The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1886-05-19
GENERAL ROBERT f. LEE.
His Acceptance Of the Command of the Conied-
crate Army of Virginia.
From the Chicago Tribune

Hi. Acceptance of the Command Of the Confed-
crate Army of Virginia.
(From the Chicago Tribunej
:'Did ever tell you," said ex-senator
Pomeroy, Of Kansas, to me the other
day, that I was present when the COM
mand of the Confederate army was offer
ed to General Lce?'
No"
:'Well, I was; / stood within six feet
Of him. Nobody in the party knew me
as I had just arrived in Washington from
Kansas, and was almost an entire stranger
here. Kansas was admitted, you re-
member, during the last days Of Buchan-
ans administration, and Lane and I
were elected to the Senate. We came to
Washington with lot of Kansas fellows
to see what the secessionists were doing,
and were on the cars when we heard that
Fort Sumter had been fired upon.
'But I am going to tell You about
Lee. was keeping diary then, as I
have ever since, and do now Only the
other day T was reading it over, and it
recalled to me that about the 18th or
18th Of April, 1861, a committee Of
twelve men came up from the secession
convention, then meeting at Richmond,
and stopped at the hotel where I was. [
used to circulate around among them,
trying to find out what they were up to,
and discovered that they had come to
see General, who was over at Arlington.
One afternoon about o'clock they start
ed off in carriages, and a friend of mine
and I got in buggy and followed them.
We joined the procession before it got to
Arlington, and acted just as if we We're
a part Of their crowd. When We reached
the old mansion General Lee, who was
evidently not expecting any callers, came
out in his dressing-gown and slippers,
and I tell you he was as noble a looking
a man as ever 1 saw. He had been sent
for by General Scott, and came from
California, you remember, to usehisinAu-
ence to prevent Virginia from going out
of the Union, and while he mad not
made any public declaration, people gen.
orally understood that he was opposed
to secession, so we watched what was
going on with great deal of interest.
''The chairman presented the dele
gates to the General one by one, and
when they had been introduced he be-
gan speech which I wrote down as
nearly as / could remember it in my
diary that night. 1t was very nearly in
these words: General Lee, We are au-
thorized by the convention now in ses-
sion at Richmond to convey to You an
expression Of the confidence and esteem,
as one of the most esteemed citizens OF
Virginia, and to tender You the COM
mand Of the troops that have been raised
to protect the old State from the peril
which now confronts her We are en-
couraged by the belief that you, as a
son of Virginia, will respond to her call
and direct the military forces so as to
prevent the military invasion Of her
sacred soil We know that large bodies
OF troops are being organized in the
north for coercion Of our people, and
they viii be resisted by every patriotic
citizen Of the Commonwealth. The con-
vention at Richmond is awaiting anxious
ly for cur return with your answer, as
your acceptance will give strength and
encouragement to the people.
TO this Lee responded briefly and
directly He stood q moment with a
determined expression upon his face, as
if the mind was fully made up, but he
was not certain how to express himself.
Ny friend and !. from what We had
heard, expected that he would decline
and tel the committee to go home and
abandon the secession programme. He
started out all right in his reply. Gen
tlemen, said he, 4 am opposed to war,
although bred to the profession of arms.
L am especially opposed to civil war, to
strife between brothers. ! regret that
one section OF this country is ar1ayed
against the other.
'sUp to that, continued Mr.. Pomeroy,
II thought he was gong to decline, but
his next words scared me: 4 heard the
voice of Virginia, he said, :of the moth
er that bore me, whose soil is as sacred
as the ashes Of my father buried there.
Hes gone, 1 said to my friend, hes
made up his mind, and his next words
were: I cannot resist the call Of the
sovereign State to which owe my first
allegiance; but remember, gentlemen, I
shall draw my sword in her defense, and
with the prayer that We, in defending
our rights. may not be compelled to shed
the blood of our brethren.
''He then said that he would go to
Richmond at once and report in person
to the government.
The next morning everybody knew
that Lee had gone to Richmond, and
within twenty-four hours the newspapers
contained his order upon assuming COM
mand of the Virginia troops
Artificial Teeth n Prehistoric Product.