The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1865-05-09
iIcGe,ierssl Lee,

~
y aid iii6re sensible than his I4askn pa
.avls, viii have been: 1hdeceived by tn
/ fttcuor Of his farewell letter to- the arm,
which he SURRENDERED to G GeneraI Grant
7 noIElvas repogted by sSfne OF the jour
,,rqials, aid Believed l,By some crednlop
T minds, that Lee had Seen the fntility o
Il further fighting, and was ready 'hdww I,
return TO good citizenship and forssvsa
,, tthe irebellion!.h There was, until a weel
lago, a desire with sonne TO cohdou,
( itreason did the deseftion ofhis Asg, Il
4 this persbn, and to forgive his,offences
Fn But the letter in question shows hin
4 AIS bitter and graceless a tra;tesa aa Da
Wis himself I He congratulates the reb
,, Eel soidiery that their conduct has fen
! deared them to their couhtrymen, "anG
he Bids them farewell" q, with increasing
? admiration Of their constancy and de-
4 potion TO Meir country" aud bids them
take with them "the satisfaction that
! proceeds from the consequences of du.
tity fa;thfialy performed. - -3'.'J rssdo
With tits slap ii fgRe face 70 loyal sol
diers, General Robert Il. Lee retires
from the field, as unrepentant aud as
foolshly defiant n rebel as his master
! Haxis. i To admire Bravery, even ifex-
ertea in a bad calsse, is natural and iais
lowable But this rebel general r this de
bsertels fi'0m TIE old flag, who ran, away
with 4 lie in his mouth, and entered the
general service Of the Confederate ar.
my when he had promised his sister to
serve only his state-this person can
tn6t refrain, even when he has given up
the contest as'hoptless, ito blurt out his
4 treason, and to use his influence over
the army which he had surrendered, to
rouse them to new rebellion and Justify
future insWrections. If any loyal man
began latteily, on false reports, to think
web of this Lee, he has now, in the let
ter from which we have quoted, the ma
terials for alrevision of his Judgment.
But why should we think better of
iLee than ofDavis, or Benjamin, Or Hum
ter ? What has he done for us, or omit
ted to do against us, which makes hin.
q better man than his base coadjutors !?
bItis urged in his favor, by his friends.
that he was the tool of Davis-but he
was a most willing tool. In 1861 he
was serving OH the staff 'ofthe General
in Chiefof the United States army; he
had peculiar opportunities, by his pos.
ition to learn all the plans of his con-,
mander, and theresources Of the army.
He remained long enough to get the
fullest information, and then he desert
ed to the enemies of his country, and
carried with him. his Valuable knowl-l
edge OF thefplans and intentions of the
.goverAmenthe hadleft Certainly this
treachefy of Zee was as base and mean
as that of any man in this rebellion,-
That he deserted his flag with pretences-
of the profoundest grief, and betrayed
a,s its,'s eSsdfce does % not, We imagine raise him
m the opinion of honorable men and
women. 7-fa !" OF" Si' 49,
9dNSr iePiis forget that this Gen cral1
Leo, SO influential in the South that his
suggestions were of greater effect than
DAVIS s'commands Lee who had
only to say what he wanted and it was
done, Had his headquarters within sight
of the horrible prison Of Belle Isle,
where braye y Uniog soldiers, his prison
efs Of war, were rotSiHg IKE sheep,
crowded together in ditchcs t8 keep
their Blood stirring, killing rats, cats
aid dogs to appease their Rnngef. aud
diving daily, Under Eee's very eyes, of
sta4,y atloR.l He Was SO near them that,
onoa still night he might have heard
their dismal groans he knew their hor,
rible condition, for he read the New
York papers, in which their sufferings
wcre published !; he was all powerful,
and had onlyto speak to have our broth
'ers efed land clothed land lie said no
.word.y Is it our part TO think kindly Of
wretch, who, during the three
years THAT lie eheld high command and
almost supreme authority in The South,
never raised his finger 10 save Union
Is6Mers from The most savage and bar.
bar@s usage, and tie-most cruel and
terrible deaths ~ Y,IqWhoever dares to
treat this man as anything but the un-
hanged traitor that he is, ought TO be
haunted through life by the miserable
speetres that were let out from Rich
tnond into the free air, only TO de- I'D
a. L