The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1876-02-04
A WAR SECRET.
General Robert Il. Lees Proposed ResIg
natfOn-TEfs Letter to Jem Davis
Amer Gettysburg.

= Although the campaign into Penn
sylvania was not unfruitfIl of result
beneficial to the southern states; al
though by the recent shock of arms anC
. this aggressive movement the fedora
|, advance upon Richmond had beer
g materially delayed although the STATE
of Virginia, for the time being, had beer
T delivered from the waste and burden Of
!, hostile invasions although General Lee
: had, from perilous environment, with
I drawn his army strong in organization,
proud in spirit, and with confidence un-
shaken, and was in full possession of his
! legimate line of defense, he could not
a but acknowledge that all had not been
/ accomplished which the late advance
; was designed TO compass. "This has
! been a sad day for Us, colonel, sad
q day; but we can't expect always to gain
! victories, Twas his remark to Colonel
Freemantle, as, sublime in his indif-
ference to personal danger, and calm in
! the midst Of the hurry and confusion OF
: the scene, the confederate leader encour-
aged his men when, torn and worn by
the battle, they fell back before the tri-
umphant roar of the federal artillery
which swept the whole valley and slope
. of Seminary Ridge with shot and shell.
As a soldier, and as the chief captain of
, the confederate hosts, he admitted that
he had been foiled of his aim and
although, in his own language, if spirit
Of disappointment and discomfort existed
in his army, his brother officers had been
too kind to report it, and his troops too
generous to exhibit it, the tone of the
public press and the sentiment Of the
country indicated dissatisfaction with
the result of campaign from which
grander achievements had been blindly
expected than the troops and resources
employed in its conduct ought, in rea-
son, to have justified. 1t was not in
human nature, and its most heroic de-
velopment and conscious of its nOblest
effort, to remain under the circumstances
entirely Indifferent to or unaffected by
such expressions. As at the time of
| Pickett's repulse he said to General
| Wilcox, who in sorrow reported the
almost total destruction of his brigade:
H Never mind, general, all this has been
my fault ; it is / who have lost the fight,
and you must help me out of it the best
| way you can"-sO now, at Camp Or
ange, with a dignity, manhood, and
| generosity the most remarkable, denying
no responsibility, suggesting no excuses,
| indulging in no censure, he shielded
| others by taking upon himself alone the
soul depressing burden of the general
misfortune.
| 1t was under such circumstances that
the following noble letter was penned:
CAMP ORANGE, 8 August, 1868.
Mr.. PRESIDENT Your letters of %
| July and Aug. have been received, and
| have waited for a leisure hour to re-
ply, but fear that will never come. 1
am extremely obliged to you for the at
tentior given to the wants of this army,
and the efforts made TO supply them.
Our absentees are returning, and / hope
the earnest and beautiful appeal made to
the country in your proclamation may
stir up the whole people, and that they
may see their duty and perform it.
Nothing is wanted but that their forti-
tude should equal their bravery, to in
sure the success of our cause. We must
expect reverses, even defeats. They are
sent to teach us wisdom and prudence,
to call forth greater energies, and to pre-
vent our falling into greater disasters
Our people have only to be true and
united, to bear manfully the misfortunes
incidental to war, and all will come right !
in the end.
/ know how prone we are to censure, |
and how ready to blame others for the |
non-fulfillment of our expectations. |
This is unbecoming in a generous peo- |
pie, and L grieve to see its expression. |
The general remedy for the want of sue |
cess in a military commander is his re-
moval. This is natural, and in many |
instances proper. For, no matter what |
may be the activity of the officer, if he |
loses the confidence of his troops, disas- |
ter must sooner or later ensue.
. II hox-o hoar, y,rOr,vNta1 NV fhncn rafiap- |
tions more than once since my return |
from Pennsylvania to propose to your
excellency the propriety of selecting an
other commander for this army. have !
seen and heard expressions of discomfort |
in the expedition. do not know how |
far this feeling extends in the army. My |
brother officers have been too kind to re-
port it, and so far the troops have been
too generous TO exhibit it. 1t is fair, |
however, to suppose that it does exist,
and success is so necessary to us that |
nothing should be risked to secure il. /, |
therefore, in all sincerity, request your
excellency TO take measures to supply |
my place. / do this with the more earn
estness because no one is more aware |
than myself of my inability for the |
duties of my position. / cannot even |
accomplish what / myself desire. How
can / fulfill the eXpectiOns of OthersY
In addition, sensibly feel the growing
failure of my bodily strength. | have
not yet recovered from the attack / ex-
perienced the past spring. / am becom-
ing more and more incapable of exertion,
and am thus prevented from making the
personal examinations and giving the
personal supervision to the operations in
the field which feel to be necessary |
I'LL fIak IN v,aalinor of ha |
ewes of others / am frequently misled.
Everything, therefore, points to the adj
vantages to be derived from a new COM
mander, and i the more anxiOusly urge
the matter upon your eXcellency from
my belief that younger and abler man
than myself can readily be obtained. l
know that he will have as gallant and
brave an army as ever existed to second
his efforts, and il would be the happiest
day of my life to see at its head a worthy
leader; one that would accomplish more
than / could perform, and all that j have
wished. / hope your excellency will
attribute my request to the true reason,
the desire to serve my country, and 10
do all in my power to insure the success
of her righteous cause.
I-have no complaints to make of any
one but myself. / have received moth
ing DuJ Klnuu6SS IFOlu IIiOSe dDONe me-
and the most cOnsiderate attention from
my comrades and companions in arms
To your excelleDcy / am specially in
debted for uniform kindness and con-
sideration. You have done everything in
your power TO aid me in the work COM
mitted to my charge, without emitting
anything TO promote the general welfare.
l pray that your efforts may at length
be crowned with success, and that you
may long live to enjoy the thanks of a
grateful people.
With sentiments of great esteem,
am, very respectfully and truly yours,
r.. f. LEE, General.
His Excellency jefferson Davis Presi-
dent Confederate States.
An inquest was held recently in the
case of deceased clergyman, aged seventy
three, residing at bennington, England,
at which it appeared that, compelled by
poverty, he had lived for several years