Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-06-26
THE FINAL PARTING.
SEPARATION OF LEE AND HIS GEN
ERALS AFTER APPOMAT
In the Gloom of Defeat, the Darkness of
Despair-A Scene for Poet or
Painter-Endcd For
ever.

Washington Cor Gin. Commercial Gazette.l
Apropos of Appomattox, | give the
following as subject for southern poet
or painter;
The parting between Washington and
his generals has been celebrated in song
and story, and the famous painting OF
that occurrence has, in millions OF copies
become familiar to the people. But no
singer has sung of the parting between
Gen. Robert +. Lee and his generals after
AppomattoX. No painter has painted it,
Washington and his officers separated in
the sunshine of magnificent victory, the
fruition of their brightest hopes. Lee
and his officers separated in the gloom of
defeat, the darkness of despair Amid
the happy homes of their people, the
shouts aud the banners and the merry
music and the re ioicing mu ttudcs, Wash
ington and his generals parted to go each
one to his pleasant home Amid the ruins
of their capital, with bare, bowed heads,
in utter silence and bitter tears, Lee and
his generals separated and went their sew
cral ways to homes destroyed families
broken up and scattered, and often into
exile and oblivion.
The final parting was in front of Lees
mansion in Richmond, two days after
AppomattoX Lees house is an ordinary
square brick, standing alone on Franklin
street, one square from the capitol. All
the other houses on the square are con-
nectcd. pom heafternoon of the second
day after the surrender people in that
vicinity were surprised to see come riding
up the street from the south a company of
Confederate horsemcn. They were I'M
armed. Thefr gray uniforms were worn,
soiled, and often tattered their trappings
old and patched. They wore slouched
hats, and here and there was a feather re.
naming of the once smart and jaunty
dropping plume of the Confederate cavalry.
man. They were bronzed, and Drowned,
and bearded. They sat erect and came on
with the splendid Craftsmanship for which
they were noted. upon the collars of
seen thu faded and furnished gilt stars
the emb ems Of the wearcrs rank
In front OF them rode Ice. His two
hands held the loosely .swinging reins and
rested upon the pommel Ills head wa,
bent, and his eyes were looking straight
ahead from under his downcast brow. but
they seemed to see nothing.
AS the troops cantered up to his old
home his horse stopped at the gate, and he
aroused himself suddenly, as from
dream, and cast his eyes upon the famil
lar windows and then around over tn,
group of gallant soldiers who had fol
lowed his fortunes for four bloody year,
and gone down in defeat under his banner
The end of it all had to come at last
He threw himself from his horse, and al
his companions followed his action. They
stood hat in hand with an arm through
the bride rein while Lee went from mar
to man, graSping each hand looking in
tently into each face as though he would
press it upon his memory forever. Thel
he turned and walked through the gat
and up the steps to his door AS servan
opened the door he paused with his lief
foot on the veranda. his right upon tn
last step, and looked back for the las
time. Not word had been spoken, not
goodbye uttered There was no SCUM,
heard but that of sobs as these unkemp
and grizzled heroes of 100 battles leane,
their heads against the shoulders of thei
horses and wept.
Lee gave one look and broke down a
last. his hands went over his eyes, hi
frame shook with sobs, as he turne,
quickly and disappeared into his lionel
house. With the closing of the door be
hind him ended forever the wild dream o
. the Southern CCutedpracV