The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-09-23

and so much time to do it in. This was
always a great puzzle to me. The bat
tie was raging several miles OH, and 1T
seemed to me that he would be needed
at every moment on the field, and here
he was sauntering along on the road,
where, if the life of the army depended
on it, he couldn't be found in half
DAVIS search. There is only one expla-
nation of it; he had such confidence in
Jackson and Longstreet that he did not
feel that they had any need for him. 1t
was somewhat as it was once on the
Rapidan. A courier came to Lees tent
in hot haste with a dispatch from Jack
son, to the effect that the enemy was
crossing in front of him in great num-
beers, and asking for orders. Lee
laughed, and told the courier to tell
Gen. jackson that he knew what to do
with the enemy as well as he did, and
sent him back.
Lee was a member of the Episcopal
church, and was infexibly attached to
episcopacy; but in his private religious
character resembled a Presbyterian.
Very much has been said of the piety of
Stonewall jackson, but Jackson's pietv
was not whit more deep and fervent
than Lees. Lee was a praying man,
and in private very pure, moral, and
consistent man, without a single vice,
great or small, so far as has been
discovered. He was also person of
a beautiful Christian temper and dis
position. And this was illustrated
in his feelings and language toward the
Northern people. Amid all the fury of
passion which the war engendered there
were two men at the South who could
not be driven or betrayed into so much
as an Incorporate or disrespectful ex-
preston toward the enemy. These
were Jackson and Lee. One of my
brothers witnessed an interview between
Lee and his youngest son on the field of
battle that illustrated this. Lee, during
the terrible fight at the Wilderness,
rode up to the Richmond battery, in
which his son was private, to inquire
if he was well and unframed, and my
brother, who was in an adjoining bat
terry, happened to overhear the CONVEX
satiOn. Lees last words as he rode OIL
to the thickest of the fray again, were:
hCIlf my SUM- SOou-DNOS w ''
drive these people back - If it were
only proper for me to repeat the Ian
guage in which almost every other Off
Ger in that army would have referred to
''these people, :" it would be seen what
remarkable balance, dignity, self-con-
troll, decency, and moderation at all
times held sway in Lees mind.
Lee was remarkably self-denylng
and frugal man. During the war he
was the recipient of an endless variety
of sumptuOus food and the choicest of
viands, of none of which he would par
take, but sent them forthwith to the
hospital for the sick, and cOntented
himself with the coarsest fare. He was
so tender-hearted that he could not enjoy
high living when he knew that his army
was starving. On one occasion he had
several officers come TO dine with him
in camp. He called his cook and in
structed him to prepare the necessary
meal, but the cook told him that he had
nothing to cook. con-" said the Gen
eral, ''any thing will do. Give us that
bacon that we had yesterday with the
green's" "Marse Robert" said the
darky, 81 done took that meal back; |
borrowed dat meat to season that cab
bage, and | done took it back" l
never heard what the Generals party
dined on that day, but | am sure that
they did not fare sumptuOusly.
The Southern soldiers, unless they
felt unusually solemn, never spoke of
their leader as Gen. Lee. In their usu-
al state of mind they called him Marse
Robert, or Marse Bob, in token of their
willingness to serve him with slave-like
subsection; or, it may be, "Mr. Lee, "
sort of back-handed compliment to
his military character. On one occa-
sion, when Lee was inspecting the for
tifications around Petersburg, he
mounted the earth-works and exposed
himself in perfectly reckless manner to
the sharpshooterS of the enemy. A
common soldier, who was standing a
short distance off, beholding with
alarm the danger in which his beloved
leader stood; turned to his comrades
and Indignantly exclaimed: "Look at
that darned old fool; he'll get himself
killed the first thing you know; and
then what's to become of us?"
| cannot fOrbear another reference to
Lees personal appearance. For some
unknown reason he appeared to me a
finer-looking man toward the close of
the war than at the opening of it; at
least, to be better propOrtioned. He
certainly became more grave and dig
nified. And | think | may safely say
that no man ever lived who had no.
l. y,1 a
His ikenesses are tolerably accurate,
but all have dead look and a melan-
choly aspect which were entirely foreign
to him. He combined in his physiog-
nomy all the pride of an emperor, all
the authority of an autocrat, all the
love of father, all the gentleness OF a
woman.
From having lived a long time at the
South, and then long time at the
| North, | have concluded that the
Northern people had no military lead
er for whom they entertained the senti-
ments of love and unshakable conf
dence that the Southern people enter
tanned for Lee. The Northern people
felt as if no one man was indispensa-
bic to them; they put down one and
put up another with perfect freedom.
The Southern people felt that there
was no man on earth who could hill
Lees place, and they never dreamt OF
a change. The Northern people adj
mire and feel grateful to Grant, Sher-
man, and Sheridan, but the Southern
people worship Lee and Jackson as
demigods, and feel for their very ashes
an affection as tender as that of a mother
for her babe Chicago Times.