Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-11-15
GENERAL r. E. LEE.

History Proved HIS rreuicsiOhs'
From the Galaxy.l
Long before the close of the war Gen
eral Lee was almost universally regard.
ed BY us as the ablest and best Of all
our generals, and by many as a states
man superior in forecast and judgment
to any in the Confederate councils. He
was the only man in the South, SO far as
my knowledge extends, who, at the com
mencement Of hostilities, fully appreci-
ated the magnitude Of the struggle we
had engaged in. And / know that even
then, while he was hopeful Of success he
had serious forebodings of failure.
Virginia seeded ol the 18th of April,
1861, and ON the 18th we occupied Har-
per's Ferry with about one thousand vol.
unteer militia, under the command Of
General Kenton Harper, of my own
county, Augusta. commanded the
artillery Of the expedition. The excite
ment throughout the State was at fever
heat, and was intensified in our little
army at the Ferry" by daily rumors
that a 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 circumstances
General Harper, who was urgent for re-
Inducements selected me, his country
man, TO go to Richmond and lay before
the military authorities q statement OF
our condition and necessities. arrived
in the city, / think, on the I'd Of May
about twelve o'clock, and Immediately
saw Governor Letcher From him |
learned for the first time that the con-
vention 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 ethe city
The Governor sent me to him. 1t was
Sunday, aud found the General en-
tirely alone, in small room on Bank
street, near the Capitol 1t was the first
time | had met him, and | am sure he
was then the handsomest man ! had
ever seen. His hair and mustache--he
wore no beard-were only slightly sill
vered with gray, just enough TO har-
monize fully with his rich ruddy com
plexion, a little bronzed, and to give
perfect dignity to the expression of his
grand and massive features. His man
ner was grave, but frank and cordial
He wore simple undress military suit,
without badge or ornament Of any kind,
and there was nothing in his surround
ings to indicate high military rank.
He received my dispatches quietly
ran his eye over them hastily and as
General Harper referred to me for ad-
ditional general Information in regard
to the situation at the " Ferry" Gene
raj Lee, by series Of questions directly
to the point, soon obtained from me
every fact / possessed, and informed me
that by twelve o clock the next day he
would have his dispatches ready for me.
| rose to take my leave, when he asked
me to resume my seat, remarking that
he wished to talk to me about the condi'
ton of the country, and the terrible
storm which was soon to burst upon it in
all its fury. Alluding to the fact that
| had represented Augusta, the most
populous and wealthy county in the
State, for several years in the Legisla
ture, he said he desired to impress every
other Virginian he met, whose position
might be assumed to give him some in
huenee over the people of his acquaint
ance, with the gravity of danger Of oul
situation, and the imperative necessity
for immediate and thorough preparation
for defense. Growing warm and earn
est, he said. ~ fear our people do not
vet realize the magnitude of the struggle
| they have entered upon, nor its proba
BILE duration and the sacrifice it will i'm
nose upon them. The United States gov
ernment," he said, Is one of the mos
powerful upon earth. ! know the peopll
and the government we have to content
with. In little while they will be even
more united than we are. Their re
sources are almost without limit. The.
have a thoroughly organized govern
ment, commanding the respect and, t
some extent, the fears of the world
Their army is complete in all its detail
and appointments, and 1t will be com
manded by the foremost general of th'
country, General Scott, whose devotion
to the Union cause is attosted by hi
drawing his sword against his native
State. They have also navy that in
little while will blockade our ports ant
cut MS off from all the world. They hav,
nearly all the workshops and skilled arti
sans of the country, and will draw upoi
the resources of other nations to suppl,
any deficiency they may feel. An'
above all, we shall have to fight th'
preiudces of the world, because OF thu
existence Of slavery in our country, Ou
enemies viii have the ear of other pow
ers, while we cannot be heard, and the!
| will be shrewd enough to make the wa
appear to be merely a struggle on pu
mart for the maintenance of slavery; ant
We shall thus be without sympathy, AM
most certainly without material ai'
from other powers. To meet all this W
must have government to form, az
army to raise, organize and equip, q
hest we may. We are without
treasury and without credit. W
have no ships, few arms and feV
manufactures. Our people are bray
and enthusiastic, and will be united II
defense of just cause. | believe W
can succeed in establishing our indt
pendenee if the people can be made {
comprehend at the outset 10 do so the
must endure longer war and far create
priyations than our fathers did in tn
revelation of l776. We will not succee
until the financial power Of the North ]
completely broken, and this can occu
only at the end of a long and bloody wal
Many of our people think it will soon b
over; that perhaps a single campaig
and one great battle will end it. Thl
is a fatal error, and must be corrected
or we are doomed. Above all, Virgin
ians must prepare for the worst. Ou
country is Of wide extent and great n'
tural resources, but the conflict will b
mainly in Virginia. She will beeom
the Flanders Of America before the wa
is over, and her people must be prepare
for this. If they resolve at once to ded
cate their lives, and all they possess, I
the cause Of constitutional government
and Southern independence, and to suffC
without yielding as no other people hav
been called upon to suffer in moder
times, we shall, with the blessing Of Coz
succeed in the end; but when IL will en-