[Illustration]

A LIFE OF GEN. ROBERT E. LEE. 

BY JOHN ESTEN COOKE. 

 "Duty is the sublimest word in our language. " "Human virtue should be equal to human calamity. "

 LEE. 

1876

CONTENTS. 

PART I. 

_LEE'S EARLY LIFE_. 

I. --Introduction

II. --The Lees of Virginia

III. --General "Light-Horse Harry" Lee

IV. --Stratford

V. --Lee's Early Manhood and Career in the United States Army

VI. --Lee and Scott

VII. --Lee resigns

VIII. --His Reception at Richmond

IX. --Lee in 1861

X. --The War begins

XI. --Lee's Advance into Western Virginia

XII. --Lee's Last Interview with Bishop Meade

PART II. 

_IN FRONT OF RICHMOND_. 

I. --Plan of the Federal Campaign

II. --Johnston is wounded

III. --Lee assigned to the Command--his Family at the White House

IV. --Lee resolves to attack

V. --Stuart's "Ride around McClellan"

PART III. 

_ON THE CHICKAHOMINY_. 

I. --The Two Armies

II. --Lee's Plan of Assault

III. --The Battle of the Chickahominy

IV. --The Retreat

V. --Richmond in Danger--Lee's Views

VI. --Lee and McClellan--their Identity of Opinion

PART IV. 

_THE WAR ADVANCES NORTHWARD_. 

I. --Lee's Protest

II. --Lee's Manoeuvres

III. --Lee advances from the Rapidan

IV. --Jackson flanks General Pope

V. --Lee follows

VI. --The Second Battle of Manassas

PART V. 

_LEE INVADES MARYLAND_. 

I. --His Designs

II. --Lee in Maryland

III. --Movements of the Two Armies

IV. --The Prelude to Sharpsburg

V. --The Battle of Sharpsburg

VI. --Lee and McClellan--their Merits in the Maryland Campaign

VII. --Lee and his Men

VIII. --Lee passes the Blue Ridge

IX. --Lee concentrates at Fredericksburg

X. --The Battle of Fredericksburg

XI. --Final Movements of 1862

XII. --The Year of Battles

XIII. --Lee in December, 1862

PART VI. 

_CHANCELLORSVILLE AND GETTYSBURG_. 

I. --Advance of General Hooker

II--The Wilderness

III. --Lee's Determination

IV. --Jackson's Attack and Fall

V. --The Battle of Chancellorsville

VI. --Flank Movement of General Sedgwick

VII. --Lee's Generalship and Personal Demeanor during the Campaign

VIII. --Personal Relations of Lee and Jackson

IX. --Circumstances leading to the Invasion of Pennsylvania

X. --Lee's Plans and Objects

XI. --The Cavalry-fight at Fleetwood

XII. --The March to Gettysburg

XIII. --Lee in Pennsylvania

XIV. --Concentration at Gettysburg

XV. --The First Day's Fight at Gettysburg

XVI. --The Two Armies in Position

XVII. --The Second Day

XVIII. --The Last Charge at Gettysburg

XIX. --Lee after the Charge

XX. --Lee's Retreat across the Potomac

XXI. --Across the Blue Ridge again

PART VII. 

_LAST CAMPAIGNS OF THE YEAR_ 1863. 

I. --The Cavalry of Lee's Army

II. --Lee flanks General Meade

III. --A Race between Two Armies

IV. --The Fight at Buckland

V. --The Advance to Mine Run

VI. --Lee in the Autumn and Winter of 1863

PART VIII. 

_LEE'S LAST CAMPAIGNS AND LAST DAYS_. 

I. --General Grant crosses the Rapidan

II. --The First Collision in the Wilderness

III. --The Battle of the 6th of May

IV. --The 12th of May

V. --From Spottsylvania to the Chickahominy

VI. --First Battles at Petersburg

VII. --The Siege of Richmond begun

VIII. --Lee threatens Washington

IX. --The Mine Explosion

X. --End of the Campaign of 1864

XI. --Lee in the Winter of 1864-'65

XII. --The Situation at the Beginning of 1865

XIII. --Lee attacks the Federal Centre

XIV. --The Southern Lines broken

XV. --Lee evacuates Petersburg

XVI. --The Retreat and Surrender

XVII. --Lee returns to Richmond

XVIII. --General Lee after the War

XIX. --General Lee's Last Years and Death

_APPENDIX_. 

I. --The Funeral of General Lee

II. --Tributes to General Lee

A LIFE

OF

GENERAL ROBERT EDWARD LEE. 

PART I. 

_LEE'S EARLY LIFE_, I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The name of Lee is beloved and respected throughout the world. Men ofall parties and opinions unite in this sentiment, not only those whothought and fought with him, but those most violently opposed to hispolitical views and career. It is natural that his own people shouldlove and honor him as their great leader and defender in a struggle ofintense bitterness--that his old enemies should share this profoundregard and admiration is due solely to the character of theindividual. His military genius will always be conceded, and hisfigure remain a conspicuous landmark in history; but this does notaccount for the fact that his very enemies love the man. His privatecharacter is the origin of this sentiment. The people of the North, noless than the people of the South, feel that Lee was truly great; andthe harshest critic has been able to find nothing to detract from thisview of him. The soldier was great, but the man himself was greater. No one was ever simpler, truer, or more honest. Those who knew himbest loved him the most. Reserved and silent, with a bearing of almostaustere dignity, he impressed many persons as cold and unsympathetic, and his true character was long in revealing itself to the world. To-day all men know what his friends knew during his life--that underthe grave exterior of the soldier, oppressed with care and anxiety, beat a warm and kindly heart, full of an even extraordinary gentlenessand sweetness; that the man himself was not cold, or stiff, orharsh, but patient, forbearing, charitable under many trials of hisequanimity, and magnanimous without effort, from the native impulse ofhis heart. Friend and foe thus to-day regard him with much the samesentiment, as a genuinely honest man, incapable of duplicity inthought or deed, wholly good and sincere, inspired always under alltemptations by that _prisca fides_ which purifies and ennobles, andresolutely bent, in the dark hour, as in the bright, on the fullperformance of his duty. "Duty is the sublimest word in our language, "he wrote to his son; and, if we add that other august maxim, "Humanvirtue should be equal to human calamity, " we shall have in a fewwords a summary of the principles which inspired Lee. 

The crowning grace of this man, who was thus not only great but good, was the humility and trust in God, which lay at the foundation of hischaracter. Upon this point we shall quote the words of a gentleman ofcommanding intellect, a bitter opponent of the South in the war:

"Lee is worthy of all praise. As a man, he was fearless among men. Asa soldier, he had no superior and no equal. In the course of Nature mycareer on earth may soon terminate. God grant that, When the day ofmy death shall come, I may look up to Heaven with that confidence andfaith which the life and character of Robert E. Lee gave him. Hedied trusting in God as a good man, with a good life, and a pureconscience. "

He had lived, as he died, with this supreme trust in an overruling andmerciful Providence; and this sentiment, pervading his whole being, was the origin of that august calmness with which he greeted the mostcrushing disasters of his military career. His faith and humble trustsustained him after the war, when the woes of the South wellnighbroke his great spirit; and he calmly expired, as a weary child fallsasleep, knowing that its father is near. 

Of this eminent soldier and man whose character offers so greatan example, a memoir is attempted in this volume. The work willnecessarily be "popular" rather than full and elaborate, as the publicand private correspondence of Lee are not at this time accessible. These will throw a fuller light on the subject; but sufficientmaterial is at the disposal of the writer to enable him to present anaccurate likeness of Lee, and to narrate clearly the incidents of hiscareer. In doing so, the aim of the author is to measure out fulljustice to all--not to arouse old enmities, which should be allowed toslumber, but to treat his subject with the judicial moderation of thestudent of history. 

A few words will terminate this preface. The volume before the readerwas begun in 1866. The writer first, however, informed General Leeof his design, and had the honor to receive from him in reply theassurance that the work "would not interfere with any he might have incontemplation; he had not written a line of any work as yet, and mightnever do so; but, should he write a history of the campaigns of theArmy of Northern Virginia, the proposed work would be rather anassistance than a hinderance. "

As the writer had offered promptly to discontinue the work if it werenot agreeable to General Lee, this reply was regarded in the light ofan assurance that he did not disapprove of it. The composition was, however, interrupted, and the work laid aside. It is now resumed andcompleted at a time when the death of the illustrious soldier adds anew and absorbing interest to whatever is connected with his characteror career. 

II. 

THE LEES OF VIRGINIA. 

The Lees of Virginia spring from an ancient and respectable family ofEssex, in England. 

Of some members of the family, both in the Old World and the New, abrief account will be given. The origin of an individual explains muchthat is striking and peculiar in his own character; and it will befound that General Lee inherited many of the traits of his ancestors, especially of some eminent personages of his name in Virginia. 

The family pedigree is traced back by Lee, in the life of his father, to Launcelot Lee, of London, in France, who accompanied William theConqueror to England. After the battle of Hastings, which subjectedEngland to the sway of the Normans, Launcelot Lee, like others, wasrewarded by lands wrested from the subdued Saxons. His estate lay inEssex, and this is all that is known concerning him. Lionel Lee is thenext member of the family of whom mention is made. He lived during thereign of Richard Coeur de Lion, and, when the king went on his thirdcrusade, in the year 1192, Lionel Lee raised a company of gentlemen, and marched with him to the Holy Land. His career there wasdistinguished; he displayed special gallantry at the siege of Acre, and for this he received a solid proof of King Richard's approbation. On his return he was made first Earl of Litchfield; the king presentedhim with the estate of "Ditchley, " which became the name afterward ofan estate of the Lees in Virginia; and, when he died, the armor whichhe had worn in the Holy Land was placed in the department of "HorseArmory" in the great Tower of London. 

The name of Richard Lee is next mentioned as one of the followers ofthe Earl of Surrey in his expedition across the Scottish border in1542. Two of the family about this period were "Knights Companionsof the Garter, " and their banners, with the Lee arms above, weresuspended in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. The coat-of-armswas a shield "band sinister battled and embattled, " the crest a closedvisor surmounted by a squirrel holding a nut. The motto, which may bethought characteristic of one of General Lee's traits as a soldier, was, "_Non incautus futuri_"

Such are the brief notices given of the family in England. They seemto have been persons of high character, and often of distinction. WhenRichard Lee came to Virginia, and founded the family anew there, asLauncelot, the first Lee, had founded it in England, he brought overin his veins some of the best and most valiant blood of the greatNorman race. 

This Richard Lee, the _princeps_ of the family in Virginia, was, it seems, like the rest of his kindred, strongly Cavalier in hissentiments; indeed, the Lees seem always to have been Cavalier. Thereader will recall the stately old representative of the family inScott's "Woodstock"--Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley--who is seen stalkingproudly through the great apartments of the palace, in his laceddoublet, slashed boots, and velvet cloak, scowling darkly at thePuritan intruders. Sir Henry was not a fanciful person, but a realindividual; and the political views attributed to him were those ofthe Lee family, who remained faithful to the royal cause in all itshours of adversity. 

It will be seen that Richard Lee, the first of the Virginia Lees, wasan ardent monarchist. He came over during the reign of Charles I. , butreturned to England, bequeathing all his lands to his servants; hesubsequently came back to Virginia, however, and lived and died there. In his will he styles himself "Richard Lee, of Strafford Langton, inthe County of Essex, Esquire. " It is not certainly known whether hesought refuge in Virginia after the failure of the king's cause, orwas tempted to emigrate with a view to better his fortunes in the NewWorld. Either may have been the impelling motive. Great numbers ofCavaliers "came over" after the overthrow of Charles at Naseby; but alarge emigration had already taken place, and took place afterward, induced by the salubrity of the country, the ease of living, andthe cheapness and fertility of the lands on the great rivers, wherefamilies impoverished or of failing fortunes in England might "makenew settlements" and build on a new foundation. This would amplyaccount for the removal of Richard Lee to Virginia, and for theambition he seems to have been inspired with, to build and improve, without attributing to him any apprehension of probable punishment forhis political course. Very many families had the first-named motives, and commenced to build great manor-houses, which were never finished, or were too costly for any one of their descendants to possess. Theabolition of primogeniture, despite the opposition of Pendleton andothers, overthrew all this; and the Lees, like other families, nowpossess few of the broad acres which their ancestors acquired. 

To return, however, to Richard Lee. He had already visited Virginia insome official capacity under the royal governor, Sir William Berkeley, and had been so much pleased with the soil and climate of the country, that he, as we have said, emigrated finally, and cast his lot in thenew land. He brought a number of followers and servants, and, comingover to Westmoreland County, in the Northern Neck of Virginia, "took up" extensive tracts of land there, and set about buildingmanor-houses upon them. 

Among these, it is stated, was the original "Stratford" House, afterward destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt, however, and became thebirthplace of Richard Henry Lee, and afterward of General Robert E. Lee. We shall speak of it more in detail after finishing, in a fewwords, our notice of Richard Lee, its founder, and the founder of theLee family in Virginia. He is described as a person of great force ofcharacter and many virtues--as "a man of good stature, comely visage, enterprising genius, sound head, vigorous spirit, and generousnature. " This may be suspected to partake of the nature of epitaph;but, of his courage and energy, the proof remains in the action takenby him in connection with Charles II. Inheriting, it would seem, infull measure, the royalist and Cavalier sentiments of his family, heunited with Sir William Berkeley, the royal governor, in the irregularproclamation of Charles II. In Virginia, a year or two before hisreinstallment on the English throne. He had already, it is reported onthe authority of well-supported tradition, made a voyage across theAtlantic to Breda, where Charles II. Was then in exile, and offeredto erect his standard in Virginia, and proclaim him king there. Thisproposition the young monarch declined, shrinking, with excellent goodsense, from a renewal, under less favorable circumstances, of thestruggle which terminated at Worcester. Lee was, therefore, compelledto return without having succeeded in his enterprise; but he had made, it seems, a very strong impression in favor of Virginia upon thesomewhat frivolous young monarch. When he came to his throne again, Charles II. Graciously wore a coronation-robe of Virginia silk, andVirginia, who had proved so faithful to him in the hour of his need, was authorized, by royal decree, to rank thenceforward, in the Britishempire, with England, Scotland, and Ireland, and bear upon her shieldthe motto, "_En dat Virginia quartam. _"

Richard Lee returned, after his unsuccessful mission, to the NorthernNeck, and addressed himself thenceforward to the management of hisprivate fortunes and the affairs of the colony. He had now becomepossessed of very extensive estates between the Potomac andRappahannock Rivers and elsewhere. Besides Stratford, he ownedplantations called "Mocke Neck, " "Mathotick, " "Paper-Maker's Neck, ""War Captain's Neck, " "Bishop's Neck, " and "Paradise, " with fourthousand acres besides, on the Potomac, lands in Maryland, threeislands in Chesapeake Bay, an interest in several trading-vessels, andinnumerable indented and other servants. He became a member of theKing's Council, and lived in great elegance and comfort. That he was aman of high character, and of notable piety for an age of free livingand worldly tendencies, his will shows. In that document he bequeathshis soul "to that good and gracious God that gave it me, and to myblessed Redeemer, Jesus Christ, assuredly trusting, in and by Hismeritorious death and passion, to receive salvation. "

The attention of the reader has been particularly called to thecharacter and career of Richard Lee, not only because he was thefounder of the family in Virginia, but because the traits of theindividual reappear very prominently in the great soldier whose lifeis the subject of this volume. The coolness, courage, energy, and aptitude for great affairs, which marked Richard Lee in theseventeenth century, were unmistakably present in the character ofRobert E. Lee in the nineteenth century. 

We shall conclude our notice of the family by calling attention tothat great group of celebrated men who illustrated the name in thedays of the Revolution, and exhibited the family characteristics asclearly. These were Richard Henry Lee, of Chantilly, the famous oratorand statesman, who moved in the American Congress the Declaration ofIndependence; Francis Lightfoot Lee, a scholar of elegant attainmentsand high literary accomplishments, who signed, with his more renownedbrother, the Declaration; William Lee, who became Sheriff of London, and ably seconded the cause of the colonies; and Arthur Lee, diplomatist and representative of America abroad, where he displayed, as his diplomatic correspondence indicates, untiring energy anddevotion to the interests of the colonies. The last of these brotherswas Philip Ludwell Lee, whose daughter Matilda married her secondcousin, General Henry Lee. This gentleman, afterward famous as"Light-Horse Harry" Lee, married a second time, and from this unionsprung the subject of this memoir. 

III. 

GENERAL "LIGHT-HORSE HARRY" LEE. 

This celebrated soldier, who so largely occupied the public eye in theRevolution, is worthy of notice, both as an eminent member of the Leefamily, and as the father of General Robert E. Lee. 

He was born in 1756, in the county of Westmoreland--which boasts ofbeing the birthplace of Washington, Monroe, Richard Henry Lee, GeneralHenry Lee, and General Robert E. Lee, Presidents, statesmen, andsoldiers--and, after graduating at Princeton College, entered thearmy, in 1776, as captain of cavalry, an arm of the service afterwardadopted by his more celebrated descendant, in the United States army. He soon displayed military ability of high order, and, for the captureof Paulus's Hook, received a gold medal from Congress. In 1781 hemarched with his "Legion" to join Greene in the Carolinas, carryingwith him the high esteem of Washington, who had witnessed his skilfuland daring operations in the Jerseys. His career in the arduouscampaigns of the South against Cornwallis, and the efficient commanderof his cavalry arm. Colonel Tarleton, may be best understood fromGeneral Greene's dispatches, and from his own memoirs of theoperations of the army, which are written with as much modesty asability. From these it is apparent that the small body of the "Legion"cavalry, under its active and daring commander, was the "eye and ear"of Greene's army, whose movements it accompanied everywhere, precedingits advances and covering its retreats. Few pages of military historyare more stirring than those in Lee's "Memoirs" describing Greene'sretrograde movement to the Dan; and this alone, if the hard work atthe Eutaws and elsewhere were left out, would place Lee's fame as acavalry officer upon a lasting basis. The distinguished soldier underwhose eye the Virginian operated did full justice to his courage andcapacity. "I believe, " wrote Greene, "that few officers, either inEurope or America, are held in so high a position of admiration as youare. Everybody knows I have the highest opinion of you as an officer, and you know I love you as a friend. No man, in the progress of thecampaign, had equal merit with yourself. " The officer who wrote thoselines was not a courtier nor a diplomatist, but a blunt and honestsoldier who had seen Lee's bearing in the most arduous straits, and was capable of appreciating military ability. Add Washington'sexpression of his "love and thanks, " in a letter written in 1789, and the light in which he was regarded by his contemporaries will beunderstood. 

His "Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department" is a valuablemilitary history and a very interesting book. The movements of Greenein face of Cornwallis are described with a precision which renders thenarrative valuable to military students, and a picturesqueness whichrivets the attention of the general reader. From these memoirs avery clear conception of the writer's character may be derived, andeverywhere in them is felt the presence of a cool and dashing nature, a man gifted with the _mens aequa in arduis_, whom no reverse offortune could cast down. The fairness and courtesy of the writertoward his opponents is an attractive characteristic of the work, [1]which is written with a simplicity and directness of style highlyagreeable to readers of judgment. [2]

[Footnote 1: See his observations upon the source of his successesover Tarleton, full of the generous spirit of a great soldier. Heattributes them in no degree to his own military ability, but to thesuperior character of his large, thorough-bred horses, which rode overTarleton's inferior stock. He does not state that the famous "Legion"numbered only two hundred and fifty men, and that Tarleton commanded amuch larger force of the best cavalry of the British army. ]

[Footnote 2: A new edition of this work, preceded by a life of theauthor, was published by General Robert E. Lee in 1869. ]

After the war General Henry Lee served a term in Congress; was thenelected Governor of Virginia; returned in 1799 to Congress; and, inhis oration upon the death of Washington, employed the well-knownphrase, "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts ofhis countrymen. " He died in Georgia, in the year 1818, having made ajourney thither for the benefit of his health. 

General Henry Lee was married twice; first, as we have said, to hiscousin Matilda, through whom he came into possession of the old familyestate of Stratford; and a second time, June 18, 1793, to Miss AnneHill Carter, a daughter of Charles Carter, Esq. , of "Shirley, " onJames River. 

The children of this second marriage were three sons and twodaughters--Charles Carter, _Robert Edward_, Smith, Ann, and Mildred. 

[Illustration: "STRATFORD HOUSE. " The Birthplace of Gen. Lee. ]

IV. 

STRATFORD. 

Robert Edward Lee was born at Stratford, in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on the 19th of January, 1807. [1]

[Footnote 1: The date of General Lee's birth has been often givenincorrectly. The authority for that here adopted is the entry in thefamily Bible, in the handwriting of his mother. ]

Before passing to Lee's public career, and the narrative of the stormyscenes of his after-life, let us pause a moment and bestow a glanceupon this ancient mansion, which is still standing--a silent andmelancholy relic of the past--in the remote "Northern Neck. " As thebirthplace of a great man, it would demand attention; but it has otherclaims still, as a venerable memorial of the past and its eminentpersonages, one of the few remaining monuments of a state of societythat has disappeared or is disappearing. 

The original Stratford House is supposed, as we have said, to havebeen built by Richard Lee, the first of the family in the New World. Whoever may have been its founder, it was destroyed in the time ofThomas Lee, an eminent representative of the name, early in theeighteenth century. Thomas Lee was a member of the King's Council, agentleman of great popularity; and, when it was known that his househad been burned, contributions were everywhere made to rebuild it. TheGovernor, the merchants of the colony, and even Queen Anne in person, united in this subscription; the house speedily rose again, at acost of about eighty thousand dollars; and this is the edifice stillstanding in Westmoreland. The sum expended in its construction mustnot be estimated in the light of to-day. At that time the greater partof the heavy work in house-building was performed by servants of themanor; it is fair, indeed, to say that the larger part of the workthus cost nothing in money; and thus the eighty thousand dollarsrepresented only the English brick, the carvings, furniture, anddecorations. 

The construction of such an edifice had at that day a distinct object. These great old manor-houses, lost in the depths of the country, wereintended to become the headquarters of the family in all time. In their large apartments the eldest son was to uphold the name. Generation after generation was to pass, and some one of the old namestill live there; and though all this has passed away now, andmay appear a worn-out superstition, and, though some persons maystigmatize it as contributing to the sentiment of "aristocracy, " thestrongest opponents of that old system may pardon in us the expressionof some regret that this love of the hearthstone and old familymemories should have disappeared. The great man whose character issought to be delineated in this volume never lost to the last thishome and family sentiment. He knew the kinships of every one, andloved the old country-houses of the old Virginia families--plain andhonest people, attached, like himself, to the Virginia soil. We passto a brief description of the old house in which Lee was born. 

Stratford, the old home of the Lees, but to-day the property ofothers, stands on a picturesque bluff on the southern bank of thePotomac, and is a house of very considerable size. It is built in theform of the letter H. The walls are several feet in thickness; in thecentre is a saloon thirty feet in size; and surmounting each wing is apavilion with balustrades, above which rise clusters of chimneys. Thefront door is reached by a broad flight of steps, and the grounds arehandsome, and variegated by the bright foliage of oaks, cedars, andmaple-trees. Here and there in the extensive lawn rises a slender andghostly old Lombardy poplar--a tree once a great favorite in Virginia, but now seen only here and there, the relic of a past generation. 

Within, the Stratford House is as antique as without, and, with itshalls, corridors, wainscoting, and ancient mouldings, takes thevisitor back to the era of powder and silk stockings. Such was themansion to which General Harry Lee came to live after the Revolution, and the sight of the old home must have been dear to the soldier'sheart. Here had flourished three generations of Lees, dispensing aprofuse and open-handed hospitality. In each generation some one ofthe family had distinguished himself, and attracted the "best company"to Stratford; the old walls had rung with merriment; the great doorwas wide open; everybody was welcome; and one could see there a goodillustration of a long-passed manner of living, which had at least themerit of being hearty, open-handed, and picturesque. General HarryLee, the careless soldier, partook of the family tendency tohospitality; he kept open house, entertained all comers, and hence, doubtless, sprung the pecuniary embarrassments embittering an old agewhich his eminent public services should have rendered serene andhappy. 

Our notice of Stratford may appear unduly long to some readers, but itis not without a distinct reference to the subject of this volume. Inthis quiet old mansion--and in the very apartment where Richard Henryand Francis Lightfoot Lee first saw the light--Robert E. Lee was born. The eyes of the child fell first upon the old apartments, the greatgrounds, the homely scenes around the old country-house--upon the tallLombardy poplars and the oaks, through which passed the wind bearingto his ears the murmur of the Potomac. 

He left the old home of his family before it could have had any verygreat effect upon him, it would seem; but it is impossible to estimatethese first influences, to decide the depth of the impression whichthe child's heart is capable of receiving. The bright eyes of youngRobert Lee must have seen much around him to interest him and shapehis first views. Critics charged him with family pride sometimes;if he possessed that virtue or failing, the fact was not strange. Stratford opened before his childish eyes a memorial of the oldsplendor of the Lees. He saw around him old portraits, old plate, andold furniture, telling plainly of the ancient origin and high positionof his family. Old parchments contained histories of the deeds of hisrace; old genealogical trees traced their line far back into the past;old servants, grown gray in the house, waited upon the child; and, ina corner of one of the great apartments, an old soldier, gray, too, and shattered in health, once the friend of Washington and Greene, waswriting the history of the battles in which he had drawn his sword forhis native land. 

Amid these scenes and surroundings passed the first years of RobertE. Lee. They must have made their impression upon his character ata period when the mind takes every new influence, and grows inaccordance with it; and, to the last, the man remained simple, hearty, proud, courteous--the _country Virginian_ in all the texture of hischaracter. He always rejoiced to visit the country; loved horses; wasan excellent rider; was fond of plain country talk, jests, humorousanecdote, and chit-chat--was the plain country gentleman, in a word, preferring grass and trees and streams to all the cities and crowds inthe world. In the last year of his life he said to a lady: "My visitsto Florida and the White Sulphur have not benefited me much; but itdid me good to go to the White House, and see _the mules walkinground, and the corn growing_. "

We notice a last result of the child's residence now, or visitsafterward to the country, and the sports in which he indulged--thesuperb physical health and strength which remained unshaken afterwardby all the hardships of war. Lee, to the last, was a marvel of soundphysical development; his frame was as solid as oak, and stood thestrain of exhausting marches, loss of sleep, hunger, thirst, heat, andcold, without failing him. 

When he died, it was care which crushed his heart; his health wasperfect. 

V. 

LEE'S EARLY MANHOOD AND CAREER IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY. 

Of Lee's childhood we have no memorials, except the words of hisfather, long afterward. 

"_Robert was always good_, " wrote General Henry Lee. [1]

[Footnote 1: To C. C. Lee, February 9, 1817. ]

That is all; but the words indicate much--that the good man was"always good. " It will be seen that, when he went to West Point, henever received a demerit. The good boy was the good young officer, andbecame, in due time, the good commander-in-chief. 

In the year 1811 General Henry Lee left Stratford, and removed withhis family to Alexandria, actuated, it seems, by the desire ofaffording his children facilities for gaining their education. Afterhis death, in 1818, Mrs. Lee continued to reside in Alexandria; wasa communicant of Christ Church; and her children were taught theEpiscopal catechism by young William Meade, eventually Bishop ofVirginia. We shall see how Bishop Meade, long afterward, recalledthose early days, when he and his pupil, young Robert Lee, wereequally unknown--how, when about to die, just as the war beganin earnest, he sent for the boy he had once instructed, now thegray-haired soldier, and, when he came to the bedside, exclaimed: "Godbless you, Robert! I can't call you 'general'--I have heard you yourcatechism too often!"

Alexandria continued to be the residence of the family until the youngman was eighteen years of age, when it was necessary for him to makechoice of a profession; and, following the bent of his temperament, hechose the army. Application was made for his appointment from Virginiaas a cadet at West Point. He obtained the appointment, and, in 1825, at the age of eighteen, entered the Military Academy. His progress inhis studies was steady, and it is said that, during his stay at WestPoint, he was never reprimanded, nor marked with a "demerit. " Hegraduated, in July, 1829, second in his class, and was assigned toduty, with the rank of lieutenant, in the corps of Engineers. 

[Illustration: R. E. LEE, AS A YOUNG OFFICER New York D Apololay & Co. ]

He is described, by those who saw him at this time, as a young man ofgreat personal beauty; and this is probably not an exaggeration, as heremained to the last distinguished for the elegance and dignity ofhis person. He had not yet lost what the cares of command afterwardbanished--his gayety and _abandon_--and was noted, it is said, for thesweetness of his smile and the cordiality of his manners. The personwho gave the writer these details added, "He was a perfect gentleman. "Three years after graduating at West Point--in the year 1832--hemarried Mary Custis, daughter of Mr. George Washington Parke Custis, of Arlington, the adopted son of General Washington; and by thismarriage he came into possession of the estate of Arlington and theWhite House--points afterward well known in the war. 

The life of Lee up to the beginning of the great conflict of 1861-'65is of moderate interest only, and we shall not dwell at length uponit. He was employed on the coast defences, in New York and Virginia;and, in 1835, in running the boundary line between the States of Ohioand Michigan. In September, 1836, he was promoted to the rank of firstlieutenant; in July, 1838, to a captaincy; in 1844 he became a memberof the Board of Visitors to the Military Academy; in 1845 he was amember of the Board of Engineers; and in 1846, when the Mexican Warbroke out, was assigned to duty as chief engineer of the Central Armyof Mexico, in which capacity he served to the end of the war. 

Up to the date of the Mexican War, Captain Lee had attracted no publicattention, but had impressed the military authorities, includingGeneral Winfield Scott, with a favorable opinion of his ability as atopographical engineer. For this department of military science heexhibited endowments of the first class--what other faculties of thesoldier he possessed, it remained for events to show. This opportunitywas now given him in the Mexican War; and the efficient character ofhis services may be seen in Scott's Autobiography, where "Captain Lee, of the Engineers, " is mentioned in every report, and everywhere withcommendation. From the beginning of operations, the young officerseems to have been summoned to the councils of war, and General Scottparticularly mentions that held at Vera Cruz--so serious an affair, that "a death-bed discussion could hardly have been more solemn. "The passages in which the lieutenant-general mentions Lee are toonumerous, and not of sufficient interest to quote, but two entrieswill exhibit the general tenor of this "honorable mention. " AfterCerro Gordo, Scott writes, in his official report of the battle: "I amcompelled to make special mention of Captain R. E. Lee, engineer. Thisofficer greatly distinguished himself at the siege of Vera Cruz; wasagain indefatigable during these operations, in reconnoissance asdaring, as laborious, and of the utmost value. " After Chapultepec, hewrote: "Captain Lee, so constantly distinguished, also bore importantorders for me (September 13th), until he fainted from a wound, and theloss of two nights' sleep at the batteries. "

We may add here the statement of the Hon. Reverdy Johnson, that he"had heard General Scott more than once say that his success in Mexicowas largely due to the skill, valor, and undaunted energy of Robert E. Lee. "

For these services Lee received steady promotion. For meritoriousconduct at Cerro Gordo, he was made brevet major; for the same atContreras and Cherubusco, brevet lieutenant-colonel; and, after Chapultepec, he received the additional brevet ofcolonel--distinctions fairly earned by energy and courage. 

When the war ended, Lee returned to his former duties in the EngineerCorps of the U. S. A. , and was placed in charge of the works, thenin process of construction, at Fort Carroll, near Baltimore. Hisassignment to the duty of thus superintending the military defencesof Hampton Roads, New York Bay, and the approaches to Baltimore, insuccession, would seem to indicate that his abilities as engineer werehighly esteemed. Of his possession of such ability there can be nodoubt. The young officer was not only thoroughly trained in this highdepartment of military science, but had for his duties unmistakablenatural endowments. This fact was clearly indicated on many occasionsin the Confederate struggle--his eye for positions never failed him. It is certain that, had Lee never commanded troops in the field, hewould have left behind him the reputation of an excellent engineer. 

In 1855 he was called for the first time to command men, for hisduties hitherto had been those of military engineer, astronomer, orstaff-officer. The act of Congress directing that two new cavalryregiments should be raised excited an ardent desire in the officers ofthe army to receive appointments in them, and Lee was transferred fromhis place of engineer to the post of lieutenant-colonel in the SecondCavalry, one of the regiments in question. The extraordinary numberof names of officers in this regiment who afterward became famousis worthy of notice. The colonel was Albert Sydney Johnston; thelieutenant-colonel, R. E. Lee; the senior major, William J. Hardee; thejunior major, George H. Thomas; the senior captain, Earl Yan Dorn;the next ranking captain, Kirby Smith; the lieutenants, Hood, Fields, Cosby, Major, Fitzhugh Lee, Johnson, Palmer, and Stoneman, all ofwhom became general officers afterward on the Southern side, with theexception of Thomas, and the three last named, who became prominentgenerals in the Federal army. It is rare that such a constellation offamous names is found in the list of officers of a single regiment. The explanation is, nevertheless simple. Positions in the newregiments were eagerly coveted by the best soldiers of the army, and, in appointing the officers, those of conspicuous ability only wereselected. The Second Regiment of cavalry thus became the _corpsd'élite_ of the United States Army; and, after Albert Sydney Johnston, Robert E. Lee was the ranking officer. 

Lee proceeded with his regiment to Texas, remaining there for severalyears on frontier duty, and does not reappear again until 1859. 

Such was the early career in the army of the soldier soon tobecome famous on a greater theatre--that of a thoroughly-trained, hard-working, and conscientious officer. With the single exceptionof his brief record in the Mexican War, his life had been passed inofficial duties, unconnected with active military operations. Hewas undoubtedly what is called a "rising man, " but he had had noopportunity to display the greatest faculties of the soldier. Thetime was coming now when he was to be tested, and the measure of hisfaculties taken in one of the greatest wars which darken the pages ofhistory. 

A single incident of public importance marks the life of Lee between1855 and 1861. This was what is known to the world as the "John Brownraid"--an incident of the year 1859, and preluding the approachingstorm. This occurrence is too well known to require a minute accountin these pages, and we shall accordingly pass over it briefly, indicating simply the part borne in the affair by Lee. He was inWashington at the time--the fall of 1859--on a visit to his family, then residing at Arlington, near the city, when intelligence came thata party of desperadoes had attacked and captured Harper's Ferry, withthe avowed intent of arming and inciting to insurrection the slavesof the neighborhood and entire State. Lee was immediately, thereupon, directed by President Buchanan to proceed to the point of danger andarrest the rioters. He did so promptly; found upon his arrival thatBrown and his confederates had shut themselves up in an engine-houseof the town, with a number of their prisoners. Brown was summoned tosurrender, to be delivered over to the authorities for civil trial--herefused; and Lee then proceeded to assault, with a force of marines, the stronghold to which Brown had retreated. The doors were driven in, Brown firing upon the assailants and killing or wounding two; but heand his men were cut down and captured; they were turned over to theVirginia authorities, and Lee, having performed the duty assigned himreturned to Washington, and soon afterward to Texas. 

He remained there, commanding the department, until the early springof 1861. He was then recalled to Washington at the moment when theconflict between the North and the South was about to commence. 

VI. 

LEE AND SCOTT. 

Lee found the country burning as with fever, and the air hot withcontending passions. The animosity, long smouldering between the twosections, was about to burst into the flame of civil war; all men weretaking sides; the war of discussion on the floor of Congress wasabout to yield to the clash of bayonets and the roar of cannon on thebattle-field. 

Any enumeration of the causes which led to this unhappy state ofaffairs would be worse than useless in a volume like the present. Evenless desirable would be a discussion of the respective blame to beattached to each of the great opponents in inaugurating the bitter andlong-continued struggle. Such a discussion would lead to nothing, andwould probably leave every reader of the same opinion as before. Itwould also be the repetition of a worn-out and wearisome story. Theseevents are known of all men; for the political history of the UnitedStates, from 1820, when the slavery agitation began, on the questionof the Missouri restriction, to 1861, when it ended in civilconvulsion, has been discussed, rediscussed, and discussed again, inevery journal, great and small, in the whole country. The person whois not familiar, therefore, with the main points at issue, must beignorant beyond the power of any writer to enlighten him. We needonly say that the election of Abraham Lincoln, the nominee of theRepublican party, had determined the Gulf States to leave the Union. South Carolina accordingly seceded, on the 20th of December, 1860; andby the 1st of February, 1861, she had been followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. The struggle thusapproached. Military movements began at many points, like thosedistant flashes of lightning and vague mutterings which herald thetempest. Early in February Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, waselected President of the Confederate States, at Montgomery. On the13th of April Fort Sumter surrendered to General Beauregard, andon the next day, April 14, 1861, President Lincoln issued hisproclamation declaring the Gulf States in rebellion, and calling uponthe States which had not seceded for seventy-five thousand men toenforce the Federal authority. 

Tip to this time the older State of Virginia had persistently resistedsecession. Her refusal to array herself against the General Governmenthad been based upon an unconquerable repugnance, it seemed, for thedissolution of that Union which she had so long loved; from realattachment to the flag which she had done so much to make honorable, and from a natural indisposition to rush headlong into a conflictwhose whole fury would burst upon and desolate her own soil. Theproclamation of President Lincoln, however, decided her course. Theconvention had obdurately refused, week after week, to pass theordinance of secession. Now the naked question was, whether Virginiashould fight with or against her sisters of the Gulf States. She wasdirected to furnish her quota of the seventy-five thousand troopscalled for by President Lincoln, and must decide at once. On the 17thof April, 1861, accordingly, an ordinance of secession passed theVirginia Convention, and that Commonwealth cast her fortunes for wealor woe with the Southern Confederacy. 

Such is a brief and rapid summary of the important public events whichhad preceded, or immediately followed, Lee's return to Washington inMarch, 1861. A grave, and to him a very solemn, question demandedinstant decision. Which side should he espouse--the side of the UnitedStates or that of the South? To choose either caused him acute pain. The attachment of the soldier to his flag is greater than the civiliancan realize, and Lee had before him the brightest military prospects. The brief record which we have presented of his military career inMexico conveys a very inadequate idea of the position which he hadsecured in the army. He was regarded by the authorities at Washington, and by the country at large, as the ablest and most promising ofall the rising class of army officers. Upon General Winfield Scott, Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Army, he had made an impressionwhich is the most striking proof of his great merit. General Scott wasenthusiastic in his expressions of admiration for the young Virginian;and with the death of that general, which his great age rendered aprobable event at any moment, Lee was sure to become a candidate forthe highest promotion in the service. To this his great ability gavehim a title at the earliest possible moment; and other considerationsoperated to advance his fortunes. He was conceded by all to be aperson of the highest moral character; was the descendant of aninfluential and distinguished family, which had rendered importantservices to the country in the Revolution; his father had been thefriend of Washington, and had achieved the first glories of arms, andthe ample estates derived from his wife gave him that worldly prestigewhich has a direct influence upon the fortunes of an individual. Colonel Lee could thus look forward, without the imputation ofpresumption, to positions of the highest responsibility and honorunder the Government. With the death of Scott, and other aged officersof the army, the place of commander-in-chief would fall to the mostdeserving of the younger generation; and of this generation there wasno one so able and prominent as Lee. [1]

[Footnote 1: "General Scott stated his purpose to recommend Lee as hissuccessor in the chief command of the army. "--_Hon. Reverdy Johnson_. ]

The personal relations of Lee with General Scott constituted anotherpowerful temptation to decide him against going over to the Southernside. We have referred to the great admiration which the old soldierfelt for the young officer. He is said to have exclaimed on oneoccasion: "It would be better for every officer in the army, includingmyself, to die than Robert Lee. " There seems no doubt of the fact thatScott looked to Lee as his ultimate successor in the supreme command, for which his character and military ability peculiarly fitted him. Warm personal regard gave additional strength to his feelings inLee's favor; and the consciousness of this regard on the part of hissuperior made it still more difficult for Lee to come to a decision. 

VII. 

LEE RESIGNS. 

It is known that General Scott used every argument to persuade Lee notto resign. To retain him in the service, he had been appointed, on hisarrival at Washington, a full colonel, and in 1860 his name had beensent in, with others, by Scott, as a proper person to fill the vacancycaused by the death of Brigadier-General Jessup. To these temptingintimations that rapid promotion would attend his adherence to theUnited States flag, Scott added personal appeals, which, coming fromhim, must have been almost irresistible. 

"For God's sake, don't resign, Lee!" the lieutenant-general is saidto have exclaimed. And, in the protracted interviews which took placebetween the two officers, every possible argument was urged by theelder to decide Lee to remain firm. 

The attempt was in vain. Lee's attachment to the flag he had so longfought under, and his personal affection for General Scott, weregreat, but his attachment to his native State was still more powerful. By birth a Virginian, he declared that he owed his first duty to herand his own people. If she summoned him, he must obey the summons. Aslong as she remained in the Union he might remain in the United StatesArmy. When she seceded from the Union, and took part with the GulfStates, he must follow her fortunes, and do his part in defending her. The struggle had been bitter, but brief. "My husband has wept tears ofblood, " Mrs. Lee wrote to a friend, "over this terrible war; but hemust, as a man and a Virginian, share the destiny of his State, whichhas solemnly pronounced for independence. "

The secession of Virginia, by a vote of the convention assembledat Richmond, decided Lee in his course. He no longer hesitated. ToGeneral Scott's urgent appeals not to send in his resignation, hereplied: "I am compelled to. I cannot consult my own feelings in thismatter. " He accordingly wrote to General Scott from Arlington, onthe 20th of April, enclosing his resignation. The letter was in thefollowing words:

 GENERAL: Since my interview with you, on the 18th instant, I have felt that I ought not longer to retain my commission in the army. I therefore tender my resignation, which I request you will recommend for acceptance. It would have been presented at once but for the struggle it has cost me to separate myself from a service to which I have devoted all the best years of my life, and all the ability I possessed. 

 During the whole of that time--more than a quarter of a century--I have experienced nothing but kindness from my superiors, and the most cordial friendship from my comrades. To no one, general, have I been as much indebted as to yourself for uniform kindness and consideration, and it has always been my ardent desire to merit your approbation. I shall carry to the grave the most grateful recollections of your kind consideration, and your name and fame will always be dear to me. 

 Save in defence of my native State, I never desire again to draw my sword. Be pleased to accept my most earnest wishes for the continuance of your happiness and prosperity, and believe me, most truly yours, R. E. LEE. LIEUTENANT-GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT, _Commanding United States Army_. 

In this letter, full of dignity and grave courtesy, Lee vainlyattempts to hide the acute pain he felt at parting from his friend andabandoning the old service. Another letter, written on the same day, expresses the same sentiment of painful regret:

 ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, _April 20, 1861_. 

 MY DEAR SISTER: I am grieved at my inability to see you ... I have been waiting "for a more convenient season, " which has brought to many before me deep and lasting regret. Now we are in a state of war which will yield to nothing. The whole South is in a state of revolution, into which Virginia, after a long struggle, has been drawn, and, _though I recognize no necessity for this state of things_, and would have forborne and pleaded to the end for redress of grievances, real or supposed, yet in my own person I had to meet the question, _whether I should take part against my native State_. With all my devotion to the Union, and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have, therefore, resigned my commission in the army, and, save in defence of my native State, with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed, I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword. 

 I know you will blame me, but you must think as kindly of me as you can, and believe that I have endeavored to do what I thought right. To show you the feeling and struggle it has cost me, I send a copy of my letter to General Scott, which accompanied my letter of resignation. I have no time for more.... May God guard and protect you and yours, and shower upon you every blessing, is the prayer of your devoted brother, R. E. LEE. 

The expression used in this letter--"though I recognize no necessityfor this state of things"--conveys very clearly the politicalsentiments of the writer. He did not regard the election of aRepublican President, even by a strictly sectional vote, as sufficientground for a dissolution of the Union. It may be added here, thatsuch, we believe, was the opinion of a large number of Southernofficers at that time. Accustomed to look to the flag as that whichthey were called upon to defend against all comers, they were loath toadmit the force of the reasoning which justified secession, and calledupon them to abandon it. Their final action seems to have been takenfrom the same considerations which controlled the course of Lee. TheirStates called them, and they obeyed. 

In resigning his commission and going over to the South, Leesacrificed his private fortunes, in addition to all his hopes offuture promotion in the United States Army. His beautiful home, Arlington, situated upon the heights opposite Washington, must beabandoned forever, and fall into the hands of the enemy. This oldmansion was a model of peaceful loveliness and attraction. "Allaround here, " says a writer, describing the place, "Arlington Heightspresents a lovely picture of rural beauty. The 'General Lee house, 'as some term it, stands on a grassy lot, surrounded with a grove ofstately trees and underwood, except in front, where is a verdantsloping ground for a few rods, when it descends into a valley, spreading away in beautiful and broad expanse to the lovely Potomac. This part of the splendid estate is apparently a highly-cultivatedmeadow, the grass waving in the gentle breeze, like the undulatingbosom of Old Atlantic. To the south, north, and west, the grounds arebeautifully diversified into hill and valley, and richly stored withoak, willow, and maple, though the oak is the principal wood. The viewfrom the height is a charming picture. Washington, Georgetown, and theintermediate Potomac, are all before you in the foreground. "

In this old mansion crowning the grassy hill, the young officer hadpassed the happiest moments of his life. All around him were spotsassociated with his hours of purest enjoyment. Each object in thehouse--the old furniture and very table-sets--recalled the memory ofWashington, and were dear to him. Here were many pieces of the "MarthaWashington china, " portions of the porcelain set presented to Mrs. Washington by Lafayette and others--in the centre of each piece themonogram "M. W. " with golden rays diverging to the names of the oldthirteen States. Here were also fifty pieces, remnants of the setof one thousand, procured from China by the Cincinnati Society, andpresented to Washington--articles of elaborate decoration in blue andgold, "with the coat-of-arms of the society, held by Fame, with a blueribbon, from which is suspended the eagle of the order, with a greenwreath about its neck, and on its breast a shield representing theinauguration of the order. " Add to these the tea-table used byWashington and one of his bookcases; old portraits, antique furniture, and other memorials of the Lee family from Stratford--let the readerimagine the old mansion stored with these priceless relics, and hewill understand with what anguish Lee must have contemplated what cameduly to pass, the destruction, by rude hands, of objects so dear tohim. That he must have foreseen the fate of his home is certain. Totake sides with Virginia was to give up Arlington to its fate. 

There is no proof, however, that this sacrifice of his personalfortunes had any effect upon him. If he could decide to change hisflag, and dissolve every tie which bound him to the old service, hecould sacrifice all else without much regret. No one will be found tosay that the hope of rank or emolument in the South influenced him. The character and whole career of the man contradict the idea. Hisground of action may be summed up in a single sentence. He went withhis State because he believed it was his duty to do so, and because, to ascertain what was his duty, and perform it, was the cardinal maximof his life. 

VIII. 

HIS RECEPTION AT RICHMOND. 

No sooner had intelligence of Lee's resignation of his commissionin the United States Army reached Richmond, than Governor Letcherappointed him major-general of the military forces of Virginia. Theappointment was confirmed by the convention, rather by acclamationthan formal vote; and on the 23d of April, Lee, who had meanwhileleft Washington and repaired to Richmond, was honored by a formalpresentation to the convention. 

The address of President Janney was eloquent, and deserves to bepreserved. Lee stood in the middle aisle, and the president, rising, said:

 "MAJOR-GENERAL LEE: In the name of the people of our native State, here represented, I bid you a cordial and heart-felt welcome to this hall, in which we may almost yet hear the echoes of the voices of the statesmen, the soldiers, and sages of by-gone days, who have borne your name, and whose blood now flows in your veins. 

 "We met in the month of February last, charged with the solemn duty of protecting the rights, the honor, and the interests of the people of this Commonwealth. We differed for a time as to the best means of accomplishing that object, but there never was, at any moment, a shade of difference among us as to the great object itself; and now, Virginia having taken her position, as far as the power of this convention extends, we stand animated by one impulse, governed by one desire and one determination, and that is, that she shall be defended, and that no spot of her soil shall be polluted by the foot of an invader. 

 "When the necessity became apparent of having a leader for our forces, all hearts and all eyes, by the impulse of an instinct which is a surer guide than reason itself, turned to the old county of Westmoreland. We knew how prolific she had been in other days of heroes and statesmen. We knew she had given birth to the Father of his Country, to Richard Henry Lee, to Monroe, and last, though not least, to your own gallant father, and we knew well, by your deeds, that her productive power was not yet exhausted. 

 "Sir, we watched with the most profound and intense interest the triumphal march of the army led by General Scott, to which you were attached, from Vera Cruz to the capital of Mexico. We read of the sanguinary conflicts and the blood-stained fields, in all of which victory perched upon our own banners. We knew of the unfading lustre that was shed upon the American arms by that campaign, and we know, also, what your modesty has always disclaimed, that no small share of the glory of those achievements was due to your valor and your military genius. 

 "Sir, one of the proudest recollections of my life will be the honor that I yesterday had of submitting to this body confirmation of the nomination, made by the Governor of this State, of you as commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of this Commonwealth. I rose to put the question, and when I asked if this body would advise and consent to that appointment, there rushed from the hearts to the tongues of all the members an affirmative response, which told with an emphasis that could leave no doubt of the feeling whence it emanated. I put the negative of the question, for form's sake, but there was an unbroken silence. 

 "Sir, we have, by this unanimous vote, expressed our convictions that you are at this day, among the living citizens of Virginia, 'first in war. ' We pray to God most fervently that you may so conduct the operations committed to your Charge that it may soon be said of you that you are 'first in peace, ' and when that time comes you will have earned the still prouder distinction of being 'first in the hearts of your countrymen. '"

The president concluded by saying that Virginia on that day intrustedher spotless sword to Lee's keeping, and Lee responded as follows:

"MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN OF THE CONVENTION: Profoundly impressedwith the solemnity of the occasion, for which I must say I was notprepared, I accept the position assigned me by your partiality. Iwould have much preferred had your choice fallen upon an abler man. Trusting in Almighty God, an approving conscience, and the aid of myfellow-citizens, I devote myself to the service of my native State, inwhose behalf alone will I ever again draw my sword. "

Such were the modest and dignified expressions of Lee in accepting thegreat trust. The reply is brief and simple, but these are very greatmerits on such an occasion. No portion of the address contains aphrase or word denunciatory of the Federal Government, or of themotives of the opponents of Virginia; and this moderation and absenceof all rancor characterized the utterances of Lee, both oral andwritten, throughout the war. He spoke, doubtless, as he felt, anduttered no expression of heated animosity, because he cherished nosuch sentiment. His heart was bleeding still from the cruel trial ithad undergone in abruptly tearing away from the old service to embarkupon civil war; with the emotions of the present occasion, excited bythe great ovation in his honor, no bitterness mingled--or at least, ifthere were such bitterness in his heart, he did not permit it to riseto his lips. He accepted the trust confided to him in terms of dignityand moderation, worthy of Washington; exchanged grave salutations withthe members of the convention; and then, retiring from the hall wherehe had solemnly consecrated his life to his native Commonwealth, proceeded at once to energetic work to get the State in a posture ofdefence. 

The sentiment of the country in reference to Lee was even warmer thanthat of the convention. For weeks, reports had been rife that he haddetermined to adhere to the Federal Government in the approachingstruggle. Such an event, it was felt by all, would be a publiccalamity to Virginia; and the general joy may be imagined when it wasknown that Lee had resigned and come to fight with his own people. Heassumed command, therefore, of all the Virginia forces, in themidst of universal public rejoicing; and the fact gave strengthand consistency to the general determination to resist the FederalGovernment to the last. 

IX. 

LEE IN 1861. 

At this time--April, 1861--General Lee was fifty-four years of age, and may be said to have been in the ripe vigor of every faculty. Physically and intellectually he was "at his best, " and in the bloomof manhood. His figure was erect, and he bore himself with the brief, somewhat stiff air of command derived from his military educationand service in the army. This air of the professional soldier, whichcharacterized generally the graduates of West Point, was replacedafterward by a grave dignity, the result of high command and greatresponsibilities. In April, 1861, however, he was rather the ordinaryarmy officer in bearing than the commander-in-chief. 

He had always been remarkable for his manly beauty, both of face andfigure, and the cares of great command had not yet whitened his hair. There was not a gray hair in his head, and his mustache was dark andheavy. The rest of his face was clean-shaven, and his cheeks had thatfresh, ruddy hue which indicates high physical health. This was not atthat time or afterward the result of high living. Of all the prominentpersonages of his epoch. Lee was, perhaps, the most temperate. Herarely drank even so much as a single glass of wine, and it was amatter of general notoriety in the army afterward, that he cared notwhat he ate. The ruddy appearance which characterized him from firstto last was the result of the most perfectly-developed physicalhealth, which no species of indulgence had ever impaired. He used notobacco then or afterward, in any shape--that seductive weed which hasbeen called "the soldier's comfort"--and seemed, indeed, superiorto all those small vices which assail men of his profession. Grave, silent, with a military composure of bearing which amounted at times, as we have said, to stiffness, he resembled a machine in the shape ofa man. At least this was the impression which he produced upon thosewho saw him in public at this time. 

The writer's design, here, is to indicate the personal appearance andbearing of General Lee on the threshold of the war. It may be said, byway of summing up all, that he was a full-blooded "West-Pointer" inappearance; the _militaire_ as distinguished from the civilian; andno doubt impressed those who held official interviews with him as apersonage of marked reserve. The truth and frankness of the man underall circumstances, and his great, warm heart, full of honesty andunassuming simplicity, became known only in the progress of the war. How simple and true and honest he was, will appear from a letter tohis son, G. W. Custis Lee, written some time before:

"You must study, " he wrote, "to be frank with the world; franknessis the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do onevery occasion, and take it for granted you mean to do right. If afriend asks a favor, you should grant it, if it is reasonable; if not, tell him plainly why you cannot: you will wrong him and wrong yourselfby equivocation of any kind. Never do a wrong thing to make a friendor keep one; the man who requires you to do so, is dearly purchased ata sacrifice. Deal kindly, but firmly, with all your classmates; youwill find it the policy which wears best. Above all, do not appear toothers what you are not. If you have any fault to find with any one, tell him, not others, of what you complain; there is no more dangerousexperiment than that of undertaking to be one thing before a man'sface and another behind his back. We should live, act, and say, nothing to the injury of any one. It is not only best as a matter ofprinciple, but it is the path to peace and honor. 

"In regard to duty, let me, in conclusion of this hasty letter, informyou that, nearly a hundred years ago, there was a day of remarkablegloom and darkness--still known as 'the dark day'--a day when thelight of the sun was slowly extinguished, as if by an eclipse. TheLegislature of Connecticut was in session, and, as its members saw theunexpected and unaccountable darkness coming on, they shared in thegeneral awe and terror. It was supposed by many that the last day--theday of judgment--had come. Some one, in the consternation of the hour, moved an adjournment. Then there arose an old Puritan legislator, Davenport, of Stamford, and said that, if the last day had come, hedesired to be found at his place doing his duty, and, therefore, movedthat candles be brought in, so that the House could proceed withits duty. There was quietness in that man's mind, the quietness ofheavenly wisdom and inflexible willingness to obey present duty. Duty, then, is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in allthings, like the old Puritan. You cannot do more, you should neverwish to do less. Never let me and your mother wear one gray hair forany lack of duty on your part. "

The maxims of this letter indicate the noble and conscientiouscharacter of the man who wrote it. "Frankness is the child of honestyand courage. " "Say just what you mean to do on every occasion. " "Neverdo a wrong thing to make a friend or keep one. " "Duty is the sublimestword in our language ... Do your duty in all things ... You cannot domore. " That he lived up to these great maxims, amid all the troubledscenes and hot passions of a stormy epoch, is Lee's greatest glory. His fame as a soldier, great as it is, yields to the true glory ofhaving placed duty before his eyes always as the supreme object oflife. He resigned his commission from a sense of duty to his nativeState; made this same duty his sole aim in every portion of hissubsequent career; and, when all had failed, and the cause he hadfought for was overthrown, it was the consciousness of havingperformed conscientiously, and to his utmost, his whole duty, whichtook the sting from defeat, and gave him that noble calmness which thewhole world saw and admired. "Human virtue should be equal to humancalamity, " were his august words when all was lost, and men's mindswere sinking under the accumulated agony of defeat and despair. Those words could only have been uttered by a man who made duty theparamount object of living--the performance of it, the true glory andcrown of virtuous manhood. It may be objected by some critics thathe mistook his duty in espousing the Southern cause. Doubtless manypersons will urge that objection, and declare that the words herewritten are senseless panegyric. But that will not affect the truth ordetract from Lee's great character. He performed at least what in hisinmost soul _he_ considered his duty, and, from the beginning of hiscareer, when all was so bright, to its termination, when all was sodark, it will be found that his controlling sentiment was, first, last, and all the time, this performance of duty. The old Puritan, whose example he admired so much, was not more calm and resolute. When "the last day" of the cause he fought for came--in the spring of1865--it was plain to all who saw the man, standing unmoved in themidst of the general disaster, that his sole desire was to be "foundat his place, and doing his duty. "

From this species of digression upon the moral constituents of theindividual, we pass to the record of that career which made the greatfame of the soldier. The war had already begun when Lee took commandof the provisional forces of Virginia, and the collisions in variousportions of the Gulf States between the Federal and State authoritieswere followed by overt acts in Virginia, which all felt would be thereal battle-ground of the war. The North entered upon the strugglewith very great ardor and enthusiasm. The call for volunteers toenforce obedience to the Federal authority was tumultuously respondedto throughout the entire North, and troops were hurried forward toWashington, which soon became an enormous camp. The war began inVirginia with the evacuation and attempted destruction of the works atHarper's Ferry, by the Federal officer in command there. This was onthe 19th of April, and on the next day reinforcements were thrown intoFortress Monroe; and the navy-yard at Norfolk, with the shipping, seton fire and abandoned. 

Lee thus found the Commonwealth in a state of war, and all hisenergies were immediately concentrated upon the work of placing herin a condition of defence. He established his headquarters in thecustom-house at Richmond; orderlies were seen coming and going; bustlereigned throughout the building, and by night, as well as by day, General Lee labored incessantly to organize the means of resistance. From the first moment, all had felt that Virginia, from hergeographical position, adjoining the Federal frontier and facing theFederal capital, would become the arena of the earliest, longest, andmost determined struggle. Her large territory and moral influence, asthe oldest of the Southern States, also made her the chief object ofthe Federal hostility. It was felt that if Virginia were occupied, andher people reduced under the Federal authority again, the Southerncause would be deprived of a large amount of its prestige andstrength. The authorities of the Gulf States accordingly hurriedforward to Richmond all available troops; and from all parts ofVirginia the volunteer regiments, which had sprung up like magic, were in like manner forwarded by railway to the capital. Every trainbrought additions to this great mass of raw war material; large campsrose around Richmond, chief among which was that named "Camp Lee;" andthe work of drilling and moulding this crude material for the greatwork before it was ardently proceeded with under the supervision ofLee. 

An Executive Board, or Military Council, had been formed, consistingof Governor Letcher and other prominent officials; but these gentlemenhad the good sense to intrust the main work of organizing an army toLee. As yet the great question at Richmond was to place Virginia in astate of defence--to prepare that Commonwealth for the hour of trial, by enrolling her own people. It will be remembered that Lee held nocommission from the Confederate States; he was major-general of theProvisional Army of Virginia, and to place this Provisional Army ina condition to take the field was the first duty before him. It wasdifficult, not from want of ardor in the population, but from the wantof the commonest material necessary in time of war. There werefew arms, and but small supplies of ammunition. While the FederalGovernment entered upon the war with the amplest resources, the Southfound herself almost entirely destitute of the munitions essentialto her protection. All was to be organized and put at once intooperation--the quartermaster, commissary, ordnance, and otherdepartments. Transportation, supplies of rations, arms, ammunition, all were to be collected immediately. The material existed, or couldbe supplied, as the sequel clearly showed; but as yet there wasalmost nothing. And it was chiefly to the work of organizing thesedepartments, first of all, that General Lee and the Military Counciladdressed themselves with the utmost energy. 

The result was, that the State found herself very soon in a conditionto offer a determined resistance. The troops at the various camps ofinstruction were successively sent to the field; others took theirplaces, and the work of drilling the raw material into soldiers wenton; supplies were collected, transportation found, workshops for theconstruction of arms and ammunition sprung up; small-arms, cannon, cartridges, fixed and other ammunition, were produced in quantities;and, in a time which now seems wholly inadequate for such a result, the Commonwealth of Virginia was ready to take the field against theFederal Government. 

X. 

THE WAR BEGINS. 

Early in May, Virginia became formally a member of the SouthernConfederacy, and the troops which she had raised a portion of theConfederate States Army. When Richmond became the capitalsoon afterward, and the Southern Congress assembled, fivebrigadier-generals were appointed, Generals Cooper, Albert S. Johnston, Lee, J. E. Johnston, and Beauregard. Large forces had beenmeanwhile raised throughout the South; Virginia became the centreof all eyes, as the scene of the main struggle; and early in Juneoccurred at Bethel, in Lower Virginia, the first prominent affair, inwhich General Butler, with about four thousand men, was repulsed andforced to retire. 

The affair at Bethel, which was of small importance, was followedby movements in Northern and Western Virginia--the battles at RichMountain and Carrick's Ford; Johnston's movements in the Valley; andthe advance of the main Federal army on the force under Beauregard, which resulted in the first battle of Manassas. In these events, General Lee bore no part, and we need not speak of them further thanto present a summary of the results. The Federal design had been topenetrate Virginia in three columns. One was to advance from thenorthwest under General McClellan; a second, under General Patterson, was to take possession of the Valley; and a third, under GeneralMcDowell, was to drive Beauregard back from Manassas on Richmond. Onlyone of these columns--that of McClellan--succeeded in its undertaking. Johnston held Patterson in check in the Valley until the advance uponManassas; then by a flank march the Confederate general hastened tothe assistance of Beauregard. The battle of Manassas followed onSunday, the 21st of July. After an unsuccessful attempt to force theConfederate right, General McDowell assailed their left, making forthat purpose a long _détour_--and at first carried all before him. Reënforcements were hurried forward, however, and the Confederatesfought with the energy of men defending their own soil. The obstinatestand made by Evans, Bee, Bartow, Jackson, and their brave associates, turned the fortunes of the day, and, when reënforcements subsequentlyreached the field under General Kirby Smith and General Early, theFederal troops retreated in great disorder toward Washington. 

XI. 

LEE'S ADVANCE INTO WESTERN VIRGINIA. 

General Lee nowhere appears, as we have seen, in these first greatmovements and conflicts. He was without any specific command, andremained at Richmond, engaged in placing that city in a state ofdefence. The works which he constructed proved subsequently of greatimportance to the city, and a Northern officer writes of Lee: "Whilethe fortifications of Richmond stand, his name will evoke admiration;the art of war is unacquainted with any defence so admirable. "

Lee's first appearance in the war, as commander of troops in thefield, took place in the fall of 1861, when he was sent to operateagainst the forces under General Rosecrans in the fastnesses ofWestern Virginia. This indecisive and unimportant movement has beenthe subject of various comment; the official reports were burned inthe conflagration at Richmond, or captured, and the elaborate plansdrawn up by Lee of his intended movement against General Reynolds, at Cheat Mountain, have in the same manner disappeared. Under thesecircumstances, and as the present writer had no personal knowledge ofthe subject, it seems best to simply quote the brief statement whichfollows. It is derived from an officer of high rank and character, whose statement is only second in value to that of General Leehimself:

 "After General Garnett's death, General Lee was sent by the President to ascertain what could be done in the trans-Alleghany region, and to endeavor to harmonize our movements, etc. , in that part of the State. He was not ordered to take command of the troops, nor did he do so, during the whole time he was there. 

 "Soon after his arrival he came to the decided conclusion that _that_ was not the line from which to make an offensive movement. The country, although not hostile, was not friendly; supplies could not be obtained; the enemy had possession of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, from which, and the Ohio River as a base, he could operate with great advantage against us, and our only chance was to drive him from the railroad, take possession, and use it ourselves. We had not the means of doing this, and consequently could only try to hold as much country as possible, and occupy as large a force of the enemy as could be kept in front of us. The movement against Cheat Mountain, which failed, was undertaken with a view of causing the enemy to contract his lines, and enable us to unite the troops under Generals Jackson (of Georgia) and Loring. After the failure of this movement on our part, General Rosecrans, feeling secure, strengthened his lines in that part of the country, and went with a part of his forces to the Kanawha, driving our forces across the Gauley. General Lee then went to that line of operations, to endeavor to unite the troops under Generals Floyd and Wise, and stop the movements under Rosecrans. General Loring, with a part of his force from Valley Mountain, joined the forces at Sewell Mountain. Rosecrans's movement was stopped, and, the season for operations in that country being over, General Lee was ordered to Richmond, and soon afterward sent to South Carolina, to meet the movement of the enemy from Port Royal, etc. He remained in South Carolina until shortly before the commencement of the campaign before Richmond, in 1862. "

The months spent by General Lee in superintending the coast defencesof South Carolina and Georgia, present nothing of interest, and weshall therefore pass to the spring of 1862, when he returned toRichmond. His services as engineer had been highly appreciated by thepeople of the South, and a writer of the period said: "The time willyet come when his superior abilities will be vindicated, both to hisown renown and the glory of his country. " The time was now at handwhen these abilities, if the individual possessed them, were to havean opportunity to display themselves. 

XII. 

LEE'S LAST INTERVIEW WITH BISHOP MEADE. 

A touching incident of Lee's life belongs to this time--the earlyspring of 1862. Bishop Meade, the venerable head of the EpiscopalChurch in Virginia, lay at the point of death, in the city ofRichmond. When General Lee was informed of the fact, he exhibitedlively emotion, for the good bishop, as we have said in thecommencement of this narrative, had taught him his catechism when hewas a boy in Alexandria. On the day before the bishop's death. GeneralLee called in the morning to see him, but such was the state ofprostration under which the sick man labored, that only a few of hismost intimate friends were permitted to have access to his chamber. Inthe evening General Lee called again, and his name was announcedto Bishop Meade. As soon as he heard it, he said faintly, forhis breathing had become much oppressed, and he spoke with greatdifficulty: "I must see him, if only for a few moments. "

General Lee was accordingly introduced, and approached the dying man, with evidences of great emotion in his countenance. Taking the thinhand in his own, he said:

"How do you feel, bishop?"

"Almost gone, " replied Bishop Meade, in a voice so weak that it wasalmost inaudible; "but I wanted to see you once more. "

He paused for an instant, breathing heavily, and looking at Lee withdeep feeling. 

"God bless you! God bless you, Robert!" he faltered out, "and fit youfor your high and responsible duties. I can't call you 'general'--Imust call you 'Robert;' I have heard you your catechism too often. "

General Lee pressed the feeble hand, and tears rolled down his cheeks. 

"Yes, bishop--very often, " he said, in reply to the last words utteredby the bishop. 

A brief conversation followed, Bishop Meade making inquiries inreference to Mrs. Lee, who was his own relative, and other membersof the family. "He also, " says the highly-respectable clergyman whofurnishes these particulars, "put some pertinent questions to GeneralLee about the state of public affairs and of the army, showing themost lively interest in the success of our cause. "

It now became necessary to terminate an interview which, in the feeblecondition of the aged man, could not be prolonged. Much exhausted, andlaboring under deep emotion, Bishop Meade shook the general by thehand, and said:

"Heaven bless you! Heaven bless you! and give you wisdom for yourimportant and arduous duties!"

These were the last words uttered during the interview. General Leepressed the dying man's hand, released it, stood for several minutesby the bedside motionless and in perfect silence, and then went out ofthe room. 

On the next morning Bishop Meade expired. 

[Illustration: Environs of Richmond. ]

PART II. 

_IN FRONT OF RICHMOND_. 

I. 

PLAN OF THE FEDERAL CAMPAIGN. 

The pathetic interview which we have just described took place in themonth of March, 1862. 

By the latter part of that month, General McClellan, in command of anarmy of more than one hundred thousand men, landed on the Peninsulabetween the James and York Rivers, and after stubbornly-contestedengagements with the forces of General Johnston, advanced up thePeninsula--the Confederates slowly retiring. In the latter part ofMay, a portion of the Federal forces had crossed the Chickahominy, andconfronted General Johnston defending Richmond. 

Such was the serious condition of affairs in the spring of 1862. TheFederal sword had nearly pierced the heart of Virginia, and, as thecourse of events was about to place Lee in charge of her destinies, a brief notice is indispensable of the designs of the adversariesagainst whom he was to contend on the great arena of the State. 

While the South had been lulled to sleep, as it were, by the battle ofManassas, the North, greatly enraged at the disaster, had prepared toprosecute the war still more vigorously. The military resources of theSouth had been plainly underestimated. It was now obvious that theNorth had to fight with a dangerous adversary, and that the people ofthe South were entirely in earnest. Many journals of the North hadridiculed the idea of war; and one of them had spoken of the greatuprising of the Southern States from the Potomac to the Gulf of Mexicoas a mere "local commotion" which a force of fifty thousand men wouldbe able to put down without difficulty. A column of twenty-fivethousand men, it was said, would be sufficient to carry all before itin Virginia, and capture Richmond, and the comment on this statementhad been the battle of Manassas, where a force of more than fiftythousand had been defeated and driven back to Washington. 

It was thus apparent that the war was to be a serious struggle, inwhich the North would be compelled to exert all her energies. Thepeople responded to the call upon them with enthusiasm. All the rovingand adventurous elements of Northern society flocked to the Federalstandard, and in a short time a large force had once more assembled atWashington. The work now was to drill, equip, and put it in efficientcondition for taking the field. This was undertaken with great energy, the Congress coöperating with the Executive in every manner. The cityof Washington resounded with the wheels of artillery and the trampof cavalry; the workshops were busy night and day to supply arms andammunition; and the best officers devoted themselves, without rest, tothe work of drilling and disciplining the mass. 

By the spring of 1862 a force of about two hundred thousand men wasready to take the field in Virginia. General Scott was not to commandin the coming campaigns. He had retired in the latter part of theyear 1861, and his place had been filled by a young officer ofrising reputation--General George B. McClellan, who had achieved thesuccesses of Rich Mountain and Carrick's Ford in Western Virginia. General McClellan was not yet forty, but had impressed the authoritieswith a high opinion of his abilities. A soldier by profession, andenjoying the distinction of having served with great credit in theMexican War, he had been sent as United States military commissionerto the Crimea, and on his return had written a book of marked abilityon the military organizations of the powers of Europe. When thestruggle between the North and South approached, he was said--withwhat truth we know not--to have hesitated, before determining upon hiscourse; but it is probable that the only question with him was whetherhe should fight for the North or remain neutral. In his politics hewas a Democrat, and the war on the South is said to have shocked hisState-rights view. But, whatever his sentiments had been, he acceptedcommand, and fought a successful campaign in Western Virginia. Fromthat moment his name became famous; he was said to have achieved"two victories in one day, " and he received from the newspapers theflattering name of "the Young Napoleon. "

The result of this successful campaign, slight in importance asit was, procured for General McClellan the high post ofcommander-in-chief of the armies of the United States. Operations inevery portion of the South were to be directed by him; and he wasespecially intrusted with the important work of organizing the newlevies at Washington. This he performed with very great ability. Underhis vigorous hand, the raw material soon took shape. He gave hispersonal attention to every department; and the result, as we havesaid, in the early spring of 1862, was an army of more than twohundred thousand men, for operations in Virginia alone. 

The great point now to be determined was the best line of operationsagainst Richmond. President Lincoln was strongly in favor of anadvance by way of Manassas and the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, which he thought would insure the safety of the Federal capital. Thiswas always, throughout the whole war, a controlling consideration withhim; and, regarded in the light of subsequent events, this solicitudeseems to have been well founded. More than once afterward, GeneralLee--to use his own expression--thought of "swapping queens, " that isto say, advancing upon Washington, without regard to the capture ofRichmond; and President Lincoln, with that excellent good sense whichhe generally exhibited, felt that the loss of Washington would provealmost fatal to the Federal cause. --Such was the origin of thePresident's preference for the Manassas line. General McClellan didnot share it. He assented it seems at first, but soon resolvedto adopt another plan--an advance either from Urbanna on theRappahannock, or from West Point on the York. Against his views anddetermination, the President and authorities struggled in vain. McClellan treated their arguments and appeals with a want of ceremonyamounting at times nearly to contempt; he adhered to his own planresolutely, and in the end the President gave way. In rueful protestagainst the continued inactivity of General McClellan, PresidentLincoln had exclaimed, "If General McClellan does not want to use thearmy, I would like to borrow it;" and "if something is not soon done, the bottom will be out of the whole affair. "

At last General McClellan carried his point, and an advance againstRichmond from the Peninsula was decided upon. In order to assist thismovement, General Fremont was to march through Northwestern Virginia, and General Banks up the Valley; and, having thus arranged theirprogramme, the Federal authorities began to move forward to the greatwork. To transport an army of more than one hundred thousand menby water to the Peninsula was a heavy undertaking; but the ampleresources of the Government enabled them to do so without difficulty. General McClellan, who had now been removed from his post ofcommander-in-chief of the armies of the United States, and assigned tothe command only of the army to operate against Richmond, landed hisforces on the Peninsula, and, after several actions of an obstinatedescription, advanced toward the Chickahominy, General Johnston, theConfederate commander, deliberately retiring. Johnston took up aposition behind this stream, and, toward the end of May, McClellancrossed a portion of his forces and confronted him. 

II. 

JOHNSTON IS WOUNDED. 

The army thus threatening the city which had become the capital of theConfederacy was large and excellently equipped. It numbered in all, according to General McClellan's report, one hundred and fifty-sixthousand eight hundred and thirty-eight men, of whom one hundred andfifteen thousand one hundred and two were effective troops--that is tosay, present and ready for duty as fighting-men in the field. 

Results of such magnitude' were expected from this great army, thatall the resources of the Federal Government had been taxed to bringit to the highest possible state of efficiency. The artillery wasnumerous, and of the most approved description; small-arms of the bestpatterns and workmanship were profusely supplied; the ammunition wasof the finest quality, and almost inexhaustible in quantity; andthe rations for the subsistence of the troops, which were equallyexcellent and abundant, were brought up in an unfailing stream fromthe White House, in General McClellan's rear, over the York RiverRailroad, which ran straight to his army. 

Such was the admirable condition of the large force under command ofGeneral McClellan. It would be difficult to imagine an army betterprepared for active operations; and the position which it held hadbeen well selected. The left of the army was protected by the wellnighimpassable morass of the White-oak Swamp, and all the approaches fromthe direction of Richmond were obstructed by the natural difficultiesof the ground, which had been rendered still more forbidding by anabattis of felled trees and earthworks of the best description. Unlessthe right of McClellan, on the northern bank of the Chickahominy, wereturned by the Confederates, his communications with his base at theWhite House and the safety of his army were assured. And even theapparently improbable contingency of such an assault on his right hadbeen provided for. Other bodies of Federal troops had advanced intoVirginia to coöperate with the main force on the Peninsula. GeneralMcDowell, the able soldier who had nearly defeated the Confederates atManassas, was at Fredericksburg with a force of about forty thousandmen, which were to advance southward without loss of time and unitewith General McClellan's right. This would completely insure thecommunications of his army from interruption; and it was no doubtexpected that Generals Fremont and Banks would coöperate in themovement also. Fremont was to advance from Northwestern Virginia, driving before him the small Confederate force, under Jackson, in theValley; and General Banks, then at Winchester, was to cross the BlueRidge Mountains, and, posting his forces along the Manassas Railroad, guard the approaches to Washington when McDowell advanced fromFredericksburg to the aid of General McClellan. Thus Richmond would behalf encircled by Federal armies. General McClellan, if permitted bythe Confederates to carry out his plan of operations, would soon be incommand of about two hundred thousand men, and with this force it wasanticipated he would certainly be able to capture Richmond. 

Such was the Federal programme of the war in Virginia. It promisedgreat results, and ought, it would seem, to have succeeded. TheConfederate forces in Virginia did not number in all one hundredthousand men; and it is now apparent that, without the able strategyof Johnston, Lee, and Jackson, General McClellan would have been inpossession of Richmond before the summer. 

Prompt action was thus necessary on the part of the sagacious soldiercommanding the army at Richmond, and directing operations throughoutthe theatre of action in Virginia. The officer in question was GeneralJoseph E. Johnston, a Virginian by birth, who had first held GeneralPatterson in check in the Shenandoah Valley, and then hastened to theassistance of General Beauregard at Manassas, where, in right of hissuperior rank, he took command. Before the enemy's design to advanceup the Peninsula had been developed, Johnston had made a masterlyretreat from Manassas. Reappearing with his force of about fortythousand men on the Peninsula, he had obstinately opposed McClellan, and only retired when he was compelled by numbers to do so, withthe resolution, however, of fighting a decisive battle on theChickahominy. In face, figure, and character, General Johnston wasthoroughly the soldier. Above the medium height, with an erect figure, in a close-fitting uniform buttoned to the chin; with a ruddy face, decorated with close-cut gray side-whiskers, mustache, and tuft on thechin; reserved in manner, brief of speech, without impulses of anydescription, it seemed, General Johnston's appearance and bearing weremilitary to stiffness; and he was popularly compared to "a gamecock, "ready for battle at any moment. As a soldier, his reputationwas deservedly high; to unshrinking personal courage he added afar-reaching capacity for the conduct of great operations. Throughouthis career he enjoyed a profound public appreciation of his abilitiesas a commander, and was universally respected as a gentleman and apatriot. 

General Johnston, surveying the whole field in Virginia, andpenetrating, it would seem, the designs of the enemy, had hastened todirect General Jackson, commanding in the Valley, to begin offensiveoperations, and, by threatening the Federal force there--withWashington in perspective--relieve the heavy pressure upon the mainarena. Jackson carried out these instructions with the vigor whichmarked all his operations. In March he advanced down the Valley in thedirection of Winchester, and, coming upon a considerable force ofthe enemy at Kernstown, made a vigorous assault upon them; a heavyengagement ensued, and, though Jackson was defeated and compelled toretreat, a very large Federal force was retained in the Valleyto protect that important region. A more decisive diversion soonfollowed. Jackson advanced in May upon General Banks, then atStrasburg, drove him from that point to and across the Potomac; andsuch was the apprehension felt at Washington, that President Lincolnordered General McDowell, then at Fredericksburg with about fortythousand men, to send twenty thousand across the mountains toStrasburg in order to pursue or cut off Jackson. 

Thus the whole Federal programme in Virginia was thrown intoconfusion. General Banks, after the fight at Kernstown, was kept inthe Valley. After Jackson's second attack upon him, when General Bankswas driven across the Potomac and Washington threatened, GeneralMcDowell was directed to send half his army to operate againstJackson. Thus General McClellan, waiting at Richmond for McDowell tojoin him, did not move; with a portion of his army on one side of thestream, and the remainder on the other side, he remained inactive, hesitating and unwilling, as any good soldier would have been, tocommence the decisive assault. 

His indecision was brought to an end by General Johnston. Discoveringthat the force in his front, near "Seven Pines, " on the southern bankof the Chickahominy, was only a portion of the Federal army, GeneralJohnston determined to attack it. This resolution was not inconsequence of the freshet in the Chickahominy, as has been supposed, prompting Johnston to attack while the Federal army was cut in two, asit were. His resolution, he states, had already been taken, and was, with or without reference to the rains, that of a good soldier. General Johnston struck at General McClellan on the last day of May, just at the moment, it appears, when the Federal commander designedcommencing his last advance upon the city. The battle which took placewas one of the most desperate and bloody of the war. Both sides foughtwith obstinate courage, and neither gained a decisive advantage. Onthe Confederate right, near "Seven Pines, " the Federal line wasbroken and forced back; but, on the left, at Fair Oaks Station, theConfederates, in turn, were repulsed. Night fell upon a field whereneither side could claim the victory. The most that could be claimedby the Southerners was that McClellan had received a severe check; andthey sustained a great misfortune in the wound received by GeneralJohnston. He was struck by a fragment of shell while superintendingthe attack at Fair Oaks, and the nature of his wound rendered itimpossible for him to retain command of the army. He therefore retiredfrom the command, and repaired to Richmond, where he remained for along time an invalid, wholly unable to continue in service in thefield. 

This untoward event rendered it necessary to find a new commander forthe army without loss of time. General Lee had returned some timebefore from the South, and to him all eyes were turned. He had had noopportunity to display his abilities upon a conspicuous theatre--thesole command he had been intrusted with, that in trans-AlleghanyVirginia, could scarcely be called a real command--and he owed hiselevation now to the place vacated by General Johnston, rather to hisservices performed in the old army of the United States, than to anything he had effected in the war of the Confederacy. The confidenceof the Virginia people in his great abilities had never wavered, andthere is no reason to suppose that the Confederate authorities werebackward in conceding his merits as a soldier. Whatever may have beenthe considerations leading to his appointment, he was assigned on the3d day of June to the command of the army, and thus the Virginiansassembled to defend the capital of their State found themselves underthe command of the most illustrious of their own countrymen. 

III. 

LEE ASSIGNED TO THE COMMAND--HIS FAMILY AT THE WHITE HOUSE. 

Lee had up to this time effected, as we have shown, almost nothing inthe progress of the war. Intrusted with no command, and employedonly in organizing the forces, or superintending the construction ofdefences, he had failed to achieve any of those successes in the fieldwhich constitute the glory of the soldier. He might possess the greatabilities which his friends and admirers claimed for him, but he wasyet to show the world at large that he did really possess them. 

The decisive moment had now arrived which was to test him. He wasplaced in command of the largest and most important army in theConfederacy, and to him was intrusted the defence of the capital notonly of Virginia, but of the South. If Richmond were to fall, theConfederate Congress, executive, and heads of departments, would allbe fugitives. The evacuation of Virginia might or might not follow, but, in the very commencement of the conflict, the enemy would achievean immense advantage. Recognition by the European powers would behopeless in such an event, and the wandering and fugitive governmentof the Confederacy would excite only contempt. 

Such were the circumstances under which General Lee assumed command ofthe "Army of Northern Virginia, " as it was soon afterward styled. Thedate of his assignment to duty was June 3, 1862--three days afterGeneral Johnston had retired in consequence of his wound. Thirty daysafterward the great campaign around Richmond had been decided, and tothe narrative of what followed the appointment of Lee we shall at onceproceed, after giving a few words to another subject connected withhis family. 

When General Lee left "Washington to repair to Richmond, " he removedthe ladies of his family from Arlington to the "White House" on thePamunkey, near the spot where that river unites with the Mattapony toform the York River. This estate, like the Arlington property, hadcome into possession of General Lee through his wife, and as Arlingtonwas exposed to the enemy, the ladies had taken refuge here, with thehope that they would be safe from intrusion or danger. The result wasunfortunate. The White House was a favorable "base" for the Federalarmy, and intelligence one day reached Mrs. Lee and her family thatthe enemy were approaching. The ladies therefore hastened from theplace to a point of greater safety, and before her departure Mrs. Leeis said to have affixed to the door a paper containing the followingwords:

"Northern soldiers who profess to reverence Washington, forbear todesecrate the home of his first married life, the property of hiswife, now owned by her descendants. 

"A GRAND-DAUGHTER OF MRS. WASHINGTON. "

When the Federal forces took possession of the place, a Northernofficer, it is said, wrote beneath this:

"A Northern officer has protected your property, in sight of theenemy, and at the request of your overseer. "

The resolute spirit of Mrs. Lee is indicated by an incident whichfollowed. She took refuge with her daughters in a friend's house nearRichmond, and, when a Federal officer was sent to search the house, handed to him a paper addressed to "the general in command, " in whichshe wrote:

"Sir: I have patiently and humbly submitted to the search of my house, by men under your command, who are satisfied that there is nothinghere which they want. All the plate and other valuables have longsince been removed to Richmond, and are now beyond the reach of anyNorthern marauders who may wish for their possession. 

"WIFE OF ROBERT LEE, GENERAL C. S. A. "

The ladies finally repaired for safety to the city of Richmond, andthe White House was burned either before or when General McClellanretreated. The place was not without historic interest, as the sceneof Washington's first interview with Martha Custis, who afterwardbecame his wife. He was married either at St. Peter's Church near by, or in the house which originally stood on the site of the one nowdestroyed by the Federal forces. Its historic associations thus failedto protect the White House, and, like Arlington, it fell a sacrificeto the pitiless hand of war. 

From this species of digression we come back to the narrative ofpublic events, and the history of the great series of battles whichwere to make the banks of the Chickahominy historic ground. Ontaking command, Lee had assiduously addressed himself to the task ofincreasing the efficiency of the army: riding incessantly to andfro, he had inspected with his own eyes the condition of the troops;officers of the commissary, quartermaster, and ordnance departmentswere held to a strict accountability; and, in a short time, the armywas in a high state of efficiency. 

"What was the amount of the Confederate force under command of Lee?"it may be asked. The present writer is unable to state this numberwith any thing like exactness. The official record, if in existence, is not accessible, and the matter must be left to conjecture. It istolerably certain, however, that, even after the arrival of Jackson, the army numbered less than seventy-five thousand. Officers of highrank and character state the whole force to have been sixty or seventythousand only. 

It will thus be seen that the Federal army was larger than theConfederate; but this was comparatively an unimportant fact. The eventwas decided rather by generalship than the numbers of the combatants. 

IV

LEE RESOLVES TO ATTACK. 

General Lee assumed command of the army on the 3d of June. A weekafterward, Jackson finished the great campaign of the Valley, bydefeating Generals Fremont and Shields at Port Republic. 

Such had been the important services performed by the famous"Stonewall Jackson, " who was to become the "right arm" of Lee in thegreater campaigns of the future. Retreating, after the defeat ofGeneral Banks, and passing through Strasburg, just as Fremont from thewest, and the twenty thousand men of General McDowell from the east, rushed to intercept him, Jackson had sullenly fallen back up theValley, with all his captured stores and prisoners, and at CrossKeys and Port Republic had achieved a complete victory over his twoadversaries. Fremont was checked by Ewell, who then hastened across totake part in the attack on Shields. The result was a Federal defeatand retreat down the Valley. Jackson was free to move in anydirection; and his army could unite with that at Richmond for adecisive attack upon General McClellan. 

The attack in question had speedily been resolved on by Lee. Anyfurther advance of the Federal army would bring it up to the veryearthworks in the suburbs of the city; and, unless the Confederateauthorities proposed to undergo a siege, it was necessary to check thefurther advance of the enemy by a general attack. 

How to attack to the best advantage was now the question. The positionof General McClellan's army has been briefly stated. Advancing up thePeninsula, he had reached and passed the Chickahominy, and was insight of Richmond. To this stream, the natural line of defence of thecity on the north and east, numerous roads diverged from the capital, including the York River Railroad, of which the Federal commander madesuch excellent use; and General McClellan had thrown his left wingacross the stream, advancing to a point on the railroad four or fivemiles from the city. Here he had erected heavy defences to protectthat wing until the right wing crossed in turn. The tangled thicketsof the White-oak Swamp, on his left flank, were a natural defence; buthe had added to these obstacles, as we have stated, by felling trees, and guarding every approach by redoubts. In these, heavy artillerykept watch against an approaching enemy; and any attempt to attackfrom that quarter seemed certain to result in repulse. In front, toward Seven Pines, the chance of success was equally doubtful. Theexcellent works of the Federal commander bristled with artillery, andwere heavily manned. It seemed thus absolutely necessary to discoversome other point of assault; and, as the Federal right beyond theChickahominy was the only point left, it was determined to attack, ifpossible, in that quarter. 

An important question was first, however, to be decided, the characterof the defences, if any, on General McClellan's right, in thedirection of Old Church and Cold Harbor. A reconnoissance in force wasnecessary to acquire this information, and General Lee accordinglydirected General Stuart, commanding the cavalry of the army, toproceed with a portion of his command to the vicinity of Old Church, in the Federal rear, and gain all the information possible of theirposition and defences. 

V. 

STUART'S "RIDE AROUND McCLELLAN. "

General James E. B. Stuart, who now made his first prominent appearanceupon the theatre of the war, was a Virginian by birth, and not yetthirty years of age. Resigning his commission of lieutenant in theUnited States Cavalry at the beginning of the war, he had joinedJohnston in the Valley, and impressed that officer with a high opinionof his abilities as a cavalry officer; proceeded thence to Manassas, where he charged and broke a company of "Zouave" infantry; protectedthe rear of the army when Johnston retired to the Rappahannock, andbore an active part in the conflict on the Peninsula. In person he wasof medium height; his frame was broad and powerful; he wore a heavybrown beard flowing upon his breast, a huge mustache of the samecolor, the ends curling upward; and the blue eyes, flashing beneath a"piled-up" forehead, had at times the dazzling brilliancy attributedto the eyes of the eagle. Fond of movement, adventure, bright colors, and all the pomp and pageantry of war, Stuart had entered on thestruggle with ardor, and enjoyed it as the huntsman enjoys the chase. Young, ardent, ambitious, as brave as steel, ready with jest orlaughter, with his banjo-player following him, going into the hottestbattles humming a song, this young Virginian was, in truth, anoriginal character, and impressed powerfully all who approached him. One who knew him well wrote: "Every thing striking, brilliant, andpicturesque, seemed to centre in him. The war seemed to be to Stuart asplendid and exciting game, in which his blood coursed joyously, andhis immensely strong physical organization found an arena for thedisplay of all its faculties. The affluent life of the man cravedthose perils and hardships which flush the pulses and make the heartbeat fast. He swung himself into the saddle at the sound of the bugleas the hunter springs on horseback; and at such moments his cheeksglowed and his huge mustache curled with enjoyment. The romance andpoetry of the hard trade of arms seemed first to be inaugurated whenthis joyous cavalier, with his floating plume and splendid laughter, appeared upon the great arena of the war in Virginia. " Precise peopleshook their heads, and called him frivolous, undervaluing his greatability. Those best capable of judging him were of a differentopinion. Johnston wrote to him from the west: "How can I eat or sleepin peace without _you_ upon the outpost?" Jackson said, when he fellat Chancellorsville: "Go back to General Stuart, and tell him to actupon his own judgment, and do what he thinks best, I have implicitconfidence in him. " Lee said, when he was killed at Yellow Tavern:"I can scarcely think of him without weeping. " And the brave GeneralSedgwick, of the United States Army, said: "Stuart is the best cavalryofficer ever _foaled_ in North America!"

In the summer of 1862, when we present him to the reader, Stuart hadas yet achieved little fame in his profession, but he was burning todistinguish himself. He responded ardently, therefore, to the order ofLee, and was soon ready with a picked force of about fifteen hundredcavalry, under some of his best officers. Among them were ColonelsWilliam H. F. Lee and Fitz-Hugh Lee--the first a son of General Lee, agraduate of West Point, and an officer of distinction afterward;the second, a son of Smith Lee, brother of the general, and famoussubsequently in the most brilliant scenes of the war as the gay andgallant "General Fitz Lee, " of the cavalry. With his picked force, officered by the two Lees, and other excellent lieutenants, Stuart setout on his adventurous expedition to Old Church. He effected morethan he anticipated, and performed a daring feat of arms in addition. Driving the outposts from Hanover Court-House, he charged and broke aforce of Federal cavalry near Old Church; pushed on to the York RiverRailroad, which he crossed, burning or capturing all Federal storesmet with, including enormous wagon-camps; and then, finding theway back barred against him, and the Federal army on the alert, hecontinued his march with rapidity, passed entirely around GeneralMcClellan's army, and, building a bridge over the Chickahominy, safely reëntered the Confederate lines just as a large force made itsappearance in his rear. The temporary bridge was destroyed, however, and Stuart hastened to report to his superiors. His information wasimportant. General McClellan's right and rear were unprotected byworks of any strength. If the Confederate general desired to attack inthat quarter, there was nothing to prevent. 

The results of Stuart's famous "ride around McClellan, " as the peoplecalled it, determined General Lee to make the attack on the north bankof the stream, if he had not already so decided. It was necessary nowto bring Jackson's forces from the Valley without delay, and almostequally important to mask the movement from General McClellan. To thisend a very simple _ruse_ was adopted. On the 11th of June, Whiting'sdivision was embarked on the cars of the Danville Railroad atRichmond, and moved across the river to a point near Belle Isle, whereat that moment a considerable number of Federal prisoners were aboutto be released and sent down James River. Here the train, loaded withConfederate troops, remained for some time, and _the secret_ wasdiscovered by the released prisoners. General Lee was reënforcingJackson, in order that the latter might march on Washington. Such wasthe report carried to General McClellan, and it seems to have reallydeceived him. [Footnote: "I have no doubt Jackson has been reënforcedfrom here. "--_General McClellan to President Lincoln, June 20th_. ]Whiting's division reached Lynchburg, and was thence moved by railwayto Charlottesville--Jackson marched and countermarched with anelaborate pretence of advancing down the Valley--at last, one morning, the astute Confederate, who kept his own counsels, had disappeared; hewas marching rapidly to join Lee on the Chickahominy. Not even his ownsoldiers knew what direction they were taking. They were forbiddenby general order to inquire even the names of the towns they passedthrough; directed to reply "I don't know" to every question; and itis said that when Jackson demanded the name and regiment of a soldierrobbing a cherry-tree, he could extract from the man no reply but "Idon't know. "

Jackson advanced with rapidity, and, on the 25th of June, was nearAshland. Here he left his forces, and rode on rapidly to Richmond. Passing unrecognized through the streets, after night, he went onto General Lee's headquarters, at a house on the "Nine-mile road, "leading from the New Bridge road toward Fair Oaks Station; and heretook place the first interview, since the commencement of the war, between Lee and Jackson. 

What each thought of the other will be shown in the course of thisnarrative. We shall proceed now with the history of the great seriesof battles for which Jackson's appearance was the signal. 

PART III. 

_ON THE CHICKAHOMINY_. 

I. 

THE TWO ARMIES. 

The Chickahominy, whose banks were now to be the scene of a bitter anddetermined conflict between the great adversaries, is a sluggish andwinding stream, which, rising above Richmond, describes a curve aroundit, and empties its waters into the James, far below the city. Itsbanks are swampy, and thickly clothed with forest or underwood. Fromthe nature of these banks, which scarcely rise in many places abovethe level of the water, the least freshet produces an overflow, andthe stream, generally narrow and insignificant, becomes a sort oflake, covering the low grounds to the bases of the wooded bluffsextending upon each side. Numerous bridges cross the stream, fromBottom's Bridge, below the York River Railroad, to Meadow Bridge, north of the city. Of these, the Mechanicsville Bridge, about fourmiles from the city, and the New Bridge, about nine miles, were pointsof the greatest importance. 

General McClellan's position has been repeatedly referred to. He hadcrossed a portion of his army east of Richmond, and advanced to withinfour or five miles of the city. The remainder, meanwhile, lay on thenorth bank of the stream, and swept round, in a sort of crescent, tothe vicinity of Mechanicsville, where it had been anticipated GeneralMcDowell would unite with it, thereby covering its right flank, andprotecting the communications with the Federal base at the WhiteHouse. That this disposition of the Federal troops was faulty, in faceof adversaries like Johnston and Lee, there could be no doubt. ButGeneral McClellan was the victim, it seems, of the shifting andvacillating policy of the authorities at Washington. With the arrivalof the forty thousand men under McDowell, his position would have beena safe one. General McDowell did not arrive; and this unprotectedright flank--left unprotected from the fact that McDowell's presencewas counted on--became the point of the Confederate attack. 

The amount of blame, if any, justly attributable to General McClellan, first for his inactivity, and then for his defeat by Lee, cannot bereferred to here, save in a few brief sentences. A sort of feudseems to have arisen between himself and General Halleck, thecommander-in-chief, stationed at Washington; and General Halleck thenand afterward appears to have regarded McClellan as a soldier withoutdecision or broad generalship. And yet McClellan does not seem tohave merited the censure he received. He called persistently forreinforcements, remaining inactive meanwhile, because he estimatedthe Confederate army before him at two hundred thousand men, andwas unwilling to assail this force, under command of soldierslike Johnston and Lee, until his own force seemed adequate to theundertaking. Another consideration was, the Confederate position infront of the powerful earthworks of the city. These works would doublethe Confederate strength in case of battle in front of them; and, believing himself already outnumbered, the Federal commander wasnaturally loath to deliver battle until reënforced. The faultydisposition of his army, divided by a stream crossed by few bridges, has been accounted for in like manner--he so disposed the troops, expecting reënforcements. But Jackson's energy delayed these. Washington was in danger, it was supposed, and General McDowell didnot come. It thus happened that General McClellan awaited attackinstead of making it, and that his army was so posted as to expose himto the greatest peril. 

A last point is to be noted in vindication of this able soldier. Finding, at the very last moment, that he could expect no furtherassistance from the President or General Halleck, he resolved promptlyto withdraw his exposed right wing and change his base of operationsto James River, where at least his communications would be safe. This, it seems, had been determined upon just before the Confederate attack;or, if he had not then decided, General McClellan soon determined uponthat plan. 

To pass now to the Confederate side, where all was ready for thegreat movement. General Lee's army lay in front of Richmond, exactlycorresponding with the front of General McClellan. The divisions ofMagruder and Huger, supported by those of Longstreet and D. H. Hill, were opposite McClellan's left, on the Williamsburg and York Riverroads, directly east of the city. From Magruder's left, extended thedivision of General A. P. Hill, reaching thence up the river towardMechanicsville; and a brigade, under General Branch lay on Hill's leftnear the point where the Brook Turnpike crosses the Chickahominy northof Richmond. The approaches from the east, northeast, and north, werethus carefully guarded. As the Confederates held the interior line, the whole force could be rapidly concentrated, and was thoroughly inhand, both for offensive or defensive movements. 

The army thus held in Lee's grasp, and about to assail its greatFederal adversary, was composed of the best portion of the Southernpopulation. The rank and file was largely made up of men of educationand high social position. And this resulted from the character of thestruggle. The war was a war of invasion on the part of the North;and the ardent and high-spirited youth of the entire South threwthemselves into it with enthusiasm. The heirs of ancient families andgreat wealth served as privates. Personal pride, love of country, indignation at the thought that a hostile section had sent an army toreduce them to submission, combined to draw into the Confederate ranksthe flower of the Southern youth, and all the best fighting material. Deficient in discipline, and "hard to manage, " this force was yet ofthe most efficient character. It could be counted on for hard work, and especially for offensive operations. And the officers placed overit shared its character. 

Among these, General A. P. Hill, a Virginian by birth, was soon to beconspicuous as commander of the "Light Division, " and representativeof the spirit and dash and enthusiasm of the army. Under forty yearsof age, with a slender figure, a heavily-bearded face, dark eyes, acomposed and unassuming bearing, characterized when off duty by aquiet cordiality, he was personally popular with all who approachedhim, and greatly beloved, both as man and commander. His chief meritas a soldier was his dash and impetus in the charge. A braver heartnever beat in human breast; throughout the war he retained the respectand admiration of the army and the country; and a strange fact inrelation to this eminent soldier is, that his name was uttered by bothJackson and Lee as they expired. 

Associated with him in the battles of the Chickahominy, and to theend, was the able and resolute Longstreet--an officer of low andpowerful stature, with a heavy, brown beard reaching to his breast, a manner marked by unalterable composure, and a countenance whoseexpression of phlegmatic tranquillity never varied in the hottesthours of battle. Longstreet was as famous for his bull-dog obstinacy, as Hill for his dash and enthusiasm. General Lee styled him his "oldwar-horse, " and depended upon him, as will be seen, in some of themost critical operations of the war. 

Of the young and ardent Virginian, General Magruder, the braveand resolute North-Carolinian, D. H. Hill, and other officers whosubsequently acquired great reputations in the army, we have no spaceat present to speak. All were to coöperate in the assault on GeneralMcClellan, and do their part. 

On the night of the 25th of June, all was ready for the importantmovement, and the troops rested on their arms, ready for the comingbattle. 

II. 

LEE'S PLAN OF ASSAULT. 

General Lee had been hitherto regarded as a soldier of too greatcaution, but his plan for the assault on General McClellan indicatedthe possession of a nerve approaching audacity. 

Fully comprehending his enemy's strength and position, and aware thata large portion of the Federal army had crossed the Chickahominy, andwas directly in his front, he had resolved to pass to the northbank of the stream with the bulk of his force, leaving only abouttwenty-five thousand men to protect the city, and deliver battle wheredefeat would prove ruinous. This plan indicated nothing less thanaudacity, as we have already said; but, like the audacity of the flankmovement at Chancellorsville afterward, and the daring march, indisregard of General Hooker, to Pennsylvania in 1864, it was foundedon profound military insight, and indicated the qualities of a greatsoldier. 

Lee's design was to attack the Federal right wing with a part of hisforce, while Jackson, advancing still farther to the left, came in ontheir communications with the White House, and assailed them on theirright and rear. Meanwhile Richmond was to be protected by GeneralMagruder with his twenty-five thousand men, on the south bank; ifMcClellan fell back down the Peninsula, this force was to cross andunite with the rest; thus the Federal army would be driven from allits positions, and the fate of the whole campaign against Richmondwould be decided. 

Lee's general order directing the movement of the troops is heregiven. It possesses interest as a clear and detailed statement of hisintended operations; and it will be seen that what was resolved on bythe commander in his tent, his able subordinates translated detail bydetail, with unimportant modifications, into action, under his eyes inthe field:

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, _June_ 24, 1862. 

GENERAL ORDERS No. 75. 

I. General Jackson's command will proceed to-morrow from Ashlandtoward the Slash Church, and encamp at some convenient point west ofthe Central Railroad. Branch's brigade, of A. P. Hill's division, willalso, to-morrow evening, take position on the Chickahominy, near HalfSink. At three o'clock Thursday morning, 26th instant, General Jacksonwill advance on the road leading to Pale Green Church, communicatinghis march to General Branch, who will immediately cross theChickahominy, and take the road leading to Mechanicsville. As soon asthe movements of these columns are discovered, General A. P. Hill, withthe rest of his division, will cross the Chickahominy near MeadowBridge, and move direct upon Mechanicsville. To aid his advance, theheavy batteries on the Chickahominy will at the proper time openupon the batteries at Mechanicsville. The enemy being driven fromMechanicsville, and the passage across the bridge opened, GeneralLongstreet, with his division and that of General D. H. Hill, willcross the Chickahominy at or near that point--General D. H. Hill movingto the support of General Jackson, and General Longstreet supportingGeneral A. P. Hill--the four divisions keeping in communication witheach other, and moving in _echelon_ on separate roads, if practicable;the left division in advance, with skirmishers and sharp-shootersextending in their front, will sweep down the Chickahominy andendeavor to drive the enemy from his position above New Bridge;General Jackson, bearing well to his left, turning Beaver Dam Creek, and taking the direction toward Cold Harbor. They will then pressforward toward York River Railroad, closing upon the enemy's rear andforcing him down the Chickahominy. Any advance of the enemy towardRichmond will be prevented by vigorously following his rear, andcrippling and arresting his progress. 

II. The divisions under Generals Huger and Magruder will hold theirpositions in front of the enemy against attack, and make suchdemonstrations, Thursday, as to discover his operations. Shouldopportunity offer, the feint will be converted into a real attack;and, should an abandonment of his intrenchments by the enemy bediscovered, he will be closely pursued. 

III. The Third Virginia cavalry will observe the Charles City road. The Fifth Virginia, the First North Carolina, and the Hampton Legioncavalry will observe the Darbytown, Varina, and Osborne roads. Shoulda movement of the enemy, down the Chickahominy, be discovered, theywill close upon his flank, and endeavor to arrest his march. 

IV. General Stuart, with the First, Fourth, and Ninth Virginiacavalry, the cavalry of Cobb's Legion, and the Jeff Davis Legion, willcross the Chickahominy, to-morrow, and take position to the leftof General Jackson's line of march. The main body will be held inreserve, with scouts well extended to the front and left. GeneralStuart will keep General Jackson informed of the movements of theenemy on his left, and will coöperate with him in his advance. The Sixteenth Virginia cavalry, Colonel Davis, will remain on theNine-mile road. 

V. General Ransom's brigade, of General Holmes's command, will beplaced in reserve on the Williamsburg road, by General Huger, to whomhe will report for orders. 

VI. Commanders of divisions will cause their commands to be providedwith three days' cooked rations. The necessary ambulances andordinance-trains will be ready to accompany the divisions, and receiveorders from their respective commanders. Officers in charge of alltrains will invariably remain with them. Batteries and wagons willkeep on the right of the road. The Chief-Engineer, Major Stevens, willassign engineer officers to each division, whose duty it will be tomake provision for overcoming all difficulties to the progress of thetroops. The staff-departments will give the necessary instructions tofacilitate the movements herein directed. 

By command of General LEE: R. H. CHILTON, _A. A. General_. 

This order speaks for itself, and indicates Lee's plan of battle inall its details. Further comment is unnecessary; and we proceed tonarrate the events which followed. In doing so, we shall strive topresent a clear and intelligible account of what occurred, rather thanto indulge in the warlike splendors of style which characterized the"army correspondents" of the journals during the war. Such a treatmentof the subject is left to others, who write under the influence ofpartisan afflatus, rather than with the judicious moderation ofthe historian. Nor are battles themselves the subjects of greatestinterest to the thoughtful student. The combinations devised by greatcommanders are of more interest than the actual struggles. We havetherefore dwelt at greater length upon the plans of Generals Leeand McClellan than we shall dwell upon the actual fighting of theirarmies. 

III. 

THE BATTLE OF THE CHICKAHOMINY. 

On the morning of the 26th of June, 1862, all was ready for the greatencounter of arms between the Confederates and the Federal forces onthe Chickahominy. General Jackson had been delayed on his march fromthe mountains, and had not yet arrived; but it was known that he wasnear, and would soon make his appearance; and, in the afternoon, General Lee accordingly directed that the movement should commence. At the word, General A. P. Hill moved from his camps to Meadow Bridge, north of Richmond; crossed the Chickahominy there, and moved rapidlyon Mechanicsville, where a small Federal force, behind intrenchments, guarded the head of the bridge. This force was not a serious obstacle, and Hill soon disposed of it. He attacked the Federal works, stormedthem after a brief struggle, and drove the force which had occupiedthem back toward Beaver Dam Creek, below. The Mechanicsville bridgewas thus cleared; and, in compliance with his orders from Lee, GeneralLongstreet hastened to throw his division across. Hill had meanwhilepressed forward on the track of the retreating enemy, and, a mile ortwo below, found himself in front of a much more serious obstructionthan that encountered at the bridge, namely, the formidable positionheld by the enemy on Beaver Dam Creek. 

The ground here is of a peculiar character, and admirably adapted fora defensive position against an enemy advancing from above. On theopposite side of a narrow valley, through which runs Beaver Dam Creek, rises a bold, almost precipitous, bluff, and the road which theConfederates were compelled to take bends abruptly to the right whennear the stream, thus exposing the flank of the assaulting party to afire from the bluff. As Hill's column pushed forward to attack thisposition, it was met by a determined fire of artillery and small-armsfrom the crest beyond the stream, where a large force of riflemen, inpits, were posted, with infantry supports. Before this artillery-fire, raking his flanks and doing heavy execution, Hill was compelled tofall back. It was impossible to cross the stream in face of thefusillade and cannon. The attack ended after dark with the withdrawalof the Confederates; but at dawn Hill resumed the struggle, attemptingto cross at another point, lower down the stream. This attempt was inprogress when the Federal troops were seen rapidly falling back fromtheir strong position; and intelligence soon came that this was inconsequence of the arrival of Jackson, who had passed around theFederal right flank above, and forced them to retire toward the mainbody of the Federal army below. 

No time was now lost. The memorable 27th of June had dawned clear andcloudless, and the brilliant sunshine gave promise of a day on whichno interference of the elements would check the bloody work to beperformed. Hill advanced steadily on the track of the retiring Federalforces, who had left evidences of their precipitate retreat all alongthe road, and, about noon, came in front of the very powerful positionof the main body of the enemy, near Cold Harbor. 

General McClellan had drawn up his forces on a ridge along thesouthern bank of Powhite Creek, a small water-course which, flowingfrom the northeast, empties below New Bridge into the Chickahominy. His left, nearest the Chickahominy, was protected by a deep ravine infront, which he had filled with sharp-shooters; and his right restedupon elevated ground, near the locality known as Maghee's House. Infront, the whole line of battle, which described a curve backward tocover the bridges in rear, was protected by difficult approaches. Theground was either swampy, or covered with tangled undergrowth, orboth. The ridge held by the Federal forces had been hastily fortifiedby breastworks of felled trees and earth, behind which the long linesof infantry, supported by numerous artillery, awaited the attack. 

The amount of the Federal force has been variously stated. Theimpression of the Confederates differed from the subsequent statementsof Federal writers. "The principal part of the Federal army, " saysGeneral Lee, in his report, "was now on the north side of theChickahominy. " The force has been placed by Northern writers at onlythirty, or at most thirty-five thousand. If this was the whole numberof troops engaged, from first to last, in the battle, the fact ishighly creditable to the Federal arms, as the struggle was longdoubtful. No doubt the exact truth will some day be put upon record, and justice will be done to both the adversaries. 

The Federal force was commanded by the brave and able GeneralFitz-John Porter, with General Morell commanding his right, GeneralSykes his left, and General McCall forming a second line. Slocum'sdivision, and the brigades of Generals French and Meagher, afterwardreënforced Porter, who now prepared, with great coolness, for theConfederate attack. 

The moment had come. A. P. Hill, pressing forward rapidly, withLongstreet's division on the right, reached Cold Harbor, in front ofthe Federal centre, about noon. Hill immediately attacked, and anengagement of the most obstinate character ensued. General Lee, accompanied by General Longstreet, had ridden from his headquarters, on the Nine-mile road, to the scene of action, and now witnessed inperson the fighting of the troops, who charged under his eye, closingin in a nearly hand-to-hand conflict with the enemy. This was, nodoubt, the first occasion on which a considerable portion of the menhad seen him--certainly in battle--and that air of supreme calmnesswhich always characterized him in action must have made a deepimpression upon them. He was clad simply, and wore scarcely any badgesof rank. A felt hat drooped low over the broad forehead, and the eyesbeneath were calm and unclouded. Add a voice of measured calmness, theair of immovable composure which marked the erect military figure, evidently at home in the saddle, and the reader will have a correctconception of General Lee's personal appearance in the first of thegreat battles of his career. 

Hill attacked with that dash and obstinacy which from this timeforward characterized him, but succeeded in making no impression onthe Federal line. In every assault he was repulsed with heavy loss. The Federal artillery, which was handled with skill and coolness, did great execution upon his column, as it rushed forward, and theinfantry behind their works stood firm in spite of the most determinedefforts to drive them from the ridge. Three of Hill's regimentsreached the crest, and fought hand to hand over the breastworks, butthey were speedily repulsed and driven from the crest, and, after twohours' hard fighting, Hill found that he had lost heavily and effectednothing. 

It was now past two o'clock in the afternoon, and General Lee listenedwith anxiety for the sound of guns from the left, which would heraldthe approach of General Jackson. Nothing was heard from that quarter, however, and affairs were growing critical. The Confederate attack hadbeen repulsed--the Federal position seemed impregnable--and "it becameapparent, " says General Lee, "that the enemy were gradually gainingground. " Under these circumstances, General McClellan mightadopt either one of the two courses both alike dangerous to theConfederates. He might cross a heavy force to the assistance ofGeneral Porter, thus enabling that officer to assume the offensive;or, finding Lee thus checked, he might advance on Magruder, crush thesmall force under him, and seize on Richmond, which would be at hismercy. It was thus necessary to act without delay, while awaiting theappearance of Jackson. General Lee, accordingly, directed GeneralLongstreet, who had taken position to the right of Cold Harbor, tomake a feint against the Federal left, and thus relieve the pressureon Hill. Longstreet proceeded with promptness to obey the order;advanced in face of a heavy fire, and with a cross-fire of artilleryraking his right from over the Chickahominy, and made the feint whichhad been ordered by General Lee. It effected nothing; and, to attainthe desired result, it was found necessary to turn the feint into areal attack. This Longstreet proceeded to do, first dispersing with asingle volley a force of cavalry which had the temerity to charge hisinfantry. As he advanced and attacked the powerful position beforehim, the roar of guns, succeeded by loud cheers, was heard on the leftof Lee's line. 

Jackson had arrived and thrown his troops into action without delay. He then rode forward to Cold Harbor, where General Lee awaited him, and the two soldiers shook hands in the midst of tumultuous cheeringfrom the troops, who had received intelligence that Jackson's corpshad joined them. The contrast between the two men was extremelystriking. We have presented a brief sketch of Lee's personalappearance upon the occasion--of the grave commander-in-chief, withhis erect and graceful seat in the saddle, his imposing dignity ofdemeanor, and his calm and measured tones, as deliberate as though hewere in a drawing-room. Jackson was a very different personage. He wasclad in a dingy old coat, wore a discolored cadet-cap, tilted almostupon his nose, and rode a rawboned horse, with short stirrups, whichraised his knees in the most ungraceful manner. Neither in his facenor figure was there the least indication of the great faculties ofthe man, and a more awkward-looking personage it would be impossibleto imagine. In his hand he held a lemon, which he sucked from time totime, and his demeanor was abstracted and absent. 

As Jackson approached, Lee rode toward him and greeted him with acordial pressure of the hand. 

"Ah, general, " said Lee, "I am very glad to see you. I hoped to bewith you before!"

Jackson made a twitching movement of his head, and replied in a fewwords, rather jerked from the lips than deliberately uttered. 

Lee had paused, and now listened attentively to the long roll ofmusketry from the woods, where Hill and Longstreet were engaged; thento the still more incessant and angry roar from the direction ofJackson's own troops, who had closed in upon the Federal forces. 

"That fire is very heavy, " said Lee. "Do you think your men can standit?"

Jackson listened for a moment, with his head bent toward one shoulder, as was customary with him, for he was deaf, he said, in one ear, "andcould not hear out of the other, " and replied briefly:

"They can stand almost any thing! They can stand that!"

He then, after receiving General Lee's instructions, immediatelysaluted and returned to his corps--Lee remaining still at Cold Harbor, which was opposite the Federal centre. 

[Illustration: Lee and Jackson at Cold harbor. ]

The arrival of Jackson changed in a moment the aspect of affairsin every part of the field. Whitney's division of his command tookposition on Longstreet's left; the command of General D. H. Hill, onthe extreme right of the whole line, and Ewell's division, with partof Jackson's old division, supported A. P. Hill. No sooner had thesedispositions been made, than General Lee ordered an attack along thewhole line. It was now five or six o'clock, and the sun was sinking. From that moment until night came, the battle raged with a furyunsurpassed in any subsequent engagement of the war. The Texan troops, under General Hood, especially distinguished themselves. These, followed by their comrades, charged the Federal left on the bluff, and, in spite of a desperate resistance, carried the position. "Theenemy were driven, " says General Lee, "from the ravine to the firstline of breastworks, over which one impetuous column dashed, up to theintrenchments on the crest. " Here the Federal artillery was captured, their line driven from the hill, and in other parts of the field asimilar success followed the attack. As night fell, their line gaveway in all parts, and the remnants of General Porter's commandretreated to the bridges over the Chickahominy. 

The first important passage of arms between General McClellan andGeneral Lee--and it may be added the really decisive one--hadterminated in a great success on the side of the Confederates. 

IV. 

THE RETREAT. 

The battle of Cold Harbor--or, as General Lee styles it in his report, the "battle of the Chickahominy"--was the decisive struggle betweenthe great adversaries, and determined the fate of General McClellan'scampaign against Richmond. 

This view is not held by writers on the Northern side, who representthe battle in question as only the first of a series of engagements, all of pretty nearly equal importance, and mere incidents attendingGeneral McClellan's change of base to the shores of the James River. Such a theory seems unfounded. If the battle at Cold Harbor hadresulted in a Federal victory, General McClellan would have advancedstraight on Richmond, and the capture of the city would inevitablyhave followed. But at Cold Harbor he sustained a decisive defeat. His whole campaign was reversed, and came to naught, from the eventsoccurring between noon and nightfall on the 27th of June. The resultof that obstinate encounter was not a Federal success, leading to thefall of Richmond, but a Federal defeat, which led to the retreat tothe James River, and the failure of the whole campaign against theConfederate capital. 

It is conceded that General McClellan really intended to change hisbase; but after the battle of Cold Harbor every thing had changed. He no longer had under him a high-spirited army, moving to take upa stronger position, but a weary and dispirited multitude of humanbeings, hurrying along to gain the shelter of the gunboats on theJames River, with the enemy pursuing closely, and worrying them atevery step. To the condition of the Federal army one of their ownofficers testifies, and his expressions are so strong as wellnighto move the susceptibilities of an opponent. "We were ordered toretreat, " says General Hooker, "and it was like the retreat of awhipped army. We retreated like a parcel of sheep; everybody on theroad at the same time; and a few shots from the rebels would havepanic-stricken the whole command. "[1]

[Footnote 1: Report of the Committee on the Conduct of the War, parti. , p. 580. ]

Such was the condition of that great army which had fought so bravely, standing firm so long against the headlong assaults of the flowerof the Southern troops. It was the battle at Cold Harbor which hadproduced this state of things, thereby really deciding the resultof the campaign. To attribute to that action, therefore, no moreimportance than attached to the engagements on the retreat to JamesRiver, seems in opposition to the truth of history. 

We shall present only a general narrative of the famous retreat whichreflected the highest credit upon General McClellan, and will remainhis greatest glory. He, at least, was too good a soldier not tounderstand that the battle of the 27th was a decisive one. Hedetermined to retreat, without risking another action, to the banksof the James River, where the Federal gunboats would render a secondattack from the Confederates a hazardous undertaking; and, "on theevening of the 27th of June, " as he says in his official report, "assembled the corps commanders at his headquarters, and informedthem of his plan, its reasons, and his choice of route, and method ofexecution. " Orders were then issued to General Keyes to move with hiscorps across the White-Oak Swamp Bridge, and, taking up a positionwith his artillery on the opposite side, cover the passage of the restof the troops; the trains and supplies at Savage Station, on theYork River Railroad, were directed to be withdrawn; and the corpscommanders were ordered to move with such provisions, munitions, and sick, as they could transport, on the direct road to Harrison'sLanding. 

These orders were promptly carried out. Before dawn on the 29th theFederal army took up the line of march, and the great retrogrademovement was successfully begun. An immense obstacle to its successlay in the character of the country through which it was necessary topass. White Oak Swamp is an extensive morass, similar to that skirtingthe banks of the Chickahominy, and the passage through it is overnarrow, winding, and difficult roads, which furnish the worst possiblepathways for wagons, artillery, or even troops. It was necessary, however, to use these highways or none, and General McClellanresolutely entered upon his critical movement. 

General Lee was yet in doubt as to his opponent's designs, and thefact is highly creditable to General McClellan. A portion of theFederal army still remained on the left bank of the Chickahominy, andit might be the intention of McClellan to push forward reënforcementsfrom the Peninsula, fight a second battle for the protection of hisgreat mass of supplies at the White House, or, crossing his whole armyto the left bank of the Chickahominy by the lower bridges, retreatdown the Peninsula by the same road followed in advancing. All thatGeneral Lee could do, under these circumstances, was to remain nearCold Harbor with his main body, send a force toward the York Riverroad, on the eastern bank of the Chickahominy, to check any Federalattempt to cross there, and await further developments. 

It was not until the morning of the 29th that General McClellan'sdesigns became apparent. It was then ascertained that he had commencedmoving toward James River with his entire army, and Lee issued promptorders for the pursuit. While a portion of the Confederate armyfollowed closely upon the enemy's rear, other bodies were directed tomove by the Williamsburg and Charles City roads, and intercept him, or assail his flanks. If these movements were promptly made, and nounnecessary delay took place, it was expected that the Federal armywould be brought to bay in the White-Oak Swamp, and a final victory beachieved by the Confederates. 

These complicated movements were soon in full progress, and atvarious points on the line of retreat fierce fighting ensued. GeneralMagruder, advancing to Savage Station, an important depot of Federalstores, on the York River Railroad, encountered on the 29th, thepowerful Federal rear-guard, which fought obstinately until night, when it retired. Next day Generals Longstreet and A. P. Hill had pusheddown the Long Bridge road, and on the next day (June 30th) came on theretreating column which was vigorously engaged. From the characterof the ground, little, however, was effected. The enemy fought withobstinate courage, and repulsed every assault. The battle raged untilafter nightfall, when the Federal army continued to retreat. 

These actions were the most important, and in both the Confederateshad failed to effect any important results. 

Even Jackson, who had been delayed, by the destruction of theChickahominy bridges, in crossing to the south bank from the vicinityof Cold Harbor, and had followed in rear of the rest of the army, found himself checked by General McClellan's admirable dispositionfor the protection of his rear. Jackson made every effort to strike adecisive blow at the Federal rear in the White-Oak Swamp, but he founda bridge in his front destroyed, the enemy holding the opposite sidein strong force, and, when he endeavored to force a passage, thedetermined fire from their artillery rendered it impossible for him todo so. General McClellan had thus foiled the generalship of Lee, and the hard fighting of Stonewall Jackson. His excellent militaryjudgement had defeated every attempt made to crush him. On the 1st ofJuly he had successfully passed the terrible swamp, in spite of allhis enemies, and his army was drawn up on the wellnigh impregnableheights of Malvern Hill. 

A last struggle took place at Malvern Hill, and the Confederateassault failed at all points. Owing to the wooded nature of theground, and the absence of accurate information in regard to it, theattack was made under very great difficulties and effected nothing. The Federal troops resisted courageously, and inflicted heavy lossupon the assailing force, which advanced to the muzzles of the Federalcannon, but did not carry the heights; and at nightfall the battleceased, the Confederates having suffered a severe repulse. 

On the next morning, General McClellan had disappeared towardHarrison's Landing, to which he conducted his army safely, withoutfurther molestation, and the long and bitter struggle was over. 

V. 

RICHMOND IN DANGER--LEE'S VIEWS. 

We have presented a sufficiently full narrative of the great battlesof the Chickahominy to enable the reader to form his own opinion ofthe events, and the capacity of the two leaders who directed them. Full justice has been sought to be done to the eminent militaryabilities of General McClellan, and the writer is not conscious thathe has done more than justice to General Lee. 

Lee has not escaped criticism, and was blamed by many persons for notputting an end to the Federal army on the retreat through White-OakSwamp. To this criticism, it may be said in reply, that putting anend to nearly or quite one hundred thousand men is a difficultundertaking; and that in one instance, at least, the failure of one ofhis subordinates in arriving promptly, reversed his plans at the mostcritical moment of the struggle. General Lee himself, however, statesthe main cause of failure: "Under ordinary circumstances, " he says, "the Federal army should have been destroyed. Its escape is due to thecauses already stated. Prominent among them is the want of timely andcorrect information. This fact, attributed chiefly to the characterof the country, enabled General McClellan skilfully to conceal hisretreat, and to add much to the obstruction with which Nature hadbeset the way of our pursuing columns. But regret that more was notaccomplished, gives way to gratitude to the Sovereign Ruler of theUniverse for the results achieved. "

The reader will form his own opinion whether Lee was or was notto blame for this want of accurate information, which would seem, however, to be justly attributable to the War Department at Richmond, rather than to an officer who had been assigned to command only threeor four weeks before. Other criticisms of Lee referred to his mainplan of operations, and the danger to which he exposed Richmond byleaving only twenty-five thousand men in front of it, when he beganhis movement against General McClellan's right wing, beyond theChickahominy. General Magruder, who commanded this force oftwenty-five thousand men left to guard the capital, expressedafterward, in his official report, his views of the danger to whichthe city had been exposed. He wrote:

"From the time at which the enemy withdrew his forces to this sideof the Chickahominy, and destroyed the bridges, to the moment of hisevacuation, that is, from Friday night until Saturday morning, Iconsidered the situation of our army as extremely critical andperilous. The larger portion of it was on the opposite side ofthe Chickahominy. The bridges had been all destroyed; but one wasrebuilt--the New Bridge--which was commanded fully by the enemy's gunsfrom Goulding's; and there were but twenty-five thousand men betweenhis army of one hundred thousand and Richmond.... Had McClellan massedhis whole force in column, and advanced it against any point of ourline of battle, as was done at Austerlitz under similar circumstancesby the greatest captain of any age, though the head of his columnwould have suffered greatly, its momentum would have insured himsuccess, and the occupation of our works about Richmond, andconsequently the city, might have been his reward. His failure to doso is the best evidence that our wise commander fully understood thecharacter of his opponent. "

To this portion of General Magruder's report General Lee appended thefollowing "Remarks" in forwarding it:

"General Magruder is under a misapprehension as to the separation oftroops operating on the north side of the Chickahominy from thoseunder himself and General Huger on the south side. He refers to thissubject on pages 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, of his report. 

"The troops on the two sides of the river were only separated until wesucceeded in occupying the position near what is known as New Bridge, which occurred before twelve o'clock M. On Friday, June 27th, andbefore the attack on the enemy at Gaines's Mill. 

"From the time we reached the position referred to, I regardedcommunication between the two wings of our army as reëstablished. 

"The bridge referred to, and another about three-quarters of a mileabove, were ordered to be repaired before noon on Friday, and the NewBridge was sufficiently rebuilt to be passed by artillery on Fridaynight, and the one above it was used for the passage of wagons, ambulances, and troops, early on Saturday morning. 

"Besides this, all other bridges above New Bridge, and all the fordsabove that point, were open to us. "

To this General Magruder subsequently responded as follows:

"New Bridge was finished on Friday evening, the 27th, instead ofSaturday, 28th of June. 

"I wrote from memory in reference to the time of its being finished. 

"It was reported to me that the bridge three-quarters of a mile abovewas attempted to be crossed by troops (I think Ransom's brigade), onSaturday morning, from the south to the north side, but that, findingthe bridge or the approach to it difficult, they came down and crossedat New Bridge on the same morning. 

"My statement in regard to these bridges was not intended as acriticism on General Lee's plan, but to show the position of thetroops, with a view to the proper understanding of my report, and toprove that the enemy might have reasonably entertained a design, afterconcentrating his troops, to march on Richmond. "

We shall not detain the reader by entering upon a full discussion ofthe interesting question here raised. General Lee, as his observationson General Magruder's report show, did not regard Richmond as exposedto serious danger, and was confident of his ability to recross theChickahominy and go to its succor in the event of an attack on thecity by General McClellan. Had this prompt recrossing of the streamhere, even, been impracticable, it may still be a question whetherGeneral Lee did not, in his movement against the Federal right wingwith the bulk of his army, follow the dictates of sound generalship. In war, something must be risked, and occasions arise which renderit necessary to disregard general maxims. It is one of the firstprinciples of military science that a commander should always keepopen his line of retreat; but the moment may come when his best policyis to burn the bridges behind him. Of Lee's movement against GeneralMcClellan's right, it may be said that it was based on the broadestgood sense and the best generalship. The situation of affairs renderedan attack in some quarter essential to the safety of the capital, which was about to be hemmed in on all sides. To attack the left ofGeneral McClellan, promised small results. It had been tried and hadfailed; his right alone remained. It was possible, certainly, that hewould mass his army, and, crushing Magruder, march into Richmond;but it was not probable that he would make the attempt. The Federalcommander was known to be a soldier disposed to caution rather thanaudacity. The small amount of force under General Magruder was asecret which he could not be expected to know. That General Lee tookthese facts into consideration, as General Magruder intimates, may ormay not have been the fact; and the whole discussion may be fairlysummed up, perhaps, by saying that success vindicated the courseadopted. "Success, after all, is the test of merit, " said the braveAlbert Sydney Johnston, and Talleyrand compressed much sound reasoningin the pithy maxim, "Nothing succeeds like success. "

On the 2d of July the campaign was over, and General McClellan musthave felt, in spite of his hopeful general orders to the troops, anddispatches to his Government, that the great struggle for Richmond hadvirtually ended. A week before, he had occupied a position within afew miles of the city, with a numerous army in the highest spirits, and of thorough efficiency. Now, he lay on the banks of James River, thirty miles away from the capital, and his army was worn out by thetremendous ordeal it had passed through, and completely discouraged. We have not dwelt upon the horrors of the retreat, and the state ofthe army, which Northern writers painted at the time in the gloomiestcolors. For the moment, it was no longer the splendid war-engine ithad been, and was again afterward. Nothing could be done with it, and General McClellan knew the fact. Without fresh troops, a renewedadvance upon Richmond was a mere dream. 

No further attack was made by General Lee, who remained for somedays inactive in the hot forests of Charles City. His reasons forrefraining from a new assault on General McClellan are summed up inone or two sentences of his report: "The Federal commander, " he says, "immediately began to fortify his position, which was one of greatnatural strength, flanked on each side by a creek, and the approach tohis front commanded by the heavy guns of his shipping, in additionto those mounted in his intrenchments. It was deemed inexpedient toattack him, and in view of the condition of our troops, who had beenmarching and fighting almost incessantly for seven days under themost trying circumstances, it was determined to withdraw, in order toafford them the repose of which they stood so much in need. "

On the 8th of July, General Lee accordingly directed his march backtoward Richmond, and the troops went into camp and rested. 

VI. 

LEE AND McCLELLAN--THEIR IDENTITY OF OPINION. 

General Lee had thus, at the outset of his career, as commander of theConfederate army, saved the capital by a blow at the enemy as suddenas it was resistless. The class of persons who are never satisfied, and delight in fault-finding under all circumstances, declared thata great general would have crushed the enemy on their retreat; thesecertainly were in a minority; the people at large greeted Lee as theauthor of a great deliverance worked out for them, and, on his returnto Richmond, he was received with every mark of gratitude and honor. He accepted this public ovation with the moderation and dignity whichcharacterized his demeanor afterward, under all circumstances, eitherof victory or defeat. It was almost impossible to discover in hisbearing at this time, as on other great occasions, any evidenceswhatever of elation. Success, like disaster, seemed to find him calm, collected, and as nearly unimpressible as is possible for a humanbeing. 

The character of the man led him to look upon success or failure withthis supreme composure, which nothing seemed able to shake; but inJuly, 1862, he probably understood that the Confederate States werestill as far as ever from having achieved the objects of the war. General McClellan had been defeated in battle, but the great resourcesof the United States Government would enable it promptly to put otherand larger armies in the field. Even the defeated army was stillnumerous and dangerous, for it consisted, according to McClellan'sreport, of nearly or quite ninety thousand men; and the wise brain ofits commander had devised a plan of future operations whichpromised far greater results than the advance on Richmond from theChickahominy. 

We shall touch, in passing, on this interesting subject, but shallfirst ask the reader's attention to a communication addressed, byGeneral McClellan, at this time to President Lincoln. It is one ofthose papers which belong to history, and should be placed uponrecord. It not only throws the clearest light on the character andviews of General Lee's great adversary, but expresses with admirablelucidity the sentiments of a large portion of the Federal people atthe time. The President had invited a statement of General McClellan'sviews on the conduct of the war, and on July 7th, in the very midst ofthe scenes of disaster at Harrison's Landing, McClellan wrote thesestatesmanlike words:

"This rebellion has assumed the character of a war; as such it shouldbe regarded, and it should be conducted upon the highest principlesknow to Christian civilization. It should not be a war looking to thesubjugation of the people of any State in any event. It should not beat all a war upon population, but against armed forces and politicalorganization. Neither confiscation of property, political executions, territorial organizations of States, nor forcible abolition ofslavery, should be contemplated for a moment. In prosecuting the warall private property and unarmed persons should be strictly protected, subject only to the necessity of military operations. All privateproperty taken for military use should be paid or receipted for;pillage and waste should be treated as high crimes; all unnecessarytrespass sternly prohibited, and offensive demeanor by the militarytoward citizens promptly rebuked. Military arrests should not betolerated, except in places where active hostilities exist, and oathsnot required by enactments constitutionally made should be neitherdemanded nor received. Military government should be confined to thepreservation of public order and the protection of political right. Military power should not be allowed to interfere with the relationsof servitude, either by supporting or impairing the authority of themaster, except for repressing disorder, as in other cases. Slavescontraband under the Act of Congress, seeking military protection, should receive it. The right of the Government to appropriatepermanently to its own service claims to slave-labor should beasserted, and the right of the owner to compensation therefor shouldbe recognized. 

"This principle might be extended upon grounds of military necessityand security to all the slaves of a particular State, thus workingmanumission in such State; and in Missouri, perhaps in WesternVirginia also, and possibly even in Maryland, the expediency of such ameasure is only a question of time. 

"A system of policy thus constitutional, and pervaded by theinfluences of Christianity and freedom, would receive the support ofalmost all truly loyal men, would deeply impress the rebel massesand all foreign nations, and it might be humbly hoped that it wouldcommend itself to the favor of the Almighty. 

"Unless the principles governing the future conduct of our struggleshall be made known and approved, the effort to obtain requisiteforces will be almost hopeless. A declaration of radical views, especially upon slavery, will rapidly disintegrate our present armies. 

"The policy of the Government must be supported by concentrationsof military power. The national forces should not be dispersed inexpeditions, posts of occupation, and numerous armies; but should bemainly collected into masses, and brought to bear upon the armiesof the Confederate States. Those armies thoroughly defeated, thepolitical structure which they support would soon cease to exist. 

 "In carrying out any system of policy which you may form, you will require a commander-in-chief of the army--one who possesses your confidence, understands your views, and who is competent to execute your orders, by directing the military forces of the nation to the accomplishment of the objects by you proposed. I do not ask that place for myself. I am willing to serve you in such positions as you may assign me, and I will do so as faithfully as ever subordinate served superior. I may be on the brink of eternity, and, as I hope forgiveness from my Maker, I have written this letter with sincerity toward you, and from love for my country. "

This noble and earnest exposition of his opinion, upon the proper modeof conducting the war, will reflect honor upon General McClellan whenhis military achievements are forgotten. It discusses the situationof affairs, both from the political and military point of view, in aspirit of the broadest statesmanship, and with the acumen of a greatsoldier. That it had no effect, is the clearest indication upon whichthe war was thenceforward to be conducted. 

The removal of General McClellan, as holding views opposed to theparty in power, is said to have resulted from this communication. It certainly placed him in open antagonism to General Halleck, theFederal Secretary of War, and, as this antagonism had a direct effectupon even connected with the subject of our memoir, we shall brieflyrelate now it was now displayed. 

Defeated on the Chickahominy, and seeing little to encourage anadvance, on the left bank of the James, upon Richmond, GeneralMcClellan proposed to cross that river and operate against the capitaland its communications, near Petersburg. The proof of McClellan'sdesire to undertake this movement, which afterward proved sosuccessful under General Grant, is found in a memorandum, by GeneralHalleck himself, of what took place on a visit paid by him toMcClellan, at Harrison's Landing, on July 25, 1862. 

"I stated to him, " says General Halleck, "that the object of my visitwas to ascertain from him his views and wishes in regard to futureoperations. He said that he proposed to cross the James River at thatpoint, attack Petersburg, and cut off the enemy's communications bythat route South, making no further demonstration for the presentagainst Richmond. I stated to him very frankly my views in regard tothe manner and impracticability of the plan;" and nothing further, itseems, was said of this highly "impracticable" plan of operations. Itbecame practicable afterward under General Grant; McClellan was notpermitted to essay it in July, 1862, from the fact that it had beenresolved to relieve him from command, or from General Halleck'sinability to perceive its good sense. 

General Lee's views upon this subject coincided completely with thoseof General McClellan. He expressed at this time, to those in hisconfidence, the opinion that Richmond could be assailed to greateradvantage from the South, as a movement of the enemy in that directionwould menace her communications with the Gulf States; and eventssubsequently proved the soundness of this view. Attacks from allother quarters failed, including a repetition by General Grant ofMcClellan's attempt from the side of the Chickahominy. When GeneralGrant carried out his predecessor's plan of assailing the city fromthe direction of Petersburg, he succeeded in putting an end to thewar. 

PART IV. 

_THE WAR ADVANCES NORTHWARD_

I. 

LEE'S PROTEST. 

General Lee remained in front of Richmond, watching General McClellan, but intelligence soon reached him from the upper Rappahannock thatanother army was advancing in that quarter, and had already occupiedthe county of Culpepper, with the obvious intention of capturingGordonsville, the point of junction of the Orange and Alexandria andVirginia Central Railroads, and advancing thence upon Richmond. 

The great defeat on the Chickahominy had only inspired the Federalauthorities with new energy. Three hundred thousand new troopswere called for, large bounties were held out as an inducement toenlistment, negro-slaves in regions occupied by the United Statesarmies were directed to be enrolled as troops, and military commanderswere authorized to seize upon whatever was "necessary or convenientfor their commands, " without compensation to the owners. Thisindicated the policy upon which it was now intended to conduct thewar, and the army occupying Culpepper proceeded to carry out the newpolicy in every particular. 

This force consisted of the troops which had served under GeneralsBanks, McDowell, and Fremont--a necleus--and reënforcements from thearmy of McClellan, together with the troops under General Burnside, were hastening to unite with the newly-formed army. It was styled the"Army of Virginia, " and was placed under command of Major-General JohnPope, who had hitherto served in the West. General Pope had procuredthe command, it is said, by impressing the authorities with a highopinion of his energy and activity. In these qualities, GeneralMcClellan was supposed to be deficient; and the new commander, comingfrom a region where the war was conducted on a different plan, it wassaid, would be able to infuse new life into the languid movements inVirginia. General Pope had taken special pains to allay the fears ofthe Federal authorities for the safety of Washington. He intendedto "lie off on the flanks" of Lee's army, he said, and render itimpossible for the rebels to advance upon the capital while heoccupied that threatening position. When asked if, with an army likeGeneral McClellan's, he would find any difficulty in marching throughthe South to New Orleans, General Pope replied without hesitation, "Ishould suppose not. "

This confident view of things seems to have procured General Pope hisappointment, and it will soon be seen that he proceeded to conductmilitary operations upon principles very different from thoseannounced by General McClellan. War, as carried on by General Pope, was to be war _à l'outrance. _ General McClellan had written: "The warshould not be at all a war upon population, but against armed forces... All private property, taken for military use, should be paid for;pillage and waste should be treated as high crimes; all unnecessarytrespass sternly prohibited, and offensive demeanor by the militarytoward citizens promptly rebuked. " The new commander intended to actupon a very different principle, and to show that he possessed moreactivity and resolution than his predecessor. 

General Pope's assumption of the command was signalized by much pompand animated general orders. He arrived in a train decked out withstreamers, and issued an order in which he said to the troops: "Idesire you to dismiss from your minds certain phrases which I am sorryto find much in vogue among you. I hear constantly of taking strongpositions and holding them, _of lines of retreat and bases ofsupplies_. Let us discard such ideas. The strongest position whicha soldier should desire to occupy is the one from which he can mosteasily advance upon the enemy. Let us study the probable line ofretreat of our opponents, _and leave our own to take care of itself. Let us look before, and not behind. Disaster and shame look in therear_. " The result, as will be seen, furnished a grotesque commentaryupon that portion of General Pope's order which we have italicized. Inan address to the army, he added further: "I have come to you from theWest, where we have always seen the backs of our enemies--from an armywhose business it has been to seek the adversary, and beat him whenfound--where policy has been attack, and not defence. I presume I havebeen called here to pursue the same system. "

Such was the tenor of General Pope's orders on assumingcommand--orders which were either intended seriously as anannouncement of his real intentions, or as a blind to persuade theConfederates that his force was large. 

Unfortunately for the region in which he now came to operate, GeneralPope did not confine himself to these flourishes of rhetoric. Heproceeded to inaugurate a military policy in vivid contrast to GeneralMcClellan's. His "expatriation orders" directed that all male citizensdisloyal to the United States should be immediately arrested; the oathof allegiance to the United States Government should be profferedthem, and, "if they furnished sufficient security for its observance, "they should be set free again. If they refused the oath, they shouldbe sent beyond the Federal lines; and, if afterward found within hislines, they should be treated as spies, "and shot, their propertyto be seized and applied to the public use. " All communicationwith persons living within the Southern lines was forbidden; suchcommunication should subject the individual guilty of it to be treatedas _a spy_. Lastly, General Pope's subordinates were directed toarrest prominent citizens, and hold them as hostages for the goodbehavior of the population. If his soldiers were "bushwhacked"--thatis to say, attacked on their foraging expeditions--the prominentcitizens thus held as hostages were to _suffer death_. 

It is obvious that war carried on upon such principles is rapine. General Pope ventured, however, upon the new programme; and a foreignperiodical, commenting upon the result, declared that this commanderhad prosecuted hostilities against the South "in a way that castmankind two centuries back toward barbarism. " We shall not pause toview the great outrages committed by the Federal troops in Culpepper. They have received thus much comment rather to introduce the followingcommunication to the Federal authorities, from General Lee, thanto record what is known now to the Old World as well as the New. Profoundly outraged and indignant at these cruel and oppressive acts, General Lee, by direction of the Confederate authorities, addressed, on the 2d of August, the following note to General Halleck:

 HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE C. S. , /

 NEAR RICHMOND, VA. , _August_ 2, 1862. ;

 _To the General commanding the U. S. Army, Washington_:

 GENERAL: In obedience to the order of his Excellency, the President of the Confederate States, I have the honor to make you the following communication:

 On the 22d of July last a cartel for a general exchange of prisoners was signed by Major-General John A. Dix, on behalf of the United States, and by Major-General D. H. Hill, on the part of this government. By the terms of that cartel it is stipulated that all prisoners of war hereafter taken shall be discharged on parole until exchanged. Scarcely had the cartel been signed, when the military authorities of the United States commenced a practice changing the character of the war, from such as becomes civilized nations, into a campaign of indiscriminate robbery and murder. 

 A general order issued by the Secretary of War of the United States, in the city of Washington, on the very day that the cartel was signed in Virginia, directs the military commanders of the United States to take the property of our people, for the convenience and use of the army, without compensation. 

 A general order issued by Major-General Pope, on the 23d of July last, the day after the date of the cartel, directs the murder of our peaceful citizens as spies, if found quietly tilling their farms in his rear, even outside of his lines. 

 And one of his brigadier-generals, Steinwehr, has seized innocent and peaceful inhabitants, to be held as hostages, to the end that they may be murdered in cold blood if any of his soldiers are killed by some unknown persons whom he designates as "bushwhackers. " Some of the military authorities seem to suppose that their end will be better attained by a savage war in which no quarter is to be given, and no age or sex is to be spared, than by such hostilities as are alone recognized to be lawful in modern times. We find ourselves driven by our enemies by steady progress toward a practice which we abhor, and which we are vainly struggling to avoid. 

 Under these circumstances, this Government has issued the accompanying general order, which I am directed by the President to transmit to you, recognizing Major-General Pope and his commissioned officers to be in the position which they have chosen for themselves--that of robbers and murderers, and not that of public enemies, entitled, if captured, to be treated as prisoners of war. The President also instructs me to inform you that we renounce our right of retaliation on the innocent, and will continue to treat the private soldiers of General Pope's army as prisoners of war; but if, after notice to your Government that they confine repressive measures to the punishment of commissioned officers who are willing to participate in these crimes, the savage practices threatened in the orders alluded to be persisted in, we shall reluctantly be forced to the last resort of accepting the war on the terms chosen by our enemies, until the voice of an outraged humanity shall compel a respect for the recognized usages of war. While the President considers that the facts referred to would justify a refusal on our part to execute the cartel by which we have agreed to liberate an excess of prisoners of war in our hands, a sacred regard for plighted faith, which shrinks from the semblance of breaking a promise, precludes a resort to such an extremity, nor is it his desire to extend to any other forces of the United States the punishment merited by General Pope and such commissioned officers as choose to participate in the execution of his infamous order. 

 I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. E. LEE, _General commanding_. 

This communication requires no comment. It had the desired effect, although General Halleck returned it as couched in language tooinsulting to be received. On the 15th of August, the United States WarDepartment so far disapproved of General Pope's orders as to directthat "no officer or soldier might, without proper authority, leave hiscolors or ranks to take private property, or to enter a private housefor the purpose, under penalty of death. "

II. 

LEE'S MANOEUVRES. 

General Pope had promptly advanced, and his army lay in Culpepper, theright reaching toward the Blue Ridge, and the left extending nearly tothe Rapidan. 

The campaign now became a contest of brains between Lee and theFederal authorities. Their obvious aim was to leave him in doubtwhether a new advance was intended under McClellan from James River, or the real movement was to be against Richmond from the North. Underthese circumstances, General Lee remained with the bulk of his armyin front of Richmond; but, on the 13th of July, sent Jackson with twodivisions in the direction of Gordonsville. The game of wits had thusbegun, and General Lee moved cautiously, looking in both directions, toward James River and the Upper Rappahannock. As yet the real designof the enemy was undeveloped. The movement of General Pope might ormight not be a real advance. But General McClellan remained inactive, and, on the 27th of July, A. P. Hill's division was sent up toreënforce Jackson--while, at the same time, General D. H. Hill, commanding a force on the south bank of the James River, was directedto make demonstrations against McClellan's communications by openingfire on his transports. 

The moment approached now when the game between the two adversarieswas to be decided. On the 2d of August, Jackson assumed the offensive, by attacking the enemy at Orange Court-House; and, on the 5th, GeneralMcClellan made a prompt demonstration to prevent Lee from sending himfurther reinforcements. A large Federal force advanced to MalvernHill, and was drawn up there in line of battle, with every indicationon the part of General McClellan of an intention to advance anew uponRichmond. Lee promptly went to meet him, and a slight engagementensued on Curl's Neck. But, on the next morning, the Federal army haddisappeared, and the whole movement was seen to have been a feint. 

This state of indecision continued until nearly the middle of August. An incident then occurred which clearly indicated the enemy'sintentions. General Burnside was known to have reached Hampton Roadsfrom the Southern coast with a considerable force, and the directionwhich his flotilla now took would show the design of the Federalauthorities. If a new advance was intended from the James, theflotilla would ascend that river; if General Pope's army was looked tofor the real movement, General Burnside would go in that direction. The secret was discovered by the afterward celebrated Colonel John S. Mosby, then a private, and just returned, by way of Fortress Monroe, from prison in Washington. He ascertained, when he disembarked, thatBurnside's flotilla was about to move toward the Rappahannock, and, aware of the importance of the information, hastened to communicateit to General Lee. He was admitted, at the headquarters of the latternear Richmond, to a private interview, and when General Lee hadfinished his conversation with the plain-looking individual, thenalmost unknown, he was in possession of the information necessary todetermine his plans. The Rappahannock, and not the James, was seento be the theatre of the coming campaign, and General Lee's wholeattention was now directed to that quarter. 

Jackson had already struck an important blow there, coöperatingvigorously, as was habitual with him, in the general plan of action. General McClellan had endeavored by a feint to hold Lee at Richmond. By a battle now, Jackson hastened the retreat of the army underMcClellan from James River. With his three divisions, Jackson crossedthe Rapidan, and, on the 9th of August, attacked the advance force ofGeneral Pope at Cedar Mountain. The struggle was obstinate, and atone time Jackson's left was driven back, but the action terminated atnightfall in the retreat of the Federal forces, and the Confederatecommander remained in possession of the field. He was too weak, however, to hold his position against the main body of the Federalarmy, which was known to be approaching; he accordingly recrossedthe Rapidan to the vicinity of Gordonsville, and here he wassoon afterward joined by General Lee, with the great bulk of theConfederate army. 

Such were the events which succeeded the battles of the Chickahominy, transferring hostilities to a new theatre, and inaugurating the greatcampaigns of the summer and autumn of 1862 in Northern Virginia andMaryland. 

III. 

LEE ADVANCES FROM THE RAPIDAN. 

General Lee, it will thus be seen, had proceeded in his militarymanoeuvres with the utmost caution, determined to give his adversariesno advantage, and remain in front of the capital until it was freefrom all danger. But for the daring assault upon General McClellan, on the Chickahominy, his critics would no doubt have charged him withweakness and indecision now; but, under any circumstances, it iscertain that he would have proceeded in the same manner, conductingoperations in the method which his judgment approved. 

At length the necessity of caution had disappeared. General Burnsidehad gone to reënforce General Pope, and a portion of McClellan's armywas believed to have followed. "It therefore seemed, " saysGeneral Lee, "that active operations on the James were no longercontemplated, " and he wisely concluded that "the most effectual way torelieve Richmond from any danger of attack from that quarter wouldbe to reënforce General Jackson, and advance upon General Pope. " Incommenting upon these words, an able writer of the North exclaims:"Veracious prophecy, showing that _insight_ which is one of thehighest marks of generalship!" The movement, indeed, was the rightproceeding, as the event showed; and good generalship may be definedto be the power of seeing what is the proper course, and the decisionof character which leads to its adoption. 

General Lee exhibited throughout his career this mingled good judgmentand daring, and his cautious inactivity was now succeeded by oneof those offensive movements which, if we may judge him, by hissubsequent career, seemed to be the natural bent of his character. With the bulk of his army, he marched in the direction of GeneralPope; the rest were speedily ordered to follow, and active operationsbegan for driving the newly-formed Federal "Army of Virginia" backtoward Washington. 

We have presented Lee's order for the attack on General McClellan, andhere quote his order of march for the advance against General Pope, together with a note addressed to Stuart, commanding his cavalry, forthat officer's guidance. 

HEADQUARTERS ARMY NORTHERN VIRGINIA, _August_ 19, 1862. 

SPECIAL ORDER No. 185. 

I. General Longstreet's command, constituting the right wing ofthe army, will cross the Rapidan at Raccoon Ford, and move in thedirection of Culpepper Court-House. General Jackson's command, constituting the left wing, will cross at Summerville Ford, and movein the same direction, keeping on the left of General Longstreet. General Anderson's division will cross at Summerville Ford, follow theroute of General Jackson, and act in reserve. The battalion of lightartillery, under Colonel S. D. Lee, will take the same route. Thecavalry, under General Stuart, will cross at Morton's Ford, pursue theroute by Stevensburg to Rappahannock Station, destroy the railroadbridge, cut the enemy's communications, telegraph line, and, operating toward Culpepper Court-House, will take position on GeneralLongstreet's right. 

II. The commanders of each wing will designate the reserve for theircommands. Medical and ammunition wagons will alone follow the troopsacross the Rapidan. The baggage and supply trains will be parked undertheir respective officers, in secure positions on the south side, soas not to embarrass the different roads. 

III. Cooked rations for three days will be carried in the haversacksof the men, and provision must be made for foraging the animals. Straggling from the ranks is strictly prohibited, and commanders willmake arrangements to secure and punish the offenders. 

IV. The movements herein directed will commence to-morrow, 20thinstant, at dawn of day. 

By command of General R. E. Lee:

A. P. MASON, _A. A. G_. 

HEADQUARTERS CRENSHAW'S FARM, } _August_ 19, 1862. }

_General J. E. B. Stuart, commanding Cavalry_:

General: I desire you to rest your men to-day, refresh your horses, prepare rations and every thing for the march to-morrow. Get whatinformation you can of fords, roads, and position of the enemy, sothat your march can be made understandingly and with vigor. I send toyou Captain Mason, an experienced bridge-builder, etc. , whom I thinkwill be able to aid you in the destruction of the bridge, etc. Whenthat is accomplished, or when in train of execution, as circumstancespermit, I wish you to operate back toward Culpepper Court-House, creating such confusion and consternation as you can, withoutunnecessarily exposing your men, till you feel Longstreet's right. Take position there on his right, and hold yourself in reserve, andact as circumstances may require. I wish to know during the day howyou proceed in your preparations. They will require the personalattention of all your officers. The last reports from thesignal-stations yesterday evening were, that the enemy was breakingup his principal encampments, and moving in direction of CulpepperCourt-House. 

Very respectfully, etc. , R. E. LEE, _General_. 

These orders indicate General Lee's design--to reach the left flankof the enemy, prevent his retreat by destroying the bridges on theRappahannock, and bring him to battle in the neighborhood of CulpepperCourt-House. The plan failed in consequence of a delay of two days, which took place in its execution--a delay, attributed at that time, we know not with what justice, to the unnecessarily deliberatemovements of the corps commanded by General Longstreet. This delayenabled the enemy to gain information of the intended movement; andwhen General Lee advanced on the 20th of August, instead of on the18th, as he had at first determined to do, it was found that GeneralPope had broken up his camps, and was in rapid retreat. Lee followed, and reached the Rappahannock only to find that the Federal army hadpassed that stream. General Pope, who had promised to conduct none butoffensive operations, and never look to the rear, had thus hastenedto interpose the waters of the Rappahannock between himself and hisadversary, and, when General Lee approached, he found every crossingof the river heavily defended by the Federal infantry and artillery. 

In face of this large force occupying a commanding position on theheights, General Lee made no effort to cross. He determined, he says, "not to attempt the passage of the river at that point with the army, "but to "seek a more favorable place to cross, higher up the river, andthus gain the enemy's right. " This manoeuvre was intrusted to Jackson, whose corps formed the Confederate left wing. Jackson advancedpromptly to the Warrenton Springs Ford, which had been selected asthe point of crossing, drove away a force of the enemy posted at theplace, and immediately began to pass the river with his troops. Themovement was however interrupted by a severe rain-storm, which swelledthe waters of the Rappahannock, and rendered a further prosecution ofit impracticable. General Lee was thus compelled to give up that plan, and ordered Jackson to withdraw the force which had crossed. This wasdone, and General Lee was now called upon to adopt some other methodof attack; or to remain inactive in face of the enemy. 

But to remain inactive was impossible. The army must either advanceor retire; information which had just reached the Confederate generalrendered one of these two proceedings indispensable. The informationreferred to had been obtained by General Stuart. The activity andenergy of this officer, especially in gaining intelligence, nowproved, as they proved often afterward, of the utmost importance toLee. Stuart had been directed by General Lee to make an attack, with acavalry force, on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, in the enemy'srear; he had promptly carried out his orders by striking the Federalcommunications at Catlett's Station, had destroyed there all that hefound, and torn up the railroad, but, better than all, had captureda box containing official papers belonging to General Pope. Thesepapers, which Stuart hastened--marching day and night, through stormand flood--to convey to General Lee, presented the clearest evidenceof the enemy's movements and designs. Troops were hastening from everydirection to reënforce General Pope, the entire force on James Riverespecially was to be brought rapidly north of the Rappahannock, andany delay in the operations of the Confederates would thus expose themto attack from the Federal forces concentrated from all quarters intheir front. 

[Illustration: Map--Upper Rappahannock]

IV. 

JACKSON FLANKS GENERAL POPE. 

It was thus necessary to act with decision, and General Lee resolvedupon a movement apparently of the most reckless character. This was toseparate his army into two parts, and, while one remained confrontingthe enemy on the Rappahannock, send the other by a long circuit tofall on the Federal rear near Manassas. This plan of action wasopposed to the first rule of the military art, that a general shouldnever divide his force in the face of an enemy. That Lee ventured todo so on this occasion can only be explained on one hypothesis, thathe did not highly esteem the military ability of his opponent. Theseflank attacks undoubtedly, however, possessed a great attraction forhim, as they did for Jackson, and, in preferring such movement, Leewas probably actuated both by the character of the troops on bothsides and by the nature of the country. The men of both armies werecomparatively raw levies, highly susceptible to the influence of"surprise, " and the appearance of an enemy on their flanks, or intheir rear, was calculated to throw them into disorder. The woodedcharacter of the theatre of war generally rendered such movementspracticable, and all that was requisite was a certain amount of daringin the commander who was called upon to decide upon them. This daringLee repeatedly exhibited, and the uniform success of the movementsindicates his sound generalship. 

To command the force which was now to go on the perilous errand ofstriking General Pope's rear, General Lee selected Jackson, who hadexhibited such promptness and decision in the campaigns of the Valleyof Virginia. Rapidity of movement was necessary above all things, and, if any one could be relied upon for that, it was the now famousStonewall Jackson. To him the operation was accordingly intrusted, andhis corps was at once put in motion. Crossing the Rappahannock at analmost forgotten ford, high up and out of view of the Federal right, Jackson pushed forward day and night toward Manassas, reachedThoroughfare Gap, in the Bull Run Mountain, west of that place, passedthrough, and completely destroyed the great mass of supplies in theFederal depot at Manassas. The whole movement had been made withsuch rapidity, and General Stuart, commanding the cavalry, had sothoroughly guarded the flank of the advancing column from observation, that Manassas was a mass of smoking ruins almost before General Popewas aware of the real danger. Intelligence soon reached him, however, of the magnitude of the blow aimed by Lee, and, hastily breakingup his camps on the Rappahannock, he hurried to attack the forceassailing his communications. 

The first part of General Lee's plan had thus fully succeeded. GeneralPope, who had occupied every ford of the Rappahannock, so as to renderthe passage difficult, if not impossible, had disappeared suddenly, togo and attack the enemy in his rear. General Lee promptly moved inhis turn, with the great corps under Longstreet, and pushedtoward Manassas, over nearly the same road followed by Jackson. 

[Illustration: T. J. Jackson]

V. 

LEE FOLLOWS. 

The contest of generalship had now fully begun, and the brain ofGeneral Lee was matched against the brain of General Pope. It is nopart of the design of the writer of this volume to exalt unduly thereputation of Lee, and detract from the credit due his adversaries. Justice has been sought to be done to General McClellan; the samemeasure of justice will be dealt out to his successors on the Federalside; nor is it calculated to elevate the fame of Lee, to show thathis opponents were incapable and inefficient. Of General Pope, however, it must be said that he suffered himself to be outgeneralledin every particular; and the pithy comment of General Lee, that he"did not appear to be aware of his situation, " sums up the wholesubject. 

It is beyond our purpose to enter upon any thing resembling a detailednarrative of the confused and complicated movements of the variouscorps of the army under General Pope. These have been the subject ofthe severest criticism by his own followers. We shall simply noticethe naked events. Jackson reached Manassas on the night of August26th, took it, and on the next day destroyed the great depot. GeneralPope was hastening to protect it, but was delayed by Ewell at Bristoe, and a force sent up from Washington, under the brave General Taylor, was driven off with loss. Then, having achieved his aim, Jackson fellback toward Sudley. 

If the reader will look at the map, he will now understand theexact condition of affairs. Jackson had burned the Federal depot ofsupplies, and retired before the great force hastening to rescue them. He had with him about twenty thousand men, and General Pope's forcewas probably triple that number. Thus, the point was to hold GeneralPope at arm's-length until the arrival of Lee; and, to accomplish thisgreat end, Jackson fell back beyond Groveton. There he formed line ofbattle, and waited. 

It is obvious that, under these circumstances, the true policy ofGeneral Pope was to obstruct Thoroughfare Gap, the only road by whichLee could approach promptly, and then crush Jackson. On the night ofthe 27th, General McDowell was accordingly sent thither with fortythousand men; but General Pope ordered him, on the next morning, toManassas, where he hoped to "bag the whole crowd, " he said--that isto say, the force under Jackson. This was the fatal mistake made byGeneral Pope. Thoroughfare Gap was comparatively undefended. WhileGeneral Pope was marching to attack Jackson, who had disappeared, itwas the next thing to a certainty that General Lee would attack _him_. 

All parties were thus moving to and fro; but the Confederates enjoyedthe very great advantage over General Pope of knowing preciselyhow affairs stood, and of having determined upon their own plan ofoperations. Jackson, with his back to the mountain, was waiting forLee. Lee was approaching rapidly, to unite the two halves of his army. General Pope, meanwhile, was marching and countermarching, apparentlyignorant of the whereabouts of Jackson, [1]

General Lee, in personal command of Longstreet's corps, reached thewestern end of Thoroughfare Gap about sunset, on the 28th, and thesound of artillery from the direction of Groveton indicated thatJackson and General Pope had come in collision. Jackson had himselfbrought on this engagement by attacking the flank of one of GeneralPope's various columns, as it marched across his front, over theWarrenton road, and this was the origin of the sound wafted to GeneralLee's ears as he came in sight of Thoroughfare. It was certainlycalculated to excite his nerves if they were capable of being excited. Jackson was evidently engaged, and the disproportion between hisforces and those of General Pope rendered such an engagement extremelycritical. Lee accordingly pressed forward, reached the Gap, and theadvance force suddenly halted: the Gap was defended. The Federal forceposted here, at the eastern opening of the Gap, was small, and whollyinadequate for the purpose; but this was as yet unknown to GeneralLee. His anxiety under these circumstances must have been great. Jackson might be crushed before his arrival. He rode up to thesummit of the commanding hill which rises just west of the Gap, anddismounting directed his field-glass toward the shaggy defile infront. 

[Footnote 1: "Not knowing at the time where was the enemy. "--_GeneralPorter_. ] and undecided what course to pursue. 

[Illustration: Lee Reconnoitring at Throughfare Gap. ]

The writer of these pages chanced to be near the Confederate commanderat this moment, and was vividly impressed by the air of unmovedcalmness which marked his countenance and demeanor. Nothing in theexpression of his face, and no hurried movement, indicated excitementor anxiety. Here, as on many other occasions, Lee impressed the writeras an individual gifted with the most surprising faculty of remainingcool and unaffected in the midst of circumstances calculated to arousethe most phlegmatic. After reconnoitring for some moments withoutmoving, he closed his glass slowly, as though he were buried inreflection, and deliberating at his leisure, and, walking back slowlyto his horse, mounted and rode down the hill. 

The attack was not delayed, and flanking columns were sent to crossnorth of the Gap and assail the enemy's rear. But the assault in frontwas successful. The small force of the enemy at the eastern opening ofthe Gap retired, and, by nine o'clock at night, General Longstreet'scorps was passing through. 

All the next morning (August 29th), Longstreet's troops were cominginto position on the right of Jackson, under the personal supervisionof Lee. By noon the line of battle was formed. [1] Lee's army wasonce more united. General Pope had not been able to crush less thanone-half that army, for twenty-four hours nearly in his clutches, andit did not seem probable that he would meet with greater success, nowthat the whole was concentrated and held in the firm hand of Lee. 

[Footnote 1: The hour of Longstreet's arrival has been strangely asubject of discussion. The truth is stated in the reports of Lee, Longstreet, Jones, and other officers. But General Pope was ignorantof Longstreet's presence _at five in the evening_; and General Porter, his subordinate, was dismissed from the army for not at that hourattacking Jackson's right, declared by General Pope to be undefended. Longstreet was in line of battle by noon. ]

VI. 

THE SECOND BATTLE OF MANASSAS. 

Lee's order of battle for the coming action was peculiar. It resembledan open V, with the opening toward the enemy--Jackson's corps formingthe left wing, and extending from near Sudley, to a point in rear ofthe small village of Groveton, Longstreet's corps forming the rightwing, and reaching from Jackson's right to and beyond the Warrentonroad which runs to Stonebridge. 

The field of battle was nearly identical with that of July 21, 1861. The only difference was, that the Confederates occupied the groundformerly held by the Federal troops, and that the latter attacked, asJohnston and Beauregard had attacked, from the direction of Manassas, and the tableland around the well-known Henry House. 

The Southern order of battle seems to have contemplated a movement onone or both of General Pope's flanks while he attacked in front. Anassault on either wing would expose him to danger from the other, and it will be seen that the fate of the battle was decided by thisjudicious arrangement of the Confederate commander. 

The action began a little after noon, when the Federal right, consisting of the troops of Generals Banks, Sigel, and others, advanced and made a vigorous attack on Jackson's left, under A. P. Hill. An obstinate conflict ensued, the opposing lines fighting almostbayonet to bayonet, "delivering their volleys into each other at thedistance of ten paces. " At the first charge, an interval between twoof Hill's brigades was penetrated by the enemy, and that wing ofJackson's corps was in great danger of being driven back. Thisdisaster was, however, prevented by the prompt stand made by two orthree regiments; the enemy was checked, and a prompt counter-chargedrove the Federal assaulting columns back into the woods. 

The attempt to break Jackson's line at this point was not, however, abandoned. The Federal troops returned again and again to theencounter, and General Hill reported "six separate and distinctassaults" made upon him. They were all repulsed, in which importantassistance was rendered by General Early. That brave officer attackedwith vigor, and, aided by the fire of the Confederate artillery fromthe elevated ground in Jackson's rear, drove the enemy before him withsuch slaughter that one of their regiments is said to have carriedback but three men. 

This assault of the enemy had been of so determined a character, thatGeneral Lee, in order to relieve his left, had directed Hood andEvans, near his centre, to advance and attack the left of theassaulting column. Hood was about to do so, when he found a heavyforce advancing to charge his own line. A warm engagement followed, which resulted in the repulse of the enemy, and Hood followed them aconsiderable distance, inflicting heavy loss. 

It was now nearly nine o'clock at night, and the darkness renderedfurther operations impossible. The troops which had driven the enemywere recalled from their advanced position, the Southern line wasreformed on the same ground occupied at the commencement of theaction, and General Lee prepared for the more decisive struggle of thenext day. 

Morning came (August 30th), but all the forenoon passed without aresumption of the battle. Each of the adversaries seemed to await somemovement on the part of the other, and the Federal commander madeheavy feints against both the Confederate right and left, with theview of discovering some weak point, or of inducing Lee to lay himselfopen to attack. These movements had, however, no effect. Lee remainedobstinately in his strong position, rightly estimating the advantageit gave him, and no doubt taking into consideration the want ofsupplies General Pope must labor under, a deficiency which rendered aprompt assault on his part indispensable. The armies thus remained inface of each other, without serious efforts upon either side, untilnearly or quite the hour of three in the afternoon. 

General Pope then resumed the assault on Lee's left, under Jackson, with his best troops. The charge was furious, and a bloody struggleensued; but Jackson succeeded in repulsing the force. It fell back indisorder, but was succeeded by a second and a third line, which rushedforward at the "double-quick, " in a desperate attempt to break theSouthern line. These new attacks were met with greater obstinacy thanat first, and, just as the opponents had closed in, a heavy fire wasdirected against the Federal column by Colonel S. D. Lee, commandingthe artillery at Lee's centre. This fire, which was of the most rapidand destructive character, struck the enemy in front and flank atonce, and seemed to sweep back the charging brigades as they came. Thefire of the cannon was then redoubled, and Jackson's line advancedwith cheers. Before this charge, the Federal line broke, and Jacksonpressed forward, allowing them no respite. 

General Lee then threw forward Longstreet, who, knowing what wasexpected of him, was already moving. The enemy were pressed thus infront and on their flank, as Lee had no doubt intended, in forming hispeculiar line. The corps of Jackson and Longstreet closed in like twoiron arms; the Federal forces were driven from position to position;the glare of their cannon, more and more distant, indicated that theyhad abandoned further contest, and at ten at night the darkness put anend to the battle and pursuit. General Pope was retreating with hisdefeated forces toward Washington. 

On the next day, Lee dispatched Jackson to turn Centreville and cutoff the retreat of General Pope. The result was a severe engagementnear Germantown, which was put an end to by a violent storm. GeneralPope, now reënforced by the commands of Generals Sumner and Franklin, had been enabled to hold his ground until night. When, on the next day(September 2d), the Confederates advanced to Fairfax Court-House, it was found that the entire Federal army was in rapid retreat uponWashington. 

Such had been the fate of General Pope. 

PART V. 

_LEE INVADES MARYLAND_. 

I. 

HIS DESIGNS. 

The defeat of General Pope opened the way for movements notcontemplated, probably, by General Lee, when he marched from Richmondto check the advance in Culpepper. His object at that time wasdoubtless simply to arrest the forward movement of the new forcethreatening Gordonsville. Now, however, the position of the pieceson the great chess-board of war had suddenly changed, and it wasobviously Lee's policy to extract all the advantage possible from thenew condition of things. 

He accordingly determined to advance into Maryland--the fortificationsin front of Washington, and the interposition of the Potomac, abroad stream easily defended, rendering a movement in that directionunpromising. On the 3d of September, therefore, and without waiting torest his army, which was greatly fatigued with the nearly continuousmarching and fighting since it had left the Rapidan, General Lee movedtoward Leesburg, crossed his forces near that place, and to themusic of the bands playing the popular air, "Maryland, my Maryland, "advanced to Frederick City, which he occupied on the 7th of September. 

Lee's object in invading Maryland has been the subject of muchdiscussion, one party holding the view that his sole aim was tosurround and capture a force of nine or ten thousand Federal troopsstationed at Harper's Ferry; and another party maintaining that heproposed an invasion of Pennsylvania as far as the Susquehanna, intending to fight a decisive battle there, and advance thereafterupon Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Washington. The course pursued by anarmy commander is largely shaped by the progress of events. It canonly be said that General Lee, doubtless, left the future todecide his ultimate movements; meanwhile he had a distinct andclearly-defined aim, which he states in plain words. 

His object was to draw the Federal forces out of Virginia first. Themovement culminating in the victory over the enemy at Manassas hadproduced the effect of paralyzing them in every quarter. On the coastof North Carolina, in Western Virginia, and in the Shenandoah Valley, had been heard the echo of the great events in Middle and NorthernVirginia. General Burnside's force had been brought up from theSouth, leaving affairs at a stand-still in that direction; and, contemporaneously with the retreat of General Pope, the Federal forcesat Washington and beyond had fallen back to the Potomac. This leftthe way open, and Lee's farther advance, it was obvious, would nowcompletely clear Virginia of her invaders. The situation of affairs, and the expected results, are clearly stated by General Lee:

"The war was thus transferred, " he says, "from the interior to thefrontier, and the supplies of rich and productive districts madeaccessible to our army. To prolong a state of affairs in every waydesirable, and not to permit the season for active operations to passwithout endeavoring to inflict other injury upon the enemy, the bestcourse appeared to be the transfer of the army into Maryland. "

The state of things in Maryland was another important consideration. That great Commonwealth was known to be sectionally divided in itssentiment toward the Federal Government, the eastern portion adheringgenerally to the side of the South, and the western portion generallyto the Federal side. But, even as high up as Frederick, it was hopedthat the Southern cause would find adherents and volunteers to marchunder the Confederate banner. If this portion of the population hadonly the opportunity to choose their part, unterrified by Federalbayonets, it was supposed they would decide for the South. In anyevent, the movement would be important. The condition of affairs inMaryland, General Lee says, "encouraged the belief that the presenceof our army, however inferior to that of the enemy, would induce theWashington Government to retain all its available force to provide forcontingencies which its course toward the people of that State gaveit reason to apprehend, " and to cross the Potomac "might afford us anopportunity to aid the citizens of Maryland in any efforts they mightbe disposed to make to recover their liberty. "

It may be said, in summing up on this point, that Lee expectedvolunteers to enroll themselves under his standard, tempted to do soby the hope of throwing off the yoke of the Federal Government, andthe army certainly shared this expectation. The identity of sentimentgenerally between the people of the States of Maryland and Virginia, and their strong social ties in the past, rendered this anticipationreasonable, and the feeling of the country at the result afterward wasextremely bitter. 

Such were the first designs of Lee; his ultimate aim seems as clear. By advancing into Maryland and threatening Baltimore and Washington, he knew that he would force the enemy to withdraw all their troopsfrom the south bank of the Potomac, where they menaced the Confederatecommunications with Richmond; when this was accomplished, as itclearly would be, his design was, to cross the Maryland extension ofthe Blue Ridge, called there the South Mountain, advance by way ofHagerstown into the Cumberland Valley, and, by thus forcing the enemyto follow him, draw them to a distance from their base of supplies, while his own communications would remain open by way of theShenandoah Valley. This was essentially the same plan pursued inthe campaign of 1863, which terminated in the battle of Gettysburg. General Lee's movements now indicated similar intentions. He doubtlesswished, in the first place, to compel the enemy to pursue him--thento lead them as far as was prudent--and then, if circumstances werefavorable, bring them to decisive battle, success in which promised toopen for him the gates of Washington or Baltimore, and end the war. 

It will now be seen how the delay caused by the movement of Jacksonagainst Harper's Ferry, and the discovery by General McClellan of theentire arrangement devised by Lee for that purpose, caused the failureof this whole ulterior design. 

[Illustration: Map--Map of the MARYLAND CAMPAIGN. ]

II. 

LEE IN MARYLAND. 

The Southern army was concentrated in the neighborhood of FrederickCity by the 7th of September, and on the next day General Lee issuedan address to the people of Maryland. 

We have not burdened the present narrative with Lee's army orders andother official papers; but the great force and dignity of this addressrender it desirable to present it in full:

 HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, } NEAR FREDERICKTOWN, _September_ 8, 1862. }

 _To the People of Maryland_:

 It is right that you should know the purpose that has brought the army under my command within the limits of your State, so far as that purpose concerns yourselves. 

 The people of the Confederate States have long watched with the deepest sympathy the wrongs and outrages that have been inflicted upon the citizens of a Commonwealth allied to the States of the South by the strongest social, political, and commercial ties. 

 They have seen, with profound indignation, their sister State deprived of every right, and reduced to the condition of a conquered province. Under the pretence of supporting the Constitution, but in violation of its most valuable provisions, your citizens have been arrested and imprisoned upon no charge, and contrary to all forms of law. The faithful and manly protest against this outrage, made by the venerable and illustrious Marylanders--to whom in better days no citizen appealed for right in vain--was treated with scorn and contempt. The government of your chief city has been usurped by armed strangers; your Legislature has been dissolved by the unlawful arrest of its members; freedom of the press and of speech have been suppressed; words have been declared offences by an arbitrary desire of the Federal Executive, and citizens ordered to be tried by military commission for what they may dare to speak. 

 Believing that the people of Maryland possessed a spirit too lofty to submit to such a government, the people of the South have long wished to aid you in throwing off this foreign yoke, to enable you again to enjoy the inalienable rights of freemen, and restore independence and sovereignty to your State. 

 In obedience to this wish, our army has come among you, and is prepared to assist you, with the power of its arms, in regaining the rights of which you have been despoiled. This, citizens of Maryland, is our mission, so far as you are concerned. No constraint upon your free will is intended--no intimidation will be allowed. Within the limits of this army, at least, Marylanders shall once more enjoy their ancient freedom of thought and speech. We know no enemies among you, and will protect all of every opinion. It is for you to decide your destiny, freely, and without constraint. This army will respect your choice, whatever it may be; and, while the Southern people will rejoice to welcome you to your natural position among them, they will only welcome you when you come of your own free will. 

 R. E. LEE, _General commanding_. 

This address, full of grave dignity, and highly characteristic of theConfederate commander, was in vivid contrast with the harsh orders ofGeneral Pope in Culpepper. The accents of friendship and persuasionwere substituted for the "rod of iron. " There would be no coercivemeasures; no arrests, with the alternative presented of an oath tosupport the South, or instant banishment. No intimidation would bepermitted. In the lines of the Southern army, at least, Marylandersshould enjoy freedom of thought and speech, and every man should"decide his destiny freely, and without constraint. "

This address, couched in terms of such dignity, had little effectupon the people. Either their sentiment in favor of the Union was toostrong, or they found nothing in the condition of affairs to encouragetheir Southern feelings. A large Federal force was known to beadvancing; Lee's army, in tatters, and almost without supplies, presented a very uninviting appearance to recruits, and few joined hisstandard, the population in general remaining hostile or neutral. 

The condition of the army was indeed forlorn. It was worn down bymarching and fighting; the men had scarcely shoes upon their feet;and, above the tattered figures, flaunting their rags in the sunshine, were seen gaunt and begrimed faces, in which could be read little ofthe "romance of war. " The army was in no condition to undertakean invasion; "lacking much of the material of war, feeble intransportation, poorly provided with clothing, and thousands of themdestitute of shoes, " is Lee's description of his troops. Such was thecondition of the better portion of the force; on the opposite side ofthe Potomac, scattered along the hills, could be seen a weary, ragged, hungry, and confused multitude, who had dragged along in rear of therest, unable to keep up, and whose miserable appearance said littlefor the prospects of the army to which they belonged. 

From these and other causes resulted the general apathy of theMarylanders, and Lee soon discovered that he must look solely to hisown men for success in his future movements. He faced that convictioncourageously; and, without uttering a word of comment, or indulging inany species of crimination against the people of Maryland, resolutelycommenced his movements looking to the capture of Harper's Ferry andthe invasion of Pennsylvania. [1]

[Footnote 1: The reader will perceive that the intent to _invade_Pennsylvania is repeatedly attributed in these pages to General Lee. His own expression is, "by _threatening_ Pennsylvania, to inducethe enemy, " etc. That he designed invasion, aided by the recruitsanticipated in Maryland, seems unquestionable; since, even afterdiscovering the lukewarmness of the people there by the fact that fewjoined his standard, he still advanced to Hagerstown, but a step fromthe Pennsylvania line. These facts have induced the present writer toattribute the design of actual invasion to Lee with entire confidence;and all the circumstances seem to him to support that hypothesis. ]

The promises of his address had been kept. No one had been forced tofollow the Southern flag; and now, when the people turned their backsupon it, closing the doors of the houses in the faces of the Southerntroops, they remained unmolested. Lee had thus given a practical proofof the sincerity of his character. He had promised nothing which hehad not performed; and in Maryland, as afterward in Pennsylvania, in 1863, he remained firm against the temptation to adopt the harshcourse generally pursued by the commanders of invading armies. Heseems to have proceeded on the principle that good faith is asessential in public affairs as in private, and to have resolved that, in any event, whether of victory or disaster, his enemies should nothave it in their power to say that he broke his plighted word, oracted in a manner unbecoming a Christian gentleman. 

Prompt action was now necessary. The remnants of General Pope's army, greatly scattered and disorganized by the severe battle of Manassas, had been rapidly reformed and brought into order again, and to thisforce was added a large number of new troops, hurried forward from theNorthern States to Washington. This new army was not to be commandedby General Pope, who had been weighed and found wanting in ability tocontend with Lee. The force was intrusted to General McClellan, inspite of his unpopularity with the Federal authorities; and the urgentmanner in which he had been called upon to take the head of affairsand protect the Federal capital, is the most eloquent of allcommentaries upon the position which he held in the eyes of thecountry and the army. It was felt, indeed, by all that the Federalship was rolling in the storm, and an experienced pilot was necessaryfor her guidance. General McClellan was accordingly directed, afterGeneral Pope's defeat, to take command of every thing, and see to thesafety of Washington; and, finding himself at length at the head of anarmy of about one hundred thousand men, he proceeded, after the mannerof a good soldier, to protect the Federal capital by advancing intoupper Maryland in pursuit of Lee. 

III. 

MOVEMENTS OF THE TWO ARMIES. 

General Lee was already moving to the accomplishment of his designs, the capture of Harper's Ferry, and an advance into the CumberlandValley. 

His plan to attain the first-mentioned object was simple, and promisedto be successful. Jackson was to march around by way of "Williamsportand Martinsburg, " and thus approach from the south. A force wasmeanwhile to seize upon and occupy the Maryland Heights, a loftyspot of the mountain across the Potomac, north of the Ferry. In likemanner, another body of troops was to cross the Potomac, east of theBlue Ridge, and occupy the Loudon Heights, looking down upon Harper'sFerry from the east. By this arrangement the retreat of the enemywould be completely cut off in every direction. Harper's Ferry mustbe captured, and, having effected that result, the whole Confederateforce, detached for the purpose, was to follow the main body of thisarmy in the direction of Hagerstown, to take part in the proposedinvasion of Pennsylvania. 

This excellent plan failed, as will be seen, from no fault of thegreat soldier who devised it, but in consequence of unforeseenobstacles, and especially of one of those singular incidents whichoccasionally reverse the best-laid schemes and abruptly turn aside thecurrents of history. 

Jackson and the commanders coöperating with him moved on September10th. General Lee then with his main body crossed the South Mountain, taking the direction of Hagerstown. Meanwhile, General McClellan hadadvanced cautiously and slowly, withheld by incessant dispatches fromWashington, warning him not to move in such a manner as to expose thatcity to danger. Such danger existed only in the imaginations of theauthorities, as the army in advancing extended its front from thePotomac to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. General McClellan, nevertheless, moved with very great precaution, feeling his way, stepby step, like a man in the dark, when on reaching Frederick City, which the Confederates had just evacuated, good fortune suddenly cameto his assistance. This good fortune was the discovery of a copy ofGeneral Lee's orders of march for the army, in which his whole planwas revealed. General McClellan had therein the unmistakable evidenceof his opponent's intentions, and from that moment his advance was asrapid as before it had been deliberate. 

The result of this fortunate discovery was speedily seen. General Lee, while moving steadily toward Hagerstown, was suddenly compelled toturn his attention to the mountain-passes in his rear. It had not beenthe intention of Lee to oppose the passage of the enemy through theSouth Mountain, as he desired to draw General McClellan as far aspossible from his base, but the delay in the fall of Harper'sFerry now made this necessary. It was essential to defend themountain-defiles in order to insure the safety of the Confederatetroops at Harper's Ferry; and Lee accordingly directed GeneralD. H. Hill to oppose the passage of the enemy at Boonsboro Gap, andLongstreet was sent from Hagerstown to support him. 

An obstinate struggle now ensued for the possession of the main SouthMountain Gap, near Boonsboro, and the roar of Jackson's artillery fromHarper's Ferry must have prompted the assailants to determined effortsto force the passage. The battle continued until night (September14th), and resulted in heavy loss on both sides, the brave GeneralReno, of the United States army, among others, losing his life. Darkness put an end to the action, the Federal forces not havingsucceeded in passing the Gap; but, learning that a column of the enemyhad crossed below and threatened him with an attack in flank, GeneralLee determined to retire in the direction of Sharpsburg, where Jacksonand the forces coöperating with him could join the main body of thearmy. This movement was effected without difficulty, and Lee noticesthe skill and efficiency of General Fitz Lee in covering the rear withhis cavalry. The Federal army failed to press forward as rapidly asit is now obvious it should have done. The head of the column didnot appear west of the mountain until eight o'clock in the morning(September 15th), and, nearly at the same moment ("the attack began atdawn; in about two hours the garrison surrendered, " says General Lee), Harper's Ferry yielded to Jackson. 

Fast-riding couriers brought the welcome intelligence of Jackson'ssuccess to General Lee, as the latter was approaching Sharpsburg, and official information speedily came that the result had beenthe capture of more than eleven thousand men, thirteen thousandsmall-arms, and seventy-three cannon. It was probably this largenumber of men and amount of military stores falling into the hands ofthe Confederates which afterward induced the opinion that Lee's soledesign in invading Maryland had been the reduction of Harper's Ferry. 

General McClellan had thus failed, in spite of every effort which hehad made, to relieve Harper's Ferry, [1] and no other course remainednow but to follow Lee and bring him to battle. The Federal armyaccordingly moved on the track of its adversary, and, on the afternoonof the same day (September 15th), found itself in sight of Lee'sforces drawn up on the western side of Antietam Creek, near thevillage of Sharpsburg. 

[Footnote 1: All along the march he had fired signal-guns to informthe officer in command at Harper's Ferry of his approach. ]

At last the great opponents were in face of each other, and a battle, it was obvious, could not long be delayed. 

IV. 

THE PRELUDE TO SHARPSBURG. 

General Lee had once more sustained a serious check from the skill andsoldiership of the officer who had conducted the successful retreat ofthe Federal army from the Chickahominy to James River. 

The defeat and dispersion of the army of General Pope on the last dayof August seemed to have opened Pennsylvania to the Confederates. Onthe 15th of September, a fortnight afterward, General McClellan, atthe head of a new army, raised in large measure by the magic of hisname, had pursued the victorious Confederate, checked his furtheradvance, and, forcing him to abandon his designs of invasion, broughthim to bay a hundred miles from the capital. This was generalship, it would seem, in the true acceptation of the term, and McClellan, harassed and hampered by the authorities, who looked but coldly uponhim, could say, with Coriolanus, "Alone I did it. "

Lee was thus compelled to give up his movement in the direction ofPennsylvania, and concentrate his army to receive the assault ofGeneral McClellan. Jackson, marching with his customary promptness, joined him with a portion of the detached force on the next day(September 16th), and almost immediately those thunders which preludethe great struggles of history began. 

General Lee had drawn up his army on the high ground west of theAntietam, a narrow and winding stream which flows, through fieldsdotted with homesteads and clumps of fruit and forest trees, to thePotomac. Longstreet's corps was posted on the right of the road fromSharpsburg to Boonsboro, his right flank guarded by the waters of thestream, which here bends westward; on the left of the Boonsboro roadD. H. Hill's command was stationed; two brigades under General Hoodwere drawn up on Hill's left; and when Jackson arrived Lee directedhim to post his command on the left of Hood, his right resting on theHagerstown road, and his left extending backward obliquely toward thePotomac, here making a large bend, where Stuart with his cavalry andhorse-artillery occupied the ground to the river's bank. 

This arrangement of his troops was extremely judicious, as the sequelproved. It was probable that General McClellan would direct his mainattack against the Confederate left, with the view of turning thatflank and hemming in the Southern army, or driving it into the river. By retiring Jackson's left, Lee provided for this contingency, and itwill be seen that the design attributed by him to his adversary wasthat determined upon. 

General McClellan occupied the ground on the eastern bank of theAntietam. He had evidently massed his forces opposite the Confederateleft, but a heavy order of battle stood opposite the centre and rightof Lee, where bridges crossed the stream. 

The respective numbers of the adversaries can be stated with accuracy. "Our forces at the battle of Antietam, " said General McClellan, whenbefore the committee of investigation afterward, "were, total inaction, eighty-seven thousand one hundred and sixty-four. "

General Lee says in his report: "This great battle was fought by lessthan forty thousand men on our side. "

Colonel Walter H. Taylor, a gentleman of the highest character, andformerly adjutant-general of the army, makes the Confederate numberssomewhat less. In a memorandum before the writer, he says:

Our strength at Sharpsburg. I think this is correct:

 Jackson _(including A. P. Hill_) 10, 000

 Longstreet 12, 000

 D. H. Hill and Walker 7, 000 ______ Effective infantry 29, 000

 Cavalry and artillery 8, 000 ______ Total of all arms 37, 000

This disproportion was very great, amounting, as it did, to more thantwo for one. But this was unavoidable. The Southern army had been wornout by their long marching and fighting. Portions of the command werescattered all over the roads of Northern Virginia, wearily draggingtheir half-clothed limbs and shoeless feet toward Winchester, whitherthey were directed to repair. This was the explanation of the factthat, in spite of the ardent desire of the whole army to participatein the great movement northward, Lee had in line of battle atSharpsburg "less than forty thousand men. "

General McClellan made a demonstration against his adversary on theevening of the 16th, before the day of the main struggle. He threw hisright, commanded by General Hooker, across the Antietam at a point outof range of fire from the Confederates, and made a vigorous attackon Jackson's two divisions lying near the Hagerstown road runningnorthward, and thus parallel with Lee's line of battle. A briefengagement took place in the vicinity of the "Dunker Church, " in afringe of woods west of the road, but it was too late to effect anything of importance; night fell, and the engagement ceased. GeneralHooker retaining his position on the west side of the stream. 

The opposing lines then remained at rest, waiting for the morningwhich all now saw would witness the commencement of the more seriousconflict. 

V. 

THE BATTLE OF SHARPSBURG. 

The battle of Sharpsburg, or Antietam, for it is known by both names, began at early dawn on the 17th of September. 

General McClellan had obviously determined to direct his main assaultagainst the Confederate left, a movement which General Lee hadforeseen and provided for, [1] and at dawn commenced a rapid fire ofartillery upon that portion of the Confederate line. Under coverof this fire, General Hooker then advanced his infantry and madea headlong assault upon Jackson's line, with the obvious view ofcrushing that wing of Lee's army, or driving it back on Sharpsburg andthe river. The Federal force making this attack, or advancing promptlyto support it, consisted of the corps of Generals Hooker, Mansfield, and Sumner, and numbered, according to General Sumner, forty thousandmen, of whom eighteen thousand belonged to General Hooker's corps. 

[Footnote 1: "In anticipation of a movement to turn the line ofAntietam, Hood's two brigades had been transferred from the right tothe left, " etc. --_Lee_. ]

Jackson's whole force was four thousand men. Of the truth of thisstatement of the respective forces, proof is here given:

"I have always believed, " said General Sumner afterward, before thewar committee, "that, instead of sending these troops into that actionin driblets, had General McClellan authorized me to march _there fortythousand men_ on the left flank of the enemy, " etc. 

"Hooker formed his corps of _eighteen thousand_ men, " etc. , says Mr. Swinton, the able and candid Northern historian of the war. 

Jackson's force is shown by the Confederate official reports. Hiscorps consisted of Ewell's division and "Jackson's old division. "General Jones, commanding the latter, reported: "The division at thebeginning of the fight numbered not over one thousand six hundredmen. " Early, commanding Ewell's division, [1] reported the threebrigades to number:

 Lawton's 1, 150

 Hayes's 550

 Walker's 700

 2, 400

 "Old Division, " as above 1, 600

 Jackson's corps 4, 000

[Footnote 1: After General Lawton was disabled. ]

This was the entire force carried by General Jackson into the fight, and these four thousand men, as the reader will perceive, bore thebrunt of the first great assault of General McClellan. 

Just as the light broadened in the east above the crest of mountainsrising in rear of the Federal lines. General Hooker made his assault. His aim was plainly to drive the force in his front across theHagerstown road and back on the Potomac, and in this he seemedabout to succeed. Jackson had placed in front Ewell's division oftwenty-four hundred men. This force received General Hooker's charge, and a furious struggle followed, in which the division was nearlydestroyed. A glance at the casualties will show this. They wereremarkable. General Lawton, division commander, was wounded andcarried from the field; Colonel Douglas, brigade commander, waskilled; Colonel Walker, also commanding brigade, was disabled;Lawton's brigade lost five hundred and fifty-four killed and woundedout of eleven hundred and fifty, and five out of six regimentalcommanders. Hayes's brigade lost three hundred and twenty-three out offive hundred and fifty, and all the regimental commanders. Walker'sbrigade lost two hundred and twenty-eight out of less than sevenhundred, and three out of four regimental commanders; and, of thestaff-officers of the division, scarcely one remained. 

In an hour after dawn, this heavy slaughter had been effected inEwell's division, and the detailed statement which we have given willbest show the stubborn resistance offered by the Southern troops. Still, they were unable to hold their ground, and fell back at lastin disorder before General Hooker, who pressed forward to seize theHagerstown road and crush the whole Confederate left. He was met, however, by Jackson's Old Division of sixteen hundred men, who hadbeen held in reserve; and General Lee hastened to the point threatenedHood's two small brigades, one of which. General Hood states, numberedbut eight hundred and sixty-four men. With this force Jackson now metthe advancing column of General Hooker, delivering a heavy firefrom the woods upon the Federal forces. In face of this fire theyhesitated, and Hood made a vigorous charge, General Stuart opening atthe same time a cross-fire on the enemy with his horse-artillery. Thecombined fire increased their disorganization, and it now turned intodisorder. Jackson seized the moment, as always, throwing forward hiswhole line, and the enemy were first checked, and then driven back inconfusion, the Confederates pursuing and cheering. 

The first struggle had thus resulted in favor of theConfederates--with about six thousand they had repulsed eighteenthousand--and it was obvious to General McClellan that, withoutreinforcements, his right could not hold its ground. He accordingly, just at sunrise, sent General Mansfield's corps to the aid of GeneralHooker, and at nine o'clock General Sumner's corps was added, makingin all forty thousand men. 

The appearance of affairs at this moment was discouraging to theFederal commander. His heavy assaulting column had been forced backwith great slaughter; General Hooker had been wounded and bornefrom the field; General Mansfield, while forming his line, had beenmortally wounded; and now, at nine o'clock, when the corps of GeneralSumner arrived, the prospect was depressing. Of the condition of theFederal forces, General Sumner's own statement conveys a very distinctconception: "On going upon the field, " said General Sumner, before thewar committee, "I found that General Hooker's corps had been dispersedand routed. I passed him some distance in the rear, where he had beencarried wounded, but I saw nothing of his corps at all, as Iwas advancing with my command on the field. I sent one of mystaff-officers to find where they were, and General Ricketts, the onlyofficer we could find, stated that he could not raise three hundredmen of the corps. " General Mansfield's corps also had been checked, and now "began to waver and break. "

Such had been the result of the great Federal assault, and it washighly creditable to the Confederate arms. With a comparativelyinsignificant force, Jackson had received the attack of the entireFederal right wing, and had not only repulsed, but nearly broken topieces, the large force in his front. 

The arrival of General Sumner, however, completely changed the face ofaffairs, and, as his fresh troops advanced, those which had been soroughly handled by Jackson had an opportunity to reform. This wasrapidly effected, and, having marshalled his troops, General Sumner, an officer of great dash and courage, made a vigorous charge. Fromthis moment the battle began to rage with new fury. General Lee hadsent to the left the brigades of Colquitt, Ripley, and McRae, and withthese, the troops of Hood, and his own shattered division, Jacksonpresented a stubborn front, but his loss was heavy. General Starke, of the Old Division, was killed; the brigade, regimental, and companyofficers fell almost without an exception, and the brigades dwindledto mere handfuls. 

Under the great pressure, Jackson was at length forced back. One ofGeneral Sumner's divisions drove the right of the Confederates beyondthe Hagerstown road, and, at this moment the long struggle seemedended; the great wrestle in which the adversaries had so longstaggered to and fro, advancing and retreating in turn, seemed at lastvirtually decided in favor of the Federal arms. 

This was undoubtedly the turning-point of the battle of Sharpsburg, and General Lee had witnessed the conflict upon his left with greatanxiety. It was impossible, however, to send thither more troops thanhe had already sent. As will be seen in a moment, both his centreand right were extremely weak. A. P. Hill and General McLaws had notarrived from Harper's Ferry. Thus the left had been reënforced to thefull extent of Lee's ability, and now that portion of his line seemedabout to be crushed. 

Fortunately, however, General McLaws, who had been delayed longer thanwas expected by General Lee, at last arrived, and was hurried to theleft. It was ten o'clock, and in that one hour the fighting of anentire day seemed to have been concentrated. Jackson was holding hisground with difficulty when the divisions of McLaws and Walker weresent to him. As soon as they reached the field, they were thrown intoaction, and General Lee had the satisfaction of witnessing a new orderof things. The advance--it might rather be called the onward rush--ofthe Federal line was checked. Jackson's weary men took fresh heart;that great commander promptly assumed the offensive, and, advancinghis whole line, drove the enemy before him until he reoccupied theground from which General Sumner had forced him to retire. 

From the ground thus occupied, the Federal forces were unable todislodge him, and the great struggle of "the left at Sharpsburg" wasover. It had begun at dawn and was decided by ten or eleven o'clock, and the troops on both sides had fought as resolutely as in any otheraction of the war. The event had been decided by the pertinacity ofthe Southern troops, and by the prompt movement of reënforcements byGeneral Lee from his right and centre. Posted near his centre, hehad surveyed at one glance the whole field of action; the design ofGeneral McClellan to direct his main assault upon the Confederate leftwas promptly penetrated, and the rapid concentration of the Southernforces in that quarter had, by defeating this movement, decided theresult of the battle. 

Attacks on the Confederate centre and right followed that upon theleft. In the centre a great disaster was at one time imminent. Owingto a mistake of orders, the brave General Rhodes had drawn back hisbrigade posted there--this was seen by the enemy--and a suddenrush was made by them with the view of piercing Lee's centre. Thepromptness and courage of a few officers and a small body of troopsdefeated this attempt. General D. H. Hill rallied a few hundred men, and opened fire with a single gun, and Colonel Cooke faced the enemywith his regiment, "standing boldly in line, " says General Lee, "without a cartridge. " The stand made by this small force saved thearmy from serious disaster; the Federal line retired, but a lastassault was soon begun, this time against the Confederate right. Itcontinued in a somewhat desultory manner until four in the evening, when, having massed a heavy column under General Burnside, oppositethe bridge in front of Lee's right wing, General McClellan forced thebridge and carried the crest beyond. 

The moment was critical, as the Confederate force at this pointwas less than three thousand men. But, fortunately, reënforcementsarrived, consisting of A. P. Hill's forces from Harper's Ferry. Theseattacked the enemy, drove him from the hill across the Antietam again;and so threatening did the situation at that moment appear to GeneralMcClellan, that he is said to have sent General Burnside the message:"Hold your ground! If you cannot, then the bridge, to the last man. Always the bridge! If the bridge is lost, all is lost!"

The urgency of this order sufficiently indicates that the Federalcommander was not without solicitude for the safety of his own leftwing. Ignorant, doubtless, of the extremely small force which had thusrepulsed General Burnside, in all four thousand five hundred men, hefeared that General Lee would cross the bridge, assail his left, andthat the hard-fought day might end in disaster to his own army. ThatGeneral Lee contemplated this movement, in spite of the disproportionof numbers, is intimated in his official report. "It was nearly dark, "he says, "and the Federal artillery was massed to defend the bridge, with General Porter's corps, consisting of fresh troops, behind it. Under these circumstances, " he adds, "it was deemed injudicious topush our advantage further in the face of fresh troops of the enemymuch exceeding our own. "

The idea of an advance against the Federal left was accordinglyabandoned, and a movement of Jackson's command, which Lee directed, with the view of turning the Federal right, was discontinued from thesame considerations. Night had come, both sides were worn out, neitherof the two great adversaries cared to risk another struggle, and thebitterly-contested battle of Sharpsburg was over. 

The two armies remained facing each other throughout the followingday. During the night of this day, Lee crossed with his army back intoVirginia. He states his reasons for this: "As we could not look for amaterial increase of strength, " he says, "and the enemy's force couldbe largely and rapidly augmented, it was not thought prudent to waituntil he should be ready again to offer battle. "

General McClellan does not seem to have been able to renew thestruggle at that time. "The next morning, " he says, referring to theday succeeding the battle, "I found that our loss had been so great, and there was so much disorganization in some of the commands, that Idid not consider it proper to renew the attack that day. "

This decision of General McClellan's subjected him subsequently tovery harsh criticism from the Federal authorities, the theory havingobtained at Washington that he had had it in his power, by renewingthe battle, to cut Lee to pieces. Of the probability of such aresult the reader will form his own judgment. The ground for such aconclusion seems slight. The loss and disorganization were, it wouldseem, even greater on the Federal than on the Confederate side, andLee would have probably been better able to sustain an attack thanGeneral McClellan to make it. It will be seen that General Meadeafterward, under circumstances more favorable still, declined toattack Lee at Williamsport. If one of the two commanders be greatlycensured, the other must be also, and the world will be always aptto conclude that they knew what could be effected better than thecivilians. 

But General McClellan did make an attempt to "crush Lee, " such as theauthorities at Washington desired, and its result may possibly throwlight on the point in discussion. 

On the night of the 19th, Lee having crossed the Potomac on the nightof the 18th, General McClellan sent a considerable force across theriver near Shepherdstown, which drove off the Confederate artillerythere, and at daylight formed line of battle on the south bank, protected by their cannon north of the river. Of the brief but bloodyengagement which followed--an incident of the war little dwelt upon inthe histories--General A. P. Hill, who was sent by Lee to repulse theenemy, gives an animated account. "The Federal artillery, to thenumber of seventy pieces, " he says, "lined the opposite heights, andtheir infantry was strongly posted on the crest of the Virginia hills. When he advanced with his division, he was met by the most tremendousfire of artillery he ever saw, " but the men continued to move onwithout wavering, and the attack resulted in the complete rout of theenemy, who were "driven pell-mell into the river, " the current ofwhich was "blue with floating bodies. " General Hill chronicles thisincident in terms of unwonted eloquence, and declares that, by theaccount of the enemy themselves, they lost "three thousand men killedand drowned from one brigade, " which appears to be an exaggeration. His own loss was, in killed and wounded, two hundred and sixty-one. 

This repulse was decisive, and General McClellan made no furtherattempt to pursue the adversary, who, standing at bay on the soil ofVirginia, was still more formidable than he had been on the soil ofMaryland. As we have intimated on a preceding page, the result of thisattempt to pursue would seem to relieve General McClellan from thecriticism of the Washington authorities. If he was repulsed with heavyslaughter in his attempt to strike at Lee on the morning of September20th, it is not probable that an assault on his adversary on September18th would have had different results. 

No further crossing at that time was undertaken by the Federalcommander. His army was moved toward Harper's Ferry, an important basefor further operations, and Lee's army went into camp along the banksof the Opequan. 

VI. 

LEE AND McCLELLAN--THEIR MERITS IN THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN. 

General Lee and his adversary had displayed conspicuous merit in thecampaign thus terminated, and we shall pause for a moment to glanceback upon this great passage at arms. 

To give precedence to General McClellan, he had assembled an army, after the defeat at Manassas, with a promptness for which only hisown great personal popularity can adequately account, had advanced tocheck Lee, and had fully succeeded in doing so; and had thus not onlyprotected the fertile territory of Pennsylvania from invasion, but hadstruck a death-blow for the time to any designs General Lee might havehad to advance on the Federal capital. If the situation of affairs atthat moment be attentively considered, the extreme importance of theseresults will not fail to appear. It may perhaps be said with justice, that General McClellan had saved the Federal cause from decisivedefeat. There was no army to protect Washington but the body of troopsunder his command; these were largely raw levies, which defeat wouldhave broken to pieces, and thus the way would have been open forLee's march upon Washington or toward Philadelphia--a movement whoseprobable result would have been a treaty of peace and the independenceof the Southern Confederacy. All these hopes were reversed byMcClellan's rapid march and prompt attack. In the hours of a singleautumn day, on the banks of the Antietam, the triumphant advance ofthe Confederates was checked and defeated. And, if the further fact beconsidered that the adversary thus checkmated was Lee, the militaryability of General McClellan must be conceded. It is the fashion, itwould appear, in some quarters, to deny him this quality. History willdecide. 

The merit of Lee was equally conspicuous, and his partial failure inthe campaign was due to circumstances over which he had no control. His plan, as was always the case with him, was deep-laid, and everycontingency had been provided for. He was disappointed in his aim bythree causes which he could not foresee. One was the great diminutionof his force, owing to the rapidity of his march, and the incessantfighting; another, the failure in obtaining recruits in Maryland; anda third, the discovery by General McClellan of the "lost dispatch, "as it is called, which revealed Lee's whole plan to his adversary. Inconsequence of the "finding" of the order of march, McClellan advancedwith such rapidity that the laggards of the Southern army on the hillsnorth of Leesburg had no opportunity of joining the main body. Thegaps in the ranks of the army thus made were not filled up by Marylandrecruits; Lee fell back, and his adversary followed, no longer fearfulof advancing too quickly; Jackson had no time after reducing Harper'sFerry to rejoin Lee at Hagerstown; thus concentration of his troops, and a battle somewhere near Sharpsburg, were rendered a necessity withGeneral Lee. 

In this tissue of adverse events, the discovery of the order of marchby General McClellan occupies a very prominent place. This incidentresembles what the French call a fatality. Who was to blame for thecircumstance still remains a mystery; but it may be said with entirecertainty that the brave officer upon whom it was charged was entirelyguiltless of all fault in the matter. 

[Footnote: The officer here referred to is General D. H. Hill. GeneralMcClellan said in his testimony afterward, before the congressionalcommittee: "When at Frederick, we found the original order issued toD. H. Hill, " etc. The inference was thus a natural one that GeneralHill was to blame, but that officer has proved clearly that he hadnothing to do with the affair. He received but one copy of the order, which was handed to him by General Jackson in person, and, knowing itsgreat importance, he placed it in his pocket-book, and still retainsit in his possession. This fact is conclusive, since General Hillcould not have "lost" what he continues to hold in his hands. Thismystery will be cleared up at some time, probably; at present, but onething is certain, that General Hill was in no manner to blame. Thepresent writer desires to make this statement as explicit as possible, as, in other accounts of these transactions, he was led by GeneralMcClellan's language to attribute blame to General Hill where hedeserved none. ]

Whatever may have been the secret history of the "lost dispatch, "however, it certainly fell into General McClellan's hands, and largelydirected the subsequent movements of the opposing armies. 

From what is here written, it will be seen that Lee was not justlychargeable with the result of the Maryland campaign. He had providedfor every thing as far as lay in his power. Had he not beendisappointed in events to be fairly anticipated, it seemed his forcewould have received large accessions, his rear would have closed up, and the advance into Pennsylvania would have taken place. Insteadof this, he was forced to retire and fight a pitched battle atSharpsburg; and this action certainly exhibited on Lee's part militaryability of the highest order. The force opposed to him had been atleast double that of his own army, and the Federal troops had foughtwith a gallantry unsurpassed in any other engagement of the war. Thattheir assault on Lee failed, was due to the fighting qualities of histroops and his own generalship. His army had been manoeuvred with arapidity and precision which must have excited even the admiration ofthe distinguished soldier opposed to him. He had promptly concentratedhis forces opposite every threatened point in turn, and if he had notbeen able to carry out the axiom of Napoleon, that a commander shouldalways be superior to the enemy at the point of contact, he had atleast done all that was possible to effect that end, and had so farsucceeded as to have repulsed if not routed his adversary. This isthe main feature to be noticed in Lee's handling of his troops atSharpsburg. An unwary or inactive commander would have there suffereddecisive defeat, for the Confederate left wing numbered, throughoutthe early part of the battle, scarcely more than four thousand men, while the column directed against it amounted first to eighteenthousand, and in all to forty thousand men. To meet the impact ofthis heavy mass, not only desperate fighting, but rapid and skilfulmanoeuvring, was necessary. The record we have presented will enablethe reader to form his own opinion whether Lee was equal to thisemergency involving the fate of his army. 

Military critics, examining this great battle with fair and candideyes, will not fail, we think, to discern the truth. That the Southernarmy, of less than forty thousand men, repulsed more than eightythousand in the battle of Sharpsburg, was due to the hard fighting ofthe smaller force, and the skill with which its commander manoeuvredit. 

VII. 

LEE AND HIS MEN. 

General Lee and his army passed the brilliant days of autumn in thebeautiful valley of the Shenandoah. This region is famous for itssalubrity and the beauty of its scenery. The mountain winds are pureand invigorating, and the forests, which in the season of autumnassume all the colors of the rainbow, inspire the mind with the mostagreeable sensations. The region, in fact, is known as the "Garden ofVirginia, " and the benign influence of their surroundings was soonseen on the faces of the troops. 

A Northern writer, who saw them at Sharpsburg, describes them as"ragged, hungry, and in all ways miserable;" but their forlorncondition, as to clothing and supplies of every description, made noperceptible difference in their demeanor now. In their camps alongthe banks of the picturesque little stream called the Opequan, which, rising south of Winchester, wanders through beautiful fields andforests to empty into the Potomac, the troops laughed, jested, sangrude camp-ballads, and exhibited a joyous indifference to theirprivations and hardships, which said much for their courage andendurance. Those who carefully considered the appearance and demeanorof the men at that time, saw that much could be effected with suchtough material, and had another opportunity to witness, undercircumstances calculated to test it, the careless indifference, to thepast as well as the future, peculiar alike to soldiers and children. These men, who had passed through a campaign of hard marches andnearly incessant battles, seemed to have forgotten all their troublesand sufferings. The immense strain upon their energies had left themapparently as fresh and efficient as when the campaign begun. Therewas no want of rebound; rather an excessive elasticity and readinessto undertake new movements. They had plainly acquired confidence inthemselves, rightly regarding the event of the battle of Sharpsburg, where they were so largely outnumbered, as highly honorable to them, and they had acquired still greater confidence in the officers whocommanded them. 

We shall hereafter speak more particularly of the sentiment of thetroops toward General Lee at this period of his connection with thearmy. The great events of the war continually modified the relationsbetween him and his men; as they came to know him better and better, he steadily rose in their admiration and regard. At this time--theautumn of 1862--it may be said that the troops had already begun tolove their leader, and had bestowed upon him as an army commandertheir implicit confidence. 

Without this confidence on the part of his men, a general can effectlittle; with it, he may accomplish almost any thing. The commonsoldier is a child, and feels that the directing authority is abovehim; that he should look upon that authority with respect andconfidence is the first necessity of effecting military organization. Lee had already inspired the troops with this sentiment, and it wasmainly the secret of his often astounding successes afterward. Themen universally felt that their commander was equal to any and everyemergency. Such a repute cannot be usurped. Troops measure theirleaders with instinctive acumen, and a very astonishing accuracy. Theyform their opinions for themselves on the merits of the question; andLee had already impressed the army with a profound admiration for hissoldiership. From this to the sentiment of personal affection thetransition was easy; and the kindness, consideration, and simplicityof the man, made all love him. Throughout the campaign, Lee had notbeen heard to utter one harsh word; a patient forbearance and kindnesshad been constantly exhibited in all his dealings with officers andmen; he was always in front, indifferent plainly to personaldanger, and the men looked now with admiring eyes and a feeling ofever-increasing affection on the erect, soldierly figure in the plainuniform, with scarce any indication of rank, and the calm face, with its expression of grave dignity and composure, which remainedunchanged equally on the march and in battle. It may be said that, when he assumed command of the army before Richmond, the troopshad taken him on trust; now they had come to love him, and when heappeared the camps buzzed, the men ran to the road, called out to eachother: "There goes Mas' Robert!" or "Old Uncle Robert!" and cheersfollowed him as he rode by. 

The country generally seemed to share the opinion of the army. Therewas exhibited, even at this early period of the war, by the people atlarge, a very great admiration and affection for General Lee. Whilein the Shenandoah Valley, where Jackson was beloved almost beyondexpression, Lee had evidences of the position which he occupied in theeyes of the people, which must have been extremely gratifying to him. Gray-haired men came to his camp and uttered prayers for his healthand happiness as the great leader of the South; aged ladies greetedhim with faltering expressions full of deep feeling and patheticearnestness; and, wherever he went, young girls and children receivedhim with their brightest smiles. The august fame of the great soldier, who has now passed away, no doubt renders these memories of personalinterviews with him dear to many. Even the most trifling incidents arecherished and kept fresh by repetition; and the writer of thesepages recalls at the moment one of these trifles, which may possiblyinterest some readers. There stood and still stands an ancient andhospitable homestead on the south bank of the Opequan, the heartsof whose inmates, one and all, were ardently with the South in herstruggle. Soon after Sharpsburg, General Lee one day visited the oldmanor-house crowning the grassy hill and overshadowed by great oaks;Generals Jackson, Longstreet, and Stuart, accompanied him, and thereception which he met with, though we cannot describe it, was such aswould have satisfied the most exacting. The children came to him andheld out their small hands, the ladies divided their attention betweenhim and the beloved "hero of the Valley, " Jackson; and the lady of themanor could only express her sense of the great honor of receivingsuch company, by declaring, with a smile, that the dinner resembledthe famous _breakfast at Tillietudlem_ in Scott's "Old Mortality. "General Lee highly enjoyed this, and seemed disposed to laugh whenthe curious fact was pointed out to him that he had seated himself attable in a chair with an open-winged _United States eagle_ delineatedupon its back. The result of this visit, it appeared afterward, was asentiment of great regard and affection for the general personally byall at the old country-house. Old and young were charmed by his gravesweetness and mild courtesy, and doubtless he inspired the samesentiment in other places. 

His headquarters were at this time in a field some miles fromWinchester. An Englishman, who visited him there, described thegeneral and his surroundings with accuracy, and, from the accountprinted in _Blackwood's Magazine_, we quote the following sentences:

"In visiting the headquarters of the Confederate generals, butparticularly those of General Lee, any one accustomed to see Europeanarmies in the field cannot fail to be struck with the great absenceof all the 'pomp and circumstance of war' in and around theirencampments. Lee's headquarters consisted of about seven or eightpole-tents, pitched with their backs to a stake fence, upon a pieceof ground so rocky that it was unpleasant to ride over it, its onlyrecommendation being a little stream of good water which flowedclose by the general's tent. In front of the tents were some threefour-wheeled wagons, drawn up without any regularity, and a numberof horses roamed loose about the field. The servants, who were, ofcourse, slaves, and the mounted soldiers, called 'couriers, ' whoalways accompany each general of division in the field, wereunprovided with tents, and slept in or under the wagons. Wagons, tents, and some of the horses, were marked 'U. S. , ' showing thatpart of that huge debt in the North has gone to furnishing even theConfederate generals with camp equipments. No guard or sentries wereto be seen in the vicinity; no crowd of aides-de-camp loitering about, making themselves agreeable to visitors, and endeavoring to save theirgenerals from receiving those who had no particular business. A largefarm-house stands close by, which, in any other army, would have beenthe general's residence _pro tem_. , but, as no liberties are allowedto be taken with personal property in Lee's army, he is particular insetting a good example himself. His staff are crowded together, two orthree in a tent; none are allowed to carry more baggage than a smallbox each, and his own kit is but very little larger. Every one whoapproaches him does so with marked respect, although there is noneof that bowing and flourishing of forage caps which occurs in thepresence of European generals; and, while all honor him, and placeimplicit faith in his courage and ability, those with whom he is mostintimate feel for him the affection of sons to a father. Old GeneralScott was correct in saying that, when Lee joined the Southern cause, it was worth as much as the accession of twenty thousand men to the'rebels. ' Since then every injury that it was possible to inflict, theNortherners have heaped upon him. Notwithstanding all these personallosses, however, when speaking of the Yankees, he neither evincedany bitterness of feeling, nor gave utterance to a single violentexpression, but alluded to many of his former friends and companionsamong them in the kindest terms. He spoke as a man proud of thevictories won by his country, and confident of ultimate success, underthe blessing of the Almighty, whom he glorified for past successes, and whose aid he invoked for all future operations. "

The writer adds that the troops "regarded him in the light ofinfallible love, " and had "a fixed and unshakable faith in all hedid--a calm confidence of victory when serving under him. " Thepeculiarly interesting part of this foreign testimony, however, isthat in which the writer speaks of General Lee's religious sentiment, of his gratitude for past mercies, and prayers for the assistance ofthe Almighty in the hours of conflict still to come. This point weshall return to, endeavoring to give it that prominence which itdeserves. At present we shall leave the subject of General Lee, inhis private and personal character, and proceed to narrate the lastcampaign of the year 1862. 

VIII. 

LEE PASSES THE BLUE RIDGE

From the central frontier of his headquarters, near Winchester, thekey of the lower Valley, General Lee was able to watch at once theline of the Potomac in his front, beyond which lay General McClellan'sarmy, and the gaps of the Blue Ridge on his right, through which itwas possible for the enemy, by a rapid movement, to advance and attackhis flank and rear. 

If Lee had at any time the design of recrossing into Maryland, heabandoned it. General McClellan attributed that design to him. "I havesince been confirmed in the belief, " he wrote, "that if I had crossedthe Potomac below Harper's Ferry in the early part of October, GeneralLee would have recrossed into Maryland. " Of Lee's ability to thusreënter Maryland there can be no doubt. His army was rested, provisioned, and in high spirits; the "stragglers" had rejoined theircommands, and it is certain that the order for a new advance wouldhave been hailed by the mercurial troops with enthusiasm. No suchorder was, however, issued, and soon the approach of winter renderedthe movement impossible. 

More than a month thus passed, the two armies remaining in face ofeach other. No engagement of any importance occurred during thisperiod of inactivity, but once or twice the Federal commander sentheavy reconnoitring forces across the Potomac; and Stuart, nowmounting to the zenith of his reputation as a cavalry-officer, repeated his famous "ride around McClellan, " on the Chickahominy. 

The object of General Lee in directing this movement of the cavalrywas the ordinary one, on such occasions, of obtaining information andinflicting injury upon the enemy. Stuart responded with ardor to theorder. He had conceived a warm affection for General Lee, mingled witha respect for his military genius nearly unbounded, and at this time, as always afterward, received the orders of his commander for activeoperations with enthusiasm. With about eighteen hundred troopersand four pieces of horse-artillery, Stuart crossed the Potomac aboveWilliamsport, marched rapidly to Chambersburg, in Pennsylvania, wherehe destroyed the machine-shops, and other buildings containing a largenumber of arms and military stores; and continued his way thencetoward Frederick City, with the bold design of completely passingaround the Federal army, and recrossing the river east of the BlueRidge. In this he succeeded, thanks to his skill and audacity, inspite of every effort of the enemy to cut off and destroy him. Reaching White's Ford, on the Potomac, north of Leesburg, he disposedhis horse-artillery so as to cover this movement, cut his way throughthe Federal cavalry disputing his passage, and recrossed into Virginiawith a large number of captured horses, and without losing a man. 

This expedition excited astonishment, and a prominent officer ofthe Federal army declared that he would not have believed that"horse-flesh could stand it, " as the distance passed over in aboutforty-eight hours, during which considerable delay had occurred atChambersburg, was nearly or quite one hundred miles. General McClellancomplained that his orders had not been obeyed, and said that afterthese orders he "did not think it possible for Stuart to recross, " andbelieved "the destruction or capture of his entire force perfectlycertain. "

Soon afterward the Federal commander attempted reconnoissances inhis turn. A considerable force of infantry, supported by artillery, crossed the Potomac and advanced to the vicinity of the little villageof Leetown, but on the same evening fell back rapidly, doubtlessfearful that Lee would interpose a force between them and the riverand cut off their retreat. This was followed by a movement of theFederal cavalry, which crossed at the same spot and advanced up theroad leading toward Martinsburg. These were met and subsequentlydriven back by Colonel W. H. F. Lee, son of the general. A third andmore important attempt to reconnoitre took place toward the end ofOctober. General McClellan then crossed a considerable body of troopsboth at Shepherdstown and Harper's Ferry; the columns advanced toKearneysville and Charlestown respectively, and near the formervillage a brief engagement took place, without results. GeneralMcClellan, who had come in person as far as Charlestown, then returnedwith his troops across the Potomac, and further hostilities for themoment ceased. 

These reconnoissances were the prelude, however, of an importantmovement which the Federal authorities had been long urging GeneralMcClellan to make. Although the battle of Sharpsburg had beenindecisive in one acceptation of the term, in another it had beenentirely decisive. A drawn battle of the clearest sort, it yet decidedthe future movements of the opposing armies. General Lee had invadedMaryland with the design of advancing into Pennsylvania--the result ofSharpsburg was, that he fell back into Virginia. General McClellanhad marched from Washington with no object but an offensive-defensivecampaign to afford the capital protection; he was now enabled toundertake anew the invasion of Virginia. 

To the success of such a movement the Federal commander seems rightlyto have considered a full and complete equipment of his troopsabsolutely essential. He was directed at once, after Sharpsburg, toadvance upon Lee. He replied that it was impossible, neither his mennor his horses had shoes or rations. New orders came--General Halleckappearing to regard the difficulties urged by General McClellan asimaginary. New protests followed, and then new protests and new ordersagain, until finally a peremptory dispatch came. This dispatch was, "Cross the Potomac and give battle to the enemy or drive him south, "an order bearing the impress of the terse good sense and roughdirectness of the Federal President. This order it was necessary inthe end to obey, and General McClellan, having decided in favor ofa movement across the Potomac east instead of west of the mountain, proceeded, in the last days of October, to cross his army. His planwas excellent, and is here set forth in his own words:

"The plan of campaign I adopted during this advance, " he says, "wasto move the army well in hand, parallel to the Blue Ridge, takingWarrenton as the point of direction for the main army, seizing eachpass on the Blue Ridge by detachments as we approached it, andguarding them after we had passed, as long as they would enable theenemy to trouble our communications with the Potomac.... We dependedupon Harper's Ferry and Berlin for supplies until the Manassas GapRailway was reached. When that occurred, the passes in our rear wereto be abandoned, and the army massed ready for action or movement inany direction. It was my intention, if, upon reaching Ashby's or anyother pass, the enemy were in force between it and the Potomac, in theValley of the Shenandoah, to move into the Valley and endeavor to gaintheir rear. "

From this statement of General McClellan it will be seen that his planwas judicious, and displayed a thorough knowledge of the country inwhich he was about to operate. The conformation of the region ispeculiar. The Valley of the Shenandoah, in which Lee's army laywaiting, is separated from "Piedmont Virginia, " through which GeneralMcClellan was about to advance, by the wooded ramparts of the BlueRidge Mountains, passable only at certain points. These _gaps_, asthey are called in Virginia, are the natural doorways to the Valley;and as long as General McClellan held them, as he proposed to do, by strong detachments, he would be able both to protect his owncommunications with the Potomac, and, if he thought fit to do so, enter the Valley and assail the Confederate rear. That he everseriously contemplated the latter design is, however, extremelydoubtful. It is not credible that he would have undertaken to "cutoff" Lee's whole army; and, if he designed a movement of thatdescription against any portion of the Southern army which might bedetached, the opportunity was certainly presented to him by Lee, whenJackson was left, as will be seen, at Millwood. 

No sooner had General McClellan commenced crossing the Potomac, eastof the mountain, than General Lee broke up his camp along the Opequan, and moved to check this new and formidable advance into the heart ofVirginia. It was not known, however, whether the whole of the Federalforces had crossed east of the Blue Ridge; and, to guard against apossible movement on his rear from the direction of Harper's Ferry, as well as on his flank through the gaps of the mountain, Lee sentJackson's corps to take position on the road from Charlestown toBerryville, where he could oppose an advance of the enemy from eitherdirection. The rest of the army then moved guardedly, but rapidly, across the mountain into Culpepper. 

Under these circumstances, General McClellan had an excellentopportunity to strike a heavy blow at Jackson, who seemed to invitethat movement by crossing soon afterward, in accordance withdirections from Lee, one of his divisions to the east side of themountain on the Federal rear. That General McClellan did not strikeis not creditable to him as a commander. The Confederate army wascertainly divided in a very tempting manner. Longstreet was inCulpepper on the 3d of November, the day after General McClellan'srear-guard had passed the Potomac, and nothing would seem to have beeneasier than to cut the Confederate forces by interposing between them. By seizing the Blue Ridge gaps, and thus shutting up all the avenuesof exit from the Valley, General McClellan would have had it in hispower, it would seem, to crush Jackson; or if that wily commanderescaped, Longstreet in Culpepper was exposed to attack. GeneralMcClellan did not embrace this opportunity of a decisive blow, and Leeseems to have calculated upon the caution of his adversary. Jackson'spresence in the Valley only embarrassed McClellan, as Lee no doubtintended it should. No attempt was made to strike at him. On thecontrary, the Federal army continued steadily to concentrate uponWarrenton, where, on the 7th of November, General McClellan wasabruptly relieved of the command. 

He was in his tent, at Rectortown, at the moment when the dispatch washanded to him--brought by an officer from Washington through a heavysnow-storm then falling. General Ambrose E. Burnside was in the tent. McClellan read the dispatch calmly, and, handing it indifferently tohis visitor, said, "Well, Burnside, you are to command the army. "

Such was the abrupt termination of the military career of a commanderwho fills a large space in the history of the war in Virginia. Thedesign of this volume is not such as to justify an extended notice ofhim, or a detailed examination of his abilities as a soldier. That hepossessed military endowments of a very high order is conceded by mostpersons, but his critics add that he was dangerously prone to cautionand inactivity. Such was the criticism of his enemies at Washingtonand throughout the North, and his pronounced political opinions hadgained him a large number. It may, however, be permitted one who canhave no reason to unduly commend him, to say that the retreat toJames River, and the arrest of Lee in his march of invasion towardPennsylvania, seem to indicate the possession of something more than"inactivity, " and of that species of "caution" which achieves success. It will probably, however, be claimed by few, even among thepersonal friends of this general, that he was a soldier of the firstability--one competent to oppose Lee. 

As to the personal qualities of General McClellan, there seems to beno difference of opinion. He was a gentleman of high breeding, anddetested all oppression of the weak and non-combatants. Somewhat proneto _hauteur_, in presence of the importunities of the Executive andother civilians unskilled in military affairs, he was patient, mild, and cordial with his men. These qualities, with others which hepossessed, seem to have rendered him peculiarly acceptable to theprivate soldier, and it is certain that he was, beyond comparison, themost popular of all the generals who, one after another, commanded the"Army of the Potomac. "

IX. 

LEE CONCENTRATES AT FREDERICKSBURG. 

In returning from the Valley, General Lee had exhibited thatcombination of boldness and caution which indicates in a commander thepossession of excellent generalship. 

One of two courses was necessary: either to make a rapid march withhis entire army, in order to interpose himself between GeneralMcClellan and what seemed to be his objective point, Gordonsville; or, to so manoeuvre his forces as to retard and embarrass his adversary. Of these, Lee chose the latter course, exposing himself to what seemedvery great danger. Jackson was left in the Valley, and Longstreet sentto Culpepper; under these circumstances, General McClellan might havecut off one of the two detached bodies; but Lee seems to have readthe character of his adversary accurately, and to have felt that amovement of such boldness would not probably be undertaken by him. Provision had nevertheless been made for this possible contingency. Jackson was directed by Lee, in case of an attack by GeneralMcClellan, to retire, by way of Strasburg, up the Valley, and sorejoin the main body. That this movement would become necessary, however, was not, as we have said, contemplated. It was not supposedby Lee that his adversary would adopt the bold plan of crossing theBlue Ridge to assail Jackson; thus, to leave that commander inthe Valley, instead of being a military blunder, was a stroke ofgeneralship, a source of embarrassment to General McClellan, and astanding threat against the Federal communications, calculated to clogthe movements of their army. That Lee aimed at this is obvious fromhis order to Jackson to cross a division to the eastern side of theBlue Ridge, in General McClellan's rear. When this was done, theFederal commander abandoned, if he had ever resolved upon, the designof striking in between the Confederate detachments, as is claimedby his admirers to have been his determination; gave up all idea of"moving into the Valley and endeavoring to gain their rear;" and fromthat moment directed his whole attention to the concentration of hisarmy near Warrenton, with the obvious view of establishing a newbase, and operating southward on the line of the Orange and AlexandriaRailroad. 

Lee's object in these manoeuvres, besides the general one ofembarrassing his adversary, seems to have been to gain time, and thusto render impossible, from the lateness of the season, a Federaladvance upon Richmond. Had General McClellan remained in command, itis probable that this object would have been attained, and the battleof Fredericksburg would not have taken place. The two armies wouldhave lain opposite each other in Culpepper and Fauquier respectively, with the Upper Rappahannock between them throughout the winter; andthe Confederate forces, weary and worn by the long marches and hardcombats of 1862, would have had the opportunity to rest and recovertheir energies for the coming spring. 

The change of commanders defeated these views, if they wereentertained by General Lee. On assuming command, General Burnsideconceived the project, in spite of the near approach of winter, ofcrossing the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg, and marching on Richmond. This he now proceeded to attempt, by steadily moving from Warrentontoward the Lower Rappahannock, and the result, as will be seen, was aFederal disaster to wind up this "year of battles. "

We have spoken with some particularity of the character and militaryabilities of General McClellan, the first able commander of theFederal forces in Virginia. Of General Burnside, who appears butonce, and for a brief space only, on that great theatre, it will benecessary to say only a few words. A modest and honorable soldier, cherishing for General McClellan a cordial friendship, he wasunwilling to supersede that commander, both from personal regard anddistrust of his own abilities. He had not sought the position, whichhad rather been thrust upon him. He was "surprised" and "shocked, " hesaid, at his assignment to the command; he "did not want it, it hadbeen offered to him twice before, and he did not feel that he couldtake it; he had told them that he was not competent to command suchan army as this; he had said the same over and over again to thePresident and the Secretary of War. " He was, however, directed toassume command, accepted the responsibility, and proceeded tocarry out the unexpected plan of advancing upon Richmond by way ofFredericksburg. 

To cover this movement, General Burnside made a heavy feint as thoughdesigning to cross into Culpepper. This does not seem to have deceivedLee, who, on the 17th of November, knew that his adversary was moving. No sooner had the fact been discovered that General Burnside wasmaking for Fredericksburg, than the Confederate commander, by acorresponding movement, passed the Rapidan and hastened in the samedirection. As early as the 17th, two divisions of infantry, withcavalry and artillery, were in motion. On the morning of the 19th, Longstreet's corps was sent in the same direction; and when, onNovember 20th, General Burnside arrived with his army, the Federalforces drawn up on the hills north of Fredericksburg saw, on thehighlands south of the city, the red flags and gray lines of their oldadversaries. 

As General Jackson had been promptly directed to join the main body, and was already moving to do so, Lee would soon be able to opposeGeneral Burnside with his whole force. 

Such were the movements of the opposing armies which brought them faceto face at Fredericksburg. Lee had acted promptly, and, it would seem, with good judgment; but the question has been asked, why he did notrepeat against General Burnside the strategic movement whichhad embarrassed General McClellan, and arrest the march uponFredericksburg by threatening, with the detachment under Jackson, the Federal rear. The reasons for not adopting this course will beperceived by a glance at the map. General Burnside was taking up anew base--Aquia Creek on the Potomac--and, from the character of thecountry, it was wholly impossible for Lee to prevent him from doingso. He had only to fall back before Jackson, or any force movingagainst his flank or rear; the Potomac was at hand, and it was notin the power of Lee to further annoy him. The latter accordinglyabandoned all thought of repeating his old manoeuvre, moved Longstreetand the other troops in Culpepper toward Fredericksburg, and, directing Jackson to join him there, thus concentrated his forcesdirectly in the Federal front with the view of fighting a pitchedbattle, army against army. 

This detailed account of Lee's movements may appear tedious to somereaders, but it was rather in grand tactics than in fighting battlesthat he displayed his highest abilities as a soldier. He uniformlyadopted the broadest and most judicious plan to bring on battle, andpersonally directed, as far as was possible, every detail of hismovements. When the hour came, it may be said of him that he felt hehad done his best--the actual fighting was left largely in the handsof his corps commanders. 

The feints and slight encounters preceding the battle ofFredericksburg are not of much interest or importance. GeneralBurnside sent a force to Port Royal, about twenty-five miles below thecity, but Lee promptly detached a portion of his army to meet it, ifit attempted to cross, and that project was abandoned. No attempt wasmade by General Burnside to cross above, and it became obvious that hemust pass the river in face of Lee or not at all. 

Such was the condition of affairs at Fredericksburg in the first daysof December. 

X. 

THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 

To a correct understanding of the interesting battle ofFredericksburg, a brief description of the ground is essential. 

The city lies on the south bank of the Rappahannock, which here makesa considerable bend nearly southward; and along the northern bank, opposite, extends a range of hills which command the city and thelevel ground around it. South of the river the land is low, but fromthe depth of the channel forms a line of bluffs, affording goodshelter to troops after crossing to assail a force beyond. The onlygood position for such a force, standing on the defensive, is a rangeof hills hemming in the level ground. This range begins near thewestern suburbs of the city, where it is called "Marye's Hill, " andsweeps round to the southward, gradually receding from the stream, until, at Hamilton's Crossing, on the Richmond and Potomac Railroad, amile or more from the river, it suddenly subsides into the plain. Thisplain extends to the right, and is bounded by the deep and difficultchannel of Massaponnax Creek. As Marye's Hill is the natural positionfor the left of an army posted to defend Fredericksburg, the crestabove Hamilton's Crossing is the natural position for the rightof such a line, care being taken to cover the extreme right withartillery, to obstruct the passage of the ground between the crest andthe Massaponnax. 

[Illustration: Map--Battle of Fredericksburg. ]

Behind the hills on the north side General Burnside's army was posted, having the railroad to Aquia Creek for the transportation of theirsupplies. On the range of hills which we have described south of thecity, General Lee was stationed, the same railroad connecting him withRichmond. Longstreet's corps composed his left wing, and extendedfrom Marye's Hill to about the middle of the range of hills. ThereJackson's line began, forming the right wing, and extending to thetermination of the range at Hamilton's Crossing. On Jackson's right, to guard the plain reaching to the Massaponnax, Stuart was posted withcavalry and artillery. 

The numbers of the adversaries at Fredericksburg can be stated withaccuracy upon one side, but not upon the other. General Lee's forcemay be said to have been, in round numbers, about fifty thousand ofall arms. It could scarcely have exceeded that, unless he receivedheavy reënforcements after Sharpsburg; and the present writerhas never heard or read that he received reënforcements of anydescription. The number, fifty thousand, thus seems to have been thefull amount of the army. That of General Burnside's forces seems tohave been considerably larger. The Federal army consisted of theFirst, Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Corps; thelatter a corps of reserve and large. If these had been recruited tothe full number reported by General McClellan at Sharpsburg, and theadditional troops (Fifth and Eleventh Corps) be estimated, the Federalarmy must have exceeded one hundred thousand men. This estimate isborne out by Federal authorities. "General Franklin, " says a Northernwriter, "had now with him about one-half the whole army;" and GeneralMeade says that Franklin's force "amounted to from fifty-five thousandto sixty thousand men, " which would seem to indicate that the wholearmy numbered from one hundred and ten thousand to one hundred andtwenty thousand men. 

A strong position was obviously essential to render it possible forthe Southern army, of about fifty thousand men, to successfully opposethe advance of this force of above one hundred thousand. Lee had foundthis position, and constructed earthworks for artillery, with the viewof receiving the attack of the enemy after their crossing. He wasunable to obstruct this crossing in any material degree; and he statesclearly the grounds of this inability. "The plain of Fredericksburg, "he says, "is so completely commanded by the Stafford heights, that noeffectual opposition could be made to the construction of bridges, or the passage of the river, without exposing our troops to thedestructive fire of the numerous batteries of the enemy.... Ourposition was, therefore, selected with a view to resist the enemy'sadvance after crossing, and the river was guarded only by aforce sufficient to impede his movements until the army could beconcentrated. "

The brief description we have presented of the character of the groundaround Fredericksburg, and the position of the adversaries, willsufficiently indicate the conditions under which the battle wasfought. Both armies seem to have been in excellent spirits. That ofGeneral Burnside had made a successful march, during which they hadscarcely seen an enemy, and now looked forward, probably, to certainif not easy victory. General Lee's army, in like manner, had undergonerecently no peculiar hardships in marching or fighting; and, towhatever cause the fact may be attributed, was in a condition of thehighest efficiency. The men seemed to be confident of the result ofthe coming conflict, and, in their bivouacs on the line of battle, inthe woods fringing the ridge which they occupied, laughed, jested, cheered, on the slightest provocation, and, instead of shrinking from, looked forward with eagerness to, the moment when General Burnsidewould advance to attack them. This buoyant and elastic spirit in theSouthern troops was observable on the eve of nearly every battle ofthe war. Whether it was due to the peculiar characteristics of therace, or to other causes, we shall not pause here to inquire; but thefact was plain to the most casual observation, and was never morestriking than just before Fredericksburg, unless just preceding thebattle of Gettysburg. 

Nothing of any importance occurred, from the 20th of November, whenGeneral Burnside's army was concentrated on the heights north ofFredericksburg, until the 11th of December, when the Federal armybegan crossing the Rappahannock to deliver battle. Lee's reasons fornot attempting to resist the passage of the river have been givenabove. The plain on which it would have been necessary to draw uphis army, in order to do so, was too much exposed to the numerousartillery of the enemy on the northern bank. Lee resolved, therefore, not to oppose the crossing of the Federal troops, but to await theirassault on the commanding ground west and south of the city. 

On the morning of December 11th, before dawn, the dull boom of Lee'ssignal-guns indicated that the enemy were moving, and the Southerntroops formed line of battle to meet the coming attack. GeneralBurnside had made arrangements to cross the river on pontoon bridges, one opposite the city, and another a mile or two lower down thestream. General Franklin, commanding the two corps of the left GrandDivision, succeeded, without trouble, in laying the lower bridge, asthe ground did not permit Lee to offer material obstruction; and thislarge portion of the army was now ready to cross. The passage of thestream at Fredericksburg was more difficult. Although determined notto make a serious effort to prevent the enemy from crossing, GeneralLee had placed two regiments of Barksdale's Mississippians along thebank of the river, in the city, to act as sharp-shooters, and impedethe construction of the pontoon bridges, with the view, doubtless, ofthus giving time to marshal his troops. The success of this devicewas considerable. The workmen, busily engaged in laying the Federalpontoons, were so much interrupted by the fire of the Confederatemarksmen--who directed their aim through the heavy fog by the noisemade in putting together the boats--that, after losing a number ofmen, the Federal commander discontinued his attempt. It was renewedagain and again, without success, as before, when, provoked apparentlyby the presence of this hornet's nest, which reversed all his plans, General Burnside, about ten o'clock, opened a furious fire ofartillery upon the city. The extent of this bombardment will beunderstood from the statement that one hundred and forty-seven piecesof artillery were employed, which fired seven thousand three hundredand fifty rounds of ammunition, in one instance piercing a singlesmall house with fifty round-shot. An eye-witness of this scene says:"The enemy had planted more than a hundred pieces of artillery on thehills to the northern and eastern sides of the town, and, from anearly hour in the forenoon, swept the streets with round-shot, shell, and case-shot, firing frequently a hundred guns a minute. The quickpuffs of smoke, touched in the centre with tongues of flame, ranincessantly along the lines of their batteries on the slopes, and, as the smoke slowly drifted away, the bellowing roar came up in onecontinuous roll. The town was soon fired, and a dense cloud of smokeenveloped its roofs and steeples. The white church-spires still roseserenely aloft, defying shot or shell, though a portion of one of themwas torn off. The smoke was succeeded by lurid flame, and the crimsonmass brought to mind the pictures of Moscow burning. " The same writersays: "Men, women, and children, were driven from the town, andhundreds of ladies and children were seen wandering, homeless, andwithout shelter, over the frozen highway, in thin clothing, knowingnot where to find a place of refuge. "

[Illustration: FREDERICKSBURG]

General Lee watched this painful spectacle from a redoubt to the rightof the telegraph road, not far from his centre, where a shoulderjutting out from the ridge, and now called "Lee's Hill, " affordedhim a clear view of the city. The destruction of the place, and thesuffering of the inhabitants, aroused in him a deep melancholy, mingled with exasperation, and his comment on the scene was probablyas bitter as any speech which he uttered during the whole war. Standing, wrapped in his cape, with only a few officers near, helooked fixedly at the flames rising from the city, and, afterremaining for a long time silent, said, in his grave, deep voice:"These people delight to destroy the weak, and those who can make nodefence; it just suits them. "

General Burnside continued the bombardment for some hours, theMississippians still holding the river-bank and preventing the layingof the pontoons, which was again begun and again discontinued. Atabout four in the afternoon, however, a force was sent across inbarges, and by nightfall the city was evacuated by Lee, and GeneralBurnside proceeded rapidly to lay his pontoon bridge, upon which hisarmy then began to pass over. The crossing continued throughout thenext day, not materially obstructed by the fire of Lee's artillery, as a dense fog rendered the aim of the cannoneers unreliable. Bynightfall (of the 12th) the Federal army was over, with the exceptionof General Hooker's Centre Grand Division, which was held in reserveon the north bank. General Burnside then proceeded to form his line ofbattle. It stretched from the western suburbs of Fredericksburg downthe river, along what is called the River road, for a distance ofabout four miles, and consisted of the Right Grand Division, underGeneral Sumner, at the city, and the Left Grand Division, underGeneral Franklin, lower down, and opposite Lee's right. GeneralFranklin's Grand Division numbered, according to General Meade, fromfifty-five to sixty thousand men; the numbers of Generals Sumner andHooker are not known to the present writer, but are said by Federalauthorities, as we have stated, to have amounted together to about thesame. 

At daybreak, on the morning of December 13th, a muffled sound, issuingfrom the dense fog covering the low ground, indicated that the Federallines were preparing to advance. 

To enable the reader to understand General Burnside's plan of attack, it is necessary that brief extracts should be presented from hisorders on the occasion, and from his subsequent testimony before thecommittee on the conduct of the war. Despite the length of time sincehis arrival at Fredericksburg--a period of more than three weeks--theFederal commander had, it appears, been unable to obtain full andaccurate information of the character of the ground occupied by Lee, and thus moved very much in the dark. He seems to have formed his planof attack in consequence of information from "a colored man. " Hiswords are: "The enemy had cut a road along in the rear of the line ofheights where we made our attack.... I obtained, from a colored manat the other side of the town, information in regard to this new roadwhich proved to be correct. I wanted to obtain possession of thatnew road, and that was my reason for making an attack on the extremeleft. " It is difficult for those familiar with the ground referred to, to understand how this "new road, " a mere country bridle-path, as itwere, extending along in the rear of Lee's right wing, could have beenregarded as a topographical feature of any importance. The road, which remains unchanged, and may be seen by any one to-day, wasinsignificant in a military point of view, and, in attaching suchimportance to seizing it, the Federal commander committed a graveerror. 

What seems to have been really judicious in his plan, was the turningmovement determined on against Lee's right, along the old Richmondroad, running from the direction of the river past the end of theridge occupied by the Confederates, and so southward. To break throughat this point was the only hope of success, and General Burnside hadaccordingly resolved, he declared, upon "a rapid movement down the oldRichmond road" with Franklin's large command. Unfortunately, however, this wise design was complicated with another, most unwise, to sendforward _a division_, first, to seize the crest of the ridge near thepoint where it sinks into the plain. On this crest were posted theveterans of Jackson, commanded in person by that skilful soldier. Three lines of infantry, supported by artillery, were ready to receivethe Federal attack, and, to force back this stubborn obstacle, GeneralBurnside sent a division. The proof is found in his order to GeneralFranklin at about six o'clock on the morning of the battle: "Sendout a division at least ... To seize, if possible, the heights nearCaptain Hamilton's, " which was the ground whereon Jackson's rightrested. 

An attack on the formidable position known as Marye's Hill, on Lee'sleft, west of Fredericksburg, was also directed to be made by the samesmall force. The order to General Sumner was to "form a column of_a division_, for the purpose of pushing in the direction of theTelegraph and Plank roads, for the purpose of seizing the heights inthe rear of the town;" or, according to another version, "up the Plankroad to its intersection with the Telegraph road, where they willdivide, with the object of seizing the heights on both sides of thoseroads. "

The point of "intersection" here referred to was the locality of whathas been called "that sombre, fatal, terrible stone wall, " just underMarye's Hill, where the most fearful slaughter of the Federal forcestook place. Marye's Hill is a strong position, and its importance waswell understood by Lee. Longstreet's infantry was in heavy line ofbattle behind it, and the crest bristled with artillery. There wasstill less hope here of effecting any thing with "a division" than onthe Confederate right held by Jackson. 

General Burnside seems, however, to have regarded success as probable. He added in his order: "Holding these heights, with the heights nearCaptain Hamilton's, will, I hope, compel the enemy to evacuate thewhole ridge between these points. " In his testimony afterward, he saidthat, in the event of failure in these assaults on Lee's flanks, he"proposed to make a direct attack on their front, and drive them outof their works. "

These extracts from General Burnside's orders and testimony clearlyindicate his plan, which was to assail both Lee's right and left, and, in the event of failure, direct a heavy blow at his centre. That thewhole plan completely failed was mainly due, it would seem, to theinconsiderable numbers of the assaulting columns. 

We return now to the narrative of the battle which these comments haveinterrupted. 

General Lee was ready to receive the Federal attack, and, at an earlyhour of the morning, rode from his headquarters, in rear of hiscentre, along his line of battle toward the right, where he probablyexpected the main assault of the enemy to take place. He was clad inhis plain, well-worn gray uniform, with felt hat, cavalry-boots, andshort cape, without sword, and almost without any indications of hisrank. In these outward details, he differed much from Generals Jacksonand Stuart, who rode with him. The latter, as was usual with him, worea fully-decorated uniform, sash, black plume, sabre, and handsomegauntlets. General Jackson, also, on this day, chanced to haveexchanged his dingy old coat and sun-scorched cadet-cap for a newcoat[1] covered with dazzling buttons, and a cap brilliant with abroad band of gold lace, in which (for him) extraordinary disguise hismen scarcely knew him. 

[Footnote 1: This coat was a present from Stuart. ]

As Lee and his companions passed along in front of the line of battle, the troops cheered them. It was evident that the army was in excellentspirits, and ready for the hard work which the day would bring. Leeproceeded down the old Richmond, or stage road--that mentioned inGeneral Burnside's order as the one over which his large flankingcolumn was to move--and rode on with Stuart until he was near theRiver road, running toward Fredericksburg, parallel to the Federalline of battle. Here he stopped, and endeavored to make out, throughthe dense fog covering the plain, whether the Federal forces weremoving. A stifled hum issued from the mist, but nothing could be seen. It seemed, however, that the enemy's skirmishers--probably concealedin the ditches along the River road--had sharper eyes, as bulletsbegan to whistle around the two generals, and soon a number of blackspecks were seen moving forward. General Lee remained for some timelonger, in spite of the exposure, conversing with great calmness andgravity with Stuart, who was all ardor. He then rode back slowly, passed along his line of battle, greeted wherever he was seen withcheers, and took his position on the eminence in his centre, near theTelegraph road, the same commanding point from which he had witnessedthe bombardment of Fredericksburg. 

The battle did not commence until ten o'clock, owing to the dense fog, through which the light of the sun could scarcely pierce. At that hourthe mist lifted and rolled away, and the Confederates posted on theridge saw a heavy column of infantry advancing to attack their right, near the Hamilton House. This force was Meade's division, supportedby Gibbon's, with a third in reserve, General Franklin having put inaction as many troops as his orders ("a division at least") permitted. General Meade was arrested for some time by a minute but most annoyingobstacle. Stuart had placed a single piece of artillery, under MajorJohn Pelham, near the point where the old Richmond and River roadsmeet--that is, directly on the flank of the advancing column--and thisgun now opened a rapid and determined fire upon General Meade. MajorPelham--almost a boy in years--continued to hold his exposed positionwith great gallantry, although the enemy opened fire upon him withseveral batteries, killing a number of his gunners. General Leewitnessed this duel from the hill on which he had taken his stand, andis said to have exclaimed, "It is glorious to see such courage in oneso young!" [Footnote: General Lee's opinion of Major Pelham appearsfrom his report, in which he styles the young officer "the gallantPelham, " and says: "Four batteries immediately turned upon him, buthe sustained their heavy fire with the unflinching courage that everdistinguished him. " Pelham fell at Kelly's Ford in March, 1863. ]

Pelham continued the cannonade for about two hours, only retiring whenhe received a peremptory order from Jackson to do so; and it wouldseem that this one gun caused a considerable delay in the attack. "Meade advanced across the plain, but had not proceeded far, " says Mr. Swinton, "before he was compelled to stop and silence a battery thatStuart had posted on the Port Royal road. " Having brushed away thisannoying obstacle, General Meade, with a force which he states to haveamounted to ten thousand men, advanced rapidly to attack the hill uponwhich the Confederates awaited him. He was suffered to approach withina few hundred yards, when Jackson's artillery, under Colonel Walker, posted near the end of the ridge, opened a sudden and furious fire, which threw the Federal line into temporary confusion. The troops soonrallied, however, and advanced again to the attack, which fell onJackson's front line under A. P. Hill. The struggle which now ensuedwas fierce and bloody, but, a gap having been left between thebrigades of Archer and Lane, the enemy pierced the opening, turningthe left of one brigade and the right of the other, pressed on, attacked Gregg's brigade of Hill's reserve, threw it into confusion, and seemed about to carry the crest. Gregg's brigade was quicklyrallied, however, by its brave commander, who soon afterward fell, mortally wounded; the further progress of the enemy was checked, and, Jackson's second line rapidly advancing, the enemy were met and forcedback, step by step, until they were driven down the slope again. Herethey were attacked by the brigades of Hoke and Atkinson, and drivenbeyond the railroad, the Confederates cheering and following them intothe plain. The repulse had been complete, and the slope and groundin front of it were strewed with Federal dead. They had returned asrapidly as they had charged, pursued by shot and shell, and GeneralLee, witnessing the spectacle from his hill, murmured, in his graveand measured voice: "It is well this is so terrible! we should growtoo fond of it!"

The assault on the Confederate right had thus ended in disaster, butalmost immediately another attack took place, whose results were morebloody and terrible still. As General Meade fell back, pursued by themen of Jackson, the sudden roar of artillery from the Confederate leftindicated that a heavy conflict had begun in that quarter. The Federaltroops were charging Marye's Hill, which was to prove the CemeteryHill of Fredericksburg. This frightful charge--for no other adjectivecan describe it--was made by General French's division, supported byGeneral Hancock. The Federal troops rushed forward over the brokenground in the suburbs of the city, and, "as soon as the masses becamedense enough, "[1] were received with a concentrated artillery firefrom the hill in front of them. This fire was so destructive that it"made gaps that could be seen at the distance of a mile. " The chargingdivision had advanced in column of brigades, and the front was nearlydestroyed. The troops continued to move forward, however, and hadnearly reached the base of the hill, when the brigades of Cobb andCooke, posted behind a stone wall running parallel with the Telegraphroad, met them with a sudden fire of musketry, which drove them backin terrible disorder. Nearly half the force was killed or lay disabledon the field, and upon the survivors, now in full retreat, wasdirected a concentrated artillery-fire from, the hill. 

[Footnote 1: Longstreet. ]

In face of this discharge of cannon, General Hancock's force, supporting French, now gallantly advanced in its turn. The chargelasted about fifteen minutes, and in that time General Hancock lostmore than two thousand of the five thousand men of his command. Therepulse was still more bloody and decisive than the first. The secondcolumn fell back in disorder, leaving the ground covered with theirdead. 

General Burnside had hitherto remained at the "Phillips House, " a mileor more from the Rappahannock. He now mounted his horse, and, ridingdown to the river, dismounted, walked up and down in great agitation, and exclaimed, looking at Marye's Hill: "That crest must be carriedto-night. "[1]

[Footnote 1: The authority for this incident is Mr. William Swinton, who was present. ]

In spite of the murderous results of the first charges, the Federalcommander determined on a third. General Hooker's reserve was orderedto make it, and, although that officer protested against it, GeneralBurnside was immovable, and repeated his order. General Hookersullenly obeyed, and opened with artillery upon the stone wall at thefoot of the hill, in order to make a breach in it. This fire continueduntil nearly sunset, when Humphrey's division was formed for thecharge. The men were ordered to throw aside their knapsacks, and notto load their guns, "for there was no time there to load and fire, "says General Hooker. The word was given about sunset, and the divisioncharged headlong over the ground already covered with dead. A fewwords will convey the result. Of four thousand men who charged, seventeen hundred and sixty were left dead or wounded on the field. The rest retreated, pursued by the fire of the batteries and infantry;and night fell on the battle-field. 

This charge was the real termination of the bloody battle ofFredericksburg, but, on the Confederate right, Jackson had planned andbegun to execute a decisive advance on the force in his front. This hedesigned to undertake "precisely at sunset, " and his intention wasto depend on the bayonet, his military judgment or instinct havingsatisfied him that the _morale_ of the Federal army was destroyed. Theadvance was discontinued, however, in consequence of the lateness ofthe hour and the sudden artillery-fire which saluted him as he beganto move. A striking feature of this intended advance is the fact thatJackson had placed his artillery _in front_ of his line of battle, intending to attack in that manner. 

As darkness settled down, the last guns of Stuart, who had defendedthe Confederate right flank with about thirty pieces of artillery, were heard far in advance, and apparently advancing still. The Federallines had fallen back, wellnigh to the banks of the river, and thereseems little room to doubt that the _morale_ of the men was seriouslyimpaired. "From what I knew of our want of success upon the right, "says General Franklin, when interrogated on this point, "and thedemoralized condition of the troops upon the right and centre, asrepresented to me by their commanders, I confess I believe the orderto recross was a very proper one. "

General Burnside refused to give the order; and, nearly overwhelmed, apparently, by the fatal result of the attack, determined to form theninth corps in column of regiments, and lead it in person againstMarye's Hill, on the next morning. Such a design, in a soldier ofability, indicates desperation. To charge Marye's Hill with a corps incolumn of regiments, was to devote the force to destruction. It wasnearly certain that the whole command would be torn to pieces by theSouthern artillery, but General Burnside seems to have regarded thepossession of the hill as worth any amount of blood; and, in face ofthe urgent appeals of his officers, gave orders for the movement. Atthe last moment, however, he yielded to the entreaties of GeneralSumner, and abandoned his bloody design. 

Still it seemed that the Federal commander was unable to come to themortifying resolution of recrossing the Rappahannock. The battlewas fought on the 13th of December, and until the night of the 15thGeneral Burnside continued to face Lee on the south bank of theriver--his bands playing, his flags flying, and nothing indicating anintention of retiring. To that resolve he had however come, and on thenight of the 15th, in the midst of storm and darkness, the Federalarmy recrossed to the north bank of the Rappahannock. 

XI FINAL MOVEMENTS OF 1862

The battle of Fredericksburg was another defeat of the Federalprogramme of invasion, as decisive, and in one sense as disastrous, asthe second battle of Manassas. General Burnside had not lost as manymen as General Pope, and had not retreated in confusion, pursued by avictorious enemy; but, brief as the conflict had been--two or threehours summing up all the real fighting--its desperate character, andthe evident hopelessness of any attempt to storm Lee's position, profoundly discouraged and demoralized the Northern troops. We havequoted the statement of General Franklin, commanding the whole leftwing, that from "the demoralized condition of the troops upon theright and centre, as represented to him by their commanders, hebelieved the order to recross was a very proper one. " Nor is thereany ground to suppose that the feeling of the left wing was greatlybetter. That wing of the army had not suffered as heavily as theright, which had recoiled with such frightful slaughter from Marye'sHill; but the repulse of General Meade in their own front had beenequally decisive, and the non-success of the right must have reactedon the left, discouraging that also. Northern writers, in a positionto ascertain the condition of the troops, fully bear out this view:"That the _morale_ of the Army of the Potomac became seriouslyimpaired after the disaster at Fredericksburg, " says Mr. Swinton, theable and candid historian of the campaign, "was only too manifest. Indeed, it would be impossible to imagine a graver or gloomier, a moresombre or unmusical body of men than the Army of the Potomac a monthafter the battle. And, as the days went by, despondency, discontent, and all evil inspirations, with their natural consequent, desertion, seemed to increase rather than to diminish, until, for the first time, the Army of the Potomac could be said to be really demoralized. "General Sumner noticed that a spirit of "croaking" had become diffusedthroughout the forces. For an army to display that tendency clearlyindicates that the troops have lost the most important element ofvictory--confidence in themselves and their leader. And for thissentiment there was valid reason. Columns wholly inadequate in numbershad been advanced against the formidable Confederate positions, positions so strong and well defended that it is doubtful if thricethe force could have made any impression upon them, and the resultwas such as might have been expected. The men lost confidence in themilitary capacity of their commander, and in their own powers. Afterthe double repulse at Marye's Hill and in front of Jackson, thetroops, looking at the ground strewed with dead and wounded, werein no condition to go forward hopefully to another struggle whichpromised to be equally bloody. 

The Southern army was naturally in a condition strongly in contrastwith that of their adversary. They had repulsed the determined assaultof the Federal columns with comparative ease on both flanks. Jackson'sfirst line, although pierced and driven back, soon rallied, andchecked the enemy until the second line came up, when General Meadewas driven back, the third line not having moved from its positionalong the road near the Hamilton House. On the left, Longstreet hadrepulsed the Federal charge with his artillery and two small brigades. The loss of the Confederates in both these encounters was muchless than that of their adversaries[1], a natural result of thecircumstances; and thus, instead of sharing the depression of theiropponents, the Southern troops were elated, and looked forward toa renewal of the battle with confidence in themselves and in theirleader. 

[Footnote 1: "Our loss during the operation, since the movementsof the enemy began, amounts to about eighteen hundred killed andwounded. "--_Lee's Report_. Federal authorities state the Northern lossat a little over twelve thousand; the larger part, no doubt, in theattack on Marye's Hill. ]

It is not necessary to offer much comment upon the manner in whichGeneral Burnside had attacked. He is said, by his critics, not tohave, at the time, designed the turning movement against General Lee'sright, upon which point the present writer is unable to decide. Thatmovement would seem to have presented the sole and only chance ofsuccess for the Federal arms, as the successful advance of GeneralFranklin's fifty-five or sixty thousand men up the old Richmond roadwould have compelled Lee to retire his whole right wing, to protect itfrom an assault in flank and reverse. What dispositions he would havemade under these circumstances must be left to conjecture; but, it iscertain that the blow would have proved a serious one, calling for thedisplay of all his military ability. In the event, however, that thiswas the main great aim of General Burnside, his method of carrying outhis design insured, it would seem, its failure. Ten thousand men onlywere to clear the way for the flanking movement, in order to effectwhich object it was necessary to crush Jackson. So that it may be saidthat the success of the plan involved the repulse of one-half Lee'sarmy with ten thousand men. 

The assault on Marye's Hill was an equally fatal military mistake. That the position could not be stormed, is proved by the result of theactual attempt. It is doubtful if, in any battle ever fought by anytroops, men displayed greater gallantry. They rushed headlong, notonly once, but thrice, into the focus of a frightful front and crossfire of artillery and small-arms, losing nearly half their numbers ina few minutes; the ground was littered with their dead, and yet theforemost had only been able to approach within sixty yards of theterrible stone wall in advance of the hill. There they fell, throwingup their hands to indicate that they saw at last that the attempt tocarry the hill was hopeless. 

These comments seem justified by the circumstances, and are made withno intention of casting obloquy upon the commander who, displayinglittle ability, gave evidences of unfaltering courage. He had urgedhis inability to handle so large an army, but the authorities hadforced the command upon him; he had accepted it and done his best, and, like a brave soldier, determined to lead the final charge inperson, dying, if necessary, at the head of his men. 

General Lee has not escaped criticism any more than General Burnside. The Southern people were naturally dissatisfied with the result--thesafe retreat of the Federal army--and asked why they had not beenattacked and captured or destroyed. The London _Times_, at thatperiod, and a military critic recently, in the same journal, declaredthat Lee had it in his power to crush General Burnside, "horse, foot, and dragoons, " and, from his failure to do so, argued his want ofgreat generalship. A full discussion of the question is left by thepresent writer to those better skilled than himself in militaryscience. It is proper, however, to insert here General Lee's ownexplanation of his action:

"The attack on the 13th, " he says, "had been so easily repulsed, andby so small a part of our army, that it was not supposed the enemywould limit his efforts to one attempt, which, in view of themagnitude of his preparations, and the extent of his force, seemed tobe comparatively insignificant. Believing, therefore, that he wouldattack us, it was not deemed expedient to lose the advantages ofour position and expose the troops to the fire of his inaccessiblebatteries beyond the river, by advancing against him. But we werenecessarily ignorant of the extent to which he had suffered, and onlybecame aware of it when, on the morning of the 16th, it was discoveredthat he had availed himself of the darkness of night, and theprevalence of a violent storm of wind and rain, to recross the river. "

This statement was no doubt framed by General Lee to meet thecriticisms which the result of the battle occasioned. In conversingwith General Stuart on the subject, he added that he felt too greatresponsibility for the preservation of his troops to unnecessarilyhazard them. "No one knows, " he said, "how _brittle_ an army is. "

The word may appear strange, applied to the Army of Northern Virginia, which had certainly vindicated its claim, under many arduous trials, to the virtues of toughness and endurance. But Lee's meaning wasplain, and his view seems to have been founded on good sense. Theenemy had in all, probably, two hundred pieces of artillery, a largeportion of which were posted on the high ground north of the river. Had Lee descended from his ridge and advanced into the plain toattack, this large number of guns would have greeted him with a rapidand destructive fire, which must have inflicted upon him a loss asnearly heavy as he had inflicted upon General Burnside at Marye'sHill. From such a result he naturally shrunk. It has been seen thatthe Federal troops, brave as they were, had been demoralized by sucha fire; and Lee was unwilling to expose his own troops to similarslaughter. 

There is little question, it seems, that an advance of the descriptionmentioned would have resulted in a conclusive victory, and theprobable surrender of the whole or a large portion of the Federalarmy. Whether the probability of such a result was sufficient tocompensate for the certain slaughter, the reader will decide forhimself. General Lee did not think so, and did not order the advance. He preferred awaiting, in his strong position, the second assaultwhich General Burnside would probably make; and, while he thus waited, the enemy secretly recrossed the river, rendering an attack upon themby Lee impossible. 

General Burnside made a second movement to cross theRappahannock--this time at Banks's Ford, above Fredericksburg--in theinclement month of January; but, as he might have anticipated, thecondition of the roads was such that it was impossible to advance. Hisartillery, with the horses dragging the pieces, sank into the almostbottomless mud, where they stuck fast--even the foot-soldiers found itdifficult to march through the quagmire--and the whole movement wasspeedily abandoned. 

When General Burnside issued the order for this injudicious advance, two of his general officers met, and one asked:

"What do you think of it?"

"It don't seem to have the _ring_" was the reply. 

"No--the bell is broken, " the other added. 

This incident, which is given on the authority of a Northern writer, probably conveys a correct idea of the feeling of both theofficers and men of General Burnside's army. The disastrous day ofFredericksburg had seriously injured the troops. 

"The Army of the Potomac, " the writer adds, "was sadly fractured, andits tones had no longer the clear, inspiring ring of victory. "

XII. 

THE YEAR OF BATTLES. 

The stormy year 1862 had terminated, thus, in a great Confederatesuccess. In its arduous campaigns, following each other in rapidsuccession, General Lee had directed the movements of the main greatarmy, and the result of the year's fighting was to gain him that highmilitary reputation which his subsequent movements only consolidatedand increased. 

A rapid glance at the events of the year in their general outlineswill indicate the merit due the Southern commander. The Federal planof invasion in the spring had been extremely formidable. Virginia wasto be pierced by no less than four armies--from the northwest, theShenandoah Valley, the Potomac, and the Peninsula--the whole force toconverge upon Richmond, the "heart of the rebellion. " Of these, thearmy of General McClellan was the largest and most threatening. Itadvanced, with little opposition, until it reached the Chickahominy, crossed, and lay in sight of Richmond. The great force of one hundredand fifty thousand men was about to make the decisive assault, whenLee attacked it, and the battle which ensued drove the Federal armyto a point thirty miles from the city, with such loss as to renderhopeless any further attempt to assail the capital. 

Such was the first act of the drama; the rest speedily followed. A newarmy was raised promptly by the Federal authorities, and a formidableadvance was made against Richmond again, this time from the directionof Alexandria. Lee was watching General McClellan when intelligence ofthe new movement reached him. Remaining, with a portion of his troops, near Richmond, he sent Jackson to the Rapidan. The battle of CedarMountain resulted in the repulse of General Pope's vanguard; and, discovering at last that the real danger lay in the direction ofCulpepper, Lee moved thither, drove back General Pope, flanked him, and, in the severe battle of Manassas, routed his army, which wasforced to retire upon Washington. 

Two armies had thus been driven from the soil of Virginia, and theConfederate commander had moved into Maryland, in order to draw theenemy thither, and, if practicable, transfer the war to the heart ofPennsylvania. Unforeseen circumstances had defeated the latter ofthese objects. The concentration on Sharpsburg was rendered necessary;an obstinately-fought battle ensued there; and, not defeated, butforced to abandon further movements toward Pennsylvania, Lee hadretired into Virginia, where he remained facing his adversary. Thiswas the first failure of Lee up to that point in the campaigns of theyear; and an attentive consideration of the circumstances will showthat the result was not fairly attributable to any error which hehad committed. Events beyond his control had shaped his action, anddirected all his movements; and it will remain a question whether theextrication of his small force from its difficult position did notbetter prove Lee's generalship than the victory at Manassas. 

The subsequent operations of the opposing armies indicated clearlythat the Southern forces were still in excellent fighting condition;and the movements of Lee, during the advance of General McClellantoward Warrenton, were highly honorable to his military ability. With a force much smaller than that of his adversary, he greatlyembarrassed and impeded the Federal advance; confronted them on theUpper Rappahannock, completely checking their forward movement in thatdirection; and, when they moved rapidly to Fredericksburg, crossed theRapidan promptly, reappearing in their front on the range of hillsopposite that city. The battle which followed compensated for thefailure of the Maryland campaign and the drawn battle of Sharpsburg. General Burnside had attacked, and sustained decisive defeat. Thestormy year, so filled with great events and arduous encounters, hadthus wound up with a pitched battle, in which the enemy suffered abloody repulse; and the best commentary on the decisive character ofthis last struggle of the year, was the fault found with General Leefor not destroying his adversary. 

In less than six months Lee had thus fought four great pitchedbattles--all victories to his arms, with the exception of Sharpsburg, which was neither a victory nor a defeat. The result was thus highlyencouraging to the South; and, had the Army of Northern Virginia hadits ranks filled up, as the ranks of the Northern armies were, theevents of the year 1862 would have laid the foundation of assuredsuccess. An inquiry into the causes of failure in this particular isnot necessary to the subject of the volume before the reader. It isonly necessary to state the fact that the Army of Northern Virginia, defending what all conceded to be the territory on which the decisivestruggle must take place, was never sufficiently numerous to follow upthe victories achieved by it. At the battles of the Chickahominy thearmy numbered at most about seventy-five thousand; at the secondManassas, about fifty thousand; at Sharpsburg, less than fortythousand; and at Fredericksburg, about fifty thousand. In thefollowing year, it will be seen that these latter numbers were atfirst but little exceeded, and, as the months passed on, that theydwindled more and more, until, in April, 1865, the whole force in lineof battle at Petersburg was scarcely more than thirty thousand men. 

Such had been the number of the troops under command of Lee in 1862. The reader has been informed of the number of the Federal forceopposed to him. This was one hundred and fifty thousand on theChickahominy, of whom one hundred and fifteen thousand were effective;about one hundred thousand, it would seem, under General Pope, at thesecond battle of Manassas; eighty-seven thousand actually engaged atthe battle of Sharpsburg; and at Fredericksburg from one hundred andten to one hundred and twenty thousand. 

These numbers are stated on the authority of Federal officers orhistorians, and Lee's force on the authority of his own reports, or ofgentlemen of high character, in a situation to speak with accuracy. Of the truth of the statements the writer of these pages can have nodoubt; and, if the fighting powers of the Northern and Southern troopsbe estimated as equal, the fair conclusion must be arrived at that Leesurpassed his adversaries in generalship. 

The result, at least, of the year's fighting, had been extremelyencouraging to the South, and after the battle of Fredericksburg noattempts were made to prosecute hostilities during the remainderof the year. The scheme of crossing above Fredericksburg proved a_fiasco_, beginning and ending in a day. Thereafter all movementsceased, and the two armies awaited the return of spring for furtheroperations. 

XIII. 

LEE IN DECEMBER, 1862. 

Before passing to the great campaigns of the spring and summer of1863, we propose to say a few words of General Lee, in his private andpersonal character, and to attempt to indicate the position whichhe occupied at this time in the eyes of the army and the country. Unknown, save by reputation, when he assumed command of the forces inJune, 1862, he had now, by the winter of the same year, become one ofthe best-known personages in the South. Neither the troops nor thepeople had perhaps penetrated the full character of Lee; and they seemto have attributed to him more reserve and less warmth and impulsethan he possessed; but it was impossible for a human being, occupyingso prominent a station before the general eye, to hide, in anymaterial degree, his main great characteristics, and these hadconciliated for Lee an exalted and wellnigh universal public regard. He was felt by all to be an individual of great dignity, sincerity, and earnestness, in the performance of duty. Destitute plainly of thatvulgar ambition which seeks personal aggrandizement rather than thegeneral good, and dedicated as plainly, heart and soul, to the causefor which he fought, he had won, even from those who had denouncedhim for the supposed hesitation in his course in April, 1861, and hadafterward criticised his military operations, the repute of a trulygreat man, as well as of a commander of the first ability. It was feltby all classes that the dignity of the Southern cause was adequatelyrepresented in the person and character of the commander of her mostimportant army. While others, as brave and patriotic, no doubt, but ofdifferent temperament, had permitted themselves to become violent andembittered in their private and public utterances in reference to theNorth, Lee had remained calm, moderate, and dignified, under everyprovocation. His reports were without rhodomontade or exaggeration, and his tone uniformly modest, composed, and uninflated. After hismost decisive successes, his pulse had remained calm; he had writtenof those successes with the air of one who sees no especial merit inany thing which he has performed; and, so marked was this tone ofmoderation and dignity, that, in reading his official reports to-day, it seems wellnigh impossible that they could have been written in thehot atmosphere of a war which aroused the bitterest passions of thehuman soul. 

Upon this point of Lee's personal and official dignity it isunnecessary to dwell further, as the quality has long since beenconceded by every one acquainted with the character of the individual, in the Old World and the New. It is the trait, perhaps, the mostprominent to the observer, looking back now upon the individual; andit was, doubtless, this august moderation, dignity, and apparentexemption from natural infirmity, which produced the impression uponmany persons that Lee was cold and unimpressible. We shall speak, infuture, at greater length of his real character than is necessary inthis place; but it may here be said, that the fancy that he was coldand unimpressible was a very great error. No man had stronger orwarmer feelings, or regarded the invasion of the South with greaterindignation, than himself. The sole difference was, that he hadhis feelings under greater control, and permitted no temptation toovercome his sense of that august dignity and composure becomingin the chief leader of a great people struggling for independentgovernment. 

The sentiment of the Southern people toward Lee may be summed up inthe statement that they regarded him, in his personal and privatecharacter, with an admiration which was becoming unbounded, andreposed in him, as commander of the army, the most implicitconfidence. 

These expressions are strong, but they do not convey more than thetruth. And this confidence was never withdrawn from him. It remainedas strong in his hours of disaster as in his noontide of success. A few soured or desponding people might lose heart, indulge in"croaking, " and denounce, under their breath, the commander ofthe army as responsible for failure when it occurred; but thesefainthearted people were in a small minority, and had littleencouragement in their muttered criticisms. The Southern people, fromVirginia to the utmost limits of the Gulf States, resolutely persistedin regarding Lee as one of the greatest soldiers of history, andretained their confidence in him unimpaired to the end. 

The army had set the example of this implicit reliance upon Lee asthe chief leader and military head of the Confederacy. The bravefighting-men had not taken his reputation on trust, but had seen himwin it fairly on some of the hardest-contested fields of history. Theheavy blow at General McClellan on the Chickahominy had first shownthe troops that they were under command of a thorough soldier. Therout of Pope at Manassas had followed in the ensuing month. AtSharpsburg, with less than forty thousand men, Lee had repulsed theattack of nearly ninety thousand; and at Fredericksburg GeneralBurnside's great force had been driven back with inconsiderable lossto the Southern army. These successes, in the eyes of the troops, were the proofs of true leadership, and it did not detract from Lee'spopularity that, on all occasions, he had carefully refrained fromunnecessary exposure of the troops, especially at Fredericksburg, where an ambitious commander would have spared no amount of bloodshedto complete his glory by a great victory. Such was Lee's repute asarmy commander in the eyes of men accustomed to close scrutiny oftheir leaders. He was regarded as a thorough soldier, at once brave, wise, cool, resolute, and devoted, heart and soul, to the cause. 

Personally, the commander-in-chief was also, by this time, extremelypopular. He did not mingle with the troops to any great extent, noroften relax the air of dignity, somewhat tinged with reserve, whichwas natural with him. This reserve, however, never amounted tostiffness or "official" coolness. On the contrary, Lee was markedlyfree from the chill demeanor of the martinet, and had become greatlyendeared to the men by the unmistakable evidences which he had giventhem of his honesty, sincerity, and kindly feeling for them. Itcannot, indeed, be said that he sustained the same relation toward thetroops as General Jackson. For the latter illustrious soldier, the menhad a species of familiar affection, the result, in a great degree, ofthe informal and often eccentric demeanor of the individual. Therewas little or nothing in Jackson to indicate that he was an officerholding important command. He was without reserve, and exhibited noneof that formal courtesy which characterized Lee. His manners, on thecontrary, were quite informal, familiar, and conciliated in return afamiliar regard. We repeat the word _familiar_ as conveying preciselythe idea intended to be expressed. It indicated the difference betweenthese two great soldiers in their outward appearance. Lee retainedabout him, upon all occasions, more or less of the commander-in-chief, passing before the troops on an excellent and well-groomed horse, hisfigure erect and graceful in the saddle, for he was one of the bestriders in the army; his demeanor grave and thoughtful; his wholebearing that of a man intrusted with great responsibilities and thegeneral care of the whole army. Jackson's personal appearance and airwere very different. His dress was generally dingy: a faded cadet-captilted over his eyes, causing him to raise his chin into the air; hisstirrups were apt to be too short, and his knees were thus elevatedungracefully, and he would amble along on his rawboned horse with asingularly absent-minded expression of countenance, raising, from timeto time, his right hand and slapping his knee. This brief outline ofthe two commanders will serve to show the difference between thempersonally, and it must be added that Jackson's eccentric bearing wasthe source, in some degree, of his popularity. The men admired himimmensely for his great military ability, and his odd ways procuredfor him that familiar liking to which we have alluded. 

It is not intended, however, in these observations to convey the ideathat General Lee was regarded as a stiff and unapproachable personageof whom the private soldiers stood in awe. Such a statement would notexpress the truth. Lee was perfectly approachable, and no instance isupon record, or ever came to the knowledge of the present writer, inwhich he repelled the approach of his men, or received the humblest ofthem with any thing but kindness. He was naturally simple and kind, with great gentleness and patience; and it will not be credible, to any who knew the man, that he ever made any difference in histreatment of those who approached him from a consideration of theirrank in the army. His theory, expressed upon many occasions, was, thatthe private soldiers--men who fought without the stimulus of rank, emolument, or individual renown--were the most meritorious class ofthe army, and that they deserved and should receive the utmost respectand consideration. This statement, however, is doubtless unnecessary. Men of Lee's pride and dignity never make a difference in theirtreatment of men, because one is humble, and the other of high rank. Of such human beings it may be said that _noblesse oblige_. 

The men of the army had thus found their commander all that they couldwish, and his increasing personal popularity was shown by the greaterfrequency with which they now spoke of him as "Marse Robert, " "OldUncle Robert, " and by other familiar titles. This tendency in troopsis always an indication of personal regard; these nicknames had beenalready showered upon Jackson, and General Lee was having his turn. The troops regarded him now more as their fellow-soldier thanformerly, having found that his dignity was not coldness, and that hewould, under no temptation, indulge his personal convenience, or farebetter than themselves. It was said--we know not with what truth--thatthe habit of Northern generals in the war was to look assiduously totheir individual comfort in selecting their quarters, and to takepleasure in surrounding themselves with glittering staff-officers, body-guards, and other indications of their rank, and theconsideration which they expected. In these particulars Lee differedextremely from his opponents, and there were no evidences whatever, at his headquarters, that he was the commander-in-chief, or even anofficer of high rank. He uniformly lived in a tent, in spite ofthe urgent invitations of citizens to use their houses for hisheadquarters; and this refusal was the result both of an indispositionto expose these gentlemen to annoyance from the enemy when he himselfretired, and of a rooted objection to fare better than his troops. They had tents only, often indeed were without even that muchcovering, and it was repugnant to Lee's feelings to sleep under a goodroof when the troops were so much exposed. His headquarters tent, at this time (December, 1862), as before and afterward, was what iscalled a "house-tent, " not differing in any particular from those usedby the private soldiers of the army in winter-quarters. It was pitchedin an opening in the wood near the narrow road leading to Hamilton'sCrossing, with the tents of the officers of the staff grouped near;and, with the exception of an orderly, who always waited to summoncouriers to carry dispatches, there was nothing in the shape of abody-guard visible, or any indication that the unpretending group oftents was the army headquarters. 

Within, no article of luxury was to be seen. A few plain andindispensable objects were all which the tent contained. The coveringof the commander-in-chief was an ordinary army blanket, and his farewas plainer, perhaps, than that of the majority of his officers andmen. This was the result of an utter indifference, in Lee, to personalconvenience or indulgence. Citizens frequently sent him delicacies, boxes filled with turkeys, hams, wine, cordials, and other things, peculiarly tempting to one leading the hard life of the soldier, butthese were almost uniformly sent to the sick in some neighboringhospital. Lee's principle in so acting seems to have been to set thegood example to his officers of not faring better than their men;but he was undoubtedly indifferent naturally to luxury of alldescriptions. In his habits and feelings he was not the self-indulgentman of peace, but the thorough soldier, willing to live hard, to sleepupon the ground, and to disregard all sensual indulgence. In his otherhabits he was equally abstinent. He cared nothing for wine, whiskey, or any stimulant, and never used tobacco in any form. He rarelyrelaxed his energies in any thing calculated to amuse him; but, whennot riding along his lines, or among the camps to see in person thatthe troops were properly cared for, generally passed his time in closeattention to official duties connected with the well-being of thearmy, or in correspondence with the authorities at Richmond. When herelaxed from this continuous toil, it was to indulge in some quiet andsimple diversion, social converse with ladies in houses at which hechanced to stop, caresses bestowed upon children, with whom he wasa great favorite, and frequently in informal conversation with hisofficers. At "Hayfield" and "Moss Neck, " two hospitable houses belowFredericksburg, he at this time often stopped and spent some time inthe society of the ladies and children there. One of the latter, alittle curly-headed girl, would come up to him always to receive heraccustomed kiss, and one day confided to him, as a personal friend, her desire to kiss General Jackson, who blushed like a girl when Lee, with a quiet laugh, told him of the child's wish. On another occasion, when his small friend came to receive his caress, he said, laughing, that she would show more taste in selecting a younger gentleman thanhimself, and, pointing to a youthful officer in a corner of the room, added, "There is the handsome Major Pelham!" which caused that modestyoung soldier to blush with confusion. The bearing of General Leein these hours of relaxation, was quite charming, and made him warmfriends. His own pleasure and gratification were plain, and gratifiedothers, who, in the simple and kindly gentleman in the plain grayuniform, found it difficult to recognize the commander-in-chief of theSouthern army. 

These moments of relaxation were, however, only occasional. All therest was toil, and the routine of hard work and grave assiduity wenton month after month, and year after year, with little interruption. With the exceptions which we have noted, all pleasures anddistractions seemed of little interest to Lee, and to the presentwriter, at least, he seemed on all occasions to bear the most strikingresemblance to the traditional idea of Washington. High principle anddevotion to duty were plainly this human being's springs of action, and he went through the hard and continuous labor incident to armycommand with a grave and systematic attention, wholly indifferent, itseemed, to almost every species of diversion and relaxation. 

This attempt to show how Lee appeared at that time to his solders, hasextended to undue length, and we shall be compelled to defer a fullnotice of the most interesting and beautiful trait of his character. This was his humble and profound piety. The world has by no means donehim justice upon this subject. No one doubted during the war thatGeneral Lee was a sincere Christian in conviction, and his exemplarymoral character and life were beyond criticism. Beyond this it isdoubtful if any save his intimate associates understood the depthof his feeling on the greatest of all subjects. Jackson's strongreligious fervor was known and often alluded to, but it is doubtfulif Lee was regarded as a person of equally fervent convictions andfeelings. And yet the fact is certain that faith in God's providenceand reliance upon the Almighty were the foundation of all his actions, and the secret of his supreme composure under all trials. He wasnaturally of such reserve that it is not singular that the extent ofthis sentiment was not understood. Even then, however, good menwho frequently visited him, and conversed with him upon religioussubjects, came away with their hearts burning within them. When theRev. J. William Jones, with another clergyman, went, in 1863, toconsult him in reference to the better observance of the Sabbath inthe army, "his eye brightened, and his whole countenance glowed withpleasure; and as, in his simple, feeling words, he expressed hisdelight, we forgot the great warrior, and only remembered that we werecommuning with an humble, earnest Christian. " When he was informedthat the chaplains prayed for him, tears started to his eyes, and hereplied: "I sincerely thank you for that, and I can only say that Iam a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone, and that I need all theprayers you can offer for me. "

On the day after this interview he issued an earnest general order, enjoining the observance of the Sabbath by officers and men, urgingthem to attend public worship in their camps, and forbidding theperformance on Sunday of all official duties save those necessaryto the subsistence or safety of the army. He always attended publicworship, if it were in his power to do so, and often the earnestnessof the preacher would "make his eye kindle and his face glow. " Hefrequently attended the meetings of his chaplains, took a warminterest in the proceedings, and uniformly exhibited, declares onewho could speak from personal knowledge, an ardent desire for thepromotion of religion in the army. He did not fail, on many occasions, to show his men that he was a sincere Christian. When General Meadecame over to Mine Run, and the Southern army marched to meet him, Leewas riding along his line of battle in the woods, when he came upon aparty of soldiers holding a prayer-meeting on the eve of battle. Sucha spectacle was not unusual in the army then and afterward--the roughfighters were often men of profound piety--and on this occasionthe sight before him seems to have excited deep emotion in Lee. Hestopped, dismounted--the staff-officers accompanying him did thesame--and Lee uncovered his head, and stood in an attitude of profoundrespect and attention, while the earnest prayer proceeded, in themidst of the thunder of artillery and the explosion of the enemy'sshells. [1]

[Footnote 1: These details are given on the authority of the Rev. J. William Jones, of Lexington, Va. ]

[Illustration: Lee at the Soldiers' Prayer Meeting. ]

Other incidents indicating the simple and earnest piety of Lee will bepresented in the course of this narrative. The fame of the soldier hasin some degree thrown into the background the less-imposing trait ofpersonal piety in the individual. No delineation of Lee, however, would be complete without a full statement of his religious principlesand feelings. As the commander-in-chief of the Army of NorthernVirginia, he won that august renown which encircles his name with ahalo of military glory, both in America and Europe. His battles andvictories are known to all men. It is not known to all that theillustrious soldier whose fortune it was to overthrow, one afteranother, the best soldiers of the Federal army, was a simple, humble, and devoted Christian, whose eyes filled with tears when he wasinformed that his chaplains prayed for him; and who said, "I am a poorsinner, trusting in Christ alone, and need all the prayers you canoffer for me. "

PART VI. 

CHANCELLORSVILLE AND GETTYSBURG

I. 

ADVANCE OF GENERAL HOOKER. 

Lee remained throughout the winter at his headquarters in the woodssouth of Fredericksburg, watching the Northern army, which continuedto occupy the country north of the city, with the Potomac River astheir base of supplies. 

With the coming of spring, it was obviously the intention of theFederal authorities to again essay the crossing of the Rappahannock atsome point either above or below Fredericksburg; and as the movementabove was less difficult, and promised more decisive results, it wasseen by General Lee that this would probably be the quarter fromwhich he might expect an attack. General Stuart, a soldier of soundjudgment, said, during the winter, "The next battle will take place atChancellorsville, " and the position of Lee's troops seemed to indicatethat this was also his own opinion. His right remained still "oppositeFredericksburg, " barring the direct approach to Richmond, but his leftextended up the Rappahannock beyond Chancellorsville, and all thefords were vigilantly guarded to prevent a sudden flank movement bythe enemy in that direction. As will be seen, the anticipations of Leewere to be fully realized. The heavy blow aimed at him, in the firstdays of spring, was to come from the quarter in which he had expectedit. 

The Federal army was now under command of General Joseph Hooker, anofficer of dash, energy, excellent administrative capacity, and, Northern writers add, extremely prone to "self-assertion. " GeneralHooker had harshly criticised the military operations both ofGeneral McClellan on the Chickahominy, and of General Burnside atFredericksburg, and so strong an impression had these strictures madeupon the minds of the authorities, that they came to the determinationof intrusting the command of the army to the officer who made them, doubtless concluding that his own success would prove greater thanthat of his predecessors. This opinion seemed borne out by the firstproceedings of General Hooker. He set to work energetically toreorganize and increase the efficiency of the army, did awaywith General Burnside's defective "grand division" arrangement, consolidated the cavalry into an effective corps, enforced strictdiscipline among officers and men alike, and at the beginning ofspring had brought his army to a high state of efficiency. Hisconfident tone inspired the men; the depression resulting from thegreat disaster at Fredericksburg was succeeded by a spirit of buoyanthope, and the army was once more that great war-engine, ready for anyundertaking, which it had been under McClellan. 

It numbered, according to one Federal statement, one hundred andfifty-nine thousand three hundred men; but according to another, whichappears more reliable, one hundred and twenty thousand infantry andartillery, and twelve thousand cavalry; in all, one hundred andthirty-two thousand troops. The army of General Lee was considerablysmaller. Two divisions of Longstreet's corps had been sent to Suffolk, south of James River, to obtain supplies in that region, and thisforce was not present at the battle of Chancellorsville. The actualnumbers under Lee's command will appear from the following statementof Colonel Walter H. Taylor, assistant adjutant-general of the army:

 Our strength at Chancellorsville: Anderson and McLaws........................... 13, 000 Jackson (Hill, Rodes, and Trimble)............ 21, 000 Early (Fredericksburg)........................ 6, 000 _______ 40, 000 Cavalry and artillery......................... 7, 000 _______ Total of all arms............................. 47, 000

As the Federal infantry numbered one hundred and twenty thousand, according to the smallest estimate of Federal authorities, and Lee'sinfantry forty thousand, the Northern force was precisely three timesas large as the Southern. 

[Illustration: Map--Battle of Chancellorsville. ]

General Hooker had already proved himself an excellent administrativeofficer, and his plan of campaign against Lee seemed to show that healso possessed generalship of a high order. He had determined to passthe Rappahannock above Fredericksburg, turn Lee's flank, and thusforce him to deliver battle under this disadvantage, or retire uponRichmond. The safe passage of the stream was the first great object, and General Hooker's dispositions to effect this were highlyjudicious. A force of about twenty thousand men was to pass theRappahannock at Fredericksburg, and thus produce upon Lee theimpression that the Federal army was about to renew the attempt inwhich they had failed under General Burnside. While General Lee'sattention was engaged by the force thus threatening his right, themain body of the Northern army was to cross the Rappahannock andRapidan above Chancellorsville, and, sweeping down rapidly uponthe Confederate left flank, take up a strong position betweenChancellorsville and Fredericksburg. The column which had crossed atthe latter point to engage the attention of the Confederate commander, was then to recross to the northern bank, move rapidly to the upperfords, which the advance of the main body would by that time haveuncovered; and, a second time crossing to the southern bank, unitewith the rest. Thus the whole Federal army would be concentratedon the southern bank of the Rappahannock, and General Lee would becompelled to leave his camps on the hills of the Massaponnax, andfight upon ground dictated by his adversary. If he did not thus acceptbattle, but one other course was left. He must fall back in thedirection of Richmond, to prevent his adversary from attacking hisrear, and capturing or destroying his army. 

In order to insure the success of this promising plan of attack, astrong column of well-mounted cavalry was to cross in advance of thearmy and strike for the railroads in Lee's rear, connecting him withRichmond and the Southwest. Thus flanked or cut off, and with all hiscommunications destroyed, it seemed probable that General Lee wouldsuffer decisive defeat, and that the Federal army would march intriumph to the capture of the Confederate capital. 

This plan was certainly excellent, and seemed sure to succeed. It was, however, open to some criticism, as the event showed. General Hookerwas detaching, in the beginning of the movement, his whole cavalryforce for a distant operation, and dividing his army by the _ruse_at Fredericksburg, in face of an adversary not likely to permit thatgreat error to escape him. While advancing thus, apparently to thecertain destruction of Lee, General Hooker was leaving a vulnerablepoint in his own armor. Lee would probably discover that point, andaim to pierce his opponent there. At most, General Hooker was wrappingin huge folds the sword of Lee, not remembering that there was dangerto the _cordon_ as well as to the weapon. 

Such was the plan which General Hooker had devised to bring back thatsuccess of the Federal arms in the spring of 1863 which had attendedthem in the early spring of 1862. At this latter period a heavy cloudrested upon the Confederate cause. Donaldson and Roanoke Island, FortMacon, and the city of New Orleans, had then fallen; at Elkhorn, Kernstown, Newbern, and other places, the Federal forces had achievedimportant successes. These had been followed, however, by the Southernvictories on the Chickahominy, at Manassas, and at Fredericksburg. Near this last-named spot now, where the year had wound up with somortifying a Federal failure, General Hooker hoped to reverse events, and recover the Federal glories of the preceding spring. 

Operations began as early as the middle of March, when GeneralAverill, with about three thousand cavalry, crossed the Rappahannockat Kelly's Ford, above its junction with the Rapidan, and made adetermined attack upon nearly eight hundred horsemen there, underGeneral Fitz Lee, with the view of passing through Culpepper, crossingthe Rapidan, and cutting Lee's communications in the direction ofGordonsville. The obstinate stand of General Fitz Lee's small force, however, defeated this object, and General Averill was forced toretreat beyond the Rappahannock again with considerable loss, andabandon his expedition. In this engagement fell Major John Pelham, whohad been styled in Lee's first report of the battle of Fredericksburg"the gallant Pelham, " and whose brave stand on the Port Royal road haddrawn from Lee the exclamation, "It is glorious to see such courage inone so young. " Pelham was, in spite of his youth, an artillerist ofthe first order of excellence, and his loss was a serious one, inspite of his inferior rank. 

After this action every thing remained quiet until toward the end ofApril--General Lee continuing to hold the same position with his rightat Fredericksburg, his left at the fords near Chancellorsville, andhis cavalry, under Stuart, guarding the banks of the Rappahannock inCulpepper. On the 27th of April, General Hooker began his forwardmovement, by advancing three corps of his army--the Fifth, Eleventh, and Twelfth--to the banks of the river, near Kelly's Ford; and, on thenext day, this force was joined by three additional corps--the First, Third, and Sixth--and the whole, on Wednesday (the 29th), crossed theriver without difficulty. That this movement was a surprise to Lee, as has been supposed by some persons, is a mistake. Stuart was anextremely vigilant picket-officer, and both he and General Lee were inthe habit of sending accomplished scouts to watch any movements in theFederal camps. As soon as these movements--which, in a large army, cannot be concealed--took place, information was always promptlybrought, and it was not possible that General Hooker could move threelarge army corps toward the Rappahannock, as he did on April 27th, without early knowledge on the part of his adversary of so important acircumstance. 

As the Federal infantry thus advanced, the large cavalry force beganalso to move through Culpepper toward the Central Railroad in Lee'srear. This column was commanded by General Stoneman, formerly asubordinate officer in Lee's old cavalry regiment in the United StatesArmy; and, as General Stoneman's operations were entirely separatefrom those of the infantry, and not of much importance, we shall heredismiss them in a few words. He proceeded rapidly across Culpepper, harassed in his march by a small body of horse, under General WilliamH. F. Lee; reached the Central Railroad at Trevillian's, belowGordonsville, and tore up a portion of it; passed on to James River, ravaging the country, and attempted the destruction of the ColumbiaAqueduct, but did not succeed in so doing; when, hearing probably ofthe unforeseen result at Chancellorsville, he hastened back to theRapidan, pursued and harassed as in his advance, and, crossing, regained the Federal lines beyond the Rappahannock. 

To return to the movements of the main Federal force, under thepersonal command of General Hooker. This advanced rapidly across theangle between the two rivers, with no obstruction but that offered bythe cavalry under Stuart, and on Thursday, April 30th, had crossed theRapidan at Germanna and Ely's Fords, and was steadily concentratingaround Chancellorsville. At the same time the Second Corps, underGeneral Couch, was preparing to cross at United States Ford, a fewmiles distant; and General Sedgwick, commanding the detached force atFredericksburg, having crossed and threatened Lee, in obedience toorders, now began passing back to the northern bank again, in order tomarch up and join the main body. Thus all things seemed in train tosucceed on the side of the Federal army. General Hooker was over withabout one hundred thousand men--twenty thousand additional troopswould soon join him. Lee's army seemed scattered, and not "in hand"to oppose him; and there was some ground for the ebullition of joyattributed to General Hooker, as he saw his great force massingsteadily in the vicinity of Chancellorsville. To those around him heexclaimed: "The rebel army is now the legitimate property of the Armyof the Potomac. They may as well pack up their haversacks and make forRichmond, and I shall be after them!"

In a congratulatory order to his troops, he declared that theyoccupied now a position so strong that "the enemy must eitheringloriously fly, or come out from behind his defences and give usbattle on our own ground, where certain destruction awaits him. "

Such were the joyful anticipations of General Hooker, who seems tohave regarded the campaign as virtually ended by the successfulpassage of the river. His expressions and his general order would seemto indicate an irrepressible joy, but it is doubtful if the skilfulsoldiers under him shared this somewhat juvenile enthusiasm. The graycavalier at Fredericksburg was not reported to be retiring, as wasexpected. On the contrary, the Southern troops seemed to be movingforward with the design of accepting battle. 

Lee had determined promptly upon that course as soon as Stuart senthim information of the enemy's movements. Chancellorsville was at onceseen to be the point for which General Hooker was aiming, and Lee'sdispositions were made for confronting him there and fighting apitched battle. The brigades of Posey and Mahone, of Anderson'sDivision, had been in front of Banks's and Ely's Fords, and this forceof about eight thousand men was promptly ordered to fall back onChancellorsville. At the same time Wright's brigade was sent up toreënforce this column; but the enemy continuing to advance in greatforce, General Anderson, commanding the whole, fell back fromChancellorsville to Tabernacle Church, on the road to Fredericksburg, where he was joined on the next day by Jackson, whom Lee had sentforward to his assistance. 

The _ruse_ at Fredericksburg had not long deceived the Confederatecommander. General Sedgwick, with three corps, in all about twenty-twothousand men, had crossed just below Fredericksburg on the 29th, andLee had promptly directed General Jackson to oppose him there. Line ofbattle was accordingly formed in the enemy's front beyond Hamilton'sCrossing; but as, neither on that day nor the next, any furtheradvance was made by General Sedgwick, the whole movement was seen tobe a feint to cover the real operations above. Lee accordingly turnedhis attention in the direction of Chancellorsville. Jackson, as wehave related, was sent up to reënforce General Anderson, and Leefollowed with the rest of the army, with the exception of about sixthousand men, under General Early, whom he left to defend the crossingat Fredericksburg. 

Such were the positions of the opposing forces on the 1st day of May. Each commander had displayed excellent generalship in the preliminarymovements preceding the actual fighting. At last, however, theopposing lines were facing each other, and the real struggle was aboutto begin. 

II. 

THE WILDERNESS. 

The "Wilderness, " as the region around Chancellorsville is called, isso strange a country, and the character of the ground had so importanta bearing upon the result of the great battle fought there, that abrief description of the locality will be here presented. 

The region is a nearly unbroken expanse of dense thicket pierced onlyby narrow and winding roads, over which the traveller rides, mileafter mile, without seeing a single human habitation. It would seem, indeed, that the whole barren and melancholy tract had been given upto the owl, the whippoorwill, and the moccasin, its original tenants. The plaintive cries of the night-birds alone break the gloomy silenceof the desolate region, and the shadowy thicket stretching inevery direction produces a depressing effect upon the feelings. Chancellorsville is in the centre of this singular territory, onthe main road, or rather roads, running from Orange Court-House toFredericksburg, from which latter place it is distant about ten miles. In spite of its imposing name, Chancellorsville was simply a largecountry-house, originally inhabited by a private family, but afterwardused as a roadside inn. A little to the westward the "Old Turnpike"and Orange Plank-road unite as they approach the spot, where theyagain divide, to unite a second time a few miles to the east, wherethey form the main highway to Fredericksburg. From the north come inroads from United States and Ely's Fords; Germanna Ford is northwest;from the south runs the "Brock Road" in the direction of the Rapidan, passing a mile or two west of the place. 

The whole country, the roads, the chance houses, the silence, theunending thicket, in this dreary wilderness, produce a sombre effect. A writer, familiar with it, says: "There all is wild, desolate, andlugubrious. Thicket, undergrowth, and jungle, stretch for miles, impenetrable and untouched. Narrow roads wind on forever betweenmelancholy masses of stunted and gnarled oak. Little sunlight shinesthere. The face of Nature is dreary and sad. It was so before thebattle; it is not more cheerful to-day, when, as you ride along, yousee fragments of shell, rotting knapsacks, rusty gun-barrels, bleachedbones, and grinning skulls.... Into this jungle, " continues the samewriter, "General Hooker penetrated. It was the wolf in his den, readyto tear any one who approached. A battle there seemed impossible. Neither side could see its antagonist. Artillery could not move;cavalry could not operate; the very infantry had to flatten theirbodies to glide between the stunted trees. That an army of one hundredand twenty thousand men should have chosen that spot to fight fortythousand, and not only chosen it, but made it a hundred times moreimpenetrable by felling trees, erecting breastworks, disposingartillery _en masse_ to sweep every road and bridle-path which led toChancellorsville--this fact seemed incredible. "

It was no part of the original plan of the Federal commander to permithimself to be cooped up in this difficult and embarrassing region, where it was impossible to manoeuvre his large army. The selection ofthe Wilderness around Chancellorsville, as the ground of battle, wasdictated by Lee. General Hooker, it seems, endeavored to avoid beingthus shut up in the thicket, and hampered in his movements. Findingthat the Confederate force, retiring from in front of Ely's and UnitedStates Fords, had, on reaching Chancellorsville, continued to fallback in the direction of Fredericksburg, he followed them steadily, passed through the Wilderness, and, emerging into the open countrybeyond, rapidly began forming line of battle on ground highlyfavorable to the manoeuvring of his large force in action. A glance atthe map will indicate the importance of this movement, and the greatadvantages secured by it. The left of General Hooker's line, nearestthe river, was at least five miles in advance of Chancellorsville, andcommanded Banks's Ford, thereby shortening fully one-half the distanceof General Sedgwick's march from Fredericksburg, by enabling him touse the ford in question as a place of crossing to the south bank, anduniting his column with the main body. The centre and right of theFederal army had in like manner emerged from the thickets of theWilderness, and occupied cleared ground, sufficiently elevated toafford them great advantages. 

This was in the forenoon of the 1st of May, when there was no force inGeneral Hooker's front, except the eight thousand men of Andersonat Tabernacle Church. Jackson had marched at midnight from theMassaponnax Hills, with a general order from Lee to "attack andrepulse the enemy, " but had not yet arrived. There was thus no seriousobstacle in the path of the Federal commander, who had it in hispower, it would seem, to mass his entire army on the commanding groundwhich his vanguard already occupied. Lee was aware of the importanceof the position, and, had he not been delayed by the feint of GeneralSedgwick, would himself have seized upon it. As it was, General Hookerseemed to have won the prize in the race, and Lee would, apparently, be forced to assail him on his strong ground, or retire in thedirection of Richmond. 

The movements of the enemy had, however, been so rapid that Lee'sdispositions seem to have been made before they were fully developedand accurately known to him. He had sent forward Jackson, and nowproceeded to follow in person, leaving only a force of about sixthousand men, under Early, to defend the crossing at Fredericksburg. The promptness of these movements of the Confederate commander isnoticed by Northern writers. "Lee, with instant perception of thesituation, " says an able historian, "now seized the masses of hisforce, and, with the grasp of a Titan, swung them into position, asa giant might fling a mighty stone from a sling. " [Footnote: Mr. Swinton, in "Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac. " Whether the forceunder Lee could be justly described as "mighty, " however, the readerwill form his own opinion. ]

Such were the relative positions of the two armies on the 1st of May:General Hooker's forces well in advance of Chancellorsville, andrapidly forming line of battle on a ridge in open country; GeneralLee's, stretching along the whole distance, from Fredericksburg toTabernacle Church, and certainly not in any condition to deliveror accept battle. The Federal commander seemed to have clearlyoutgeneralled his adversary, and, humanly speaking, the movements ofthe two armies, up to this time, seemed to point to a decisive Federalsuccess. 

General Hooker's own act reversed all this brilliant promise. At thevery moment when his army was steadily concentrating on the favorableground in advance of Chancellorsville, the Federal commander, for somereason which has never been divulged, sent a peremptory order thatthe entire force should fall back into the Wilderness. This order, reversing every thing, is said to have been received "with mingledamazement and incredulity" by his officers, two of whom sent him wordthat, from the great advantages of the position, it should be "held atall hazards. " General Hooker's reply was, "Return at once. " The armyaccordingly fell back to Chancellorsville. 

This movement undoubtedly lost General Hooker all the advantages whichup to that moment he had secured. What his motive for the order inquestion was, it is impossible for the present writer to understand, unless the approach of Lee powerfully affected his imagination, and hesupposed the thicket around Chancellorsville to be the best ground toreceive that assault which the bold advance of his opponent appearedto foretell. Whatever his motive, General Hooker withdrew his linesfrom the open country, fell back to the vicinity of Chancellorsville, and began to erect elaborate defences, behind which to receive Lee'sattack. 

In this backward movement he was followed and harassed by the forcesof Jackson, the command of Anderson being in front. Jackson's maximwas to always press an enemy when he was retiring; and no sooner hadthe Federal forces begun to move, than he made a prompt attack. Hecontinued to follow them up toward Chancellorsville until nightfall, when the fighting ceased, the Confederate advance having been pushedto Alrich's house, within about two miles of Chancellorsville. Herethe outer line of the Federal works was found, and Jackson paused. Hewas unwilling at so late an hour to attempt an assault upon them withhis small force, and, directing further movements to cease, awaitedthe arrival of the commander-in-chief. 

Lee arrived, and a consultation was held. The question now was, thebest manner, with a force of about thirty-five thousand, to drive theFederal army, of about one hundred thousand, beyond the Rappahannock. 

III. 

LEE'S DETERMINATION. 

On this night, of the 1st of May, the situation of affairs was strangeindeed. 

General Hooker had crossed the Rappahannock with a force of onehundred and twenty thousand infantry, and had, without obstruction, secured a position so strong, he declared, that Lee must either"ingloriously fly, " or fight a battle in which "certain destructionawaited him. " So absolutely convinced, indeed, was the Federalcommander, of the result of the coming encounter, that he hadjubilantly described the Southern army as "the legitimate property ofthe Army of the Potomac, " which, in the event of the retreat of theConfederates, would "be after them. " There seemed just grounds forthis declaration, whatever question may have arisen of the good tastedisplayed by General Hooker in making it. The force opposed to him wasin all about forty-seven thousand men, but, as cavalry take smallpart in pitched battles, Lee's fighting force was only about fortythousand. To drive back forty thousand with one hundred and twentythousand would not apparently prove difficult, and it was no doubtthis conviction which had occasioned the joyous exclamation of GeneralHooker. 

But his own act, and the nerve of his adversary, had defeated everything. Instead of retreating with his small force upon Richmond, Leehad advanced to accept or deliver battle. This bold movement, whichGeneral Hooker does not seem to have anticipated, paralyzed hisenergies. He had not only crossed the two rivers without loss, buthad taken up a strong position, where he could manoeuvre his armyperfectly, when, in consequence of Lee's approach with the evidentintent of fighting, he had ceased to advance, hesitated, and ended byretiring. This is a fair summary of events up to the night of the 1stof May. General Hooker had advanced boldly; he was now falling back. He had foretold that his adversary would "ingloriously fly;" and thatadversary was pressing him closely. The Army of the Potomac, he haddeclared, would soon be "after" the Army of Northern Virginia; but, from the appearance of things at the moment, the Army of NorthernVirginia seemed "after" the Army of the Potomac. We use GeneralHooker's own phrases--they are expressive, if not dignified. Theyare indeed suited to the subject, which contains no little of thegrotesque. That anticipations and expressions so confident should havebeen met with a "commentary of events" so damaging, was sufficient, had the occasion not been so tragic, to cause laughter in the gravestof human beings. 

Lee's intent was now unmistakable. Instead of falling back from theRappahannock to some line of defence nearer Richmond, where the forceunder Longstreet, at Suffolk, might have rejoined him, with otherreënforcements, he had plainly resolved, with the forty or fiftythousand men of his command, to meet General Hooker in open battle, and leave the event to Providence. A design so bold would seem toindicate in Lee a quality which at that time he was not thought topossess--the willingness to risk decisive defeat by military movementsdepending for their success upon good fortune alone. Such seemed nowthe only _deus ex machina_ that could extricate the Southern army fromdisaster; and a crushing defeat at that time would have had terribleresults. There was no other force, save the small body underLongstreet and a few local troops, to protect Richmond. Had Lee beendisabled and afterward pressed by General Hooker, it is impossible tosee that any thing but the fall of the Confederate capital could havebeen the result. 

From these speculations and comments we pass to the narrative ofactual events. General Hooker had abandoned the strong position inadvance of Chancellorsville, and retired to the fastnesses aroundthat place, to receive the Southern attack. His further proceedingsindicated that he anticipated an assault from Lee. The Federal troopshad no sooner regained the thicket from which they had advanced inthe morning, than they were ordered to erect elaborate works for theprotection of infantry and artillery. This was promptly begun, and bythe next morning heavy defences had sprung up as if by magic. Treeshad been felled, and the trunks interwoven so as to present aformidable obstacle to the Southern attack. In front of these worksthe forest had been levelled, and the fallen trunks were left lyingwhere they fell, forming thus an _abatis_ sufficient to seriouslydelay an assaulting force, which would thus be, at every step ofthe necessarily slow advance, under fire. On the roads piercing thethicket in the direction of the Confederates, cannon were posted, torake the approaches to the Federal position. Having thus made hispreparations to receive Lee's attack, General Hooker awaited thatattack, no doubt confident of his ability to repulse it. 

His line resembled in some degree the two sides of an oblongsquare--the longer side extending east and west in front, that is tosay, south of Chancellorsville, and the shorter side north and southnearly, east of the place. His right, in the direction of WildernessTavern, was comparatively undefended, as it was not expected that Leewould venture upon a movement against that remote point. This line, it would appear, was formed with a view to the possible necessity offalling back toward the Rappahannock. A commander determined to riskeverything would, it seems, have fronted Lee boldly, with a linerunning north and south, east of Chancellorsville. General Hooker'smain front was nearly east and west, whatever may have been his objectin so establishing it. 

On the night of the 1st of May, as we have said, Lee and Jackson helda consultation to determine the best method of attacking the Federalforces on the next day. All the information which they had been ableto obtain of the Federal positions east and south of Chancellorsville, indicated that the defences in both these quarters were such asto render an assault injudicious. Jackson had found his advanceobstructed by strong works near Alrich's house, on the road runningeastward from the enemy's camps; and General Stuart and GeneralWright, who had moved to the left, and advanced upon the enemy's frontnear the point called "The Furnace, " had discovered the existence ofpowerful defences in that quarter also. They had been met by a fierceand sudden artillery-fire from Federal epaulements; and here, as tothe east of Chancellorsville, the enemy had evidently fortified theirposition. 

Under these circumstances, it was necessary to discover, if possible, some more favorable opening for an attack. There remained but oneother--General Hooker's right, west of Chancellorsville; but to dividethe army, as would be necessary in order to attack in that quarter, seemed an undertaking too hazardous to be thought of. To execute sucha plan of assault with any thing like a hope of success, General Leewould be compelled to detach considerably more than half of his entireforce. This would leave in General Hooker's front a body of troops tooinconsiderable to make any resistance if he advanced his lines, andthus the movement promised to result in the certain destruction ofone portion of the army, to be followed by a triumphant march of theFederal forces upon Richmond. In the council of war between Lee andJackson, on the night of the 1st of May, these considerations wereduly weighed, and the whole situation discussed. In the end, the hazardous movement against General Hooker's right, beyondChancellorsville, was determined upon. This was first suggested, it issaid, by Jackson--others have attributed the suggestion to Lee. Thepoint is not material. The plan was adopted, and Lee determined todetach a column of about twenty-one thousand men, under Jackson, tomake the attack on the next day. His plan was to await the arrivalof Jackson at the point selected for attack, meanwhile engaging theenemy's attention by demonstrations in their front. When Jackson'sguns gave the signal that he was engaged, the force in front of theenemy was to advance and participate in the assault; and thus, struckin front and flank at once. General Hooker, it was hoped, would bedefeated and driven back across the Rappahannock. 

There was another possible result, the defeat of Lee and Jackson byGeneral Hooker. But the desperate character of the situation renderedit necessary to disregard this risk. 

By midnight this plan had been determined upon, and at dawn Jacksonbegan to move. 

JACKSON'S ATTACK AND FALL. 

On the morning of the 2d of May, General Lee was early in the saddle, and rode to the front, where he remained in personal command of theforce facing the enemy's main line of battle throughout the day. 

This force consisted of the divisions of Anderson and McLaws, andamounted to thirteen thousand men. That left at Fredericksburg, as wehave said, under General Early, numbered six thousand men; and thetwenty-one thousand which Jackson had taken with him, to strike at theenemy's right, made up the full body of troops under Lee, that is tosay, a little over forty thousand, artillerymen included. The cavalry, numbering four or five thousand, were, like the absent Federalcavalry, not actually engaged. 

In accordance with the plan agreed upon between Lee and Jackson, theforce left in the enemy's front proceeded to engage their attention, and desultory fighting continued throughout the day. GeneralLee meanwhile awaited the sound of Jackson's guns west ofChancellorsville, and must have experienced great anxiety at thistrying moment, although, with his accustomed self-control, hedisplayed little or none. We shall now leave this comparativelyinteresting portion of the field, and invite the attention of thereader to the movements of General Jackson, who was about to strikehis last great blow, and lose his own life in the moment of victory. 

Jackson set out at early dawn, having under him three divisions, commanded by Rhodes and Trimble, in all about twenty-one thousand men, and directed his march over the Old Mine road toward "The Furnace, "about a mile or so from and in front of the enemy's main line. Stuartmoved with his cavalry on the flank of the column, with the view ofmasking it from observation; and it reached and passed "The Furnace, "where a regiment with artillery was left to guard the road leadingthence to Chancellorsville, and repel any attack which might be madeupon the rear of the column. Just as the rear-guard passed on, theanticipated attack took place, and the regiment thus left, theTwenty-third Georgia, was suddenly surrounded and the whole forcecaptured. The Confederate artillery, however, opened promptly upon theassailing force, drove it back toward Chancellorsville, and Jacksonproceeded on his march without further interruption. He had thus beenseen, but it seems that the whole movement was regarded by GeneralHooker as a retreat of the Confederates southward, a bend in the roadat this point toward the south leading to that supposition. 

"We know the enemy is flying, " General Hooker wrote, on the afternoonof this day, to General Sedgwick, "trying to save his trains; two ofSickles's divisions are among them. "

Soon after leaving "The Furnace, " however, Jackson, following the samewood-road, turned westward, and, marching rapidly between the walls ofthicket, struck into the Brock road, which runs in a direction nearlynorthwest toward Germanna and Ely's Fords. This would enable him toreach, without discovery, the Orange Plank-road, or Old Turnpike, westof Chancellorsville, as the woods through which the narrow highwayran completely barred him from observation. Unless Federal spies werelurking in the covert, or their scouting-parties of cavalry came insight of the column, it would move as secure from discovery as thoughit were a hundred miles distant from the enemy; and against thelatter danger of cavalry-scouts, Stuart's presence with his horsemenprovided. The movement was thus made without alarming the enemy, andthe head of Jackson's column reached the Orange Plank-road, nearwhich point General Fitz Lee invited Jackson to ride up to a slightelevation, from which the defences of the enemy were visible. Jacksondid so, and a glance showed him that he was not yet sufficiently uponthe enemy's flank. He accordingly turned to an aide and said, pointingto the Orange Plank-road: "Tell my column to cross that road. "

The column did so, continuing to advance toward the Rapidan until itreached the Old Turnpike running from the "Old Wilderness Tavern"toward Chancellorsville. At this point, Jackson found himself full onthe right flank of General Hooker, and, halting his troops, proceededpromptly to form line of battle for the attack. It was now past fourin the afternoon, and the declining sun warned the Confederates tolose no time. The character of the ground was, however, such as todismay any but the most resolute, and it seemed impossible to executethe intended movement with any thing like rapidity in such a jungle. On both sides of the Old Turnpike rose a wall of thicket, throughwhich it was impossible to move a regular line of battle. All therules of war must be reversed in face of this obstacle, and theassault on General Hooker's works seemed destined to be made in columnof infantry companies, and with the artillery moving in column ofpieces. 

Despite these serious obstacles, Jackson hastened to form such orderof battle as was possible, and with Rodes's division in front, followed by Colston (Trimble) and Hill, advanced steadily down theOld Turnpike, toward Chancellorsville. He had determined, not only tostrike the enemy's right flank, but to execute, if possible, a stillmore important movement. This was, to extend his lines steadily tothe left, swing round his left wing, and so interpose himself betweenGeneral Hooker and the Rapidan. This design of unsurpassed boldnesscontinued to burn in Jackson's brain until he fell, and almost hislast words were an allusion to it. 

The Federal line of works, which the Confederates thus advanced toassault, extended across the Old Turnpike near the house of MelziChancellor, and behind was a second line, which was covered by theFederal artillery in the earthworks near Chancellorsville. TheEleventh Corps, under General Howard, was that destined to receiveJackson's assault. This was made at a few minutes past five in theevening, and proved decisive. The Federal troops were surprised attheir suppers, and were wholly unprepared. They had scarcely time torun to their muskets, which were stacked[1] near at hand, when Rodesburst upon them, stormed their works, over which the troops marchedalmost unresisted, and in a few minutes the entire corps holding theFederal right was in hopeless disorder. Rodes pressed on, followed bythe division in his rear, and the affair became rather a hunt than abattle. The Confederates pursued with yells, killing or capturing allwith whom they could come up; the Federal artillery rushed off at agallop, striking against tree-trunks and overturning, and the armyof General Hooker seemed about to be hopelessly routed. This isthe account given by Northern writers, who represent the effect ofJackson's sudden attack as indescribable. It had a serious effect, aswill be subsequently shown, on the _morale_ both of General Hooker andhis army. While opposing the heavy demonstrations of General Lee'sforces on their left and in front, this storm had burst upon them froma quarter in which no one expected it; they were thus caught betweentwo fires, and, ignorant as they were of the small number of theConfederates, must have regarded the army as seriously imperilled. 

[Footnote 1: "Their arms were stacked, and the men were away fromthem and scattered about for the purpose of cooking theirsuppers. "--_General Hooker_. ]

Jackson continued to pursue the enemy on the road to Chancellorsville, intent now upon making his blow decisive by swinging round his leftand cutting off the Federal army from the Rappahannock. It wasimpossible, however, to execute so important a movement until histroops were well in hand, and the two divisions which had made theattack had become mixed up in a very confused manner. They wereaccordingly directed to halt, and General A. P. Hill, whose divisionhad not been engaged, was sent for and ordered to advance to thefront, thus affording the disordered divisions an opportunity toreform their broken lines. 

Soon after dispatching this order, Jackson rode out in front of hisline, on the Chancellorsville road, in order to reconnoitre in person, and ascertain, if possible, the position and movements of the enemy, then within a few hundred yards of him. It was now between nine andten o'clock at night. The fighting had temporarily ceased, and themoon, half-seen through misty clouds, lit up the dreary thickets, inwhich no sound was heard but the incessant and melancholy cries of thewhippoorwills. Jackson had ridden forward about a hundred yards inadvance of his line, on the turnpike, accompanied by a few officers, and had checked his horse to listen for any sound coming from thedirection of Chancellorsville, when suddenly a volley was fired by hisown infantry on the right of the road, apparently directed at himand his companions, under the impression that they were a Federalreconnoitring-party. Several of the party fell from their horses, and, wheeling to the left, Jackson galloped into the wood to escape arenewal of the fire. The result was melancholy. He passed directly infront of his men, who had been warned to guard against an attack ofcavalry. In their excited state, so near the enemy, and surrounded bydarkness, Jackson was supposed to be a Federal cavalryman. The menaccordingly fired upon him, at not more than twenty paces, and woundedhim in three places--twice in the left arm, and once in the righthand. At the instant when he was struck he was holding his bridle withhis left hand, and had his right hand raised, either to protect hisface from boughs, or in the strange gesture habitual to him in battle. As the bullets passed through his arm he dropped the bridle of hishorse from his left hand, but seized it again with the bleedingfingers of his right hand, when the animal, wheeling suddenly, dartedtoward Chancellorsville. In doing so he passed beneath the limb of apine-tree, which struck the wounded man in the face, tore off his cap, and threw him back on his horse, nearly dismounting him. He succeeded, however, in retaining his seat, and regained the road, where he wasreceived in the arms of Captain Wilbourn, one of his staff-officers, and laid at the foot of a tree. 

The fire had suddenly ceased, and all was again still. Only CaptainWilbourn and a courier were with Jackson, but a shadowy figureon horseback was seen in the edge of the wood near, silent andmotionless. When Captain Wilbourn called to this person, and directedhim to ride back and see what troops had thus fired upon them, thesilent figure disappeared, and did not return. Who this could havebeen was long a mystery, but it appears, from a recent statement ofGeneral Revere, of the Federal army, that it was himself. He hadadvanced to the front to reconnoitre, had come on the group at thefoot of the tree, and, receiving the order above mentioned, hadthought it prudent not to reveal his real character. He accordinglyrode into the wood, and regained his own lines. 

A few words will terminate our account of this melancholy event in thehistory of the war--the fall of Jackson. He was supported to the rearby his officers, and during this painful progress gave his last order. General Pender recognized him, and stated that he feared he couldnot hold his position. Jackson's eye flashed, and he replied withanimation, "You must hold your ground, General Pender! You must holdyour ground, sir!"

He was now so weak as to be unable to walk, even leaning on theshoulders of his officers. He was accordingly placed on a litter, and borne toward the rear. Before the litter had gone far a furiousartillery-fire swept the road from the direction of Chancellorsville, and the bearers lowered it to the earth and lay down beside it. Thefire relaxing, they again moved, but one of the bearers stumbled overa root and let the litter fall. Jackson groaned, and as the moonlightfell upon his face it was seen to be so pale that he appeared to beabout to die. When asked if he was much hurt, he opened his eyes, however, and said, "No, my friend, don't trouble yourself about me. "

He was then borne to the rear, placed in an ambulance, and carried tothe hospital at the Old Wilderness Tavern, where he remained until hewas taken to Guinea's station, where he died. 

Such was the fate of Lee's great lieutenant--the man whom he spoke ofas his "right arm"--whose death struck a chill to the hearts of theSouthern people from which they never recovered. 

V. 

THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE. 

General Lee was not informed of the misfortune which had befallen hisgreat lieutenant until toward daybreak on the next morning. 

This fact was doubtless attributable to the difficult character ofthe country; the interposition of the Federal army between the twoConfederate wings, which rendered a long détour necessary in reachingLee; and the general confusion and dismay attending Jackson's fall. It would be difficult, indeed, to form an exaggerated estimate of thecondition of Jackson's corps at this time. The troops had been throwninto what seemed inextricable disorder, in consequence of the darknessand the headlong advance of the Second (Calston's) Division upon theheels of Rhodes, which had resulted in a complete intermingling ofthe two commands; and, to make matters worse, General A. P. Hill, thesecond in command, had been wounded and disabled, nearly at thesame moment with Jackson, by the artillery-fire of the enemy. Thistransferred the command, of military right, to the brave and skilfulGeneral Rhodes, the ranking officer after Hill; but Rhodes was only abrigadier-general, and had, for that reason, never come into personalcontact with the whole corps, who knew little of him, and was notaware of Jackson's plans, and distrusted, under these circumstances, his ability to conduct to a successful issue so vitally important anoperation as that intrusted to this great wing of the Southern army. Stuart, who had gone with his cavalry toward Ely's Ford to make ademonstration on the Federal rear, was therefore sent for, and rodeas rapidly as possible to the scene of action, and the command wasformally relinquished to him by General Rhodes. Jackson sent Stuartword from Wilderness Tavern to "act upon his own judgment, and dowhat he thought best, as he had implicit confidence in him;" but, in consequence of the darkness and confusion, it was impossible forStuart to promptly reform the lines, and thus all things remainedentangled and confused. 

It was essential, however, to inform General Lee of the state ofaffairs, and Jackson's chief-of-staff, Colonel Pendleton, requestedCaptain Wilbourn, who had witnessed all the details of the painfulscene in the wood, to go to General Lee and acquaint him with whathad taken place, and receive his orders. From a MS. Statement of thismeritorious officer, we take these brief details of the interview:

Lee was found lying asleep in a little clump of pines near his front, covered with an oil-cloth to protect him from the dews of the night, and surrounded by the officers of his staff, also asleep. It wasnot yet daybreak, and the darkness prevented the messenger fromdistinguishing the commander-in-chief from the rest. He accordinglycalled for Major Taylor, Lee's adjutant-general, and that officerpromptly awoke when he was informed of what had taken place. As theconversation continued, the sound awoke General Lee, who asked, "Whois there?" Major Taylor informed him, and, rising upon his elbow, Leepointed to his blankets, and said: "Sit down here by me, captain, andtell me all about the fight last evening. "

He listened without comment during the recital, but, when it wasfinished, said with great feeling: "Ah! captain, any victory is dearlybought which deprives us of the services of General Jackson, even fora short time. "

From this reply it was evident that he did not regard the woundsreceived by Jackson as of a serious character--as was natural, fromthe fact that they were only flesh-wounds in the arm and hand--andbelieved that the only result would be a temporary absence of hislieutenant from command. As Captain Wilbourn continued to speak of theincident, Lee added with greater emotion than at first: "Ah! don'ttalk about it; thank God it is no worse!"

He then remained silent, but seeing Captain Wilbourn rise, as if togo, he requested him to remain, as he wished to "talk with him somemore, " and proceeded to ask a number of questions in reference to theposition of the troops, who was in command, etc. When informed thatRhodes was in temporary command, but that Stuart had been sent for, heexclaimed: "Rhodes is a gallant, courageous, and energetic officer;"and asked where Jackson and Stuart could be found, calling for paperand pencil to write to them. Captain Wilbourn added that, from what hehad heard Jackson say, he thought he intended to get possession, ifpossible, of the road to United States Ford in the Federal rear, andso cut them off from the river that night, or early in the morning. Atthese words, Lee rose quickly and said with animation, "These peoplemust be pressed to-day. "

It would seem that at this moment a messenger--probably CaptainHotchkiss, Jackson's skilful engineer--arrived from Wilderness Tavern, bringing a note from the wounded general. Lee read it with muchfeeling, and dictated the following reply:

 GENERAL: I have just received your note informing me that you were wounded. I cannot express my regret at the occurrence. Could I have directed events, I should have chosen, for the good of the country, to have been disabled in your stead. 

 I congratulate you upon the victory, which is due to your skill and energy. R. E. LEE, _General_. 

This was dispatched with a second note to Stuart, directing him toassume command, and press the enemy at dawn. Lee then mounted hishorse, and, just as the day began to break, formed line of battleopposite the enemy's front, his line extending on the right tothe plank-road running from Chancellorsville in the direction ofFredericksburg. This force, under the personal command of Lee, amounted, as we have said, originally to about thirteen thousand men;and, as their loss had not been very severe in the demonstrations madeagainst the enemy on the preceding days, they were in good condition. The obvious course now was to place the troops in a position whichwould enable them, in the event of Stuart's success in driving theFederal right, to unite the left of Lee's line with the right ofStuart, and so press the Federal army back on Chancellorsville and theriver. We shall now return to the left wing of the army, which, inspite of the absence of the commanding general, was the column ofattack, which was looked to for the most important results. 

In response to the summons of the preceding night, Stuart had comeback from the direction of Ely's Ford, at a swift gallop, burning withardor at the thought of leading Jackson's great corps into battle. Themilitary ambition of this distinguished commander of Lee's horse wasgreat, and he had often chafed at the jests directed at the cavalryarm, and at himself as "only a cavalry-officer. " He had now presentedto him an opportunity of showing that he was a trained soldier, competent by his nerve and military ability to lead any arm of theservice, and greeted the occasion with delight. The men of Jackson hadbeen accustomed to see that commander pass slowly along their lineson a horse as sedate-looking as himself, a slow-moving figure, withlittle of the "poetry of war" in his appearance. They now foundthemselves commanded by a youthful and daring cavalier on a spiritedanimal, with floating plume, silken sash, and a sabre which gleamed inthe moonlight, as its owner galloped to and fro cheering the men andmarshalling them for the coming assault As he led the lines afterwardwith joyous vivacity, his sabre drawn, his plume floating proudly, oneof the men compared him to Henry of Navarre at the battle of Ivry. ButStuart's spirit of wild gayety destroyed the romantic dignity of thescene. He led the men of Jackson against General Hooker's breastworksbristling with cannon, singing "Old Joe Hooker, will you come out ofthe Wilderness!"

This sketch will convey a correct idea of the officer who had nowgrasped the bâton falling from the hand of the great marshal ofLee. It was probable that the advance of the infantry under such acommander would partake of the rush and rapidity of a cavalry-charge;and the sequel justified this view. 

At early dawn the Southern lines began to move. Either in consequenceof orders from Lee, or following his own conception, Stuart reversedthe movement of Jackson, who had aimed to swing round his left and cutoff the enemy. He seemed to have determined to extend his right, withthe view of uniting with the left of Anderson's division under Lee, and enclosing the enemy in the angle near Chancellorsville. Lee hadmoved at the same moment on their front, advancing steadily over allobstacles, and a Northern writer, who witnessed the combined attack, speaks of it in enthusiastic terms: "From the large brick housewhich gives the name to this vicinity, " says the writer, speakingof Chancellorsville, "the enemy could be seen, sweeping slowly butconfidently, determinedly and surely, through the clearings whichextended in front. Nothing could excite more admiration for thequalities of the veteran soldiers than the manner in which the enemyswept out, as they moved steadily onward, the forces which wereopposed to them. We say it reluctantly, and for the first time, thatthe enemy have shown the finest qualities, and we acknowledge on thisoccasion their superiority in the open field to our own men. Theydelivered their fire with precision, and were apparently inflexibleand immovable under the storm of bullets and shell which they wereconstantly receiving. Coming to a piece of timber, which was occupiedby a division of our own men, half the number were detailed to clearthe woods. It seemed certain that here they would be repulsed, butthey marched right through the wood, driving our own soldiers out, whodelivered their fire and fell back, halted again, fired, and fell backas before, seeming to concede to the enemy, as a matter of course, thesuperiority which they evidently felt themselves. Our own men foughtwell. There was no lack of courage, but an evident feeling that theywere destined to be beaten, and the only thing for them to do was tofire and retreat. "

This description of the steady advance of the Southern line appliesrather to the first portion of the attack, which compelled the frontline of the Federal army to retire to the stronger ground in rear. When this was reached, and the troops of Lee saw before them the lastcitadel, the steady advance became a rush. The divisions of Andersonand McLaws, on the right, made a determined charge upon the greatforce under Generals Hancock, Slocum, and others, in that quarter, andStuart closed in on the Federal right, steadily extending his line tojoin on to Anderson. 

The spectacle here was superb. As the troops rushed on, Stuartshouted, "Charge! and remember Jackson!" and this watchword seemed todrive the line forward. With Stuart leading them, and singing, inhis joyous voice, "Old Joe Hooker, will you come out of theWilderness!"--for courage, poetry, and seeming frivolity, werestrangely mingled in this great soldier--the troops went headlongat the Federal works, and in a few moments the real struggle of thebattle of Chancellorsville had begun. 

From this instant, when the lines, respectively commanded in personby Lee and by Stuart, closed in with the enemy, there was littlemanoeuvring of any description. It was an open attempt of Lee, by hardfighting, to crush in the enemy's front, and force them back upon theriver. In this arduous struggle it is due to Stuart to say that hisgeneralship largely decided the event, and the high commendation whichhe afterward received from General Lee justifies the statement. As hislines went to the attack, his quick military eye discerned an elevatedpoint on his right, from which it appeared an artillery-fire wouldenfilade the Federal line. About thirty pieces of cannon were at oncehastened to this point, and a destructive fire opened on the linesof General Slocum, which threw his troops into great confusion. Soserious was this fire that General Slocum sent word to General Hookerthat his front was being swept away by it, to which the sullenresponse was, "I cannot make soldiers or ammunition!"

General Hooker was indeed, it seems, at this moment in no mood to takea hopeful view of affairs. The heavy assault of Jackson appears tohave as much demoralized the Federal commander as his troops. Duringthe night he had erected a semicircular line of works, in the form ofa redan, in his rear toward the river, behind which new works he nodoubt contemplated falling back. He now awaited the result of theSouthern attack, leaning against a pillar of the porch at theChancellorsville House, when a cannon-ball struck the pillar, throwingit down, and so stunning the general as to prevent him from retainingthe command, which was delegated to General Couch. 

[Illustration: Chancellorsville]

The fate of the day had now been decided. The right wing of theSouthern army, under Lee, had gradually extended its left to meet theextension of Stuart's right; and this junction of the two wings havingbeen effected, Lee took personal command of all, and advanced hiswhole front in a decisive assault. Before this the Federal front gaveway, and the disordered troops were huddled back--now only a confusedand disorganized mass--upon Chancellorsville. The Southern troopspursued with yells, leaping over the earthworks, and driving allbefore them. A scene of singular horror ensued. The ChancellorsvilleHouse, which had been set on fire by shell, was seen to spout flamefrom every window, and the adjoining woods had, in like manner, caughtfire, and were heard roaring over the dead and wounded of both sidesalike. The thicket had become the scene of the cruellest of allagonies for the unfortunates unable to extricate themselves. The wholespectacle in the vicinity of the Chancellorsville House, now in Lee'spossession, was frightful. Fire, smoke, blood, confused yells, anddying groans, mingled to form the dark picture. 

Lee had ridden to the front of his line, following up the enemy, andas he passed before the troops they greeted him with one prolonged, unbroken cheer, in which those wounded and lying upon the groundunited. In that cheer spoke the fierce joy of men whom the hard combathad turned into blood-hounds, arousing all the ferocious instinctsof the human soul. Lee sat on his horse, motionless, near theChancellorsville House, his face and figure lit up by the glare of theburning woods, and gave his first attention, even at this excitingmoment, to the unfortunates of both sides, wounded, and in danger ofbeing burned to death. While issuing his orders on this subject, anote was brought to him from Jackson, congratulating him upon hisvictory. After reading it, with evidences of much emotion, he turnedto the officer who had brought it and said: "Say to General Jacksonthat the victory is his, and that the congratulation is due to him. "

The Federal army had fallen back in disorder, by this time, towardtheir second line. It was about ten o'clock in the morning, andChancellorsville was in Lee's possession. 

FLANK MOVEMENT OF GENERAL SEDGWICK. 

Lee hastened to bring the Southern troops into order again, andsucceeded in promptly reforming his line of battle, his frontextending, unbroken, along the Old Turnpike, facing the river. 

His design was to press General Hooker, and reap those rich rewards ofvictory to which the hard fighting of the men had entitled them. Ofthe demoralized condition of the Federal forces there can be no doubt, and the obvious course now was to follow up their retreat and endeavorto drive them in disorder beyond the Rappahannock. 

The order to advance upon the enemy was about to be given, when amessenger from Fredericksburg arrived at full gallop, and communicatedintelligence which arrested the order just as it was on Lee's lips. 

A considerable force of the enemy was advancing up the turnpike fromFredericksburg, to fall upon his right flank, and upon his rear incase he moved beyond Chancellorsville. The column was that of GeneralSedgwick. This officer, it will be remembered, had been detached tomake a heavy demonstration at Fredericksburg, and was still at thatpoint, with his troops drawn up on the southern bank, three milesbelow the city, on Saturday night, while Jackson was fighting. On thatmorning General Hooker had sent for Reynolds's corps, but, even inthe absence of this force, General Sedgwick retained under him abouttwenty-two thousand men; and this column was now ordered to storm theheights at Fredericksburg, march up the turnpike, and attack Lee inflank. 

General Sedgwick received the order at eleven o'clock on Saturdaynight, about the time when Jackson was carried wounded to the rear. Heimmediately made his preparations to obey, and at daylight moved upfrom below the city to storm the ridge at Marye's, and march straightupon Chancellorsville. In the first assaults he failed, sufferingconsiderable loss from the fire of the Southern troops under GeneralBarksdale, commanding the line at that point; but, subsequentlyforming an assaulting column for a straight rush at the hill, he wentforward with impetuosity; drove the Southern advanced line from behindthe "stone wall, " which Generals Sumner and Hooker had failed inreaching, and, about eleven in the morning, stormed Marye's Hill, andkilled, captured, or dispersed, the entire Southern force there. TheConfederates fought hand to hand over their guns with the enemy forthe possession of the crest, but their numbers were inadequate; theentire surviving force fell back over the Telegraph road southward, and General Sedgwick promptly advanced up the turnpike leading fromFredericksburg to Chancellorsville, to assail General Lee. 

It was the intelligence of this threatening movement which now reachedLee, and induced him to defer further attack at the moment uponGeneral Hooker. He determined promptly to send a force against GeneralSedgwick, and this resolution seems to have been based upon soundmilitary judgment. There was little to be feared now from GeneralHooker, large as the force still was under that officer. He wasparalyzed for the time, and would not probably venture upon anyattempt to regain possession of Chancellorsville. With GeneralSedgwick it was different. His column was comparatively fresh, wasflushed with victory, and numbered, even after his loss of onethousand, more than twenty thousand men. Compared with the entireFederal army, this force was merely a detachment, it was true, but itwas a detachment numbering as many men, probably, as the effective ofLee's entire army at Chancellorsville. He had carried into that fightabout thirty-four thousand men. His losses had been heavy, and thecommands were much shaken. To have advanced under these circumstancesupon General Hooker, without regard to General Sedgwick's twentythousand troops, inspired by recent victory, would have resultedprobably in disaster. 

These comments may detract from that praise of audacity accorded toLee in making this movement. It seems rather to have been the dictateof common-sense; to have advanced upon General Hooker would have beenthe audacity. 

It was thus necessary to defer the final blow at the main Federal armyin his front, and General Lee promptly detached a force of about fivebrigades to meet General Sedgwick, which, with Early's command, now inrear of the Federal column, would, it was supposed, suffice. 

This body moved speedily down the turnpike to check the enemy, andencountered the head of his column about half-way, near Salem Church. General Wilcox, who had been sent by Lee to watch Banks's Ford, hadalready moved to bar the Federal advance. When the brigades sent byLee joined him, the whole force formed line of battle: a brisk actionensued, continuing from about four in the afternoon until nightfall, when the fighting ceased, and General Sedgwick made no further attemptto advance on that day. 

These events took place, as we have said, on Sunday afternoon, theday of the Federal defeat at Chancellorsville. On Monday morning (May4th), the theatre of action on the southern bank of the Rappahannockpresented a very remarkable complication. General Early had beendriven from the ridge at Fredericksburg; but no sooner had GeneralSedgwick marched toward Chancellorsville, than Early returned andseized upon Marye's Heights again. He was thus in General Sedgwick'srear, and ready to prevent him from recrossing the Rappahannock atFredericksburg. Sedgwick meanwhile was moving to assail Lee's flankand rear, and Lee was ready to attack General Hooker in front. Suchwas the singular entanglement of the Northern and Southern forces onMonday morning after the battle of Chancellorsville. What the resultwas to be the hours of that day were now to decide. 

Lee resolved first, if possible, to crush General Sedgwick, when itwas his design to return and make a decisive assault upon GeneralHooker. In accordance with this plan, he on Monday morning went inpersonal command of three brigades of Anderson's division, reached thevicinity of Salem Church, and proceeded to form line of battle withthe whole force there. Owing to unforeseen delays, the attack was notbegun until late in the afternoon, when the whole line advanced uponGeneral Sedgwick, Lee's aim being to cut him off from the river. Inthis he failed, the stubborn resistance of the Federal forces enablingthem to hold their ground until night. At that time, however, theyseemed to waver and lose heart, whether from receiving intelligence ofGeneral Hooker's mishap, or from other causes, is not known. They werenow pressed by the Southern troops, and finally gave way. GeneralSedgwick retreated rapidly but in good order to Banks's Ford, where apontoon had been fortunately laid, and this enabled him to cross hismen. The passage was effected under cover of darkness, the Southerncannon firing upon the retreating column; and, with this, ended themovement of General Sedgwick. 

On Tuesday morning Lee returned with his men toward Chancellorsville, and during the whole day was busily engaged in preparation for adecisive attack upon General Hooker on the next morning. 

When, however, the Southern sharp-shooters felt their way, atdaylight, toward the Federal position, it was found that the workswere entirely deserted. 

General Hooker had recrossed the river, spreading pine-boughs on thepontoon bridge to muffle the sound of his artillery-wheels. 

So the great advance ended. 

VII. 

LEE'S GENERALSHIP AND PERSONAL DEMEANOR DURING THE CAMPAIGN. 

The movements of the two armies in the Chancellorsville campaign, asit is generally styled, have been so fully described in the foregoingpages, that little comment upon them is here necessary. The mainfeature which attracts attention, in surveying the whole series ofoperations, is the boldness, amounting to apparent recklessness, ofLee; and, first, the excellent generalship, and then the extraordinarytissue of military errors, of General Hooker. 

Up to the 1st of May, when he emerged from the Chancellorsvillethicket, every thing had succeeded with the Federal commander, anddeserved to succeed. He had successfully brought over his great force, which he himself described as the "finest army on the planet, " andoccupied strong ground east of Chancellorsville, on the road toFredericksburg. General Sedgwick was absent at the latter place with astrong detachment of the army, but the main body covered Banks's Ford, but twelve miles from the city, and by the afternoon of this day thewhole army might have been concentrated. Then the fate of Lee wouldseem to have been decided. He had not only a very small army, butthat army was scattered, and liable to be cut off in detail. GeneralSedgwick menaced his right at Fredericksburg--General Hooker was infront of his left near Chancellorsville--and to crush one of thesewings before the other could come to its assistance seemed a work ofno very great difficulty. General Hooker appears, however, to havedistrusted his ability to effect this result, and, finding thatGeneral Lee was advancing with his main body to attack him, retired, from his strong position in the open country, to the dense thicketaround Chancellorsville. That this was a grave military error therecan be no doubt, as, by this retrograde movement, General Hooker notonly discouraged his troops, who had been elated by his confident andinspiring general orders, but lost the great advantage of the opencountry, where his large force could be successfully manoeuvred. 

Lee took instant advantage of this fault in his adversary, and boldlypressed the force retiring into the Wilderness, where, on the nightof the 1st of May, General Hooker was shut up with his army. Thisunforeseen result presented the adversaries now in an entirely newlight. The Federal army, which had been promised by its commandera speedy march upon Richmond in pursuit of Lee, had, instead ofadvancing, made a backward movement; and Lee, who it had been supposedwould retreat, was now following and offering them battle. 

The daring resolution of Lee, to divide his army and attack theFederal right, followed. It would seem unjust to General Hookergreatly to blame him for the success of that blow, which could nothave been reasonably anticipated. In determining upon this, one ofthe most extraordinary movements of the war, General Lee proceeded indefiance of military rules, and was only justified in his course bythe desperate character of the situation of affairs. It was impossibleto make any impression upon General Hooker's front or left, owing tothe elaborate defences in both quarters; it was, therefore, necessaryeither to retire, or attack in a different direction. As a retreat, however, upon Richmond would have surrendered to the enemy a large andfertile tract of country, it was desirable, if possible, to avoid thatalternative; and the attack on the Federal right followed. The resultsof this were truly extraordinary. The force routed and driven back indisorder by General Jackson was but a single corps, and that corps, itis said, not a legitimate part of the old Army of the Potomac; but thedisorder seems to have communicated itself to the whole army, and tohave especially discouraged General Hooker. In describing the scenein question, we refrained from dwelling upon the full extent of theconfusion into which the Federal forces were thrown: some sentences, taken from Northern accounts, may lead to a better understanding ofthe result. After Jackson's assault, a Northern historian says: "Theopen plain around Chancellorsville presented such a spectacle asa simoom sweeping over the desert might make. Through the dusk ofnightfall a rushing whirlwind of men and artillery and wagons sweptdown the road, past headquarters, and on toward the fords of theRappahannock; and it was in vain that the staff opposed their personsand drawn sabres to the panic-stricken fugitives. " Another writer, aneye-witness, says the spectacle presented was that of "solid columnsof infantry retreating at double-quick; a dense mass of beings flying;hundreds of cavalry-horses, left riderless at the first discharge fromthe rebels, dashing frantically about in all directions; scores ofbatteries flying from the field; battery-wagons, ambulances, horses, men, cannon, caissons, all jumbled and tumbled together in oneinextricable mass--the stampede universal, the disgrace general. "

After all, however, it was but one corps of the Federal army whichhad been thus thrown into disorder, and General Hooker had no validgrounds for distrusting his ability to defeat Lee in a more decisiveaction. There are many reasons for coming to the conclusion that hedid from that moment distrust his powers. He had courageously hastenedto the assailed point, ordering the men to "throw themselves into thebreach, " and receive Jackson's troops "on the bayonet;" but, afterthis display of soldierly resolution, General Hooker appears to havelost some of that nerve which should never desert a soldier, and onthe same night sent engineers to trace out a new line of defences inhis rear, to which, it seems, he already contemplated the probabilityof being forced to retire. Why he came to take this depressed viewof the situation of affairs, it is difficult to say. One of GeneralSedgwick's corps reached him on this night, and his force atChancellorsville still amounted to between ninety and one hundredthousand men, about thrice that of Lee. No decisive trial of strengthhad yet taken place between the two armies; and yet the larger forcewas constructing defences in rear to protect them from the smaller--acircumstance not tending, it would seem, to greatly encourage thetroops whose commander was thus providing for a safe retreat. 

The subsequent order to General Sedgwick to march up fromFredericksburg and assail Lee's right was judicious, and reallysaved the army from a great disaster. Lee was about to follow up thediscouraged forces of General Hooker as they fell back toward theriver; and, as the Southern army was flushed with victory, thesurrender of the great body might have ensued. This possible resultwas prevented by the flank movement of General Sedgwick, and somegratitude for assistance so important from his able lieutenant wouldhave seemed natural and graceful in General Hooker. This view of thesubject does not seem, however, to have been taken by the Federalcommander. He subsequently charged the defeat of Chancellorsville uponGeneral Sedgwick, who he declared had "failed in a prompt compliancewith his orders. "[1] The facts do not bear out this charge, as thereader has seen. General Sedgwick received the order toward midnighton Saturday, and, at eleven o'clock on Sunday morning, had passedover that stubborn "stone wall" which, in the battle of the precedingDecember, General Hooker's column had not even been able to reach;had stormed Marye's Hill, which General Hooker had described, invindication of his own failure to carry the position, as "masonry, " "afortification, " and "a mountain of rock;" and had marched thereafterso promptly as to force Lee, in his own defence, to arrest the secondadvance upon the Federal main body, and divert a considerable force tomeet the attack on his flank. 

[Footnote 1: General Hooker in Report of the Committee on the Conductof the War, Part I. , page 130. This great collection is a valuablerepository of historic details, and contains the explanation of manyinteresting questions. ]

After the repulse of General Sedgwick, and his retreat acrossthe Rappahannock, General Hooker seems to have been completelydiscouraged, and hastened to put the river between himself and Lee. His losses in the battles of Saturday and Sunday had amounted toseventeen thousand one hundred and ninety-seven killed and wounded andmissing, fourteen pieces of artillery, and twenty thousand standof arms. The Confederate loss was ten thousand two hundred andeighty-one. Contrary to the ordinary course of things the assailingforce had lost a less number of men than that assailed. 

The foregoing reflections, which necessarily involve a criticism ofGeneral Hooker, arise naturally from a review of the events of thecampaign, and seem justified by the circumstances. There can be noinducement for the present writer to underrate the military ability ofthe Federal commander, as that want of ability rather detracts fromthan adds to the merit of General Lee in defeating him. It may besaid, indeed, that without these errors and shortcomings of GeneralHooker, Lee, humanly speaking, must have been either defeated orforced to retire upon Richmond. 

After giving full weight, however, to all the advantages derived fromthe extraordinary Federal oversights and mistakes, General Lee's meritin this campaign was greater, perhaps, than in any other during hisentire career. Had he left behind him no other record than this, italone would have been sufficient to have conferred upon him the firstglories of arms, and handed his name down to posterity as that of oneof the greatest soldiers of history. It is difficult to discover asingle error committed by him, in the whole series of movements, fromthe moment when General Sedgwick crossed at Fredericksburg, to thetime of General Hooker's retreat beyond the Rappahannock. It mayappear that there was unnecessary delay in permitting Tuesday to passwithout a final advance upon General Hooker, in his second line ofintrenchments; but, no doubt, many circumstances induced Lee to deferthis attack--the fatigue of his troops, consequent upon the fightingof the four preceding days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday; thenecessity of reforming his battalions for the final blow; and theanticipation that General Hooker, who still had at his command aforce of more than one hundred thousand men, would not so promptlyrelinquish his campaign, and retire. 

With the exception of this error, if it be such, Lee had made nosingle false step in the whole of his movements. The campaign wasround, perfect, and complete--such as a student of the art of warmight pore over, and analyze as an instance of the greatest principlesof military science "clothed in act. " The most striking features ofLee's movements were their rapidity and audacity. It had been thefashion with some persons to speak of Lee as slow and cautious in hisoperations, and this criticism had not been completely silenced evenin the winter of 1862, when his failure to crush General Burnsideafforded his detractors another opportunity of repeating the oldcharge. After the Chancellorsville campaign these fault-finders weresilenced--no one could be found to listen to them. The wholeSouthern movement completely contradicted their theory. At the firstintelligence of the advance of General Hooker's main body across theupper Rappahannock, Lee rode rapidly in that direction, and orderedhis troops at the fords of the river to fall back to Chancellorsville. He then returned, and, finding that General Sedgwick had crossed atFredericksburg, held a prompt consultation with Jackson, when it wasdecided at once to concentrate the main body of the army in front ofGeneral Hooker's column. At the word, Jackson moved; Lee followed. Onthe 1st of May, the enemy were pressed back upon Chancellorsville; onthe 2d, his right was crushed, and his army thrown into confusion; onthe 3d, he was driven from Chancellorsville, and, but for the flankmovement of General Sedgwick, which Lee was not in sufficient force toprevent, General Hooker would, upon that same day, Sunday, have in allprobability suffered a decisive defeat. 

In the course of four days Lee had thus advanced, and checked, andthen attacked and repulsed with heavy slaughter, an army thriceas large as his own. On the last day of April he had been nearlyenveloped by a host of about one hundred and twenty thousand men. Onthe 3d day of May their main body was in disorderly retreat; and atdaylight on the morning of the 6th there was not a Federal soldier, with the exception of the prisoners taken, on the southern bank of theRappahannock. 

During all these critical scenes, when the fate of the Confederatecapital, and possibly of the Southern cause, hung suspended in thebalance, General Lee preserved, as thousands of persons can testify, the most admirable serenity and composure, without that jubilantconfidence displayed by General Hooker in his address to the troops, and the exclamations to his officers. Lee was equally free from gloomor any species of depression. His spirits seemed to rise under thepressure upon him, and at times he was almost gay. When one of GeneralJackson's aides hastened into his tent near Fredericksburg, and withgreat animation informed him that the enemy were crossing theriver, in heavy force in his front, he seemed to be amused by thatcircumstance, and said, smiling: "Well, I _heard_ firing, and I wasbeginning to think it was time some of you lazy young fellows werecoming to tell me what it was all about. Say to General Jackson thathe knows just as well what to do with the enemy as I do. "

The commander-in-chief who could find time at such a moment toindulge in _badinage_, must have possessed excellent nerve; and thiscomposure, mingled with a certain buoyant hopefulness, as of one sureof the event, remained with Lee throughout the whole great wrestlewith General Hooker. He retained to the end his simple and quietmanner, divested of every thing like excitement. In the consultationwith Jackson, on the night of the 1st of May, when the crisis was socritical, his demeanor indicated no anxiety; and when, as we havesaid, the news came of Jackson's wound, he said simply, "Sitdown here, by me, captain, and tell me all about the fight lastevening"--adding, "Ah! captain, any victory is dearly bought whichdeprives us of the services of General Jackson even for a shorttime. Don't talk about it--thank God, it is no worse!" The turns ofexpression here are those of a person who permits nothing to disturbhis serenity, and indulges his gentler and tenderer feelings evenin the hot atmosphere of a great conflict. The picture presented issurely an interesting and beautiful one. The human being who utteredthe good-natured criticism at the expense of the "lazy young fellows, "and who greeted the news of Jackson's misfortune with a sigh as tenderas that of a woman, was the soldier who had "seized the masses of hisforce with the grasp of a Titan, and swung them into position as agiant might fling a mighty stone. " To General Hooker's threat to crushhim, he had responded by crushing General Hooker; nearly surrounded bythe huge cordon of the Federal army, he had cut the cordon and emergedin safety. General Hooker with his one hundred thousand men hadretreated to the north bank of the Rappahannock, and, on the southbank, Lee with his thirty thousand remained erect, threatening, andtriumphant. 

We have not presented in these pages the orders of Lee, on variousoccasions, as these papers are for the most part of an "official"character, and not of great interest to the general reader. We shall, however, occasionally present these documents, and here lay before thereader the orders of both General Hooker and General Lee, after thebattle of Chancellorsville, giving precedence to the former. The orderof the Federal commander was as follows:

 HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, _May_ 6, 1863. 

 The major-general commanding tenders to this army his congratulations on its achievements of the last seven days. If it has not accomplished all that was expected, the reasons are well known to the army. It is sufficient to say, they were of a character not to be foreseen or prevented by human sagacity or resources. 

 In withdrawing from the south bank of the Rappahannock, before delivering a general battle to our adversaries, the army has given renewed evidence in its confidence in itself, and its fidelity to the principles it represents. 

 By fighting at a disadvantage, we would have been recreant to our trust, to ourselves, to our cause, and to our country. Profoundly loyal, and conscious of its strength, the Army of the Potomac will give or decline battle whenever its interests or honor may command it. 

 By the celerity and secrecy of our movements, our advance and passage of the river were undisputed, and on our withdrawal not a rebel dared to follow us. The events of the last week may well cause the heart of every officer and soldier of the army to swell with pride. 

 We have added new laurels to our former renown. We have made long marches, crossed rivers, surprised the enemy in his intrenchments, and, whenever we have fought, we have inflicted heavier blows than those we have received. 

 We have taken from the enemy five thousand prisoners, and fifteen colors, captured seven pieces of artillery, and placed _hors de combat_ eighteen thousand of our foe's chosen troops. 

 We have destroyed his depots filled with vast amounts of stores, damaged his communications, captured prisoners within the fortifications of his capital, and filled his country with fear and consternation. 

 We have no other regret than that caused by the loss of our brave companions, and in this we are consoled by the conviction that they have fallen in the holiest cause ever submitted to the arbitration of battle. 

 By command of Major-General HOOKER:

 S. WILLIAMS, _Assistant Adjutant-General_

General Lee's order was as follows:

 HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, _May_ 7, 1863. 

 With heart-felt gratification, the general commanding expresses to the army his sense of the heroic conduct displayed by officers and men during the arduous operations in which they have just been engaged. 

 Under trying vicissitudes of heat and storm you attacked the enemy, strongly intrenched in the depths of a tangled wilderness, and again on the hills of Fredericksburg, fifteen miles distant, and by the valor that has triumphed on so many fields forced him once more to seek safety beyond the Rappahannock. While this glorious victory entitles you to the praise and gratitude of the nation, we are especially called upon to return our grateful thanks to the only Giver of victory, for the signal deliverances He has wrought. 

 It is therefore earnestly recommended that the troops unite on Sunday next in ascribing unto the Lord of hosts the glory due unto His name. 

 Let us not forget, in our rejoicing, the brave soldiers who have fallen in defence of their country; and, while we mourn their loss, let us resolve to emulate their noble example. 

 The army and the country alike lament the absence for a time of one to whose bravery, energy, and skill, they are so much indebted for success. 

 The following letter from the President of the Confederate States is communicated to the army, as an expression of his appreciation of their success:

 "I have received your dispatch, and reverently unite with you in giving praise to God for the success with which He has crowned our arms. In the name of the people I offer my cordial thanks, and the troops under your command, for this addition to the unprecedented series of great victories which our army has achieved. The universal rejoicing produced by this happy result will be mingled with a general regret for the good and the brave who are numbered among the killed and the wounded. "

 R. E. LEE, _General_. 

VIII. 

PERSONAL RELATIONS OF LEE AND JACKSON. 

The most important incident of the great battle of Chancellorsvillewas the fall of Jackson. The services of this illustrious soldier hadnow become almost indispensable to General Lee, who spoke of himas his "right arm;" and the commander-in-chief had so long beenaccustomed to lean upon the strong shoulder of his lieutenant, thatnow, when this support was withdrawn, he seems to have felt the lossof it profoundly. 

In the war, indeed, there had arisen no soldier who so powerfully drewthe public eye as Jackson. In the opinion of many persons, he was agreater and abler commander than Lee himself; and, although suchan opinion will not be found to stand after a full review of thecharacters and careers of the two leaders, there was sufficient groundfor it to induce many fair and intelligent persons to adopt it. Jackson had been almost uniformly successful. He had conducted to atriumphant issue the arduous campaign of the Valley, where he wasopposed in nearly every battle by a force much larger than his own;and these victories, in a quarter so important, and at a moment socritical, had come, borne on the wind of the mountain, to electrifyand inspire the hearts of the people of Richmond and the entireConfederacy. Jackson's rapid march and assault on General McClellan'sright on the Chickahominy had followed; he then advanced northward, defeated the vanguard of the enemy at Cedar Mountain, led the greatcolumn of Lee against the rear of General Pope, destroyed Manassas, held his ground until Lee arrived, and bore an important part in thebattle which ensued. Thence he had passed to Maryland, fallen uponHarper's Ferry and captured it, returned to fight with Lee atSharpsburg, and in that battle had borne the brunt of the enemy's mainassault with an unbroken front. That the result was a drawn battle, and not a Southern defeat, was due to Lee's generalship and Jackson'sfighting. The retrograde movement to the lowland followed, and Jacksonwas left in the Valley to embarrass McClellan's advance. In this heperfectly succeeded, and then suddenly reappeared at Fredericksburg, where he received and repulsed one of the two great assaults of theenemy. The battle of Chancellorsville followed, and Lee's statementof the part borne in this hard combat by Jackson has been given. Theresult was due, he said, not to his own generalship, but to the skilland energy of his lieutenant, whose congratulations he refused toreceive, declaring that the victory was Jackson's. 

Here had at last ended the long series of nearly unbroken victories. Jackson had become the _alter ego_ of Lee, and it is not difficultto understand the sense of loss felt by the commander-in-chief. Inaddition to this natural sentiment, was deep regret at the death ofone personally dear to him, and to whom he was himself an object ofalmost reverent love. The personal relations of Lee and Jackson had, from first to last, remained the same--not the slightest cloud hadever arisen to disturb the perfect union in each of admiration andaffection for the other. It had never occurred to these two greatsoldiers to ask what their relative position was in the publiceye--which was most spoken of and commended or admired. Human natureis weak at best, and the fame of Jackson, mounting to its dazzlingzenith, might have disturbed a less magnanimous soul than Lee's. Thereis not, however, the slightest reason to believe that Lee ever gavethe subject a thought. Entirely free from that vulgar species ofambition which looks with cold eyes upon the success of others, asoffensive to its own _amour-propre_ Lee never seems to have institutedany comparison between himself and Jackson--greeted praise of hisfamous lieutenant with sincere pleasure--and was the first uponevery occasion, not only to express the fullest sense of Jackson'sassistance, and the warmest admiration of his genius as a soldier, butto attribute to him, as after the battle of Chancellorsville, _all_the merit of every description. 

It is not possible to contemplate this august affection and admirationof the two soldiers for each other, without regarding it as a greaterglory to them than all their successes in arms. Lee's opinion ofJackson, and personal sentiment toward him, have been set forth in theabove sentences. The sentiment of Jackson for Lee was as strong orstronger. He regarded him with mingled love and admiration. To excitesuch feelings in a man like Jackson, it was necessary that Lee shouldbe not only a soldier of the first order of genius, but also a goodand pious man. It was in these lights that Jackson regarded hiscommander, and from first to last his confidence in and admiration forhim never wavered. He had defended Lee from the criticism of unskilledor ignorant persons, from the time when he assumed command of thearmy, in the summer of 1862. At that time some one spoke of Lee, inJackson's presence, as "slow. " The criticism aroused the indignationof the silent soldier, and he exclaimed: "General Lee is _not_ 'slow. 'No one knows the weight upon his heart--his great responsibilities. He is commander-in-chief, and he knows that, if an army is lost, itcannot be replaced. No! there may be some persons whose good opinionof me may make them attach some weight to my views, and, if you everhear that said of General Lee, I beg you will contradict it in myname. I have known General Lee for five-and-twenty years. He iscautious. He ought to be. But he is _not_ 'slow. ' Lee is a phenomenon. He is the only man whom I would follow blindfold!"

The abrupt and energetic expressions of Jackson on this occasionindicate his profound sense of the injustice done Lee by thesecriticisms; and it would be difficult to imagine a stronger statementthan that here made by him. It will be conceded that he himself wascompetent to estimate soldiership, and in Jackson's eyes Lee was"a phenomenon--the only man whom he would follow blindfold. " Thesubsequent career of Lee seems to have strengthened and intensifiedthis extreme admiration. What Lee advised or did was always inJackson's eyes the very best that could be suggested or performed. Heyielded his own opinions, upon every occasion, with perfect readinessand cheerfulness to those of Lee, as to the master-mind; loved him, revered him, looked up to him, and never seems to have found faultwith him but upon one occasion--when he received Lee's note ofcongratulation after Chancellorsville. He then said: "General Lee isvery kind; but he should give the glory to God. "

This affection and admiration were fully returned by General Lee, whoconsulted Jackson upon every occasion, and confided in him as hispersonal friend. There was seldom any question between them ofsuperior and subordinate--never, except when the exigency requiredthat the decision should be made by Lee as commander-in-chief. Jackson's supreme genius, indeed, made this course natural, and nofurther praise is due Lee in this particular, save that of modesty andgood sense; but these qualities are commendable and not universal. He committed the greatest undertakings to Jackson with the utmostconfidence, certain that he would do all that could be done; and somewords of his quoted above express this entire confidence. "Sayto General Jackson, " he replied to the young staff-officer atFredericksburg, "that he knows just as well what to do with the enemyas I do. "

Lee's personal affection was strikingly displayed after the battleof Chancellorsville, when Jackson lay painfully, but no one supposedmortally, wounded, first at Wilderness Tavern, and then at Ginney's. Prevented from visiting the wounded man, by the responsibilities ofcommand, now all the greater from Jackson's absence, and not regardinghis hurt as serious, as indeed it did not appear to be until towardthe last, Lee sent him continual messages containing good wishesand inquiries after his health. The tone of these messages is veryfamiliar and affectionate, and leaves no doubt of the character of therelations between the two men. 

"Give him my affectionate regards, " he said to one officer, "and tellhim to make haste and get well, and come back to me as soon as he can. He has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right. "

When the wound of the great soldier took a bad turn, and it began tobe whispered about that the hurt might prove fatal, Lee was stronglymoved, and said with deep feeling: "Surely General Jackson mustrecover! God will not take him from us, now that we need him so much. Surely he will be spared to us, in answer to the many prayers whichare offered for him!"

He paused after uttering these words, laboring evidently under verydeep and painful emotion. After remaining silent for some moments, he added: "When you return I trust you will find him better. Whena suitable occasion offers, give him my love, and tell him that Iwrestled in prayer for him last night, as I never prayed, I believe, for myself. "

The tone of these messages is, as we have said, that of familiaraffection, as from one valued friend to another. The expression, "Givehim my love, " is a Virginianism, which is used only when two personsare closely and firmly bound by long association and friendship. Suchhad been the case with Lee and Jackson, and in the annals of the warthere is no other instance of a friendship so close, affectionate, andunalloyed. 

Jackson died on the 10th of May, and the unexpected intelligenceshocked Lee profoundly. He mourned the death of the illustrioussoldier with a sorrow too deep almost to find relief in tears; andissued a general order to the troops, which was in the followingwords:

 With deep grief the commanding general announces to the army the death of Lieutenant-General T. J. Jackson, who expired on the 10th inst. , at quarter-past three P. M. The daring, skill, and energy of this great and good soldier, by the decree of an All-wise Providence, are now lost to us. But, while we mourn his death, we feel that his spirit still lives, and will inspire the whole army with his indomitable courage and unshaken confidence in God, as our hope and strength. Let his name be a watchword to his corps, who have followed him to victory on so many fields. Let his officers and soldiers emulate his invincible determination to do every thing in defence of our beloved country. R. E. LEE, _General_. 

It is probable that the composition of this order cost General Lee oneof the severest pangs he ever experienced. 

IX. 

CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO THE INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

The defeat of General Hooker at Chancellorsville was the turning-pointof the war, and for the first time there was apparently a possibilityof inducing the Federal Government to relinquish its opposition to theestablishment of a separate authority in the South. The idea of theformation of a Southern Confederacy, distinct from the old Union, had, up to this time, been repudiated by the authorities at Washington as athing utterly out of the question; but the defeat of the Federal armsin the two great battles of the Rappahannock had caused the mostdetermined opponents of separation to doubt whether the South couldbe coerced to return to the Union; and, what was equally or moreimportant, the proclamations of President Lincoln, declaring theslaves of the South free, and placing the United States virtuallyunder martial law, aroused a violent clamor from the great Democraticparty of the North, who loudly asserted that all constitutionalliberty was disappearing. 

This combination of non-success in military affairs and usurpation bythe Government emboldened the advocates of peace to speak out plainly, and utter their protest against the continuance of the struggle, which they declared had only resulted in the prostration of allthe liberties of the country. Journals and periodicals, violentlydenunciatory of the course pursued by the Government, all at once madetheir appearance in New York and elsewhere. A peace convention wascalled to meet in Philadelphia. Mr. Vallandigham, nominee of theDemocratic party for Governor of Ohio, eloquently denounced the wholepolicy of endeavoring to subjugate the sovereign States of the South;and Judge Curtis, of Boston, formerly Associate Judge of the SupremeCourt of the United States, published a pamphlet in which the FederalPresident was stigmatized as a usurper and tyrant. "I do not see, "wrote Judge Curtis, "that it depends upon the Executive decree whethera servile war shall be invoked to help twenty millions of the whiterace to assert the rightful authority of the Constitution and laws oftheir country over those who refuse to obey them. But I do see thatthis proclamation" (emancipating the Southern slaves) "asserts thepower of the Executive to make such a decree! I do not perceive how itis that my neighbors and myself, residing remote from armies and theiroperations, and where all the laws of the land may be enforced byconstitutional means, should be subjected to the possibility ofarrest and imprisonment and trial before a military commission, andpunishment at its discretion, for offences unknown to the law--apossibility to be converted into a fact at the mere will of thePresident, or of some subordinate officer, clothed by him with thispower. But I do perceive that this Executive power is asserted.... Itmust be obvious to the meanest capacity that, if the President ofthe United States has an _implied_ constitutional right, asCommander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, in time of war, to disregardany one positive prohibition of the Constitution, or to exercise anyone power not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, because in his judgment he may thereby 'best subdue the enemy, ' hehas the same right, for the same reason, to disregard each and everyprovision of the Constitution, and to exercise all power _needful inhis opinion_ to enable him 'best to subdue the enemy. ' ... The timehas certainly come when the people of the United States _must_understand and _must_ apply those great rules of civil liberty whichhave been arrived at by the self-devoted efforts of thought and actionof their ancestors during seven hundred years of struggle againstarbitrary power. "

So far had reached the thunder of Lee's guns at Chancellorsville. Their roar seemed to have awakened throughout the entire North thegreat party hitherto lulled to slumber by the plea of "militarynecessity, " or paralyzed by the very extent of the Executiveusurpation which they saw, but had not had heart to oppose. On allsides the advocates of peace on the basis of separation were heardraising their importunate voices; and in the North the hearts of thepeople began to thrill with the anticipation of a speedy terminationof the bloody and exhausting struggle. The occasion was embraced byMr. Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederate States, to proposenegotiations. This able gentleman wrote from Georgia on the 12th ofJune to President Davis, offering to go to Washington and sound theauthorities there on the subject of peace. He believed that the momentwas propitious, and wished to act before further military movementswere undertaken--especially before any further projects of invasion byLee--which would tend, he thought, to silence the peace party at theNorth, and again arouse the war spirit. The letter of Mr. Stephenswas written on the 12th of June, and President Davis responded bytelegraph a few days afterward, requesting Mr. Stephens to come toRichmond. He reached that city on the 22d or 23d of June, but by thattime Lee's vanguard was entering Maryland, and Gettysburg speedilyfollowed, which terminated all hopes of peace. 

The plan of moving the Southern army northward, with the view ofinvading the Federal territory, seems to have been the result of manycircumstances. The country was elated with the two great victories ofFredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and the people were clamorous foractive operations against an enemy who seemed powerless to stand thepressure of Southern steel. The army, which had been largely augmentedby the return of absentees to its ranks, new levies, and the recallof Longstreet's two divisions from Suffolk, shared the generalenthusiasm; and thus a very heavy pressure was brought to bear uponthe authorities and on General Lee, in favor of a forward movement, which, it was supposed, would terminate in a signal victory and atreaty of peace. 

Lee yielded to this view of things rather than urged it. He was notopposed to an offensive policy, and seems, indeed, to have shared theopinion of Jackson that "the Scipio Africanus policy" was the best forthe South. His theory from the beginning of the war had been, that thetrue policy of the South was to keep the enemy as far as possiblefrom the interior, fighting on the frontier or on Federal soil, ifpossible. That of the South would there thus be protected from theravages of the enemy, and the further advantage would accrue, that theConfederate capital, Richmond, would at all times be safe from danger. This was an important consideration, as events subsequently showed. As long as the enemy were held at arm's-length, north of theRappahannock, Richmond, with her net-work of railroads connecting withevery part of the South, was safe, and the Government, undisturbed intheir capital, remained a power in the eyes of the world. But, with anenemy enveloping the city, and threatening her lines of communication, the tenure of the place by the Government was uncertain. When GeneralGrant finally thus enveloped the city, and laid hold upon therailroads, Lee's army was defeated, and the Government becamefugitive, which alone would have struck a mortal blow to its prestigeand authority. 

It was to arrive at these results, which his sagacity discerned, thatLee always advocated such movements as would throw back the enemy, anddrive him, if possible, from the soil of Virginia. Another importantconsideration was the question of supplies. These were at all timesdeficient in the Confederate armies, and it was obviously the bestpolicy to protect as much territory, from which supplies might bedrawn, as possible. More than ever before, these supplies were nowneeded; and when General Lee sent, in May or June, a requisition forrations to Richmond, the commissary-general is said to have endorsedupon the paper, "If General Lee wishes rations, let him seek them inPennsylvania. "

The considerations here stated were the main inducements forthat great movement northward which followed the battle ofChancellorsville. The army and country were enthusiastic; theGovernment rather followed than led; and, throughout the month of May, Lee was busily engaged in organizing and equipping his forces for thedecisive advance. Experience had now dictated many alterations andimprovements in the army. It was divided into three _corps d'armée_, each consisting of three divisions, and commanded by an officer withthe rank of lieutenant-general. Longstreet remained at the head of hisformer corps, Ewell succeeded Jackson in command of "Jackson's oldcorps, " and A. P. Hill was assigned to a third corps made up ofportions of the two others. The infantry was thus rearranged in amanner to increase greatly its efficiency, and the artillery armwas entirely reorganized. The old system of assigning one or morebatteries or battalions to each division or corps was done away with, and the artillery of the army was made a distinct command, and placedunder General W. N. Pendleton, a brave and energetic officer, who wasthenceforward Lee's "chief of artillery. " The last arm, the cavalry, was also increased in efficiency; and, on the last day of May, General Lee had the satisfaction of finding himself in command of awell-equipped and admirably-officered army of sixty-eight thousandthree hundred and fifty-two bayonets, and nearly ten thousand cavalryand artillery--in all, about eighty thousand men. Never before hadthe Southern army had present for duty, as fighting men, so large anumber, except just before the battles on the Chickahominy. There was, however, this great difference between the army then and at this time:in those first months of 1862, it was made up largely of raw troopswho had never heard the discharge of a musket in their lives: whilenow, in May, 1863 the bulk of the army consisted of Lee's veterans, men who had followed him through the fire of Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, and could be counted onto effect any thing not absolutely beyond human power. GeneralLongstreet, conversing after the war with a gentleman of the North, declared as much. The army at that time, he said, was in a conditionto undertake _any thing_. 

X. 

LEE'S PLANS AND OBJECTS. 

The great game of chess was now about to commence, and, taking anillustration from that game, General Lee is reported to have said thathe believed he would "swap queens, " that is, advance and attempt tocapture the city of Washington, leaving General Hooker at liberty, ifhe chose so to do, to seize in turn upon Richmond. What the result ofso singular a manoeuvre would have been, it is impossible to say; itwould certainly have proved one of the strangest incidents of a warfruitful in varied and shifting events. 

Such a plan of operations, however, if ever seriously contemplatedby Lee, was speedily abandoned. He nowhere makes mention of any suchdesign in his published reports, and he probably spoke of it only injest. His real aim in the great movement now about to commence, isstated with brevity and reserve--then absolutely necessary--but alsowith sufficient clearness, in his official report. The position ofthe enemy opposite Fredericksburg was, he says, such as to render anattack upon him injudicious. It was, therefore, desirable to manoeuvrehim out of it--force him to return toward Maryland--and thus freethe country of his forces. A further result was expected from thismovement. The lower Shenandoah Valley was occupied by the enemy underGeneral Milroy, who, with his headquarters at Winchester, harassed thewhole region, which he ruled with a rod of iron. With the withdrawalof the Federal army under General Hooker, and before the advance ofthe Confederates, General Milroy would also disappear, and the fertilefields of the Valley be relieved. The whole force of the enemy wouldthus, says Lee, "be compelled to leave Virginia, and possibly to drawto its support troops designed to operate against other parts of thecountry. " He adds: "In this way it was supposed that the enemy's planof campaign for the summer would be broken up, and part of the seasonof active operations be consumed in the formation of new combinationsand the preparations that they would require. In addition to theseadvantages, it was hoped that other valuable results might be attainedby military success, " that is to say, by a battle which Lee intendedto fight when circumstances were favorable. That he expected to fight, not merely to manoeuvre the enemy from Virginia, is apparent fromanother sentence of the report. "It was thought, " he says, "that thecorresponding movements on the part of the enemy, to which thosecontemplated by us would probably give rise, might _offer a fairopportunity to strike a blow at the army therein, commanded by GeneralHooker_" the word "therein" referring to the region "north of thePotomac. " In the phrase, "other valuable results which might beattained by military success, " the reference is plainly to thetermination of the contest by a treaty of peace, based upon theindependence of the South. 

These sentences, taken from the only publication ever made by Leeon the subject of the Gettysburg campaign, express guardedly, butdistinctly, his designs. He aimed to draw General Hooker north of thePotomac, clear the Valley, induce the enemy to send troops in otherquarters to the assistance of the main Federal army, and, when themoment came, attack General Hooker, defeat him if possible, and thusend the war. That a decisive defeat of the Federal forces at that timein Maryland or Pennsylvania, would have virtually put an end to thecontest, there seems good reason to believe. Following the Southernvictories of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, a third bloodydisaster would, in all human probability, have broken the resolutionof the Federal authorities. With Lee thundering at the gates ofWashington or Philadelphia, and with the peace party encouraged toloud and importunate protest, it is not probable that the war wouldhave continued. Intelligent persons in the North are said to have sodeclared, since the war, and the declaration seems based upon goodsense. 

Before passing from this necessary preface to the narrative of events, it is proper to add that, in the contemplated battle with GeneralHooker, when he had drawn him north of the Potomac, Lee did not intendto assume a _tactical offensive_, but to force the Federal commander, if possible, to make the attack. [Footnote: "It had not been intendedto fight a general battle at such a distance from our base, unlessattacked by the enemy. "--_Lee's Report_] From this resolution he wasafterward induced by circumstances to depart, and the result is known. 

What is above written will convey to the reader a clear conception ofLee's views and intentions in undertaking his last great offensivecampaign; and we now proceed to the narrative of the movements of thetwo armies, and the battle of Gettysburg. 

XI. 

THE CAVALRY-FIGHT AT FLEETWOOD. 

Lee began his movement northward on the 3d day of June, just one monthafter the battle of Chancellorsville. From this moment to the timewhen his army was concentrated in the vicinity of Gettysburg, hisoperations were rapid and energetic, but with a cautious regard to themovements of the enemy. 

Pursuing his design of manoeuvring the Federal army out of Virginia, without coming to action, Lee first sent forward one division ofLongstreet's corps in the direction of Culpepper, another thenfollowed, and, on the 4th and 5th of June, Ewell's entire corps wassent in the same direction--A. P. Hill remaining behind on the southbank of the Rappahannock, near Fredericksburg, to watch the enemythere, and bar the road to Richmond. These movements became speedilyknown to General Hooker, whose army lay north of the river near thatpoint, and on the 5th he laid a pontoon just below Fredericksburg, and crossed about a corps to the south bank, opposite Hill. Thisthreatening demonstration, however, was not suffered by Lee to arresthis own movements. Seeing that the presence of the enemy there was"intended for the purpose of observation rather than attack, " and onlyaimed to check his operations, he continued the withdrawal of histroops, by way of Culpepper, in the direction of the ShenandoahValley. 

A brilliant pageant, succeeded by a dramatic and stirring incident, was now to prelude the march of Lee into the enemy's territory. Onthe 8th of June, the day of the arrival of Lee's head of column inCulpepper, a review of Stuart's cavalry took place in a field east ofthe court-house. The review was a picturesque affair. General Lee waspresent, sitting his horse, motionless, on a little knoll--the erectfigure half concealed by the short cavalry-cape falling from hisshoulders, and the grave face overshadowed by the broad grayhat--while above him, from a lofty pole, waved the folds of a largeConfederate flag. The long column of about eight thousand cavalry wasfirst drawn up in line, and afterward passed in front of Lee at agallop--Stuart and his staff-officers leading the charge with sabresat tierce point, a species of military display highly attractive tothe gallant and joyous young commander. The men then charged in mimicbattle the guns of the "Stuart Horse-Artillery, " which were postedupon an adjoining hill; and, as the column of cavalry approached, the artillerists received them with a thunderous discharge of blankammunition, which rolled like the roar of actual battle among thesurrounding hills. This sham-fight was kept up for some time, and nodoubt puzzled the enemy on the opposite shore of the Rappahannock. Onthe next morning--either in consequence of a design formed before thereview, or to ascertain what this discharge of artillery meant--twodivisions of Federal cavalry, supported by two brigades of "pickedinfantry, " were sent across the river at Kelly's and Beverley's Fords, east of the court-house, to beat up the quarters of Stuart and findwhat was going on in the Southern camps. 

The most extensive cavalry-fight, probably, of the whole war, followed. One of Stuart's brigades, near Beverley's Ford, was nearlysurprised and resolutely attacked at daylight by Buford's division, which succeeded in forcing back the brigade a short distance towardthe high range called Fleetwood Hill, in the rear. From this eminence, where his headquarters were established, Stuart went to the front at aswift gallop, opened a determined fire of artillery and sharp-shootersupon the advancing enemy, and sent Hampton's division to attack themon their left. Meanwhile, however, the enemy were executing a rapidand dangerous movement against Stuart's, rear. General Gregg, commanding the second Federal cavalry division, crossed at Kelly'sFord below, passed the force left in that quarter, and came indirectly on Stuart's rear, behind Fleetwood Hill. In the midst of thehard fight in front, Stuart was called now to defend his rear. Hehastened to do so by falling back and meeting the enemy now chargingthe hill. The attack was repulsed, and the enemy's artillery chargedin turn by the Southerners. This was captured and recaptured two orthree times, but at last remained in the hands of Stuart. 

General Gregg now swung round his right, and prepared to advancealong the eastern slope of the hill. Stuart had, however, posted hisartillery there, and, as the Federal line began to move, arrestedit with a sudden and destructive fire of shell. At the same time aportion of Hampton's division, under the brave Georgian, GeneralP. M. B. Young, was ordered to charge the enemy. The assault waspromptly made with the sabre, unaided by carbine or pistol fire, andYoung cut down or routed the force in front of him, which dispersedin disorder toward the river. The dangerous assault on the rear ofFleetwood Hill was thus repulsed, and the advance of the enemy on theleft, near the river, met with the same ill success. General W. H. F. Lee, son of the commanding general, gallantly charged them in thatquarter, and drove them back to the Rappahannock, receiving a severewound, which long confined him to his bed. Hampton had followed theretreating enemy on the right, under the fire of Stuart's guns fromFleetwood Hill; and by nightfall the whole force had recrossed theRappahannock, leaving several hundred dead and wounded upon the field. [Footnote: The Southern loss was also considerable. Colonel Williamswas killed, Generals Lee and Butler severely wounded--the latterlosing his foot--and General Stuart's staff had been peculiarlyunfortunate. Of the small group of officers, Captain Farley waskilled, Captain White wounded, and Lieutenant Goldsborough captured. The Federal force sustained a great loss in the death of the gallantColonel Davis, of the Eighth New-York Cavalry, and other officers. ]

This reconnoissance in force--the Federal numbers probably amountingto fifteen thousand--had no other result than the discovery of thefact that Lee had infantry in Culpepper. Finding that the event of thefight was critical, General Lee had moved a body of infantry in thedirection of the field of action, and the gleam of the bayonets wasseen by the enemy. The infantry was not, however, engaged on eitherside, unless the Federal infantry participated in the initial skirmishnear Beverley's Ford, and General Lee's numbers and position were notdiscovered. 

We have dwelt with some detail upon this cavalry combat, which was ananimated affair, the hand-to-hand encounter of nearly twenty thousandhorsemen throughout a whole day. General Stuart was censured at thetime for allowing himself to be "surprised, " and a ball at CulpepperCourt-House, at which some of his officers were present several daysbefore, was pointed to as the origin of this surprise. The charge waswholly unjust, Stuart not having attended the ball. Nor was there anytruth in the further statement that "his headquarters were captured"in consequence of his negligence. His tents on Fleetwood Hill were allsent to the rear soon after daylight; nothing whatever was found therebut a section of the horse-artillery, who fought the charging cavalrywith sabres and sponge-staffs over the guns; that Fleetwood Hillwas at one time in the hands of the enemy, was due not to Stuart'snegligence, but to the numbers and excellent soldiership of GeneralGregg, who made the flank and rear attack while Stuart was breastingthat in front. 

These detached statements, which may seem unduly minute, are made injustice to a brave soldier, who can no longer defend himself. 

XII. 

THE MARCH TO GETTYSBURG. 

This attempt of the enemy to penetrate his designs had not inducedGeneral Lee to interrupt the movement of his infantry toward theShenandoah Valley. The Federal corps sent across the Rappahannock atFredericksburg, still remained facing General Hill; and, two daysafter the Fleetwood fight. General Hooker moved up the river with hismain body, advancing the Third Corps to a point near Beverley's Ford. But these movements were disregarded by Lee. On the same day Ewell'scorps moved rapidly toward Chester Gap, passed through that defile inthe mountain, pushed on by way of Front Royal, and reached Winchesteron the evening of the 13th, having in three days marched seventymiles. 

The position of the Southern army now exposed it to very seriousdanger, and at first sight seemed to indicate a deficiency ofsoldiership in the general commanding it. In face of an enemy whoseforce was at least equal to his own, [Footnote: General Hooker statedhis "effective" at this time to have been diminished to eightythousand infantry. ] Lee had extended his line until it stretched overa distance of about one hundred miles. When Ewell came in sight ofWinchester, Hill was still opposite Fredericksburg, and Longstreethalf-way between the two in Culpepper. Between the middle and rearcorps was interposed the Rapidan River, and between the middle andadvanced corps the Blue Ridge Mountains. General Hooker's army was onthe north bank of the Rappahannock, well in hand, and comparativelymassed, and the situation of Lee's army seemed excellent for thesuccess of a sudden blow at it. 

It seems that the propriety of attacking the Southern army whilethus _in transitu_, suggested itself both to General Hooker and toPresident Lincoln, but they differed as to the point and object of theattack. In anticipation of Lee's movement, General Hooker had writtento the President, probably suggesting a counter-movement across theRappahannock, somewhere near Fredericksburg, to threaten Richmond, andthus check Lee's advance. This, however. President Lincoln refused tosanction. 

"In case you find Lee coming to the north of the Rappahannock, "President Lincoln wrote to General Hooker, "I would by no means crossto the south of it. I would not take any risk of being entangled uponthe river, _like an ox jumped half over a fence, and liable to be tornby dogs, front and rear, without a fair chance to gore one way or kickthe other_"

Five days afterward the President wrote: "I think Lee's army, and notRichmond, is your true objective point. If he comes toward the UpperPotomac, fight him when opportunity offers. If he stays where he is, _fret him and fret him_. "

When intelligence now reached Washington that the head of Lee's columnwas approaching the Upper Potomac, while the rear was south of theRappahannock, the President wrote to General Hooker: "_If the head ofLee's army is at Martinsburg, and the tail of it on the plank road_between Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, the _animal must be veryslim somewhere--could you not break him?_"

General Hooker did not seem to be able to determine upon a decisivecourse of action, in spite of the tempting opening presented to him byLee. It would seem that nothing could have been plainer than the goodpolicy of an attack upon Hill at Fredericksburg, which would certainlyhave checked Lee's movement by recalling Longstreet from Culpepper, and Ewell from the Valley. But this bold operation did not appear tocommend itself to the Federal authorities. Instead of reënforcing thecorps sent across at Fredericksburg and attacking Hill, General Hookerwithdrew the corps, on the 13th, to the north bank of the river, gothis forces together, and began to fall back toward Manassas, and evenremained in ignorance, it seems, of all connected with his adversary'smovements. Even as late as the 17th of June, his chief-of-staff, General Butterfield, wrote to one of his officers; "Try and hunt upsomebody from Pennsylvania who knows something, and has a cool enoughhead to judge what is the actual state of affairs there with regard tothe enemy. _My impression is, that Lee's movement on the Upper Potomacis a cover for a cavalry-raid on the south side of the river.... Wecannot go boggling around until we know what we are going after. _"

Such was the first result of Lee's daring movement to transfermilitary operations to the region north of the Potomac. A Northernhistorian has discerned in his plan of campaign an amount of boldnesswhich "seemed to imply a great contempt for his opponent. " Thisis perhaps a somewhat exaggerated statement of the case. Without"boldness" a commander is but half a soldier, and it may be declaredthat a certain amount of that quality is absolutely essential tosuccessful military operations. But the question is, Did Lee exposehimself, by these movements of his army, to probable disaster, if hisadversary--equal to the occasion--struck at his flank? A failure ofthe campaign of invasion would probably have resulted from such anattack either upon Hill at Fredericksburg, or upon Longstreet inCulpepper, inasmuch as Ewell's column, in that event, must have fallenback. But a _defeat_ of the combined forces of Hill and Longstreet, who were within supporting distance of each other, was not an eventwhich General Hooker could count upon with any degree of certainty. The two corps numbered nearly fifty thousand men--that is to say, two-thirds of the Southern army; General Hooker's whole force wasbut about eighty thousand; and it was not probable that theeighty thousand would be able to rout the fifty thousand, when atChancellorsville less than this last number of Southerners haddefeated one hundred and twenty thousand. 

There seems little reason to doubt that General Lee took this view ofthe subject, and relied on Hill and Longstreet to unite and repulseany attack upon them, while Ewell's great "raiding column" droveforward into the heart of the enemy's territory. That the movement wasbold, there can certainly be no question; that it was a reckless andhazardous operation, depending for its success, in Lee's eyes, solelyon the supposed inefficiency of General Hooker, does not appear. These comments delay the narrative, but the subject is fruitful insuggestion. It may be pardoned a Southern writer if he lingers overthis last great offensive movement of the Southern army. The last, itwas also one of the greatest and most brilliant. The war, therefore, was to enter upon its second stage, in which the South was to simplymaintain the defensive. But Lee was terminating the first stage ofthe contest by one of those great campaigns which project events andpersonages in bold relief from the broad canvas, and illumine thepages of history. 

Events were now in rapid progress. Ewell's column--the sharp head ofthe Southern spear--reached Winchester on the 13th of June, andRodes, who had been detached at Front Royal to drive the enemy fromBerryville, reached the last-named village on the same day when theforce there retreated to Winchester. On the next morning Early'sdivision attacked the forces of Milroy at Winchester, stormed andcaptured their "Star Fort, " on a hill near the place, and so completewas the rout of the enemy that their commander, General Milroy, hadscarcely time to escape, with a handful of his men, in the directionof the Potomac. 

For this disaster the unfortunate officer was harshly criticised byGeneral Hooker, who wrote to his Government, "In my opinion, Milroy'smen will fight better _under a soldier_. "

After thus clearing the country around Winchester, Ewell advancedrapidly on Martinsburg, where he took a number of prisoners and someartillery. The captures in two days had been more than four thousandprisoners and twenty-nine cannon, with four hundred horses and a largeamount of stores. Ewell continued then to advance, and, enteringMaryland, sent a portion of his cavalry, under General Imboden, westward, to destroy the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and anotherbody, under General Jenkins, in advance, toward Chambersburg. Meanwhile, the rest of the army was moving to join him. Hill, findingthat the enemy had disappeared from his front near Fredericksburg, hastened to march from that vicinity, and was sent forward by Lee, onthe track of Ewell, passing in rear of Longstreet, who had remainedin Culpepper. The latter was now directed by Lee to move alongthe eastern side of the Blue Ridge, and, by occupying Ashby's andSnicker's Gaps, protect the flank of the column in the Valley fromattack--a work in which Stuart's cavalry, thrown out toward the enemy, assisted. 

Such was the posture of affairs when General Hooker's chief-of-staffbecame so much puzzled, and described the Federal army as "bogglingaround, " and not knowing "what they were going after. " Lee's wholemovement, it appears, was regarded as a feint to "cover a cavalry-raidon the south side of the river"--a strange conclusion, it would seem, in reference to a movement of such magnitude. It now became absolutelynecessary that Lee's designs should be unmasked, if possible; andto effect this object Stuart's cavalry force, covering the southernflank, east of the Blue Ridge, must be driven back. This wasundertaken in a deliberate manner. Three corps of cavalry, with adivision of infantry and a full supply of artillery, were sent forwardfrom the vicinity of Manassas, to drive Stuart in on all the roadsleading to the mountain. A fierce struggle followed, in which Stuart, who knew the importance of his position, fought the great forceopposed to him from every hill and knoll. But he was forced backsteadily, in spite of a determined resistance, and at Upperville ahand-to-hand sabre-fight wound up the movement, in which the Federalcavalry was checked, when Stuart fell back toward Paris, crowned themountain-side with his cannon, and awaited a final attack. This wasnot, however, made. Night approaching, the Federal force fell backtoward Manassas, and on the next morning Stuart followed them, on thesame road over which he had so rapidly retreated, beyond Middleburg. 

Lee paid little attention to these operations on his flank east ofthe mountains, but proceeded steadily, in personal command of hisinfantry, in the direction of the Cumberland Valley. Ewell was movingrapidly toward Harrisburg, with orders to "take" that place "if hedeemed his force adequate, "[1] General Jenkins, commanding cavalry, preceding the advance of his infantry. He had thus pierced the enemy'sterritory, and it was necessary promptly to support him. Hilland Longstreet were accordingly directed to pass the Potomac atShepherdstown and Williamsport. The columns united at Hagerstown, andon the 27th of June entered Chambersburg. 

[Footnote 1: This statement of Lee's orders is derived by the writerfrom Lieutenant-General Ewell. ]

General Hooker had followed, crossing the Potomac, opposite Leesburg, at about the moment when Lee's rear was passing from Maryland intoPennsylvania. The direction of the Federal march was toward Frederick, from which point General Hooker could move in either one of twodirections--either across the mountain toward Boonsboro, which wouldthrow him upon Lee's communications, or northward to Westminster, orGettysburg, which would lead to an open collision with the invadingarmy in a pitched battle. 

At this juncture of affairs, just as the Federal army wasconcentrating near Frederick, General Hooker, at his own request, wasrelieved from command. The occasion of this unexpected event seems tohave been a difference of opinion between himself and GeneralHalleck, the Federal general-in-chief, on the question whether thefortifications at Harper's Ferry should or should not be abandoned. The point at issue would appear to have been unimportant, but illfeeling seems to have arisen: General Hooker resented the actionof the authorities, and requested to be relieved; his request wascomplied with, and his place was filled by Major-General George G. Meade. 

[Illustration: Map--Sketch of the Country Around GETTYSBURG. ]

General Meade, an officer of excellent soldiership, and enjoying therepute of modesty and dignity, assumed command of the Federal army, and proceeded rapidly in pursuit of Lee. The design of moving directlyacross the South Mountain on Lee's communications, if ever entertainedby him, was abandoned. The outcry from Pennsylvania drew him perforce. Ewell, with one division, had penetrated to Carlisle; and Early, withanother division, was at York; everywhere the horses, cattle, andsupplies of the country, had been seized upon for the use of thetroops; and General Meade was loudly called upon to go to theassistance of the people thus exposed to the terrible rebels. Hismovements were rapid. Assuming command on June 28th, he began tomove on the 29th, and on the 30th was approaching the town ofGettysburg. [1]

[Footnote 1: The movements of the Federal commander were probablyhastened by the capture, about this time at Hagerstown, of a dispatchfrom President Davis to General Lee. Lee, it seems, had suggestedthat General Beauregard should be sent to make a demonstration in thedirection of Culpepper, and by thus appearing to threaten Washington, embarrass the movements of the Northern army. To this suggestion thePresident is said to have replied that he had no troops to make sucha movement; and General Meade had thus the proof before him thatWashington was in no danger. The Confederacy was thus trulyunfortunate again, as in September, 1862, when a similar incident cameto the relief of General McClellan. ]

XIII. 

LEE IN PENNSYLVANIA. 

Lee, in personal command of the corps of Hill and Longstreet, hadmeanwhile moved on steadily in the direction of the Susquehanna, and, reaching Chambersburg on the 27th of June, "made preparations toadvance upon Harrisburg. "

At Chambersburg he issued an order to the troops, which should find aplace in every biography of this great soldier. The course pursuedby many of the Federal commanders in Virginia had been merciless andatrocious beyond words. General Pope had ravaged the counties northof the Rappahannock, especially the county of Culpepper, in a mannerwhich reduced that smiling region wellnigh to a waste; General Milroy, with his headquarters at Winchester, had so cruelly oppressed thepeople of the surrounding country as to make them execrate the verymention of his name; and the excesses committed by the troops of theseofficers, with the knowledge and permission of their commanders, hadbeen such, said a foreign writer, as to "cast mankind two centuriesback toward barbarism. "

Now, the tables were turned, and the world looked for a sudden andmerciless retaliation on the part of the Southerners. Lee was inPennsylvania, at the head of an army thirsting to revenge theaccumulated wrongs against their helpless families. At a word fromhim the fertile territory of the North would be made to feel the ironpressure of military rule, proceeding on the theory that retaliationis a just principle to adopt toward an enemy. Fire, slaughter, andoutrage, would have burst upon Pennsylvania, and the black flag, whichhad been virtually raised by Generals Pope and Milroy, would haveflaunted now in the air at the head of the Southern army. 

Instead of permitting this disgraceful oppression of non-combatants, Lee issued, at Chambersburg, the following general order to histroops:

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, CHAMBERSBURG, PA. , _June_ 27, 1863. 

The commanding general has observed with much satisfaction the conductof the troops on the march, and confidently anticipates resultscommensurate with the high spirit they have manifested. No troopscould have displayed greater fortitude, or better performed thearduous marches of the past ten days. Their conduct in other respectshas, with few exceptions, been in keeping with their character assoldiers, and entitles them to approbation and praise. 

There have, however, been instances of forgetfulness, on the part ofsome, that they have in keeping the yet unsullied reputation ofthe army, and that the duties exacted of us by civilization andChristianity are not less obligatory in the country of the enemy thanin our own. 

The commanding general considers that no greater disgrace could befallthe army, and, through it, our whole people, than the perpetration ofthe barbarous outrages on the innocent and defenceless, and the wantondestruction of private property, that have marked the course of theenemy in our own country. Such proceedings not only disgrace theperpetrators, and all connected with them, but are subversive of thediscipline and efficiency of the army, and destructive of the ends ofour present movements. It must be remembered that we make war onlyupon armed men, and that we cannot take vengeance for the wrongs ourpeople have suffered without lowering ourselves in the eyes of allwhose abhorrence has been excited by the atrocities of our enemy, without offending against Him to whom vengeance belongeth, withoutwhose favor and support our efforts must all prove in vain. 

The commanding general, therefore, earnestly exhorts the troops toabstain, with most scrupulous care, from unnecessary or wanton injuryto private property; and he enjoins upon all officers to arrest andbring to summary punishment all who shall in any way offend againstthe orders on this subject. 

R. E. LEE, _General_. 

The noble maxims and truly Christian spirit of this paper willremain the undying glory of Lee. Under what had been surely a bitterprovocation, he retained the calmness and forbearance of a great soul, saying to his army: "The duties exacted of us by civilization andChristianity are not less obligatory in the country of the enemy thanin our own.... No greater disgrace could befall the army, and throughit our whole people, than the perpetration of outrage upon theinnocent and defenceless.... We make war only upon armed men, andcannot take vengeance for the wrongs our people have suffered withoutoffending against Him to whom vengeance belongeth, without whose favorand support our efforts must all prove in vain. "

Such were the utterances of Lee, resembling those we might attributeto the ideal Christian warrior; and, indeed, it was such a spirit thatlay under the plain uniform of the great Virginian. What he orderedwas enforced, and no one was disturbed in his person or property. Ofthis statement many proofs could be given. A Pennsylvania farmer saidto a Northern correspondent, in reference to the Southern troops: "Imust say they acted like gentlemen, and, their cause aside, I wouldrather have forty thousand rebels quartered on my premises than onethousand Union troops. " From the journal of Colonel Freemantle, an English officer accompanying the Southern army, we take thesesentences:

"In passing through Greencastle we found all the houses and windowsshut up, the natives in their Sunday clothes, standing at their doorsregarding the troops in a very unfriendly manner. I saw no stragglinginto the houses, nor were any of the inhabitants disturbed or annoyedby the soldiers. Sentries were placed at the doors of many of thebest houses, to prevent any officer or soldier from getting in on anypretence.... I entered Chambersburg at 6 P. M.... Sentries were placedat the doors of all the principal houses, and the town was clearedof all but the military passing through or on duty.... No officer orsoldier under the rank of a general is allowed in Chambersburg withouta special order from General Lee, which he is very chary of giving, and I hear of officers of rank being refused this pass.... I went intoChambersburg again, and witnessed the singularly good behavior of thetroops toward the citizens. I heard soldiers saying to one anotherthat they did not like being in a town in which they were verynaturally detested. To any one who has seen, as I have, the ravagesof the Northern troops in Southern towns, this forbearance seems mostcommendable and surprising. "

A Northern correspondent said of the course pursued by GeneralJenkins, in command of Ewell's cavalry: "By way of giving the devilhis due, it must be said that, although there were over sixty acresof wheat and eighty acres of corn and oats in the same field, heprotected it most carefully, and picketed his horses so that it couldnot be injured. No fences were wantonly destroyed, poultry was notdisturbed, nor did he compliment our blooded cattle so much as to testthe quality of their steak and roast. "

Of the feeling of the troops these few words from the letter of anofficer written to one of his family will convey an idea: "I feltwhen I first came here that I would like to revenge myself upon thesepeople for the devastation they have brought upon our own beautifulhome--that home where we could have lived so happily, and that weloved so much, from which their vandalism has driven you and myhelpless little ones. But, though I had such severe wrongs andgrievances to redress, and such great cause for revenge, yet, whenI got among these people, I could not find it in my heart to molestthem. "

Such was the treatment of the people of Pennsylvania by the Southerntroops in obedience to the order of the commander-in-chief. Leein person set the example. A Southern journal made the sarcasticstatement that he became irate at the robbing of cherry-trees; and, ifhe saw the _top rail_ of a fence lying upon the ground as he rode by, would dismount and replace it with his own hands. 

XIV. 

CONCENTRATION AT GETTYSBURG. 

This was the position of the great adversaries in the last days ofJune. Lee was at Chambersburg, in the Cumberland Valley, about tofollow Ewell, who was approaching Harrisburg. Early had captured York;and the Federal army was concentrating rapidly on the flank of theSouthern army, toward Gettysburg. 

Lee had ordered the movement of Early upon York, with the object ofdiverting the attention of the Federal commander from his own rear, in the Cumberland Valley. The exact movements and position of GeneralMeade were unknown to him; and this arose in large measure from theabsence of Stuart's cavalry. This unfortunate incident has given riseto much comment, and Stuart has been harshly criticised for an allegeddisobedience of Lee's plain orders. The question is an embarrassingone. Lee's statement is as follows: "General Stuart was left to guardthe passes of the mountains" (Ashby's and other gaps in the BlueRidge, in Virginia), "and observe the movements of the enemy, whomhe was instructed to harass and impede as much as possible shouldhe attempt to cross the Potomac. _In that event, General Stuart wasdirected to move into Maryland, crossing the Potomac east or west ofthe Blue Ridge, as in his judgment should be best, and take positionon the right of our column as it advanced. _"

This order was certainly plain up to a certain point. Stuart wasto harass and embarrass the movements of the enemy, in case theyattempted to cross to the north bank of the Potomac. When they didcross, he also was to pass the river, either east or west of the BlueRidge, "as in his judgment should seem best. " So far the order wasunmistakable. The river was to be crossed at such point as Stuartshould select, either on the lower waters, or in the Valley. Leeadded, however, that this movement should be made in such a manner asto enable Stuart to "take position on the right of our column as itadvanced"--the meaning appearing to be that the cavalry should move_between_ the two armies, in order to guard the Southern flank as itadvanced into the Cumberland Valley. Circumstances arose, however, which rendered it difficult for Stuart to move on the line thusindicated with sufficient promptness to render his services valuable. The enemy crossed at Leesburg while the Southern cavalry was nearMiddleburg; and, from the jaded condition of his horses, Stuart fearedthat he would be unable, in case he crossed above, to place his columnbetween the two armies then rapidly advancing. He accordingly took thebold resolution of passing the Potomac _below_ Leesburg, designing toshape his course due northward toward Harrisburg, the objective pointof the Southern army. This he did--crossing at Seneca Falls--but onthe march he was delayed by many incidents. Near Rockville he stoppedto capture a large train of Federal wagons; at Westminster andHanovertown he was temporarily arrested by combats with the Federalcavalry; and, ignorant as he was of the concentration of Lee's troopsupon Gettysburg, he advanced rapidly toward Carlisle, where, in themidst of an attack on that place, he was recalled by Lee. 

Such were the circumstances leading to, and the incidents attending, this movement. The reader must form his own opinion of the amountof blame to be justly attached to Stuart. He always declared, andasserted in his report of these occurrences, that he had acted inexact obedience to his orders; but, on the contrary, as appears fromGeneral Lee's report, those orders were meant to prescribe a differentmovement. He had marched in one sense on "the right" of the Southerncolumn "as it advanced;" but in another sense he had not done so. Victory at Gettysburg would have silenced all criticism of thisdifference of construction; but, unfortunately, the event wasdifferent, and the strictures directed at Stuart were natural. Theabsence of the cavalry unquestionably embarrassed Lee greatly; but, inhis report, he is moderate and guarded, as usual, in his expressions. "The absence of cavalry, " he says, "rendered it impossible to obtainaccurate information" of General Meade's movements; and "the marchtoward Gettysburg was conducted more slowly than it would have beenhad the movements of the Federal army been known. "

[Illustration: Map--Battle of GETTYSBURG]

To return now to the movements of Lee's infantry, after the arrival ofthe main body at Chambersburg. Lee was about to continue his advancein the direction of Harrisburg, when, on the night of the 29th, hisscouts brought him intelligence that the Federal army was rapidlyadvancing, and the head of the column was near the South Mountain. Aglance at the map will indicate the importance of this intelligence. General Meade would be able, without difficulty, in case the Southernarmy continued its march northward, to cross the South-Mountain range, and place himself directly in Lee's rear, in the Cumberland Valley. Then the Southern forces would be completely intercepted--GeneralMeade would be master of the situation--and Lee must retreat east ofthe mountain or cut his way through the Federal army. 

A battle was thus clearly about to be forced upon the Southerncommander, and it only remained for him to so manoeuvre his army as tosecure a position in which he could receive the enemy's attack withadvantage. Lee accordingly put his column in motion across themountain toward Gettysburg, and, sending couriers to Ewell and Earlyto return from Harrisburg and York toward the same point, made hispreparations to take position and fight. 

On the morning of the 1st day of July, this was then the condition ofaffairs. General Meade was advancing with rapidity upon the townof Gettysburg, and Lee was crossing the South Mountain, oppositeChambersburg, to meet him. 

When the heads of the two columns came together in the vicinity ofGettysburg, the thunders of battle began. 

XV. 

THE FIRST DAY'S FIGHT AT GETTYSBURG. 

The sanguinary struggle which now ensued between the Army of NorthernVirginia and the Army of the Potomac continued for three days, and thecharacter of these battles, together with their decisive results, havecommunicated to the events an extraordinary interest. Every fact hasthus been preserved, and the incidents of the great combat, down tothe most minute details, have been placed upon record. The subject is, indeed, almost embarrassed by the amount of information collected andpublished; and the chief difficulty for a writer, at this late day, isto select from the mass such salient events as indicate clearly thecharacter of the conflict. 

This difficulty the present writer has it in his power to evade, in great measure, by confining himself mainly to the designs andoperations of General Lee. These were plain and simple. He had beenforced to relinquish his march toward the Susquehanna by the dangerousposition of General Meade so near his line of retreat; this rendereda battle unavoidable; and Lee was now moving to accept battle, designing, if possible, to secure such a position as would give himthe advantage in the contest. Before he succeeded in effecting thisobject, battle was forced upon him--not by General Meade, but bysimple stress of circumstances. The Federal commander had formed thesame intention as that of his adversary--to accept, and not deliver, battle--and did not propose to fight near Gettysburg. He was, rather, looking backward to a strong position in the direction of Westminster, when suddenly the head of his column became engaged near Gettysburg, and this determined every thing. 

A few words are necessary to convey to the reader some idea of thecharacter of the ground. Gettysburg is a town, nestling down in avalley, with so many roads centring in the place that, if a circlewere drawn around it to represent the circumference of a wheel, theroads would resemble the spokes. A short distance south of the town isa ridge of considerable height, which runs north and south, bendingeastward in the vicinity of Gettysburg, and describing a curveresembling a hook. From a graveyard on this high ground it is calledCemetery Hill, or Ridge. Opposite this ridge, looking westward, is asecond and lower range called Seminary Ridge. This extends also northand south, passing west of Gettysburg. Still west of Seminary Ridgeare other still lower ranges, between which flows a small streamcalled Willoughby Run; and beyond these, distant about ten miles, risethe blue heights of the South Mountain. 

Across the South Mountain, by way of the village of Cashtown, Lee, onthe morning of the 1st of July, was moving steadily toward Gettysburg, when Hill, holding the front, suddenly encountered the head of theenemy's column in the vicinity of Willoughby Run. This consisted ofGeneral Buford's cavalry division, which had pushed on in advanceof General Reynolds's infantry corps, the foremost infantry of theFederal army, and now, almost before it was aware of Hill's presence, became engaged with him. General Buford posted his horse-artilleryto meet Hill's attack, but it soon became obvious that the Federalcavalry could not stand before the Southern infantry fire, and GeneralReynolds, at about ten in the morning, hastening forward, reachedthe field. An engagement immediately took place between the foremostinfantry divisions of Hill and Reynolds. A brigade of Hill's, fromMississippi, drove back a Federal brigade, seizing upon its artillery;but, in return, Archer's brigade was nearly surrounded, and severalhundred of the men captured. Almost immediately after this incidentthe Federal forces sustained a serious loss; General Reynolds--oneof the most trusted and energetic lieutenants of General Meade--wasmortally wounded while disposing his men for action, and borne fromthe field. The Federal troops continued, however, to fight withgallantry. Some of the men were heard exclaiming, "We have come tostay!" in reference to which, one of their officers afterward said, "And a very large portion of them never left that ground. "[1]

[Footnote 1: General Doubleday: Report of Committee on the Conduct ofthe War, Part I. , p. 307. ]

Battle was now joined in earnest between the two heads of column, andon each side reënforcements were sent forward to take part in thisunexpected encounter. Neither General Lee nor General Meade hadexpected or desired it. Both had aimed, in manoeuvring their forces, to select ground suitable for receiving instead of making an attack, and now a blind chance seemed about to bring on a battle upon groundunknown to both commanders. When the sound of the engagement was firstheard by Lee, he was in the rear of his troops at the headquarterswhich Hill had just vacated, near Cashtown, under the South Mountain. The firing was naturally supposed by him to indicate an accidentalcollision with some body of the enemy's cavalry, and, whenintelligence reached him that Hill was engaged with the Federalinfantry, the announcement occasioned him the greatest astonishment. General Meade's presence so near him was a circumstance completelyunknown to Lee, and certainly was not desired by him. But a smallportion of his forces were "up. " Longstreet had not yet passed themountain, and the forces of General Ewell, although that officerhad promptly fallen back, in obedience to his orders, from theSusquehanna, were not yet in a position to take part in theengagement. Under these circumstances, if the whole of General Meade'sarmy had reached Gettysburg, directly in Lee's front, the advantage inthe approaching action must be largely in favor of the Federal army, and a battle might result in a decisive Confederate defeat. 

No choice, however, was now left General Lee. The head of hisadvancing column had come into collision with the enemy, and it wasimpossible to retire without a battle. Lee accordingly ordered Hill'scorps to be closed up, and reënforcements to be sent forward rapidlyto the point of action. He then mounted his horse and rode in thedirection of the firing, guided by the sound, and the smoke which roseabove the tranquil landscape. 

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful season of the year. The fieldswere green with grass, or golden with ripening grain, over whichpassed a gentle breeze, raising waves upon the brilliant surface. Thelandscape was broken here and there by woods; in the west rose theblue range of the South Mountain; the sun was shining through showeryclouds, and in the east the sky was spanned by a rainbow. Thispeaceful scene was now disturbed by the thundering of artillery andthe rattle of musketry. The sky was darkened, here and there, byclouds of smoke rising from barns or dwelling-houses set on fire byshell; and beneath rose red tongues of flame, roaring in response tothe guns. 

Each side had now sent forward reinforcements to support thevanguards, and an obstinate struggle ensued, the proportions of thefight gradually increasing, until the action became a regular battle. Hill, although suffering from indisposition, which the pallor of hisface indicated, met the Federal attack with his habitual resolution. He was hard pressed, however, when fortunately one of General Ewell'sdivisions, under Rodes, débouched from the Carlisle road, runningnorthward from Gettysburg, and came to his assistance. Ewell had justbegun to move from Carlisle toward Harrisburg--his second division, under Early, being at York--when a dispatch from Lee reached him, directing him to return, and "proceed to Gettysburg or Cashtown, ashis circumstances might direct. " He promptly obeyed, encamped withinabout eight miles of Gettysburg on the evening of the 30th, and wasnow moving toward Cashtown, where Johnson's division of his corps thenwas, when Hill sent him word that he needed his assistance. Rodes waspromptly sent forward to the field of action. Early was ordered tohurry back, and Rodes soon reached the battle-field, where he formedhis line on high ground, opposite the Federal right. 

The appearance of this important reënforcement relieved Hill, andcaused the enemy to extend his right to face Rodes. The Federal linethus resembled a crescent, the left half, fronting Hill, toward thenorthwest; and the right, half-fronting Rodes, toward the north--thetown of Gettysburg being in rear of the curve. An obstinate attack wasmade by the enemy and by Rodes at nearly the same moment. The losson both sides was heavy, but Rodes succeeded in shaking the Federalright, when Early made his appearance from the direction of York. Thiscompelled the Federal force to still farther extend its right, to meetthe new attack. The movement greatly weakened them. Rodes chargedtheir centre with impetuosity; Early came in on their right, withGordon's brigade in front, and under this combined attack the Federaltroops gave way, and retreated in great disorder to and throughGettysburg, leaving the ground covered with their dead and wounded tothe number of about five thousand, and the same number of prisoners inthe hands of the Confederates. 

The first collision of the two armies had thus resulted in a clearSouthern victory, and it is to be regretted that this importantsuccess was not followed up by the seizure of the Cemetery Range, south of the town, which it was in the power of the Southern forcesat that time to do. To whom the blame--if blame there be--of thisfailure, is justly chargeable, the writer of these pages is unable tostate. All that he has been able to ascertain with certainty is thefollowing: As soon as the Federal forces gave way, General Lee rodeforward, and at about four o'clock in the afternoon was posted on anelevated point of Seminary Ridge, from which he could see the brokenlines of the enemy rapidly retreating up the slope of Cemetery Range, in his front. The propriety of pursuit, with a view to seizing thisstrong position, was obvious, and General Lee sent an officer of hisstaff with a message to General Ewell, to the effect that "he couldsee the enemy flying, that they were disorganized, and that it wasonly necessary to push on vigorously, and the Cemetery heights wereours. " [Footnote: The officer who carried the order is our authorityfor this statement. ] Just about the moment, it would seem, when thisorder was dispatched--about half-past four--General Hill, who hadjoined Lee on the ridge, "received a message from General Ewell, requesting him (Hill) to press the enemy in front, while he performedthe same operation on his right. " This statement is taken from thejournal of Colonel Freemantle, who was present and noted the hour. Headds: "The pressure was accordingly applied, in a mild degree, but theenemy were too strongly posted, and it was too late in the eveningfor a regular attack. " General Ewell, an officer of great courage andenergy, is said to have awaited the arrival of his third division(Johnson's) before making a decisive assault. Upon the arrival ofJohnson, about sunset, General Ewell prepared to advance and seizeupon the eastern terminus of the Cemetery Range, which commanded thesubsequent Federal position. At this moment General Lee sent him wordto "proceed with his troops to the [Confederate] right, in case hecould do nothing where he was;" he proceeded to General Lee's tentthereupon to confer with him, and the result was that it was agreedto first assault the hill on the right. It was now, however, aftermidnight, and the attack was directed by Lee to be deferred until thenext morning. 

It was certainly unfortunate that the advance was not then made; butLee, in his report, attributes no blame to any one. "The attack, "he says, "was not pressed that afternoon, _the enemy's force beingunknown, and it being considered advisable to await the arrival of therest of our troops. _"

The failure to press the enemy immediately after their retreat, withthe view of driving them from and occupying Cemetery Heights, issusceptible of an explanation which seems to retrieve the Southerncommander and his subordinates from serious criticism. The Federalforces had been driven from the ground north and west of Gettysburg, but it was seen now that the troops thus defeated constituted onlya small portion of General Meade's army, and Lee had no means ofascertaining, with any degree of certainty, that the main body was notnear at hand. The fact was not improbable, and it was not known thatCemetery Hill was not then in their possession. The wooded characterof the ground rendered it difficult for General Lee, even from hiselevated position on Seminary Ridge, to discover whether the heightsopposite were, or were not, held by a strong force. Infantry werevisible there; and in the plain in front the cavalry of General Bufordwere drawn up, as though ready to accept battle. It was not untilafter the battle that it was known that the heights might have beenseized upon--General Hancock, who had succeeded Reynolds, having, todefend them, but a single brigade. This fact was not known to Lee; thesun was now declining, and the advance upon Cemetery Hill was deferreduntil the next day. 

When on the next morning, between daybreak and sunrise, General Lee, accompanied by Hill, Longstreet, and Hood, ascended to the same pointon Seminary Ridge, and reconnoitred the opposite heights through hisfield-glass, they were seen to be occupied by heavy lines of infantryand numerous artillery. The moment had passed; the rampart in hisfront bristled with bayonets and cannon. General Hancock, in commandof the Federal advance, had hastened back at nightfall to GeneralMeade, who was still some distance in rear, and reported the positionto be an excellent one for receiving the Southern attack. Upon thisinformation General Meade had at once acted; by one o'clock in themorning his headquarters were established upon the ridge; and whenLee, on Seminary Hill opposite, was reconnoitring the heights, thegreat bulk of the Federal army was in position to receive his assault. 

The adversaries were thus face to face, and a battle could not wellbe avoided. Lee and his troops were in high spirits and confident ofvictory, but every advantage of position was seen to be on the side ofthe enemy. 

XVI. 

THE TWO ARMIES IN POSITION. 

The morning of the 2d of July had arrived, and the two armies were inpresence of each other and ready for battle. The question was, whichof the great adversaries would make the attack. 

General Meade was as averse to assuming the offensive as his opponent. Lee's statement on this subject has been given, but is here repeated:"It had not been intended to fight a general battle, " he wrote, "atsuch a distance from our base, _unless attacked by the enemy_. "General Meade said before the war committee afterward, "It was mydesire to fight a defensive rather than an offensive battle, " and headds the obvious explanation, that he was "satisfied his chances ofsuccess were greater in a defensive battle than an offensive one. "There was this great advantage, however, on the Federal side, thatthe troops were on their own soil, with their communicationsuninterrupted, and could wait, while General Lee was in hostileterritory, a considerable distance from his base of supplies, andmust, for that reason, either attack his adversary or retreat. 

He decided to attack. To this decision he seems to have been impelled, in large measure, by the extraordinary spirit of his troops, whosedemeanor in the subsequent struggle was said by a Federal officerto resemble that of men "drunk on champagne. " General Longstreetdescribed the army at this moment as able, from the singular afflatuswhich bore it up, to undertake "any thing, " and this sanguine spiritwas the natural result of a nearly unbroken series of victories. AtFredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and in the preliminary struggle ofGettysburg, they had driven the enemy before them in disorder, and, onthe night succeeding this last victory, both officers and men spoke ofthe coming battle "as a certainty, and the universal feeling in thearmy was one of profound contempt for an enemy whom they had beaten soconstantly, and under so many disadvantages. "[1]

[Footnote 1: Colonel Freemantle. He was present, and speaks fromobservation. ] Contempt of an adversary is dangerous, and pride goesbefore a fall. The truth of these pithy adages was now about to beshown. 

General Lee, it is said, shared the general confidence of his troops, and was carried away by it. He says in his report "Finding ourselvesunexpectedly confronted by the Federal army, it became a matter ofdifficulty to withdraw through the mountain with our large trains; atthe same time, the country was unfavorable for collecting supplieswhile in the presence of the enemy's main body, as he was enabled torestrain our foraging-parties by occupying the passes of the mountainswith regular and local troops. A battle thus became in a measureunavoidable. " But, even after the battle, when the Southern armywas much weaker, it was found possible, without much difficulty, to"withdraw through the mountains" with the trains. A stronger motivethan this is stated in the next sentence of General Lee's report:"_Encouraged by the successful issue of the engagement of the firstday, and in view of the valuable results that would ensue from thedefeat of the army of General Meade_, it was thought advisable torenew the attack. " The meaning of the writer of these words is plain. The Federal troops had been defeated with little difficulty in thefirst day's fight; it seemed probable that a more serious conflictwould have similar results; and a decisive victory promised to end thewar. 

General Meade, it seems, scarcely expected to be attacked. Heanticipated a movement on Lee's part, over the Emmetsburg roadsouthward. [Footnote: Testimony of General Meade before the warcommittee. ] By giving that direction to his army, General Lee wouldhave forced his adversary to retire from his strong position onCemetery Hill, or come out and attack him; whether, however, it wasdesirable on General Lee's part to run the risk of such an attack onthe Southern column _in transitu_, it is left to others better ablethan the present writer to determine. 

This unskilled comment must pass for what it is worth. It is easy, after the event, for the smallest to criticise the greatest. Underwhatever influences, General Lee determined not to retreat, eitherthrough the South Mountain or toward Emmetsburg, but marshalled hisarmy for an attack on the position held by General Meade. 

The Southern lines were drawn up on Seminary Ridge, and on the groundnear Gettysburg. Longstreet's corps was posted on the right, oppositethe Federal left, near the southern end of Cemetery Ridge. Next cameHill's corps, extending along the crest nearly to Gettysburg. Thereit was joined by Ewell's line, which, passing through the town, bentround, adapting itself to the position of the Federal right which heldthe high ground, curving round in the shape of a hook, at the northend of the ridge. 

The Federal lines thus occupied the whole Cemetery Range--which, beinghigher, commanded Seminary Ridge--and consisted, counting from rightto left, of the troops of Generals Howard, Hancock, Sickles, Sykes, and Sedgwick; the two latter forming a strong reserve to guard theFederal left. The position was powerful, as both flanks rested uponhigh ground, which gave every advantage to the assailed party; but onthe Federal left an accidental error, it seems, had been committed byGeneral Sickles. He had advanced his line to a ridge in front of themain range, which appeared to afford him a better position; but thismade it necessary to retire the left wing of his corps, to cover theopening in that direction. The result was, an angle--the effectof which is to expose troops to serious danger--and this faultydisposition of the Federal left seems to have induced General Lee todirect his main attack at the point in question, with the view ofbreaking the Federal line, and seizing upon the main ridge in rear. "In front of General Longstreet, " he says, "the enemy held a positionfrom which, if he could be driven, it was thought that our army couldbe used to advantage in assailing the more elevated ground beyond. " Inorder to coöperate in this, the main attack, Ewell was ordered at thesame time to assail the Federal right toward Gettysburg, and Hilldirected to threaten their centre, and, if there were an opening, makea real attack. These demonstrations against the enemy's right andcentre, Lee anticipated, would prevent him from reënforcing his left. Longstreet would thus, he hoped, be "enabled to reach the west of theridge" in rear of the Federal line; and General Meade afterward said, "If they had succeeded in occupying that, it would have preventedme from holding any of the ground which I subsequently held at thelast"--that is to say, that he would have been driven from the entireCemetery Range. 

Such was the position of the two adversaries, and such the design ofLee, on the 2d of July, when the real struggle was about to begin. 

XVII. 

THE SECOND DAY. 

Throughout the forenoon of the day about to witness one of those greatpassages of arms which throw so bloody a glare upon the pages ofhistory, scarcely a sound disturbed the silence, and it was difficultto believe that nearly two hundred thousand men were watching eachother across the narrow valley, ready at the word to advance and dotheir best to tear each other to pieces. 

During all these long hours, when expectation and suspense weresufficient to try the stoutest nerves, the two commanders weremarshalling their lines for the obstinate struggle which was plainlyat hand. General Meade, who knew well the ability of his opponent, wasseeing, in person, to every thing, and satisfying himself thathis lines were in order to receive the attack. Lee was making hispreparations to commence the assault, upon which, there could belittle doubt, the event of the whole war depended. 

From the gallantry which the Federal troops displayed in this battle, they must have been in good heart for the encounter. It is certainthat the Southern army had never been in better condition for adecisive conflict. We have spoken of the extraordinary confidenceof the men, in themselves and in their commander. This feeling nowexhibited itself either in joyous laughter and the spirit of jestingamong the troops, or in an air of utter indifference, as of men sureof the result, and giving it scarcely a thought. The swarthy gunners, still begrimed with powder from the work of the day before, lay downaround the cannon in position along the crest, and passed the momentsin uttering witticisms, or in slumber; and the lines of infantry, seated or lying, musket in hand, were as careless. The army wasplainly ready, and would respond with alacrity to Lee's signal. Of theresult, no human being in this force of more than seventy thousand menseemed to have the least doubt. 

Lee was engaged during the whole morning and until past noon inmaturing his preparations for the assault which he designed makingagainst the enemy's left in front of Longstreet. All was not readyuntil about four in the afternoon; then he gave the word, andLongstreet suddenly opened a heavy artillery-fire on the positionopposite him. At this signal the guns of Hill opened from the ridgeon his left, and Ewell's artillery on the Southern left in front ofGettysburg thundered in response. Under cover of his cannon-fire, Longstreet then advanced his lines, consisting of Hood's division onthe right, and McLawe's division on the left, and made a headlongassault upon the Federal forces directly in his front. 

The point aimed at was the salient, formed by the projection ofGeneral Sickles's line forward to the high ground known as "The PeachOrchard. " Here, as we have already said, the Federal line of battleformed an angle, with the left wing of Sickles's corps bendingbackward so as to cover the opening between his line and the maincrest in his rear. Hood's division swung round to assail the portionof the line thus retired, and so rapid was the movement of thisenergetic soldier, that in a short space of time he pushed his rightbeyond the Federal left flank, had pierced the exposed point, and wasin direct proximity to the much-coveted "crest of the ridge, " upon thepossession of which depended the fate of the battle. Hood was fullyaware of its importance, and lost not a moment in advancing to seizeit. His troops, largely composed of those famous Texas regiments whichLee had said "fought grandly and nobly, " and upon whom he relied "inall tight places, " responded to his ardent orders: a small run wascrossed, the men rushed up the slope, and the crest was almost intheir very grasp. 

Success at this moment would have decided the event of the battleof Gettysburg, and in all probability that of the war. All that wasneeded was a single brigade upon either side--a force sufficient toseize the crest, for neither side held it--and with this brigade arare good fortune, or rather the prompt energy of a single officer, according to Northern historians, supplied the Federal commander. Hood's line was rushing up with cheers to occupy the crest, which heretakes the form of a separate peak, and is known as "Little Round Top, "when General Warren, chief-engineer of the army, who was passing, sawthe importance of the position, and determined, at all hazards, todefend it. He accordingly ordered the Federal signal-party, which hadused the peak as a signal-station, but were hastily folding up theirflags, to remain where they were, laid violent hands upon a brigadewhich was passing, and ordered it to occupy the crest; and, whenHood's men rushed up the rocky slope with yells of triumph, they weresuddenly met by a fusillade from the newly-arrived brigade, deliveredfull in their faces. A violent struggle ensued for the possession ofthe heights. The men fought hand to hand on the summit, and the issueremained for some time doubtful. At last it was decided in favor ofthe Federal troops, who succeeded in driving Hood's men from the hill, the summit of which was speedily crowned with artillery, which openeda destructive fire upon the retreating Southerners. They fell backsullenly, leaving the ground strewed with their dead and wounded. Hoodhad been wounded, and many of his best officers had fallen. For aninstant he had grasped in his strong hand the prize which would havebeen worth ten times the amount of blood shed; but he had been unableto retain his hold; he was falling back from the coveted crest, pursued by that roar of the enemy's cannon which seemed to rejoice inhis discomfiture. 

An obstinate struggle was meanwhile taking place in the vicinity ofthe Peach Orchard, where the left of Hood and the division of McLawshad struck the front of General Sickles, and were now pressing hisline back steadily toward the ridge in his rear. In spite of resoluteresistance the Federal troops at this point were pushed back to awheat-field in the rear of the Peach Orchard, and, following up thisadvantage, Longstreet charged them and broke their line, which fellback in disorder toward the high ground in rear. In this attack McLawswas assisted by Hill's right division--that of Anderson. With thisforce Longstreet continued to press forward, and, piercing the Federalline, seemed about to inflict upon them a great disaster by seizingthe commanding position occupied by the Federal left. Nothing appearsto have saved them at this moment from decisive defeat but themasterly concentration of reënforcements after reënforcements at thepoint of danger. The heavy reserves under Generals Sykes and Sedgwickwere opposite this point, and other troops were hastened forward tooppose Longstreet. This reënforcement was continuous throughout theentire afternoon. In spite of Lee's demonstrations in other quartersto direct attention, General Meade--driven by necessity--continued tomove fresh troops incessantly to protect his left; and success finallycame as the reward of his energy and soldiership. Longstreet found hisweary troops met at every new step in advance by fresh lines, and, asnight had now come, he discontinued the attack. The Federal lines hadbeen driven considerably beyond the point which they had held beforethe assault, and were now east of the wheat-field, where some of thehardest fighting of the day had taken place, but, in spite of thisloss of ground, they had suffered no serious disaster, and, aboveall, Lee had not seized upon that "crest of the ridge, " which was thekeystone of the position. 

Thus Longstreet's attack had been neither a success nor a failure. Hehad not accomplished all that was expected, but he had driven back theenemy from their advanced position, and held strong ground in theirfront. A continuance of the assault was therefore deferred until thenext day--night having now come--and General Longstreet ordered theadvance to cease, and the firing to be discontinued. 

During the action on the right, Hill had continued to make heavydemonstrations on the Federal centre, and Ewell had met with excellentsuccess in the attack, directed by Lee, to be made against the enemy'sright. This was posted upon the semicircular eminence, a littlesoutheast of Gettysburg, and the Federal works were attacked by Ewellabout sunset. With Early's division on his right, and Johnson's onhis left, Ewell advanced across the open ground in face of a heavyartillery-fire, the men rushed up the slope, and in a brief space oftime the Federal artillerists and infantry were driven from the works, which at nightfall remained in Ewell's hands. 

Such had been the fate of the second struggle around Gettysburg. Themoon, which rose just as the fighting terminated, threw its ghastlyglare upon a field where neither side had achieved full success. 

Lee had not failed, and he had not succeeded. He had aimed to drivethe Federal forces from the Cemetery Range, and had not been able toeffect that object; but they had been forced back upon both theirright and left, and a substantial advantage seemed thus to have beengained. That the Confederate success was not complete, seems to haveresulted from the failure to seize the Round-Top Hill. The crisisof the battle had undoubtedly been the moment when Hood was so nearcapturing this position--in reference to the importance of which wequoted General Meade's own words. It was saved to the Federal army bythe presence of mind, it seems, of a single officer, and the gallantryof a single brigade. Such are the singular chances of battle, in whichthe smallest causes so often effect the greatest results. 

General Lee, in company with General Hill, had, during the battle, occupied his former position on Seminary Ridge, near the centre of hisline--quietly seated, for the greater portion of the time, upon thestump of a tree, and looking thoughtfully toward the opposite heightswhich Longstreet was endeavoring to storm. His demeanor was entirelycalm and composed. An observer would not have concluded that he wasthe commander-in-chief. From time to time he raised his field-glass tohis eyes, and rising said a few words to General Hill or General Long, of his staff. After this brief colloquy, he would return to his seaton the stump, and continue to direct his glass toward the woodedheights held by the enemy. A notable circumstance, and one oftenobserved upon other occasions, was that, during the entire action, hescarcely sent an order. During the time Longstreet was engaged--fromabout half-past four until night--he sent but one message, andreceived but one report. Having given full directions to his ablelieutenants, and informed them of the objects which he desired toattain, he, on this occasion as upon others, left the execution of hisorders to them, relying upon their judgment and ability. 

A singular incident occurred at this moment, which must have divertedLee, temporarily, from his abstracted mood. In the midst of the mostfurious part of the cannonade, when the air was filled with explodingshell, a Confederate band of music, between the opposing lines, justbelow General Lee's position, began defiantly playing polkas andwaltzes on their instruments. The incident was strange in the midstof such a hurly-burly. The bloody battle-field seemed turned into aballroom. 

With nightfall the firing sunk to silence. The moon had risen, and thepale light now lit up the faces of the dead and wounded of both sides. 

Lee's first great assault had failed to secure the full results whichhe had anticipated from it. 

XVIII. 

THE LAST CHARGE AT GETTYSBURG. 

The weird hours of the moonlit night succeeding the "second day atGettysburg" witnessed a consultation between Lee and his principalofficers, as to the propriety of renewing the attack on the Federalposition, or falling back in the direction of the Potomac. In favor ofthe latter course there seemed to be many good reasons. The supplies, both of provisions and ammunition, were running short. The army, although unshaken, had lost heavily in the obstinately-disputedattack. In the event of defeat now, its situation might becomeperilous, and the destruction of the Army of Northern Virginia waslikely to prove that of the Southern cause. On the other hand, theresults of the day's fighting, if not decisive, had been highlyencouraging. On both the Federal wings the Confederates had gainedground, which they still held. Longstreet's line was in advance of thePeach Orchard, held by the enemy on the morning of the second, and Ewell was still rooted firmly, it seemed, in their works nearGettysburg. These advantages were certainly considerable, and promisedsuccess to the Southern arms, if the assault were renewed. But themost weighty consideration prompting a renewal of the attack was thecondition of the troops. They were undismayed and unshaken either inspirit or efficiency, and were known both to expect and to desirea resumption of the assault. Even after the subsequent charge ofPickett, which resulted so disastrously, the ragged infantry wereheard exclaiming: "We've not lost confidence in the old man! Thisday's work won't do him no harm! Uncle Robert will get us intoWashington yet!" Add to this the fact that the issue of the second dayhad stirred up in Lee himself all the martial ardor of his nature;and there never lived a more thorough _soldier_, when he was fullyaroused, than the Virginian. All this soldiership of the man revoltedat the thought of retreating and abandoning his great enterprise. Helooked, on the one hand, at his brave army, ready at the word to againadvance upon the enemy--at that enemy scarce able on the previousday to hold his position--and, weighing every circumstance in hiscomprehensive mind, which "looked before and after, " Lee determined onthe next morning to try a decisive assault upon the Federal troops;to storm, if possible, the Cemetery Range, and at one great blowterminate the campaign and the war. 

The powerful influences which we have mentioned, coöperating, shapedthe decision to which Lee had come. He would not retreat, but fight. The campaign should not be abandoned without at least one great chargeupon the Federal position; and orders were now given for a renewalof the attack on the next morning. "The general plan of attack, " Leesays, "was unchanged, except that one division and two brigades ofHill's corps were ordered to support Longstreet. " From these words itis obvious that Lee's main aim now, as on the preceding day, was toforce back the Federal left in front of Longstreet, and seize the highground commanding the whole ridge in flank and reverse. To thisend Longstreet was reënforced, and the great assault was evidentlyintended to take place in that quarter. But circumstances causedan alteration, as will be seen, in Lee's plans. The centre, thusweakened, was from stress of events to become the point of decisivestruggle. The assaults of the previous day had been directed againstthe two extremities of the enemy; the assault of the third day, whichwould decide the fate of the battle and the campaign, was to be thefurious rush of Pickett's division of Virginian troops at the enemy'scentre, on Cemetery Hill. 

A preliminary conflict, brought on by the Federal commander, tookplace early in the morning. Ewell had continued throughout the nightto hold the enemy's breastworks on their right, from which he haddriven them in the evening. As dawn approached now, he was about toresume the attack; and, in obedience to Lee's orders, attempt to"dislodge the enemy" from other parts of the ridge, when General Meadetook the initiative, and opened upon him a furious fire of cannon, which was followed by a determined infantry charge to regain the hill. Ewell held his ground with the obstinate nerve which characterizedhim, and the battle raged about four hours--that is, until about eighto'clock. At that time, however, the pressure of the enemy became tooheavy to stand. General Meade succeeded in driving Ewell from thehill, and the Federal lines were reëstablished on the commandingground which they had previously occupied. 

This event probably deranged, in some degree, General Lee'splans, which contemplated, as we have seen, an attack by Ewellcontemporaneous with the main assault by Longstreet. Ewell was in nocondition at this moment to assume the offensive again; and the pausein the fighting appears to have induced General Lee to reflect andmodify his plans. Throughout the hours succeeding the morning'sstruggle, Lee, attended by Generals Hill and Longstreet, and theirstaff-officers, rode along the lines, reconnoitring the oppositeheights, and the cavalcade was more than once saluted by bullets fromthe enemy's sharp-shooters, and an occasional shell. The result ofthe reconnoissance seems to have been the conclusion that the Federalleft--now strengthened by breastworks, behind which powerful reserveslay waiting--was not a favorable point for attack. General Meade, no doubt, expected an assault there; and, aroused to a sense of hisdanger by the Confederate success of the previous day, had made everypreparation to meet a renewal of the movement. The Confederate leftand centre remained, but it seemed injudicious to think of attackingfrom Ewell's position. A concentration of the Southern force therewould result in a dangerous separation of the two wings of the army;and, in the event of failure, the enemy would have no difficulty indescending and turning Lee's right flank, and thus interposing betweenhim and the Potomac. 

The centre only was left, and to this Lee now turned his attention. Adetermined rush, with a strong column at Cemetery Hill in his front, might wrest that point from the enemy. Then their line would bepierced; the army would follow; Lee would be rooted on this commandingground, directly between the two Federal wings, upon which their ownguns might be turned, and the defeat of General Meade must certainlyfollow. Such were, doubtless, the reflections of General Lee, as herode along the Seminary Range, scanning, through his field-glass, theline of the Federal works. His decision was made, and orders weregiven by him to prepare the column for the assault. For the hardwork at hand, Pickett's division of Virginian troops, which had justarrived and were fresh, was selected. These were to be supported byHeth's division of North Carolina troops, under General Pettigrew, whowas to move on Pickett's left; and a brigade of Hill's, under GeneralWilcox, was to cover the right of the advancing column, and protect itfrom a flank attack. 

The advance of the charging column was preceded by a tremendousartillery-fire, directed from Seminary Ridge at the enemy's left andcentre. This began about an hour past noon, and the amount of thunderthus unloosed will be understood from the statement that Lee employedone hundred and forty-five pieces of artillery, and the enemyreplied with eighty--in all _two hundred and twenty-five_ guns, alldischarging at the same time. For nearly two hours this frightfulhurly-burly continued, the harsh roar reverberating ominously in thegorges of the hills, and thrown back, in crash after crash, from therocky slopes of the two ridges. To describe this fire afterward, the cool soldier, General Hancock, could find no other but the word_terrific_. "Their artillery-fire, " he says, "was the most terrificcannonade I ever witnessed, and the most prolonged.... It was amost terrific and appalling cannonade--one possibly hardly everparalleled. "

While this artillery-duel was in progress, the charging column wasbeing formed on the west of Seminary Ridge, opposite the Federalcentre on Cemetery Hill. Pickett drew up his line with Kemper's andGarnett's brigades in front, and Armistead's brigade in rear. Thebrigade under General Wilcox took position on the right, and on theleft was placed the division under Pettigrew, which was to participatein the charge. The force numbered between twelve and fifteen thousandmen; but, as will be seen, nearly in the beginning of the actionPickett was left alone, and thus his force of about five thousand wasall that went forward to pierce the centre of the Federal army. 

The opposing ridges at this point are about one mile asunder, andacross this space Pickett moved at the word, his line advancingslowly, and perfectly "dressed, " with its red battle-flags flying, andthe sunshine darting from the gun-barrels and bayonets. The two armieswere silent, concentrating their whole attention upon this slow andominous advance of men who seemed in no haste, and resolved to allownothing to arrest them. When the column had reached a point aboutmidway between the opposing heights the Federal artillery suddenlyopened a furious fire upon them, which inflicted considerable loss. This, however, had no effect upon the troops, who continued to advanceslowly in the same excellent order, without exhibiting any desireto return the fire. It was impossible to witness this steady andwell-ordered march under heavy fire without feeling admiration for thesoldiership of the troops who made it. Where shell tore gaps in theranks, the men quietly closed up, and the hostile front advanced inthe same ominous silence toward the slope where the real struggle, allfelt, would soon begin. 

They were within a few hundred yards of the hill, when suddenly arapid cannon-fire thundered on their right, and shell and canisterfrom nearly fifty pieces of artillery swept the Southern line, enfilading it, and for an instant throwing the right into somedisorder. This disappeared at once, however. The column closed up, andcontinued to advance, unmoved, toward the height. At last the momentcame. The steady "common-time" step had become "quick time;" this hadchanged to "double-quick;" then the column rushed headlong at theenemy's breastworks on the slope of the hill. As they did so, the realthunder began. A fearful fire of musketry burst forth, and struck themin the face, and this hurricane scattered the raw troops of Pettigrewas leaves are scattered by a wind. That whole portion of the line gaveway in disorder, and fled from the field, which was strewed with theirdead; and, as the other supports had not kept up, the Virginians underPickett were left alone to breast the tempest which had now burst uponthem in all its fury. 

They returned the fire from the breastworks in their front with aheavy volley, and then, with loud cheers, dashed at the enemy's works, which they reached, stormed, and took possession of at the point ofthe bayonet. Their loss, however, was frightful. Garnett was killed;Armistead fell, mortally wounded, as he leaped on the breastworks, cheering and waving his hat; Kemper was shot and disabled, and theranks of the Virginians were thinned to a handful. The men did not, however, pause. The enemy had partially retreated, from their firstline of breastworks, to a second and stronger one about sixty yardsbeyond, and near the crest; and here the Federal reserve, as Northernwriters state, was drawn up "four deep. " This line, bristling withbayonets and cannon, the Virginians now charged, in the desperateattempt to storm it with the bayonet, and pierce, in a decisivemanner, the centre of the Federal army. But the work was too greatfor their powers. As they made their brave rush they were met by aconcentrated fire full in their faces, and on both flanks at thesame moment. This fire did not so much cause them to lose heart, asliterally hurl them back. Before it the whole charging column seemedto melt and disappear. The bravest saw now that further fighting wasuseless--that the works in their front could not be stormed--and, withthe frightful fire of the enemy still tearing their lines to pieces, the poor remnants of the brave division retreated from the hill. Asthey fell back, sullenly, like bull-dogs from whom their prey had beensnatched just as it was in their grasp, the enemy pursued them with adestructive fire both of cannon and musketry, which mowed down largenumbers, if large numbers, indeed, can be said to have been left. The command had been nearly annihilated. Three generals, fourteenfield-officers, and three-fourths of the men, were dead, wounded, orprisoners. The Virginians had done all that could be done by soldiers. They had advanced undismayed into the focus of a fire unsurpassed, perhaps, in the annals of war; had fought bayonet to bayonet; had leftthe ground strewed with their dead; and the small remnant whosurvived were now sullenly retiring, unsubdued; and, if repulsed, not"whipped. "

Such was the last great charge at Gettysburg. Lee had concentrated init all his strength, it seemed. When it failed, the battle and thecampaign failed with it. 

[Illustration: Lee at Gettysburg. ]

XIX. 

LEE AFTER THE CHARGE. 

The demeanor of General Lee at this moment, when his hopes were allreversed, and his last great blow at the enemy had failed, excited theadmiration of all who witnessed it, and remains one of the greatestglories of his memory. 

Seeing, from his place on Seminary Ridge, the unfortunate resultsof the attack, he mounted his horse and rode forward to meet andencourage the retreating troops. The air was filled with explodingshell, and the men were coming back without order. General Lee now metthem, and with his staff-officers busied himself in rallying them, uttering as he did so words of hope and encouragement. ColonelFreemantle, who took particular notice of him at this moment, describes his conduct as "perfectly sublime. " "Lee's countenance, " headds, "did not show signs of the slightest disappointment, care, orannoyance, " but preserved the utmost placidity and cheerfulness. Thehurry and confusion of the scene seemed not to move him in any manner, and he rode slowly to and fro, saying in his grave, kindly voice tothe men: "All this will come right in the end. We'll talk it overafterward, but in the mean time all good men must rally. We want allgood and true men just now. "

Numbers of wounded passed him, some stretched on litters, which menwearing the red badge of the ambulance corps were bearing to the rear, others limping along bleeding from hurts more or less serious. To thebadly wounded Lee uttered words of sympathy and kindness; to thosebut slightly injured, he said: "Come, bind up your wound and take amusket, " adding "my friend, " as was his habit. 

An evidence of his composure and absence of flurry was presented by aslight incident. An officer near him was striking his horse violentlyfor becoming frightened and unruly at the bursting of a shell, whenGeneral Lee, seeing that the horse was terrified and the punishmentwould do no good, said, in tones of friendly remonstrance: "Don'twhip him, captain, don't whip him. I've got just such a foolish horsemyself, and whipping does no good. "

Meanwhile the men continued to stream back, pursued still by thattriumphant roar of the enemy's artillery which swept the whole valleyand slope of Seminary Ridge with shot and shell. Lee was everywhereencouraging them, and they responded by taking off their hats andcheering him--even the wounded joining in this ceremony. Althoughexposing himself with entire indifference to the heavy fire, headvised Colonel Freemantle, as that officer states, to shelterhimself, saying: "This has been a sad day for us, colonel, a sad day. But we can't expect always to gain victories. "

As he was thus riding about in the fringe of woods, General Wilcox, who, about the time of Pickett's repulse, had advanced and speedilybeen thrown back with loss, rode up and said, almost sobbing as hespoke, that his brigade was nearly destroyed. Lee held out his hand tohim as he was speaking, and, grasping the hand of his subordinate ina friendly manner, replied with great gentleness and kindness: "Nevermind, general, all this has been _my_ fault. It is _I_ who have lostthis fight, and you must help me out of it in the best way you can. "

This supreme calmness and composure in the commander-in-chief rapidlycommunicated itself to the troops, who soon got together again, andlay down quietly in line of battle in the fringe of woods along thecrest of the ridge, where Lee placed them as they came up. In front ofthem the guns used in the great cannonade were still in position, andLee was evidently making every preparation in his power for the highlyprobable event of an instant assault upon him in his disorderedcondition, by the enemy. It was obvious that the situation of affairsat the moment was such as to render such an attack highly perilous tothe Southern troops--and a sudden cheering which was now heard runningalong the lines of the enemy on the opposite heights, seemed clearlyto indicate that their forces were moving. Every preparation possibleunder the circumstances was made to meet the anticipated assault; therepulsed troops of Pickett, like the rest of the army, were ready andeven eager for of the attack--but it did not come. The cheering wasafterward ascertained to have been simply the greeting of the men tosome one of their officers as he rode along the lines; and night fellwithout any attempt on the Federal side to improve their success. 

That success was indeed sufficient, and little would have been gained, and perhaps much perilled, by a counter-attack. Lee was not defeated, but he had not succeeded. General Meade could, with propriety, refrainfrom an attack. The battle of Gettysburg had been a Federal victory. 

Thus had ended the last great conflict of arms on Northern soil--in adecisive if not a crushing repulse of the Southern arms. The chain ofevents has been so closely followed in the foregoing pages, and themovements of the two armies have been described with such detail, that any further comment or illustration is unnecessary. The opposingarmies had been handled with skill and energy, the men had neverfought better, and the result seems to have been decided rather byan occult decree of Providence than by any other circumstance. Thenumbers on each side were nearly the same, or differed so slightlythat, in view of past conflicts, fought with much greater odds infavor of the one side, they might be regarded as equal. The Southernarmy when it approached Gettysburg numbered sixty-seven thousandbayonets, and the cavalry and artillery probably made the entire forceabout eighty thousand. General Meade's statement is that his own forcewas about one hundred thousand. The Federal loss was twenty-threethousand one hundred and ninety. The Southern losses were also severe, but cannot be ascertained. They must have amounted, however, to atleast as large a number, even larger, perhaps, as an attacking armyalways suffers more heavily than one that is attacked. 

What is certain, however, is that the Southern army, if diminished innumbers and strength, was still unshaken. 

XX. 

LEE'S RETREAT ACROSS THE POTOMAC. 

Lee commenced his retreat in the direction of the Potomac on the nightof the 4th of July. That the movement did not begin earlier is thebest proof of the continued efficiency of his army and his ownwillingness to accept battle if the enemy were inclined to offer it. 

After the failure of the attack on the Federal centre, he hadwithdrawn Ewell from his position southeast of Gettysburg, and, forming a continuous line of battle on Seminary Ridge, awaited theanticipated assault of General Meade. What the result of such anassault would have been it is impossible to say, but the theory thatan attack would have terminated in the certain rout of the Southernarmy has nothing whatever to support it. The _morale_ of Lee's armywas untouched. The men, instead of being discouraged by the tremendousconflicts of the preceding days, were irate, defiant, and ready toresume the struggle. Foreign officers, present at the time, testifyfully upon this point, describing the demeanor of the troops as allthat could be desired in soldiers; and General Longstreet afterwardstated that, with his two divisions under Hood and McLaws, and hispowerful artillery, he was confident, had the enemy attacked, ofinflicting upon them a blow as heavy as that which they hadinflicted upon Pickett. The testimony of General Meade himself fullycorroborates these statements. When giving his evidence afterwardbefore the war committee, he said:

"My opinion is, now, that General Lee evacuated that position, _notfrom the fear that he would be dislodged from it by any activeoperations on my part_, but that he was fearful that a force would besent to Harper's Ferry to cut off his communications.... That was whatcaused him to retire. "

When asked the question, "Did you discover, after the battle ofGettysburg, any symptoms of demoralization in Lee's army?" GeneralMeade replied, "No, sir; I saw nothing of that kind. "[1]

[Footnote 1: Report of Committee on Conduct of War, Part I. , page337. ]

There was indeed no good reason why General Lee should feel anyextreme solicitude for the safety of his army, which, after all itslosses, still numbered more than fifty thousand troops; and, with thatforce of veteran combatants, experience told him, he could count uponholding at bay almost any force which the enemy could bring againsthim. At Chancellorsville, with a less number, he had nearly routed alarger army than General Meade's. If the _morale_ of the men remainedunbroken, he had the right to feel secure now; and we have shown thatthe troops were as full of fight as ever. The exclamations of theragged infantry, overheard by Colonel Freemantle, expressed thesentiment of the whole army. Recoiling from the fatal charge onCemetery Hill, and still followed by the terrible fire, they had heartto shout defiantly: "We've not lost confidence in the old man! Thisday's work won't do him no harm! Uncle Robert will get us intoWashington yet--you bet he will!"

Lee's reasons for retiring toward the Potomac were unconnected withthe _morale_ of his army. "The difficulty of procuring supplies, " hesays, "rendered it impossible to continue longer where we were. " Whathe especially needed was ammunition, his supply of which had beennearly exhausted by the three days' fighting, and it was impossible tocount upon new supplies of these essential stores now that the enemywere in a condition to interrupt his communications in the directionof Harper's Ferry and Williamsport. The danger to which the army wasthus exposed was soon shown not to have been overrated. General Meadepromptly sent a force to occupy Harper's Ferry, and a body of hiscavalry, hastening across the South Mountain, reached the Potomac nearFalling Waters, where they destroyed a pontoon bridge laid there forthe passage of the Southern army. 

Lee accordingly resolved to retire, and, after remaining in line ofbattle on Seminary Ridge throughout the evening and night of the 3dand the whole of the 4th, during which time he was busy burying hisdead, began to withdraw, by the Fairfield and Chambersburg roads, onthe night of this latter day. The movement was deliberate, and withoutmarks of haste, the rear-guard not leaving the vicinity of Gettysburguntil the morning of the 5th. Those who looked upon the Southern armyat this time can testify that the spirit of the troops was unsubdued. They had been severely checked, but there every thing had ended. Weary, covered with dust, with wounds whose bandages were soaked inblood, the men tramped on in excellent spirits, and were plainly readyto take position at the first word from Lee, and meet any attack ofthe enemy with a nerve as perfect as when they had advanced. 

For the reasons stated by himself, General Meade did not attack. Hehad secured substantial victory by awaiting Lee's assault on strongground, and was unwilling now to risk a disaster, such as he hadinflicted, by attacking Lee in position. The enthusiasm of theauthorities at Washington was not shared by the cool commander ofthe Federal army. He perfectly well understood the real strength andcondition of his adversary, and seems never to have had any intentionof striking at him unless a change of circumstances gave him somebetter prospect of success than he could see at that time. 

The retrograde movement of the Southern army now began, Lee's trainsretiring by way of Chambersburg, and his infantry over the Fairfieldroad, in the direction of Hagerstown. General Meade at first moveddirectly on the track of his enemy. The design of a "stern chase" was, however, speedily abandoned by the Federal commander, who changed thedirection of his march and moved southward toward Frederick. When nearthat point he crossed the South Mountain, went toward Sharpsburg, andon the 12th of July found himself in front of the Southern army nearWilliamsport, where Lee had formed line of battle to receive hisadversary's attack. 

The deliberate character of General Meade's movements sufficientlyindicates the disinclination he felt to place himself directly in hisopponent's front, and thus receive the full weight of his attack. There is reason, indeed, to believe that nothing could better havesuited the views of General Meade than for Lee to have passed thePotomac before his arrival--which event would have signified theentire abandonment of the campaign of invasion, leaving victory on theside of the Federal army. But the elements seemed to conspire to bringon a second struggle, despite the reluctance of both commanders. Therecent rains had swollen the Potomac to such a degree as to render itunfordable, and, as the pontoon near Williamsport had been destroyedby the Federal cavalry, Lee was brought to bay on the north bank ofthe river, where, on the 12th, as we have said, General Meade foundhim in line of battle. 

Lee's demeanor, at this critical moment, was perfectly undisturbed, and exhibited no traces whatever of anxiety, though he must have feltmuch. In his rear was a swollen river, and in his front an adversarywho had been reënforced with a considerable body of troops, and nowlargely outnumbered him. In the event of battle and defeat, thesituation of the Southern army must be perilous in the extreme. Nothing would seem to be left it, in that event, but surrender, ordispersion among the western mountains, where the detached bodieswould be hunted down in detail and destroyed or captured. Confidencein himself and his men remained, however, with General Lee, and, with his line extending from near Hagerstown to a point east ofWilliamsport, he calmly awaited the falling of the river, resolved, doubtless, if in the mean time the enemy attacked him, to fight to thelast gasp for the preservation of his army. 

No attack was made by General Meade, who, arriving in front of Lee onthe 12th, did no more, on that day, than feel along the Southern linesfor a point to assault. On the next day he assembled a council of war, and laid the question before them, whether or not it were advisableto make an assault. The votes of the officers were almost unanimouslyagainst it, as Lee's position seemed strong and the spirit of his armydefiant; and the day passed without any attempt of the Federal army todislodge its adversary. 

While General Meade was thus hesitating, Lee was acting. A portionof the pontoon destroyed by the enemy was recovered, new boats werebuilt, and a practicable bridge was completed, near Falling Waters, bythe evening of the 13th. The river had also commenced falling, and bythis time was fordable near Williamsport. Toward dawn on the 14th thearmy commenced moving, in the midst of a violent rain-storm, acrossthe river at both points, and Lee, sitting his horse upon the river'sbank, superintended the operation, as was his habit on occasions ofemergency. Loss of rest and fatigue, with that feeling of suspenseunavoidable under the circumstances, had impaired the energies of evenhis superb physical constitution. As the bulk of the rear-guard of thearmy safely passed over the shaky bridge, which Lee had looked atwith some anxiety as it swayed to and fro, lashed by the current, heuttered a sigh of relief, and a great weight seemed taken from hisshoulders. Seeing his fatigue and exhaustion. General Stuart gave himsome coffee; he drank it with avidity, and declared, as he handed backthe cup, that nothing had ever refreshed him so much. 

When General Meade, who is said to have resolved on an attack, inspite of the opposition of his officers, looked, on the morning of the14th, toward the position held on the previous evening by the Southernarmy, he saw that the works were deserted. The Army of NorthernVirginia had vanished from the hills on which it had been posted, andwas at that moment crossing the Potomac. Pressing on its track towardFalling Waters, the Federal cavalry came up with the rear, and in theskirmish which ensued fell the brave Pettigrew, who had supportedPickett in the great charge at Gettysburg, where he had waved his hatin front of his men, and, in spite of a painful wound, done all in hispower to rally his troops. With this exception, and a few capturesresulting from accident, the army sustained no losses. The movementacross the Potomac had been effected, in face of the whole Federalarmy, as successfully as though that army had been a hundred milesdistant. [1]

[Footnote 1: Upon this point different statements were subsequentlymade by Generals Lee and Meade, and Lee's reply to the statements ofhis opponent is here given:

HEADQUARTERS ARMY NORTHERN VIRGINIA, _July 21, 1863. _

_General S. Cooper, Adjutant and Inspector-General C. S. A. , Richmond, Va_. :

GENERAL: I have seen in Northern papers what purported to be anofficial dispatch from General Meade, stating that he had captureda brigade of Infantry, two pieces of artillery, two caissons, and alarge number of small-arms, as this army retired to the south bank ofthe Potomac, on the 13th and 14th inst. 

This dispatch has been copied into the Richmond papers, and, as itsofficial character may cause it to be believed, I desire to state thatit is incorrect. The enemy did not capture any organized body of menon that occasion, but only stragglers, and such as were left asleepon the road, exhausted by the fatigue and exposure of one of the mostinclement nights I have ever known at this season of the year. Itrained without cessation, rendering the road by which our troopsmarched to the bridge at Falling Waters very difficult to pass, andcausing so much delay that the last of the troops did not cross theriver at the bridge until 1 P. M. On the 14th. While the column wasthus detained on the road a number of men, worn down by fatigue, laydown in barns, and by the roadside, and though officers were sentback to arouse them, as the troops moved on, the darkness and rainprevented them from finding all, and many were in this way leftbehind. Two guns were left on the road. The horses that drew thembecame exhausted, and the officers went forward to procure others. When they returned, the rear of the column had passed the guns so farthat it was deemed unsafe to send back for them, and they were thuslost. No arms, cannon, or prisoners, were taken by the enemy inbattle, but only such as were left behind under the circumstances Ihave described. The number of stragglers thus lost I am unable tostate with accuracy, but it is greatly exaggerated in the dispatchreferred to. 

I am, with great respect, your obedient servant, R. E. LEE, _General_. 

The solicitude here exhibited by the Southern commander, that theactual facts should be recorded, is natural, and displayed Lee'sspirit of soldiership. He was unwilling that his old army shouldappear in the light of a routed column, retreating in disorder, withloss of men and munitions, when they lost neither. ]

XXI. 

ACROSS THE BLUE RIDGE AGAIN. 

Lee moved his army to the old encampment on the banks of the Opequanwhich it had occupied after the retreat from Sharpsburg, in September, 1862, and here a few days were spent in resting. 

We have, in the journal of a foreign officer, an outline of Lee'spersonal appearance at this time, and, as we are not diverted fromthese characteristic details at the moment by the narrative of greatevents, this account of Lee, given by the officer in question--ColonelFreemantle, of the British Army--is laid before the reader:

 "General Lee is, almost without exception, the handsomest man of his age I ever saw. He is tall, broad-shouldered, very well made, well set up--a thorough soldier in appearance--and his manners are most courteous, and full of dignity. He is a perfect gentleman in every respect. I imagine no man has so few enemies, or is so universally esteemed. Throughout the South, all agree in pronouncing him as near perfection as man can be. He has none of the small vices, such as smoking, drinking, chewing, or swearing; and his bitterest enemy never accused him of any of the greater ones. He generally wears a well-worn, long gray jacket, a high black-felt hat, and blue trousers, tucked into his Wellington boots. I never saw him carry arms, and the only marks of his military rank are the three stars on his collar. He rides a handsome horse, which is extremely well governed. He himself is very neat in his dress and person, and in the most arduous marches he always looks smart and clean.... It is understood that General Lee is a religious man, though not so demonstrative in that respect as Jackson, and, unlike his late brother-in-arms, he is a member of the Church of England. His only faults, so far as I can learn, arise from his excessive amiability. "

This personal description is entirely correct, except that the word"jacket" conveys a somewhat erroneous idea of Lee's undress uniformcoat, and his hat was generally gray. Otherwise, the sketch is exactlyaccurate, and is here presented as the unprejudiced description andestimate of a foreign gentleman, who had no inducement, such as mightbe attributed to a Southern writer, to overcolor his portrait. Such, in personal appearance, was the leader of the Southern army--a plainsoldier, in a plain dress, without arms, with slight indications ofrank, courteous, full of dignity, a "perfect gentleman, " and with nofault save an "excessive amiability. " The figure is attractive to theeye--it excited the admiration of a foreign officer, and remains inmany memories now, when the sound of battle is hushed, and the greatleader, in turn, has finished his life-battle and lain down in peace. 

The movements of the two armies were soon resumed, and we shallbriefly follow those movements, which led the adversaries back to theRappahannock. 

Lee appears to have conceived the design, after crossing the Potomacat Williamsport, to pass the Shenandoah River and the Blue Ridge, andthus place himself in the path of General Meade if he crossed eastof the mountain, or threaten Washington. This appears from his ownstatement. "Owing, " he says, "to the swollen condition of _theShenandoah River, the plan of operations which had been contemplatedwhen we recrossed the Potomac could not be put in execution_". Thepoints fixed upon by Lee for passing the mountain were probablySnicker's and Ashby's Gaps, opposite Berryville and Millwood. Therains had, however, made the river, in these places, unfordable. Onthe 17th and 18th days of July, less than a week after Lee's crossingat Williamsport, General Meade passed the Potomac above Leesburg, andLee moved his army in the direction of Chester Gap, near Front Royal, toward Culpepper. 

The new movements were almost identically the same as the old, whenGeneral McClellan advanced, in November, 1862, and the adoption ofthe same plans by General Meade involves a high compliment to hispredecessor. He acted with even more energy. As Lee's head of columnwas defiling toward Chester Gap, beyond Front Royal, General Meadestruck at it through Manassas Gap, directly on its flank, and anaction followed which promised at one time to become serious. Theenemy was, however, repulsed, and the Southern column continued itsway across the mountain. The rest of the army followed, and descendedinto Culpepper, from which position, when Longstreet was detached tothe west, Lee retired, taking post behind the Rapidan. 

General Meade thereupon followed, and occupied Culpepper, his advancebeing about half-way between Culpepper Court-House and the river. 

Such was the position of the two armies in the first days of October, when Lee, weary, it seemed, of inactivity, set out to flank and fighthis adversary. 

PART VII. 

_LAST CAMPAIGNS OF THE YEAR_ 1863. 

I. 

THE CAVALRY OF LEE'S ARMY. 

In a work of the present description, the writer has a choice betweentwo courses. He may either record the events of the war in allquarters of the country, as bearing more or less upon his narrative, or may confine himself to the life of the individual who is theimmediate subject of his volume. Of these two courses, the writerprefers the latter for many reasons. To present a narrative ofmilitary transactions in all portions of the South would expand thisvolume to undue proportions; and there is the further objection thatthese occurrences are familiar to all. It might be necessary, inwriting for persons ignorant of the events of the great conflict, toomit nothing; but this ignorance does, not probably exist in thecase of the readers of these pages; and the writer will continue, as heretofore, to confine himself to the main subject, only notingincidentally such prominent events in other quarters as affected Lee'smovements. 

One such event was the fall of Vicksburg, which post surrendered atthe same moment with the defeat at Gettysburg, rendering thereafterimpossible all movements of invasion; and another was the advance ofGeneral Rosecrans toward Atlanta, which resulted, in the month ofSeptember, in a Southern victory at Chickamauga. 

The immediate effect of the Federal demonstration toward Chattanoogahad been to detach Longstreet's corps from General Lee's army, forservice under General Bragg. General Meade's force is said to havealso been somewhat lessened by detachments sent to enforce the draftin New York; and these circumstances had, in the first days ofOctober, reduced both armies in Virginia to a less force than they hadnumbered in the past campaign. General Meade, however, presented abold front to his adversary, and, with his headquarters near CulpepperCourt-House, kept close watch upon Lee, whose army lay along the southbank of the Rapidan. 

For some weeks no military movements took place, and an occasionalcavalry skirmish between the troopers of the two armies was all whichbroke the monotony of the autumn days. This inactivity, however, wasnow about to terminate. Lee had resolved to attempt a flank movementaround General Meade's right, with the view of bringing him to battle;and a brief campaign ensued, which, if indecisive, and reflectinglittle glory upon the infantry, was fruitful in romantic incidents andhighly creditable to the cavalry of the Southern army. 

In following the movements, and describing the operations of the mainbody of the army--the infantry--we have necessarily been compelled topass over, to a great extent, the services of the cavalry in the pastcampaign. These had, nevertheless, been great--no arm of the servicehad exhibited greater efficiency; and, but for the fact that in allarmies the brunt of battle falls upon the foot-soldiers, it might beadded that the services of the cavalry had been as important as thoseof the infantry. Stuart was now in command of a force varying fromfive to eight thousand sabres, and among his troopers were some ofthe best fighting-men of the South. The cavalry had always been thefavorite arm with the Southern youth; it had drawn to itself, asprivates in the ranks, thousands of young men of collegiate education, great wealth, and the highest social position; and this force wasofficered, in Virginia, by such resolute commanders as Wade Hampton, Fitz Lee, William H. F. Lee, Rosser, Jones, Wickham, Young, Munford, and many others. Under these leaders, and assisted bythe hard-fighting "Stuart Horse-Artillery" under Pelham and hissuccessors, the cavalry had borne their full share in the hardmarches and combats of the army. On the Chickahominy; in the marchto Manassas, and the battles in Maryland; in the operations onthe Rappahannock, and the incessant fighting of the campaign toGettysburg, Stuart and his troopers had vindicated their claim to thefirst honors of arms; and, if these services were not duly estimatedby the infantry of the army, the fact was mainly attributable to thecircumstance that the fighting of the cavalry had been done at adistance upon the outposts, far more than in the pitched battles, where, in modern times, from the improved and destructive characterof artillery, playing havoc with horses, the cavalry arm can achievelittle, and is not risked. The actual losses in Stuart's command left, however, no doubt of the obstinate soldiership of officers and men. Since the opening of the year he had lost General Hampton, cut down ina hand-to-hand sabre-fight at Gettysburg; General W. H. F. Lee, shot inthe fight at Fleetwood; Colonels Frank Hampton and Williams, killed inthe same action; Colonel Butler, torn by a shell; Major Pelham, Chiefof Artillery, killed while leading a charge; [Footnote: In thisenumeration the writer mentions only such names as occur at the momentto his memory. A careful examination of the records of the cavalrywould probably furnish the names of ten times as many, equally braveand unfortunate. ] about six officers of his personal staff eitherkilled, wounded, or captured; and in the Gettysburg campaign he hadlost nearly one-third of his entire command. Of its value to the army, the infantry might have their doubts, but General Lee had none. Stuartand his horsemen had been the eyes and ears of the Army of NorthernVirginia; had fought incessantly as well as observed the enemy; andLee never committed the injustice of undervaluing this indispensablearm, which, if his official commendation of its operations underStuart is to be believed, was only second in importance in hisestimation to the infantry itself. 

The army continued, nevertheless, to amuse itself at the expense ofthe cavalry, and either asserted or intimated, on every favorableoccasion, that the _real fighting_ was done by themselves. Thisflattering assumption might be natural under the circumstances, but itwas now about to be shown to be wholly unfounded. A campaign was athand in which the cavalry were to turn the tables upon their jocosecritics, and silence them; where the infantry were doomed to failurein nearly all which they attempted, and the troopers were to do thegreater part of the fighting and achieve the only successes. 

To the narrative of this brief and romantic episode of the war we nowproceed. General Lee's aim was to pass around the right flank of hisadversary, and bring him to battle; and, although the promptnessof General Meade's movements defeated the last-named object nearlycompletely, the manoeuvres of the two armies form a highly-interestingstudy. The eminent soldiers commanding the forces played a veritablegame of chess with each other. There was little hard fighting, butmore scientific manoeuvring than is generally displayed in a campaign. The brains of Lee and Meade, rather than the two armies, were matchedagainst each other; and the conflict of ideas proved more interestingthan the actual fighting. 

II. 

LEE FLANKS GENERAL MEADE. 

In prosecution of the plan determined upon, General Lee, on themorning of the 9th of October, crossed the Rapidan at the fordsabove Orange Court-House, with the corps of Ewell and A. P. Hill, anddirected his march toward Madison Court-House. 

Stuart moved with Hampton's cavalry division on the right of theadvancing column--General Fitz Lee having been left with his divisionto guard the front on the Rapidan--and General Imboden, commandingwest of the Blue Ridge, was ordered by Lee to "advance down theValley, and guard the gaps of the mountains on our left. "

We have said that Lee's design was to bring General Meade to battle. It is proper to state this distinctly, as some writers have attributedto him in the campaign, as his real object, the design of manoeuvringhis adversary out of Culpepper, and pushing him back to the Federalfrontier. His own words are perfectly plain. He set out "with thedesign, " he declares, "of _bringing on an engagement with the Federalarmy_"--that is to say, of _fighting_ General Meade, not simplyforcing him to fall back. His opponent, it seems, was not averse toaccepting battle; indeed, from expressions attributed to him, heappears to have ardently desired it, in case he could secure anadvantageous position for receiving the Southern attack. It isdesirable that this readiness in both commanders to fight should bekept in view. The fact adds largely to the interest of this brief"campaign of manoeuvres, " in which the army, falling back, like thatadvancing, sought battle. 

To proceed to the narrative, which will deal in large measure with theoperations of the cavalry--that arm of the service, as we have said, having borne the chief share of the fighting, and achieved the onlysuccesses. Stuart moved out on the right of the infantry, whichmarched directly toward Madison Court-House, and near the villageof James City, directly west of Culpepper Court-House, drove in thecavalry and infantry outposts of General Kilpatrick on the main bodybeyond the village. Continuous skirmishing ensued throughout the restof the day--Stuart's object being to occupy the enemy, and divertattention from the infantry movement in his rear. In this he seems tohave fully succeeded. Lee passed Madison Court-House, and moving, ashe says, "by circuitous and concealed roads, " reached the vicinity ofGriffinsburg, on what is called the Sperryville Road, northwest ofCulpepper Court-House. A glance at the map will show the relativepositions of the two armies at this moment. General Meade lay aroundCulpepper Court-House, with his advance about half-way between thatplace and the Rapidan, and Lee had attained a position which gave himfair hopes of intercepting his adversary's retreat. That retreat mustbe over the line of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad; but fromGriffinsburg to Manassas was no farther than from CulpepperCourt-House to the same point. If the Federal army fell back, as Leeanticipated, it would be a question of speed between the retreatingand pursuing columns; and, as the narrative will show, the race wasclose--a few hours lost making the difference between success andfailure in Lee's movement. 

On the morning of the 10th while the infantry were still nearGriffinsburg, General Stuart moved promptly down upon CulpepperCourt-House, driving the enemy from their large camps near StonehouseMountain. These were elaborately provided with luxuries of everydescription, and there were many indications of the fact that thetroops had expected to winter there. No serious fighting occurred. A regiment of infantry was charged and dispersed by the JeffersonCompany of Captain Baylor, and Stuart then proceeded rapidly toCulpepper Court-House, where the Federal cavalry, forming therear-guard of the army, awaited him. 

General Meade was already moving in the direction of the Rappahannock. The presence of the Southern army near Griffinsburg had become knownto him; he was at no loss to understand Lee's object; and, leavinghis cavalry to cover his rear, he moved toward the river. As Stuartattacked the Federal horse posted on the hills east of the village, the roar of cannon on his right, steadily drawing nearer, indicatedthat General Fitz Lee was forcing the enemy in that direction to fallback. Stuart was now in high spirits, and indulged in hearty laughter, although the enemy's shells were bursting around him. 

"Ride back to General Lee, " he said to an officer of his staff, "andtell him we are forcing the enemy back on the Rappahannock, and Ithink I hear Fitz Lee's guns toward the Rapidan. "

The officer obeyed, and found General Lee at his headquarters, whichconsisted of one or two tents, with a battle-flag set up in front, onthe highway, near Griffinsburg. He was conversing with General Ewell, and the contrast between the two soldiers was striking. Ewell wasthin, cadaverous, and supported himself upon a crutch, for he had notyet recovered from the wound received at Manassas. General Lee, onthe contrary, was erect, ruddy, robust, and exhibited indications ofhealth and vigor in every detail of his person. When Stuart's messagewas delivered to him, he bowed with that grave courtesy which heexhibited alike toward the highest and the lowest soldier in his army, and said: "Thank you. Tell General Stuart to continue to press themback toward the river. "

He then smiled, and added, with that accent of sedate humor which attimes characterized him: "But tell him, too, to spare his horses--tospare his horses. It is not necessary to send so many messages. "

He turned as he spoke to General Ewell, and, pointing to the officerwho had come from Stuart, and another who had arrived just before him, said, with lurking humor: "I think these two young gentlemen make_eight_ messengers sent me by General Stuart!"

He then said to Ewell: "You may as well move on with your troops, Isuppose, general;" and soon afterward the infantry began to advance. 

Stuart was meanwhile engaged in an obstinate combat with the Federalcavalry near Brandy, in the immediate vicinity of Fleetwood Hill, thescene of the great fight in June. The stand made by the enemy wasresolute, but the arrival of General Fitz Lee decided the event. Thatofficer had crossed the Rapidan and driven General Buford before him. The result now was that, while Stuart was pressing the enemy in hisfront, General Buford came down on Stuart's rear, and Fitz Lee on therear of Buford. The scene which ensued was a grand commingling of thetragic and serio-comic. Every thing was mingled in wild confusion, butthe day remained with the Southern cavalry, who, at nightfall, hadpressed their opponents back toward the river, which the Federal armycrossed that night, blowing up the railroad bridge behind them. 

Such was the first act of the bustling drama. At the approach of Lee, General Meade had vanished from Culpepper, and so well arranged wasthe whole movement, in spite of its rapidity, that scarce an empty boxwas left behind. Lee's aim to bring his adversary to battle south ofthe Rappahannock had thus failed; but the attempt was renewed by acontinuation of the flanking movement toward Warrenton Springs, "with the design, " Lee says, "of reaching the Orange and AlexandriaRailroad, north of the river, and interrupting the retreat of theenemy. " Unfortunately, however, for this project, which required ofall things rapidity of movement, it was found necessary to remainnearly all day on the 11th near Culpepper Court-House, to supply thearmy with provisions. It was not until the 12th that the army againmoved. Stuart preceded it, and after a brisk skirmish drove the enemyfrom Warrenton Springs--advancing in person in front of his columnas it charged through the river and up the hill beyond, where aconsiderable body of Federal marksmen were put to flight. The cavalrythen pressed on toward Warrenton, and the infantry, who had witnessedtheir prowess and cheered them heartily, followed on the same road. The race between Lee and General Meade was in full progress. 

It was destined to become complicated, and an error committed byGeneral Meade came very near exposing him to serious danger. Itappears that, after retreating across the Rappahannock, the Federalcommander began to entertain doubt whether the movement had not beenhasty, and would not justly subject him to the charge of yielding tosudden panic. Influenced apparently by this sentiment, he now orderedthree corps of the Federal army, with a division of cavalry, back toCulpepper; and this, the main body, accordingly crossed back, leavingbut one corps north of the river. Such was now the very peculiarsituation of the two armies. General Lee was moving steadily in thedirection of Warrenton to cut off his adversary from Manassas, andthat adversary was moving back into Culpepper to hunt up Lee there. The comedy of errors was soon terminated, but not so soon as itotherwise would have been but for a _ruse de guerre_ played byGenerals Rosser and Young. General Rosser had been left by Stuart nearBrandy, with about two hundred horsemen and one gun; and, when thethree infantry corps and the cavalry division of General Meade movedforward from the river, they encountered this obstacle. Insignificantas was his force. General Rosser so manoeuvred it as to produce theimpression that it was considerable; and, though forced, of course, tofall back, he did so fighting at every step. Assistance reached himjust at dusk in the shape of a brigade of cavalry, from above thecourt-house under General Young, the same officer whose charge at theFleetwood fight had had so important a bearing upon the result there. Young now formed line with his men dismounted, and, advancing with aconfident air, opened fire upon the Federal army. The darkness provedfriendly, and, taking advantage of it, General Young kindled firesalong a front of more than a mile, ordered his band to play, and musthave caused the enemy to doubt whether Lee was not still in largeforce near Culpepper Court-House. They accordingly went into camp toawait the return of daylight, when at midnight a fast-riding couriercame with orders from General Meade. 

These orders were urgent, and directed the Federal troops to recrossthe river with all haste. General Lee, it was now ascertained, hadleft an insignificant force in Culpepper, and, with nearly his wholearmy, was moving rapidly toward Warrenton to cut off his adversary. 

III. 

A RACE BETWEEN TWO ARMIES. 

The game of hide-and-seek--to change the figure--was now in fullprogress, and nothing more dramatic could be conceived of than therelative positions of the two armies. 

At midnight, on Monday, October 12th, Lee's army was near WarrentonSprings, ready to advance in the morning upon Warrenton, while threeof the four corps under General Meade were half-way between theRappahannock and Culpepper Court-House, expecting battle there. Thus achoice of two courses was presented to the Federal commander: to orderback his main force, and rapidly retreat toward Manassas, or move theFourth Corps to support it, and place his whole army directly in Lee'srear. The occasion demanded instant decision. Every hour now counted. But, unfortunately for General Meade, he was still in the dark as tothe actual amount of Lee's force in Culpepper. The movement towardWarrenton might be a mere _ruse_. The great master of the art of warto whom he was opposed might have laid this trap for him--have countedupon his falling into the snare--and, while a portion of the Southernforce was engaged in Culpepper, might design an attack with the restupon the Federal right flank or rear. In fact, the situation ofaffairs was so anomalous and puzzling that Lee might design almost anything, and succeed in crushing his adversary. 

The real state of the case was, that Lee designed nothing of thisdescription, having had no intimation whatever of General Meade's newmovement back toward Culpepper. He was advancing toward Warrenton, under the impression that his adversary was retreating, and aimed tocome up with him somewhere near that place and bring him to battle. Upon this theory his opponent now acted by promptly ordering back histhree corps to the north bank of the Rappahannock. They began to marchsoon after midnight; recrossed the river near the railroad; and onthe morning of the 13th hastened forward by rapid marches to pass thedangerous point near Warrenton, toward which Lee was also moving withhis infantry. 

In this race every advantage seemed to be on the side of Lee. Thethree Federal corps had fully twice as far to march as the Southernforces. Lee was concentrating near Warrenton, while they were far inthe rear; and, if the Confederates moved with only half the rapidityof their adversaries, they were certain to intercept them, and compelthem either to surrender or cut their way through. 

These comments--tedious, perhaps--are necessary to the comprehensionof the singular "situation. " We proceed now with the narrative. Stuarthad pushed on past Warrenton with his cavalry, toward the OrangeRailroad, when, on the night of the 13th, he met with one of thoseadventures which were thickly strewed throughout his romantic career. He was near Auburn, just at nightfall, when, as his rear-guard closedup, information reached him from that quarter that the Federalarmy was passing directly in his rear. Nearly at the same momentintelligence arrived that another column of the enemy, consisting, like the first, of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, was moving acrosshis front. 

Stuart was now in an actual trap, and his situation was perilous inthe extreme. He was enclosed between two moving walls of enemies, and, if discovered, his fate seemed sealed. But one course was left him: topreserve, if possible, complete silence in his command; to lie _perdu_in the wood, and await the occurrence of some fortunate event toextricate him from his highly-embarrassing situation. He accordinglyissued stringent orders to the men that no noise of any descriptionshould be made, and not a word be uttered; and there was littlenecessity to repeat this command. The troopers remained silent andmotionless in the saddle throughout the night, ready at any instantto move at the order; and thus passed the long hours of darkness--theSouthern horsemen as silent as phantoms; the Federal columnspassing rapidly, with the roll of artillery-wheels, the tramp ofcavalry-horses, and the shuffling sound of feet, on both sides of thecommand--the column moving in rear of Stuart being distant but two orthree hundred yards. 

This romantic incident was destined to terminate fortunately forStuart, who, having dispatched scouts to steal through the Federalcolumn, and announce his situation to General Lee, prepared to seizeupon the first opportunity to release his command from its imminentperil. The opportunity came at dawn. The Federal rear, under GeneralCaldwell, had bivouacked near, and had just kindled fires to cooktheir breakfast, when, from the valley beneath the hill on whichthe troops had halted, Stuart opened suddenly upon them with hisHorse-Artillery, and, as he says in his report, knocked overcoffee-pots and other utensils at the moment when the men leastexpected it. He then advanced his sharp-shooters and directed a rapidfire upon the disordered troops; and, under cover of this fire, wheeled to the left and emerged safely toward Warrenton. The armygreeted him with cheers, and he was himself in the highest spirits. He had certainly good reason for this joy, for he had just grazeddestruction. 

As Stuart's artillery opened, the sound was taken up toward Warrenton, where Ewell, in obedience to Lee's orders, had attacked the Federalcolumn. Nothing resulted, however, from this assault: General Meadehad concentrated his army, and was hastening toward Manassas. All nowdepended again upon the celerity of Lee's movements in pursuit. He hadlost many hours at Warrenton, where "another halt was made, " he says, "to supply the troops with provisions. " Thus, on the morning of the14th he was as far from intercepting General Meade as before; and allnow depended upon the movements of Hill, who, while Ewell moved towardGreenwich, had been sent by way of New Baltimore to come in on theFederal line of retreat at Bristoe Station, near Manassas. In spite, however, of his excellent soldiership and habitual promptness, Hilldid not arrive in time. He made the détour prescribed by Lee, passedNew Baltimore, and hastened on toward Bristoe, where, on approachingthat point, he found only the rear-guard of the Federal army--thewhole force, with this exception, having crossed Broad Run, andhastened on toward Manassas. Hill's arrival had thus been tardy: itwould have been fortunate for him if he had not arrived at all. Seeingthe Federal column under General Warren hastening along the railroadto pass Broad Run, he ordered a prompt attack, and Cooke's brigade ledthe charge. The result was unfortunate for the Confederates. GeneralWarren, seeing his peril, had promptly disposed his line behind therailroad embankment at the spot, where, protected by this impromptubreastwork, the men rested their guns upon the iron rails and poured adestructive fire upon the Southerners rushing down the open slope infront. By this fire General Cooke was severely wounded and fell, andhis brigade lost a considerable part of its numbers. Before a newattack could be made, General Warren hastily withdrew, carryingoff with him in triumph a number of prisoners, and five pieces ofartillery, captured on the banks of the run. Before his retreat couldbe again interrupted, he was safe on the opposite side of the stream, and lost no time in hurrying forward to join the main body, which wasretreating on Centreville. 

General Meade had thus completely foiled his adversary. Lee had setout with the intention of bringing the Federal commander to battle;had not succeeded in doing so, owing to the rapidity of his retreat;had come up only with his rear-guard, under circumstances which seemedto seal the fate of that detached force, and the small rear-guard hadrepulsed him completely, capturing prisoners and artillery from him, and retiring in triumph. Such had been the issue of the campaign; allthe success had been on the side of General Meade. He is said to havedeclared that "it was like pulling out his eye-teeth not to have had afight;" but something resembling _bona-fide_ fighting had occurred onthe banks of Broad Run, and the victory was clearly on the side of theFederal troops. 

To turn to General Lee, it would be an interesting question to discusswhether he really desired to _intercept_ General Meade, if therewere any data upon which to base a decision. The writer hazards theobservation that it seems doubtful whether this was Lee's intention. He had a high opinion of General Meade, and is said to have declaredof that commander, that he "gave him" (Lee) "as much trouble as any ofthem. " Lee was thus opposed to a soldier whose ability he respected, and it appears doubtful whether he desired to move so rapidly as toexpose his own communications to interruption by his adversary. Thisview seems to derive support from the apparently unnecessary delaysat Culpepper Court-House and Warrenton. There was certainly no goodreason why, under ordinary circumstances, an army so accustomed torapid marches as the Army of Northern Virginia should not have beenable to reach Warrenton from the neighborhood of Culpepper Court-Housein less than _four days. _ "We were _compelled_ to halt, " Lee writesof the delay at Culpepper; but of that at Warrenton he simply says, "Another halt was made. " Whether these views have, or have notfoundation, the reader must judge. We shall aim, in a few pages, toconclude our account of this interesting campaign. 

IV. 

THE FIGHT AT BUCKLAND. 

Lee rode forward to the field upon which General Hill had sustainedhis bloody repulse, and Hill--depressed and mortified at themishap--endeavored to explain the _contretemps_ and vindicate himselffrom censure. Lee is said to have listened in silence, as they rodeamong the dead bodies, and to have at length replied, gravely andsadly: "Well, well, general, bury these poor men, and let us say nomore about it. "

He had issued orders that the troops should cease the pursuit, andriding on the next morning, with General Stuart, to the summit of ahill overlooking Broad Run, dismounted, and held a brief conversationwith the commander of his cavalry, looking intently, as he spoke, inthe direction of Manassas. His demeanor was that of a person who isfar from pleased with the course of events, and the word _glum_ bestdescribes his expression. The safe retreat of General Meade, with theheavy blow struck by him in retiring, was indeed enough to account forthis ill-humor. The campaign was altogether a failure, since GeneralMeade's position at Centreville was unassailable; and, if he were onlydriven therefrom, he had but to retire to the defences at Washington. Lee accordingly gave Stuart directions to follow up the enemy in thedirection of Centreville, and, ordering the Orange and AlexandriaRailroad to be torn up back to the Rappahannock, put his infantry inmotion, and marched back toward Culpepper. 

We shall now briefly follow the movements of the cavalry. Stuartadvanced to Manassas, following up the Federal rear, and hasteningtheir retreat across Bull Run beyond. He then left Fitz Lee's divisionnear Manassas in the Federal front, and moving, with Hampton'sdivision, to the left toward Groveton, passed the Little Catharpin, proceeded thence through the beautiful autumn forest toward FryingPan, and there found and attacked, with his command dismounted andacting as sharp-shooters, the Second Corps of the Federal army. Thissudden appearance of Southern troops on the flank of Centreville, issaid to have caused great excitement there, as it was not known thatthe force was not General Lee's army. The fact was soon apparent, however, that it was merely a cavalry attack. The Federal infantryadvanced, whereupon Stuart retired; and the adventurous Southernhorsemen moved back in the direction of Warrenton. 

They were not to rejoin Lee's army, however, before a final conflictwith the Federal cavalry; and the circumstances of this conflictwere as dramatic and picturesque as the _ruse de guerre_ of Young inCulpepper, and the midnight adventure of Stuart near Auburn. The boldassault on the Second Corps seemed to have excited the ire of theFederal commander, and he promptly sent forward a considerable bodyof his cavalry, under General Kilpatrick, to pursue Stuart, and ifpossible come up with and defeat him. 

Stuart was near the village of Buckland, on the road to Warrenton, when intelligence of the approach of the Federal cavalry reached him. The movement which followed was suggested by General Fitz Lee. Heproposed that Stuart should retire toward Warrenton with Hampton'sdivision, while he, with his own division, remained on the enemy'sleft flank. Then, at a given signal, Stuart was to face about; he, General Fitz Lee, would attack them in flank; when their rout wouldprobably ensue. This plan was carried out to the letter. GeneralKilpatrick, who seems to have been confident of his ability to driveStuart before him, pressed forward on the Warrenton road, closelyfollowing up his adversary, when the sudden boom of artillery fromGeneral Fitz Lee gave the signal. Stuart wheeled at the signal, andmade a headlong charge upon his pursuers. Fitz Lee came in at the samemoment and attacked them in flank; and the result was that GeneralKilpatrick's entire command was routed, and retreated in confusion, Stuart pursuing, as he wrote, "from within three miles of Warrenton toBuckland, the horses at full speed the whole distance. " So terminatedan incident afterward known among the troopers of Stuart by the jocosetitle of "The Buckland Races, " and the Southern cavalry retiredwithout further molestation behind the Rappahannock. 

The coöperation of General Imboden in the campaign should not bepassed over. That officer, whose special duty had been to guard thegaps in the Blue Ridge, advanced from Berryville to Charlestown, attacked the Federal garrison at the latter place, drove them indisorder toward Harper's Ferry, and carried back with him four or fivehundred prisoners. The enemy followed him closely, and he was forcedto fight them off at every step. He succeeded, however, in returningin safety, having performed more than the duty expected of him. 

Lee was now behind the Rappahannock, and it remained to be seen whatcourse General Meade would pursue--whether he would remain nearCentreville, or strive to regain his lost ground. 

All doubt was soon terminated by the approach of the Federal army, which, marching from Centreville on October 19th, and repairing therailroad as it advanced, reached the Rappahannock on the 7th ofNovember. Lee's army at this time was in camp toward CulpepperCourt-House, with advanced forces in front of Kelly's Ford and therailroad bridge. General Meade acted with vigor. On his arrival hepromptly sent a force across at Kelly's Ford; the Southern troopsoccupying the rifle-pits there were driven off, with the loss of manyprisoners; and an attack near the railroad bridge had still moreunfortunate results for General Lee. A portion of Early's division hadbeen posted in the abandoned Federal works, on the north bank at thispoint, and these were now attacked, and, after a fierce resistance, completely routed. Nearly the whole command was captured--the remnantbarely escaping--and, the way having thus been cleared, General Meadethrew his army across into Culpepper. 

General Lee retired before him with a heavy heart and a deepmelancholy, which, in spite of his great control over himself, wasvisible in his countenance. The infantry-fighting of the campaign hadbegun, and ended in disaster for him. In the thirty days he had lostat least two thousand men, and was back again in his old camps, havingachieved absolutely nothing. 

V. 

THE ADVANCE TO MINE RUN. 

November of the bloody year 1863 had come; and it seemed notunreasonable to anticipate that a twelvemonth, marked by suchincessant fighting at Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, SalemChurch, Winchester, Gettysburg, Front Royal, Bristoe, and along theRappahannock, would now terminate in peace, permitting thecombatants on both sides, worn out by their arduous work, to go intowinter-quarters, and recuperate their energies for the operations ofthe ensuing spring. 

But General Meade had otherwise determined. He had resolved to trya last advance, in spite of the inclement weather; and Lee'santicipations of a season of rest and refreshment for his troops, undisturbed by hostile demonstrations on the part of the enemy, weredestined speedily to be disappointed. The Southern army had goneregularly into winter-quarters, south of the Rapidan, and the men werefelicitating themselves upon the prospect of an uninterrupted seasonof leisure and enjoyment in their rude cabins, built in shelterednooks, or under their breadths of canvas raised upon logs, and fittedwith rough but comfortable chimneys, built of notched pine-saplings, when suddenly intelligence was brought by scouts that the Federal armywas in motion. The fact reversed all their hopes of rest, and song, and laughter, by the good log-fires. The musket was taken from itsplace on the rude walls, the cartridge-box assumed, and the army wasonce more ready for battle--as gay, hopeful, and resolved, as in thefirst days of spring. 

General Meade had, indeed, resolved that the year should not endwithout another blow at his adversary, and the brief campaign, knownas the "Advance to Mine Run, " followed. It was the least favorableof all seasons for active operations; but the Federal commander isvindicated from the charge of bad soldiership by two circumstanceswhich very properly had great weight with him. The first was, theextreme impatience of the Northern authorities and people at the smallresults of the bloody fighting of the year. Gettysburg had seemedto them a complete defeat of Lee, since he had retreated thereafterwithout loss of time to Virginia; and yet three months afterward thedefeated commander had advanced upon and forced back his victoriousadversary. That such should be the result of the year's campaigningseemed absurd to the North. A clamorous appeal was made to theauthorities to order another advance; and this general sentiment issaid to have been shared by General Meade, who had declared himselfbitterly disappointed at missing a battle with Lee in October. Astronger argument in favor of active operations lay in the situation, at the moment, of the Southern army. Lee, anticipating no furtherfighting during the remainder of the year, opposed the enemy on theRapidan with only one of his two corps--that of Ewell; while theother--that of Hill--was thrown back, in detached divisions, atvarious points on the Orange and the Virginia Central Railroads, forthe purpose of subsistence during the winter. This fact, becomingknown to General Meade, dictated, it is said, his plan of operations. An advance seemed to promise, from the position of the Southernforces, a decisive success. Ewell's right extended no farther thanMorton's Ford, on the Rapidan, and thus the various fords down toChancellorsville were open. If General Meade could cross suddenly, andby a rapid march interpose between Ewell and the scattered divisionsof Hill far in rear, it appeared not unreasonable to conclude thatLee's army would be completely disrupted, and that the two corps, oneafter another, might be crushed by the Federal army. 

This plan, which is given on the authority of Northern writers, exhibited good soldiership, and, if Lee were to be caught unawares, promised to succeed. Without further comment we shall now proceed tothe narrative of this brief movement, which, indecisive as it was inits results, was not uninteresting, and may prove as attractive to themilitary student as other operations more imposing and accompanied bybloodier fighting. 

General Meade began to move toward the Rapidan on November 26th, and every exertion was made by him to advance with such secrecy andrapidity as to give him the advantage of a surprise. In this, however, he was disappointed. No sooner had his orders been issued, and thecorrespondent movements begun, than the accomplished scouts of Stuarthurried across the Rapidan with the intelligence. Stuart, whoseheadquarters were in a hollow of the hills near Orange, and notfar from General Lee's, promptly communicated in person to thecommander-in-chief this important information, and Lee dispatchedimmediately an order to General A. P. Hill, in rear, to march at onceand form a junction with Ewell in the vicinity of Verdierville. Thelatter officer was directed to retire from his advanced position uponthe Rapidan, which exposed him to an attack on his right flank andrear, and to fall back and take post behind the small stream calledMine Run. 

In following with a critical eye the operations of General Lee, themilitary student must be struck particularly by one circumstance, thatin all his movements he seemed to proceed less according to the nicetechnicalities of the art of war, than in accordance with the dictatesof a broad and comprehensive good sense. It may be said that, inchoosing position, he always chose the right and never the wrong one;and the choice of Mine Run now as a defensive line was a proof ofthis. The run is a small water-course which, rising south of the greathighway between Orange and Chancellorsville, flows due northward amidwoods and between hills to the Rapidan, into which it empties itself afew miles above Germanna, General Meade's main place of crossing. Thisstream is the natural defence of the right flank of an army postedbetween Orange and the Rapidan. It is also the natural and obviousline upon which to receive the attack of a force marching from belowtoward Gordonsville. Behind Mine Run, therefore, just east of thelittle village of Verdierville, General Lee directed his two corps toconcentrate; and at the word, the men, lounging but now carelessly inwinter-quarters, sprung to arms, "fell in, " and with burnished musketstook up the line of march. 

We have spoken of the promptness with which the movement was made, andit may almost be said that General Meade had scarcely broken up hiscamps north of the Rapidan, when Lee was in motion to go and meet him. On the night of the 26th, Stuart, whose cavalry was posted oppositethe lower fords, pushed forward in person, and bivouacked under somepines just below Verdierville; and before daylight General Lee wasalso in the saddle, and at sunrise had reached the same point. Thenight had been severely cold, for winter had set in in earnest; butGeneral Lee, always robust and careless of weather, walked down, without wrapping, and wearing only his plain gray uniform, to Stuart's_impromptu_ headquarters under the pines, where, beside a great fire, and without other covering than his army-blanket, the commander of thecavalry had slept since midnight. 

As Lee approached, Stuart came forward, and Lee said, admiringly, "What a hardy soldier!"

They consulted, Stuart walking back with General Lee, and receivinghis orders. He then promptly mounted, and hastened to the front, where, taking command of his cavalry, he formed it in front of theadvancing enemy, and with artillery and dismounted sharp-shooters, offered every possible impediment to their advance. 

General Meade made the passage of the Rapidan without difficulty; and, as his expedition was unencumbered with wagons, advanced rapidly. Theonly serious obstruction to his march was made by Johnson's divisionof Ewell's corps, which had been thrown out beyond the run, toward theriver. Upon this force the Federal Third Corps, under General French, suddenly blundered, by taking the wrong road, it is said, andan active engagement followed, which resulted in favor of theSoutherners. The verdict of Lee's troops afterward was, that the enemyfought badly; but General French probably desired nothing better thanto shake off this hornets'-nest into which he had stumbled, and toreach, in the time prescribed by General Meade, the point of Federalconcentration near Robertson's Tavern. 

Toward that point the Northern forces now converged from the variouscrossings of the river; and Stuart continued to reconnoitre and feelthem along the entire front, fighting obstinately, and falling backonly when compelled to do so. Every step was thus contested withsharp-shooters and the Horse-Artillery, from far below to aboveNew-Hope Church. The Federal infantry, however, continued steadily topress forward, forcing back the cavalry, and on the 27th General Meadewas in face of Mine Run. 

Lee was ready. Hill had promptly marched, and his corps was cominginto position on the right of Ewell. Receiving intelligence of theenemy's movement only upon the preceding day, Lee had seemed to movethe divisions of Hill, far back toward Charlottesville, as by the waveof his hand. The army was concentrated; the line of defence occupied;and General Meade's attempt to surprise his adversary, by interposingbetween his widely-separated wings, had resulted in decisive failure. If he fought now, the battle must be one of army against army; and, what was worst of all, it was Lee who held all the advantages ofposition. 

We have spoken of Mine Run: it is a strong defensive position, on itsright bank and on its left. Flowing generally between hills, and withdensely-wooded banks, it is difficult to cross from either side inface of an opposing force; and it was Lee's good fortune to occupy theattitude of the party to be assailed. He seemed to feel that he hadnothing to fear, and was in excellent spirits, as were the men; aneye-witness describes them as "gay, lively, laughing, magnificent. " Infront of his left wing he had already erected works; his centre andright were as yet undefended, but the task of strengthening the lineat these points was rapidly prosecuted. Lee superintended in personthe establishment of his order of battle, and it was plain to thosewho saw him thus engaged that the department of military engineeringwas a favorite one with him. Riding along the western bank of thewater-course, a large part of which was densely clothed in oak, chestnut, and hickory, he selected, with the quick eye of the trainedengineer, the best position for his line--promptly moved it when ithad been established on bad ground--pointed out the positions forartillery; and, as he thus rode slowly along, the works which he haddirected seemed to spring up behind him as though by magic. As thetroops of Hill came up and halted in the wood, the men seized axes, attacked the large trees, which soon fell in every direction, and theheavy logs were dragged without loss of time to the prescribed line, where they were piled upon each other in double walls, which werefilled in rapidly with earth; and thus, in an inconceivably shortspace of time the men had defences breast-high which would turn acannon-shot. In front, for some distance, too, the timber had beenfelled and an _abatis_ thus formed. A few hours after the arrival ofthe troops on the line marked out by Lee, they were rooted behindexcellent breastworks, with forest, stream, and _abatis_ in front, todelay the assailing force under the fire of small-arms and cannon. 

This account of the movements of the army, and the preparations madeto receive General Meade's attack, may appear of undue length andminuteness of detail, in view of the fact that no battle ensued. Butthe volume before the reader is not so much a history of the battlesof Virginia, which have often been described, as an attempt todelineate the military and personal character of General Lee, whichdisplayed itself often more strikingly in indecisive events than inthose whose results attract the attention of the world. It was thevigorous brain, indeed, of the great soldier, that made eventsindecisive--warding off, by military acumen and ability, the disasterwith which he was threatened. At Mine Run, Lee's quick eye forposition, and masterly handling of his forces, completely checkmatedan adversary who had advanced to deliver decisive battle. With felledtrees, breastworks, and a crawling stream, Lee reversed all thecalculations of the commander of the Federal army. 

From the 27th of November to the night of the 1st of December, GeneralMeade moved to and fro in front of the formidable works of hisadversary, feeling them with skirmishers and artillery, and essayingvainly to find some joint in the armor through which to pierce. Therewas none. Lee had inaugurated that great system of breastworks whichafterward did him such good service in his long campaign with GeneralGrant. A feature of the military art unknown to Jomini had thus itsbirth in the woods of America; and this fact, if there were naughtelse of interest in the campaign, would communicate to the Mine-Runaffair the utmost interest. 

General Meade, it seems, was bitterly opposed to foregoing an attack. In spite of the powerful position of his adversary, he ordered anassault, it is said; but this did not take place, in consequence, it would appear, of the reluctance of General Warren to charge theConfederate right. This seemed so strong that the men considered ithopeless. When the order was communicated to them, each one wrote hisname on a scrap of paper and pinned it to his breast, that his corpsemight be recognized, and, if possible, conveyed to his friends. Thiswas ominous of failure: General Warren suspended the attack; andGeneral Meade, it is said, acquiesced in his decision. He declared, itis related, that he could carry the position _with a loss of thirtythousand men_; but, as that idea was frightful, there seemed nothingto do but retreat. 

Lee seemed to realize the embarrassment of his adversary, and was inexcellent heart throughout the whole affair. Riding to and fro alonghis line among his "merry men"--and they had never appeared in finerspirits, or with greater confidence in their commander--he addressedencouraging words to them, exposed himself with entire indifference tothe shelling, and seemed perfectly confident of the result. It was onthis occasion that, finding a party of his ragged soldiers devoutlykneeling in one of the little glades behind the breastworks, andholding a praying-meeting in the midst of bursting shells, hedismounted, took off his hat, and remained silently and devoutlylistening until the earnest prayer was concluded. A great revival wasthen going on in the army, and thousands were becoming professors ofreligion. The fact may seem strange to those who have regarded Leeas only a West-Pointer and soldier, looking, like all soldiers, tomilitary success; but the religious enthusiasm of his men in thisautumn of 1863 probably gave him greater joy than any successesachieved over his Federal adversary. Those who saw him on the lines atMine Run will remember the composed satisfaction of his countenance. An eye-witness recalls his mild face, as he rode along, accompaniedby "Hill, in his drooping hat, simple and cordial; Early, laughing;Ewell, pale and haggard, but with a smile _de bon coeur_" [Footnote:Journal of a staff-officer. ] He was thus attended, sitting his horseupon a hill near the left of his line, when a staff officer rode upand informed him that the enemy were making a heavy demonstrationagainst his extreme right. 

"Infantry or cavalry?" he asked, with great calmness. 

"Infantry, I think, general, from the appearance of the guns. GeneralWilcox thinks so, and has sent a regiment of sharp-shooters to meetthem. "

"Who commands the regiment?" asked General Lee; and it was tointroduce this question that this trifle has been mentioned. Lee knewhis army man by man almost, and could judge of the probable resultof the movement here announced to him by the name of the officer incommand. 

Finding that General Meade would not probably venture to assail him. Lee determined, on the night of December 1st, to attack his adversaryon the next morning. His mildness on this night yielded to soldierlyardor, and he exclaimed:

"They must be attacked! they must be attacked!"

His plan is said to have contemplated a movement of his right wingagainst the Federal left flank, for which the ground afforded greatadvantages. All was ready for such a movement, and the orders aresaid to have been issued, when, as the dawn broke over the hills, theFederal camps were seen to be deserted. General Meade had abandonedhis campaign, and was in full retreat toward the Rapidan. 

The army immediately moved in pursuit, with Lee leading the column. The disappearance of the enemy was an astounding event to them, andthey could scarcely realize it. An entertaining illustration of thisfact is found in the journal of a staff-officer, who was sent with anorder to General Hampton. "In looking for him, " says the writer, "Igot far to our right, and in a hollow of the woods found a grandguard of the Eleventh Cavalry, with pickets and videttes out, gravelysitting their horses, and watching the wood-roads for the advanceof an enemy who was then retreating across Ely's Ford!" Stuart waspressing their rear with his cavalry, while the infantry were steadilyadvancing. But the pursuit was vain. General Meade had disappearedlike a phantom, and was beyond pursuit, to the extreme regret anddisappointment of General Lee, who halted his troops, in greatdiscouragement, at Parker's Store. 

"Tell General Stuart, " he said, with an air of deep melancholy, to anofficer whom he saw passing, "that I had received his dispatch whenhe turned into the Brock Road, and have halted my infantry here, notwishing to march them unnecessarily. "

Even at that early hour all chance of effective pursuit was lost. General Meade, without wagons, and not even with the weight of therations brought over, which the men had consumed, had moved with therapidity of cavalry, and was already crossing the river far below. Hewas afterward asked by a gentleman of Culpepper whether in crossingthe Rapidan he designed a real advance. 

"Certainly, " he is reported by the gentleman in question to havereplied, "I meant to go to Richmond if I could, but Lee's position wasso strong that to storm it would have cost me thirty thousand men. Icould not remain without a battle--the weather was so cold that mysentinels froze to death on post. "

The pursuit was speedily abandoned by General Lee as entirelyimpracticable, and the men were marched back between the burningwoods, set on fire by the Federal campfires. The spectacle wasimposing--the numerous fires, burning outerward in the carpet ofthick leaves, formed picturesque rings of flame resembling brilliantnecklaces; and, as the flames reached the tall trees, wrapped tothe summit in dry vines, these would blaze aloft like gigantictorches--true "torches of war"--let fall by the Federal commander inhis hasty retrograde. 

Twenty-four hours afterward the larger part of General Lee's armywere back in their winter-quarters. In less than a week the Mine-Runcampaign had begun and ended. The movement of General Meade might havebeen compared to that of the King of France and his forty thousandmen in the song; but the campaign was not ill devised, was ratherthe dictate of sound military judgment. All that defeated it was theextreme promptness of Lee, the excellent choice of position, andthe beginning of that great system of impromptu breastworks whichafterward became so powerful an engine against General Grant. 

VI. 

LEE IN THE AUTUMN AND WINTER OF 1863. 

General Lee's headquarters remained, throughout the autumn and winterof 1863, in a wood on the southern slope of the spur called Clarke'sMountain, a few miles east of Orange Court-House. 

Here his tents had been pitched, in a cleared space amid pines andcedars; and the ingenuity of the "couriers, " as messengers andorderlies were called in the Southern army, had fashioned alleys andwalks leading to the various tents, the tent of the commanding generaloccupying the centre. Of the gentlemen of General Lee's staff we havenot considered it necessary to speak; but it may here be said that itwas composed of officers of great efficiency and of the most courteousmanners, from Colonel Taylor, the indefatigable adjutant-general, tothe youngest and least prominent member of the friendly group. Amongthese able assistants of the commander-in-chief were Colonel Marshall, of Maryland, a gentleman of distinguished intellect; Colonel Peyton, who had entered the battle of Manassas as a private in the ranks, but, on the evening of that day, for courage and efficiency, occupied theplace of a commissioned officer on Beauregard's staff; and otherswhose names were comparatively unknown to the army, but whose part inthe conduct of affairs, under direction of Lee, was most important. 

With the gentlemen of his staff General Lee lived on terms of the mostkindly regard. He was a strict disciplinarian, and abhorred the theorythat a commissioned officer, from considerations of rank, should holdhimself above the private soldiers; but there was certainly no faultof this description to be found at army headquarters, and the generaland his staff worked together in harmonious coöperation. The respectfelt for him by gentlemen who saw him at all hours, and under none ofthe guise of ceremony, was probably greater than that experiencedby the community who looked upon him from a distance. That distantperspective, hiding little weaknesses, and revealing only the greatproportions of a human being, is said to be essential generally to theheroic sublime. No man, it has been said, can be great to those alwaysnear him; but in the case of General Lee this was far from being thefact. He seemed greater and nobler, day by day, as he was better andmore intimately known; and upon this point we shall quote the words ofthe brave John B. Gordon, one of his most trusted lieutenants:

"It has been my fortune in life, " says General Gordon, "fromcircumstances, to have come in contact with some whom the worldpronounced great--some of the earth's celebrated and distinguished;but I declare it here to-day, that of any mortal man whom it has everbeen my privilege to approach, he was the greatest; and I assert here, that, _grand as might be your conception of the man before, he arosein incomparable majesty on more familiar acquaintance_. This can beaffirmed of few men who have ever lived or died, and of no other manwhom it has ever been my fortune to approach. Like Niagara, the moreyou gazed, the more its grandeur grew upon you, the more its majestyexpanded and filled your spirit with a full satisfaction that left aperfect delight without the slightest feeling of oppression. Grandlymajestic and dignified in all his deportment, he was genial as thesunlight of this beautiful day; and not a ray of that cordial socialintercourse but brought warmth to the heart as it did light to theunderstanding. "

Upon this point, General Breckinridge, too, bears his testimony:"During the last year of that unfortunate struggle, " he says, "it wasmy good fortune to spend a great deal of time with him. I was almostconstantly by his side, and it was during the two months immediatelypreceding the fall of Richmond that I came to know and fullyunderstand the true nobility of his character. In all those longvigils, he was considerate and kind, gentle, firm, and self-poised. Ican give no better idea of the impression it made upon me, than tosay it inspired me with an ardent love of the man and a profoundveneration of his character. It was so massive and noble, so grand inits proportions, that all men must admire its heroism and gallantry, yet so gentle and tender that a woman might adopt and claim it as herown. "

We beg the reader to observe that in these two tributes to the worthof the great soldier, his distinguished associates dwell with peculiaremphasis upon the charms of private intercourse with him, and beartheir testimony to the fact that to know him better was to love andadmire him more and more. The fact is easily explained. There was inthis human being's character naught that was insincere, assumed, orpretentious. It was a great and massive soul--as gentle, too, andtender, as a woman's or a child's--that lay beneath the reservedexterior, and made the soldier more beloved as its qualitieswere better known. Other men reveal their weaknesses on neareracquaintance--Lee only revealed his greatness; and he was more andmore loved and admired. 

The justice of these comments will be recognized by all who hadpersonal intercourse with the illustrious soldier; and, in this autumnand winter of 1863, his army, lying around him along the Rapidan, began to form that more intimate acquaintance which uniformly resultedin profound admiration for the man. In the great campaigns of the twopast years the gray soldier had shared their hardships, and neverrelaxed his fatherly care for all their wants; he had led them inbattle, exposing his own person with entire indifference; had neverexposed _them_ when it was possible to avoid it; and on every occasionhad demanded, often with disagreeable persistence from the civilauthorities, that the wants of his veterans should be supplied if allelse was neglected. These facts were now known to the troops, andmade Lee immensely popular. From the highest officers to the humblestprivate soldiers he was universally respected and beloved. The wholearmy seemed to feel that, in the plainly-clad soldier, sleeping, likethemselves, under canvas, in the woods of Orange, they had a guidingand protecting head, ever studious of their well-being, jealous oftheir hard-earned fame, and ready, both as friend and commander, torepresent them and claim their due. 

We have spoken of the great revival of religion which at this timetook place in the army. The touching spectacle was presented ofbearded veterans, who had charged in a score of combats, kneelingdevoutly under the rustic roofs of evergreens, built for religiousgatherings, and praying to the God of battles who had so longprotected them. A commander-in-chief of the old European school mighthave ridiculed these emotional assemblages, or, at best, passed themwithout notice, as freaks in which he disdained to take part. Lee, on the contrary, greeted the religious enthusiasm of his troopswith undisguised pleasure. He went among them, conversed with thechaplains, assisted the good work by every means in his power; andno ordained minister of the Gospel could have exhibited a simpler, sincerer, or more heartfelt delight than himself at the generalextension of religious feeling throughout the army. We have relatedhow, in talking with army-chaplains, his cheeks flushed and his eyesfilled with tears at the good tidings. He begged them to pray for himtoo, as no less needing their pious intercession; and in making therequest he was, as always, simple and sincere. Unaccustomed to exhibithis feelings upon this, the profoundest and most sacred of subjects, he was yet penetrated to his inmost soul by a sense of his ownweakness and dependence on divine support; and, indeed, it may bequestioned whether any other element of the great soldier's characterwas so deep-seated and controlling as his spirit of love to God. Ittook, in the eyes of the world, the form of a love of duty; but withLee the word duty was but another name for the will of the Almighty;and to discover and perform this was, first and last, the sole aim ofhis life. 

We elaborate this point before passing to the last great campaign ofthe war, since, to understand Lee in those last days, it is absolutelynecessary to keep in view this utter subjection of the man's heart tothe sense of an overruling Providence--that Providence which "shapesour ends, rough-hew them how we will. " We shall be called upon todelineate the soldier meeting adverse circumstances and disaster atevery turn with an imperial calmness and a resolution that nevershook; and, up to a certain point, this noble composure may beattributed to the stubborn courage of the man's nature. There came indue time, however, a moment of trial when military courage simplywas of no avail--when that human being never lived, who, looking toearthly support alone, would not have lost heart and given up thecontest. Lee did not, in this hour of conclusive trial, either loseheart or give up the struggle; and the world, not understanding thephenomenon, gazed at him with wonder. Few were aware of the trueexplanation of his utter serenity when all things were crumblingaround him, and when he knew that they were crumbling. The stout heartof the soldier who will not yield to fate was in his breast; but hehad a still stronger sentiment than manly courage to support him--theconsciousness that he was doing his duty, and that God watched overhim, and would make all things work together for good to those wholoved Him. 

As yet that last great wrestle of the opposing armies lay in thefuture. The veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia defended theline of the Rapidan, and the gray commander-in-chief, in his tenton Clarke's Mountain, serenely awaited the further movements of theenemy. During the long months of winter he was busily engaged, asusual, in official correspondence, in looking to the welfare of hismen, and in preparations for the coming campaign. He often rode amongthe camps, and the familiar figure in the well-known hat, cape, and gray uniform, mounted upon the powerful iron-gray--the famous"Traveller, " who survived to bear his master after the war--waseverywhere greeted by the ragged veterans with cheers and marks of thehighest respect and regard. At times his rides were extended tothe banks of the Rapidan, and, in passing, he would stop at theheadquarters of General Stuart, or other officers. On these occasionshe had always some good-humored speech for all, not overlooking theyoungest officer; but he shone in the most amiable light, perhaps, inconversing with some old private soldier, gray-haired like himself. At such moments the general's countenance was a pleasant spectacle. Akindly smile lit up the clear eyes, and moved the lips half-concealedby the grizzled mustache. The _bonhomie_ of this smile wasirresistible, and the aged private soldier, in his poor, tatteredfighting-jacket, was made to feel by it that his commander-in-chiefregarded him as a friend and comrade. 

We dwell at too great length, perhaps, upon these slight personaltraits of the soldier, but all relating to such a human being isinteresting, and worthy of record. To the writer, indeed, this is themost attractive phase of his subject. The analysis and description ofcampaigns and battles is an unattractive task to him; but the personaldelineation of a good and great man, even in his lesser and morefamiliar traits, is a pleasing relief--a portion of his subject uponwhich he delights to linger. What the writer here tries to draw, helooked upon with his own eyes, the figure of a great, calm soldier, with kindly sweetness and dignity, but, above all, a charmingsincerity and simplicity in every movement, accent, and expression. Entirely free from the trappings of high command, and with nothing todistinguish him from any other soldier save the well-worn stars on thecollar of his uniform-coat, the commander-in-chief was recognizable atthe very first glance, and no less the simple and kindly gentleman. His old soldiers remember him as he appeared on many battle-fields, and will describe his martial seat in the saddle as he advanced withthe advancing lines. But they will speak of him with even greaterpleasure as he appeared in the winters of 1862 and 1863, on theRappahannock and the Rapidan--a gray and simple soldier, riding amongthem and smiling kindly as his eyes fell upon their tattered uniformsand familiar faces. 

PART VIII. 

_LEE'S LAST CAMPAIGNS AND LAST DAYS_. 

I. 

GENERAL GRANT CROSSES THE RAPIDAN. 

In the first days of May, 1864, began the immense campaign which wasto terminate only with the fall of the Confederacy. 

For this, which was regarded as the decisive trial of strength, theFederal authorities had made elaborate preparations. New levies wereraised by draft to fill up the ranks of the depleted forces; greatmasses of war material were accumulated at the central depots atWashington, and the Government summoned from the West an officer ofhigh reputation to conduct hostilities on what was more plainly thanever before seen to be the theatre of decisive conflict--Virginia. Theofficer in question was General Ulysses S. Grant, who had received therepute of eminent military ability by his operations in the West;he was now commissioned lieutenant-general, and President Lincolnassigned him to the command of "all the armies of the United States, "at that time estimated to number one million men. 

General Grant promptly accepted the trust confided to him, and, relinquishing to Major-General Sherman the command of the Westernforces, proceeded to Culpepper and assumed personal command of theArmy of the Potomac, although nominally that army remained undercommand of General Meade. The spring campaign was preceded, inFebruary, by two movements of the Federal forces: one the advance ofGeneral B. F. Butler up the Peninsula to the Chickahominy, where for afew hours he threatened Richmond, only to retire hastily when opposedby a few local troops; the other the expedition of General Kilpatrickwith a body of cavalry, from the Rapidan toward Richmond, with theview of releasing the Federal prisoners there. This failed completely, like the expedition up the Peninsula. General Kilpatrick, afterthreatening the city, rapidly retreated, and a portion of his command, under Colonel Dahlgren, was pursued, and a large portion killed, including their commander. It is to be hoped, for the honor of humannature, that Colonel Dahlgren's designs were different from thosewhich are attributed to him on what seems unassailable proof. Papersfound upon his body contained minute directions for releasing theprisoners and giving up the city to them, and for putting to death theConfederate President and his Cabinet. 

To return to the more important events on the Rapidan. General Grantassumed the direction of the Army of the Potomac under most favorableauspices. Other commanders--especially General McClellan--had laboredunder painful disadvantages, from the absence of coöperation and goodfeeling on the part of the authorities. The new leader entered uponthe great struggle under very different circumstances. Personally andpolitically acceptable to the Government, he received their heartycoöperation: all power was placed in his hands; he was enabled toconcentrate in Virginia the best troops, in large numbers; and thecharacter of this force seemed to promise him assured victory. GeneralMcClellan and others had commanded troops comparatively raw, andwere opposed by Confederate armies in the full flush of anticipatedsuccess. General Grant had now under him an army of veterans, and theenemy he was opposed to had, month by month, lost strength. Underthese circumstances it seemed that he ought to succeed in crushing hisadversary. 

The Federal army present and ready for duty May 1, 1864, numbered onehundred and forty-one thousand one hundred and sixty-six men. That ofGeneral Lee numbered fifty-two thousand six hundred and twenty-six. Colonel Taylor, adjutant-general of the Army, states the strictlyeffective at a little less, viz. :

 Ewell 13, 000 Hill 17, 000 Longstreet 10, 000

 Infantry 40, 000 Cavalry and artillery 10, 000

 Total 50, 000

The two statements do not materially differ, and require nodiscussion. The force at Lee's command was a little over one-thirdof General Grant's; and, if it be true that the latter commandercontinued to receive reënforcements between the 1st and 4th days ofMay, when he crossed the Rapidan, Lee's force was probably less thanone-third of his adversary's. 

Longstreet, it will be seen, had been brought back from the West, butthe Confederates labored under an even more serious disadvantage thanwant of sufficient force. Lee's army, small as it was, was wretchedlysupplied. Half the men were in rags, and, worse still, were butone-fourth fed. Against this suicidal policy, in reference to an armyupon which depended the fate of the South, General Lee had protestedin vain. Whether from fault in the authorities or from circumstancesover which they could exercise no control, adequate supplies of fooddid not reach the army; and, when it marched to meet the enemy, in thefirst days of May, the men were gaunt, half-fed, and in no conditionto enter upon so arduous a campaign. There was naught to be done, however, but to fight on to the end. Upon the Army of NorthernVirginia, depleted by casualties, and unprovided with the commonestnecessaries, depended the fate of the struggle. Generals Grant and Leefully realized that fact; and the Federal commander had the acumen toperceive that the conflict was to be long and determined. He indulgedno anticipations of an early or easy success. His plan, as stated inhis official report, was "to _hammer continuously_ against the armedforce of the enemy and his resources, until _by mere attrition_, ifby nothing else, there should be nothing left of him but an equalsubmission with the loyal section of our common country to theConstitution and the laws. " The frightful cost in blood of this policyof hammering continuously and thus wearing away his adversary'sstrength by mere attrition, did or did not occur to General Grant. Ineither case he is not justly to be blamed. 

It was the only policy which promised to result in Federal success. Pitched battles had been tried for nearly three years, and in victoryor in defeat the Southern army seemed equally unshaken and dangerous. This fact was now felt and acknowledged even by its enemies. "Lee'sarmy, " said a Northern writer, referring to it at this time, "is anarmy of veterans: it is an instrument sharpened to a perfect edge. Youturn its flanks--well, its flanks are made to be turned. This effectslittle or nothing. All that we reckon as gained, therefore, is theloss of life inflicted on the enemy. " With an army thus trained inmany combats, and hardened against misfortune, defeat in one or adozen battles decided nothing. General Grant seems to haveunderstood this, and to have resolutely adopted the programme of"attrition"--coldly estimating that, even if he lost ten men toGeneral Lee's one, he could better endure that loss, and could affordit, if thereby he "crushed the rebellion. "

The military theory of the Federal commander having thus been setforth in his own words, it remains to notice his programme for theapproaching campaign. He had hesitated between two plans--"one tocross the Rapidan below Lee, moving by his right flank; the otherabove, moving by his left. " The last was abandoned, from thedifficulty of keeping open communication with any base of supplies, and the latter adopted. General Grant determined to "fight Lee betweenCulpepper and Richmond, if he would stand;" to advance straight uponthe city and invest it from the north and west, thereby cutting itscommunications in three directions; and then, crossing the James Riverabove the city, form a junction with the left of Major-General Butler, who, moving with about thirty thousand men from Fortress Monroe, atthe moment when the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan, was tooccupy City Point, advance thence up the south side of James River, and reach a position where the two armies might thus unite. 

It is proper to keep in view this programme of General Grant. Leecompletely reversed it by promptly moving in front of his adversaryat every step which he took in advance; and it will be seen that theFederal commander was finally compelled to adopt a plan which does notseem to have entered his mind, save as a _dernier ressort_, at thebeginning of the campaign. 

On the morning of the 4th of May, General Grant commenced crossing theRapidan at Germanna and other fords above Chancellorsville, and by themorning of the 5th his army was over. It appears from his report thathe had not anticipated so easy a passage of the stream, and greatlyfelicitated himself upon effecting it so successfully. "This Iregarded, " he says, "as a great success, and it removed from my mindthe most serious apprehension I had entertained, that of crossingthe river in the face of an active, large, well-appointed, andably-commanded army. " Lee had made no movement to dispute the passageof the stream, from the fact, perhaps, that his army was _not_ either"large" or "well-appointed. " He preferred to await the appearance ofhis adversary, and direct an assault on the flank of his column as itpassed across his front. From a speech attributed to General Meade, itwould seem to have been the impression in the Federal army that Leedesigned falling back to a defensive position somewhere near the SouthAnna. His movements were, however, very different. Instead of retiringbefore General Grant in the direction of Richmond, he moved with histhree corps toward the Wilderness, to offer battle. 

[Illustration: Routes of Lee & Grant, May and June 1864. ]

The head of the column consisted of Ewell's corps, which had retainedits position on the Rapidan, forming the right of Lee's line. GeneralA. P. Hill, who had been stationed higher up, near Liberty Mills, followed; and Longstreet, who lay near Gordonsville, brought up therear. These dispositions dictated, as will be seen, the positions ofthe three commands in the ensuing struggle. Ewell advanced in frontdown the Old Turnpike, that one of the two great highways here runningeast and west which is nearest the Rapidan; Hill came on over theOrange Plank-road, a little south of the turnpike, and thus formedon Ewell's right; and Longstreet, following, came in on the right ofHill. 

General Grant had plunged with his army into the dense and melancholythicket which had been the scene of General Hooker's discomfiture. Hisarmy, followed by its great train of four thousand wagons, indicatingthe important nature of the movement, had reached Wilderness Tavernand that Brock Road over which Jackson advanced in his secretflank-march against the Federal right in May, 1863. In May of 1864, now, another Federal army had penetrated, the sombre and depressingshadows of the interminable thickets of the Wilderness, and a moredetermined struggle than the first was to mark with its bloody handthis historic territory. 

II. 

THE FIRST COLLISION IN THE WILDERNESS. 

To understand the singular combat which now ensued, it is necessary tokeep in view the fact that nothing more surprised General Grant thanthe sudden appearance of his adversary face to face with him in theWilderness. 

It had not been supposed, either by the lieutenant-general or hiscorps-commanders, that Lee, with his small army, would have recourseto a proceeding so audacious. It was anticipated, indeed, that, somewhere on the road to Richmond, Lee would make a stand and fight, in a carefully-selected position which would enable him to riskcollision with his great adversary; but that Lee himself would bringon this collision by making an open attack, unassisted by positionof any sort, was the last thing which seems to have occurred to hisadversary. 

Such, however, as has been said, was the design, from the first, ofthe Southern commander, and he moved with his accustomed celerityand energy. As soon as General Grant broke up his camps north of theRapidan, Lee was apprised of the fact, and ordered his three corpsto concentrate in the direction of Chancellorsville. Those who werepresent in the Southern army at this time will bear record to thesoldierly promptness of officers and men. On the evening of the 3d ofMay the camps were the scenes of noise, merriment, and parade: thebands played; the woods were alive; nothing disturbed the scene ofgeneral enjoyment of winter-quarters. On the morning of the 4th allthis was changed. The camps were deserted; no sound was anywhereheard; the troops were twenty miles away, fully armed and ready forbattle. General Lee was in the saddle, and his presence seemed to pushforward his column. Ewell, marching with celerity, bivouackedthat night directly in face of the enemy; and it was thesuddenly-discovered presence of the troops of this commander whicharrested General Grant, advancing steadily in the direction ofSpottsylvania Court-House. 

He must have inwardly chafed at a circumstance so unexpected andembarrassing. It had been no part of his plan to fight in the thicketsof the Wilderness, and yet an adversary of but one-third his ownstrength was about to reverse his whole programme, and dictate theterms of the first battles of the campaign. There was nothing to do, however, but to fight, and General Grant hastened to form order ofbattle for that purpose, with General Sedgwick commanding his right, Generals Warren and Burnside his centre, and General Hancock his left, near the Brock Road. The line thus formed extended from northwest tosoutheast, and, as the right wing was in advance with respect to Lee, that circumstance occasioned the first collision. 

This occurred about mid-day on the 5th of May, and was brought on byGeneral Warren, who attacked the head of Swell's column, on the OldTurnpike. An obstinate engagement ensued, and the division whichreceived the assault was forced back. It quickly, however, reformed, and being reënforced advanced in turn against General Warren, and, after a hard fight, he was driven back with a loss of three thousandmen and two pieces of artillery. 

This first collision of the armies on the Confederate left wasfollowed almost immediately by a bloody struggle on the centre. Thiswas held by A. P. Hill, who had marched down the Plank-road, and wasnear the important point of junction of that road with the Brock Road, when he was suddenly attacked by the enemy. The struggle which ensuedwas long and determined. General Lee wrote: "The assaults wererepeated and desperate, but every one was repulsed. " When night fell, Hill had not been driven back, but had not advanced; and the twoarmies rested on their arms, awaiting the return of light to continuethe battle. 

III. 

THE BATTLE OF THE 6TH OF MAY. 

The morning of the 6th of May came, and, with the first light of dawn, the adversaries, as by a common understanding, advanced at the samemoment to attack each other. 

The battle which followed is wellnigh indescribable, and may be said, in general terms, to have been naught but the blind and desperateclutch of two great bodies of men, who could scarcely see each otherwhen they were but a few feet apart, and who fired at random, ratherby sound than sight. A Southern writer, describing the country andthe strange combat, says: "The country was sombre--a land of thicket, undergrowth, jungle, ooze, where men could not see each other twentyyards off, and assaults had to be made by the compass. The fightsthere were not even as easy as night attacks in open country, forat night you can travel by the stars. Death came unseen; regimentsstumbled on each other, and sent swift destruction into each other'sranks, guided by the crackling of the bushes. It was not war--militarymanoeuvring: science had as little to do with it as sight. Two wildanimals were hunting each other; when they heard each other's steps, they sprung and grappled. The conqueror advanced, or went elsewhere. The dead were lost from all eyes in the thicket. The curious spectaclewas here presented of officers advancing to the charge, in the jungle, _compass in hand_, attacking, not by sight, but by the bearing of theneedle. In this mournful and desolate thicket did the great campaignof 1864 begin. Here, in blind wrestle as at midnight, did two hundredthousand men in blue and gray clutch each other--bloodiest andweirdest of encounters. War had had nothing like it. The genius ofdestruction, tired apparently of the old commonplace killing, hadinvented the 'unseen death. ' At five in the morning, the opponentsclosed in, breast to breast, in the thicket. Each had thrown up hereand there slight, temporary breastworks of saplings and dirt; beyondthis, they were unprotected. The question now was, which would succeedin driving his adversary from these defences, almost within a fewyards of each other, and from behind which crackled the musketry. Never was sight more curious. On the low line of these works, dimlyseen in the thicket, rested the muzzles spouting flame; from thedepths rose cheers; charges were made and repulsed, the lines scarcelyseeing each other; men fell and writhed, and died unseen--theirbodies lost in the bushes, their death-groans drowned in the steady, continuous, never-ceasing crash. "

These sentences convey a not incorrect idea of the general characterof this remarkable engagement, which had no precedent in the war. Weshall now proceed to speak of General Lee's plans and objects, and toindicate where they failed or succeeded. The commanders of both armieslabored under great embarrassments. General Grant's was the singularcharacter of the country, with which he was wholly unacquainted; andGeneral Lee's, the delay in the arrival of Longstreet. Owing to thedistance of the camps of the last-named officer, he had not, at dawn, reached the field of battle. As his presence was indispensable to ageneral assault, this delay in his appearance threatened to result inunfortunate consequences, as it was nearly certain that General Grantwould make an early and resolute attack. Under these circumstances, Lee resolved to commence the action, and did so, counting, doubtless, on his ability, with the thirty thousand men at his command, to atleast maintain his ground. His plan seems to have been to make a heavydemonstration against the Federal right, and, when Longstreet arrived, throw the weight of his whole centre and right against the Federalleft, with the view of seizing the Brock Road, running southward, and forcing back the enemy's left wing into the thickets aroundChancellorsville. This brilliant conception, which, if carried out, would have arrested General Grant in the beginning of his campaign, was very near meeting with success. The attack on the Federal right, under General Sedgwick, commenced at dawn, and the fighting on bothsides was obstinate. It continued with indecisive results throughoutthe morning, gradually involving the Federal centre; but, nearlyat the moment when it began, a still more obstinate conflict wasinaugurated between General Hancock, holding the Federal left, andHill, who opposed him on the Plank-road. The battle raged in thisquarter with great fury for some time, but, attacked in front andflank at once by his able opponent, Hill was forced back steadily, andat last, in some disorder, a considerable distance from the groundwhich had witnessed the commencement of the action. At this point, however, he was fortunately met by Longstreet. That commander rapidlybrought his troops into line, met the advancing enemy, attackedthem with great fury, and, after a bloody contest, in which GeneralWadsworth was killed, drove them back to their original position onthe Brock Road. 

It now seemed nearly certain that Lee's plan of seizing upon thisimportant highway would succeed. General Hancock had been forced backwith heavy loss, Longstreet was pressing on, and, as he afterwardsaid, he "thought he had another Bull Run on them, " when a singularcasualty defeated all. General Longstreet, who had ridden in front ofhis advancing line, turned to ride back, when he was mistaken byhis own men for a Federal cavalryman, fired upon, and disabled bya musket-ball. This threw all into disorder, and the advance wasdiscontinued. General Lee, as soon as he was apprised of the accident, hastened to take personal command of the corps, and, as soon as orderwas restored, directed the line to press forward. The most bloody anddetermined struggle of the day ensued. The thicket filled the valleys, and, as at Chancellorsville, a new horror was added to the horrorof battle. A fire broke out in the thicket, and soon wrapped theadversaries in flame and smoke. They fought on, however, amid thecrackling flames. Lee continued to press forward; the Federalbreastworks along a portion of their front were carried, and a part ofGeneral Hancock's line was driven from the field. The struggle had, however, been decisive of no important results, and, from the latenessof the hour when it terminated, it could not be followed up. On theleft Lee had also met with marked but equally indecisive success. General Gordon had attacked the Federal right, driven the force atthat point in disorder from their works, and but for the darkness thissuccess might have been followed up and turned into a complete defeatof that wing of the enemy. It was only discovered on the next morningwhat important successes Gordon had effected with a single brigade;and there is reason to believe that with a larger force this ablesoldier might have achieved results of a decisive character. [1]

[Footnote 1: General Early, in his "Memoir of the Last Year of the Warfor Independence, " bears his testimony to the important character ofthe blow struck by General Gordon. He says: "At light, on the morningof the 7th, an advance was made, which disclosed the fact that theenemy had given up his line of works in front of my whole line and agood portion of Johnson's. Between the lines a large number of hisdead had been left, and at his breastworks a large number of musketsand knapsacks had been abandoned, and there was every indication ofgreat confusion. It was not till then that we understood the fullextent of the success attending the movement of the evening before. "General Gordon had proposed making the attack on the _morning_ of the6th, but was overruled. ]

Such had been the character and results of the first conflicts betweenthe two armies in the thickets of the Wilderness. As we have alreadysaid, the collision there was neither expected nor desired by GeneralGrant, who, unlike General Hooker, in May of the preceding year, seemsfully to have understood the unfavorable nature of the region formanoeuvring a large army. His adversary had, however, forced him toaccept battle, leaving him no choice, and the result of the actions ofthe 5th and 6th had been such as to determine the Federal commander toemerge as soon as possible from the tangled underwood which hamperedall his movements. On the 7th he accordingly made no movement toattack Lee, and on the night of that day marched rapidly in thedirection of Hanover Junction, following the road by Todd's Taverntoward Spottsylvania Court-House. 

For this determination to avoid further fighting in the Wilderness, General Grant gives a singular explanation. "On the morning of the7th, " he says, "reconnoissance showed that the enemy _had fallenbehind his intrenched lines_, with pickets to the front, covering apart of the battle-field. From this it was evident that the two-days'fighting had satisfied him of his inability to further maintainthe contest in the open field, _notwithstanding his advantage ofposition_, and that he would wait an attack behind his works. " The"intrenched lines" and "advantage of position" of Lee, were bothimaginary. No lines of intrenchment had been made, and the ground wasnot more favorable on General Lee's side than on General Grant's. Botharmies had erected impromptu breastworks of felled trees and earth, as continued to be their habit throughout the campaign, and the flatcountry gave no special advantage to either. The forward movement ofGeneral Grant is susceptible of much easier explanation. The result ofthe two-days' fighting had very far from pleased him; he desiredto avoid further conflict in so difficult a country, and, takingadvantage of the quiescence of Lee, and the hours of darkness, hemoved with his army toward the more open country. 

IV. 

THE 12TH OF MAY. 

Throughout the entire day succeeding this first great conflict, General Lee remained quiet, watching for some movement of hisadversary. His success in the preliminary straggle had beengratifying, considering the great disproportion of numbers, but heindulged no expectation of a retrograde movement across the Rapidan, on the part of General Grant. He expected him rather to advance, andanxiously awaited some development of this intention. There were noindications of such a design up to the night of the 7th, but at thattime, to use the words of a confidential member of Lee's staff, "heall at once seemed to conceive the idea that his enemy was preparingto forsake his position, and move toward Hanover Junction _via_ theSpottsylvania Court-House, and, believing this, he at once detailedAnderson's division with orders to proceed rapidly toward thecourt-house. "

General Anderson commenced his march about nine o'clock at night, whenthe Federal column was already upon its way. A race now began forthe coveted position, and General Stuart, with his dismountedsharp-shooters behind improvised breastworks, harassed and impeded theFederal advance, at every step, throughout the night. This greatlydelayed their march, and their head of column did not reach thevicinity of Spottsylvania Court-House until past sunrise. GeneralWarren, leading the Federal advance, then hurried forward, followedby General Hancock, when suddenly he found himself in front ofbreastworks, and was received with a fire of musketry. Lee hadsucceeded in interposing himself between General Grant and Richmond. 

On the same evening the bulk of the two armies were facing each otheron the line of the Po. 

By the rapidity of his movements General Lee had thus completelydefeated his adversary's design to seize on the important point, Spottsylvania Court-House. General Grant, apparently conceiving someexplanation of this untoward event to be necessary, writes: "Theenemy, having become aware of our movement, and _having the shorterline_, was enabled to reach there first. " The statement that GeneralLee had the shorter of the two lines to march over is a mistake. Thearmies moved over parallel roads until beyond Todd's Tavern, afterwhich the distance to the south bank of the Po was greater by Lee'sroute than General Grant's. The map will sufficiently indicate this. Two other circumstances defeated General Grant's attempt to reach thepoint first--the extreme rapidity of the march of the Confederateadvance force, and the excellent fighting of Stuart's dismounted men, who harassed and delayed General Warren, leading the Federal advancethroughout the entire night. 

An additional fact should be mentioned, bearing upon this point, andupon General Lee's designs. "General Lee's orders to me, " says GeneralEarly, who, from the sickness of A. P. Hill, had been assigned to thecommand of the corps, "were to _move by Todd's Tavern along the BrockRoad_, to Spottsylvania Court-House, as soon as our front was clear ofthe enemy. " From this order it would appear either that General Leeregarded the Brock Road, over which General Grant moved, as the"shorter line, " or that he intended the movement of Early on theenemy's rear to operate as a check upon them, while he went forward totheir front with his main body. 

These comments may seem tedious to the general reader, but all thatillustrates the military designs, or defends the good soldiership ofLee, is worthy of record. 

We proceed now to the narrative. In the Wilderness General Grant hadfound a dangerous enemy ready to strike at his flank. He now saw inhis front the same active and wary adversary, prepared to bar thedirect road to Richmond. General Lee had taken up his position on thesouth bank of one of the four tributaries of the Mattapony. These fourstreams are known as the Mat, Ta, Po, and Nye Rivers, and bear thesame relation to the main stream that the fingers of the open hand doto the wrist. General Lee was behind the Po, which is next to the Nye, the northernmost of these water-courses. Both were difficult to cross, and their banks heavily wooded. It was now to be seen whether, eitherby a front attack or a turning movement, General Grant could oust hisadversary, and whether General Lee would stand on the defensive orattack. 

All day, during the 9th, the two armies were constructing breastworksalong their entire fronts, and these works, from the Rapidan to thebanks of the Chickahominy, remain yet in existence. On the evening ofthis day a Federal force was thrown across the Po, on the Confederateleft, but soon withdrawn; and on the 10th a similar movement tookplace near the same point, which resulted in a brief but bloodyconflict, during which the woods took fire, and many of the assaultingtroops perished miserably in the flames. The force was then recalled, and, during that night and the succeeding day, nothing of importanceoccurred, although heavy skirmishing and an artillery-fire took placealong the lines. 

On the morning of the 12th, at the first dawn of day, General Grantmade a more important and dangerous assault than any yet undertaken inthe campaign. This was directed at a salient on General Lee's rightcentre, occupied by Johnson's division of Ewell's corps, and was oneof the bloodiest and most terrible incidents of the war. For thisassault General Grant is said to have selected his best troops. Theseadvanced in a heavy charging column, through the half darkness ofdawn, passed silently over the Confederate skirmishers, scarcelyfiring a shot, and, just as the first streak of daylight touched theeastern woods, burst upon the salient, which they stormed at the pointof the bayonet. In consequence of the suddenness of the assault andthe absence of artillery--against whose removal General Johnston isstated to have protested, and which arrived too late--the Federalforces carried all before them, and gained possession of the works, inspite of a stubborn and bloody resistance. 

Such was the excellent success of the Federal movement, and theSouthern line seemed to be hopelessly disrupted. Nearly the whole ofJohnson's division were taken prisoners--the number amounting to aboutthree thousand--and eighteen pieces of artillery fell into the handsof the assaulting column. 

The position of affairs was now exceedingly critical; and, unlessGeneral Lee could reform his line at the point, it seemed that nothingwas left him but an abandonment of his whole position. The Federalarmy had broken his line; was pouring into the opening; and, toprevent him from concentrating at the point to regain possession ofthe works, heavy attacks were begun by the enemy on his right and leftwings. It is probable that at no time during the war was the Southernarmy in greater danger of a bloody and decisive disaster. 

At this critical moment General Lee acted with the nerve and coolnessof a soldier whom no adverse event can shake. Those who saw him willtestify to the stern courage of his expression; the glance of the eye, which indicated a great nature, aroused to the depth of its powerfulorganization. Line of battle was promptly formed a short distancein rear of the salient then in the enemy's possession, and a fiercecharge was made by the Southerners, under the eye of Lee, to regainit. It was on this occasion that, on fire with the ardor of battle, which so seldom mastered him, Lee went forward in front of his line, and, taking his station beside the colors of one of his Virginianregiments, took off his hat, and, turning to the men, pointed towardthe enemy. A storm of cheers greeted the general, as he sat his graywar-horse, in front of the men--his head bare, his eyes flashing, andhis cheeks flushed with the fighting-blood of the soldier. GeneralGordon, however, spurred to his side and seized his rein. 

"General Lee!" he exclaimed, "this is no place for you. Go to therear. These are Virginians and Georgians, sir--men who have neverfailed!--Men, you will not fail now!" he cried, rising in his stirrupsand addressing the troops. 

"No, no!" was the reply of the men; and from the whole line burst theshout, "Lee to the rear! Lee to the rear!"

Instead of being needed, it was obvious that his presence was anembarrassment, as the men seemed determined not to charge unless heretired. He accordingly did so, and the line advanced to the attack, led by General Gordon and other officers of approved ability andcourage. The charge which followed was resolute, and the wordferocious best describes the struggle which followed. It continuedthroughout the entire day, Lee making not less than five distinctassaults in heavy force to recover the works. The fight involved thetroops on both flanks, and was desperate and unyielding. The opposingflags were at times within only a few yards of each other, and soincessant and concentrated was the fire of musketry, that a tree ofabout eighteen inches in diameter was cut down by bullets, and isstill preserved, it is said, in the city of Washington, as a memorialof this bloody struggle. 

[Illustration: The Wilderness. "Lee to the Rear"]

The fighting only ceased several hours after dark. Lee had notregained his advanced line of works, but he was firmly rooted in aninterior and straighter line, from which the Federal troops had foundit impossible to dislodge him. This result of the stubborn action wasessentially a success, as General Grant's aim in the operation hadbeen to break asunder his adversary's army--in which he very nearlysucceeded. 

At midnight all was again silent. The ground near the salient wasstrewed with dead bodies. The loss of the three thousand men andeighteen guns of Johnson had been followed by a bloody retaliation, the Federal commander having lost more than eight thousand men. 

V. 

FROM SPOTTSYLVANIA TO THE CHICKAHOMINY. 

After the bloody action of the 12th of May, General Grant remainedquiet for many days, "awaiting, " he says, "the arrival ofreënforcements from Washington. " The number of these fresh troops isnot known to the present writer. General Lee had no reinforcements toexpect, and continued to confront his adversary with his small army, which must have been reduced by the heavy fighting to less than fortythousand men, while that of General Grant numbered probably about onehundred and forty thousand. 

Finding that his opponent was not disposed to renew hostilities. General Lee, on the 19th of May, sent General Ewell to turn his rightflank; but this movement resulted in nothing, save the discovery byGeneral Ewell that the Federal army was moving. This intelligence wasdispatched to General Lee on the evening of the 21st, and reachedhim at Souther's House, on the banks of the Po, where he was calmlyreconnoitring the position of the enemy. 

As soon as he read the note of General Ewell, he mounted his horse, saying, in his grave voice, to his staff, "Come, gentlemen;" andorders were sent to the army to prepare to move. The troops begantheir march on the same night, in the direction of Hanover Junction, which they reached on the evening of the 22d. When, on May 23d, General Grant reached the banks of the North Anna, he found Leestationed on the south bank, ready to oppose his crossing. 

The failure of General Grant to reach and seize upon the importantpoint of Hanover Junction before the arrival of Lee, decided the fateof the plan of campaign originally devised by him. If the reader willglance at the map of Virginia, this fact will become apparent. HanoverJunction is the point where the Virginia Central and Richmond andFredericksburg Railroads cross each other, and is situated in theangle of the North Anna and South Anna Rivers, which unite a shortdistance below to form the Pamunkey. Once in possession of this point, General Grant would have had easy communication with the excellentbase of supplies at Aquia Creek; would have cut the Virginia CentralRailroad; and a direct march southward would have enabled him toinvest Richmond from the north and northwest, in accordance with hisoriginal plan. Lee had, however, reached the point first, and fromthat moment, unless the Southern force were driven from its position, the entire plan of campaign must necessarily be changed. 

The great error of General Grant in this arduous campaign would seemto have been the feebleness of the attack which he here made uponLee. The position of the Southern army was not formidable, and onhis arrival they had had no time to erect defences. The river is notdifficult of crossing, and the ground on the south bank givesno decided advantage to a force occupying it. In spite ofthese facts--which it is proper to say General Grant denies, however--nothing was effected, and but little attempted. A few wordswill sum up the operations of the armies during the two or three days. Reaching the river, General Grant threw a column across some milesup the stream, at a point known as Jericho Ford, where a brief butobstinate encounter ensued between Generals Hill and Warren, andthis was followed by the capture of an old redoubt defending theChesterfield bridge, near the railroad crossing, opposite Lee's right, which enabled another column to pass the stream at that point. Thesetwo successful passages of the river on Lee's left and right seemed toindicate a fixed intention on the part of his adversary to press boththe Southern flanks, and bring on a decisive engagement; and, tocoöperate in this plan, a third column was now thrown over oppositeLee's centre. 

These movements were, however, promptly met. Lee retired his twowings, but struck suddenly with his centre at the force attempting tocross there; and then active operations on both sides ceased. In spiteof having passed the river with the bulk of his army, and formed lineof battle, General Grant resolved not to attack. His explanation ofthis is that Lee's position was found "stronger than either of hisprevious ones. "

Such was the result of the able disposition of the Southern forceat this important point. General Grant found his whole programmereversed, and, on the night of the 26th, silently withdrew andhastened down the north bank of the Pamunkey toward Hanovertownpreceded by the cavalry of General Sheridan. 

That officer had been detached from the army as it approachedSpottsylvania Court-House, to make a rapid march toward Richmond, and destroy the Confederate communications. In this he partiallysucceeded, but, attempting to ride into Richmond, was repulsedwith considerable loss. The only important result, indeed, of theexpedition, was the death of General Stuart. This distinguishedcommander of General Lee's cavalry had been directed to pursue GeneralSheridan; had done so, with his customary promptness, and interceptedhis column near Richmond, at a spot known as the Yellow Tavern; andhere, in a stubborn engagement, in which Stuart strove to supply hiswant of troops by the fury of his attack, the great chief of cavalrywas mortally wounded, and expired soon afterward. His fall was agrievous blow to General Lee's heart, as well as to the Southerncause. Endowed by nature with a courage which shrunk from nothing;active, energetic, of immense physical stamina, which enabled him toendure any amount of fatigue; devoted, heart and soul, to the causein which he fought, and looking up to the commander of the army withchildlike love and admiration, Stuart could be ill spared at thiscritical moment, and General Lee was plunged into the deepestmelancholy at the intelligence of his death. When it reached him heretired from those around him, and remained for some time communingwith his own heart and memory. When one of his staff entered, andspoke of Stuart, General Lee said, in a low voice, "I can scarcelythink of him without weeping. "

The command of the cavalry devolved upon General Hampton, and itwas fought throughout the succeeding campaign with the nerve andefficiency of a great soldier; but Stuart had, as it were, formed andmoulded it with his own hands; he was the first great commander ofhorse in the war; and it was hard for his successors, however greattheir genius, to compete with his memory. His name will thus remainthat of the greatest and most prominent cavalry-officer of the war. 

Crossing the Pamunkey at Hanovertown, after a rapid night-march, General Grant sent out a force toward Hanover Court-House to cut offLee's retreat or discover his position. This resulted in nothing, since General Lee had not moved in that direction. He had, as soon asthe movement of General Grant was discovered, put his lines in motion, directed his march across the country on the direct route to ColdHarbor, and, halting behind the Tottapotomoi, had formed his linethere, to check the progress of his adversary on the main road fromHanovertown toward Richmond. For the third time, thus, General Granthad found his adversary in his path; and no generalship, or rapidityin the movement of his column, seemed sufficient to secure to him theadvantages of a surprise. On each occasion the march of the Federalarmy had taken place in the night; from the Wilderness on the night ofMay 7th; from Spottsylvania on the night of May 21st; and from nearthe North Anna on the night of May 26th. Lee had imitated thesemovements of his opponent, interposing on each occasion, at thecritical moment, in his path, and inviting battle. This last statementmay be regarded as too strongly expressed, as it seems the opinion ofNorthern writers that Lee, in these movements, aimed only to maintaina strict defensive, and, by means of breastworks, simply keep hisadversary at arm's length. This is an entire mistake. Confident of theefficiency of his army, small as it was, he was always desirous tobring on a decisive action, under favorable circumstances. GeneralEarly bears his testimony to the truth of this statement. "I happen toknow, " says this officer, "that General Lee had always the greatestanxiety to strike at Grant in the open field. " During the wholemovement from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor, the Confederate commanderwas in excellent spirits. When at Hanover Junction he spoke of thesituation almost jocosely, and said to the venerable Dr. Gwathmey, speaking of General Grant, "If I can get one more pull at him, I willdefeat him. "

This expression does not seem to indicate any depression or want ofconfidence in his ability to meet General Grant in an open pitchedbattle. It may, however, be asked why, if such were his desire, he didnot come out from behind his breastworks and fight. The reply is, thatGeneral Grant invariably defended his lines by breastworks as powerfulas--in many cases much more powerful than--his adversary's. Theopposing mounds of earth and trees along the routes of the two armiesremain to prove the truth of what is here stated. At Cold Harbor, especially, the Federal works are veritable forts. In face of them, the theory that General Grant uniformly acted upon the offensive, without fear of offensive operations in turn on the part of Lee, will be found untenable. Nor is this statement made with the view ofrepresenting General Grant as over-cautious, or of detracting from hismerit as a commander. It was, on the contrary, highly honorable tohim, that, opposed to an adversary of such ability, he should haveneglected nothing. 

Reaching the Tottapotomoi, General Grant found his opponent in astrong position behind that sluggish water-course, prepared to disputethe road to Richmond; and it now became necessary to force the passagein his front, or, by another flank march, move still farther to theleft, and endeavor to cross the Chickahominy somewhere in the vicinityof Cold Harbor. This last operation was determined upon by GeneralGrant, and, sending his cavalry toward Cold Harbor, he moved rapidlyin the same direction with his infantry. This movement was discoveredat once by Lee; he sent Longstreet's corps forward, and, when theFederal army arrived, the Southern forces were drawn up in theirfront, between them and Richmond, thus barring, for the fourth time inthe campaign, the road to the capital. 

During these movements, nearly continuous fighting had taken placebetween the opposing columns, which clung to each other, as it were, each shaping its march more or less by that of the other. At last theyhad reached the ground upon which the obstinate struggle of June, 1862, had taken place, and it now became necessary for General Granteither to form some new plan of campaign, or, by throwing his wholearmy, in one great mass, against his adversary, break through allobstacles, cross the Chickahominy, and seize upon Richmond. This wasnow resolved upon. 

Heavy fighting took place on June 2d, near Bethesda Church and atother points, while the armies were coming into position; but this wasfelt to be but the preface to the greater struggle which General Leenow clearly divined. It came without loss of time. On the morning ofthe 3d of June, soon after daylight, General Grant threw his wholearmy straightforward against Lee's front--all along his line. Theconflict which followed was one of those bloody grapples, ratherthan battles, which, discarding all manoeuvring or brain-work in thecommanders, depend for the result upon the brute strength of theforces engaged. The action did not last half an hour, and, in thattime, the Federal loss was thirteen thousand men. When General Leesent a messenger to A. P. Hill, asking the result of the assault onhis part of the line, Hill took the officer with him in front of hisworks, and, pointing to the dead bodies which were literally lyingupon each other, said: "Tell General Lee it is the same all along myfront. "

The Federal army had, indeed, sustained a blow so heavy, that even theconstant mind and fixed resolution of General Grant and the Federalauthorities seem to have been shaken. The war seemed hopeless to manypersons in the North after the frightful bloodshed of this thirtyminutes at Cold Harbor, of which fact there is sufficient proof. "Sogloomy, " says a Northern historian, [1] "was the military outlook afterthe action on the Chickahominy, and to such a degree, by consequence, had the moral spring of the public mind become relaxed, that there wasat this time great danger of a collapse of the war. The history ofthis conflict, truthfully written, will show this. The archives of theState Department, when one day made public, will show how deeply theGovernment was affected by the want of military success, and to whatresolutions the Executive had in consequence come. Had not successelsewhere come to brighten the horizon, it would have been difficultto have raised new forces to recruit the Army of the Potomac, which, shaken in its structure, its valor quenched in blood, and thousands ofits ablest officers killed and wounded, was the Army of the Potomac nomore. "

[Footnote 1: Mr. Swinton, in his able and candid "Campaigns of theArmy of the Potomac. "]

The campaign of one month--from May 4th to June 4th--had costthe Federal commander sixty thousand men and three thousandofficers--numbers which are given on the authority of Federalhistorians--while the loss of Lee did not exceed eighteen thousand. The result would seem an unfavorable comment upon the choice of theroute across the country from Culpepper instead of that by the James. General McClellan, two years before, had reached Cold Harbor withtrifling losses. To attain the same point had cost General Granta frightful number of lives. Nor could it be said that he had anyimportant successes to offset this loss. He had not defeated hisadversary in any of the battle-fields of the campaign; nor did itseem that he had stricken him any serious blow. The Army of NorthernVirginia, not reënforced until it reached Hanover Junction, and thenonly by about nine thousand men under Generals Breckinridge andPickett, had held its ground against the large force opposed to it;had repulsed every assault; and, in a final trial of strength with aforce largely its superior, had inflicted upon the enemy, in about anhour, a loss of thirteen thousand men. 

These facts, highly honorable to Lee and his troops, are the plainestand most compendious comment we can make upon the campaign. The wholemovement of General Grant across Virginia is, indeed, now concededeven by his admirers to have been unfortunate. It failed to accomplishthe end expected from it--the investment of Richmond on the north andwest--and the lives of about sixty thousand men were, it would seem, unnecessarily lost, to reach a position which might have been attainedwith losses comparatively trifling, and without the unfortunateprestige of defeat. 

VI. 

FIRST BATTLES AT PETERSBURG. 

General Lee remained facing his adversary in his lines at Cold Harbor, for many days after the bloody struggle of the 3d of June, confidentof his ability to repulse any new attack, and completely barring theway to Richmond. The Federal campaign, it was now seen, was at an endon that line, and it was obvious that General Grant must adopt someother plan, in spite of his determination expressed in the beginningof the campaign, to "fight it out on that line if it took all thesummer. " The summer was but begun, and further fighting on that linewas hopeless. Under these circumstances the Federal commander resolvedto give up the attempt to assail Richmond from the north or east, andby a rapid movement to Petersburg, seize upon that place, cut theConfederate railroads leading southward, and thus compel an evacuationof the capital. 

[Illustration: Map of Petersburg and Environs. ]

It would be interesting to inquire what the course of General Leewould have been in the event of the success of this plan, and how thewar would have resulted. It would seem that, under such circumstances, his only resource would have been to retire with his army in thedirection of Lynchburg, where his communications would have remainedopen with the south and west. If driven from that point, thefastnesses of the Alleghanies were at hand; and, contemplatingafterward the possibility of being forced to take refuge there, hesaid: "With my army in the mountains of Virginia, I could carry onthis war for twenty years longer. " That spectacle was lost to theworld--Lee and his army fighting from mountain fastness to mountainfastness--and the annals of war are not illustrated by a chapter sostrange. That Lee was confident of his ability to carry on such astruggle successfully is certain; and Washington had conceived thesame idea in the old Revolution, when he said that if he were drivenfrom the seaboard he would take refuge in West Augusta, and therebyprolong the war interminably. 

To return from these speculations to the narrative of events. GeneralGrant remained in front of Lee until the 12th of June, when, movingagain by his left flank, he crossed the Chickahominy, proceeded inthe direction of City Point, at which place the Appomattox and JamesRivers mingle their waters, and, crossing the James on pontoons, hastened forward in order to seize upon Petersburg. This importantundertaking had been strangely neglected by Major-General Butler, who, in obedience to General Grant's orders, had sailed from FortressMonroe on the 4th of May, reached Bermuda Hundred, the peninsulaopposite City Point, made by a remarkable bend in James River, andproceeded to intrench himself. It was in his power on his arrival tohave seized upon Petersburg, but this he failed to do at that time, and the appearance of a force under General Beauregard, from thesouth, soon induced him to give his entire attention to his ownsafety. An attack by Beauregard had been promptly made, which nearlyresulted in General Butler's destruction. He succeeded, however, inretiring behind his works across the neck of the Peninsula, in whichhe now found himself completely shut up; and so powerless was hissituation, with his large force of thirty thousand men, that GeneralGrant wrote, "His army was as completely shut off ... As if it hadbeen in a bottle strongly corked. "

The attempt of General Grant to seize upon Petersburg by a surprisefailed. His forces were not able to reach the vicinity of the placeuntil the 15th, when they were bravely opposed behind impromptu worksby a body of local troops, who fought like regular soldiers, andsucceeded in holding the works until night ended the contest. 

When morning came long lines were seen defiling into the breastworks, and the familiar battle-flags of the Army of Northern Virginia roseabove the long line of bayonets giving assurance that the possessionof Petersburg would be obstinately disputed. 

General Lee had moved with his accustomed celerity, and, as usual, without that loss of time which results from doubt of an adversary'sintentions. If General Grant retired without another battle on theChickahominy, it was obvious to Lee that he must design one of twothings: either to advance upon Richmond from the direction of CharlesCity, or attempt a campaign against the capital from the south ofJames River. Lee seems at once to have satisfied himself that thelatter was the design. An inconsiderable force was sent to feel theenemy near the White-Oak Swamp; he was encountered there in someforce, but, satisfied that this was a feint to mislead him, GeneralLee proceeded to cross the James River above Drury's Bluff, near"Wilton, " and concentrate his army at Petersburg. On the 16th he wasin face of his adversary there. General Grant had adopted the plan ofcampaign which Lee expected him to adopt. General McClellan hadnot been permitted in 1862 to carry out the same plan; it was nowundertaken by General Grant, who sustained better relations towardthe Government, and the result would seem to indicate that GeneralMcClellan was, after all, a soldier of sound views. 

As soon as General Lee reached Petersburg, he began promptly to draw aregular line of earthworks around the city, to the east and south, forits defence. It was obvious that General Grant would lose no time instriking at him, in order to take advantage of the slight characterof the defences already existing; and this anticipation was speedilyrealized. General Lee had scarcely gotten his forces in position onthe 16th when he was furiously attacked, and such was the weight ofthis assault that Lee was forced from his advanced position, east ofthe city, behind his second line of works, by this time well forwardin process of construction. Against this new line General Grant threwheavy forces, in attack after attack, on the 17th and 18th, losing, itis said, more than four thousand men, but effecting nothing. On the21st General Lee was called upon to meet a more formidable assaultthan any of the preceding ones--this time more to his right, in thevicinity of the Weldon Railroad, which runs southward from Petersburg. A heavy line was advanced in that quarter by the enemy; but, observingthat an interval had been left between two of their corps, General Leethrew forward a column under General Hill, cut the Federal lines, andrepulsed their attack, bearing off nearly three thousand prisoners. 

On the same night an important cavalry expedition, consisting of thedivisions of General Wilson and Kautz, numbering about six thousandhorse, was sent westward to cut the Weldon, Southside, and DanvilleRailroads, which connected the Southern army with the South and West. This raid resulted in apparently great but really unimportant injuryto the Confederate communications against which it was directed. TheFederal cavalry tore up large portions of the tracks of all threerailroads, burning the wood-work, and laying waste the country around;but the further results of the expedition were unfavorable. They werepursued and harassed by a small body of cavalry under General W. H. F. Lee, and, on their return in the direction of Reams's Station, weremet near Sapponey Church by a force of fifteen hundred cavalry underGeneral Hampton. That energetic officer at once attacked; the fightingcontinued furiously throughout the entire night, and at dawn theFederal horse retreated in confusion. Their misfortunes were not, however, ended. Near Reams's, at which point they attempted to crossthe Weldon Railroad, they were met by General Fitz Lee's horsemenand about two hundred infantry under General Mahone, and this forcecompleted their discomfiture. After a brief attempt to force theirway through the unforeseen obstacle, they broke in disorder, leavingbehind them twelve pieces of artillery, and more than a thousandprisoners, and, with foaming and exhausted horses, regained theFederal lines. 

Such was the result of an expedition from which General Grantprobably expected much. The damage done to Lee's communications wasinconsiderable, and did not repay the Federal commander for the lossessustained. The railroads were soon repaired and in working orderagain; and the Federal cavalry was for the time rendered unfit forfurther operations. 

It was now the end of June, and every attempt made by General Grantto force Lee's lines had proved unsuccessful. It was apparent thatsurprise of the able commander of the Confederate army was hopeless. His works were growing stronger every day, and nothing was left tohis great adversary but to lay regular siege to the long line offortifications; to draw lines for the protection of his own front fromattack; and, by gradually extending his left, reach out toward theWeldon and Southside Railroads. 

To obtain possession of these roads was from this time General Grant'sgreat object; and all his movements were shaped by that paramountconsideration. 

VII. 

THE SIEGE OF RICHMOND BEGUN. 

The first days of July, 1864, witnessed, at Petersburg, thecommencement of a series of military manoeuvres, for which few, ifany, precedents existed in all the annals of war. An army of forty orfifty thousand men, intrenched along a line extending finally overa distance of nearly forty miles, was defending, against a force ofabout thrice its numbers, a capital more than twenty miles in itsrear; and, from July of one year to April of the next, there neverwas a moment when, to have broken through this line, would nothave terminated the war, and resulted in the destruction of theConfederacy. 

A few words in reference to the topography of the country and thesituation will show this. Petersburg is twenty-two miles south ofRichmond, and is connected with the South and West by the Weldon andSouthside Railroads, which latter road crosses the Danville Railroad, the main line of communication between the capital and the GulfStates. With the enemy once holding these roads and those north of thecity, as they were preparing to do, the capital would be isolated, andthe Confederate Government must evacuate Virginia. In that event theArmy of Northern Virginia had also nothing left to it but retreat. Virginia must be abandoned; the Federal authority would be extendedover the oldest and one of the largest and most important members ofthe Confederacy; and, under circumstances so adverse, it might well bea question whether, disheartened as they would be by the loss of sopowerful an ally, the other States of the Confederacy would havesufficient resolution to continue the contest. 

These considerations are said to have been fully weighed by GeneralLee, whose far-reaching military sagacity divined the exact situationof affairs, and the probable results of a conflict so unequal asthat which General Grant now forced upon him. We have noticed, ona preceding page, his opinions upon this subject, expressed to aconfidential friend as far back as 1862. He then declared that thetrue line of assault upon Richmond was that now adopted by GeneralGrant. As long as the capital was assailed from the north or the east, he might hope with some reason, by hard fighting, to repulse theassault, and hold Richmond. But, with an enemy at Petersburg, threatening with a large force the Southern railroads, it wasobviously only a question of time when Richmond, and consequentlyVirginia, must be abandoned. 

General Lee, we repeat, fully realized the facts here stated, whenhis adversary, giving up all other lines, crossed James River toPetersburg. Lee is said, we know not with what truth, to have coollyrecommended an evacuation of Richmond. But this met with no favor. A powerful party, including both the friends and enemies of theExecutive, spoke of the movement as a "pernicious idea. " Ifrecommended by Lee, it was speedily abandoned, and all the energies ofthe Government were concentrated upon the difficult task of holdingthe enemy at arm's length south of the Appomattox and in Charles City. 

In a few weeks after the appearance of the adversaries opposite eachother at Petersburg, the lines of leaguer and defence were drawn, and the long struggle began. General Grant had crossed a force intoCharles City, on the north bank of James River, and thus menacedRichmond with an assault from that quarter. His line extended thenceacross the neck of the Peninsula of Bermuda Hundred, and east andsouth of Petersburg, where, day by day, it gradually reached westward, approaching nearer and nearer to the railroads feeding the Southernarmy and capital. Lee's line conformed itself to that of hisadversary. In addition to the works east and southeast of Richmond, anexterior chain of defences had been drawn, facing the hostile forcenear Deep Bottom; and the river at Drury's Bluff, a fortification ofsome strength, had been guarded, by sunken obstructions, against theapproach of the Federal gunboats. The Southern lines then continued, facing those of the enemy north of the Appomattox, and, crossing thatstream, extended around the city of Petersburg, gradually movingwestward in conformity with the works of General Grant. A glance atthe accompanying diagram will clearly indicate the positions andrelations to each other of the Federal and Confederate works. Thesewill show that the real struggle was anticipated, by both commanders, west of Petersburg; and, as the days wore on, it was more and moreapparent that somewhere in the vicinity of Dinwiddie Court-House thelast great wrestle of the opposing armies must take place. 

To that conclusive trial of strength we shall advance with as fewinterruptions as possible. The operations of the two armies atPetersburg do not possess, for the general reader, that dramaticinterest which is found in battles such as those of Chancellorsvilleand Gettysburg, deciding for the time the fates of great campaigns. At Petersburg the fighting seemed to decide little, and the bloodycollisions had no names. The day of pitched battles, indeed, seemedpast. It was one long battle, day and night, week after week, andmonth after month--during the heat of summer, the sad hours of autumn, and the cold days and nights of winter. It was, in fact, the siegeof Richmond which General Grant had undertaken, and the fightingconsisted less of battles, in the ordinary acceptation of that word, than of attempts to break through the lines of his adversary--nownorth of James River, now east of Petersburg, now at some point inthe long chain of redans which guarded the approaches to the covetedSouthside Railroad, which, once in possession of the Federalcommander, would give him victory. 

Of this long, obstinate, and bloody struggle we shall describe onlythose prominent incidents which rose above the rest with a speciesof dramatic splendor. For the full narrative the reader must haverecourse to military histories aiming to chronicle the operations ofeach corps, division, and brigade in the two armies--a minuteness ofdetail beyond our scope, and probably not desired by those who willperuse these pages. 

VIII. 

LEE THREATENS WASHINGTON. 

The month of July began and went upon its way, with incessant fightingall along the Confederate front, both north of James River and southof the Appomattox. General Grant was thus engaged in the persistenteffort to, at some point, break through his opponent's works, whenintelligence suddenly reached him, by telegraph from Washington, thata strong Confederate column had advanced down the Shenandoah Valley, crossed the Potomac, and was rapidly moving eastward in the directionof the Federal capital. 

This portentous incident was the result of a plan of great boldnessdevised by General Lee, from which he expected much. A few words willexplain this plan. 

A portion of General Grant's plan of campaign had been an advance upthe Valley, and another from Western Virginia, toward the Lynchburgand Tennessee Railroad--the two columns to coöperate with the mainarmy by cutting the Confederate communications. The column in WesternVirginia effected little, but that in the Valley, under GeneralHunter, hastened forward, almost unopposed, from the small numbers ofthe Southern force, and early in June threatened Lynchburg. The newsreached Lee at Cold Harbor soon after his battle there with GeneralGrant, and he promptly detached General Early, at the head of abouteight thousand men, with orders to "move to the Valley throughSwift-Run Gap, or Brown's Gap, attack Hunter, and then cross thePotomac and threaten Washington. " [Footnote: This statement of hisorders was derived from Lieutenant-General Early. ]

General Early, an officer of great energy and intrepidity, movedwithout loss of time, and an engagement ensued between him and GeneralHunter near Lynchburg. The battle was soon decided. General Hunter, who had more cruelly oppressed the inhabitants of the Valley than evenGeneral Milroy, was completely defeated, driven in disordered flighttoward the Ohio, and Early hastened down the Valley, and thence intoMaryland, with the view of threatening Washington, as he had beenordered to do by Lee. His march was exceedingly rapid, and he foundthe road unobstructed until he reached the Monocacy near FrederickCity, where he was opposed by a force under General Wallace. Thisforce he attacked, and soon drove from the field; he then pressedforward, and on the 11th of July came in sight of Washington. 

It was the intelligence of this advance of a Confederate force intoMaryland, and toward the capital, which came to startle General Grantwhile he was hotly engaged with Lee at Petersburg. The Washingtonauthorities seem to have been completely unnerved, and to haveregarded the capture of the city as nearly inevitable. General Grant, however, stood firm, and did not permit the terror of the civilauthorities to affect him. He sent forward to Washington two armycorps, and these arrived just in time. If it had been in the power ofGeneral Early to capture Washington--which seems questionable--theopportunity was lost. He found himself compelled to retire across thePotomac again to avoid an attack in his rear; and this he effectedwithout loss, taking up, in accordance with orders from Lee, aposition in the Valley, where he remained for some months a standingthreat to the enemy. 

Such was the famous march of General Early to Washington; and thereseems at present little reason to doubt that the Federal capital had anarrow escape from capture by the Confederates. What the result of sosingular an event would have been, it is difficult to say; but itis certain that it would have put an end to General Grant's entirecampaign at Petersburg. Then--but speculations of this character aresimply loss of time. The city was not captured; the war went upon itsway, and was destined to terminate by pure exhaustion of one of thecombatants, unaffected by _coups de main_ in any part of the theatreof conflict. 

We have briefly spoken of the engagement between Generals Early andHunter, near Lynchburg, and the abrupt retreat of the latter to thewestern mountains and thence toward the Ohio. It may interest thereader to know General Lee's views on the subject of this retreat, which, it seems, were drawn from him by a letter addressed to him byGeneral Hunter:

"As soon after the war as mail communications were opened, " writesthe gentleman of high character from whom we derive this incident, "General David Hunter wrote to General Lee, begging that he wouldanswer him frankly on two points:"

'I. His (Hunter's) campaign in 1864 was undertaken on informationreceived by General Halleck that General Lee was about to detach fortythousand picked troops to send to Georgia. Did not his (Hunter's) moveprevent this?

'II. When he found it necessary to retreat from Lynchburg, did he nottake the most feasible route?'

General Lee wrote a very courteous reply, in which he said:

'I. General Halleck was misinformed. I had _no troops to spare_, andforty thousand would have taken nearly my whole army. 

'II. I am not advised as to the motives which induced you to adoptyour line of retreat, and am not, perhaps, competent to judge of thequestion; _but I certainly expected you to retreat by way_ of theShenandoah Valley. '

"General Hunter, " adds our correspondent, "never published thisletter, but I heard General Lee tell of it one day with evidentpleasure. "

Lee's opinion of the military abilities of both Generals Hunterand Sheridan was indeed far from flattering. He regarded those twocommanders--especially General Sheridan--as enjoying reputationssolely conferred upon them by the exhaustion of the resources ofthe Confederacy, and not warranted by any military efficiency inthemselves. 

IX. 

THE MINE EXPLOSION. 

The end of the month of July was now approaching, and every attemptmade by General Grant to break through Lee's lines had resulted infailure. At every point which he assailed, an armed force, sufficientto repulse his most vigorous attacks, seemed to spring from the earth;and no movement of the Federal forces, however sudden and rapid, hadbeen able to take the Confederate commander unawares. The campaign wasapparently settling down into stubborn fighting, day and night, inwhich the object of General Grant was to carry out his programme ofattrition. Such was the feeling in both armies when, at dawn on the30th of July, a loud explosion, heard for thirty miles, took place onthe lines near Petersburg, and a vast column of smoke, shooting upwardto a great height, seemed to indicate the blowing up of an extensivemagazine. 

Instead of a magazine, it was a mine which had thus been exploded; andthe incident was not the least singular of a campaign unlike any whichhad preceded it. 

The plan of forming a breach in the Southern works, by exploding amine beneath them, is said by Northern writers to have originated witha subordinate officer of the Federal army, who, observing the closeproximity of the opposing works near Petersburg, conceived it feasibleto construct a subterranean gallery, reaching beneath those of GeneralLee. The undertaking was begun, the earth being carried off incracker-boxes; and such was the steady persistence of the workmen thata gallery five hundred feet long, with lateral openings beneath theConfederate works, was soon finished; and in these lateral recesseswas placed a large amount of powder. 

All was now ready, and the question was how to utilize the explosion. General Grant decided to follow it by a sudden charge through thebreach, seize a crest in rear, and thus interpose a force directly inthe centre of Lee's line. A singular discussion, however, arose, andcaused some embarrassment. Should the assaulting column consist ofwhite or negro troops? This question was decided, General Grantafterward declared, by "pulling straws or tossing coppers"--the whitetroops were the fortunate or unfortunate ones--and on the morning ofJuly 30th the mine was exploded. The effect was frightful, and theincident will long be remembered by those present and escapingunharmed. The small Southern force and artillery immediately above themine were hurled into the air. An opening, one hundred and fifty feetlong, sixty feet wide, and thirty feet deep, suddenly appeared, wherea moment before had extended the Confederate earthworks; and theFederal division, selected for the charge, rushed forward to piercethe opening. 

The result did not justify the sanguine expectations which seem tohave been excited in the breasts of the Federal officers. A Southernwriter thus describes what ensued:

"The 'white division' charged, reached the crater, stumbled overthe _débris_, were suddenly met by a merciless fire of artillery, enfilading them right and left, and of infantry fusillading them infront; faltered, hesitated, were badly led, lost heart, gave up theplan of seizing the crest in rear, huddled into the crater, man ontop of man, company mingled with company; and upon this disordered, unstrung, quivering mass of human beings, white and black--for theblack troops had followed--was poured a hurricane of shot, shell, canister, musketry, which made the hideous crater a slaughter-pen, horrible and frightful beyond the power of words. All order was lost;all idea of charging the crest abandoned. Lee's infantry was seenconcentrating for the carnival of death; his artillery was massing todestroy the remnants of the charging divisions; those who deserted thecrater, to scramble over the _débris_ and run back, were shot down;then all that was left to the shuddering mass of blacks and whites inthe pit was to shrink lower, evade the horrible _mitraille_, and waitfor a charge of their friends to rescue them or surrender. "

These sentences sufficiently describe the painful scene which followedthe explosion of the mine. The charging column was unable to advancein face of the very heavy fire directed upon them by the Southerninfantry and artillery; and the effect of this fire was so appallingthat General Mahone, commanding at the spot, is said to have orderedit to cease, adding that the spectacle made him sick. The Federalforces finally succeeded in making their way back, with a loss ofabout four thousand prisoners; and General Lee, whose losses had beensmall, reëstablished his line without interruption. 

Before passing from this incident, a singular circumstance connectedwith it is deserving of mention. This was the declaration of theCongressional Committee, which in due time investigated the wholeaffair. 

The conclusion of the committee was not flattering to the veteran Armyof the Potomac. The report declared that "the first and great cause ofdisaster was the employment of white instead of black troops to makethe charge. "

X. 

END OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1864. 

Throughout the months of August and September, Lee continued to beattacked at various points along his entire front, but succeededin repulsing every assault. General Grant's design may be said, ingeneral terms, to have been a steady extension of his left towardthe Confederate communications west of Petersburg, while taking thechances, by attacks north of James River, to break through in thatquarter and seize upon Richmond. It is probable that his hopes ofeffecting the last-mentioned object were small; but operations in thatdirection promised the more probable result of causing Lee to weakenhis right, and thus uncover the Southside Railroad. 

An indecisive attack on the north of James River was followed, towardthe end of August, by a heavy advance, to seize upon the WeldonRailroad near Petersburg. In this General Grant succeeded, an eventclearly foreseen by Lee, who had long before informed the authoritiesthat he could not hold this road. General Grant followed up thissuccess by sending heavy forces to seize Reams's Station, on the sameroad, farther south, and afterward to destroy it to Hicksford--which, however, effected less favorable results, Lee meeting and defeatingboth forces after obstinate engagements, in which the Federal troopslost heavily, and were compelled to retreat. 

These varying successes did not, however, materially affect thegeneral result. The Federal left gradually reached farther and fartherwestward, until finally it had passed the Vaughan, Squirrel Level, andother roads, running south-westward from Petersburg, and in Octoberwas established on the left bank of Hatcher's Run, which unites withGravelly Run to form the Rowanty. It was now obvious that a furtherextension of the Federal left would probably enable General Grant toseize upon the Southside Railroad. An energetic attempt was speedilymade by him to effect this important object, to which it is saidhe attached great importance from its anticipated bearing on theapproaching presidential election. 

On the 27th of October a heavy column was thrown across Hatcher'sRun, in the vicinity of Burgess's Mill, on the Boydton Road, andan obstinate attack was made on Lee's lines there with the view ofbreaking through to the Southside Road. In this, however, GeneralGrant did not succeed. His column was met in front and flank byGenerals Hampton--who here lost his brave son, Preston--and W. H. F. Lee, with dismounted sharp-shooters; infantry was hastened to thethreatened point by General Lee, and, after an obstinate struggle, the Federal force was driven back. General Lee reporting that GeneralMahone charged and "broke three lines of battle. "[1]

[Footnote 1: _Dispatch of Lee, October_ 28, 1864. --It was the habitof General Lee, throughout the last campaign of the war, to send toRichmond, from time to time, brief dispatches announcing whateveroccurred along the lines; and these, in the absence of officialreports of these occurrences on the Confederate side, are valuablerecords of the progress of affairs. These brief summaries are reliablefrom the absence of all exaggeration, but cannot be depended uponby the historian, for a very singular reason, namely, that almostinvariably the Confederate successes are understated. On the presentoccasion, the Federal loss in prisoners near Burgess's Mill and eastof Richmond--where General Grant had attacked at the same time toeffect a diversion--are put down by General Lee at eight hundred, whereas thirteen hundred and sixty-five were received at Richmond. 

Lee's dispatch of October 28th is here given, as a specimen of thesebrief military reports. 

HEADQUARTERS ARMY NORTHERN VIRGINIA, _October_ 28, 1864. 

_Hon. Secretary of War_:

General Hill reports that the attack of General Heth upon the enemyon the Boydton Plank-road, mentioned in my dispatch last evening, wasmade by three brigades under General Mahone in front, and GeneralHampton in the rear. Mahone captured four hundred prisoners, threestand of colors, and six pieces of artillery. The latter could not bebrought off, the enemy having possession of the bridge. 

In the attack subsequently made by the enemy General Mahone brokethree lines of battle, and during the night the enemy retreated fromthe Boydton Road, leaving his wounded and more than two hundred andfifty dead on the field. 

About nine o'clock P. M. A small force assaulted and took possession ofour works on the Baxter Road, in front of Petersburg, but were soondriven out. 

On the Williamsburg Road General Field captured upward of four hundredprisoners and seven stand of colors. The enemy left a number of deadin front of our works, and to-day retreated to his former position. 

R. E. Lee]

With this repulse of the Federal forces terminated active operationsof importance for the year; and but one other attempt was made, duringthe winter, to gain ground on the left. This took place early inFebruary, and resulted in failure like the former--the Confederateslosing, however, the brave General John Pegram. 

The presidential election at the North had been decided in favorof Mr. Lincoln--General McClellan and Mr. Pendleton, the supposedadvocates of peace, suffering defeat. The significance of this factwas unmistakable. It was now seen that unless the Confederatesfought their way to independence, there was no hope of a favorabletermination of the war, and this conclusion was courageously faced byGeneral Lee. The outlook for the coming year was far from encouraging;the resources of the Confederacy were steadily being reduced; hercoasts were blockaded; her armies were diminishing; discouragementseemed slowly to be invading every heart--but, in the midst of thisgeneral foreboding, the commander of the Army of Northern Virginiaretained an august composure; and, conversing with one of the SouthernSenators, said, "For myself, I intend to die sword in hand. "

That his sense of duty did not afterward permit him to do so, wasperhaps one of the bitterest pangs of his whole life. 

XI. 

LEE IN THE WINTER OF 1864-'65. 

Before entering upon the narrative of the last and decisive campaignof the war, we shall speak of the personal demeanor of General Lee atthis time, and endeavor to account for a circumstance which astonishedmany persons--his surprising equanimity, and even cheerfulness, underthe pressure of cares sufficient, it would seem, to crush the mostpowerful organization. 

He had established his headquarters a mile or two west of Petersburg, on the Cox Road, nearly opposite his centre, and here he seemed toawait whatever the future would bring with a tranquillity which was asource of surprise and admiration to all who were thrown in contactwith him. Many persons will bear their testimony to this extraordinarycomposure. His countenance seldom, if ever, exhibited the least tracesof anxiety, but was firm, hopeful, and encouraged those around him inthe belief that he was still confident of success. That he did not, however, look forward with any thing like hope to such success, wehave endeavored already to show. From the first, he seems to haveregarded his situation, unless his army were largely reënforced, asalmost desperate; those reënforcements did not come; and yet, as hesaw his numbers day by day decreasing, and General Grant's increasinga still larger ratio, he retained his courage, confronting themisfortunes closing in upon him with unmoved composure, and at no timeseemed to lose his "heart of hope. "

Of this phenomenon the explanation has been sought in theconstitutional courage of the individual, and that instinctiverebound against fate which takes place in great organizations. Thisexplanation, doubtless, is not without a certain amount of truth; butan attentive consideration of the principles which guided this eminentsoldier throughout his career, will show that his equanimity, at amoment so trying, was due to another and more controlling sentiment. This sentiment was his devotion to Duty--"the sublimest word in ourlanguage. " Throughout his entire life he had sought to discover andperform his duty, without regard to consequences. That had been withhim the great question in April, 1861, when the war broke out: he haddecided in his own mind what he ought to do, and had not hesitated. 

From that time forward he continued to do what Duty commanded withouta murmur. In the obscure campaign of Western Virginia--in the unnotedwork of fortifying the Southern coast--in the great campaigns which hehad subsequently fought--and everywhere, his consciousness of havingperformed his duty to the best of his knowledge and ability sustainedhim. It sustained him, above all, at Gettysburg, where he had done hisbest, giving him strength to take upon himself the responsibility ofthat disaster; and, now, in these last dark days at Petersburg, itmust have been the sense of having done his whole duty, and expendedupon the cause every energy of his being, which enabled him to meetthe approaching catastrophe with a calmness which seemed to thosearound him almost sublime. 

If this be not the explanation of the composure of General Lee, throughout the last great struggle with the Federal Army, the writerof these pages is at a loss to account for it. The phenomenon wasplain to all eyes, and crowned the soldier with a glory greater thanthat which he had derived from his most decisive military successes. Great and unmoved in the dark hour as in the bright, he seemed to havedetermined to perform his duty to the last, and to shape his conduct, under whatever pressure of disaster, upon the two maxims, "Do yourduty, " and "Human virtue should be equal to human calamity. "

There is little reason to doubt that General Lee saw this "calamity"coming, for the effort to reënforce his small army with fresh leviesseemed hopeless. The reasons for this unfortunate state of things mustbe sought elsewhere. The unfortunate fact will be stated, withoutcomment, that, while the Federal army was regularly and largelyreënforced, so that its numbers at no time fell below one hundredand fifty thousand men. Lee's entire force at Petersburg at no timereached sixty thousand, and in the spring of 1865, when he stillcontinued to hold his long line of defences, numbered scarcely halfof sixty thousand. This was the primary cause of the failure of thestruggle. General Grant's immense hammer continued to beat upon hisadversary, wearing away his strength day by day. No new troops arrivedto take the places of those who had fallen; and General Lee saw, drawing closer and closer, the inevitable hour when, driven from hisworks, or with the Federal army upon his communications, he must cuthis way southward or surrender. 

A last circumstance in reference to General Lee's position at thistime should be stated; the fact that, from the autumn of 1864 to theend in the spring of 1865, he was felt by the country and the army tobe the sole hope of the Confederacy. To him alone now all menlooked as the _deus ex machinâ_ to extricate them from the dangerssurrounding them. This sentiment needed no expression in words. It wasseen in the faces and the very tones of voice of all. Old men visitedhim, and begged him with faltering voices not to expose himself, for, if he were killed, all would be lost. The troops followed him withtheir eyes, or their cheers, whenever he appeared, feeling a singularsense of confidence from the presence of the gray-haired soldier inhis plain uniform, and assured that, as long as Lee led them, thecause was safe. All classes of the people thus regarded the fateof the Confederacy as resting, not partially, but solely, upon theshoulders of Lee; and, although he was not entitled by his rank in theservice to direct operations in other quarters than Virginia, therewas a very general desire that the whole conduct of the war everywhereshould be intrusted to his hands. This was done, as will be seen, toward the spring of 1865, but it was too late. 

These notices of General Lee individually are necessary to a clearcomprehension of the concluding incidents of the great conflict. It isdoubtful if, in any other struggle of history, the hopes of a peoplewere more entirely wrapped up in a single individual. All criticismsof the eminent soldier had long since been silenced, and it may, indeed, be said that something like a superstitious confidence in hisfortunes had become widely disseminated. It was the general sentiment, even when Lee himself saw the end surely approaching, that all wassafe while he remained in command of the army. This hallucination musthave greatly pained him, for no one ever saw more clearly, or was lessblinded by irrational confidence. Lee fully understood and representedto the civil authorities--with whom his relations were perfectlyfriendly and cordial--that if his lines were broken at any point, thefate of the campaign was sealed. Feeling this truth, of which hismilitary sagacity left him in no doubt, he had to bear the furtherweight of that general confidence which he did not share. He did notcomplain, however, or in any manner indicate the desperate straits towhich he had come. He called for fresh troops to supply his losses;when they did not arrive he continued to oppose his powerful adversarywith the remnant still at his command. These were now more like oldcomrades than mere private soldiers under his orders. What was leftof the army was its best material. The fires of battle had tested themetal, and that which emerged from the furnace was gold free fromalloy. The men remaining with Lee were those whom no peril of thecause in which they were fighting could dishearten or prompt to desertor even temporarily absent themselves from the Southern standard; andthis _corps d' élite_ was devoted wholly to their commander. For thisdevotion they certainly had valid reason. Never had leader exhibited amore systematic, unfailing, and almost tender care of his troops. Leeseemed to feel that these veterans in their ragged jackets, with theirgaunt faces, were personal friends of his own, who were entitled tohis most affectionate exertions for their welfare. His calls on thecivil authorities in their behalf were unceasing. The burden ofthese demands was that, unless his men's wants were attended to, theSouthern cause was lost; and it plainly revolted his sense of thefitness of things that men upon whom depended the fate of the Southshould be shoeless, in tatters, and forced to subsist on a quarterof a pound of rancid bacon and a little corn bread, when thousandsremaining out of the army, and dodging the enrolling-officers, werewell clothed and fed, and never heard the whistle of a bullet. Themen understood this care for them, and returned the affectionatesolicitude of their commander in full. He was now their ideal of aleader, and all that he did was perfect in their eyes. All awe of himhad long since left them--they understood what treasures of kindnessand simplicity lay under the grave exterior. The tattered privatesapproached the commander-in-chief without embarrassment, and hisreception of them was such as to make them love him more than ever. Had we space we might dwell upon this marked respect and attentionpaid by General Lee to his private soldiers. He seemed to think themmore worthy of marks of regard than his highest officers. And therewas never the least air of condescension in him when thrown with them, but a perfect simplicity, kindness, and unaffected sympathy, whichwent to their hearts. This was almost a natural gift with Lee, andarose from the genuine goodness of his heart. His feeling toward hissoldiers is shown in an incident which occurred at this time, and wasthus related in one of the Richmond journals: "A gentleman who was inthe train from this city to Petersburg, a very cold morning not longago, tells us his attention was attracted by the efforts of a youngsoldier, with his arm in a sling, to get his overcoat on. His teeth, as well as his sound arm, were brought into use to effect the object;but, in the midst of his efforts, an officer rose from his seat, advanced to him, and very carefully and tenderly assisted him, drawingthe coat gently over his wounded arm, and buttoning it up comfortably;then, with a few kind and pleasant words, returning to his seat. Nowthe officer in question was not clad in gorgeous uniform, with abrilliant wreath upon his collar, and a multitude of gilt lines uponthe sleeves, resembling the famous labyrinth of Crete, but he was cladin a simple suit of gray, distinguished from the garb of a civilianonly by the three stars which every Confederate colonel in theservice, by the regulations, is entitled to wear. And yet he was noother than our chief, General Robert E. Lee, who is not braver than heis good and modest. "

To terminate this brief sketch of General Lee, personally, in thewinter of 1864. He looked much older than at the beginning of the war, but by no means less hardy or robust. On the contrary, the arduouscampaigns through which he had passed seemed to have hardenedhim--developing to the highest degree the native strength of hisphysical organization. His cheeks were ruddy, and his eye had thatclear light which indicates the presence of the calm, self-poisedwill. But his hair had grown gray, like his beard and mustache, whichwere worn short and well-trimmed. His dress, as always, was a plainand serviceable gray uniform, with no indications of rank save thestars on the collar. Cavalry-boots reached nearly to his knees, and heseldom wore any weapon. A broad-brimmed gray-felt hat rested low uponthe forehead; and the movements of this soldierly figure were as firm, measured, and imposing, as ever. It was impossible to discern inGeneral Lee any evidences of impaired strength, or any trace of thewearing hardships through which he had passed. He seemed made of iron, and would remain in his saddle all day, and then at his desk half thenight, without apparently feeling any fatigue. He was still almost ananchorite in his personal habits, and lived so poorly that it is saidhe was compelled to borrow a small piece of meat when unexpectedvisitors dined with him. 

Such, in brief outline, was the individual upon whose shoulders, in the last months of 1864 and the early part of 1865, rested theSouthern Confederacy. 

XII. 

THE SITUATION AT THE BEGINNING OF 1865. 

In approaching the narrative of the last tragic scenes of theConfederate struggle, the writer of these pages experiences emotionsof sadness which will probably be shared by not a few even of thosereaders whose sympathies, from the nature of things, were on the sideof the North. To doubt this would be painful, and would indicate acontempt for human nature. Not only in the eyes of his friends andfollowers, but even in the eyes of his bitterest enemies, Lee mustsurely have appeared great and noble. Right or wrong in the struggle, he believed that he was performing his duty; and the brave army athis back, which had fought so heroically, were inspired by the samesentiment, and risked all on the issue. 

This great soldier was now about to suffer the cruellest pang whichthe spite of Fate can inflict, and his army to be disbanded, to returnin poverty and defeat to their homes. That spectacle was surelytragic, and appealed to the hardest heart; and if any rejoiced in suchmisery he must have been unsusceptible of the sentiment of admirationfor heroism in misfortune. 

The last and decisive struggle between the two armies at Petersburgbegan in March, 1865. But events of great importance in many quartershad preceded this final conflict, the result of which had been tobreak down all the outer defences of the Confederacy, leaving only theinner citadel still intact. The events in question are so familiar tothose who will peruse these pages, that a passing reference to them isall that is necessary. Affairs in the Valley of Virginia, from autumnto spring, had steadily proceeded from bad to worse. In September, General Sheridan, with a force of about forty-five thousand, hadassailed General Early near Winchester, with a force of about eightor nine thousand muskets, and succeeded in driving him up the Valleybeyond Strasburg, whence, attacked a second time, he had retreatedtoward Staunton. This was followed, in October, by another battle atCedar Run, where Early attacked and nearly crushed General Sheridan, but eventually was again repulsed, and forced a second time to retreatup the Valley to Waynesboro', where, in February, his little remnantwas assailed by overwhelming numbers and dispersed. General Sheridan, who had effected this inglorious but important success, then proceededto the Lowlands, joined General Grant's army, and was ready, with hislarge force of horse, to take part in the coming battles. 

A more important success had attended the Federal arms in the West. General Johnston, who had been restored to command there at thesolicitation of Lee, had found his force insufficient to opposeGeneral Sherman's large army; the Confederates had accordinglyretreated; and General Sherman, almost unresisted, from the exhaustionof his adversary, marched across the country to Savannah, which fellan easy prize, and thence advanced to Goldsborough, in North Carolina, where he directly threatened Lee's line of retreat from Virginia. 

Such was the condition of affairs in the months of February andMarch, 1865. In the former month, commissioners from the ConfederateGovernment had met President Lincoln in Hampton Roads, but no terms ofpeace could be agreed upon; the issue was still left to be decided byarms, and every advantage was upon the Federal side. General Lee, whohad just been appointed "General-in-Chief"--having thus imposed uponhim the mockery of a rank no longer of any value--saw the armies ofthe enemy closing in upon him, and did not deceive himself with theempty hope that he could longer hold his lines at Petersburg. Thecountry, oppressed as it was, and laboring under a sentiment akinto despair, still retained in almost undiminished measure itssuperstitious confidence in him; but he himself saw clearly thedesperate character of the situation. General Grant was in his frontwith a force of about one hundred and fifty thousand men, and GeneralSherman was about to enter Virginia with an army of about the samenumbers. Lee's force at Petersburg was a little over thirty thousandmen--that of Johnston was not so great, and was detained by Sherman. Under these circumstances, it was obviously only a question of timewhen the Army of Northern Virginia would be overwhelmed. In February, 1865, these facts were perfectly apparent to General Lee: but onecourse was left to him--to retreat from Virginia; and he promptlybegan that movement in the latter part of the month, ordering histrains to Amelia Court-House, and directing pontoons to be got readyat Roanoke River. His aim was simple--to unite his army with that ofGeneral Johnston, and retreat into the Gulf States. In the mountainsof Virginia he could carry on the war, he had said, for twenty years;in the fertile regions of the South he might expect to prolonghostilities, or at least make favorable terms of peace--which would bebetter than to remain in Virginia until he was completely surrounded, and an unconditional submission would alone be left him. 

It will probably remain a subject of regret to military students, thatLee was not permitted to carry out this retreat into the Gulf States. The movement was arrested after a consultation with the civilauthorities at Richmond. Upon what grounds a course so obviouslynecessary was opposed, the present writer is unable to declare. Whatever the considerations, Lee yielded his judgment; the movementsuddenly stopped; and the Army of Northern Virginia--if a skeleton canbe called such--remained to await its fate. 

The condition of the army in which "companies" scarce existed, "regiments" were counted by tens, and "divisions" by hundreds only, need not here be elaborately dwelt upon. It was indeed the phantom ofan army, and the gaunt faces were almost ghostly. Shoeless, in rags, with just sufficient coarse food to sustain life, but never enoughto keep at arm's-length the gnawing fiend Hunger, Lee's old veteransremained firm, scattered like a thin skirmish-line along forty milesof works; while opposite them lay an enemy in the highest state ofefficiency, and numbering nearly five men to their one. That thesoldiers of the army retained their nerve under circumstances sodiscouraging is surely an honorable fact, and will make their namesglorious in history. They remained unshaken and fought undismayed tothe last, although their courage was subjected to trials of the mostexhausting character. Day and night, for month after month, theincessant fire of the Federal forces had continued, and every engineof human destruction had been put in play to wear away their strength. They fought all through the cheerless days of winter, and, when theylay down in the cold trenches at night, the shell of the Federalmortars rained down upon them, bursting, and mortally wounding them. All day long the fire of muskets and cannon--then, from sunset todawn, the curving fire of the roaring mortars, and the steady, never-ceasing crack of the sharp-shooters along the front. Snow, orblinding sleet, or freezing rains, might be falling, but the fire wenton--it seemed destined to go on to all eternity. 

In March, 1865 however, the end was approaching, and General Leemust have felt that all was lost. His last hope had been the retreatsouthward in the month of February. That hope had been taken fromhim; the result was at hand; and his private correspondence, if heintrusted to paper his views of the situation, will probably show thatfrom that moment he gave up all anticipation of success, and preparedto do his simple duty as a soldier, leaving the issue of affairsto Providence. Whatever may have been his emotions, they were notreflected in his countenance. The same august composure which hadaccompanied him in his previous campaigns remained with him still, andcheered the fainting hearts around him. To the 2d of April, and evenup to the end, this remarkable calmness continued nearly unchanged, and we can offer no explanation of a circumstance so astonishing, savethat which we have already given in a preceding chapter. 

XIII. 

LEE ATTACKS THE FEDERAL CENTRE. 

General Lee became aware, as the end of March drew near, thatpreparations were being made in the Federal army for some importantmovement. What that movement would be, there was little reason todoubt. The Federal lines had been extended gradually toward theSouthside Railroad; and it was obvious now that General Grant had inview a last and decisive advance in that quarter, which should placehim on his opponent's communications, and completely intercept hisretreat southward. 

The catastrophe which General Lee had plainly foreseen for many monthsnow stared him in the face, and, unless he had recourse to someexpedient as desperate as the situation, the end of the struggle mustsoon come. The sole course left to him was retreat, but this nowseemed difficult, if not impossible. General Grant had a powerfulforce not far from the main roads over which Lee must move; and, unless a diversion of some description were made, it seemed barelypossible that the Southern army could extricate itself. This diversionGeneral Lee now proceeded to make; and although we have no authorityto state that his object was to follow up the blow, if it weresuccessful, by an evacuation of his lines at Petersburg, it isdifficult to conceive what other design he could have had in riskingan operation so critical. He had resolved to throw a column againstthe Federal centre east of Petersburg, with the view to break throughthere and seize the commanding ground in rear of the line. He wouldthus be rooted in the middle of General Grant's army, and the Federalleft would probably be recalled, leaving the way open if he designedto retreat. If he designed, however, to fight a last pitched battlewhich should decide all, he would be able to do so, in case theFederal works were broken, to greater advantage than under any othercircumstances. 

The point fixed upon was Fort Steadman, near the south bank of theAppomattox, where the opposing works were scarcely two hundred yardsfrom each other. The ground in front was covered with _abatis_, andotherwise obstructed, but it was hoped that the assaulting columnwould be able to pass over the distance undiscovered. In that event asudden rush would probably carry the works--a large part of the armywould follow--the hill beyond would be occupied--and General Grantwould be compelled to concentrate his army at the point, for his ownprotection. 

On the morning of March 25th, before dawn, the column was ready. Itconsisted of three or four thousand men under General Gordon, but anadditional force was held in reserve to follow up the attack if itsucceeded. Just as dawn appeared, Gordon put his column in motion. It advanced silently over the intervening space, made a rush for theFederal works, mounted them, drove from them in great confusion theforce occupying them, and a loud cheer proved that the column ofGordon had done its work. But this auspicious beginning was the onlysuccess achieved by the Confederates. For reasons unknown to thepresent writer, the force directed by Lee to be held in readiness, andto move at once to Gordon's support, did not go forward; the bravecommander and his men were left to breast the whole weight of theFederal onslaught which ensued; and disaster followed the first greatsuccess. The forts to the right and left of Fort Steadman suddenlyopened their thunders, and something like a repetition of the scenesucceeding the mine explosion ensued. A considerable portion of theassaulting column was unable to get back, and fell into the enemy'shands; their works were quickly reoccupied; and Lee saw that his lasthope had failed. Nothing was left to him now but such courageousresistance as it was in his power to make, and he prepared, with theworn weapon which he still held in his firm grasp, to oppose ashe best could the immense "hammer"--to use General Grant's ownillustration--which was plainly about to be raised to strike. 

XIV. 

THE SOUTHERN LINES BROKEN. 

The hour of the final struggle now rapidly drew near. On the 29th ofMarch, General Lee discovered that a large portion of the Federal armywas moving steadily in the direction of his works beyond Burgen Mill, and there could be no doubt what this movement signified. GeneralGrant was plainly about to make a decisive attack on the Confederateright, on the White-Oak Road; and, if that attack succeeded, Lee waslost. 

Had not General Lee and his men become accustomed to retain theircoolness under almost any circumstances of trial, the prospect nowbefore them must have filled them with despair. The bulk of theFederal army was obviously about to be thrown against the Confederateright, and it was no secret in the little body of Southerners thatLee would be able to send thither only a painfully inadequate force, unless his extensive works were left in charge of a mere line ofskirmishers. This could not be thought of; the struggle on the rightmust be a desperate one, and the Southern troops must depend upon hardfighting rather than numbers if they hoped to repulse the attack ofthe enemy. 

Such was the situation of affairs, and neither the Confederatecommander nor his men shrunk in the hour of trial. Leaving Longstreetto confront the enemy north of the James, and Gordon in command ofEwell's corps--if it could be called such--in front of Petersburg, Leemoved with nearly the whole remainder of his small force westward, beyond Hatcher's Run, to meet the anticipated attack. The force thusmoved to the right to receive General Grant's great assault consistedof about fifteen thousand infantry, and about two thousand cavalryunder General Fitz Lee, who, in consequence of the departure ofHampton to North Carolina, now commanded the cavalry of the army. Thisforce, however, was cavalry only in name; and General Lee, speakingafterward of General Sheridan, said that his victories were won"when we had no horses for our cavalry, and no men to ride the fewbroken-down steeds that we could muster. "

With this force, amounting in all to about seventeen thousand men, Lee proceeded to take position behind the works extending alongthe White-Oak Road, in the direction of Five Forks, an important_carrefour_ beyond his extreme right. The number of men left northof James River and in front of Petersburg was a little under twentythousand. As General Grant had at his command a force about four timesas great as his adversary's, it seemed scarcely possible that Leewould be able to offer serious resistance. 

It soon became evident, however, that, in spite of this greatdisproportion of force, General Lee had determined to fight to thelast. To attribute this determination to despair and recklessness, would be doing injustice to the great soldier. It was still possiblethat he might be able to repulse the assault upon his right, and, bydisabling the Federal force there, open his line of retreat. To thishope he no doubt clung, and the fighting-blood of his race was nowthoroughly aroused. At Chancellorsville and elsewhere the odds hadbeen nearly as great, and a glance at his gaunt veterans showed himthat they might still be depended upon for a struggle as obstinate asany in the past history of the war. 

The event certainly vindicated the justice of this latter view, andwe shall briefly trace the occurrences of the next three or four dayswhich terminated the long conflict at Petersburg. 

General Grant's assaulting force was not in position near the BoydtonRoad, beyond Hatcher's Run, until March 31st, when, before he couldattack, Lee suddenly advanced and made a furious onslaught on theFederal front. Before this attack, the divisions first encounteredgave way in confusion, and it seemed that the Confederate commander, at a single blow, was about to extricate himself from his embarrassingsituation. The force opposed to him, however, was too great, and hefound himself unable to encounter it in the open field. He thereforefell back to his works, and the fighting ceased, only to be renewed, however, at Five Forks. This had been seized by the cavalry of GeneralSheridan, and, as the point was one of importance, Lee detached asmall body of infantry to drive away the Federal horse. This was donewithout difficulty, and the Confederate infantry then advanced towardDinwiddie Court-House; but late at night it was withdrawn, and theday's fighting ended. 

On the next day, the 1st of April, a more determined struggle ensued, for the possession of Five Forks, where Lee had stationed the smallremnants of the divisions of Pickett and Johnson. These made a braveresistance, but were wholly unable to stand before the force broughtagainst them. They maintained their ground as long as possible, butwere finally broken to pieces and scattered in confusion, the wholeright of the Confederate line and the Southside Road falling into thehands of the enemy. 

[Illustration: Lee at Petersburg]

This was virtually the end of the contest, but General Grant, it wouldappear, deemed it inexpedient to venture any thing. So thinly mannedwere the lines in front of Petersburg, in the absence of Longstreetnorth of James River, and the troops sent beyond Hatcher's Run, thaton the 1st of April the Federal commander might have broken throughthe works at almost any point. He elected to wait, however, until thefollowing day, thereby running the risk of awaking to find that Leehad retreated. 

At dawn on the 2d the long struggle ended. The Federal forces advancedall along the Confederate front, made a furious attack, and, breakingthrough in front of the city, carried all before them. The forts, especially Fort Gregg, made a gallant resistance. This work wasdefended by the two hundred and fifty men of Harris's MississippiBrigade, and these fought until their numbers were reduced to thirty, killing or wounding five hundred of the assailants. The fort was takenat last, and the Federal lines advanced toward the city. In thisattack fell the eminent soldier General A. P. Hill, whose record hadbeen so illustrious, and whose fortune it was to thus terminate hislife while the Southern flag still floated. 

XV. 

LEE EVACUATES PETERSBURG. 

Any further resistance upon the part of General Lee seemed nowimpossible, and nothing appeared to be left him but to surrender hisarmy. This course he does not seem, however, to have contemplated. Itwas still possible that he might be able to maintain his position onan inner line near the city until night; and, if he could do so, thefriendly hours of darkness might enable him to make good his retreatto the north bank of the Appomattox, and shape his course toward NorthCarolina, where General Johnston awaited him. If the movements of theFederal forces, however, were so prompt as to defeat his march in thatdirection, he might still be able to reach Lynchburg, beyond whichpoint the defiles of the Alleghanies promised him protection againstthe utmost efforts of his enemy. Of his ability to reach NorthCarolina, following the line of the Danville Railroad, Lee, however, seems to have had no doubt. The Federal army would not probablybe able to concentrate in sufficient force in his path to bar hisprogress if his march were rapid; if detached bodies only opposedhim on his line of retreat, there was little doubt that the Army ofNorthern Virginia, reduced as it was, would be able to cut its waythrough them. 

This preface is necessary to an intelligent comprehension of Lee'smovements on the unfortunate 2d of April when his lines were broken. This occurrence took place, as we have said, about sunrise, and, anhour or two afterward, the Federal forces pressed forward all alongthe line, surging toward the suburbs of Petersburg. We have mentionedthe position of General Lee's headquarters, about a mile and a halfwest of the city, on the Cox Road, nearly opposite the tall Federalobservatory. Standing on the lawn, in front of his headquarters, General Lee now saw, approaching rapidly, a heavy column of Federalinfantry, with the obvious design of charging a battery which hadopened fire upon them from a hill to the right. The spectacle waspicturesque and striking. Across the extensive fields houses set onfire by shell were sending aloft huge clouds of smoke and tonguesof flame; at every instant was seen the quick glare of the Federalartillery, firing from every knoll, and in front came on the chargingcolumn, moving at a double quick, with burnished gun-barrels andbayonets flashing in the April sunshine. 

General Lee watched with attention, but with perfect composure, thisdetermined advance of the enemy; and, although he must have realizedthat his army was on the verge of destruction, it was impossible todiscern in his features any evidences of emotion. He was in fulluniform, and had buckled on his dress-sword, which he seldomwore--having, on this morning declared, it is said, that if he werecompelled to surrender he would do so in full harness. Of his calmnessat this trying moment the writer is able to bear his personaltestimony. Chancing to hear a question addressed to a member of hisstaff, General Lee turned with great courtesy, raised his gray hat inresponse to the writer's salute, and gave him the desired informationin a voice entirely measured and composed. It was impossible to regarda calmness so striking without strong sentiments of admiration, andLee's appearance and bearing at this moment will always remain vividlyimpressed upon the writer's memory. 

The Federal column was soon in dangerous proximity to the battery onthe hill, and it was obliged to retire at a gallop to escape capture. An attempt was made to hold the ground near the headquarters, but aclose musketry-fire from the enemy rendered this also impossible--theartillery was withdrawn--and General Lee, mounting his iron-gray, slowly rode back, accompanied by a number of officers, toward hisinner line. He still remained entirely composed, and only said to oneof his staff, in his habitual tone: "This is a bad business, colonel. "

"Well, colonel, " he said afterward to another officer, "it hashappened as I told them it would at Richmond. The line has beenstretched until it has broken. "

The Federal column was now pressing forward along the Cox Road towardPetersburg, and General Lee continued to ride slowly back in thedirection of the city. He was probably recognized by officers of theFederal artillery, or his _cortége_ drew their fire. The group wasfuriously shelled, and one of the shells burst a few feet in rearof him, killing the horse of an officer near him, cutting thebridle-reins of others, and tearing up the ground in his immediatevicinity. This incident seemed to arouse in General Lee hisfighting-blood. He turned his head over his right shoulder, hischeeks became flushed, and a sudden flash of the eye showed with whatreluctance he retired before the fire directed upon him. No othercourse was left him, however, and he continued to ride slowly towardhis inner line--a low earthwork in the suburbs of the city--where asmall force was drawn up, ardent, hopeful, defiant, and saluting theshell, now bursting above them, with cheers and laughter. It was plainthat the fighting-spirit of the ragged troops remained unbroken; andthe shout of welcome with which they received Lee indicated theirunwavering confidence in him, despite the untoward condition ofaffairs. 

Arrangements were speedily made to hold the inner line, if possible, until night. To General Gordon had been intrusted the important dutyof defending the lines east of the city, and General Longstreet hadbeen directed to vacate the works north of James River, and march atonce to the lines of Petersburg. This officer made his appearance, with his small force, at an early hour of the day; and, except thatthe Federal army continued firing all along the front, no other activeoperations took place. To those present on the Confederate side thisfact appeared strange. As the force beyond Hatcher's Run had beencompletely defeated and dispersed, General Lee's numbers for thedefence of Petersburg on this day did not amount to much, if any, morethan fifteen thousand men. General Grant's force was probably onehundred and fifty thousand, of whom about one hundred thousand might, it would appear, have been concentrated in an hour or two directly infront of the city. That, with this large force at his disposal, theFederal commander did not at once attack, and so end all on that day, surprised the Confederate troops, and still continues to surprise thewriter. 

Night came at last, and General Lee began his retreat. He had sent, early in the morning, a dispatch to the civil authorities, atRichmond, informing them of the fact that his lines had been broken, and that he would that night retreat from Petersburg. Orders had alsobeen sent to all the forces holding the lines north of James Riverto move at once and join him, and, just at nightfall, the army atPetersburg began crossing the Appomattox. This movement was effectedwithout interruption from the enemy; and the army, turning into whatis called the Hickory Road, leading up the north bank of the river, moved on steadily through the half light. Its march was superintendedby Lee in person. He had stationed himself at the mouth of the HickoryRoad, and, standing with the bridle of his horse in his hand, gave hisorders. His bearing still remained entirely composed, and his voicehad lost none of its grave strength of intonation. When the rear waswell closed up, Lee mounted his horse, rode on slowly with his men;and, in the midst of the glare and thunder of the exploding magazinesat Petersburg, the small remnant of the Army of Northern Virginia, amounting to about fifteen thousand men, went on its way through thedarkness. 

XVI. 

THE RETREAT AND SURRENDER. 

On the morning of the 3d of April, General Lee, after allowing hiscolumn a brief period of rest, continued his march up the north bankof the Appomattox. 

The aspect of affairs at this time was threatening, and there seemedlittle ground to hope that the small force would be able to make goodits retreat to North Carolina. General Grant had a short and directroute to the Danville Railroad--a considerable portion of his army wasalready as far west as Dinwiddie Court-House--and it was obvious thathe had only to use ordinary diligence to completely cut General Leeoff in the vicinity of Burkesville Junction. A glance at the map willindicate the advantages possessed by the Federal commander. He couldmove over the chord, while Lee was compelled to follow the arc of thecircle. Unless good fortune assisted Lee and ill fortune impeded hisopponent, the event seemed certain; and it will be seen that theseconditions were completely reversed. 

Under the circumstances here stated, it appeared reasonable toexpect in Lee and his army some depression of spirits. The fact wasstrikingly the reverse. The army was in excellent spirits, probablyfrom the highly-agreeable contrast of the budding April woods withthe squalid trenches, and the long-unfelt joy of an unfettered marchthrough the fields of spring. General Lee shared this hopeful feelingin a very remarkable degree. His expression was animated and buoyant, his seat in the saddle erect and commanding, and he seemed to lookforward to assured success in the critical movement which he hadundertaken. 

"I have got my army safe out of its breastworks, " he said, on themorning of this day, "and, in order to follow me, the enemy mustabandon his lines, and can derive no further benefit from hisrailroads or James River. "

The design of the Confederate commander has been already stated, butan important condition upon which he depended for success has not beenmentioned. This was a supply of food for his army. The troops, duringthe whole winter, had lived, from day to day, on quarter-rations, doled out to them with a sparing hand; and, in moving now fromPetersburg, Lee saw that he must look to supplies somewhere upon hisline of retreat. These he had directed to be brought from the southand deposited at Amelia Court-House; and the expectation of finding atthat point full subsistence for his men, had doubtless a great effectin buoying up his spirits. An evil chance, however, reversed all thehopes based on this anticipation. From fault or misapprehension, thetrain loaded with supplies proceeded to Richmond without depositingthe rations at Amelia Court-House; there was no time to obtain othersubsistence, and when, after unforeseen delay, in consequence ofhigh water in the Appomattox, Lee, at the head of his half-starvedsoldiers, reached Amelia Court-House, it was only to find that therewas nothing there for the support of his army, and to realize that asuccessful retreat, under the circumstances, was wellnigh hopeless. 

Those who accompanied the Southern army on this arduous march willrecall the dismayed expression of the emaciated faces at thisunlooked-for calamity; and no face wore a heavier shadow than that ofGeneral Lee. The failure of the supply of rations completely paralyzedhim. He had intended, and was confident of his ability, to cut his waythrough the enemy; but an army cannot march and fight without food. It was now necessary to halt and send out foraging parties into theimpoverished region around. Meanwhile General Grant, with his greatforce, was rapidly moving to bar his adversary's further advance;the want of a few thousand pounds of bread and meat had virtuallyterminated the war. 

An anxious and haggard expression came to General Lee's face when hewas informed of this great misfortune; and, at once abandoning hisdesign of cutting his way through to North Carolina, he turnedwestward, and shaped his march toward Lynchburg. This movement beganon the night of the 5th of April, and it would seem that General Granthad had it in his power to arrest it by an attack on Lee at AmeliaCourt-House. General Sheridan was in the immediate vicinity, with aforce of about eighteen thousand well-mounted cavalry, and, althoughit was not probable that this command could effect any thing againstLee's army of about the same number of infantry, it might still havedelayed him by constructing breastworks in his way, and thus givingthe Federal infantry time to come up and attack. 

[Illustration: LEE AT THE SURRENDER. ]

The opportunity of crushing his adversary at Amelia Court-House wasthus allowed to pass, and General Grant now pressed forward hisinfantry, to bring Lee to bay, if possible, before he reachedLynchburg. From this moment began the struggle between the adversarieswhich was to continue, day and night, without intermission, for thenext four days. The phenomenon was here presented of an army, reducedto less than twenty thousand men, holding at arm's-length an enemynumbering about one hundred and fifty thousand, and very nearlydefeating every effort of the larger force to arrest their march. Itwould not interest the reader, probably, to follow in minute detailthe circumstances of this melancholy retreat. From the importance ofthe transactions, and the natural attention directed to them, bothNorth and South, they are doubtless familiar to all who will readthese pages. We shall only speak of one or two incidents of theretreat, wherein General Lee appeared prominent personally, leavingto the imagination of the reader the remainder of the long and tragicstruggle whose result decided the fate of the Confederacy. 

General Grant doubtless saw now that every thing depended upon thecelerity of his movements, and, sending in advance his large body ofcavalry, he hastened forward as rapidly as possible with his infantry, bent on interposing, if possible, a heavy force in his adversary'sfront. Lee's movements were equally rapid. He seemed speedily to haveregained his old calmness, after the trying disappointment at AmeliaCourt-House; and those who shared his counsels at this time cantestify that the idea of surrender scarcely entered his mind for amoment--or, if it did so, was speedily banished. Under the pressure ofcircumstances so adverse that they seemed calculated to break down themost stubborn resolution. General Lee did not falter; and throughoutthe disheartening scenes of the retreat, from the moment when he leftAmelia Court-House to the hour when his little column was drawing nearAppomattox, still continued to believe that the situation was notdesperate, and that he would be able to force his way through toLynchburg. 

On the evening of the 6th, when the army was near Farmville, a suddenattack was made by the Federal cavalry on the trains of the armymoving on a parallel road; and the small force of infantry guardingthem was broken and scattered. This occurrence took place whileGeneral Lee was confronting a body of Federal infantry near Sailor'sCreek; and, taking a small brigade, he immediately repaired to thescene of danger. The spectacle which followed was a very striking andimposing one, and is thus described by one who witnessed it: "Thescene was one of gloomy picturesqueness and tragic interest. On aplateau raised above the forest from which they had emerged, werethe disorganized troops of Ewell and Anderson, gathered in groups, un-officered, and uttering tumultuous exclamations of rage anddefiance. Rising above the weary groups which had thrown themselvesupon the ground, were the grim barrels of cannon, in battery, readyto fire, as soon as the enemy appeared. In front of all was the stillline of battle, just placed by Lee, and waiting calmly. General Leehad rushed his infantry over, just at sunset, leading it in person, his face animated, and his eye brilliant with the soldier's spirit offight, but his bearing unflurried as before. An artist desiring topaint his picture, ought to have seen the old cavalier at this moment, sweeping on upon his large iron-gray, whose mane and tail floated inthe wind; carrying his field-glass half-raised in his right hand; withhead erect, gestures animated, and in the whole face and formthe expression of the hunter close upon his game. The line onceinterposed, he rode in the twilight among the disordered groupsabove mentioned, and the sight of him aroused a tumult. Fierce criesresounded on all sides, and, with hands clinched violently and raisedaloft, the men called on him to lead them against the enemy. 'It'sGeneral Lee!' 'Uncle Robert!' 'Where's the man who won't follow UncleRobert?' I heard on all sides--the swarthy faces full of dirt andcourage, lit up every instant by the glare of the burning wagons. Altogether, the scene was indescribable. "

On the 7th the army pressed on beyond Farmville, still harassed as itadvanced by the Federal infantry and cavalry; but, in some of theseencounters, the pursuing force met with what was probably a veryunexpected discomfiture. General Fitz Lee, bringing up the rear of thearmy with his force of about fifteen hundred cavalry on broken-downhorses, succeeded not only in repulsing the attacks of the large andexcellently-mounted force under General Sheridan, but achieved overthem highly-honorable successes. One such incident took place on the7th, when General Gregg attacked with about six thousand horse, butwas met, defeated, and captured by General Fitz Lee, to the greatsatisfaction of General Lee, who said to his son, General W. H. F. Lee:

"Keep your command together and in good spirits, general--don't letthem think of surrender--I will get you out of this. "

On the 8th and 9th, however, this hope seemed unwarranted by thecircumstances, and the commander-in-chief appeared to be almost theonly human being who remained sanguine of the result. The hardshipsof the retreat, arising chiefly from want of food, began to seriouslyimpair the resolution of the troops, and the scenes through which theyadvanced were not calculated to raise their spirits. "These scenes, "declares one who witnessed them, "were of a nature which can beapprehended only by men who are thoroughly familiar with the harrowingdetails of war. Behind and on either flank, a ubiquitous andincreasingly adventurous enemy--every mud-hole and every rise in theroad choked with blazing wagons--the air filled with the deafeningreports of ammunition exploding, and shells bursting when touchedby the flames, dense columns of smoke ascending to heaven from theburning and exploding vehicles, exhausted men, worn-out mules andhorses, lying down side by side--gaunt Famine glaring hopelesslyfrom sunken, lack-lustre eyes--dead mules, dead horses, deadmen everywhere--death many times welcomed as God's messenger indisguise--who can wonder if many hearts, tried in the fiery furnace offour unparalleled years, and never hitherto found wanting, should havequailed in presence of starvation, fatigue, sleeplessness, misery, unintermitted for five or six days, and culminating in hopelessness?"It cannot, however, be said with truth, that any considerable portionof the Southern forces were greatly demoralized, to use the militaryphrase, as the fighting of the last two days, when the sufferingof the retreat culminated, will show. The men were almost entirelywithout food, and were glad to find a little corn to eat; but thosewho were not physically unable longer to carry their muskets--andthe number of these latter was large--still marched and fought withsoldierly cheerfulness and resolution. 

General Lee's spirits do not seem at any time to have flagged, andup to a late period of the retreat he had not seriously contemplatedsurrender. The necessity for this painful course came home to hiscorps commanders first, and they requested General Pendleton, theefficient chief of artillery of the army, to inform General Lee thatin their opinion further struggle was hopeless. General Pendletoninformed General Lee of this opinion of his officers, and it seemed tocommunicate something like a shock to him. 

"Surrender!" he exclaimed with a flash of the eye, "I have too manygood fighting-men for that!"

Nevertheless, the necessity of seriously contemplating this result wassoon forced upon him. Since the morning of the 7th, a correspondencehad taken place between himself and General Grant; and, as these notesare interesting, we here present those which were exchanged up to thenight of the 8th:

_April_ 7, 1865. 

_General R. E. Lee, commanding C. S. A. _:

GENERAL: The result of the last week must convince you of thehopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of NorthernVirginia in this struggle. I feel that it is so, and regard it as myduty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusionof blood, by asking of you the surrender of that portion of theConfederate Southern Army known as the Army of Northern Virginia. 

Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, _Lieutenant-General commanding Armies of the United States_. 

_April_ 7, 1865. 

GENERAL: I have received your note of this day. Though not entirely ofthe opinion you express of the hopelessness of further resistance onthe part of the Army of Northern Virginia, I reciprocate your desireto avoid useless effusion of blood, and therefore, before consideringyour proposition, ask the terms you will offer on condition of itssurrender. 

R. E. LEE, _General_. 

To LIEUTENANT-GENERAL U. S. GRANT, _Commanding Armies of the United States_. 

_April_ 8, 1865. 

_To General R. E. Lee, commanding C. S. A_. :

GENERAL: Your note of last evening, in reply to mine of the same date, asking the conditions on which I will accept the surrender of the Armyof Northern Virginia is just received. 

In reply, I would say, that peace being my first desire, there is butone condition that I insist upon, viz. :

That the men surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up armsagain against the Government of the United States until properlyexchanged. 

I will meet you, or designate officers to meet any officers you mayname for the same purpose, at any point agreeable to you, for thepurpose of arranging definitely the terms upon which the surrender ofthe Army of Northern Virginia will he received. 

Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, _Lieutenant-General, commanding Armies of the UnitedStates_. 

_April_ 8, 1865. 

GENERAL: I received, at a late hour, your note of to-day, in answer tomine of yesterday. 

I did not intend to propose the surrender of the Army of NorthernVirginia, but to ask the terms of your proposition. To be frank, I donot think the emergency has arisen to call for the surrender. 

But as the restoration of peace should be the sole object of all, Idesire to know whether your proposals would tend to that end. 

I cannot, therefore, meet you with a view to surrender the Army ofNorthern Virginia; but so far as your proposition may affect theConfederate States forces under my command and tend to the restorationof peace, I should be pleased to meet you at 10 A. M. To-morrow, onthe old stage-road to Richmond, between the picket-lines of the twoarmies. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, R. E. LEE, _General C. S. A. _

To LIEUTENANT-GENERAL GRANT, _Commanding Armies of the United States_. 

[Illustration: Last Council of War. ]

No reply was received to this last communication from General Lee, on the evening of the 8th, and that night there was held, around abivouac-fire in the woods, the last council of war of the Army ofNorthern Virginia. The scene was a very picturesque one. The red glarefrom the bivouac-fire lit up the group, and brought out the detailsof each figure. None were present but General Lee and GeneralsLongstreet, Gordon, and Fitz Lee, all corps commanders. GeneralsGordon and Fitz Lee half reclined upon an army-blanket near the fire;Longstreet sat upon a log, smoking; and General Lee stood by thefire, holding in his hand the correspondence which had passed betweenhimself and General Grant. The question what course it was advisableto pursue, was then presented, in a few calm words, by General Leeto his corps commanders, and an informal conversation ensued. It wasfinally agreed that the army should advance, on the next morning, beyond Appomattox Court-House, and, if only General Sheridan's cavalrywere found in front, brush that force from its path, and proceed onits way to Lynchburg. If, however, the Federal infantry was discoveredin large force beyond the Court-House, the attempt to break throughwas to be abandoned, and a flag dispatched to General Grant requestedan interview for the arrangement of the terms of a capitulation of theSouthern army. 

With a heavy heart, General Lee acquiesced in this plan of proceeding, and soon afterward the council of war terminated--the corps commanderssaluting the commander-in-chief, who returned their bows with gravecourtesy, and separating to return to their own bivouacs. 

In spite, however, of the discouraging and almost desperate conditionof affairs, General Lee seems still to have clung to the hope that hemight be able to cut his way through the force in his front. He wokefrom brief slumber beside his bivouac-fire at about three o'clock inthe morning, and calling an officer of his staff, Colonel Venable, sent him to General Gordon, commanding the front, to ascertain hisopinion, at that moment, of the probable result of an attack upon theenemy. General Gordon's reply was, "Tell General Lee that my old corpsis reduced to a frazzle, and, unless I am supported by Longstreetheavily, I do not think we can do any thing more. "

General Lee received this announcement with an expression of greatfeeling, and after a moment's silence said: "There is nothing left butto go to General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths!"

His staff-officers had now gathered around him, and one of them said:"What will history say of our surrendering if there is any possibilityof escape? Posterity will not understand it. " To these words, GeneralLee replied: "Yes, yes, they will not understand our situation; butthat is not the question. The question is, whether it is _right_; and, if it is right, I take the responsibility. "

His expression of buoyant hopefulness had now changed to one of deepmelancholy, and it was evident to those around him that the thought ofsurrender was worse to him than the bitterness of death. For the firsttime his courage seemed to give way, and he was nearly unmanned. Turning to an officer standing near him, he said, his deep voicefilled with hopeless sadness: "How easily I could get rid of this, andbe at rest! I have only to ride along the line and all will be over!"

He was silent for a short time after uttering these words, and thenadded, with a heavy sigh: "But it is our duty to live. What willbecome of the women and children of the South, if we are not here toprotect them?"

The moment had now come when the fate of the retreat was to bedecided. To General Gordon, who had proved himself, in the lastoperations of the war, a soldier of the first ability, had beenintrusted the command of the advance force; and this was now movedforward against the enemy beyond Appomattox Court-House. Gordonattacked with his infantry, supported by Fitz Lee's cavalry, and theartillery battalion of Colonel Carter, and such was the impetuosityof his advance that he drove the Federal forces nearly a mile. Butat that point he found himself in face of a body of infantry, statedafterward, by Federal officers, to number about eighty thousand. As his own force was less than five thousand muskets, he found itimpossible to advance farther; and the Federal lines were alreadypressing forward to attack him, in overwhelming force, when themovement suddenly ceased. Seeing the hopelessness of furtherresistance. General Lee had sent a flag to General Grant, requestingan interview looking to the arrangement, if possible, of terms ofsurrender; and to this end the forward movement of the Federal forceswas ordered to be discontinued. 

The two armies then remained facing each other during the interviewbetween the two commanders, which took place in a farm-house inAppomattox Court-House. General Lee was accompanied only by ColonelMarshall, of his staff, and on the Federal side only a few officerswere present. General Grant's demeanor was courteous, and that ofGeneral Lee unmarked by emotion of any description. The hardships ofthe retreat had somewhat impaired his strength, and his countenanceexhibited traces of fatigue; but no other change had taken placein his appearance. He was erect, calm, courteous, and confined hisobservations strictly to the disagreeable business before him. Theinterview was brief; and, seated at a plain table, the two commanderswrote and exchanged the accompanying papers:

APPOMATTOX COURT-HOUSE, _April_ 9, 1865. 

_General R. E. Lee, commanding C. S. A. _. :

In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th inst. , I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia onthe following terms, to wit:

Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate, one copy tobe given to an officer designated by me, the other to be retained bysuch officers as you may designate. 

The officers to give their individual parole not to take arms againstthe Government of the United States until properly exchanged; and eachcompany or regimental commander to sign a like parole for the men oftheir commands. 

The arms, artillery, and public property, to be parked and stacked, and turned over to the officers appointed by me to receive them. Thiswill not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their privatehorses or baggage. 

This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to theirhomes, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as theyobserve their parole and the laws in force where they may reside. 

Very respectfully, U. S. GRANT, _Lieutenant-General_. 

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, _April_ 9, 1865. 

_Lieut. -General U. S. Grant, commanding U. S. A_. :

GENERAL: I have received your letter of this date, containing theterms of surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, as proposed byyou. As they are substantially the same as those expressed in yourletter of the 8th inst. , they are accepted. I will proceed todesignate the proper officers to carry the stipulations into effect. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. E. LEE, _General_. 

The two generals then bowed to each other, and, leaving the house, General Lee mounted his gray, and rode back to his headquarters. 

The scene as he passed through the army was affecting. The mengathered round him, wrung his hand, and in broken words calledupon God to help him. This pathetic reception by his old soldiersprofoundly affected Lee. The tears came to his eyes, and, looking atthe men with a glance of proud feeling, he said, in suppressed tones, which trembled slightly: "We have fought through the war together. Ihave done the best I could for you. My heart is too full to say more!"

These few words seemed to be all he could utter. He rode on, and, reaching his headquarters in the woods, disappeared in his tent, whither we shall not follow him. 

On the next day the Army of Northern Virginia, numbering abouttwenty-six thousand men, of whom but seven thousand eight hundredcarried muskets, was formally surrendered, and the Confederate War wasa thing of the past. 

XVII. 

LEE RETURNS TO RICHMOND. 

General Lee, on the day following the capitulation of his army, issuedan address to his old soldiers, which they received and read with verydeep emotion. The address was in these words:

HEADQUARTERS ARMY NORTHERN VIRGINIA, _April_ 10, 1865. 

After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage andfortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yieldto overwhelming numbers and resources. 

I need not tell the survivors of so many hard-fought battles, who haveremained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to this resultfrom no distrust of them; but, feeling that valor and devotion couldaccomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that would haveattended the continuation of the contest, I have determined to avoidthe useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared themto their countrymen. 

By the terms of agreement, officers and men can return to their homesand remain there until exchanged. 

You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from theconsciousness of duty faithfully performed; and I earnestly pray thata merciful God will extend to you His blessing and protection. 

With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion toyour country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generousconsideration of myself, I bid you an affectionate farewell. 

R. E. LEE, _General_. 

The painful arrangements connected with the capitulation were on thisday concluded; and General Lee prepared to set out on his return toRichmond--like his men, a "paroled prisoner of the Army of NorthernVirginia. " The parting between him and his soldiers was pathetic. Heexchanged with all near him a close pressure of the hand, uttereda few simple words of farewell, and, mounting his iron-gray, "Traveller, " who had passed through all the fighting of the campaignunharmed, rode slowly in the direction of Richmond. He was escorted bya detachment of Federal cavalry, preceded only by a guidon; and theparty, including the officers who accompanied him, consisted of abouttwenty-five horsemen. The _cortége_ was followed by several wagonscarrying the private effects of himself and his companions, and bythe well-known old black open vehicle which he had occasionallyused during the campaigns of the preceding year, when indispositionprevented him from mounting his horse. In this vehicle it had been hiscustom to carry stores for the wounded--it had never been used forarticles contributing to his personal convenience. 

General Lee's demeanor on his way to Richmond was entirely composed, and his thoughts seemed much more occupied by the unfortunatecondition of the poor people, at whose houses he stopped, than byhis own situation. When he found that all along his route theimpoverished people had cooked provisions in readiness for him, andwere looking anxiously for him, with every indication of love andadmiration, he said to one of his officers: "These good people arekind--too kind. Their hearts are as full as when we began our firstcampaigns in 1861. They do too much--more than they are able todo--for us. "

His soldierly habits remained unchanged, and he seemed unwilling toindulge in any luxuries or comforts which could not be shared by thegentlemen accompanying him At a house which he reached just as nightcame, a poor woman had prepared an excellent bed for him, but, with acourteous shake of the head, he spread his blanket, and slept upon thefloor. Stopping on the next day at the house of his brother, CharlesCarter Lee, in Powhatan, he spent the evening in conversation; but, when bedtime came, left the house, in spite of the fact that it hadbegun to rain, and, crossing the road into the woods, took up hisquarters for the night on the hard planks of his old black vehicle. Onthe route he exhibited great solicitude about a small quantity ofoats which he had brought with him, in one of the wagons, for his oldcompanion, "Traveller, " mentioning it more than once, and appearinganxious lest it should be lost or used by some one. 

[Illustration: LEE'S ENTRY INTO RICHMOND AFTER THE SURRENDER. ]

The party came in sight of Richmond at last, and, two or three milesfrom the city, General Lee rode ahead of his escort, accompanied onlyby a few officers, and, crossing the pontoon bridge below the ruins ofMayo's bridge, which had been destroyed when the Confederate forcesretreated, entered the capital. The spectacle which met his eyesat this moment must have been exceedingly painful. In the greatconflagration which had taken place on the morning of the 3d of April, a large portion of the city had been burned; and, as General Lee rodeup Main Street, formerly so handsome and attractive, he saw on eitherhand only masses of blackened ruins. As he rode slowly through theopening between these masses of _débris_, he was recognized by the fewpersons who were on the street, and instantly the intelligence of hispresence spread through the city. The inhabitants hastened from theirhouses and flocked to welcome him, saluting him with cheers and thewaving of hats and handkerchiefs. He seemed desirous, however, ofavoiding this ovation, and, returning the greeting by simply raisinghis hat, rode on and reached his house on Franklin Street, where, respecting his desire for privacy under circumstances so painful, hisadmirers did not intrude upon him. 

We have presented this brief narrative of the incidents attendingGeneral Lee's return to his home after the surrender, to show withwhat simplicity and good sense he accepted his trying situation. Asmall amount of diplomacy--sending forward one of his officers toannounce his intended arrival; stopping for a few moments as heascended Main Street; making an address to the citizens who firstrecognized him, and thus affording time for a crowd to assemble--theseproceedings on the part of General Lee would have resulted in anovation such as a vanquished commander never before received at thehands of any people. Nothing, however, was less desired by General Leethan this tumultuous reception. The native modesty of the man not onlyshrunk from such an ovation; he avoided it for another reason--thepretext it would probably afford to the Federal authorities to proceedto harsh measures against the unfortunate persons who took part in it. In accordance with these sentiments, General Lee had not announced hiscoming, had not stopped as he rode through the city; and now, shuttinghimself up in his house, signified his desire to avoid a publicreception, and to be left in privacy. 

This policy he is well known to have pursued from that time to the endof his life. He uniformly declined, with great courtesy, but firmly, invitations to attend public gatherings of any description, where hispresence might arouse passions or occasion discussions connected withthe great contest in which he had been the leader of the South. Amind less firm and noble would doubtless have yielded to this greattemptation. It is sweet to the soldier, who has been overwhelmed andhas yielded up his sword, to feel that the love and admiration of apeople still follow him; and to have the consolation of receivingpublic evidences of this unchanged devotion. That this love of theSouthern people for Lee deeply touched him, there can be no doubt; butit did not blind him to his duty as the representative individual ofthe South. Feeling that nothing was now left the Southern people butan honest acceptance of the situation, and a cessation, as far aspossible, of all rancor toward the North, he refused to encouragesentiments of hostility between the two sections, and did all in hispower to restore amicable feeling. "I am very glad to learn, " he saidin a note to the present writer, "that your life of General Jacksonis of the character you describe. I think all topics or questionscalculated to excite angry discussion or hostile feelings should beavoided. " These few words convey a distinct idea of General Lee'sviews and feelings. He had fought to the best of his ability forSouthern independence of the North; the South had failed in thestruggle, and it was now, in his opinion, the duty of every goodcitizen to frankly acquiesce in the result, and endeavor to avoid allthat kept open the bleeding wounds of the country. 

His military career had placed him, in the estimation of the first menof his time, among the greatest soldiers of history; but the dignityand moderation of the course pursued by him, from the end of the warto the time of his death, will probably remain, in the opinion of bothhis friends and enemies, the noblest illustration of the character ofthe man. 

XVIII. 

GENERAL LEE AFTER THE WAR. 

In the concluding pages of this volume we shall not be called upon tonarrate either military or political events. With the surrender atAppomattox Court-House the Confederate War ended--no attempt was madeby General Johnston or other commanders to prolong it--in that greatwhirlpool all hopes of further resistance disappeared. 

We have, therefore, now no task before us but to follow General Leeinto private life, and present a few details of his latter years, andhis death. These notices will be brief, but will not, we hope, bedevoid of interest. The soldier who had so long led the Confederatearmies was to enter in his latter days upon a new field of labor; and, if in this field he won no new glories, he at least displayed theloftiest virtues, and exhibited that rare combination of greatness andgentleness which makes up a character altogether lovely. 

Adhering to the resolution, formed in 1861, never again to draw hissword except in defence of Virginia, General Lee, after the surrender, sought for some occupation, feeling the necessity, doubtless, of insome manner employing his energies. He is said to have had offered tohim, but to have courteously declined, estates in England and Ireland;and to have also declined the place of commercial agent of the Southin New York, which would have proved exceedingly lucrative. In thesummer of 1865, however, he accepted an offer more congenial tohis feelings--that of the presidency of Washington College atLexington--and in the autumn of that year entered upon his duties, which he continued to perform with great energy and success to theday of his death. Of the excellent judgment and great administrativecapacity which he displayed in this new field of labor, we have neverheard any question. It was the name and example, however, of Lee whichproved so valuable, drawing to the college more than five hundredstudents from all portions of the South, and some even from the North. 

Upon the subject of General Lee's life at Washington College, a moreimportant authority than that of the present writer will soon speak. In the "Memorial Volume, " whose publication will probably precede orimmediately follow the appearance of this work, full details will, nodoubt, be presented of this interesting period. The subject possessesrare interest, and the facts presented will, beyond all question, serve to bring out new beauties in a character already regarded withextraordinary love and admiration by men of all parties and opinions. To the volume in question we refer the reader who desires thefull-length portrait of one concerning whom too much cannot bewritten. 

During the period extending between the end of the war and GeneralLee's death, he appeared in public but two or three times--once atWashington, as a "witness" before a Congressional committee, styled"The Reconstruction Committee, " to inquire into the condition ofthings in the South; again, as a witness on the proposed trial ofPresident Davis; and perhaps on one or two additional occasions not ofgreat interest or importance. His testimony was not taken on the trialof the President, which was deferred and finally abandoned; but hewas subjected before the Washington committee to a long and searchingexamination, in which it is difficult to decide whether his owncalmness, good sense, and outspoken frankness, or the bad taste ofsome of the questions prepounded to him, were the more remarkable. As the testimony of General Lee, upon this occasion, presents afull exposition of his views upon many of the most important pointsconnected with the condition of the South, and the "reconstruction"policy, a portion of the newspaper report of his evidence is heregiven, as both calculated to interest the reader, and to illustratethe subject. 

The examination of General Lee took place in March, 1866, and thefollowing is the main portion of it:

General ROBERT E. LEE, sworn and examined by Mr. Howard:

Question. Where is your present residence?

Answer. Lexington, Va. 

Q. How long have you resided in Lexington?

A. Since the 1st of October last--nearly five months. 

THE FEELING IN VIRGINIA. 

Q. Are you acquainted with the state of feeling among what we callsecessionists in Virginia, at present, toward the Government of theUnited States?

A. I do not know that I am; I have been living very retired, and havehad but little communication with politicians; I know nothing morethan from my own observation, and from such facts as have come to myknowledge. 

Q. From your observation, what is your opinion as to the loyaltytoward the Government of the United States among the secession portionof the people of that State at this time?

A. So far as has come to my knowledge, I do not know of a singleperson who either feels or contemplates any resistance to theGovernment of the United States, or indeed any opposition to it; noword has reached me to either purpose. 

Q. From what you have observed among them, is it your opinion thatthey are friendly toward the Government of the United States, andthat they will coöperate to sustain and uphold the Government for thefuture?

A. I believe that they entirely acquiesce in the Government of theUnited States, and, so far as I have heard any one express an opinion, they are for coöperating with President Johnson in his policy. 

Q. In his policy in regard to what?

A. His policy in regard to the restoration of the whole country; Ihave heard persons with whom I have conversed express great confidencein the wisdom of his policy of restoration, and they seem to lookforward to it as a hope of restoration. 

Q. How do they feel in regard to that portion of the people of theUnited States who have been forward and zealous in the prosecution ofthe war against the rebellion?

A. Well, I don't know as I have heard anybody express any opinion inregard to it; as I said before, I have not had much communication withpoliticians in the country, if there are any; every one seems to beengaged in his own affairs, and endeavoring to restore the civilgovernment of the State; I have heard no expression of a sentimenttoward any particular portion of the country. 

Q. How do the secessionists feel in regard to the payment of the debtof the United States contracted in the prosecution of the war?

A. I have never heard anyone speak on the subject; I suppose they mustexpect to pay the taxes levied by the Government; I have heard themspeak in reference to the payment of taxes, and of their efforts toraise money to pay taxes, which, I suppose, are for their share of thedebt; I have never heard any one speak in opposition to the payment oftaxes, or of resistance to their payment; their whole effort has beento try and raise the money for the payment of the taxes. 

THE DEBT. 

Q. From your knowledge of the state of public feeling in Virginia, isit your opinion that the people would, if the question were left tothem, repudiate and reject that debt?

A. I never heard any one speak on that subject; but, from my knowledgeof the people, I believe that they would be in favor of the payment ofall just debts. 

Q. Do they, in your opinion, regard that as a just debt?

A. I do not know what their opinion is on the subject of thatparticular debt; I have never heard any opinion expressed contraryto it; indeed, as I said in the beginning, I have had very littlediscussion or intercourse with the people; I believe the peoplewill pay the debts they are called upon to pay; I say that from myknowledge of the people generally. 

Q. Would they pay that debt, or their portion of it, with as muchalacrity as people ordinarily pay their taxes to their Government?

A. I do not know that they would make any distinction between the two. The taxes laid by the Government, so far as I know, they are preparedto pay to the best of their ability. I never heard them make anydistinction. 

Q. What is the feeling of that portion of the people of Virginia inregard to the payment of the so-called Confederate debt?

A. I believe, so far as my opinion goes--I have no facts to go upon, but merely base my opinion on the knowledge I have of the people--thatthey would be willing to pay the Confederate debt, too. 

Q. You think they would?

A. I think they would, if they had the power and ability to do so. Ihave never heard any one in the State, with whom I have conversed, speak of repudiating any debt. 

Q. I suppose the Confederate debt is almost entirely valueless, evenin the market in Virginia?

A. Entirely so, as far as I know. I believe the people generally lookupon it as lost entirely. I never heard any question on the subject. 

Q. Do you recollect the terms of the Confederate bonds--when they weremade payable?

A. I think I have a general recollection that they were made payablesix months after a declaration of peace. 

Q. Six months after the ratification of a treaty of peace between theUnited States and the Confederate Government?

A. I think they ran that way. 

Q. So that the bonds are not due yet by their terms?

A. I suppose, unless it is considered that there is a peace now, theyare not due. 

THE FREEDMEN. 

Q. How do the people of Virginia, secessionists more particularly, feel toward the freedmen?

A. Every one with whom I associate expresses the kindest feelingstoward the freedmen. They wish to see them get on in the world, andparticularly to take up some occupation for a living, and to turntheir hands to some work. I know that efforts have been made among thefarmers near where I live to induce them to engage for the year atregular wages. 

Q. Do you think there is a willingness on the part of their oldmasters to give them fair living wages for their labor?

A. I believe it is so; the farmers generally prefer those servants whohave been living with them before; I have heard them express theirpreferences for the men whom they knew, who had lived with thembefore, and their wish to get them to return to work. 

Q. Are you aware of the existence of any combination among the"whites" to keep down the wages of the "blacks?"

A. I am not; I have heard that in several counties the land-ownershave met in order to establish a uniform rate of wages, but I neverheard, nor do I know of any combination to keep down wages orestablish any rule which they did not think fair; the means of payingwages in Virginia are very limited now, and there is a difference ofopinion as to how much each person is able to pay. 

Q. How do they feel in regard to the education of the blacks? Is therea general willingness to have them educated?

A. Where I am, and have been, the people have exhibited a willingnessthat the blacks should be educated, and they express an opinion thatit would be better for the blacks and better for the whites. 

Q. General, you are very competent to judge of the capacity of blackmen for acquiring knowledge--I want your opinion on that capacity ascompared with the capacity of white men?

A. I do not know that I am particularly qualified to speak on thatsubject, as you seem to intimate, but I do not think that the blackman is as capable of acquiring knowledge as the white man. There aresome more apt than others. I have known some to acquire knowledge andskill in their trade or profession. I have had servants of my own wholearned to read and write very well. 

Q. Do they show a capacity to obtain knowledge of mathematics and theexact sciences?

A. I have no knowledge on that subject; I am merely acquainted withthose who have learned the common rudiments of education. 

Q. General, are you aware of the existence among the blacks ofVirginia, anywhere within the limits of the State, of combinations, having in view the disturbance of the peace, or any improper orunlawful acts?

A. I am not; I have seen no evidence of it, and have heard of none;wherever I have been they have been quiet and orderly; not disposed towork; or, rather, not disposed to any continuous engagement to work, but just very short jobs to provide them with the immediate means ofsubsistence. 

Q. Has the colored race generally as great love of money and propertyas the white race possesses?

A. I do not think it has; the blacks with whom I am acquainted lookmore to the present time than to the future. 

Q. Does that absence of a lust of money and property arise more fromthe nature of the negro than from his former servile condition?

A. Well, it may be in some measure attributed to his former condition;they are an amiable, social race; they like their ease and comfort, and I think look more to their present than to their future condition. 

IN CASE OF WAR, WOULD VIRGINIA JOIN OUR ENEMIES?

Q. In the event of a war between the United States and any foreignpower, such as England or France, if there should be held out to thesecession portion of the people of Virginia, or the other recentlyrebel States, a fair prospect of gaining their independence andshaking off the Government of the United States, is it or is it notyour opinion that they would avail themselves of that opportunity?

A. I cannot answer with any certainty on that point; I do not know howfar they might be actuated by their feelings; I have nothing whateverto base an opinion upon; so far as I know, they contemplate nothing ofthe kind now; what may happen in the future I cannot say. 

Q. Do you not frequently hear, in your intercourse with secessionistsin Virginia, expressions of a hope that such a war may break out?

A. I cannot say that I have heard it; on the contrary, I have heardpersons--I do not know whether you could call them secessionists ornot, I mean those people in Virginia with whom I associate--expressthe hope that the country may not be led into a war. 

Q. In such an event, do you not think that that class of people whom Icall secessionists would join the common enemy?

A. It is possible; it depends upon the feeling of the individual. 

Q. If it is a fair question--you may answer or not, as youchoose--what, in such an event, might be your choice?

A. I have no disposition now to do it, and I never have had. 

Q. And you cannot foresee that such would be your inclination in suchan event?

A. No; I can only judge from the past; I do not know whatcircumstances it may produce; I cannot pretend to foresee events; sofar as I know the feeling of the people of Virginia, they wish forpeace. 

Q. During the civil war, was it not contemplated by the Governmentof the Confederacy to form an alliance with some foreign nation ifpossible?

A. I believe it was their wish to do so if they could; it was theirwish to have the Confederate Government recognized as an independentgovernment; I have no doubt that if it could have made favorabletreaties it would have done so, but I know nothing of the policy ofthe government; I had no hand or part in it; I merely express my ownopinion. 

Q. The question I am about to put to you, you may answer or not, asyou choose. Did you take an oath of fidelity, or allegiance, to theConfederate Government?

A. I do not recollect having done so, but it is possible that when Iwas commissioned I did; I do not recollect whether it was required; ifit was required, I took it, or if it had been required I would havetaken it; but I do not recollect whether it was or not. 

Q. (By Mr. Blow. ) In reference to the effect of President Johnson'spolicy, if it were adopted, would there be any thing like a returnof the old feeling? I ask that because you used the expression"acquiescing in the result. "

A. I believe it would take time for the feelings of the people to beof that cordial nature to the Government they were formerly. 

Q. Do you think that their preference for that policy arises from adesire to have peace and good feeling in the country, or from theprobability of their regaining political power?

PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S POLICY. 

A. So far as I know the desire of the people of the South, it is forrestoration of their civil government, and they look upon the policyof President Johnson as the one which would most clearly and mostsurely reëstablish it. 

CONDITION OF THE POORER CLASSES. 

Q. Do you see any change among the poorer classes in Virginia, inreference to industry? Are they as much, or more, interested indeveloping their material interests than they were?

A. I have not observed any change; every one now has to attend to hisbusiness for his support. 

Q. The poorer classes are generally hard at work, are they?

A. So far as I know, they are; I know nothing to the contrary. 

Q. Is there any difference in their relations to the colored people?Is their prejudice increased or diminished?

A. I have noticed no change; so far as I do know the feelings of allthe people of Virginia, they are kind to the colored people; I havenever heard any blame attributed to them as to the present conditionof things, or any responsibility. 

Q. There are very few colored laborers employed, I suppose?

A. Those who own farms have employed, more or less, one or two coloredlaborers; some are so poor that they have to work themselves. 

Q. Can capitalists and workingmen from the North go into any portionof Virginia with which you are familiar and go to work among thepeople?

A. I do not know of any thing to prevent them. Their peace andpleasure there would depend very much on their conduct. If theyconfined themselves to their own business and did not interfere toprovoke controversies with their neighbors, I do not believe theywould be molested. 

Q. There is no desire to keep out capital?

A. Not that I know of. On the contrary, they are very anxious to getcapital into the State. 

Q. You see nothing of a disposition to prevent such a thing?

A. I have seen nothing, and do not know of any thing, as I saidbefore; the manner in which they would be received would dependentirely upon the individuals themselves; they might make themselvesobnoxious, as you can understand. 

Q. (By Mr. Howard. ) Is there not a general dislike of Northern menamong secessionists?

A. I suppose they would prefer not to associate with them; I do notknow that they would select them as associates. 

Q. Do they avoid and ostracize them socially?

A. They might avoid them; they would not select them as associatesunless there was some reason; I do not know that they would associatewith them unless they became acquainted; I think it probable theywould not admit them into their social circles. 

THE POSITION OF THE COLORED RACE. 

Q. (By Mr. Blow. ) What is the position of the colored men in Virginiawith reference to persons they work for? Do you think they wouldprefer to work for Northern or Southern men?

A. I think it very probable they would prefer the Northern man, although I have no facts to go upon. 

Q. That having been stated very frequently in reference to the cottonStates, does it result from a bad treatment on the part of theresident population, or from the idea that they will be more fairlytreated by the new-comers? What is your observation in that respect inregard to Virginia?

A. I have no means of forming an opinion; I do not know any case inVirginia; I know of numbers of the blacks engaging with their oldmasters, and I know of many to prefer to go off and look for newhomes; whether it is from any dislike of their former masters, or fromany desire to change, or they feel more free and independent, I don'tknow. 

THE MATERIAL INTERESTS OF VIRGINIA. 

Q. What is your opinion in regard to the material interests ofVirginia; do you think they will be equal to what they were before therebellion under the changed aspect of affairs?

A. It will take a long time for them to reach their former standard; Ithink that after some years they will reach it, and I hope exceed it;but it cannot be immediately, in my opinion. 

Q. It will take a number of years?

A. It will take a number of years, I think. 

Q. On the whole, the condition of things in Virginia is hopeful bothin regard to its material interests and the future peace of thecountry?

A. I have heard great hopes expressed, and there is great cheerfulnessand willingness to labor. 

Q. Suppose this policy of President Johnson should be all youanticipate, and that you should also realize all that you expect inthe improvement of the material interests, do you think that theresult of that will be the gradual restoration of the old feeling?

A. That will be the natural result, I think; and I see no other way inwhich that result can be brought about. 

Q. There is a fear in the public mind that the friends of the policyin the South adopt it because they see in it the means of repairingthe political position which they lost in the recent contest. Do youthink that that is the main idea with them, or that they merely lookto it, as you say, as the best means of restoring civil government andthe peace and prosperity of their respective States?

A. As to the first point you make, I do not know that I ever heard anyperson speak upon it; I never heard the points separated; I have heardthem speak generally as to the effect of the policy of PresidentJohnson; the feeling is, so far as I know now, that there is not thatequality extended to the Southern States which is enjoyed by theNorth. 

Q. You do not feel down there that, while you accept the result, weare as generous as we ought to be under the circumstances?

A. They think that the North can afford to be generous. 

Q. That is the feeling down there?

A. Yes; and they think it is the best policy; those who reflect uponthe subject and are able to judge. 

Q. I understand it to be your opinion that generosity and liberalitytoward the entire South would be the surest means of regaining theirgood opinion?

A. Yes, and the speediest. 

Q. (By Mr. Howard. ) I understand you to say generally that you had noapprehension of any combination among the leading secessionists torenew the war, or any thing of the kind?

A. I have no reason in the world to think so. 

Q. Have you heard that subject talked over among any of thepoliticians?

A. No, sir; I have not; I have not heard that matter even suggested. 

Q. Let me put another hypothetical state of things. Suppose theexecutive government of the United States should be held by aPresident who, like Mr. Buchanan, rejected the right of coercion, socalled, and suppose a Congress should exist here entertaining thesame political opinions, thus presenting to the once rebel States theopportunity to again secede from the Union, would they, or not, inyour opinion, avail themselves of that opportunity, or some of them?

A. I suppose it would depend: upon the circumstances existing at thetime; if their feelings should remain embittered, and their affectionsalienated from the rest of the States, I think it very probable theymight do so, provided they thought it was to their interests. 

Q. Do you not think that at the present time there is a deep-seatedfeeling of dislike toward the Government of the United States on thepart of the secessionists?

A. I do not know that there is any deep-seated dislike; I think it isprobable there may be some animosity still existing among the peopleof the South. 

Q. Is there not a deep-seated feeling of disappointment and chagrin atthe result of the war?

A. I think that at the time they were disappointed at the result ofthe war. 

Q. Do you mean to be understood as saying that there is not acondition of discontent against the Government of the United Statesamong the secessionists generally?

A. I know none. 

Q. Are you prepared to say that they respect the Government of theUnited States, and the loyal people of the United States, so much atthe present time as to perform their duties as citizens of the UnitedStates, and of the States, faithfully and well?

A. I believe that they will perform all the duties that they arerequired to perform; I think that is the general feeling so far as Iknow. 

Q. Do you think it would be practicable to convict a man in Virginiaof treason for having taken part in this rebellion against theGovernment by a Virginian jury without packing it with directreference to a verdict of guilty?

A. On that point I have no knowledge, and I do not know what theywould consider treason against the United States--if you refer to pastacts. 

Mr. Howard: Yes, sir. 

Witness: I have no knowledge what their views on that subject in thepast are. 

Q. You understand my question. Suppose a jury was impanelled in yourown neighborhood, taken by lot, would it be possible to convict, forinstance, Jefferson Davis, for having levied war upon the UnitedStates, and thus having committed the crime of treason?

A. I think it is very probable that they would not consider he hadcommitted treason. 

THEIR VIEWS OF TREASON. 

Q. Suppose the jury should be clearly and plainly instructed by theCourt that such an act of war upon the part of Mr. Davis or any otherleading man constituted the crime of treason under the Constitution ofthe United States, would the jury be likely to heed that instruction, and, if the facts were plainly in proof before them, convict theoffender?

A. I do not know, sir, what they would do on that question. 

Q. They do not generally suppose that it was treason against theUnited States, do they?

A. I do not think that they so consider it. 

Q. In what light would they view it? What would be their excuse orjustification? How would they escape, in their own mind? I refer tothe past--I am referring to the past and the feelings they would have?

A. So far as I know, they look upon the action of the State inwithdrawing itself from the Government of the United States ascarrying the individuals of the State along with it; that the Statewas responsible for the act, not the individuals, and that theordinance of secession, so called, or those acts of the State whichrecognized a condition of war between the State and the GeneralGovernment stood as their justification for their bearing arms againstthe Government of the United States; yes, sir, I think they wouldconsider the act of the State as legitimate; that they were merelyusing the reserved rights, which they had a right to do. 

Q. State, if you please--and if you are disinclined to answer thequestion you need not do so--what your own personal views on thatquestion are?

A. That was my view; that the act of Virginia in withdrawing herselffrom the United States carried me along as a citizen of Virginia, andthat her laws and her acts were binding on me. 

Q. And that you felt to be your justification in taking the course youdid?

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. I have been told, general, that you have remarked to some of yourfriends, in conversation, that you were rather wheedled or cheatedinto that course by politicians?

A. I do not recollect ever making any such remark; I do not think Iever made it. 

Q. If there be any other matter about which you wish to speak on thisoccasion, do so, freely. 

A. Only in reference to that last question you put to me. I may havesaid and may have believed that the positions of the two sectionswhich they held to each other was brought about by the politicians ofthe country; that the great masses of the people, if they understoodthe real question, would have avoided it; but not that I had beenindividually wheedled by the politicians. 

Q. That is probably the origin of the whole thing. 

A. I may have said that, but I do not even recollect that; but I didbelieve at the time that it was an unnecessary condition of affairs, and might have been avoided if forbearance and wisdom had beenpractised on both sides. 

Q. You say that you do not recollect having sworn allegiance andfidelity to the Confederate Government?

A. I do not recollect it, nor do I know it was ever required. I wasregularly commissioned in the army of the Confederate States, but I donot really recollect that that oath was required. If it was required, I have no doubt I took it; or, if it had been required, I would havetaken it. 

Q. Is there any other matter which you desire to state to thecommittee?

A. No, sir; I am ready to answer any question which you think properto put to me. 

NEGRO CITIZENSHIP. 

Q. How would an amendment to the Constitution be received by thesecessionists, or by the people at large, allowing the colored people, or certain classes of them, to exercise the right of voting atelections?

A. I think, so far as I can form an opinion, in such an event theywould object. 

Q. They would object to such an amendment?

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Suppose an amendment should nevertheless be adopted, conferring onthe blacks the right of suffrage, would that, in your opinion, lead toscenes of violence or breaches of the peace between the two races inVirginia?

A. I think it would excite unfriendly feelings between the two races;I cannot pretend to say to what extent it would go, but that would bethe result. 

Q. Are you acquainted with the proposed amendment now pending in theSenate of the United States?

A. No, sir, I am not; I scarcely ever read a paper. [The substanceof the proposed amendment was here explained to the witness by Mr. Conkling. ] So far as I can see, I do not think that the State ofVirginia would object to it. 

Q. Would she consent, under any circumstances, to allow theblack people to vote, even if she were to gain a large number ofrepresentatives in Congress?

A. That would depend upon her interests; if she had the right ofdetermining that, I do not see why she would object; if it were to herinterest to admit these people to vote, that might overrule any otherobjection that she had to it. 

Q. What, in your opinion, would be the practical result? Do you thinkthat Virginia would consent to allow the negro to vote?

A. I think that at present she would accept the smallerrepresentation; I do not know what the future may develop; if itshould be plain to her that these persons will vote properly andunderstandingly, she might admit them to vote. 

Q. (By Mr. Blow. ) Do you not think it would turn a good deal, in thecotton States, upon the value of the labor of the black people? Uponthe amount which they produce?

A. In a good many States in the South, and in a good many counties inVirginia, if the black people were allowed to vote, it would, I think, exclude proper representation--that is, proper, intelligent peoplewould not be elected, and, rather than suffer that injury, they wouldnot let them vote at all. 

Q. Do you not think that the question as to whether any Southern Statewould allow the colored people the right of suffrage in order toincrease representation would depend a good deal on the amount whichthe colored people might contribute to the wealth of the State, inorder to secure two things--first, the larger representation, and, second, the influence desired from those persons voting?

A. I think they would determine the question more in referenceto their opinion as to the manner in which those votes would beexercised, whether they consider those people qualified to vote; myown opinion is, that at this time they cannot vote intelligently, andthat giving them the right of suffrage would open the door to a gooddeal of demagogism, and lead to embarrassments in various ways; whatthe future may prove, how intelligent they may become, with whateyes they may look upon the interests of the State in which they mayreside, I cannot say more than you can. 

The above extract presents the main portion of General Lee'stestimony, and is certainly an admirable exposition of the cleargood sense and frankness of the individual. Once or twice there isobviously an under-current of dry satire, as in his replies upon thesubject of the Confederate bonds. When asked whether he remembered atwhat time these bonds were made payable, he replied that his "generalrecollection was, that they were made payable six months aftera declaration of peace. " The correction was at once made by hisinterrogator in the words "six months after _the ratification of atreaty of peace_" etc. "I think they ran that way, " replied GeneralLee. "So that, " retorted his interrogator, "the bonds are not yet dueby their terms?" General Lee's reply was, "I suppose, _unless it isconsidered that there is a peace now, they are not due_. "

This seems to have put an abrupt termination to the examination onthat point. To the question whether he had taken an oath of allegianceto the Confederate Government, he replied: "I do not recollect havingdone so, but it is possible that when I was commissioned I did; I donot recollect whether it was required; if it was required, I took it, or if it had been required, I would have taken it. "

If this reply of General Lee be attentively weighed by the reader, some conception may be formed of the bitter pang which he must haveexperienced in sending in, as he did, to the Federal Government, his application for pardon. The fact cannot be concealed that thisproceeding on the part of General Lee was a subject of deep regret tothe Southern people; but there can be no question that his motive wasdisinterested and noble, and that he presented, in so doing, the mostremarkable evidence of the true greatness of his character. He had nopersonal advantage to expect from a pardon; cared absolutely nothingwhether he were "pardoned" or not; and to one so proud, and sothoroughly convinced of the justice of the cause in which he hadfought, to appear as a supplicant must have been inexpressiblypainful. He, nevertheless, took this mortifying step--actuatedentirely by that sense of duty which remained with him to the last, overmastering every other sentiment of his nature. He seems in this, as in many other things, to have felt the immense import of hisexample. The old soldiers of his army, and thousands of civilians, were obliged to apply for amnesty, or remain under civic disability. Brave men, with families depending upon them, had been driven to thispainful course, and General Lee seems to have felt that duty tohis old comrades demanded that he, too, should swallow this bitterdraught, and share their humiliation as he had shared their dangersand their glory. If this be not the explanation of the motivescontrolling General Lee's action, the writer is unable to account forthe course which he pursued. That it is the sole explanation, thewriter no more doubts than he doubts the fact of his own existence. 

XIX. 

GENERAL LEE'S LAST YEARS AND DEATH. 

For about five years--from the latter part of 1865 nearly to the endof 1870--General Lee continued to concentrate his entire attention andall his energies upon his duties as President of Washington College, to which his great name, and the desire of Southern parents to havetheir sons educated under a guide so illustrious, attracted, as wehave said, more than five hundred students. The sedentary nature ofthese occupations was a painful trial to one so long accustomed tolead a life of activity; but it was not in the character of theindividual to allow personal considerations to interfere with theperformance of his duty; and the laborious supervision of theeducation of this large number of young gentlemen continued, day afterday, and year after year, to occupy his mind and his time, to theexclusion, wellnigh, of every other thought. His personal popularitywith the students was very great, and it is unnecessary to add thattheir respect for him was unbounded. By the citizens of Lexington, andespecially the graver and more pious portion, he was regarded with alove and admiration greater than any felt for him during the progressof his military career. 

This was attributable, doubtless, to the franker and clearerexhibition by General Lee, in his latter years, of that extraordinarygentleness and sweetness, culminating in devoted Christian piety, which--concealed from all eyes, in some degree, during the war--nowplainly revealed themselves, and were evidently the broad foundationand controlling influences of his whole life and character. Tospeak first of his gentleness and moderation in all his views andutterances. Of these eminent virtues--eminent and striking, aboveall, in a defeated soldier with so much to embitter him--General Leepresented a very remarkable illustration. The result of the war seemedto have left his great soul calm, resigned, and untroubled by theleast rancor. While others, not more devoted to the South, permittedpassion and sectional animosity to master them, and dictate acts andexpressions full of bitterness toward the North, General Lee refrainedsystematically from every thing of that description; and by simpleforce of greatness, one would have said, rose above all prejudices andhatreds of the hour, counselling, and giving in his own person to allwho approached him the example of moderation and Christian charity. Heaimed to keep alive the old Southern traditions of honor and virtue;but not that sectional hatred which could produce only evil. To a ladywho had lost her husband in the war, and, on bringing her two sons tothe college, indulged in expressions of great bitterness toward theNorth, General Lee said, gently: "Madam, do not train up your childrenin hostility to the Government of the United States. Remember that weare one country now. Dismiss from your mind all sectional feeling, andbring them up to be Americans. "

A still more suggestive exhibition of his freedom from rancor waspresented in an interview which is thus described:

 "One day last autumn the writer saw General Lee standing at his gate, talking pleasantly to an humbly-clad man, who seemed very much pleased at the cordial courtesy of the great chieftain, and turned off, evidently delighted, as we came up. After exchanging salutations, the general said, pointing to the retreating form, 'That is one of our old soldiers, who is in necessitous circumstances. ' I took it for granted that it was some veteran Confederate, when the noble-hearted chieftain quietly added, 'He fought on the other side, but we must not think of that. ' I afterward ascertained--not from General Lee, for he never alluded to his charities--that he had not only spoken kindly to this 'old soldier' who had 'fought on the other side, ' but had sent him on his way rejoicing in a liberal contribution to his necessities. "

Of the extent of this Christian moderation another proof was givenby the soldier, at a moment when he might not unreasonably have beensupposed to labor under emotions of the extremest bitterness. Soonafter his return to Richmond, in April, 1865, when the _immedicabilevulnus_ of surrender was still open and bleeding, a gentleman wasrequested by the Federal commander in the city to communicate toGeneral Lee the fact that he was about to be indicted in the UnitedStates courts for treason. [1] In acquitting himself of his commission, the gentleman expressed sentiments of violent indignation at such aproceeding. But these feelings General Lee did not seem to share. Thethreat of arraigning him as a traitor produced no other effect uponhim than to bring a smile to his lips; and, taking the hand of hisfriend, as the latter rose to go, he said, in his mildest tones: "Wemust forgive our enemies. I can truly say that not a day has passedsince the war began that I have not prayed for them. "

[Footnote 1: This was afterward done by one of the Federal judges, butresulted in nothing. ]

The incidents here related define the views and feelings of GeneralLee as accurately as they could be set forth in a whole volume. Thedefeated commander, who could open his poor purse to "one of _our_ oldsoldiers who _fought on the other side_, " and pray daily during thebitterest of conflicts for his enemies, must surely have trained hisspirit to the perfection of Christian charity. 

Of the strength and controlling character of General Lee's religiousconvictions we have more than once spoken in preceding pages of thisvolume. These now seemed to exert a more marked influence over hislife, and indeed to shape every action and utterance of the man. During the war he had exhibited much greater reserve upon this themost important of all subjects which can engage the attention ofa human being; and, although he had been from an early period, webelieve, a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal Church, heseldom discussed religious questions, or spoke of his own feelings, presenting in this a marked contrast, as we have said, to hisillustrious associate General Jackson. 

Even during the war, however, as the reader has seen in our notices ofhis character at the end of 1863, General Lee's piety revealed itselfin conversations with his chaplains and other good men; and was notconcealed from the troops, as on the occasion of the prayer-meetingin the midst of the fighting at Mine Run. On another occasion, whenreviewing his army near Winchester, he was seen to raise his hat to achaplain with the words, "I salute the Church of God;" and again, nearPetersburg, was observed kneeling in prayer, a short distance fromthe road, as his troops marched by. Still another incident of theperiod--that of the war--will be recorded here in the words of theRev. J. William Jones, who relates it:

 "Not long before the evacuation of Petersburg, the writer was one day distributing tracts along the trenches, when he perceived a brilliant cavalcade approaching. General Lee--accompanied by General John B. Gordon, General A. P. Hill, and other general officers, with their staffs--was inspecting our lines and reconnoitring those of the enemy. The keen eye of Gordon recognized, and his cordial grasp detained, the humble tract-distributor, as he warmly inquired about his work. General Lee at once reined in his horse and joined in the conversation, the rest of the party gathered around, and the humble colporteur thus became the centre of a group of whose notice the highest princes of earth might well be proud. General Lee asked if we ever had calls for prayer-books, and said that if we would call at his headquarters he would give us some for distribution--'that some friend in Richmond had given him a new prayer-book, and, upon his saying that he would give his old one, that he had used ever since the Mexican War, to some soldier, the friend had offered him a dozen new books for the old one, and he had, of course, accepted so good an offer, and now had twelve instead of one to give away. ' We called at the appointed hour. The general had gone out on some important matter, but (even amid his pressing duties) had left the prayer-books with a member of his staff, with instructions concerning them. He had written on the fly-leaf of each, 'Presented by R. E. Lee, ' and we are sure that those of the gallant men to whom they were given who survive the war will now cherish them as precious legacies, and hand them down as heirlooms in their families. "

These incidents unmistakably indicate that General Lee concealed, under the natural reserve of his character, an earnest religiousbelief and trust in God and our Saviour. Nor was this a new sentimentwith him. After his death a well-worn pocket Bible was found in hischamber, in which was written, "R. E. Lee, Lieutenant-Colonel, U. S. Army. " It was plain, from this, that, even during the days of hisearlier manhood, in Mexico and on the Western prairies, he had readhis Bible, and striven to conform his life to its teachings. 

With the retirement of the great soldier, however, from the cares ofcommand which necessarily interfered in a large degree with piousexercises and meditations, the religious phase of his characterbecame more clearly defined, assuming far more prominent and strikingproportions. The sufferings of the Southern people doubtless had apowerful effect upon him, and, feeling the powerlessness of man, hemust have turned to God for comfort. But this inquiry is too profoundfor the present writer. He shrinks from the attempt to sound thedepths of this truly great soul, with the view of discovering theinfluences which moulded it into an almost ideal perfection. GeneralLee was, fortunately for the world, surrounded in his latter daysby good and intelligent men, fully competent to present a completeexposition of his views and feelings--and to these the arduousundertaking is left. Our easier task is to place upon record suchincidents as we have gathered, bearing upon the religious phase of theillustrious soldier's character. 

His earnest piety cannot be better displayed than in the anxiety whichhe felt for the conversion of his students, Conversing with the Rev. Dr. Kirkpatrick, of the Presbyterian Church, on the subject of thereligious welfare of those intrusted to his charge, "he was soovercome by emotion, " says Dr. Kirkpatrick, "that he could not utterthe words which were on his tongue. " His utterance was choked, butrecovering himself, with his eyes overflowing with tears, his lipsquivering with emotion, and both hands raised, he exclaimed: "Oh!doctor, if I could only know that all the young men in the collegewere good Christians, I should have nothing more to desire. "

When another minister, the Rev. Mr. Jones, delivered an earnestaddress at the "Concert of Prayer for Colleges, " urging that allChristians should pray for the aid of the Holy Spirit in changing thehearts of the students, General Lee, after the meeting, approached theminister and said with great warmth: "I wish, sir, to thank you foryour address. It was just what we needed. Our great want is a revival, which shall bring these young men to Christ. "

One morning, while the venerable Dr. White was passing General Lee'shouse, on his way to chapel, the general joined him, and they enteredinto conversation upon religious subjects. General Lee said little, but, just as they reached the college, stopped and remarked with greatearnestness, his eyes filling with tears as he spoke: "I shall bedisappointed, sir, I shall fail in the leading object that brought mehere, unless the young men all become real Christians; and I wish youand others of your sacred profession to de all you can to accomplishthis result. "

When a great revival of religious feeling took place at the VirginiaMilitary Institute, in 1868, General Lee said to the clergyman of hischurch with deep feeling: "That is the best news I have heard since Ihave been in Lexington. Would that we could have such a revival in allour colleges!"

Although a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and preferringthat communion, General Lee seems to have been completely exempt fromsectarian feeling, and to have aimed first and last to be a trueChristian, loving God and his neighbor, and not busying himself abouttheological dogmas. When he was asked once whether he believed in theApostolic succession, he replied that he had never thought of it, andaimed only to become a "real Christian. " His catholic views were shownby the letters of invitation, which he addressed, at the commencementof each session of the college, to ministers of all religiousdenominations at Lexington, to conduct, in turn, the religiousexercises at the college chapel; and his charities, which were largefor a person of his limited means, were given to all alike. Thesecharities he seems to have regarded as a binding duty, and were soprivate that only those receiving them knew any thing of them. It onlycame to be known accidentally that in 1870 he gave one hundred dollarsfor the education of the orphans of Southern soldiers, one hundreddollars to the Young Men's Christian Association, and regularly madeother donations, amounting in all to considerable sums. Nearly hislast act was a liberal contribution to an important object connectedwith his church. 

We shall conclude these anecdotes, illustrating General Lee'sreligious character, with one for which we are indebted to thekindness of a reverend clergyman, of Lexington, who knew GeneralLee intimately in his latter years, and enjoyed his confidence. Theincident will present in an agreeable light the great soldier'ssimplicity and love for children, and no less his catholic feelings inreference to sects in the Christian Church:

"I will give you just another incident, " writes the reverendgentleman, "illustrating General Lee's love for children, and theirfreedom with him. When I first came to Lexington, my boy Carter (justfour years old then) used to go with me to chapel service when it wasmy turn to officiate. The general would tell him that he must alwayssit by him; and it was a scene for a painter, to see the greatchieftain reverentially listening to the truths of God's word, andthe little boy nestling close to him. One Sunday our Sunday-schoolsuperintendent told the children that they must bring in some newscholars, and that they must bring old people as well as the young, since none were too old or too wise to learn God's word. The nextSabbath Carter was with me at the chapel, from which he was to go withme to the Sunday-school. At the close of the service, I noticed thatCarter was talking very earnestly with General Lee, who seemed verymuch amused, and, on calling him to come with me, he said, withchildish simplicity: 'Father, I am trying to get General Lee to go tothe Sunday-school and _be my scholar_. ' 'But, ' said I, 'if the generalgoes to any school, he will go to his own. ' 'Which is his own, father?' 'The Episcopal, ' I replied. Heaving a deep sigh, and with alook of disappointment, the little fellow said: 'I am very sorry heis '_Piscopal. _ I wish he was a Baptist, so he could go to _our_Sunday-school, and be my scholar. ' The general seemed very much amusedand interested as he replied, 'Ah! Carter, we must all try and be_good Christians_--that is the most important thing. ' 'He knew all thechildren in town, ' adds Mr. Jones, 'and their grief at his death wasvery touching. '"

This incident may appear singular to those who have been accustomed toregard General Lee as a cold, reserved, and even stern human being--astatue, beneath whose chill surface no heart ever throbbed. But, instead of a marble heart, there lay, under the gray uniform of thesoldier, one of warm flesh and blood--tender, impressible, susceptibleto the quick touches of all gentle and sweet emotion, and filling, asit were, with quiet happiness, at the sight of children and the soundof their voices. This impressibility has even been made the subjectof criticism. A foreign writer declares that the soldier's characterexhibited a "feminine" softness, unfitting him for the conduct ofaffairs of moment. What the Confederacy wanted, intimates the writerin question, was a rough dictator, with little regard for nicequestions of law--one to lay the rough hand of the born master on thehelm, and force the crew, from the highest to the lowest, to obey hiswill. That will probably remain a question. General Lee's _will_was strong enough to break down all obstacles but those erected byrightful authority; that with this masculine strength he united anexquisite gentleness, is equally beyond question. A noble actionflushed his cheek with an emotion that the reader may, if he will, call "feminine. " A tale of suffering brought a sudden moisture to hiseyes; and a loving message from one of his poor old soldiers was seenone day to melt him to tears. 

This poor and incomplete attempt to indicate some of the less-knowntraits of the illustrious commander-in-chief of the Southern armieswill now be brought to a conclusion; we approach the sorrowful momentwhen, surrounded by his weeping family, [1] he tranquilly passed away. 

[Footnote 1: General Lee had three sons and four daughters, all ofwhom are living except one of the latter, Miss Anne Lee, who died inNorth Carolina during the war. The sons were General G. W. Custis Lee, aide-de-camp to President Davis--subsequently commander of infantry inthe field, and now president of Washington and Lee College, an officerof such ability and of character so eminent that President Davisregarded him as a fit successor of his illustrious father in commandof the Army of Northern Virginia--General W. H. F. Lee, a prominent andable commander of cavalry, and Captain Robert E. Lee, an efficientmember of the cavalry-staff. These gentlemen bore their full sharein the perils and hardships of the war, from its commencement to thesurrender at Appomattox. ]

On the 28th of September, 1870, after laborious attention to hisduties during the early part of the day, General Lee attended, in theafternoon, a meeting of the Vestry of Grace Church, of which he was amember. Over this meeting he presided, and it was afterward rememberedthat his last public act was to contribute the sum of fifty-fivedollars to some good object, the requisite amount to effect which wasthus made up. After the meeting, General Lee returned to his home, and, when tea was served, took his place at the table to say grace, as was his habit, as it had been in camp throughout the war. His lipsopened, but no sound issued from them, and he sank back in his chair, from which he was carried to bed. 

The painful intelligence immediately became known throughoutLexington, and the utmost grief and consternation were visible uponevery face. It was hoped, at first, that the attack would not proveserious, and that General Lee would soon be able to resume his duties. But this hope was soon dissipated. The skilful physicians who hastenedto his bedside pronounced his malady congestion of the brain, and, from the appearance of the patient, who lay in a species of coma, the attack was evidently of the most alarming character. The mostdiscouraging phase of the case was, that, physically, General Leewas--if we may so say--in perfect health. His superb physique, although not perhaps as vigorous and robust as during the war, exhibited no indication whatever of disease. His health appearedperfect, and twenty years more of life might have been predicted forhim from simple reference to his appearance. 

The malady was more deeply seated, however, than any bodily disease;the cerebral congestion was but a symptom of the mental malady whichwas killing its victim. From the testimony of the able physicians whowatched the great soldier, day and night, throughout his illness, andare thus best competent to speak upon the subject, there seems nodoubt that General Lee's condition was the result of mental depressionproduced by the sufferings of the Southern people. Every mail, it issaid, had brought him the most piteous appeals for assistance, fromold soldiers whose families were in want of bread; and the woes ofthese poor people had a prostrating effect upon him. A year or twobefore, his health had been seriously impaired by this broodingdepression, and he had visited North Carolina, the White SulphurSprings, and other places, to divert his mind. In this he failed. Theshadow went with him, and the result was, at last, the alarming attackfrom which he never rallied. During the two weeks of his illness hescarcely spoke, and evidently regarded his condition as hopeless. Whenone of his physicians said to him, "General, you must make haste andget well; _Traveller_ has been standing so long in his stable that heneeds exercise. " General Lee shook his head slowly, to indicate thathe would never again mount his favorite horse. 

He remained in this state, with few alterations in his condition, until Wednesday; October 12th, when, about nine in the morning, in themidst of his family, the great soldier tranquilly expired. 

Of the universal grief of the Southern people when the intelligencewas transmitted by telegraph to all parts of the country, it is notnecessary that we should speak. The death of Lee seemed to make allhearts stand still; and the tolling of bells, flags at half-mast, and public meetings of citizens, wearing mourning, marked, in everyportion of the South, the sense of a great public calamity. It is notan exaggeration to say that, in ten thousand Southern homes, tearscame to the eyes not only of women, but of bearded men, and that thewords, "Lee is dead!" fell like a funeral-knell upon every heart. 

When the intelligence reached Richmond, the Legislature passedresolutions expressive of the general sorrow, and requesting that theremains of General Lee might be interred in Holywood Cemetery--Mr. Walker, the Governor, expressing in a special message hisparticipation in the grief of the people of Virginia and the South. The family of General Lee, however, preferred that his remains shouldrest at the scene of his last labors, and beneath the chapel ofWashington College they were accordingly interred. The ceremony wasimposing, and will long be remembered. 

On the morning of the 13th, the body was borne to the college chapel. In front moved a guard of honor, composed of old Confederate soldiers;behind these came the clergy; then the hearse; in rear of which wasled the dead soldier's favorite war-horse "Traveller, " his equipmentswreathed with crape. The trustees and faculty of the college, thecadets of the Military Institute, and a large number of citizensfollowed--and the procession moved slowly from the northeastern gateof the president's house to the college chapel, above which, draped inmourning, and at half-mast, floated the flag of Virginia--the only onedisplayed during this or any other portion of the funeral ceremonies. 

On the platform of the chapel the body lay in state throughout thisand the succeeding day. The coffin was covered with evergreens andflowers, and the face of the dead was uncovered that all might lookfor the last time on the pale features of the illustrious soldier. Thebody was dressed in a simple suit of black, and the appearance of theface was perfectly natural. Great crowds visited the chapel, passingsolemnly in front of the coffin--the silence interrupted only by sobs. 

Throughout the 14th the body continued to be in state, and to bevisited by thousands. On the 15th a great funeral procession precededthe commission of it to its last resting place. At an early hour thecrowd began to assemble in the vicinity of the college, which wasdraped in mourning. This great concourse was composed of men, women, and children, all wearing crape, and the little children seemed asmuch penetrated by the general distress as the elders. The bells ofthe churches began to toll; and at ten o'clock the students of thecollege, and officers and soldiers of the Confederate army--numberingtogether nearly one thousand persons--formed in front of the chapel. Between the two bodies stood the hearse, and the gray horse of thesoldier, both draped in mourning. 

The procession then began to move, to the strains of martial music. The military escort, together with the staff-officers of General Lee, moved in front; the faculty and students followed behind the hearse;and in rear came a committee of the Legislative dignitaries of theCommonwealth, and a great multitude of citizens from all portions ofthe State. The procession continued its way toward the Institute, where the cadets made the military salute as the hearse passed infront of them, and the sudden thunder of artillery awoke the echoesfrom the hills. The cadets then joined the procession, which was morethan a mile in length; and, heralded by the fire of artillery everyfew minutes, it moved back to the college chapel, where the lastservices were performed. 

General Lee had requested, it is said, that no funeral oration shouldbe pronounced above his remains, and the Rev. William N. Pendletonsimply read the beautiful burial-service of the Episcopal Church. Thecoffin, still covered with evergreens and flowers, was then lowered toits resting-place beneath the chapel, amid the sobs and tears of thegreat assembly; and all that was mortal of the illustrious soldierdisappeared from the world's eyes. 

What thus disappeared was little. What remained was much--the memoryof the virtues and the glory of the greatest of Virginians. 

APPENDIX. 

We here present to the reader a more detailed account of theceremonies attending the burial of General Lee, and a selection fromthe countless addresses delivered in various portions of the countrywhen his death was announced. To notice the honors paid to his memoryin every city, town, and village of the South, would fill a volume, and be wholly unnecessary. It is equally unnecessary to speak of thegreat meetings at Richmond, Baltimore, and elsewhere, resulting inthe formation of the "Lee Memorial Association" for the erection of amonument to the dead commander. 

The addresses here presented are placed on record rather for theirbiographical interest, than to do honor to the dead. Of him it mayjustly be said that he needs no record of his virtues and his glory. His illustrious memory is fresh to-day, and will be fresh throughoutall coming generations, in every heart. 

I. 

_THE FUNERAL OF GENERAL LEE_. 

The morning of the obsequies of General Lee broke bright and cheerfulover the sorrowful town of Lexington. Toward noon the sun poured downwith all the genial warmth of Indian summer, and after mid-day it washot, though not uncomfortably so. The same solemnity of yesterdayreigned supreme, with the difference, that people came thronginginto town, making a mournful scene of bustle. The gloomy faces, the comparative silence, the badges and emblems of mourning thateverywhere met the eye, and the noiseless, strict decorum which wasobserved, told how universal and deep were the love and venerationof the people for the illustrious dead. Every one uniformly andreligiously wore the emblematic crape, even to the women and children, who were crowding to the college chapel with wreaths of flowersfringed with mourning. All sorrowfully and religiously paid their lasttributes of respect and affection to the great dead, and none therewere who did not feel a just pride in the sad offices. 

AT THE COLLEGE GROUNDS. 

Immediately in front of the chapel the scene was peculiarly sad. All around the buildings were gloomily draped in mourning, and thestudents strolled listlessly over the grounds, awaiting the formationof the funeral procession. Ladies thronged about the chapel withtearful eyes, children wept outright, every face wore a saddenedexpression, while the solemn tolling of the church-bells rendered thescene still more one of grandeur and gloom. The bells of the churchesjoined in the mournful requiem. 

THE FUNERAL PROCESSION. 

At ten o'clock precisely, in accordance with the programme agreedupon, the students, numbering four hundred, formed in front and to theright of the chapel. To the left an escort of honor, numbering somethree hundred ex-officers and soldiers, was formed, at the headof which, near the southwestern entrance to the grounds, wasthe Institute band. Between these two bodies--the soldiers andstudents--stood the hearse and the gray war-steed of the dead hero, both draped in mourning. The marshals of the procession, twenty-one innumber, wore spotless white sashes, tied at the waist and shoulderswith crape, and carrying _bâtons_ also enveloped in the sameemblematic material. 

Shortly after ten, at a signal from the chief marshal, the solemn_cortége_ moved off to the music of a mournful dirge. General BradleyJohnson headed the escort of officers and soldiers, with ColonelCharles T. Venable and Colonel Walters H. Taylor, both formerassistant adjutant-generals on the staff of the lamented dead. Thephysicians of General Lee and the Faculty of the college fell inimmediately behind the hearse, the students following. Slowly andsolemnly the procession moved from the college grounds down WashingtonStreet to Jefferson, up Jefferson Street to Franklin Hall, thence toMain Street, where they were joined by a committee of the Legislature, dignitaries of the State, and the citizens generally. Moving stillonward, this grand funeral pageant, which had now assumed giganticproportions, extending nearly a mile in length, soon reached thenortheastern extremity of the town, when it took the road to theVirginia Military Institute. 

AT THE MILITARY INSTITUTE. 

Here the scene was highly impressive and imposing. In front of theInstitute the battalion of cadets, three hundred in number, were drawnup in line, wearing their full gray uniform, with badges of mourning, and having on all their equipments and side-arms, but without theirmuskets. Spectators thronged the entire line of the procession, gazingsadly as it wended its way, and the sites around the Institute werecrowded. As the _cortége_ entered the Institute grounds a salute ofartillery thundered its arrival, and reverberated it far across thedistant hills and valleys of Virginia, awakening echoes which havebeen hushed since Lee manfully gave up the struggle of the "lostcause" at Appomattox. Winding along the indicated route toward thegrounds of Washington College, the procession slowly moved past theInstitute, and when the war-horse and hearse of the dead chieftaincame in front of the battalion of cadets, they uncovered their headsas a salute of reverence and respect, which was promptly followed bythe spectators. When this was concluded, the visitors and Faculty ofthe Institute joined the procession, and the battalion of cadets filedinto the line in order, and with the greatest precision. 

ORDER OF THE PROCESSION. 

The following was the order of the procession when it was completed:

 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 the Virginia Military Institute. 

 Other Representative Bodies and Distinguished Visitors. 

 Alumni of Washington College. 

 Citizens. 

 Cadets Virginia Military Institute. 

 Students of Washington College as Guard of Honor

AT THE CHAPEL. 

After the first salute, a gun was fired every three minutes. Movingstill to the sound of martial music, in honor of the dead, theprocession reëntered the grounds of Washington College by thenortheastern gate, and was halted in front of the chapel. Thenfollowed an imposing ceremony. The cadets of the Institute weredetached from the line, and marched in double file into the chapel upone of the aisles, past the remains of the illustrious dead, which layin state on the rostrum, and down the other aisle out of the church. The students of Washington College followed next, passing with bowedheads before the mortal remains of him they revered and loved so muchand well as their president and friend. The side-aisles and gallerieswere crowded with ladies, Emblems of mourning met the eye on allsides, and feminine affection had hung funeral garlands of flowersupon all the pillars and walls. The central pews were filled with theescort of honor, composed of former Confederate soldiers from this andadjoining counties, while the spacious platform was crowded with thetrustees, faculties, clergy, Legislative Committee, and distinguishedvisitors. Within and without the consecrated hall the scene wasalike imposing. The blue mountains of Virginia, towering in the nearhorizon; the lovely village of Lexington, sleeping in the calm, unruffled air, and the softened autumn sunlight; the vast assemblage, mute and sorrowful; the tolling bells, and pealing cannon, and solemnwords of funeral service, combined to render the scene one never to beforgotten. 

The sons of General Lee--W. H. F. Lee, G. W. C. Lee, and Robert E. Lee--with their sisters, Misses Agnes and Mildred Lee, and the nephewsof the dead, Fitzhugh, Henry C. , and Robert C. Lee, entered the churchwith bowed heads, and silently took seats in front of the rostrum. 

THE FUNERAL SERVICES AND INTERMENT. 

Then followed the impressive funeral services of the Episcopal Churchfor the dead, amid a silence and solemnity that were imposing andsublimely grand. There was no funeral oration, in compliance with theexpressed wish of the distinguished dead; and at the conclusion of theservices in the chapel the vast congregation went out and mingled withthe crowd without, who were unable to gain admission. The coffin wasthen carried by the pall-bearers to the library-room, in the basementof the chapel, where it was lowered into the vault prepared for itsreception. The funeral services were concluded in the open air byprayer, and the singing of General Lee's favorite hymn, commencingwith the well-known line--

 "How firm a foundation, ye saint of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!"

and thus closed the funeral obsequies of Robert Edward Lee, to whommay be fitly applied the grand poetic epitaph:

 "Ne'er to the mansions where the mighty rest, Since their foundations, came a nobler guest; Nor e'er was to the bowers of bliss conveyed A purer saint or a more welcome shade. "

II. 

_TRIBUTES TO GENERAL LEE_. 

In the deep emotion with which the death of General Lee has filled allclasses of our people--says the _Southern Magazine_, from whose pagesthis interesting summary is taken--we have thought that a selection ofthe most eloquent or otherwise interesting addresses delivered at thevarious memorial meetings may not be unacceptable. 

LOUISVILLE, KY. 

On October 15th nearly the whole city was draped in mourning, andbusiness was suspended. A funeral service was held at St. Paul'sChurch. In the evening an immense meeting assembled at WeissigerHall, and, after an opening address by Mayor Baxter, the followingresolutions were adopted:

"_Resolved_, That, in the death of Robert E. Lee, the American people, without regard to States or sections, or antecedents, or opinions, lose a great and good man, a distinguished and useful citizen, renowned not less in arms than in the arts of peace; and that thecause of public instruction and popular culture is deprived of arepresentative whose influence and example will be felt by the youthof our country for long ages after the passions in the midst of whichhe was engaged, but which he did not share, have passed into history, and the peace and fraternity of the American Republic are cemented andrestored by the broadest and purest American sentiment. "

"_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to thefamily of General Lee, to the Trustees of Washington College, and tothe Governor and General Assembly of Virginia. "

ADDRESS OF GENERAL BRECKINRIDGE. 

"_Mr. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen_: In the humble part which itfalls to me to take in these interesting ceremonies, if for any causeit has been supposed that I am to deliver a lengthy address, I amnot responsible for the origination of that supposition. I came hereto-night simply to mingle my grief with yours at the loss of one ofour most distinguished citizens, and, indeed, I feel more like silencethan like words. I am awe-stricken in the presence of this vastassemblage, and my mind goes back to the past. It is preoccupied bymemories coming in prominent review of the frequent and ever-varyingvicissitudes which have characterized the last ten years. I findmyself in the presence of a vast assemblage of the people of thisgreat and growing city, who meet together, without distinction ofparty, and presided over by your chief officer, for the purpose ofexpressing respect to the memory of the man who was the leader of theConfederate armies in the late war between the States. It is in itselfthe omen of reunion. I am not surprised at the spectacle presentedhere. Throughout the entire South one universal cry of grief hasbroken forth at the death of General Lee, and in a very large portionof the North manly and noble tributes have been paid to his memory. 

"My words shall be brief but plain. Why is it that at the South we seethis universal, spontaneous demonstration? First, because most of thepeople mourn the loss of a leader and a friend, but beyond that I mustsay they seem to enter an unconscious protest against the ascriptioneither to him or them of treason or personal dishonor. It may be anunconscious protest against the employment by a portion of the publicpress of those epithets which have ceased to be used in socialintercourse. It is an invitation on their part to the people of theNorth and South, East and West, if there be any remaining rancor intheir bosoms, to bury it in the grave forever. I will not recall thepast. I will not enter upon any considerations of the cause of thatgreat struggle. This demonstration we see around us gives the plainestevidence that there is no disposition to indulge in useless repiningsat the results of that great struggle. It is for the pen of thehistorian to declare the cause, progress, and probable consequences ofit. In regard to those who followed General Lee, who gloried in hissuccesses and shared his misfortunes, I have but this to say: theworld watched the contest in which they were engaged, and yet givestestimony to their gallantry, "The magnanimity with which they accepted the results of their defeat, the obedience they have yielded to the laws of the Federal Government, give an exhibition so rare that they are ennobled by their calm yetnoble submission. For the rest their escutcheon is unstained. Theconquerors themselves, for their own glory, must confess that theywere brave. Neither, my friends, do I come here to-night to speakof the military career of General Lee. I need not speak of it thisevening. I believe that this is universally recognized, not only inthe United States, but in Europe; it has made the circuit of theworld. I come but to utter my tribute to him as a man and as acitizen. As a man he will be remembered in history as a man of theepoch. How little need I to speak of his character after listening tothe thrilling delineation of it which we had this morning! We all knowthat he was great, noble, and self-poised. He was just and moderate, but was, perhaps, misunderstood by those who were not personallyacquainted with him. He was supposed to be just, but cold. Far fromit. He had a warm, affectionate heart. During the last year of thatunfortunate struggle it was my good fortune to spend a great deal oftime with him. I was almost constantly by his side, and it was duringthe two months immediately preceding the fall of Richmond that I cameto know and fully understand the true nobility of his character. Inall those long vigils he was considerate and kind, gentle, firm, andself-poised. I can give no better idea of the impression it made uponme than to say it inspired me with an ardent love of the man and aprofound veneration of his character. It was so massive and noble, sogrand in its proportions, that all men must admire its heroism andgallantry, yet so gentle and tender that a woman might adopt and claimit as her own. If the spirit which animates the assembly before meto-night shall become general and permeate the whole country, then maywe say the wounds of the late war are truly healed. We ask for himonly what we give to others. Among the more eminent of the departedFederal generals who were distinguished for their gallantry, theirnobility of character, and their patriotism, may be mentioned Thomasand McPherson. What Confederate is there who would refuse to raise hiscap as their funeral-train went by or hesitate to drop a flower upontheir graves? Why? Because they were men of courage, honor, andnobility; because they were true to their convictions of right, andsoldiers whose hands were unstained by cruelty or pillage. 

"Those of us who were so fortunate as to know him, and who haveappeared before this assemblage, composed of all shades of opinion, claim for him your veneration, because he was pure and noble, and itis because of this that we see the cities and towns of the South inmourning. This has been the expression throughout the whole South, without distinction of party, and also of a large portion of theNorth. Is not this why these tributes have been paid to his memory? Isit not because his piety was humble and sincere? Because he accordedin victory; because he filled his position with admirable dignity;because he taught his prostrate comrades how to suffer and be strong?In a word, because he was one of the noblest products of thishemisphere, a fit object to sit in the niche which he created in theTemple of Fame. 

"But he failed. The result is in the future. It may be for better orfor worse. We hope for the better. But this is not the test for hisgreatness and goodness. Success often gilds the shallow man, but it isdisaster alone that reveals the qualities of true greatness. Was hislife a failure? Is only that man successful who erects a materialmonument of greatness by the enforcement of his ideas? Is not that mansuccessful also, who, by his valor, moderation, and courage, with alltheir associate virtues, presents to the world such a specimen oftrue manhood as his children and children's children will be proud toimitate? In this sense he was not a failure. 

"Pardon me for having detained you so long. I know there are here andthere those who will reach out and attempt to pluck from his name theglory which surrounds it, and strike with malignant fury at the honorsawarded to him; yet history will declare that the remains which reposein the vault beneath the little chapel in the lovely Virginia Valleyare not only those of a valorous soldier, but those of a great andgood American. "

General John W. Finnell next addressed the audience briefly, and wasfollowed by. 

GENERAL WILLIAM PRESTON. 

"_Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen_: I feel that it would be verydifficult for me to add any eulogy to those which are contained in theresolutions of the committee, or a more merited tribute of praise thanthose which have already fallen from the lips of the gentlemen whohave preceded me. Yet, on an occasion like this, I am willing to comeforward and add a word to testify my appreciation of the great virtuesand admirable character of one that commands, not only our admiration, but that of the entire country. Not alone of the entire country, but his character has excited more admiration in Europe than amongourselves. In coming ages his name will be marked with lustre, andwill be one of the richest treasures of the future. I speak of onejust gone down to death; ripe in all the noble attributes of manhood, and illustrious by deeds the most remarkable in character that haveoccurred in the history of America since its discovery. It is now sometwo-and-twenty years since I first made the acquaintance of GeneralLee. He was then in the prime of manhood, in Mexico, and I first sawhim as the chief-engineer of General Scott in the Valley of Mexico. Isee around me two old comrades who then saw General Lee. He was aman of remarkable personal beauty and great grace of body. He had afinished form, delicate hands, graceful in person, while here andthere a gray hair streaked with silver the dark locks with whichNature had clothed his noble brow. There were discerning minds thatappreciated his genius, and saw in him the coming Captain of America. His commander and his comrades appreciated his ability. To a clubwhich was then organized he belonged, together with General McClellan, General Albert Sydney Johnston, General Beauregard, and a host ofothers. They recognized in Lee a master-spirit.. 

"He was never violent; he never wrangled. He was averse toquarrelling, and not a single difficulty marked his career; butall acknowledged his justness and wonderful evenness of mind. Rareintelligence, combined with these qualities, served to make him a fitrepresentative of his great prototype, General Washington. He had beenaccomplished by every finish that a military education could bestow. 

"I remember when General Lee was appointed lieutenant-colonel, at thesame time that Sydney Johnston was appointed colonel, and GeneralScott thought that Lee should have been colonel. I was talking withGeneral Scott on the subject long before the late struggle between theNorth and South took place, and he then said that Lee was the greatestliving soldier in America. He did not object to the other commission, but he thought Lee should have been first promoted. Finally, he saidto me with emphasis, which you will pardon me for relating, 'I tellyou that, if I were on my death-bed to-morrow, and the President ofthe United States should tell me that a great battle was to be foughtfor the liberty or slavery of the country, and asked my judgment as tothe ability of a commander, I would say with my dying breath, let itbe Robert E. Lee. ' Ah! great soldier that he was, princely generalthat he was, he has fulfilled his mission, and borne it so thatno invidious tongue can level the shafts of calumny at the greatcharacter which he has left behind him. 

"But, ladies and gentlemen, it was not in this that the matchlessattributes of his character were found. You have assembled here, notso much to do honor to General Lee, but to testify your appreciationof the worth of the principles governing his character; and if theminds of this assemblage were explored, you would find there was agentleness and a grace in his character which had won your love andbrought forth testimonials of universal admiration. Take but a singleinstance. At the battle of Gettysburg, after the attack on thecemetery, when his troops were repulsed and beaten, the men threwup their muskets and said, 'General, we have failed, and it is ourfault. ' 'No, my men, ' said he, knowing the style of fighting ofGeneral Stonewall Jackson, 'you have done well; 'tis my fault; I am toblame, and no one but me. ' What man is there that would not have goneto renewed death for such a leader? So, when we examine his wholecharacter, it is in his private life that you find his truegreatness--the Christian simplicity of his character and his greatveneration for truth and nobility, the grand elements of hisgreatness. What man could have laid down his sword at the feet of avictorious general with greater dignity than did he at AppomattoxCourt-House? He laid down his sword with grace and dignity, andsecured for his soldiers the best terms that fortune would permit. Inthat he shows marked greatness seldom shown by great captains. 

"After the battle of Sedan, the wild cries of the citizens of Pariswent out for the blood of the emperor; but at Appomattox, venerationand love only met the eyes of the troops who looked upon theircommander. I will not trespass upon your time much farther. When Ilast saw him the raven hair had turned white. In a small villagechurch his reverent head was bowed in prayer. The humblest step wasthat of Robert E. Lee, as he entered the portals of the temple erectedto God. In broken responses he answered to the services of the Church. Noble, sincere, and humble in his religion, he showed forth his truecharacter in laying aside his sword to educate the youth of hiscountry. Never did he appear more noble than at that time. He is nowgone, and rests in peace, and has crossed that mysterious stream thatStonewall Jackson saw with inspired eyes when he asked that he mightbe permitted to take his troops across the river and forever restbeneath the shadows of the trees. "

After a few remarks from Hon. D. Y. Lyttle, the meeting adjourned. 

AUGUSTA, GA. 

A meeting was held at Augusta, on October 18th, at the City Hall. Thepreamble and resolutions adopted were as follows:

"_Whereas_, This day, throughout all this Southern land, sorrow, many-tongued, is ascending to heaven for the death of Robert E. Lee, and communities everywhere are honoring themselves in striving to dohonor to that great name; and we, the people of Augusta, who were notlaggards in upholding his glorious banner while it floated to thebreeze, would swell the general lamentation of his departure:

therefore be it

"_Resolved_, That no people in the tide of time has been bereavedas we are bereaved; for no other people has had such a man to lose. Greece, rich in heroes; Rome, prolific mother of great citizens, sothat the name of Roman is the synonyme of all that is noblest incitizenship--had no man coming up to the full measure of thisgreat departed. On scores of battle-fields, consummate commander;everywhere, bravest soldier; in failure, sublimest hero; in disbandinghis army, most pathetic of writers; in persecution, most patient ofpower's victims; in private life, purest of men--he was such that allChristendom, with one consent, named him GREAT. We, recalling that soalso mankind have styled Alexander, Caesar, Frederick, and Napoleon, and beholding in the Confederate leader qualities higher and betterthan theirs, find that language poor indeed which only enables us tocall him 'great'--him standing among the great of all ages preëminent. 

"_Resolved_, That our admiration of the man is not the partialjudgment of his adherents only; but so clear stand his greatness andhis goodness, that even the bitterest of foes has not venturedto asperse him. While the air has been filled with calumnies andrevilings of his cause, none have been aimed at him. If there arespirits so base that they cannot discover and reverence his greatnessand his goodness, they have at least shrunk from encountering thecertain indignation of mankind. This day--disfranchised by stupidpower as he was; branded, as he was, in the perverted vocabulary ofusurpers as rebel and traitor--his death has even in distant landsmoved more tongues and stirred more hearts than the siege of a mightycity and the triumphs of a great king. 

"_Resolved_, That, while he died far too soon for his country, he hadlived long enough for his fame. This was complete, and the futurecould unfold nothing to add to it. In this age of startling changes, imagination might have pictured him, even in the years which he yetlacked of the allotted period of human life, once more at the head ofdevoted armies and the conqueror of glorious fields; but none couldhave been more glorious than those he had already won. Wrong, too, might again have triumphed over Right, and he have borne defeat withsublimest resignation; but this he had already done at Appomattox. Unrelenting hate to his lost cause might have again consigned him tothe walks of private life, and he have become an exemplar of all thevirtues of a private station; but this he had already been in theshades of Lexington. The contingencies of the future could only haverevealed him greatest soldier, sublimest hero, best of men; and he wasalready all of these. The years to come were barren of any thing whichcould add to his perfect name and fame. He had nothing to lose; but, alas! we, his people, every thing by his departure from this world, which was unworthy of him, to that other where the good and the pureof all ages will welcome him. Thither follow him the undying loveof every true Southern man and woman, and the admiration of all theworld. "

ADDRESS OF GENERAL A. R. WRIGHT. 

"_Mr. Chairman_: I rise simply to move the adoption of the resolutionswhich have just been read to the meeting by Major Cumming. You haveheard, and the people here assembled have heard, these resolutions. They are truthful, eloquent, and expressive. Although announced asa speaker on this sad occasion, I had determined to forego any suchattempt; but an allusion, a passing reference to one of the sublimevirtues of the illustrious dead, made in the resolutions which havejust been read in your hearing, has induced me to add a word ortwo. Your resolutions speak of General Lee's patience under thepersecutions of power. It was this virtue which ennobled thecharacter, as it was one of the most prominent traits in the life, ofhim for whose death a whole nation, grief-stricken, mourns, and to paya tribute to the memory of whom this multitude has assembled here thismorning. While General Lee was all, and more than has been saidof him--the great general, the true Christian, and the valiantsoldier--there was another character in which he appeared moreconspicuously than in any of the rest--the quiet dignity with which heencountered defeat, and the patience with which he met the persecutionof malignant power. We may search the pages of all history, bothsacred and profane, and there seems to be but one character whopossessed in so large a degree this remarkable trait. Take GeneralLee's whole life and examine it; observe his skill and courage as asoldier, his patriotism and his fidelity to principle, the purity ofhis private life, and then remember the disasters which he faced andthe persecutions to which he was subjected, and it would seem that _noone_ ever endured so much--not even David, the sweet singer of Israel. Job has been handed down to posterity by the pages of sacred historyas the embodiment of patience, as the man who, overwhelmed with themost numerous and bitter afflictions, never lost his fortitude, andwho endured every fresh trial with uncomplaining resignation; but itseems to me that even Job displayed not the patience of our own lovedhero; for, while Job suffered much, he endured less than General Lee. Job was compelled to lose his children, his friends, and his property, but he was never required to give up country; General Lee was, and, with more than the persecutions of Job, he stands revealed to theworld the truest and the most sublime hero whom the ages haveproduced. To a patriot like Lee the loss of country was the greatestevil which could be experienced, and it was this last blow which hascaused us to assemble here to-day to mourn his departure. He lostfriends and kindred and property in the struggle, and yet, accordingto the news which the telegraph brought us this morning, it was theloss of his cause which finally sundered the heart-strings of thehero, and drew him from earth to heaven. Yes, the weight of thisgreat sorrow which first fell upon him under the fatal apple-tree atAppomattox, has dwelt with him, growing heavier and more unendurablewith each succeeding year, from that time until last Wednesday mornwhen the soul of Lee passed away. 

"As I said before, Mr. Chairman, I only rose to move the adoption ofthe resolutions; and if I have said more than I ought to have said, it is because I knew the illustrious dead, because I loved him, andbecause I mourn his loss. "

ADDRESS OF JUDGE HILLIARD. 

"It is proper that the people should pay a public tribute to thememory of a great man when he dies. Not a ruler, not one who merelyholds a great public position, but a great man, one who has served hisday and generation. It cannot benefit the dead, but it is eminentlyprofitable to the living. The consciousness than when we cease to liveour memory will be cherished, is a noble incentive to live well. This great popular demonstration is due to General Lee's life andcharacter. It is not ordered by the Government--the Government ignoredhim; but is rendered as a spontaneous tribute to the memory of anillustrious man--good, true, and great. He held no place in theGovernment, and since the war has had no military rank; but he was atrue man. After all, that is the noblest tribute you can pay to anyman, to say of him he was a true man. 

"General Lee's character was eminently American. In Europe theyhave their ideas, their standards of merit, their rewards for greatexploits. They cover one with decorations; they give him a great placein the government; they make him a marshal. Wellington began hiscareer with humble rank. He was young Wellesley; he rose to be theDuke of Wellington. In our country we have no such rewards for greatdeeds. One must enjoy the patronage of the Government, or he must takethe fortunes of private life. 

"General Lee was educated at the great Military Academy, West Point. He entered the army; was promoted from time to time for brilliantservices; in Mexico fought gallantly under the flag of the UnitedStates; and was still advancing in his military career in 1861, whenVirginia became involved in the great contest that then grew upbetween the States. Virginia was his mother; she called him to herside to defend her, and, resigning his commission in the Army of theUnited States, not for a moment looking for advancement there, notcounting the cost, not offering his sword to the service of power, noryet laying it down at the feet of the Government--he unsheathed it andtook his stand in defence of the great principles asserted by Virginiain the Revolution, when she contended with Great Britain the right ofevery people to choose their own form of government. Lost or won, tohim the cause was always the same--it was the cause of constitutionalliberty. He stood by it to the last. What must have been theconvictions of a man like General Lee, when, mounted on the same horsethat had borne him in battle, upon which he was seated when the linesof battle formed by his own heroic men wavered, and he seized thestandard to lead the charge; but his soldiers rushed to him, andlaying their hands on his bridle, said, 'General, we cannot fire agun unless you retire?' What must have been his emotions as he rode, through his own lines at Appomattox, to the commander of the opposingarmy, and tendered his sword? Search the annals of history, ancientand modern; consult the lives of heroes; study the examples ofgreatness recorded in Greece leading the way on the triumphs ofpopular liberty, or in Rome in the best days of her imperial rule;take statesmen, generals, or men of patient thought who outwatched thestars in exploring knowledge, and I declare to you that I do not findanywhere a sublimer sentiment than General Lee uttered when he said, 'Human virtue ought to be equal to human calamity. ' It will liveforever. 

"General Lee died at the right time. His sun did not go down in thestrife of battle, in the midst of the thunder of cannon, dimmed by thelurid smoke of war. He survived all this: lived with so much dignity;silent, yet thoughtful; unseduced by the offers of gain or ofadvancement however tempting; disdaining to enter into contests forsmall objects, until the broad disk went down behind the Virginiahills, shedding its departing lustre not only upon this country butupon the whole world. His memory is as much respected in England as itis here; and at the North as well as at the South true hearts honorit. 

"There is one thing I wish to say before I take my seat. General Lee'sfame ought to rest on the true base. He did not draw his sword toperpetuate human slavery, whatever may have been his opinions inregard to it; he did not seek to overthrow the Government of theUnited States. He drew it in defence of constitutional liberty. Thatcause is not dead, but will live forever. The result of the warestablished the authority of the United States; the Union willstand--let it stand forever. The flag floats over the whole countryfrom the Atlantic to the Pacific; let it increase in lustre, and letthe power of the Government grow; still the cause for which GeneralLee struck is not a lost cause. It is conceded that these States mustcontinue united under a common government. We do not wish to sunderit, nor to disturb it. But the great principle that underlies theGovernment of the United States--the principle that the people havea right to choose their own form of government, and to have theirliberties protected by the provisions of the Constitution--is anindestructible principle. You cannot destroy it. Like Milton's angels, it is immortal; you may wound, but you cannot kill it. It is like thevolcanic fires that flame in the depths of the earth; it will yetupheave the ocean and the land, and flame up to heaven. 

"Young Emmett said, 'Let no man write my epitaph until my country isfree, and takes her place among the nations of the earth. ' But you maywrite General Lee's epitaph now. The principle for which he foughtwill survive him. His evening was in perfect harmony with his life. Hehad time to think, to recall the past, to prepare for the future. Anoffer, originating in Georgia, and I believe in this very city, wasmade to him to place an immense sum of money at his disposal if hewould consent to reside in the city of New York and represent Southerncommerce. Millions would have flowed to him. But he declined. Hesaid: 'No; I am grateful, but I have a self-imposed task which I mustaccomplish. I have led the young men of the South in battle; I haveseen many of them fall under my standard. I shall devote my life nowto training young men to do their duty in life. ' And he did. It wasbeautiful to see him in that glorious valley where Lexington stands, the lofty mountains throwing their protecting shadows over its quiethome. General Lee's fame is not bounded by the limits of the South, nor by the continent. I rejoice that the South gave him birth; Irejoice that the South will hold his ashes. But his fame belongs tothe human race. Washington, too, was born in the South and sleepsin the South. But his great fame is not to be appropriated by thiscountry; it is the inheritance of mankind. We place the name of Lee bythat of Washington. They both belong to the world. "

NEW ORLEANS. 

A meeting was held in the St. Charles Theatre, as the largest buildingin the city. The Hon. W. M. Burwell delivered an eloquent address, of which we regret that we have been able to obtain no report. Themeeting was then addressed by the

HON. THOMAS J. SEMMES. 

"Robert E. Lee is dead. The Potomac, overlooked by the home of thehero, once dividing contending peoples, but now no longer a boundary, conveys to the ocean a nation's tears. South of the Potomac ismourning; profound grief pervades every heart, lamentation is heardfrom every hearth, for Lee sleeps among the slain whose memory is sodear to us. In the language of Moina:

 'They were slain for us, And their blood flowed out in a rain for us, Red, rich, and pure, on the plain for us; And years may go, But our tears shall flow O'er the dead who have died in vain for us. '

"North of the Potomac not only sympathizes with its widowed sister, but, with respectful homage, the brave and generous, clustering aroundthe corpse of the great Virginian, with one accord exclaim:

 'This earth that bears thee dead, Bears not alive so stout a gentleman. '

"Sympathetic nations, to whom our lamentations have been transmittedon the wings of lightning, will with pious jealousy envy our grief, because Robert E. Lee was an American. Seven cities claimed the honorof having given birth to the great pagan poet; but all Christiannations, while revering America as the mother of Robert E. Lee, willclaim for the nineteenth century the honor of his birth. There was butone Lee, the great Christian captain, and his fame justly belongs toChristendom. The nineteenth century has attacked every thing--it hasattacked God, the soul, reason, morals, society, the distinctionbetween good and evil. Christianity is vindicated by the virtues ofLee. He is the most brilliant and cogent argument in favor of a systemillustrated by such a man; he is the type of the reign of law in themoral order--that reign of law which the philosophic Duke of Argyllhas so recently and so ably discussed as pervading the natural as wellas the supernatural world. One of the chief characteristics of theChristian is duty. Throughout a checkered life the conscientiousperformance of duty seems to have been the mainspring of the actionsof General Lee. In his relations of father, son, husband, soldier, citizen, duty shines conspicuous in all his acts. His agency as headvanced to more elevated stations attracts more attention, andsurrounds him with a brighter halo of glory; but he is unchanged; fromfirst to last it is Robert E. Lee. 

"The most momentous act of his life was the selection of sides at thecommencement of the political troubles which immediately preceded therecent conflict. High in military rank, caressed by General Scott, courted by those possessed of influence and authority, no politician, happy in his domestic relations, and in the enjoyment of competentfortune, consisting in the main of property situated on the bordersof Virginia--nevertheless impelled by a sense of duty, as he himselftestified before a Congressional committee since the war, General Leedetermined to risk all and unite his fortunes with those of his nativeState, whose ordinances as one of her citizens he considered himselfbound to obey. 

"Having joined the Confederate army, he complained not that he wasassigned to the obscure duty of constructing coast-defences for SouthCarolina and Georgia, nor that he was subsequently relegated tounambitious commands in Western Virginia. The accidental circumstancethat General Joseph E. Johnston was wounded at the battle of SevenPines in May, 1862, placed Lee in command of the Army of NorthernVirginia. As commander of that army he achieved world-wide reputation, without giving occasion during a period of three years to anycomplaint on the part of officers, men, or citizens, or enemies, thathe had been guilty of any act, illegal, oppressive, unjust, or inhumanin its character. This is the highest tribute possible to the wisdomand virtue of General Lee; for, as a general rule, law was degraded;officers, whether justly or unjustly, were constantly the subjectof complaint and discord, and jealousy prevailed in camp and in theSenate-chamber. There was a fraction of our people represented by anunavailing minority in Congress, who either felt, or professed tofeel, a jealousy whose theory was just, but whose application, at sucha time, was unsound. They wished to give as little power as possiblebecause they dreaded a military despotism, and thus desired to sendour armies forth with half a shield and broken swords to protect thegovernment from its enemies, lest, if the bucklers were entire and theswords perfect, they might be tempted, in the heyday of victory, tosmite their employers. But this want of confidence never manifesteditself toward General Lee, whose conduct satisfied the most suspiciousthat his ambition was not of glory but of the performance of duty. Thearmy always felt this: the fact that he sacrificed no masses of humanbeings in desperate charges that he might gather laurels from thespot enriched by their gore. A year or more before he was appointedcommander-in-chief of all the Confederate forces, a bill passedCongress creating that office. It failed to become a law, thePresident having withheld his approval. Lee made no complaints; hisfriends solicited no votes to counteract the veto. When a bill for thesame purpose was passed at a subsequent period, it was whispered aboutthat he could not accept the position. To a committee of Virginianswho had called on him to ascertain the truth, his reply was, that hefelt bound to accept any post the duties of which his country believedhim competent to perform. After the battle of Gettysburg he tenderedhis resignation to President Davis, because he was apprehensive hisfailure, the responsibility for which he did not pretend to throw onhis troops or officers, would produce distrust of his abilities anddestroy his usefulness. I am informed the President, in a beautifuland touching letter, declined to listen to such a proposition. Duringthe whole period of the war he steadily declined all presents, andwhen, on one occasion, a gentleman sent him several dozen of wine, heturned it over to the hospitals in Richmond, saying the woundedand sick needed it more than he. He was extremely simple andunostentatious in his habits, and shared with his soldiers theirprivations as well as their dangers. Toward the close of the war, meatwas very scarce within the Confederate lines in the neighborhood ofthe contending armies. An aide of the President, having occasion tovisit General Lee en official business in the field, was invited todinner. The meal spread on the table consisted of corn-bread and asmall piece of bacon buried in a large dish of greens. The quick-eyedaide discovered that none of the company, which was composed of thegeneral's personal staff, partook of the meat, though requested todo so in the most urbane manner by the general, who presided; he, therefore, also declined, and noticed that the meat was carried offuntouched. After the meal was over, he inquired of one of the officerspresent what was the reason for this extraordinary conduct. His replywas, 'We had borrowed the meat for the occasion, and promised toreturn it. '

"Duty alone induced this great soldier to submit to such privation, for the slightest intimation given to friends in Richmond would havefilled his tent with all the luxuries that blockade-runners andspeculators had introduced for the favored few able to purchase. 

"This performance of duty was accompanied by no harsh manner orcynical expressions; for the man whose soul is ennobled by trueheroism, possesses a heart as tender as it is firm. His calmness underthe most trying circumstances, and his uniform sweetness of manner, were almost poetical. They manifested 'the most sustained tendernessof soul that ever caressed the chords of a lyre. ' In council hewas temperate and patient, and his words fell softly and evenly assnow-flakes, like the sentences that fell from the lips of Ulysses. 

"On the termination of the war, his conduct until his death haschallenged the admiration of friends and foes; he honestly acquiescedin the inevitable result of the struggle; no discontent, sourness, orcomplaint, has marred his tranquil life at Washington College, wheredeath found him at his post of duty, engaged in fitting the youngmen of his country, by proper discipline and education, for theperformance of the varied duties of life. It is somewhat singularthat both Lee and his great lieutenant, Jackson, should in their lastmoments have referred to Hill. It is reported that General Lee said, 'Let my tent be struck; send for Hill;' while the lamented Jackson inhis delirium cried out, 'Let A. P. Hill prepare for action; march theinfantry rapidly to the front. Let us cross over the river and restunder the shade of the trees. ' Both heroes died with commands formilitary movements on their lips; both the noblest specimens of theChristian soldier produced by any country or any age; both now restunder the shade of the trees of heaven. "

REV. DR. PALMER

Then spoke as follows:

"_Ladies and Gentlemen_: I should have been better pleased had I beenpermitted to sit a simple listener to the eloquent tribute paid to theimmortal chieftain who now reposes in death, by the speaker who hasjust taken his seat. The nature of my calling so far separates me frompublic life that I am scarcely competent for the office of alluding tothe elements which naturally gather around his career. When informedthat other artists would draw the picture of the warrior and the hero, I yielded a cheerful compliance, in the belief that nothing was leftbut to describe the Christian and the man. You are entirely familiarwith the early life of him over whose grave you this night shed tears;with his grave and sedate boyhood giving promise of the reserved forceof mature manhood; with his academic career at West Point, where hereceived the highest honors of a class brilliant with such names asGeneral Joseph E. Johnston; his seizure of the highest honors of along apprenticeship in that institution, and his abrupt ascension inthe Mexican War from obscurity to fame--all are too firmly stamped inthe minds of his admirers to require even an allusion. You are toofamiliar to need a repetition from my lips of that great mental andspiritual struggle passed, not one night, but many, when, abandoningthe service in which he had gathered so much of honor and reputation, he determined to lay his heart upon the altar of his native State, andswear to live or die in her defence. 

"It would be a somewhat singular subject of speculation to discoverhow it is that national character so often remarkably expresses itselfin single individuals who are born as representatives of a class. Itis wonderful, for it has been the remark of ages, how the great areborn in clusters; sometimes, indeed, one star shining with solitarysplendor in the firmament above, but generally gathered in grandconstellations, filling the sky with glory. What is that combinationof influences, partly physical, partly intellectual, but somewhat moremoral, which should make a particular country productive of men greatover all others on earth and to all ages of time? Ancient Greece, withher indented coast, inviting to maritime adventures, from her earliestperiod was the mother of heroes in war, of poets in song, of sculptorsand artists, and stands up after the lapse of centuries the educatorof mankind, living in the grandeur of her works and in the immortalproductions of minds which modern civilization with all itscultivation and refinement and science never surpassed and scarcelyequalled. And why in the three hundred years of American history itshould be given to the Old Dominion to be the grand mother, not onlyof States, but of the men by whom States and empires are formed, itmight be curious were it possible for us to inquire. Unquestionably, Mr. President, there is in this problem the element of race; for heis blind to all the truths of history, to all the revelations of thepast, who does not recognize a select race as we recognize a selectindividual of a race, to make all history; but pretermitting allspeculation of that sort, when Virginia unfolds the scroll of herimmortal sons--not because illustrious men did not precede himgathering in constellations and clusters, but because the name shinesout through those constellations and clusters in all its peerlessgrandeur--we read the name of George Washington. And then, Mr. President, after the interval of three-quarters of a century, whenyour jealous eye has ranged down the record and traced the names thathistory will never let die, you come to the name--the only name in allthe annals of history that can be named in the perilous connection--ofRobert E. Lee, the second Washington. Well may old Virginia be proudof her twin sons! born almost a century apart, but shining like thosebinary stars which open their glory and shed their splendor on thedarkness of the world. 

"Sir, it is not an artifice of rhetoric which suggests this parallelbetween two great names in American history; for the suggestionsprings spontaneously to every mind, and men scarcely speak of Leewithout thinking of a mysterious connection that binds the twotogether. They were alike in the presage of their early history--thehistory of their boyhood. Both earnest, grave, studious; both alikein that peculiar purity which belongs only to a noble boy, and whichmakes him a brave and noble man, filling the page of a historyspotless until closed in death; alike in that commanding presencewhich seems to be the signature of Heaven sometimes placed on a greatsoul when to that soul is given a fit dwelling-place; alike in thatnoble carriage and commanding dignity, exercising a mesmeric influenceand a hidden power which could not be repressed, upon all who camewithin its charm; alike in the remarkable combination and symmetry oftheir intellectual attributes, all brought up to the same equal level, no faculty of the mind overlapping any other--all so equal, so welldeveloped, the judgment, the reason, the memory, the fancy, thatyou are almost disposed to deny them greatness, because no singleattribute of the mind was projected upon itself, just as objectsappear sometimes smaller to the eye from the exact symmetry and beautyof their proportions; alike, above all, in that soul-greatness, thatChristian virtue to which so beautiful a tribute has been rendered bymy friend whose high privilege it was to be a compeer and comrade withthe immortal dead, although in another department and sphere; andyet alike, Mr. President, in their external fortune, so strangelydissimilar--the one the representative and the agent of a stupendousrevolution which it pleased Heaven to bless and give birth to one ofthe mightiest nations on the globe; the other the representative andagent of a similar revolution, upon which it pleased high Heaven tothrow the darkness of its frown; so that, bearing upon his generousheart the weight of this crushed cause, he was at length overwhelmed;and the nation whom he led in battle gathers with spontaneity of griefover all this land which is ploughed with graves and reddened withblood, and the tears of a widowed nation in her bereavement are shedover his honored grave. 

"But these crude suggestions, which fall almost impromptu from mylips, suggest that which I desire to offer before this audienceto-night. I accept Robert E. Lee as the true type of the Americanman and the Southern gentleman. A brilliant English writer has wellremarked, with a touch of sound philosophy, that when a nation hasrushed upon its fate, the whole force of the national life willsometimes shoot up in one grand character, like the aloe which bloomsat the end of a hundred years, shooting up in one single spike ofglory, and then expires. And wherever philosophy, refinement, andculture, have gone upon the globe, it is possible to place the fingerupon individual men who are the exemplars of a nation's character, those typical forms under which others less noble, less expanded, havemanifested themselves. That gentle, that perfect moderation, thatself-command which enabled him to be so self-possessed amid the mosttrying difficulties of his public career, a refinement almost such asthat which marks the character of the purest woman, were blendedin him with that massive strength, that mighty endurance, thatconsistency and power which gave him and the people whom he led suchmomentum under the disadvantages of the struggle through which hepassed. Born from the general level of American society, blood of anoble ancestry flowed in his veins, and he was a type of the race fromwhich he sprang. Such was the grandeur and urbaneness of his manner, the dignity and majesty of his carriage, that his only peer in sociallife could be found in courts and among those educated amid therefinements of courts and thrones. In that regard there was somethingbeautiful and appropriate that he should become, in the later years ofhis life, the educator of the young. Sir, it is a cause for mourningbefore high Heaven to-night that he was not spared thirty years toeducate a generation for the time that is to come; for, as in the dayswhen the red banner streamed over the land, the South sent her sonsto fight under his flag and beneath the wave of his sword, these sonshave been sent again to sit at his feet when he was the discipleof the Muses and the teacher of philosophy. Oh, that he might havebrought his more than regal character, his majestic fame, all hisintellectual and moral endowments, to the task of fitting those thatshould come in the crisis of the future to take the mantle that hadfallen from his shoulders and bear it to the generations that areunborn!

"General Lee I accept as the representative of his people, and of thetemper with which this whole Southland entered into that gigantic, that prolonged, and that disastrous struggle which has closed, butclosed as to us in grief. Sir, they wrong us who say that the Southwas ever impatient to rupture the bonds of the American Union. The warof 1776, which, sir, has no more yet a written history than has thewar of 1861 to 1865, tells us that it was this Southland that wroughtthe Revolution of 1776. We were the heirs of all the glory of thatimmortal struggle. It was purchased with our blood, with the blood ofour fathers which yet flows in these veins, and which we desire totransmit, pure and consecrated, to the sons that are born to ourloins. The traditions of the past sixty years were a portion of ourheritage, and it never was easy for any great heart and reflectivemind even to seem to part with that heritage to enter upon theperilous effort of establishing a new nationality. 

"Mr. President, it was my privilege once to be thrilled in a shortspeech, uttered by one of the noblest names clustering upon the rollof South Carolina; for, sir, South Carolina was Virginia's sister, and South Carolina stood by Virginia in the old struggle, as Virginiastood by South Carolina in the new, and the little State, small asGreece, barren in resources but great only in the grandeur of the men, in their gigantic proportions, whom she, like Virginia, was permittedto produce--I heard, sir, one of South Carolina's noblest sonsspeak once thus: 'I walked through the Tower of London, that grandrepository where are gathered the memorials of England's martialprowess; and when the guide, in the pride of his English heart, pointed to the spoils of war collected through centuries of the past, 'said this speaker, lifting himself upon tiptoe that he might reach tohis greatest height, 'I said, "You cannot point to one singletrophy from my people, or my country, though England engaged in twodisastrous wars with her. "' Sir, this was the sentiment. We lovedevery inch of American soil, and loved every part of that canvas[pointing to the Stars and Stripes above him], which, as a symbol ofpower and authority, floated from the spires and from the mast-headof our vessels; and it was after the anguish of a woman in birth thatthis land, that now lies in her sorrow and ruin, took upon herselfthat great peril; but it is all emblematized in the regret experiencedby him whose praises are upon our lips, and who, like the EnglishNelson, recognized duty engraved in letters of light as theonly ensign he could follow, and who, tearing away from all theassociations of his early life, and, abandoning the reputation gainedin the old service, made up his mind to embark in the new, and, withthat modesty and that firmness belonging only to the truly great, expressed his willingness to live and die in the position assigned tohim. 

"And I accept this noble chieftain equally as the representative ofthis Southland in the spirit of his retirement from struggle. It couldnot escape any speaker upon this platform to allude to the dignity ofthat retirement; how, from the moment he surrendered he withdrew fromobservation, holding aloof from all political complications, anddevoting his entire energies to the great work he had undertaken todischarge. In this he represents--an the true attitude of the Southsince the close of the war attitude of quiet submission to theconquering power and of obedience to all exactions; but withoutresiling from those great principles which were embalmed in thestruggle, and which, as the convictions of a lifetime, no honest mindcould release. 

"All over this land of ours there are men like Lee--not as great, notas symmetrical in the development of character, not as grand in theproportions which they have reached, but who, like him, are sleepingupon memories that are holy as death, and who, amid all reproach, appeal to the future, and to the tribunal of History, when she shallrender her final verdict in reference to the struggle closed, for thevindication of the people embarked in that struggle. We are silent, resigned, obedient, and thoughtful, sleeping upon solemn memories, Mr. President; but, as said by the poet-preacher in the Good Book, 'Isleep, but my heart waketh, ' looking upon the future that is to come, and powerless in every thing except to pray to Almighty God, who rulesthe destinies of nations, that those who have the power may at leasthave the grace given them to preserve the constitutional principleswhich we have endeavored to maintain. And, sir, were it my privilegeto speak in the hearing of the entire nation, I would utter withthe profoundest emphasis this pregnant truth: that no people evertraversed those moral ideas which underlie its character, itsconstitution, its institutions, and its laws, that did not in the endperish in disaster, in shame, and in dishonor. Whatever be the glory, the material civilization, of which such a nation may boast, it stillholds true that the truth is immortal, and that ideas rule the world. 

"And now I have but a single word to say, and that is, that the graveof this noble hero is bedewed with the most tender and sacredtears ever shed upon a human tomb. I was thinking in my study thisafternoon, striving to strike out something I might utter on thisplatform, and this parallel between the first Washington and thesecond occurred to me. I asked my own heart the question, 'Would younot accept the fame and the glory and the career of Robert E. Lee justas soon as accept the glory and career of the immortal man who was hispredecessor?' Sir, there is a pathos in fallen fortunes which stirsthe sensibilities, and touches the very fountain of human feeling. Iam not sure that at this moment Napoleon, the enforced guest of thePrussian king, is not grander than when he ascended the throne ofFrance. There is a grandeur in misfortune when that misfortune isborne by a noble heart, with the strength of will to endure, andendure without complaining or breaking. Perhaps I slip easily intothis train of remarks, for it is my peculiar office to speak of thatchastening with which a gracious Providence visits men on this earth, and by which He prepares them for heaven hereafter; and what is trueof individuals in a state of adversity, is true of nations whenclothed in sorrow. Sir, the men in these galleries that once wore thegray are here to-night that they may bend the knee in reverence atthe grave of him whose voice and hand they obeyed amid the storms ofbattle: the young widow, who but as yesterday leaned upon the arm ofher soldier-husband, but now clasps wildly to her breast the youngchild that never beheld its father's face, comes here to shed hertears over this grave to-night; and the aged matron, with the tearsstreaming from her eyes as she recalls her unforgotten dead, lying onthe plains of Gettysburg, or on the heights of Fredericksburg, now, to-night, joins in our dirge over him who was that son's chieftain andcounsellor and friend. A whole nation has risen up in the spontaneityof its grief to render the tribute of its love. Sir, there is a unityin the grapes when they grow together in the clusters upon the vine, and holding the bunch in your hand you speak of it as one; but thereis another unity when you throw these grapes into the wine-press, and the feet of those that bruise these grapes trample them almostprofanely beneath their feet together in the communion of pure wine;and such is the union and communion of hearts that have been fused bytribulation and sorrow, and that meet together in the true feeling ofan honest grief to express the homage of their affection, as well asto render a tribute of praise to him upon whose face we shall neverlook until on that immortal day when we shall behold it transfiguredbefore the throne of God. "

The meeting then adopted the following preamble and resolutions:

"_Whereas_, Like orphans at the grave of a parent untimely snatchedaway, our hearts have lingered and brooded, with a grief that nocunning of speech could interpret, over the thought that Robert EdwardLee exists no more, in bodily life, in sensible form, in visiblepresence, for our love and veneration, for our edification andguidance, for our comfort and solace; and--

"_Whereas_, We have invoked all mute funeral emblems to aid us withtheir utmost eloquence of woe, and we cannot content ourselves withcontemplating, from the depth and the gloom of our bereavement, theexalted and radiant virtues of the dead:

"_Resolved_, That we, the people of New Orleans, have come togetherunder one common impulse to render united homage to the memory whichholds mastery in our minds, whether we turn with bitter regard to thepast, or with prayerful and chastened aspirations to the future. 

"_Resolved_, That as Louisianians, as Southerners, as Americans, we proudly claim our share in the fame of Lee as an inheritancerightfully belonging to us, and endowed with which we shall piouslycherish, though all calamities should rain upon us, true poverty--thepoverty indeed that abases and starves the spirit can never approachus with its noisome breath and withering look. 

"_Resolved_, That it is infinitely more bitter to have to mourn theloss of our Lee, than not to have learned to prize him as the noblestgift which could have been allotted to a people and an epoch; a grandman, rounded to the symmetry of equal moral and intellectual powers, graces, and accomplishments; a man whose masterly and heroic energyleft nothing undone in defending a just cause while there was apossibility of striking for it a rational and hopeful blow, and whosesublime resignation when the last blow was struck in vain, and whenhuman virtue was challenged to match itself with the consummation ofhuman adversity, taught wiser, more convincing, more reassuring, moresoul-sustaining lessons than were to be found in all the philosophiesof all books. 

"_Resolved_, That worthily to show our veneration for this majesticand beautiful character, we must revolve it habitually in ourthoughts, and try to appropriate it to the purification and elevationof our lives, and so educate our children that they shall, ifpossible, grow up into its likeness. 

"_Resolved_, That while it is honorable for a people to deeply lamentthe death of such a man, it would be glorious for a generation tomould itself after his model; for it would be a generation fraughtwith all high manly qualities, tempered with all gentle and Christianvirtues; for truth, love, goodness, health, strength, would be withit, and consequently victory, liberty, majesty, and beauty. 

"_Resolved_, That we would hail the erection of the proposed monumentas well adapted to the purpose of preserving this admirable and mostprecious memory as a vital and beneficent influence for all timeto come, and we will therefore cordially aid in promoting the LeeMonument which has just been inaugurated. "

ATLANTA, GA. 

A crowded meeting assembled in this city on October 15th. After animpressive prayer from the Rev. Dr. Brantly, the meeting was addressedby

GENERAL JOHN B. GORDON. 

"_My Friends_: We have met to weep, to mingle our tears, and give ventto our bursting hearts. The sorrowing South, already clad in mourners'weeds, bows her head afresh to-day in a heart-stricken orphanage; andif I could have been permitted to indulge the sensibilities of myheart, I would have fled this most honorable task, and in solitude andsilence have wept the loss of the great and good man whose death we sodeplore. I loved General Lee; for it was my proud privilege to knowhim well. I loved him with a profound and all-filial love, with asincere and unfaded affection. I say I would have retired from thisflattering task which your kindness has imposed, but remembering thathis words, his deeds, his great example, has taught us that duty wasthe most commanding obligation, I yield this morning to your wishes. 

"We have met to honor General Lee, to honor him dead whom we lovedwhile living. Honor General Lee! How utterly vain, what a mockery oflanguage do these words seem! Honor Lee! Why, my countrymen, his deedshave honored him! The very trump of Fame itself is proud to honor him!Europe and the civilized world have united to honor him supremely, andHistory itself has caught the echo and made it immortal. Honor Lee!Why, sir, as the sad news of his death is with the speed of thoughtcommunicated to the world, it will carry a pang even to the hearts ofmarshals and of monarchs; and I can easily fancy that, amid the dinand clash and carnage of war, the cannon itself, in mute pause atthe whispering news, will briefly cease its roar around the walls ofParis. The task is not without pain, while yet his manly frame liesstretched upon his bier, to attempt to analyze the elements that madehim truly great. It has been my fortune in life from circumstances tohave come in contact with some whom the world pronounced great--someof the earth's celebrated and distinguished; but I declare it hereto-day that, of any mortal man whom it has ever been my privilege toapproach, he was the greatest; and I assert here that, grand as mightbe your conceptions of the man before, he arose in incomparablemajesty on more familiar acquaintance. This can be affirmed of few menwho have ever lived or died, and of no other man whom it has ever beenmy fortune to approach. Like Niagara, the more you gazed the more hisgrandeur grew upon you, the more his majesty expanded and filled yourspirit with a full satisfaction that left a perfect delight withoutthe slightest feeling of oppression. Grandly majestic and dignified inall his deportment, he was genial as the sunlight of this beautifulday, and not a ray of that cordial, social intercourse but broughtwarmth to the heart as it did light to the understanding. 

"But as one of the great captains will General Lee first pass reviewand inspection before the criticism of history. We will not comparehim with Washington. The mind will halt instinctively at thecomparison of two such men, so equally and gloriously great. But withmodest, yet calm and unflinching confidence we place him by the sideof the Marlboroughs and Wellingtons who take high niches in thepantheon of immortality. Let us dwell for a moment, my friends, onthis thought. Marlborough never met defeat, it is true. Victory markedevery step of his triumphant march; but when, where, and whom didMarlborough fight? The ambitious and vain but able Louis XIV. But hehad already exhausted the resources of his kingdom before Marlboroughstepped upon the stage. The great marshals Turenne and Condé wereno more, and Luxembourg the beloved had vanished from the scene. Marlborough, preëminently great as he certainly was, nevertheless ledthe combined forces of England and of Holland, in the freshness oftheir strength and the fulness of their financial ability, againstprostrate France, with a treasury depleted, a people worn out, discouraged, and dejected. But let us turn to another comparison. Thegreat Von Moltke, who now rides upon the whirlwind and commands thestorm of Prussian invasion, has recently declared that General Lee, in all respects, was fully the equal of Wellington, and you may thebetter appreciate this admission when you remember that Wellington wasthe benefactor of Prussia, and probably Von Moltke's special idol. Butlet us examine the arguments ourselves. France was already prostratewhen Wellington met Napoleon. That great emperor had seemed to makewar upon the very elements themselves, to have contended with Nature, and to have almost defeated Providence itself. The enemies of theNorth, more savage than Goth or Vandal, mounting the swift gales of aRussian winter, had carried death, desolation, and ruin, to the verygates of Paris. Wellington fought at Waterloo a bleeding and brokennation--a nation electrified, it is true, to almost superhuman energyby the genius of Napoleon, but a nation prostrate and bleedingnevertheless. Compare this, my friends, the condition of France andthe condition of the United States, in the freshness of her strength, in the luxuriance of her resources, in the lustihood of her giganticyouth. Tell me whether to place the chaplet of military superioritywith him, or with Marlborough, or Wellington? Even the greatestof captains, in his Italian campaigns, flashing fame in lightningsplendor over the world, even Bonaparte met and crushed in battle butthree or four (I think) Austrian armies; while our Lee, with one armybadly equipped, in time incredibly short, met and hurled back inbroken and shattered fragments five of the greatest prepared and mostmagnificently appointed invasions. Yea, more! He discrowned, in rapidsuccession, one after another of the United States' most, accomplishedand admirable commanders. 

"Lee was never really defeated. Lee could not be defeated!Overpowered, foiled in his efforts, he might be; but never defeateduntil the props which supported him gave way. Never, until theplatform sank beneath him, did any enemy ever dare pursue. On thatmelancholy occasion, the downfall of the Confederacy, no Leipsic, noWaterloo, no Sedan, can ever be recorded. 

"General Lee is known to the world as a military man; but it is easyto divine from his history how mindful of all just authority, howobservant of all constitutional restriction, would have been hiscareer as a civilian. When, near the conclusion of the war, darknesswas thickening about the falling fortunes of the Confederacy, when itsvery life was in the sword of Lee, it was my proud privilege to knowwith a special admiration the modest demeanor, the manly decorum, respectful homage, which marked all his dealings with the constitutedauthorities of his country. Clothed with all power, he hid its verysymbol behind a genial modesty, and refused ever to exert it save inobedience to law. And even in his triumphant entry into the territoryof the enemy, so regardful was he of civilized warfare, that theobservance of his general orders as to private property and privaterights left the line of his march marked and marred by no devastatedfields, charred ruins, or desolated homes. But it is in his privatecharacter, or rather I should say his personal emotion and virtue, which his countrymen will most delight to consider and dwell upon. Hismagnanimity, transcending all historic precedent, seemed to form a newchapter in the book of humanity. Witness that letter to Jackson, afterhis wounds at Chancellorsville, in which he said: 'I am praying foryou with more fervor than I have ever prayed for myself;' and thatother, more disinterested and pathetic: 'I could, for the good ofmy country, wish that the wounds which you have received had beeninflicted upon my own body;' or that of the latter message, saying toGeneral Jackson that 'his wounds were not so severe as mine, for heloses but his left arm, while I, in my loss, lose my right;' or thatother expression of unequalled magnanimity which enabled him toascribe the glory of their joint victory to the sole credit ofthe dying hero. Did I say unequalled? Yes, that was an avowal ofunequalled magnanimity, until it met its parallel in his own granderself-negation in assuming the sole responsibility for the defeat atGettysburg. Ay, my countrymen, Alexander had his Arbela, Caesar hisPharsalia, Napoleon his Austerlitz; but it was reserved for Leeto grow grander and more illustrious in defeat than even invictory--grander, because in defeat he showed a spirit greater than inthe heroism of battles or all the achievements of war, a spirit whichcrowns him with a chaplet grander far than ever mighty conqueror wore. 

"I turn me now to that last closing scene at Appomattox, and I willdraw thence a picture of that man as he laid aside the sword, theunrivalled soldier, to become the most exemplary of citizens. 

"I can never forget the deferential homage paid this great citizen byeven the Federal soldiers, as with uncovered heads they contemplatedin mute admiration this now captive hero as he rode through theirranks. Impressed forever, daguerreotyped on my heart is that lastparting scene with that handful of heroes still crowding around him. Few indeed were the words then spoken, but the quivering lip andthe tearful eye told of the love they bore him, in symphonies moreeloquent than any language can describe. Can I ever forget? No, nevercan I forget the words which fell from his lips as I rode beside himamid the defeated, dejected, and weeping soldiery, when, turning tome, he said, 'I could wish that I was numbered among the fallen in thelast battle;' but oh! as he thought of the loss of the cause--of themany dead scattered over so many fields, who, sleeping neglected, withno governmental arms to gather up their remains--sleeping neglected, isolated, and alone, beneath the weeping stars, with naught but theirsoldiers' blankets about them!--oh! as these emotions swept over hisgreat soul, he felt that he would have laid him down to rest inthe same grave where lay buried the common hope of his people. ButProvidence willed it otherwise. He rests now forever, my countrymen, his spirit in the bosom of that Father whom he so faithfully served, his body beside the river whose banks are forever memorable, and whosewaters are vocal with the glories of his triumphs. No sound shall everwake him to martial glory again; no more shall he lead his invinciblelines to victory; no more shall we gaze upon him and draw from hisquiet demeanor lessons of life. But oh! it is a sweet consolation tous, my countrymen, who loved him, that no more shall his bright spiritbe bowed down to earth with the burdens of the people's wrongs. It issweet consolation to us that his last victory, through faith in hiscrucified Redeemer, is the most transcendently glorious of all histriumphs. At this very hour, while we mourn here, kind friendsare consigning the last that remains of our hero to his quietsleeping-place, surrounded by the mountains of his nativeState--mountains the autumnal glory of whose magnificent foreststo-day seem but habiliments of mourning. In the Valley, the pearlydew-drops seem but tears of sadness upon the grasses and flowers. Lethim rest! And now as he has gone from us, and as we regard him in allthe aspects of his career and character and attainments as a greatcaptain, ranking among the first of any age; as a patriot, whosesacrificing devotion to his country ranks him with Washington; as aChristian, like Havelock, recognizing his duty to his God above everyother earthly consideration, with a native modesty that refused toappropriate the glory of his own, and which surrounds now his entirecharacter and career with a halo of unfading light; with an integrityof life and a sacred regard for truth which no man dare assail; witha fidelity to principle which no misfortune could shake--he mustever stand peerless among men in the estimation of Christendom, thisrepresentative son of the South, Robert E. Lee, of Virginia. "

RICHMOND, VA. 

A meeting was held on November 3d, presided over by Mr. JeffersonDavis. Mr. Davis delivered an address, of which we regret that we havereceived no complete copy. We give it as reported in the Richmond_Dispatch_. 

REMARKS OF PRESIDENT DAVIS. 

As Mr. Davis arose to walk to the stand, every person in the housestood, and there followed such a storm of applause as seemed to shakethe very foundations of the building, while cheer upon cheer wasechoed from the throats of veterans saluting one whom they delightedto honor. 

Mr. Davis spoke at length, and with his accustomed thrilling, movingeloquence. We shall not attempt, at the late hour at which we write, to give a full report of his address. 

He addressed his hearers as "Soldiers and sailors of the Confederacy, comrades and friends: Assembled on this sad occasion, with heartsoppressed with the grief that follows the loss of him who was ourleader on many a bloody battle-field, a pleasing though melancholyspectacle is presented. Hitherto, and in all times, men have beenhonored when successful; but here is the case of one who amiddisaster went down to his grave, and those who were his companions inmisfortune have assembled to honor his memory. It is as much an honorto you who give as to him who receives; for, above the vulgar test ofmerit, you show yourselves competent to discriminate between him whoenjoys and him who deserves success. 

"Robert E. Lee was my associate and friend in the Military Academy, and we were friends until the hour of his death. We were associatesand friends when he was a soldier and I a Congressman; and associatesand friends when he led the armies of the Confederacy and I presidedin its cabinet. We passed through many sad scenes together, but Icannot remember that there was ever aught but perfect harmony betweenus. If ever there was difference of opinion, it was dissipatedby discussion, and harmony was the result. I repeat, _we neverdisagreed_; and I may add that I never in my life saw in him theslightest tendency to self-seeking. It was not his to make a record, it was not his to shift blame to other shoulders; but it was his, withan eye fixed upon the welfare of his country, never faltering, tofollow the line of duty to the end. His was the heart that bravedevery difficulty; his was the mind that wrought victory out of defeat. 

"He has been charged with 'want of dash. ' I wish to say that I neverknew Lee to falter to attempt any thing ever man could dare. Anattempt has also been made to throw a cloud upon his character becausehe left the Army of the United States to join in the struggle for theliberty of his State. Without trenching at all upon politics, I deemit my duty to say one word in reference to this charge. Virginianborn, descended from a family illustrious in Virginia's annals, givenby Virginia to the service of the United States, he represented her inthe Military Academy at West Point. He was not educated by the FederalGovernment, but by Virginia; for she paid her full share for thesupport of that institution, and was entitled to demand in returnthe services of her sons. Entering the Army of the United States, herepresented Virginia there also, and nobly. On many a hard-foughtfield Lee was conspicuous, battling for his native State as much asfor the Union. He came from Mexico crowned with honors, covered bybrevets, and recognized, young as he was, as one of the ablest of hiscountry's soldiers. And, to prove that he was estimated then as such, let me tell you that when Lee was a captain of engineers stationed inBaltimore, the Cuban Junta in New York selected him to be their leaderin the struggle for the independence of their native country. Theywere anxious to secure his services, and offered him every temptationthat ambition could desire. He thought the matter over, and, Iremember, came to Washington to consult me as to what he should do;and when I began to discuss the complications which might arise fromhis acceptance of the trust, he gently rebuked me, saying that thiswas not the line upon which he wished my advice: the simple questionwas, 'Whether it was right or not?' He had been educated by the UnitedStates, and felt wrong to accept a place in the army of a foreignpower. Such was his extreme delicacy, such was the nice sense of honorof the gallant gentleman whose death we deplore. But when Virginiawithdrew, the State to whom he owed his first and last allegiance, thesame nice sense of honor led him to draw his sword and throw it in thescale for good or for evil. Pardon me for this brief defence of myillustrious friend. 

"When Virginia joined the Confederacy, Robert Lee, the highest officerin the little army of Virginia, came to Richmond; and, not pausing toinquire what would be his rank in the service of the Confederacy, wentto Western Virginia under the belief that he was still an officer ofthe State. He came back, carrying the heavy weight of defeat, andunappreciated by the people whom he served, for they could not know, as I knew, that if his plans and orders had been carried out theresult would have been victory rather than retreat. You did not know, for I would not have known it had he not breathed it in my ear onlyat my earnest request, and begging that nothing be said about it. Theclamor which then arose followed him when he went to South Carolina, so that it became necessary on his going to South Carolina to write aletter to the Governor of that State, telling him what manner of manhe was. Yet, through all this, with a magnanimity rarely equalled, he stood in silence without defending himself or allowing others todefend him, for he was unwilling to offend any one who was wearing asword and striking blows for the Confederacy. "

Mr. Davis then spoke of the straits to which the Confederacy wasreduced, and of the danger to which her capital was exposed, justafter the battle of Seven Pines, and told how General Lee hadconceived and executed the desperate plan to turn their flank andrear, which, after seven days of bloody battle, was crowned with theprotection of Richmond, while the enemy was driven far from the city. 

The speaker referred also to the circumstances attending General Lee'scrossing the Potomac on the march into Pennsylvania. He (Mr. Davis)assumed the responsibility of that movement. The enemy had long beenconcentrating his force, and it was evident that if he continued hissteady progress the Confederacy would be overwhelmed. Our only hopewas to drive him to the defence of his own capital, we being enabledin the mean time to reënforce our shattered army. How well General Leecarried out that dangerous experiment need not be told. Richmond wasrelieved, the Confederacy was relieved, and time was obtained, ifother things had favored, to reënforce the army. 

"But, " said Mr. Davis, "I shall not attempt to review the militarycareer of our fallen chieftain. Of the man, how shall I speak? He wasmy friend, and in that word is included all that I could say ofany man. His moral qualities rose to the height of his genius. Self-denying; always intent upon the one idea of duty; self-controlledto an extent that many thought him cold, his feelings were reallywarm, and his heart melted freely at the sight of a wounded soldier, or the story of the sufferings of the widow and orphan. During the warhe was ever conscious of the inequality of the means at his control;but it was never his to complain or to utter a doubt; it was alwayshis to do. When, in the last campaign, he was beleaguered atPetersburg, and painfully aware of the straits to which we werereduced, he said: 'With my army in the mountains of Virginia, I couldcarry on this war for twenty years longer. ' His men exhausted, and hissupplies failing, he was unable to carry out his plans. An untowardevent caused him to anticipate the movement, and the Army of NorthernVirginia was overwhelmed. But, in the surrender, he anticipatedconditions that have not been fulfilled; he expected his army to berespected, and his paroled soldiers to be allowed the enjoyments oflife and property. Whether these conditions have been fulfilled, letothers say. 

"Here he now sleeps in the land he loved so well; and that land is notVirginia only, for they do injustice to Lee who believe he fought onlyfor Virginia. He was ready to go anywhere, on any service, for thegood of his country; and his heart was as broad as the fifteen Statesstruggling for the principles that our forefathers fought for in theRevolution of 1776. He is sleeping in the same soil with the thousandswho fought under the same flag, but first offered up their lives. Here, the living are assembled to honor his memory, and there theskeleton sentinels keep watch over his grave. This citizen, thissoldier, this great general, this true patriot, left behind him thecrowning glory of a true Christian. His Christianity ennobled him inlife, and affords us grounds for the belief that he is happy beyondthe grave. 

"But, while we mourn the loss of the great and the true, drop we alsotears of sympathy with her who was his helpmeet--the noble womanwho, while her husband was in the field leading the army of theConfederacy, though an invalid herself, passed the time in knittingsocks for the marching soldiers! A woman fit to be the mother ofheroes; and heroes are descended from her. Mourning with her, we canonly offer the consolation of a Christian. Our loss is not his; buthe now enjoys the rewards of a life well spent, and a never-waveringtrust in a risen Saviour. This day we unite our words of sorrow withthose of the good and great throughout Christendom, for his fameis gone over the water; his deeds will be remembered, and when themonument we build shall have crumbled into dust, his virtues willstill live, a high model for the imitation of generations yet unborn. "

We have given but a faint idea of the eloquent thoughts and chasteoratory of the speaker. His words were heard with profound attention, and received with frequent applause. 

MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS. 

Colonel C. S. Venable then presented the following report of theCommittee on Resolutions:

"_Whereas_, It is a high and holy duty, as well as a noble privilege, to perpetuate the honors of those who have displayed eminent virtuesand performed great achievements, that they may serve as incentivesand examples to the latest generation of their countrymen, andattest the reverential admiration and affectionate regard of theircompatriots; and--

"_Whereas_, This duty and privilege devolve on all who love and admireGeneral Robert E. Lee throughout this country and the world, and inan especial manner upon those who followed him in the field, or whofought in the same cause, who shared in his glories, partook of histrials, and were united with him in the same sorrows and adversity, who were devoted to him in war by the baptism of fire and blood, andbound to him in peace by the still higher homage due to the rare andgrand exhibition of a character pure and lofty and gentle and true, under all changes of fortune, and serene amid the greatest disasters:

therefore, be it

"_Resolved_, That we favor an association to erect a monument atRichmond to the memory of Robert E. Lee, as an enduring testimonial ofour love and respect, and devotion to his fame. 

"_Resolved_, That, while donations will be gladly received from allwho recognize in the excellences of General Lee's character an honorand an encouragement to our common humanity, and an abiding hopethat coming generations may be found to imitate his virtues, it isdesirable that every Confederate soldier and sailor should make somecontribution, however small, to the proposed monument. 

"_Resolved_, That, for the purpose of securing efficiency anddispatch in the erection of the monument, an executive committee ofseventy-five, with a president, secretary, treasurer, auditor, etc. , be appointed, to invite and collect subscriptions, to procure designsfor said monument, to select the best, to provide for the organizationof central executive committees in other States, which may serveas mediums of communication between the executive committee of theAssociation and the local associations of these States. 

"_Resolved_, That we respectfully invite the ladies of the HollywoodAssociation to lend us their assistance and coöperation in thecollection of subscriptions. 

"_Resolved_, That we cordially approve of the local monument nowproposed to be erected by other associations at Atlanta, and atLexington, his last home, whose people were so closely united with himin the last sad years of his life. 

"_Resolved_, That, while we cordially thank the Governor andLegislature of Virginia, for the steps they have taken to do honor tothe memory of General Lee, yet in deference to the wishes of his lovedand venerated widow, with whom we mourn, we will not discuss thequestion of the most fitting resting-place for his ever-gloriousremains, but will content ourselves with expressing the earnest desireand hope that at some future proper time they will be committed to thecharge of this Association. "

Generals John S. Preston, John B. Gordon, Henry A. Wise, and WilliamHenry Preston, and Colonels Robert E. Withers and Charles Marshall, delivered eloquent and appropriate speeches, and argued that Richmondis the proper place for the final interment of the remains of GeneralLee. 

The resolutions were adopted, and the meeting adjourned. 

COLUMBIA, S. C. 

At a meeting in this city the following remarks were made by--

GENERAL WADE HAMPTON. 

"_Fellow-Citizens_: We are called together to-day by an announcementwhich will cause profound sorrow throughout the civilized world, andwhich comes to us bearing the additional grief of a personal andprivate bereavement. The foremost man in all the world is no more;and, as that news is carried by the speed of lightning through everytown, village, and hamlet of this land which he loved so well, and among those people who loved and honored and venerated him soprofoundly, every true heart in the stricken South will feel that thecountry has lost its pride and glory, and that the citizens of thatcountry have lost a father. I dare not venture to speak of him as Ifeel. Nor do we come to eulogize him. Not only wherever the Englishlanguage is spoken, but wherever civilization extends, the sorrow--apart at least of the sorrow--we feel will be felt, and more eloquenttongues than mine will tell the fame and recount the virtues of RobertE. Lee. We need not come to praise him. We come only to express oursympathy, our grief, our bereavement. We come not to mourn him, for weknow that it is well with him. We come only to extend our sympathy tothose who are bereaved. 

"Now that he is fallen, I may mention what I have never spoken ofbefore, to show you not only what were the feelings that actuated himin the duty to which his beloved countrymen called him, but what noblesentiments inspired him when he saw the cause for which he had beenfighting so long about to perish. Just before the surrender, after anight devoted to the most arduous duties, as one of his staff camein to see him in the morning, he found him worn and weary anddisheartened, and the general said to him, 'How easily I could get ridof this and be at rest! I have only to ride along the line, andall will be over. But, ' said he--and there spoke the Christianpatriot--'it is our duty to _live_, for what will become of the womenand children of the South if we are not here to protect them?' Thatsame spirit of duty which had actuated him through all the perils andall the hardships of that unequalled conflict which he had waged soheroically, that same high spirit of duty told him that he must liveto show that he was great--greater, if that were possible, in peacethan in war; live to teach the people whom he had before led tovictory how to bear defeat; live to show what a great and good man canaccomplish; live to set an example to his people for all time; live tobear, if nothing else, his share of the sorrows, and the afflictions, and the troubles, which had come upon his people. He is now at rest;and surely we of the South can say of him, as we say of his greatexemplar, the 'Father of his Country, ' that 'he was first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. '"

BALTIMORE. 

At a meeting of the officers and soldiers who served under GeneralLee, held in this city on October 15th, a number of addresses weremade, which we are compelled to somewhat condense. That of ColonelMarshall, General Lee's chief of staff, was as follows:

COLONEL CHARLES MARSHALL. 

"In presenting the resolutions of the committee, I cannot refrain fromexpressing the feelings inspired by the memories that crowd upon mymind when I reflect that these resolutions are intended to expresswhat General Lee's surviving soldiers feel toward General Lee. Thecommittee are fully aware of their inability to do justice to thesentiments that inspire the hearts of those for whom they speak. Howcan we portray in words the gratitude, the pride, the veneration, theanguish, that now fill the hearts of those who shared his victoriesand his reverses, his triumphs and his defeats? How can we tell theworld what we can only feel ourselves? How can we give expression tothe crowding memories called forth by the sad event we are met todeplore?

"We recall him as he appeared in the hour of victory, grand, imposing, awe-inspiring, yet self-forgetful and humble. We recall the greatscenes of his triumph, when we hailed him victor on many a bloodyfield, and when above the paeans of victory we listened with reverenceto his voice as he ascribed 'all glory to the Lord of hosts, fromwhom all glories are. ' We remember that grand magnanimity that neverstooped to pluck those meaner things that grew nearest the earth uponthe tree of victory, but which, with eyes turned toward the stars, andhands raised toward heaven, gathered the golden fruits of mercy, pity, and holy charity, that ripen on its topmost boughs beneath theapproving smile of the great God of battles. We remember the sublimeself-abnegation of Chancellorsville, when, in the midst of hisvictorious legions, who, with the light of battle yet on their faces, hailed him conqueror, he thought only of his great lieutenant lyingwounded on the field, and transferred to him all the honor of thatillustrious day. 

"I will be pardoned, I am sure, for referring to an incident whichaffords to my mind a most striking illustration of one of the grandestfeatures of his character. On the morning of May 3, 1863, as many ofyou will remember, the final assault was made upon the Federal linesat Chancellorsville. General Lee accompanied the troops in person, andas they emerged from the fierce combat they had waged in 'the depthsof that tangled wilderness, ' driving the superior forces of the enemybefore them across the open ground, he rode into their midst. Thescene is one that can never be effaced from the minds of those whowitnessed it. The troops were pressing forward with all the ardor andenthusiasm of combat. The white smoke of musketry fringed the front ofthe line of battle, while the artillery on the hills in the rear ofthe infantry shook the earth with its thunder, and filled the air withthe wild shrieks of the shells that plunged into the masses of theretreating foe. To add greater horror and sublimity to the scene, theChancellorsville House and the woods surrounding it were wrapped inflames. In the midst of this awful scene, General Lee, mounted uponthat horse which we all remember so well, rode to the front of hisadvancing battalions. His presence was the signal for one of thoseuncontrollable outbursts of enthusiasm which none can appreciatewho have not witnessed them. The fierce soldiers, with their facesblackened with the smoke of battle; the wounded, crawling with feeblelimbs from the fury of the devouring flames, all seemed possessed witha common impulse. One long, unbroken cheer, in which the feeble cry ofthose who lay helpless on the earth blended with the strong voices ofthose who still fought, rose high above the roar of battle and hailedthe presence of the victorious chief. He sat in the full realizationof all that soldiers dream of--triumph; and, as I looked upon him inthe complete fruition of the success which his genius, courage, andconfidence in his army, had won, I thought it must have been from somesuch scene that men in ancient days ascended to the dignity of thegods. His first care was for the wounded of both armies, and he wasamong the foremost at the burning mansion where some of them lay. Butat that moment, when the transports of his victorious troops weredrowning the roar of battle with acclamations, a note was brought tohim from General Jackson. It was brought to General Lee as he sat onhis horse near the Chancellorsville House, and, unable to open it withhis gauntleted hands, he passed it to me with directions to read it tohim. The note made no mention of the wound that General Jackson hadreceived, but congratulated General Lee upon the great victory. Ishall never forget the look of pain and anguish that passed over hisface as he listened. With a voice broken with emotion he bade mesay to General Jackson that the victory was his, and that thecongratulations were due to him. I know not how others may regard thisincident, but, for myself, as I gave expression to the thoughts of hisexalted mind, I forgot the genius that won the day in my reverence forthe generosity that refused its glory. 

"There is one other incident to which I beg permission to refer, thatI may perfect the picture. On the 3d day of July, 1863, the lastassault of the Confederate troops upon the heights of Gettysburgfailed, and again General Lee was among his baffled and shatteredbattalions as they sullenly retired from their brave attempt. Thehistory of that battle is yet to be written, and the responsibilityfor the result is yet to be fixed. But there, with the painfulconsciousness that his plans had been frustrated by others, and thatdefeat and humiliation had overtaken his army, in the presence of histroops he openly assumed the entire responsibility of the campaign andof the lost battle. One word from him would have relieved him of thisresponsibility, but that word he refused to utter until it could bespoken without fear of doing the least injustice. 

"Thus, my fellow-soldiers, I have presented to you our great commanderin the supreme moments of triumph and defeat. I cannot more stronglyillustrate his character. Has it been surpassed in history? Is thereanother instance of such self-abnegation among men? The man rosehigh above victory in one instance; and, harder still, the man rosesuperior to disaster in the other. It was such incidents as these thatgave General Lee the absolute and undoubting confidence and affectionof his soldiers. Need I speak of the many exhibitions of thatconfidence? You all remember them, my comrades. Have you not seen awavering line restored by the magic of his presence? Have you not seenthe few forget that they were fighting against the many, because hewas among the few?

"But I pass from the contemplation of his greatness in war, to look tohis example under the oppressive circumstances of final failure--tolook to that example to which it is most useful for us now to referfor our guidance and instruction. When the attempt to establish theSouthern Confederacy had failed, and the event of the war seemed tohave established the indivisibility of the Federal Union, General Leegave his adhesion to the new order of things. His was no hollow truce;but, with the pure faith and honor that marked every act of hisillustrious career, he immediately devoted himself to the restorationof peace, harmony, and concord. He entered zealously into the subjectof education, believing, as he often declared, that popular educationis the only sure foundation of free government. He gave his earnestsupport to all plans of internal improvements designed to bind morefirmly together the social and commercial interests of the country, and among the last acts of his life was the effort to secure theconstruction of a line of railway communication of incalculableimportance as a connecting link between the North and the South. Hedevoted all his great energies to the advancement of the welfare ofhis countrymen while shrinking from public notice, and sought to laydeep and strong the foundations of government which it was supposedwould rise from the ruins of the old. But I need not repeat to you, mycomrades, the history of his life since the war. You have watched itto its close, and you know how faithfully and truly he performed everyduty of his position. Let us take to heart the lesson of his brightexample. Disregarding all that malice may impute to us, with an eyesingle to the faithful performance of our duties as American citizens, and with an honest and sincere resolution to support with heart andhand the honor, the safety, and the true liberties of our country, letus invoke our fellow-citizens to forget the animosities of the past bythe side of this honored grave, and, 'joining hands around this royalcorpse, friends now, enemies no more, proclaim perpetual truce tobattle. '"

The following are among the resolutions:

"The officers, soldiers, and sailors, of the Southern Confederacy, residing in Maryland, who served under General Lee, desiring to recordtheir grief for his death, their admiration for his exalted virtues, and their affectionate veneration for his illustrious memory--

"_Resolved_, That, leaving with pride the name and fame of ourillustrious commander to the judgment of history, we, who followedhim through the trials, dangers, and hardships of a sanguinary andprotracted war; who have felt the inspiration of his genius andvalor in the time of trial; who have witnessed his magnanimity andmoderation in the hour of victory, and his firmness and fortitude indefeat, claim the privilege of laying the tribute of our heart-feltsorrow upon his honored grave. 

"_Resolved_, That the confidence and admiration which his eminentachievements deserved and received were strengthened by the nobleexample of his constancy in adversity, and that we honored and reveredhim in his retirement as we trusted and followed him on the field ofbattle. 

"_Resolved_, That, as a token of respect and sorrow, we will wear thecustomary badge of mourning for thirty days. 

"_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions and of the proceedingsof this meeting be transmitted to the family of our lamented chief. "

On the 29th of October a meeting was held to appoint delegates torepresent the State of Maryland at the Richmond Lee MonumentalConvention. After some brief remarks by General I. R. Trimble, and theadoption of resolutions constituting the Lee Monument Association ofMaryland, the Hon. Reverdy Johnson addressed the meeting as follows:

HON. REVERDY JOHNSON. 

"_Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen_: I am here in compliance with therequest of many gentlemen present, and I not only willingly compliedwith that request, but I am willing to do all I am able, to show myappreciation of the character, civil and military, of Robert E. Lee. It was my good fortune to know him before the Mexican War, in thosebetter days before the commencement of the sad struggle through whichwe have recently passed. I saw in him every thing that could commandthe respect and admiration of men, and I watched with peculiarinterest his course in the Mexican War. It was also my good fortuneto know the late Lieutenant-General Scott. In the commencement ofthe struggle to which I have alluded, I occupied in Washingtonthe position of _quasi_ military adviser to him, and was, in thatcapacity, intimately associated with him. I have heard him oftendeclare that the glorious and continued success which crowned our armsin the war with Mexico was owing, in a large measure, to the skill, valor, and undaunted courage of Robert E. Lee. He entertained for himthe warmest personal friendship, and it was his purpose to recommendhim as his successor in the event of his death or inability toperform the duties of his high position. In April, 1861, after thecommencement of hostilities between the two great sections of ourcountry, General Lee, then lieutenant-colonel of cavalry in the Armyof the United States, offered his resignation. I was with GeneralScott when he was handed the letter of resignation, and I saw whatpain the fact caused him. While he regretted the step his mostvaluable officer had taken, he never failed to say emphatically, and over and over again, that he believed he had taken it from _animperative sense of duty_. He was also consoled by the belief that ifhe was placed at the head of the armies of the then Confederation, hewould have in him a foeman in every way worthy of him, and one whowould conduct the war upon the highest principles of civilizedwarfare, and that he would not suffer encroachments to be made uponthe rights of private property and the rights of unoffending citizens. 

"Some may be surprised that I am here to eulogize Robert E. Lee. It iswell known that I did not agree with him in his political views. Atthe beginning of the late war, and for many years preceding it, evenfrom the foundation of this Government, two great questions agitatedthe greatest minds of this country. Many believed that the allegianceof the citizen was due first to his State, and many were of theopinion that, according to the true reading of the Constitution, aState had no right to leave the Union and claim sovereign rights andthe perpetual allegiance of her citizens. I did not agree in thefirst-named opinion, but I knew it was honestly entertained. I knewmen of the purest character, of the highest ability, and of the mostliberal and patriotic feelings, who conscientiously believed it. Nowthe war is over, thank God! and to that thank I am sure this meetingwill respond, it is the duty of every citizen of this land to seekto heal the wounds of the war, to forget past differences, and toforgive, as far as possible, the faults to which the war gave rise. Inno other way can the Union be truly and permanently restored. We arenow together as a band of brothers. The soldiers of the Confederacy, headed by the great chief we now mourn, have expressed theirwillingness to abide by the issue of the contest. What a spectacle tothe world! After years of military devastation, with tens of thousandsdead on her battle-fields, with the flower of her children slain, withher wealth destroyed, her commerce swept away, her agricultural andmechanical pursuits almost ruined, the South yielded. The North, victorious and strong, could not forget what she owed to libertyand human rights. We may well swear now that as long as liberty isvirtuous we will be brothers. 

"Robert E. Lee is worthy of all praise. As a man, he was peerless; asa soldier, he had no equal and no superior; as a humane and Christiansoldier, he towers high in the political horizon. You cannot imaginewith what delight, when I had the honor to represent this countryat the court of Great Britain, I heard the praises of his fame andcharacter which came from soldiers and statesmen. I need not speakof the comparative merits of General Lee and the Union generals whoopposed him; this is not the place or time for a discussion of theirrespective successes and defeats; but I may say that, as far as I wasable to judge of the sentiments of the military men of Great Britain, they thought none of the Union officers superior to General Robert E. Lee. Their admiration for him was not only on account of his skill onthe battle-field, and the skilful manner with which he planned andexecuted his campaigns, but the humane manner in which he performedhis sad duty. They alluded specially to his conduct when invading theterritory of his enemy--his restraint upon his men, telling them thatthe honor of the army depended upon the manner of conducting the warin the enemy's country--and his refusal to resort to retaliatorymeasures. I know that great influences were brought to bear upon him, when he invaded Pennsylvania, to induce him to consent to extrememeasures. His answer, however, was, 'No; if I suffer my army to pursuethe course recommended, I cannot invoke the blessing of God upon myarms. ' He would not allow his troops to destroy private property or toviolate the rights of the citizens. When the necessities of his armycompelled the taking of commissary stores, by his orders his officerspaid for them in Confederate money at its then valuation. No burninghomesteads illumined his march, no shivering and helpless childrenwere turned out of their homes to witness their destruction by thetorch. With him all the rules of civilized war, having the highersanction of God, were strictly observed. The manly fortitude withwhich he yielded at Appomattox to three times his numbers showed thathe was worthy of the honors and the fame the South had given him. This is not the first time since the termination of the war I haveexpressed admiration and friendship for Robert E. Lee. When I heardthat he was about to be prosecuted in a Virginia court for the allegedcrime of treason, I wrote to him at once, and with all my heart, thatif he believed I could be of any service to him, professionally, Iwas at his command. All the ability I possess, increased by morethan fifty years of study and experience, would have been cheerfullyexerted to have saved him, for in saving him I believe I would havebeen saving the honor of my country. I received a characteristic replyin terms of friendship and grateful thanks. He wrote that he did notthink the prosecution would take place. Hearing, however, some timeafter, that the prosecution would commence at Richmond, I went at onceto that city and saw his legal adviser, Hon. William H. McFarland, oneof the ablest men of the bar of Virginia. Mr. McFarland showed mea copy of a letter from General Lee to General Grant, enclosing anapplication for a pardon which he desired General Grant to present tothe President, but telling him not to present it if any steps had beentaken for his prosecution, as he was willing to stand the test. Hewrote that he had understood by the terms of surrender at Appomattoxthat he and all his officers and men were to be protected. Thatletter, I am glad to say, raised General Lee higher in my esteem. General Grant at once replied, and he showed his reply to me. He wrotethat he had seen the President, and protested against any steps beingtaken against General Lee, and had informed him that he considered hishonor and the honor of the nation pledged to him. The Presidentbecame satisfied, and no proceedings were ever taken. General Granttransmitted to the President the application of General Lee forpardon, indorsed with his most earnest approval. No pardon wasgranted. He did not need it here, and, when he appears before thatgreat tribunal before which we must all be called, he will find he hasno account to settle there. No soldier who followed General Lee couldhave felt more grief and sympathy at his grave than I would, could Ihave been present upon the mournful occasion of his burial. I lamentedhis loss as a private loss, and still more as a public loss. I knewthat his example would continue to allay the passions aroused by thewar, and which I was not surprised were excited by some acts in thatwar. I love my country; I am jealous of her honor. I cherish her goodname, and I am proud of the land of my birth. I forbear to criticisethe lives and characters of her high officers and servants, but I cansay with truth that, during the late war, the laws of humanity wereforgotten, and the higher orders of God were trodden under foot. 

"The resolutions need no support which human lips can by humanlanguage give. Their subject is their support. The name of Lee appealsat once, and strongly, to every true heart in this land and throughoutthe world. Let political partisans, influenced by fanaticism and thehope of political plunder, find fault with and condemn us. They willbe forgotten when the name of Lee will be resplendent with immortalglory. 

"Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, in the course of Nature my career uponearth must soon terminate. God grant that when the day of my deathcomes, I may look up to Heaven with that confidence and faith whichthe life and character of Robert E. Lee gave him! He died trusting inGod, as a good man, with a good life and a pure conscience. He wasconsoled with the knowledge that the religion of Christ had orderedall his ways, and he knew that the verdict of God upon the account hewould have to render in heaven would be one of judgment seasoned withmercy. He had a right to believe that when God passed judgment uponthe account of his life, though He would find him an erring humanbeing, He would find virtue enough and religious faith enough to savehim from any other verdict than that of 'Well done, good and faithfulservant. ' The monument will be raised; and when it is raised many aman will visit Richmond to stand beside it, to do reverence to theremains it may cover, and to say, 'Here lie the remains of one of thenoblest men who ever lived or died in America. '"

HON. GEORGE WILLIAM BROWN

"_Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen_: The able and eloquent gentlemen whohave preceded me have left but little for me to say. I rise, however, to express my hearty assent to the resolutions. Their broad andliberal views are worthy of the great and good man whose virtues andfame we seek to commemorate. He has passed away from earth, and ourblame or censure is nothing to him now. The most eloquent eulogiesthat human lips can utter, and the loftiest monuments that human handscan build, cannot affect him now. But it is a satisfaction to usto know that expressions of the love for him which lives in everySouthern heart--ay, in many a Northern heart--were heard long beforehis death, and that honor shed noble lustre around the last years ofhis life. He was the representative of a lost cause; he had sheathedhis sword forever; he had surrendered his army to superior numbers;he was broken in fortune and in health, and was only president of aVirginia college, yet he was one of the foremost men of all the world. 

"It has been said of General Lee, as it has been said of Washington, that he was deficient in genius. His character was so complete thatwhat would have seemed evidences of genius with other men, were lostin the combination of his character and mind. He was always, andespecially in every great crisis, a leader among men. During the fouryears of his education at West Point he did not receive a singlereprimand. As a cavalry-officer, wherever he went he was a marked man;and when General Scott made his wonderful march to the capital ofMexico, Captain Lee was his right arm. At the commencement of the latewar, though only a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, he was offered thecommand of the armies of the United States. What a prize for ambition!Fortune, fame, and honors, awaited him. Where would he have beento-day? Probably in the presidential chair of this great nation. Buthe rejected all to take his chance with his own people, and to unitewith them in their resistance to the vast numbers and resources whichhe knew the North was able to bring against them. There is nothingmore remarkable in the annals of warfare than the success with whichGeneral Lee defeated for years the armies of the United States. Consider the six-days' battles around Richmond; the second battle ofManassas; the battles at Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg;the wonderful contest at Chancellorsville; then again the remarkablebattle of the Wilderness, in which it has been said by Federalauthority that General Lee actually killed as many men as he had underhis command; the defence at Cold Harbor, the prolonged defence ofRichmond and Petersburg, and the admirably-conducted retreat with buta handful before an immense army. Well has he been spoken of as'the incomparable strategist. ' Did any man ever fight against moredesperate odds or resources?

"But not merely as a great general is General Lee to be admired. Heclaims our admiration as a great man--great in adversity. I thinkthere is nothing more admirable in all his life than his conduct inassuming the sole responsibility at Gettysburg. In the midst of defeatLee was calm, unmoved, showing no fear where despair would have beenin the heart of any other general, and saying to his officers and men, 'The fault is all mine. ' Let the monument be raised, not merely bysoldiers of General Lee, but by all men, no matter of what politicalfeelings, who appreciate and honor that which is manly, great, andpatriotic. The monument at Richmond will be the resort of pilgrimsfrom the North as well as from the South, and the grave of Lee will besecond only in the hearts of the people to the grave of Washington. "

LEXINGTON, KY. 

At the meeting at Lexington, resolutions were adopted similar tothose already given. The meeting was addressed by General Preston andothers. 

GENERAL W. PRESTON. 

"I am permitted to accompany the report with a few remarks, although Ideem it unnecessary to use one word of commendation on the characterof such a man. These resolutions are no doubt very short, but theywill testify the feelings of every right-minded, noble-hearted man, nomatter what may have been his opinions as to the past. Every trueand generous soul feels that these resolutions are expressive of thesorrow entertained by the whole country. We speak not only the commonvoice of America, but of the world at this hour. It is no ordinarycase of eulogy over an ordinary being, but over one who was the manof the century; a man who, by mighty armies commanded with admirableskill; by great victories achieved, and yet never stained byexultation; by mighty misfortunes met with a calm eye, and submittedto with all the dignity that belongs to elevated intelligence, and byhis simplicity and grandeur, challenged the admiration of civilizedmankind; and still more remarkable, after yielding to the greatestvicissitudes that the world ever saw, resigned himself to theimprovement of the youth of the country, to the last moment of hismortal life, looking to the glorious life which he contemplated beyondthe tomb. I must confess that, notwithstanding the splendor and gloryof his career, I envy him the dignity of the pacific close ofhis life. Nothing more gentle, nothing more great, nothing moreuncomplaining, has ever been recorded in the history of the world. Byreturning to Napoleon, we find he murmured, we find all the marksof mortality and mortal anger; but in Lee we find a man perfect inChristian principles--dignified, yet simple. 

"I knew him first when he was a captain. I was then a young manconnected with one of the regiments of this State, in Mexico, theFourth Kentucky; and when I first saw him he was a man of extremephysical beauty, remarkable for his great gentleness of manner, andfor his freedom from all military and social vices. At that time, General Scott, by common consent, had fixed upon General Lee as theman who would make his mark if ever the country needed his services. He never swore an oath, he never drank, he never wrangled, but therewas not a single dispute between gentlemen that his voice was not morepotent than any other; his rare calmness, serenity, and dignity, were above all. When the war came on, he followed his native State, Virginia, for he was the true representative of the great Virginiafamily at Washington. He was the real type of his race. He waspossessed of all the most perfect points of Washington's character, with all the noble traits of his own. 

"Scott maintained that Lee was the greatest soldier in the army. Hisdiscerning eye compared men; and I remember when, in some respects, Ithought General Lee's military education had not fitted him for thegreat talents which he was destined to display. I remember whenGeneral Scott made use of these remarkable words: 'I tell you onething, if I was on my death-bed, and knew there was a battle to befought for the liberties of my country, and the President was to sayto me, "Scott, who shall command?" I tell you that, with my dyingbreath, I should say Robert Lee. Nobody but Robert Lee! Robert Lee, and nobody but Lee!' That impressed me very much, because, at thebeginning of the campaign, Lee was not prosperous; and why? becausehe was building up his men with that science which he possessed. Hisgreat qualities were discerned not after his remarkable campaigns;but, long before it, his name was regarded with that respectedpreëminence to which it did rise under that campaign. And I now say, and even opposite officers will admit, that no man has displayedgreater power, more military ability, or more noble traits ofcharacter, than Robert E. Lee. Therefore it is that America has lostmuch. Europe will testify this as well as ourselves in this localcommunity. Europe will weigh this, but after-ages will weigh him withMoltke and Bazaine, with the Duke of Magenta, and with all militarymen, and, in my judgment, those ages will say that the greatest fameand ability belonged to Robert Lee. But let us look to his moralcharacter, to which I have already alluded. Through his whole life hehad been a fervent and simple Christian; throughout his campaigns hewas a brave and splendid soldier. If you ask of his friends, you willfind that they adore him. If you ask his character from his enemies, you will find that they respect him, and respect is the involuntarytribute which friend and enemy alike have to pay to elevated worth;and, to-day, as the bells toll, their sounds will vibrate with thetenderest feelings through every noble heart. Public confessions ofhis worth and his greatness will be made through thousands of thetowns and cities throughout this broad land; and, even where they aresilent, monitors within will tell that a great spirit hath fled. Thissecret monitor will tell that a great and good man has passed away, who has left, in my opinion, no equal behind him. "

REV. DR. HENDERSON. 

"Since the announcement of the death of Robert E. Lee, I have beenmomentarily expecting the appearance of a call to pay some tribute tohis splendid memory; but, if a notice had been given of this meeting, it altogether escaped my attention, else I would have been here freelyand voluntarily. If I am a stranger in Lexington, and my lot has beencast here only during the last three weeks, yet I am happy that myfellow-citizens here have paid me such great respect as to call on me, on such an occasion as the present, to testify to the greatness andglory of General Robert E. Lee. Some public calamity is required tobring us into one great brotherhood. 'One touch of Nature makes thewhole world kin. ' Though you are all strangers to me, yet, in thatcommon sympathy which we all feel, we are mourners together at thebier of departed worth. 

"It does not become one of my profession to take any partisan view ofthe life of such a man, although it was my fortune to follow the sameflag which he carried to victory upon so many fields. When it wasfurled, it was done with such calm magnificence as to win theadmiration of his enemies and of the world. Yet I do not stand here tomake any reference to that cause which has passed from the theatre ofearth's activity, and taken its place only in history. But I do claimthe right, from the stand-point which I occupy, of pointing to a manworthy of the emulation of all who love the true nobility of humanity;a man who was magnanimous to his enemies; who would weep at thecalamities of his foes; who, throughout the sanguinary struggle, couldpreserve in himself the fullest share of human sympathy. History willchallenge the world to produce a single instance in which thisgreat man ever wantonly inflicted a blow, or ever wilfully imposedpunishment upon any of his captives, or ever pushed his victory uponan enemy to gain unnecessary results--a man who, in all his campaigns, showed the same bright example to all the battalions that followed thelead of his sword. And now, since that flag which he carried has beenfurled, what a magnificent example has been presented to the world! Itwas said of Washington that he was first in war and first in peace, but, in the latter regard, Robert E. Lee showed more greatness thaneven the Father of his Country. He was struck down; the sun that hadbrightened up the horizon of hopes sank in dark eclipse to set inthe shadow of disappointment. Calm and magnificent in the repose ofconscious strength, he felt that he had lived and struggled for aprinciple that was dear to him. Though dead, it only remained for himto be our example to the stricken and suffering people for whom helabored, and to show how magnanimously a brave and true Christiancould act even when all he held sacred and dear was shattered by thehand of calamity. And, at the close of his career, he devoted hissplendid capacity to the culture of the minds of his country'syouth. He came down from the summit on which he had won the world'sadmiration, to the steady, regular duties of the school-room, to takehis place in the vestry of a Christian church, and to administer theaffairs of a country parish in the interest of Christianity. A manwho, by his dignity and simplicity, preserved the constant admirationof his enemies, without even giving offence to his friends, such a manshould receive a niche in the Pantheon of Fame. 

"He stood in that great struggle of which as a star he was the leader, of unclouded brightness, drawing over its mournful history a splendorwhich is reflected from every sentence of its chronicle. He was anexample of a man, who, though branded because of defeat, still, byhis exalted character, gave a dignity and nobility to a cause which, doubtless, is forever dead, yet still is rendered immortal by theachievements of Robert E. Lee's sword and character. "

NEW YORK. 

"Services were held last evening, " says a New-York journal, "in thelarge hall of the Cooper Institute, in commemoration of the life andcharacter of the late General Robert E. Lee, of the Confederate StatesArmy, with especial reference to his civic and Christian virtues. Thecall for the meeting stated that, although it was inaugurated by theSouthern residents in the city of New York, it was 'yet to be regardedas in no sense born of partisan feeling, but solely from the desireto do honor to the memory of a great and good man--an illustriousAmerican. ' The attendance therefore of all, without reference tosection or nationality, was cordially invited. 

"There was no special decoration of the hall. Grafulla's band was inattendance, and, prior to the opening of the meeting, played severalfine dirges. The choir of St. Stephen's Church also appeared upon theplatform and opened the proceedings by singing 'Come, Holy Spirit. 'The choir consisted of Madame de Luzan, Mrs. Jennie Kempton, Dr. Bauos, and Herr Weinlich. Mr. H. B. Denforth presided at the piano. 

"Among the gentlemen present on the platform were General Imboden, ex-Governor Lowe, General Walker, Colonel Hunter, General Daniel W. Adams, Dr. Van Avery, Mr. M. B. Fielding, Colonel Fellows, GeneralCabell, Colonel T. L. Gnead, Mr. McCormick, Mr. T. A. Hoyt, etc. 

"Mr. M. B. Fielding called the meeting to order, and requested the Rev. Dr. Carter to offer prayer. 

"The Hon. John E. Ward was then called to preside, and deliveredthe following address--all the marked passages of which were loudlyapplauded:

"We meet to pay a tribute of respect to the memory of one whomthe whole South revered with more than filial affection. The kindmanifestations of sympathy expressed through the press of this greatmetropolis, this assemblage, the presence of these distinguished men, who join with us this evening, testify that the afflicted voice ofhis bereaved people has charmed down with sweet persuasion the angrypassions kindled by the conflict in which he was their chosen leader. This is not the occasion either for an elaborate review of his life ora eulogy of his character. I propose to attempt neither. Born of oneof the oldest and most distinguished families of our country--oneso renowned in the field and in the cabinet that it seemed almostimpossible to give brighter lustre to it--General Robert E. Leerendered that family name even more illustrious, and by his genius andvirtues extended its fame to regions of the globe where it had neverbefore been mentioned. There is no cause for envy or hatred leftnow. His soldiers adored him most, not in the glare of his brilliantvictories, but in the hour of his deepest humiliation, when his lastgreat battle had been fought and lost--when the government for whichhe had struggled was crumbling about him--when his staff, asking, indespair, 'What can now be done?' he gave that memorable reply, 'Itwere strange indeed if human virtue were not at least as strong ashuman calamity. ' This is the key to his life--the belief that trialsand strength, suffering and consolation, come alike from God. Obedience to duty was ever his ruling principle. Infallibility is notclaimed for him in the exercise of his judgment in deciding what dutywas. But what he believed duty to command, that he performed withoutthought of how he would appear in the performance. In the judgment ofmany he may have mistaken his duty when he decided that it did notrequire him to draw his sword 'against his home, his kindred, and hischildren. ' But Lee was no casuist or politician; he was a soldier. 'All that he would do highly that would he do holily. ' He taught theworld that the Christian and the gentleman could be united in thewarrior. It was not when in pomp and power--when he commandedsuccessful legions and led armies to victories--but when in sorrowand privation he assumed the instruction and guidance of the youth ofVirginia, laying the only true foundation upon which a republic canrest, the Christian education of its youth--that he reaped the richharvest of a people's love. Goodness was the chief attribute of Lee'sgreatness. Uniting in himself the rigid piety of the Puritan with thegenial, generous impulses of the cavalier, he won the love of all withwhom he came in contact, from the thoughtless child, with whom it wasever his delight to sport, to the great captain of the age, with whomhe fought all the hard-won battles of Mexico. Some may believe thatthe world has given birth to warriors more renowned, to rulers moreskilled in statecraft, but all must concede that a purer, nobler mannever lived. What successful warrior or ruler, in ancient or moderntimes, has descended to his grave amid such universal grief andlamentation as our Lee? Caesar fell by the hands of his own belovedBrutus, because, by his tyranny, he would have enslaved Rome. Frederick the Great, the founder of an empire, became so hated of men, and learned so to despise them, that he ordered his 'poor carcass, ' ashe called it, to be buried with his favorite dogs at Potsdam. Napoleonreached his giddy height by paths which Lee would have scorned totread, only to be hurled from his eminence by all the powers of Europewhich his insatiate ambition had combined against him. Wellington, theconqueror of Napoleon, became the leader of a political party, andlived to need the protection of police from a mob. Even our ownWashington, whose character was as high above that of the mere warriorand conqueror as is the blue vault of heaven above us to the low earthwe tread beneath our feet, was libelled in life and slandered indeath. Such were the fates of the most successful captains andwarriors of the world. For four long years Lee occupied a position notless prominent than that of the most distinguished among them. Theeyes of the civilized world watched his every movement and scanned hisevery motive. His cause was lost. He was unsuccessful. Yet he livedto illustrate to the world how, despite failure and defeat, a soldiercould command honor and love from those for whom he struggled, andadmiration and respect from his foes, such as no success had everbefore won for warrior, prince, or potentate. And, when his life wasended, the whole population of the South, forming one mighty funeralprocession, followed him to his grave. His obsequies modestlyperformed by those most tenderly allied to him, he sleeps in the bosomof the land he loved so well. His spotless fame will gather new vigorand freshness from the lapse of time, and the day is not distant whenthat fame will be claimed, not as the property of a section, but asthe heritage of a united people. His soul, now forever freed fromearth's defilements, basks in the sunlight of God. ' _Pro tumuloponas patriam, pro tegmine caelum, sidera pro facibus, pro lachrymismaria_. '" (Great applause. )

GENERAL IMBODEN

Rose and said:

"It is with emotions of infinite grief I rise to perform one ofthe saddest duties of my life. The committee who have arranged theceremonies on this occasion, deemed it expedient and proper to selecta Virginian as their organ to present to this large assembly of thepeople of New York a formal preamble and resolutions, which giveexpression to their feelings in regard to the death of General RobertE. Lee. This distinction has been conferred by the committee upon me;and I shall proceed to read their report, without offering to submitany remarks as to the feelings excited in my own heart by this, mournful intelligence:"

RESOLUTIONS. 

"In this great metropolitan city of America, where men of every climeand of all nationalities mingle in the daily intercourse of pleasureand of business, no great public calamity can befall any people in theworld without touching a sympathetic chord in the hearts of thousands. When, therefore, tidings reached us that General Robert E. Lee, ofVirginia, was dead, and that the people of that and all the otherSouthern States of the Union were stricken with grief, the greatpublic heart of New York was moved with a generous sympathy, whichfound kindly and spontaneous expression through the columns of thecity press of every shade of opinion. 

"All differences of the past, all bitter memories, all the feudsthat have kept two great sections of our country in angry strife andcontroversy for so long, have been forgotten in the presence of theawe-inspiring fact that no virtues, no deeds, no honors, nor anyposition, can save any member of the human family from the common lotof all. 

"The universal and profound grief of our Southern countrymen isnatural and honorable alike to themselves and to him whom they mourn, and is respected throughout the world; for Robert E. Lee was alliedand endeared to them by all the most sacred ties that can unite anindividual to a community. He was born and reared in their midst, and shared their local peculiarities, opinions, and traditionalcharacteristics; and his preëminent abilities and exalted personalintegrity and Christian character made him, by common consent, theirleader and representative in a great national conflict in which theyhad staked life, fortune, and honor; and in Virginia his family wascoeval with the existence of the State, and its name was emblazonedupon those bright pages of her early civil and military annals whichrecord the patriotic deeds of Washington and his compeers. 

"By no act of his did he ever forfeit or impair the confidence thusreposed in him by his own peculiar people; and when he had, throughyears of heroic trial and suffering, done all that mortal man coulddo in discharge of the high trust confided by them to his hands, and failed, he bowed with dignified submission to the decree ofProvidence; and from the day he gave his parole at Appomattox to thehour of his death, he so lived and acted as to deprive enmity of itsmalignity, and became to his defeated soldiers and countrymen a brightexample of unqualified obedience to the laws of the land, and ofsupport to its established government. Nay, more. With a spirit ofChristian and affectionate duty to his impoverished and sufferingpeople, and with a high estimate of the importance of mental and moralculture to a generation of youth whose earlier years were attended bywar's rough teachings, he went from the tented field and the commandof armies to the quiet shades of a scholastic institution in thesecluded valleys of his own native Virginia, and entered with all theearnestness of his nature upon the duties of instruction, and therespent the closing years of his life in training the minds and heartsof young men from all parts of the country for the highest usefulness'in their day and generation. ' By these pursuits, and his exemplaryand unobtrusive life since the close of the great war in America, hewon the respect and admiration of the enlightened and the good of thewhole world. It is meet and natural, therefore, that his own peopleshould bewail his death as a sore personal bereavement to each one ofthem. Those of us here assembled who were his soldiers, friends, andsupporters, sharing all the trials and many of the responsibilities ofthat period of his life which brought him so prominently before theworld, honored and trusted him then, have loved and admired him, havebeen guided by his example since; and now that he is dead, we shouldbe unworthy of ourselves, and unworthy to be called his countrymen, did we not feel and express the same poignant grief which now afflictsthose among whom he lived and died. 

"Those of us who were not his soldiers, friends, and supporters, whenwar raged throughout the land, but who have nevertheless met hereto-day with those who were our enemies then, but are now our friendsand countrymen, and appreciate with them the character of Lee, andadmire his rare accomplishments as an American citizen, whose fame andname are the property of the nation, we all unite over his hallowedsepulchre in an earnest prayer that old divisions may be composed, andthat a complete and perfect reconciliation of all estrangements may beeffected at the tomb, where all alike, in a feeling of commonhumanity and universal Christian brotherhood, may drop their tears ofheart-felt sorrow. 

"Therefore, without regard to our former relations toward each other, but meeting as Americans by birth or adoption, and in the broadestsense of national unity, and in the spirit above indicated, to dohonor to a great man and Christian gentleman who has gone down to thegrave, we do

"_Resolve_, That we have received with feelings of profound sorrowintelligence of the death of General Robert E. Lee. We can and dofully appreciate the grief of our Southern countrymen at the deathof one so honored by and so dear to them, and we tender to them thisexpression of our sympathy, with the assurance that we feel inthe contemplation of so sad an event that we are and ought to be, henceforth and forever, one great and harmonious national family, sharing on all occasions each others' joys and sympathizing in eachothers' sorrows. 

"_Resolved_, That a copy of the foregoing preamble, and theseresolutions, signed by the president and secretary, be transmitted tothe Governor of Virginia, with a request that the same be preserved inthe archives of the State; and that another copy be sent to the familyof General Lee. 

 "J. D. IMBODEN, Ex. NORTON, JOHN MITCHEL, C. K. MARSHALL, T. L. SNEAD, NORMAN D. SAMPSON, Wm. H. APPLETON, _Committee on Resolutions_"

"On motion, the resolutions were unanimously adopted by a standing andsilent vote, which was followed by a spontaneous outburst of heartyapplause. "

We have given but a small portion of the addresses which were calledforth by this national calamity, and these, no doubt, have sufferedinjustice by imperfect reporting. But we have shown, as we wished toshow, the standard by which our people estimate an heroic character, and how the South loves and honors the memory of her great leader. 

A few extracts from the English press will show the feeling in thatcountry:

THE PALL MALL GAZETTE. 

"Even amid the turmoil of the great European struggle, theintelligence from America announcing that General Robert E. Lee isdead, will be received with deep sorrow by many in this country, aswell as by his followers and fellow-soldiers in America. It is buta few years since Robert E. Lee ranked among the great men of thepresent time. He was the able soldier of the Southern Confederacy, thebulwark of her northern frontier, the obstacle to the advance of theFederal armies, and the leader who twice threatened, by the captureof Washington, to turn the tide of success, and to accomplish arevolution which would have changed the destiny of the United States. Six years passed by, and then we heard that he was dying at an obscuretown in Virginia, where, since the collapse of the Confederacy, he hadbeen acting as a school-master. When, at the head of the last eightthousand of his valiant army, the remnants which battle, sickness, andfamine had left him, he delivered up his sword to General Grant atAppomattox Court-House, his public career ended; he passed away frommen's thoughts; and few in Europe cared to inquire the fate ofthe general whose exploits had aroused the wonder of neutrals andbelligerents, and whose noble character had excited the admiration ofeven the most bitter of his political enemies. If, however, success isnot always to be accounted as the sole foundation of renown, GeneralLee's life and career deserve to be held in reverence by all whoadmire the talents of a general and the noblest qualities of asoldier. His family were well known in Virginia. Descended from theCavaliers who first colonized that State, they had produced more thanone man who fought with distinction for their country. They wereallied by marriage to Washington, and, previous to the recent war, were possessed of much wealth; General (then Colonel) Robert Leeresiding, when not employed with his regiment, at Arlington Heights, one of the most beautiful places in the neighborhood of Washington. When the civil war first broke out, he was a colonel in the UnitedStates Army, who had served with distinction in Mexico, and wasaccounted among the best of the American officers. To him, as toothers, the difficult choice presented itself, whether to take theside of his State, which had joined in the secession of the South, orto support the central Government. It is said that Lee debated thematter with General Scott, then Commander-in-chief, that both agreedthat their first duty lay with their State, but that the former onlyput the theory into practice. 

"It was not until the second year of the war that Lee came prominentlyforward, when, at the indecisive battle of Fair Oaks, in front ofRichmond, General Johnston having been wounded, he took command of thearmy; and subsequently drove McClellan, with great loss, to the banksof the James River. From that time he became the recognized leaderof the Confederate army of Virginia. He repulsed wave after wave ofinvasion, army after army being hurled against him only to be thrownback, beaten and in disorder. The Government at Washington were keptin constant alarm by the near vicinity of his troops, and witnessedmore than once the entry into their intrenchments of a defeatedand disorganized rabble, which a few days previous had left them aconfident host. Twice he entered the Northern States at the head ofa successful army, and twice indecisive battles alone preserved fromdestruction the Federal Government, and turned the fortune of the war. He impressed his character on those who acted under him. Ambition forhim had no charms, duty alone was his guide. His simplicity of lifechecked luxury and display among his officers, while his disregard ofhardships silenced the murmurs of his harassed soldiery. By the troopshe was loved as a father, as well as admired as a general; and hisdeeply-religious character impressed itself on all who were broughtin contact with him, and made itself felt through the ranks of theVirginian army. It is said that, during four years of war, he neverslept in a house, but in winter and summer shared the hardships of hissoldiers. Such was the man who, in mature age, at a period of lifewhen few generals have acquired renown, fought against overwhelmingodds for the cause which he believed just. He saw many of his bravestgenerals and dearest friends fall around him, but, although constantlyexposed to fire, escaped without a wound. 

"The battles which prolonged and finally decided the issue of thecontest are now little more than names. Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, are forgotten in Europe by allexcepting those who study recent wars as lessons for the future, andwould collect from the deeds of other armies experience which theymay apply to their own. To them the boldness of Lee's tactics atChancellorsville will ever be a subject of admiration; while eventhose who least sympathize with his cause will feel for the generalwho saw the repulse of Longstreet's charge at Gettysburg, and beheldthe failure of an attempt to convert a defensive war into one ofattack, together with the consequent abandonment of the bold strokewhich he had hoped would terminate the contest. Quietly he ralliedthe broken troops; taking all the blame on himself, he encouragedthe officers, dispirited by the reverse, and in person formed up thescattered detachments. Again, when Fortune had turned against theConfederacy, when overwhelming forces from all sides pressed backher defenders, Lee for a year held his ground with aconstantly-diminishing army, fighting battle after battle in theforests and swamps around Richmond. No reverses seemed to dispirithim, no misfortune appeared to ruffle his calm, brave temperament. Only at last, when he saw the remnants of his noble army about tobe ridden down by Sheridan's cavalry, when eight thousand men, half-starved and broken with fatigue, were surrounded by the net whichGrant and Sherman had spread around them, did he yield; his fortitudefor the moment gave way; he took farewell of his soldiers, and, givinghimself up as a prisoner, retired a ruined man into private life, gaining his bread by the hard and uncongenial work of governingLexington College. 

"When political animosity has calmed down, and when Americans can lookback on those years of war with feelings unbiassed by party strife, then will General Lee's character be appreciated by all his countrymenas it now is by a part, and his name will be honored as that of one ofthe noblest soldiers who have ever drawn a sword in a cause which theybelieved just, and at the sacrifice of all personal considerationshave fought manfully a losing battle. "

THE SATURDAY REVIEW. 

This journal, after some remarks on the death of Admiral Farragut, continues:

"A still more famous leader in the war has lately closed a blamelesslife. There may be a difference of opinion on the military qualitiesof the generals who fought on either side in the civil war; but it isno disparagement to the capacity of Grant or of Sherman to say thatthey had no opportunity of rivalling the achievements of General Lee. Assuming the chief command in the Confederate army in the secondcampaign of the war, he repelled three or four invasions of Virginia, winning as many pitched battles over an enemy of enormously superiorresources. After driving McClellan from the Peninsula, he inflictedon Burnside and Pope defeats which would have been ruinous if thebelligerents had been on equal terms; but twenty millions of men, withthe absolute command of the sea and the rivers, eventually overpowereda third of their number. The drawn battle of Gettysburg proved thatthe invasion of the Northern States was a blunder; and in 1863 itbecame evident that the fall of the Confederacy could not be muchlonger delayed. Nevertheless General Lee kept Grant's swarming legionsat bay for the whole summer and autumn, and the loss of the Northernarmies in the final campaign exceeded the entire strength of thegallant defenders of Richmond. When General Lee, outnumbered, cutoff from his communications, and almost surrounded by his enemies, surrendered at Appomattox Court-House, he might console himself withthe thought that he had only failed where success was impossible. Fromthat moment he used his unequalled and merited authority to reconcilethe Southern people to the new order of affairs. He had originallydissented from the policy of secession; and he followed the bannerof his State exclusively from a sense of duty, in disregard of hisprofessional and private interests. He might at pleasure have beenCommander-in-Chief of the Northern army, for he was second in rank toGeneral Scott. His ancient home and his ample estate on the Potomacwere ravaged by the enemy; but he never expressed a regret for thesacrifice of his fortune. There can be no doubt that he was oftenthwarted by political superiors and by incompetent subordinates, buthis equable temper and lofty nature never inclined him to complaint. The regret for his loss which is felt throughout the vast regionsof the South is a just tribute to one of the greatest and purestcharacters in American history. "

It will not be inappropriate to reproduce here the tribute whichappeared in the London _Standard_, on the receipt of the news ofGeneral Lee's illness:

THE STANDARD. 

"The announcement that General R. E. Lee has been struck down byparalysis and is not expected to recover, will be received, even atthis crisis, with universal interest, and will everywhere excite asympathy and regret which testify to the deep impression made on theworld at large by his character and achievements. Few are the generalswho have earned, since history began, a greater military reputation;still fewer are the men of similar eminence, civil or military, whosepersonal qualities would bear comparison with his. The bitterestenemies of his country hardly dared to whisper a word against thecharacter of her most distinguished general, while neutrals regardedhim with an admiration for his deeds and a respect for his loftyand unselfish nature which almost grew into veneration, and his owncountrymen learned to look up to him with as much confidence andesteem as they ever felt for Washington, and with an affection whichthe cold demeanor and austere temper of Washington could neverinspire. The death of such a man, even at a moment so exciting asthe present, when all thoughts are absorbed by a nearer and presentconflict, would be felt as a misfortune by all who still retain anyrecollection of the interest with which they watched the Virginiancampaigns, and by thousands who have almost forgotten the names ofFredericksburg and Chancellorsville, the Wilderness and Spottsylvania. By the South it would be recognized as a national calamity--as theloss of a man not only inexpressibly dear to an unfortunate people byhis intimate association with their fallen hopes and their proudestrecollections, but still able to render services such as no other mancould perform, and to give counsel whose value is enhanced tenfoldby the source from which it comes. We hope, even yet, that a life sohonorable and so useful, so pure and noble in itself, so valuable toa country that has much need of men like him, may be spared andprolonged for further enjoyment of domestic peace and comfort, forfurther service to his country; we cannot bear to think of a career sosingularly admirable and so singularly unfortunate, should close sosoon and so sadly. By the tens of thousands who will feel as we dowhen they read the news that now lies before us, may be measured theimpressions made upon the world by the life and the deeds of the greatchief of the Army of Virginia. 

"Whatever differences of opinion may exist as to the merits of thegenerals against whom he had to contend, and especially of theantagonist by whom he was at last overcome, no one pretending tounderstand in the least either the general principles of militaryscience or the particular conditions of the American War, doubts thatGeneral Lee gave higher proofs of military genius and soldiership thanany of his opponents. He was outnumbered from first to last; and allhis victories were gained against greatly superior forces, and withtroops greatly deficient in every necessary of war except courageand discipline. Never, perhaps, was so much achieved against odds soterrible. The Southern soldiers--'that incomparable Southern infantry'to which a late Northern writer renders due tribute of respect--wereno doubt as splendid troops as a general could desire; but thedifferent fortune of the East and the West proves that the Virginianarmy owed something of its excellence to its chief. Alwaysoutnumbered, always opposed to a foe abundantly supplied with food, transport, ammunition, clothing, all that was wanting to his own men, he was always able to make courage and skill supply the deficiency ofstrength and of supplies; and from the day when he assumed the commandafter the battle of Seven Pines, where General Joseph Johnstonwas disabled, to the morning of the final surrender at AppomattoxCourt-House, he was almost invariably victorious in the field. AtGettysburg only he was defeated in a pitched battle; on the offensiveat the Chickahominy, at Centreville, and at Chancellorsville, onthe defensive at Antietam, Fredericksburg, the Wilderness, andSpottsylvania, he was still successful. But no success could avail himany thing from the moment that General Grant brought to bear uponthe Virginian army the inexhaustible population of the North, and, employing Sherman to cut them off from the rest of the Confederacy, set himself to work to wear them out by the simple process ofexchanging two lives for one. From that moment the fate of Richmondand of the South was sealed. When General Lee commenced the campaignof the Wilderness he had, we believe, about fifty thousand men; hisadversary had thrice that number at hand, and a still larger force inreserve. When the army of Virginia marched out of Richmond it stillnumbered some twenty-six thousand men; after a retreat of six days, in the face of an overwhelming enemy, with a crushing artillery--aretreat impeded by constant fighting, and harassed by countless hordesof cavalry--eight thousand were given up by the capitulation ofAppomattox Court-House. Brilliant as were General Lee's earliertriumphs, we believe that he gave higher proofs of genius in his lastcampaign, and that hardly any of his victories were so honorable tohimself and his army as that six-days' retreat. 

"There have, however, been other generals of genius as brilliant, ofcourage and endurance hardly less distinguished. How many men haveever displayed the perfect simplicity of nature, the utter absenceof vanity or affectation, which belongs to the truest and purestgreatness, in triumph or in defeat, as General Lee has done? WhenCommander-in-Chief of the Southern armies, he moved from point topoint, as duty required, with less parade than a European generalof division, wearing no sword, attended by no other staff than theimmediate occasion demanded, and chatting with a comrade or a visitorwith a simple courtesy which had in it no shade of condescension. Only on one occasion does he seem to have, been accoutred with theslightest regard to military display or personal dignity; and that, characteristically, was the last occasion on which he wore theConfederate uniform--the occasion of his interview with General Granton April 9, 1865. After the war he retired without a word into privacyand obscurity. Ruined by the seizure and destruction of his property, which McClellan protected, and which his successors gave up to ravageand pillage, the late Commander-in-Chief of the Southern armiesaccepted the presidency of a Virginia college, and devoted himself assimply and earnestly to its duties as if he had never filled a higherstation or performed more exciting functions. Well aware of thejealous temper of the party dominant in the North, and anxious, aboveall things, to avoid exasperating that temper against his conqueredcountrymen, he carefully abstained from appearing in any publicceremony or taking any overt part in political questions. Hisinfluence has been exerted, quietly but steadily, in one direction, with a single view to restore harmony and good-will between the twosections, and to reconcile the oppressed Southerners to the Union fromwhich he fought so gallantly to free them. He has discountenanced allregretful longings after the lost visions of Southern independence;all demonstrations in honor of the 'conquered banner;' and hasencouraged the South to seek the restoration of her materialprosperity and the satisfaction of her national feelings in a frankacceptance of the result of the war, and a loyal adhesion to theFederal bond. It was characteristic and worthy of the man that he wasamong the first to sue for a formal pardon from President Johnson; notfor any advantage which he personally could obtain thence, but to setthe example of submission to his comrades-in-arms, and to reconcilethem to a humiliation without which the conquerors refused them thatrestitution to civil rights necessary to any effort to retrieve theirown or their country's fortunes. Truer greatness, a loftier nature, aspirit more unselfish, a character purer, more chivalrous, the worldhas rarely, if ever known. Of stainless life and deep religiousfeeling, yet free from all taint of cant and fanaticism, and as dearand congenial to the Cavalier Stuart as to the Puritan StonewallJackson; unambitious, but ready to sacrifice all at the call of duty;devoted to his cause, yet never moved by his feelings beyond the lineprescribed by his judgment; never provoked by just resentment topunish wanton cruelty by reprisals which would have given a characterof needless savagery to the war--both North and South owe a deep debtof gratitude to him, and the time will come when both will be equallyproud of him. And well they may, for his character and his life afforda complete answer to the reproaches commonly cast on money-grubbing, mechanical America. A country which has given birth to men like him, and those who followed him, may look the chivalry of Europe in theface without shame; for the fatherlands of Sidney and of Bayard neverproduced a nobler soldier, gentleman, and Christian, than GeneralRobert E. Lee. "

We may add to these the following just remarks upon the occupation towhich General Lee devoted himself at the close of his military career, from

THE OLD DOMINION. 

"Surely it should be a cause of thankfulness and encouragement forthose who are teachers, that their profession has received thisreflection of glory and honor from this choice of his, from this life, and from this death. And it is enduring honor for all the colleges ofthe South, and for all our schools--an honor in which all may sharealike without jealousy--that this pure and bright name is inseparablyconnected by the will of him that bore it with the cause of education, and is blended now with that of Washington in the name of one of ourown institutions of learning. We think that so long as the name of Leeis honored and loved among us, our Southern teachers may rejoice andgrow stronger in their work, when they remember that he was one oftheir number, and that his great heart, that had so bravely borne thefortunes of a great empire, bore also, amid its latest aspirations, the interests, the anxieties, and the hopes of the unpretending butnoble profession of teaching. 

"To leave this out of the account would be, indeed, to do sadinjustice to General Lee's own memory. And that, not only because hisposition in this profession was of his own choice, and was steadilymaintained with unchanging purpose to the end of his life, but alsobecause the acknowledgment of his service here is necessary to thecompleteness of his fame. In no position of his life did he moresignally develop the great qualities of his character than in this;and it may truly be said that some of the greatest can only be fullyunderstood in the light of the serene patience and of the simple andquiet self-consecration of his latest years. It was then that, farfrom the tumult of arms and from the great passions of public life, with no great ambition to nerve his heart, nor any great events toobscure the public criticism of his conduct, he displayed in calmand steady light the grandest features of his character, and by thiscrucial test, added certain confirmation to the highest estimate thatcould have been formed of his character and of his abilities. It wasindeed a 'crucial test' for such a man; and that he sustained it as hedid is not among the smallest of his claims to the admiration of hiscountrymen. No tribute to his memory can be just that does not takethis last great service into the account; and no history of his lifecan be fairly written that shall not place in the strongest light hiscareer and influence as President of Washington College. "

And we may appropriately close with the following thoughtful wordsfrom the pen of

HON. ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS. 

"In the darkest hour of our trials, in the very midst of our deepestaffliction, mourning over the loss of the noble Lee, Heaven sends tous as consolation the best sign of the times vouchsafed in many a day. It addresses the heart, rent as it is in surveying the desolationsaround us, as the rainbow upon the breast of the receding storm-cloudwhen its power and fury are over. 

"That sign is the unmistakable estimation in which the real meritsand worth of this illustrious chieftain of the cause of the SouthernStates is held by all classes of persons, not only in the South, butin the North. 

"Partisans and leaders, aiming at the overthrow of our institutions, may, while temporarily in high places, by fraud and usurpation, keepup the false cry of _rebel_ and _traitor_; but these irrepressibleoutburstings of popular sentiment, regarding no restraints ongreat-occasions which cause _Nature_ to speak, show clearly how thiscry and charge are regarded and looked upon by the masses of thepeople everywhere. 

"Everywhere Lee is honored; not only as a _hero_, but as a _patriot_. This is but the foreshadowing of the general judgment of the people ofthe whole United States, and of the world, not only upon Lee, but uponall of his associates who fought, bled, and died in that gloriouscause in which he won his immortality. That cause was the sovereignright of local self-government by the people of the several States ofthis continent. _That_ cause is not dead! Let it never be abandoned;but let its friends rally to its standard in the forum of reason andjustice, with the renewed hope and energy from this soul-inspiritingsign that it lies deeply impressed upon the hearts of the greatmajority of the people in all sections of this country. 

"In these popular manifestations of respect and veneration for theman who won all his glory in maintaining this cause, present usurpersshould read their doom, and all friends of constitutional libertyshould take fresh courage in all political conflicts, never to lowertheir standard of principles. "

THE END

[Illustration: Portion of the VALLEY OF VIRGINIA]