Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1865-11-03

/ ne aTllClc uiiutI tHG abofN ttio 10 " o'to
Hon. Francis Lawley, the late Richmond
correspondent Of the London Time.
From McsLoaNoa Forn;gLuy Reeic'e. ~
Il is said by Cpleaidge t,..t no man thrown
to the SUFFICE Of human afssirs ever succeeded
in, Simultaneously gaining distinction and af-
Election unless he possessed something OF an
eDcene nature-tilatis to say a mixture Of
masculine aad feminine qualities. Without
clsi.ililsg for General Lee III the highest sense
the. tisle Of great" it is impossible to deny
that his memory viii be cherished by those
who, in tne crisis of his three years of trial.
stood and suffered by his side, as an excep-
tionalIy dear and precious possession. Few
soldiers, if asked whether they would rather
have served under Lee Oh the one hand, or
under Cromwell, Frederick the Great, MARI
borough or Napoleon on the other, would
hesitate to prefer the four famous Generals
to the discomftted Confederate Yet it IS
doubtful whether any of the four, after they
had passed away and hal ceased to commu-
nicate the electric shock ofthelr presence and
contactc-ef eve, voice, character and lnfiu-
ence-to others, possessed such hold on the
affections and esteem as were inspired by
Robert i. Lee.
/ THE exceeding loveableness Of Lee became
more patent IS your consciousness that, as a
politician, he lacked vigoiA and sel-assertion
became more irresistible. Thisloveableness
was based On navertiring unselfshness, a
contagious endurance Of hardship and dan
ger, shrinking modesty, an Astounding ten
delness The child and the young girl, who
had never seen him before, ran to him III
stinctivelv as to friend His look spoke Of
honesty, lirectness, kindness, courage his
smile was irresistibly winning. But the
stuff which made Cromwell, Napoleon, Will
liam the Silent, greater as politicians than as
soldiers, was lacking in Lee. All that there
was of true and brave in thepeople whom he
50 nearly made into a nation, called On him
by signs that he who ran might have read,
ito put Congress aside, to control the press,
to be Dictator indeed land yet he would not !.
Nevertheless, in the belief that there is no
more powerful stinulant to a noble ambition
than the study Of such character as
Lees, I desire to throw my stone upon the
cairn by gathering together few notes, for
the general accuracy Of which | can entirely
vouch, exhibiting the main features Of those
eyentful six days which interviewed between
the evacuation Of the Confederate lines
around Petersburg and Richmond ON the
night of April ID AMI the surrender Of Lees
army on the morning OF April 9th.
In order rightly to understand these six
days, it should be promised that the Federal
cavalry ,massed under General Serbian, num-
bering abouta IA ,00O sabres, splendidly
equipped, and converted BY their able COM
mander into body of military horsemen up
on whom 81 Austrian or French sabeyeur
might have looked without disdain, moved
southwal'ds down the Valley of Virginia be-
tween the LIST and 10th Of last March, and
encountered a scratch Confederate army, Of
about 3, 600 men, under General Early, at
Wayncshoro. General Early, distrustful Of
his men, who were equally distrustful Of him,
planted them with their backs to a deep river,
in order to make retreat impossible. The
result is easily foreseen. Geneal Sheridan
tagged two-thirds of his enemy's force, and
most of his enemy's artillery. In the previ-
fotls summer I remember that. as General
EARLY kept losing gun after gun, great eff
forts were made to resupply bis losses by
sending up fresh guns from Richmond. =
Upon one Of these guns some wag ola Con
federate soldier had chalked General Sher=
idan, care of General Early The transfer
was probably effected at Waynesboro, =
Sweeping rapidly EDWARDS towards theJames
River, between Richmond and Lynchburg
Sheridan found himself confronted by q
swollen and impossible stream. He fell back
rounded the left wing of Lees army, crossed
the Pamunky River at the White House
lwhere he recruited bis strength by picking
up 200 fresh horses which awaited hin
there, and upon the 18th Of March ioinee
General Grant in the lines before Petersburg
TO Sheridan's untiring and sagacious activity
in the subsequent operatioas, more than tt
/ the energy of any other man, is due the com
/ plctencss of the Federal triumph the seem
insIy inexp'ieable collapse OF the Colifodcra