The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-11-29
GEN. R. E. LEE
His First Conception of the War
History Proved His Predictions.

Long before the close of the wa
General Lee was almost UNIVERSAL
regarded by us as the ablest and bes
of all our generals, and by many q
a statesman superior in forecast an
Judgment to any in the Confederat
councils. He was the only man i
the South, SO far as my knowledg
extends, who, at the commencement
of hostilities, fully appreciated tn
character and magnitude of tn
struggle we had engaged in. And
knew that even then, while he wa!
hopeful of success, he had serious
forebodings of failure.
Virginia seeded on the 18th O
April, 1861, and on the 18th w,
occupied Harper's Ferry with abou
one thousand volunteer militia, under
the command of General Kento1
Harper, of my own county, Augusta
1 commanded the artillery of thu
expedition. Theexcitement Throughout
the State was at fever heat, and wa
intensified in our little army at the
Ferry" by daily rumors that {
large force was preparing to move
against us from Washington. We
had no line of telegraph that we
could use to Richmond, and it took
two days to send letter and as long
to get reply. Under these circum-
stances General Harper, who was ur.
gent for reinforcements, selected me,
his countrymen, to go to Richmond
and lay before the military authorities
a statement of our condition and ne
cessities. 1 arrived in the city,
think, on the I'd of May, about 12
O'Clock and Immediately saw Govern
or Letcher. From him 1 learned for
the first time that the convention had
conferred the. command in-chief of
the Virginia troops on General Lee,
and that he had accepted it and es-
tablished his headquarters in the city.
The Governor sent me to him. 1t
was Sunday, and 1 found the General
entirely alone, in a small room on
Bank street near the Capitol. 1t was
the first time that had met him, and
L am sure he was then the handsomest
man had ever seen. His hair and
moustache-he wore no beard-were
only slightly silvered with gray, just
enough to harmonic fully with his
rich ruddy complexion, a little bron
zed, and to perfect dignity to the ex-
preston and his grand and massive
features. His manner was grave, but
frank and cordial He wore a simple
undress military suit, without badge
or ornament of any kind, and there
was nothing in his surroundings to in
dicate high military rank.
He received my dispatches quietly,
ran his eyes over them hastily, and
as General Harper referred to me for
additional general information in re-
gard to the situation at the Gerry"
General Lee, by a series of questions
directly to the point, soon obtained
from me every fact possessed, and
informed me that by - o'clock the
next day he would have his Dispatch
es ready for me.
rose to take my leave, when he
asked me to resume my seat, remark
ing that he wished to talk to me about
the condition of the country, and the
terrible storm which was so IN TO burst
upon it in all its fury. Abiding to
the fact that I had represented Au-
gusta, the most populous and wealthy
county in the State, for several years
in the Legislature, he said he desired
to impress every other Virginian he
met, whose position might be assumed
to give him some influence over the
people of his acquaintance, with the
gravity of danger of our situation, and
the imperative necessity for immediate
and thorough preparation for defense.
Growing warm and earnest, he said
"I fear our people do not yet realize
the magnitude of the struggle they
have entered upon, nor its probable
duration and the sacrifices it will i'm
pose upon them. The United States
government" he said, sis one of the
most powerful upon earth, I know the
people and the government we have to
contend with. In little while they
will be even more united than we are.
Their resources are almost without
limit. They have a thoroughly Or
sanized government, commanding the
respect and, to some extent, the fears
of the world. Their army is complete
in all its details and appointments, and
it will be commanded by the foremost
general of the country, General Scott,
whose devotion to the Union cause is
attestcd by his drawing his sword
against his native State. They have,
also, navy, that in little while will |,
blockade our ports and cut us off from
all the world. they have nearly all
the workshops and skilled artisans of
the country, and will draw upon the
resources of other nations to supply
any deficiency they may feel. And
above all, we shall have to fight the
of the world, because of
the existence ofslavery in our country.
Our enemies will have the ear of other
powers, while we cannot be heard, and
they will be shrewd enough to make
the war appear to be merely a struggle !
ON our part for the maintenance of
slavery; and we shall thus be without
sympathy, and most certainly without
aid from other powers. To
meet all this we must have a govern
ment to form an army to raise, organ
ize and equip, as best we my We
are without a treasury and without
credit. We have no ships, few arms
and few manufactures. Our people
are brave and enthusiastic, and will
be united IN defense of just cause.
[ believe we can succeed in establish
ing our independence if the people can
be made to comprehend at the outset
that to do so they must endur. Ion
g.