Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1877-11-29
PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND GENERAL LEE.

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In 1s6s-several years after the war-s
Senator in Congress had the temerity to make
the charge that General Lee had applied to
President Lincoln for the command Of the
Federal army, destined to invade and aubdue
the Southern States, and that, being refused
from pique and resentment, he turned and Of
fered his sword in aid of the Southern cause,
and thus was raised to the chief command oi
the rebel forces. On the instant, Mr.. Rever.
dy johnson, of Maryland, himself Union
man, denounced the statement as untrue, say.
ing that although he had not the authority Of
the accused to deny it, General Lees lofty
character and unstained honor alone suficed
to repel the charge. This furnished the occa.
sion for General Lee to give, through Mr..
johnson, not alone the conclusive proof Of
the incorrectness of the charge, but the clear
evidence that he had himself declined, from
stern sense of duty and honor, the very pre-.
ferment which he was falsely accused of GOV.
citing. None can tell the extraordinary story
in better terms than General Lee, himself, as
contained in the following modest and char
acteristic letter addressed by him, at the time,
to the Hon. Reverdy johnson, who, not long
before his death, avouched to the contributor
it's entire authenticity:
LEXINGTON, Va, February %, 1868.
Hon. Reuerdy johnson, United States Senate,
Washington:
MY DEAR SIR: My attention has been
called to the official report of the debate in
the Senate of the United States of the 18th
instant, in which you did me the kindness to
doubt the correctness of the statement made
by the Hon. Simon Cameron, in regard to
myself desire that you may feel certain of
my conduct on the occasion referred to, so
far as my individual statement can make you
80. ... ..
never intimated to any one that I desired
the command Of the United States army, nor
did I ever have conversation with but one
gentleman (Mr. Francis Preston Blair) on
the subject, which was at his invitation and,
as I understood, at the instance of President
Lincoln. After listening to his remarks, I
declined the offer he made me to take COM
mand of the army that was to be brought in.
to the field, stating as candicly and cour-
teously as could, that though opposed to &C..
cession and deprecating war, could take no
part in an invasion of the Southern States.
I went directly from the interview with
Mr.. Blair to the office of General Scott, and
told him of the proposition that had been
made to me and my decision. Upon reAec-
ton after returning to my home, I concluded
that l ought no longer to retain the commits
sion held in the United States army, and
on the second morning thereafter l forwarded
my resignation to General Scott.
At the time hoped that peace would have
been preserved, and that some way would
have been found to save the country from the
calamities of war, and then 1 had no other
intention than to pass the remainder of my
life as private citizen. Two days afterward,
upon the invitation of the Governor of Vir.
ginia, repaired to Richmond, found the con.
vention then in session had passed the ordi-
nance Withdrawing the State from the Union,
and accepted the commission Of commander
of its forces which was rendered me.
These are the simple facts of the case, and
they show that Mr.. Cameron has been misin-
formed. Your obedient servant,
R. E. LEE.