Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1865-11-12

II is said by Coleridge that no man
thrown 10 the surface of human affairs
ever saeceeded I'm simultaneously gaining
distinction and affection, unless he pos
sesstd something Of an epicene nature,
that is 10 say, q mixture of masculine
and feminine qualities. Without claim
ing for Gen. Lee, In the highest sense of
the title great il Is impossible 10
DENY that his memory viii be cherished
by those who, i'm the crisis Oi his three
years trial, stood and suffered by his
side. a. an exceptional. dear and precious
possession. Few soldiers, if asked
whether they would rather have served
under Lee ou the one hand, or under
Cromwell, Frederick the Great; Aiarl-
borough or Napoleon on the other, would
hesitate TO prefer the four famous Gen
erals TO the discOmtitted Confederate.
Yet it Is doubtful whether any Of the
fUur, after they had passed away, and
had ceased 10 communicate the electric
shock Of their presence and c0ntact-Of
eve, voice, character and influence
Others, possessed such hold on the atiec
tiOus and esteem as were inspired 10y
Robert +. Lee.
The truth seems O.. be that the greatest
men gre necessary and intensely selfish.
All great men are monsters, SAYS a Ger
man prUverb, andit may, think, be con-
ceded that when a man Is playing con-
spicuous role in life, and is generally
loved. he Is not in the worlds highest
sense. great. He Is probably something
better. He has the thoughtfulness about
Others, the unObtrusivenessa and reBuncia-
zion of self, the truthfu-ness, purity,
modezty, charity, genJleHess which can
not long he unnoriced 10y those around
him. and which lay firm hold upon their
hearts. But 10 be great, TO til a very
large space in the worlds eye during
mans few brief years upon earth, he
must throw mgdesty and unObtrusiyeness
overheard; he must be gTasFing, aggTeS-
sive discreetly greedy Of praise coyetous
~ a large share Of honor, judicious-y en-
1-fgus. must know how To undermine
Troublesome rivals without being found
out. and 20 help useful friends without
being sUpplanted. Heartily agreeing
with Colcrid-e that where distinction
and affection have been won c0incidenUy
there must be the epiceHe element in
their winner, ! venture 10 doubt whether
mans affection Is ever won by the CREST
est. or in other words whether IN the
greatest any o the woman Is 10 be found.
The men who are brave from tenderness
ar braver than the men VINO are brave
from pride. But the men who, % er-
courage or. spare Others are gratultolsiy
brave are not selfish enough % be great.
The calm judgment of pOsterity, espe-
cialIy if assisted by the pen of Mr.. Car
lvle who Is said 10 hold that Washing
Ton stands too high, and who, II 4 am
rightly informed. contemplateS lowering
his PEDESTAL, viii, ! think, reverse the
verdict Of Mr. Everett's well-known lee
ture. and will pronounce that Washing
ton was not greater than Peter, or Fred
ericlz, or Marlborough, as hiF. Everett
contends, but was simply more estima-
ble.
The exceeding loyableness Of Lee be-
came more patent as your consclOusnes-
that as a politician he lacked Vigor ana
sclf-assertiOn became more Irresistible.
This lovableness vas based UT5n never
firing unsellishne7s, q contagious endu- /
1-auss of hardship and danger. q shrinking
Fnodesty, On ab0usiing tenderness. Tie
child and the young girl, who had never
seen him before, ran 10 him instinctively
as to a friend. HislOok spoke Of honesty,
directness, kindness, courage. His sIalle
syas irresistibly winning, But the stun
which made Cromwell, Napoleon, VII
liam the Silent, greater as politicians iGan
~ soldier was lacking in Lee. All that
there WAS Of true anl brave in the people
whom we SO nearly made q nation called
on him by signs that be who ran might
rad, TO put Congress aside, TO control the
prs-s. 10 be Dictator indeed; aud yet he
trrIlS nOtl Neverthelesz, in the belle!
that there Is ilO more powerful stlmtilai.t
10 noble ambiIiCn than the study OF such
a character a- Lee s, deelfe 70 throw my
stone upan the cairn by gathering together
a few notes, for the general accuracy OF
which can entirely yJUch, exhibiting the
flsH al EaErarsffTTI six DAYS
which iutervened between the evacuation
of the Confederate lines around Peters
burg and Richmond on the night OF the
second Of April, snd the surrender OF
Lees army on the morning OF Apfn
ninth.
n; order rightly 10 understand these
six days, il should be promised that the
Federal cavalry, massed under Gen. Sher-
i8an- numbering about fifteen thousand
sabres. splendidly equipped, and con
verted by their able commander INTO a
body Of military horSemen, upon which
an Austrian or French sdbTeiT might
have looked without disliain, moved
,8uthWards down the Valley Of virginia
between the first and tenthof last March,
and encountered a scratch Confederate
army of about three thousand men, under
g;e,r Early. nj Waynesbor0. Gen Early,
Fistrl1stfi,l Of his men, who were equally
distrlstful OF him, planted them "lln
their backs 90 a deep river, IN or
der 10 make retreat impossible. The
result f. easily f0reseen. Gen. sheridan
bagged two-thirds Of his enemy's force
and most Of his cnemy's artliieIg-
Sweeping rapidly onward toward the
James river between Richmond ana
Ivncyburg, SheridaP found himself con-
fronted By q swollen and impassahie
stream. He feil back, rounded the leIt
wing ef Lees army, ea0ssed tpe IA
muuky river at the White House lNhere
he recruited his strength BY picking up
twelve hundred fresh horses Which
awaited him there and upon the
rvrentv-ffrb Of March ioined Gen. Grant
ip the lines before Petersburg. To Sher-
idaufs uutiring and ssgaeiols activity IN
the subseaueDt operations, more tnan 10
the agency, Of any other man, Is due the
completeness Of ihe Federal triumph
the seemingly ineEplicaDie eoiiaif@e oi the
COnlederacy.
u was not long before Grants acces-
sion Of strength was felt by Lee.
Upon Tie evening % Saturday, april
first Gen. iDugstreet, who had so long
defended Richmond by commanding the
Confederate forces ON the north Of James
river, received information from Lee that
Grant had detached Sheridan's cavalry
and two corps Of infantry ,apout twenty
five thousaulmen IN all tOact against the
Southside Railroad Before c0mmuni-
eating with LOng-treet Lee had dis
patched Pickett'- and Bushrld JOhuson's
divisions, Huger's battalion Of artillery,
hpd FitEaugh Lees diyisiOn Of cavalry
iiH an about seventeen thousand men
90 lnterc-pt tls falarals. Lee had 50
Feakepsc las uuEs before Petersburg,
that there Nas but one Confederate left
TO every My yards.
Under these circumstances. lee called
,,r,o,, T.,ngstreet FOR men. Pint al dawn,
Ubou tbe second day Of April. before
IoDgstreet had had tinlS TO obey Lees
orlers. Grant deserted from his s,aeden
tower OF observation the weakness Of the
Confederate lines. Immediately he
threw a very heavy column, consisting.
I believe, chiefly Of Gibbon.s corps, upon
the weakest spot The FeoeIals carried
with very slight loss the outer line
thinly held by Heih's division of Con-
federate.. and bulged inward uHul they
struck two Of the detached forts, whereof
a string orsystem ran behind the whole
Ienrth Of the Confederate outer works.
These two detached forts, which were OF
course designed 20 cover each other, We're
named Forts Gregg and Alexander.
The officer in command Of Fort Alex
ander, which was fsfthest away from
fbe OF coming Federals, deemed il more
important "a save his guns than 10 try
and help Fort Gregg. Receiving no as
sistance from ifs iWiH=sTether, Fort
Gregg. manned by Harris MISSISSIPPI
brigade, numbering two hundred and nifty
undaunted men, breasted intrepidly the
tide Of its multudincus sssaiiants. Three
times Gibbons corps sUTged up and
around the work-three times, Nith
dreadful oarrfage, they were driven back.
/ am told that q was subsequently ad-
mitted by Gen. 0itbon, that in carrying
Fort Gregg he lost from live to siY hun
dred men; or in Other words that each
hfississippian inside the works struck
down at least two assaiiauts When at
last the work was carried there remained
out Of the two hundred and fifty defen-
dants but thirty SURVIVORS. in those nine
memorable April days there was no ep-
isode more glorious 20 the Confederate
arms than the heroic selt'immolation Of