The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-07-20
THE FINAL PARTING.
SEPARATION OF LEE AND HIS GEN.
ERALS AFTER APPOMATTOx.
In the Gloom of Defeat, the Darkness OF
Despair-A Scene for Poet or
Painter-Ended For
ever.
Washington Cor. Gin. Commercial Gazette

Washington Cor Gin. Commercial Gazette.l
Apropos of Appomattox, give the
following as a subject for a southern poet
or painter:
The parting between Washington and
his generals has been celebra ted 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 E. 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 and the banners and the merry
music and the rejoicing multitudes 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
eral 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
nected Upon the afternoon 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 hoTsemen. They were I'M
armed. Their gray uniforms were worn,
soled, and often tattered their trappings
old and patched They wore slOuched
hats, and here and there was 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
some of the gray jackets could still be
seen tho faded and furnished gilt stars,
the emb!ems of the wearer's rank.
In front Of them rode Lee His two
hands held the loosely-swinging reins and
rested upon the pommel. His head was
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 a
dream, and cast his eyes upon the famil-
lar windows and then around over the
group of gallant soldiers who had fol-
lowed his fortunes for four bloody years
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 all
his companions followed his action. They,
stood hat in hand with an arm through
the bride rein while Lee went from man
to man, C.asping each hand, looking in
tently into each face as though he would
press 1t upon his memory forever. Then
he turned and walked through the gate
and up the steps to his door AS a servant
opened the door he paused with his left;
foot on the veranda his right upon the
last step, and looked back for the last
time. Not word had been spoken, not a
goodbye uttered. There was no sound
heard but that of sobs as these unkempt
and grieEled heroes of 100 battles leaned
their heads against the shoulders of their
horses and wept
Lee gave one look and broke down at
last. Els hands went over his eyes, his
frame shook with sobs, as he turned
quickly and disappeared into his lonely
house. With the closing of the door be-
the Southern Confederacy