The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-04-16
GRANT AND THE SWORD OF LEE,
Gen. ::Jubal a. Early Correets an Unwilling
Error OF tho Richmond astato.n

|
| ---.
| The following letter and note, pubiish.
ed in the Richmond State, explain them.
selves: ty
| To the Editor of the State. The story
| that Gen. Grant had refused or declined
to receive Gen. Lees sword at the sur
! render at Appomattox, has been so o;l2n
and 30 authoritatively denied that am
no little surprised at finding IN an edito.
rial in your paper of the oath the follow
ing statement:
"Lee Camp--the frat Of all the asso.
Citations Of old Confederates, bearing the
uame of him who was the Southern
chieftain IN the long history of splendid
bittles-has not forgotten that no greater
honor was ever shown their hero than
! that which was added 10 bis fame when
his sword was chivalronsly refused by
the heart and hand Of Grant at Apo.
rnattox."
The fact is that Gen., Lees sword was
never rendered to Gen. Grant, aud the
latter therefore had no opportunity TO
decline to receive 1t or to return it after
1t had been surrendered but, by the
! express terms of the capitulation, all the
officers of Gen. Lees army were to be
allowed to retain their side arms, 40 we'll
Us their horses and other private proper.
ty, and oil couriers and other mounted
men of the artillery and cavalry, whose
horses were their private property, we're
to be allowed to retain them.
In DR.. Jones's Personal Reminiscan.
ces OF Gen. r. z. Lee" will be found the
correspondence between Gen. Grant and
Gen. Lee Immediately preceding the
surrender, and the same correspondence
is to be found in Appendix NJ to Gen.
Humphreys's Virginia Campaign OF
1864, 1865" That correspondence fully
rebuts the idea that Gen. Lee ever con.
te!nllated making an unconditional sur.
render of his army, or that he was in
debted to the magnanimity Of Grant for
the terms Of the surrender.
DR.. Jones, whose book was written
With tie sanction of Mrs. Lee and other
members of the family, who gave him:
access to Gen. Lees correspondence of O
private as we'll as official character, says
on pages 3n2-3 that in a conversation
with number of friends, of whom he
was one, Gen. Lee said that, before going
to meet Grant, he left orders with Long
street and Gordon to hold their com.
mapds in r.adiness, as he was determined
to cut his way through or perish in the
attempt /. such terms were not granted
as he thought his army entitled to de.
mand. II the last and only. interview I
bad with Gen. Lee otter tba war, which
was in thu spring of 1869, when he talk
ed very freely to me in regard to the
circumstances attending his surrender, he
reiterated In the most emphatic manner
the statement which DR.. Jones gives.
1t was not, therefore, 10 Grants mag
nanimity th.: Gen. Lee was Indebted for
the privilege OF retaining his sword, or
for the terms granted &c bis army, but to
his own resolute will and the anxiety of
Grant 10 obtain the surrender of an
adversary who had thwarted him so long.
There 10, then, as little truth in this story
about Gen. Lees sword as there is in the
famous apple.tree fiction.
It would seem that the time for Grant
to display his magnanimity towards the
defeated Confederates was when he occu-
pied u Presidency of the United States
for eight yeara. How he then displayed
it let Impartial history tell
Respectfully, J. A. EARLY.
Lynohburg, March 26, 1885.
DR.. Jones, on page 303, further says:
Seen. Lee said that when he met Gen.
Grant they exchanged polite ealutations,
and he stated to him at once that he
desired conference in reference to the
subject matter of their correspondence.
Gen. Grant returned you your sword,
did he not, General p one of the compa.
ny asked. The old hero, strengthening
himself up, replied In most emphatic
tones: mo, air he did not. He had
no opportunity of doing 90. was de.
termined that the side.arns of officers
should be exempt by the terms of sur
render, and of course did not offer him
mine. ALI that. was said about swords
was that Gen. Grant apologizcd to- me
for not wearing his own sword, saying
that it bad gone off in his baggage, and
he had been unable to get 1t in time"
What . Private Union soldier Says.
j. DEs MoINEs, Ia, April 4.--One of
the few surviving eye.witnesseB of Lee's
surrender at Apponattcx was Interview
cd yesterday concerning General Jubal
Early's recent denial of the story that
lees sword was rendered General Grant
and refused by him. The mans name is
Benjamin Jeffries. and he is carpenter
by trade and resident Of Des Moines.
He served through the war 10 q Pennsyl.
vania regiment, and at the time of Lees
surrender was member Of Company A,
19ist, aBucktails.n' When asked az to
the circumstances that followed the close
of the 6ghting at Appomattex, he said /:
After fighting ceased General Gr:nt
rode to the front, where our regims msnt
was employed on tho akirmish line, and
ordered that guard be be stationed across
the road leading down to the village, and
that no one be allowed to pass At about
2 p. N, 10 returned. ascSmpanied by, an