The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-11-04
orssaHIIIIR =8coLUNBIA TENNESSEE FRIDAY NOVEMBER

--SzTIf,s IfIg . IL z - -Lt
April Is, lSA7, he was brevetted msjol
for gallantry. In the August following
he again won q breve: rank by his meri
torious conduct at Contreras and Cheru,
busco. In the assault on Chapultepec
September Is, 1877, he WAS wounded
and received therefor the brevet pro
motion Of lieutenant colonel.
Lees service In Mexico is remark.
able for tho extraordinary attention
which the, young officer obtained from
General Scott. He appears to have
been the special favorite of the veteran
commander, and there is hardly sin.
gle dispatch in which his name ia no.
honorably mentioned. AtCerro Gorsio
General Scott wrote: 81 am COMPEL
cd to make special mention Of Captain
r. f. Lee, Engineer. This officer
greatly distinguished himself at Vera
Cruz was again indefatigable during
these operations In reconnoissances, ae
daring as laborioue, and of the utmost
value. Nor was he less conspicuous in
planning batteries, and In conducting
columns to the stations, under the
heavy fire o ithe enemy" AT Chapul.
tapec, be again highly cOmp.imented
Captain Lee IS Distinguished for fe-
licitous execution as for, science and
dsring.n And, furthermore, he says :
"Captain Lee, 80 constantly, distin-
gvisbed, also bore important orders
nom me, until be fainted from wound
and the loss Of two nights sleep at the
bottefiee.,hi Sii.S %, tii 80 "a
Atthe close Of the Mexican war, Lee
was appointed member Of the Board
Of Engineers, and remained as such
untipl650 On the let Of September,
1858 he was appointed to succeed Capt
Beaverton as Superintendent of the
Military Academy at West Point. In
1856, Colonel Lee having been promo
ted to the cavalry arm of the service,
and thereby incspacitated by law from
exercising superintendence at the Mill
tary Academy, was succeeded by Ma
jor J. g. Barnard. The regiment to
which Lee was now appointed was the
Second Cavalry, new regiment or
ganized under the act of March 8, 1855,
its colonel being Albert Sidney John.
ston, afterwards general in the ser
vice of the Southern Confederscy.
This regiment was much employed IN
the Indian wars on the prairies of Tex
as. On the 18th of March, 1851, Lee
obtained his last promotion in the SER
vice of the United States, being ap-
pointed colonel III the First Cavalry.
He was to hold this position but few
weeks. s-ys>eas s,s-s'as's ''s
In the autumn OF 1859 occurred the
memorable raid of John Brown in Nir-
ginia; an event which placed the name
of Colonel Leo before the public in some
very dramatic circumstances.
He commanded, with the late Cen
eral J. T., b. Stuart, the battalion Of
marines sent by President Buchanan
to capture Browns gang, q duty he
performed to the satisfaction of his su-
periors, but not without the loss of one
or more lives. He next attracted pull
Lie attention by his resignation Of his
commission in the United States army,
which he rendered not without heeita-
ton - hesitation, however, which
was simply the doubt Of duty. Ambf-
ton, the bribes Of Office, personal in
terest, did not enter into mind pure,
conscientious, introspective, anxious
only to discover the line of duty, and
then prompt and resOlute to follow it.
AS long as Virginia wavered, Lee stood
irresolute. While he maintained an
attentive neutrality and waited for
events, the Federal authorities at
Washington used every effort to COM
NIT him to the service of the Union,
and did not hesitate to urge his choice
by the most splendid bribes. Mr.. Blair,
senior, has freely admitted that at this
time he was deputed by President Lin
coin to sound Lee, and to suggest to
him his early appointment to the chic
OF the Federal forces, in the
event of his declaration for the Union.
Those who sthus approached Lee to
tempt his ambition little knew the
man. They did not have the key to
those quiet meditations which made
him reticent and kept him undecided.
His only thought was duty. There is
o very noble letter written several
years before the war by Lee, which
the man aid indicates his
idea Of the conduct oflife.
He wrote to his son, who was at West
Point in 1852, the following lesson:
"In regard to duty, let me in conclu-
sion of this hasty letter, inform you
that nearly hundred years ago, there
was day of remarkable gloom and
darkness-still known as the dark
day'-a day when the light of the sun
was slowly extinguishei, as If by an
eclipse. The Legislature of Connecti-
cut was in session, and as its members
saw the unexpected and unaecountable
darkness coming on, they shared in
the general awe and terror. II was
by many that the last day,
the day of judgment-had come. Some
one, in the CONSERVATION of the hour,
moved an adjournment. Then there
arose al old Puritan legislator, Daven-
port, of Stamford, and said that if the
last day had come, he desired to he
'ound at his place doing his duty, and,
therefore, moved that candles be
brought in, SO that the house could
proceed with its duty. There was qui-
etneSs In that mans mind, the quiet
ness of heavenly wisdom and inflexi- |
ble willingness to obey present duty.
Duty, then, is the sub,imest Uord ia
our language. Do your duty In all
things like the old Puritan. You can
not do more, you should never wish to
10 less.n ....
Such was the lesson which General
Lee was now to observe and exemplify
in his own life. Assailed by impOrtu-
mites, tempted by the highest military
office within the gift Of the Federal
Government, solicited by the voices OF
he remained silently wait
ing for the call of duty. He was
prompt to respond to it. On the 18th
April, 1861, Virginia seeded from the
Union; on the 10th Lee knew it; on
the Goth he dissolved his connection
with the Federal army, and sent the
letter to General Scott:
" ARLINGTON, Va, April 20, 1861.
"General: Since my interview with |
yon on the 18th inst, 1 have felt that |
[ ought not longer to retain my COM |
mission in the army. therefore ten.
Ter my resignation, which request |
you will recommend for acceptance. |
II would have been presented at once, !
but for the struggle 1t has cost me to |
separate myself from service to which |
have devoted all the best years of my |
life and all the ability possessed.
During the whole of that time
more than a quarter Of a century, |
have experienced nothing but Kindness |
rom my superiors, and the most cor.
iial friendship from my comrades. To |
no one, General, have l been as much |
indebted as to yourself for Uniform |
kindness and consideration, and it has |
always been my arduous desire to merit |
your appreciation. ! shall carry to the |
grave the most grateful recollections of
your kind consideration, and your |
name and fame will always be dear to
NE. ...-.