The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-10-28


all. He embodied their ideal, both of
manhood and military skill.
The Confederate camp was tull OIL
stories, either true or apocryhal, proving
his personal sympathy with themin their
sufferings, and his mastery superioritysss
as a general. This enthusiastic confis
dence in a measure supplied the place
of numbers and achieved victories where
only defeat seemed inevitable. In this
highest military quality that inspired the
uuquestioning of his soldiers, Lee vas
indeed one of the most remarkable gener-
ais of any sge.
In comparing the military career cf
those two men, the historian Of apothers
generation will say that they were strskrg
ingly alike in those characteristics thai
lie at the foundation of military success,
in quiet confidence, in that combination;
of moral and physical courage, hathersS
oic persistence which no calamity cam
defeat. which feels the assurance Of vic::ss
tory in the very hour of disaster. HeS
will also say that in mental power, in the
capacity for rapid combination, in strates
gic invention, which is seen in the
skillful disposition of his troops beforeS
aud in battle, in the genius that enables
q general with inferior numbers to gain
the stronger position, and to have mores
men at the critical point and moments
and especially in the power OF personally
inspiring his men to endure e,and achiege.
Lee was beyond question the greater
commander.
In character they had mauy points of
resemblance. Each was modest and;
unassuming; and while fully realizing
the vast responsibility resting upon him Z,
involving life and empire, and conscious
that his every act and uttersnce were
looked at and listened TO by the whole:
world with intensest interest, yet neither
of them betrayed sign of falteriDg or z
ever exhibited the least apirit .of arrot
gance or vaingiory. Both,of them were
men of the highest integrity, and were
equally incorruptible; both were devoted
husbands, and kind, indulgent fathers;a
both were statesmen of the largest views,
comprehending the issues of the wal, and
the terms and value of the peace ttaa
followed.
Grant knew that the wisest political
policy dictated the speediest reconstinc.z
ton of the Federal Union. His states
manship was much more comprehe heneiyes
than the partisn spirit that sought to-
control him. Lee, too, felt that the
highest duty of the Southern patriot was
to set the example of loyalty, and TO
labor for the industrial recuperations Of
the South under the new regime of freeS
labor. Thus far in character they were
not unlike. :
Grant could see nothing unbecomingE
in the reputed greatest military commar,
der in the-world, and the ex-President of:
the United States, engaging in various
money making ventures (sometimes
carelessly lending his name to commercial
schemes that would not bear inyestiga
tioh), and in accepting all sorts of gifts
from house to box of cigars. He;
knew he was iucorruptible, and he could
not understand why, ever when Pres
ident, he should deny his grateful
admirers the pleasure of giving. In this
respect how different the character and
conduct of Lee! With him the most;
refined dignity, the most sensitive deli
cy, dominated all other feelings and Z
controlled his whole conduct of life.
Reared in luxury, with his patrimony
seriously impaired by the war, almost
without income, and obliged to labor for
the support of his old age, he nsyerthe:T;
less steadfastly declined all gifts. No
moneyed consideration and no friendly
interest could induce him to lend his {
name to the promotion of any private
commercial enterprise. During the war
he had his table supplied only with the
rations the soldiers ate, and refused thes
gift of house offered him by the citizens;
of Richmond. After the war, es the
President of Washington College, heiS
declined to accept any addition to his
meager salary, because the college nsed::s 8
ed teachers, apparatus, and booksS,
Though brilliant and tempting Offers
were made him, he felt it unbecoming in
a great commander to engage in com.
mercial pursuits. He was always loyal
in sentiment and conduct to the dignity
of the cause he had served. rs
In Grant, sincere and enlightened
patriotism was superior 10 all meaner
passions, and he cherished no feeling of
animosity toward the people SO lately in
rebellion. He was indeed man Of ten
der heart and warm personal attachments,
which last often blinded him to the vices
of his real and pretended friends. But:
he was also man of strong personal
animosities, thorough and consistent
hater where he felt that he had BEEN
wronged sometimes, too, when only his
measures had been opposed and defeated.
Therefore, when in power he was some
times unjust. In some respects he was Z
very human great man. In these
respects Lee was much his superior; In :
fact, by this high test of hums greatness
Lee stands out as one of the nobIest
characters in American history. He was !
absolutely incapable of cherishing per-.
sonal animosity or the spirit Of revenge,
not from weakness, but from loftiest
controlling principle. His humanity
was responsive to every suffering, wheth-
er of man or brute. He stopped in battle
to replace in its nest a young bird that
his cannon had shaken from the tree.
Grant ordered his soldiers to lay wasteS
the country he invaded, so that it might
furnish no support to the Confederate
armies. Lee, while in Pennsylvania,
ordered the arrest and punishment Of
any of his soldiers who should be found
guilty of taking or injuring the property:
Of any citizen.
Grant had little use for books, and
found his recreation in business and in
social and domestic life. Lee, equally
social and domestic, enjoyed the best
classic literature, and delighted in the
study of science. In mental resources
and scholarly tastes they were wholly
unlike. Thus were they in life and
health.
The memorabilia of Grant, spoken from
this death. chair in the long agony ofdisso.
luton, have added much to the value Of
the legacy he has left his country. ToS
Stole and Christian alike his death will
forever be the most affecting illustration
of heroic philosophy and Christian faith.
To tie exultant North, flushed with VIC
tory and desiring revenge, he had pro-
claimed in the hour Of, triumph, "Let US i
have peace" and he died With that 7.
prayer for his country upon his lips.
The closing year of Lees life recall
what Plato says of the nobility, wisdom,
and clemency of the great Socrates. His