. 19s
White, Justice William, oath ad-
ministered to Lee, 14
White Sulphur Springs, Lee family
at, 169, 176
Williams, John J., at Lee exercises,
232
Wilmer, Bishop, R. H., address on
Lee's death, 9
Wills, Dr. David, of Macon, Ga.,
59
Wilson, David J., recollections of
Lee, 132-135
Winchester, Rt. Rev. James R.,
recollections of Lee, 113-116
Wolseley, Lord, visit with Lee, 71-72
Womeldorf, , wood supplied
by, 87
Woodward, S. S., 227
Worsley, Philip Stanhope, poem to
Lee, 104-105; translation oi Iliad
presented to Lee, 162
Young Men's Christian Association,
Lee's interest in — 25
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