The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-01-24
GENERAL LEES CHRISTMAS FARE.
There Were Cabbage and Bacon, but tho
Bacon Was Only borrowed.

There wero Cabbage and Bacon, but tho
Bacon Was Only borrowed.
AS the fortune of war has favored his
larder, through some skillful foraging
of Ephraim, negro, who was his faith
fut cook, bCdyscrvant and waiter
three gentlemen i'll one-General Lee
invited several officers to dine with him
ON Christmas day, 1864. Tho lucky
recipients of the timely invitation were
five i'll number, all officers OF distinc-
ton, among them Generals Longstreet,
Gordon and Kershaw. They were all
OH timo when the dinner was called. 1t
was served on n rough pine table, with
out cover, i'll General Lees weather
beaten tent. 1t consisted of boiled cab
bage, and eight or ten boiled sweet po-
tatoes and Il dish of rice cooked dry.
The piece do resistance. which indeed
tho knightly guests found it hard to
resist, was Il small bit of fat bacon,
about inches square, that lay on top of
the large cabbage. Now, bacon was as
rare III the Confederate camp at that
timo as are roses on the northern hill
tops in December. You can imagine,
therefore, tho self restraint exercised
by each guest as they declined in turn
slice of the delectablo meat proffered
by their host, who held the carving knife
and fork ready to cut and help.
1t was observed that when the gen
eral, after helping to the cabbage, said
to the guest whose plate Ephraim held
out, ALLOW me to help you to slice
OF the bacon!'' the devoted old servi-
tors hand trembled greatly. In fact,
he seemed to be in state of decided
fright The high military rank of the
guests would not account for his trepi-
dation, for he daily served near mas
ter who outranked them ALL There
was no splcndor left in tho tracery of
faded gold lace on their baltic stained
uniforms to dazzle his eyes and cause
them to roll about and glance from ba-
con to guest, and from guest to bacon,
as each answered the half question with
tho words, No, thank you, general"
Tho discomposure of the serving man
was all the more striking from its con-
trast with the serene, self poised dig
nifty of his benign master
Dinner over, tho general and his
guests retired from the tent, hut rs they
passed out General Leo turned and said
III low tone, "Ephraim, we have an
other cabbage, have we not:'
Tho answer was, Yes, sab, Mass
Bob. Yves got anudder cabbage, sab. "
Then, Ephraim, " said the general,
save the piece Of bacon to cook with
that cabbage
The prompt and decisive reply, mo,
sab, Mass Bob, | can't do dat! l jis
borrow dat piece of bacon for seasonin
from friend obcr dar in Richmon, and
done glib up my parole ob honor dat
I'll glib him back dat same bacon what
| borrow"
The general, who could not be party
to any mans violation of his parole OF
honor, consented at once to tho return
of the bacon that had so successfully
run tho gauntlet of six hungry diners.
He must have reflected, too, on the eX-
tremity of his fortunes that led to the
borrowing of part of his Christmas
dinner ON tho hard condition that it
should be returned untouched His
New Years dinner was still moro inca
ger, Judge, from what he indicated to
General Grant next day
A flag of truce had been sent into the
Confederate lines with an inquiry re-
garding Union officer who had been
wounded and taken prisoner, and the
officer who bore it, after stating its OBJ
Ject, said, General Lee. am directed
by General Grant to give you his com
plimcnts and to say that ho is thor
oughly informed as to all your move
mcnts, and even knows what you had
for dinner yesterday"
General Lee took the pleasantly in
good part and answered, please, cap
tain, present my compliments to Gen
e1al Grant and say that must doubt
tho correctness of his information, for
know him to be n humane man, and
if he had known what l had for my
dinner ho would have sent mo part of
his own. louisville Courier-J ournal