Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1895-09-19
Guardian or Lees Tomb.
" UNCLE TOM" HIS OLD SERVANT
WORSHIPs HIS MEMORY.

WuhTulan OF Lees Tomb.
JUNGLE TOM" HIS OLD SERVANT
WORSHIPs HIS MEMORY.
Mr.. G. A. Fonerden, Of Baltimore.
writes to the S,al as follows:
Having spent two days recently
In Lexington, Va, among the hal
lowed memorials of that ancient
town, 1t then occurred to me how
strange 1T must appear to our North
ern brother that the tomb and mag
niicent recumbent statue of Gen.
Il. f. Lee should be kept and sacredly
guarded, as it is, by colored man.
SO, too, is General Lees Office, Just
as he left it, tables, desk, lounge,
chairs, table covers, papers and let
ters, and everything, even down to
his inkstand and penholders, in per-
sonal charge of old Uncle Tom.
Nor Is 1t an easy task TO guard and
preserve these venerable relics from
the profane and desecrating hand
OF the relic-hunting vandal.
Yet with the sharp eye, brave
heart and strong arm of the faithful
sentinel there remains Uncle Tom, a
May his tribe increase
And now let me report to whom
1t may concern what Uncle Tom i'm
parted to me concerning his relation
ship with that mighty captain Of the
valorous Confederate hosts. He be-
gan by saying in his dialect that he
bad enjoyed the proud privilege and
distinction of being close to the
great general in camp-life for four
long years, and that never once, i'm
all that trying time, had he ever
heard him utter a cross, impatient
or improper word to man or beast.
1t must be admitted that a relation
snip OF so long a period as that is,
indeed, close connection, and who
would be q closer observer of the
great mans character and daily de-
meanor than that untutored brother
of color? No severer critic is a
man likely to have than his own
valet, body servant or cook; or at
least, the foibles and shortcoming of
the man of mark could have no
greater or more perilous exposure
than that to the scrutiny of his SER
want under conditions such as those
in which Uncle Tom served his " be-
loved master,' as he Is wont to call
the great general. He was a mas
ter and father to me, too said
Uncle Tom.
On one occasion in showing the
statue to party of seventeen North
ern gentlemen he told them, as
usual, that his old master was the
greatest general in the world and
the best man.
what! Do you, q colored man,
say that Of this man here in our
presence p asked one Of the number.
! Yes, would say that before ten
thousand men, said Uncle Tom,
and added: IF you all had Ter had
him de wah wooder been over long
befo' it wus.'
Then one young man in the party
said: Yes, he was a good man,
Uncle, but he was on the wrong
side.'
Thereupon an old soldier, who
was present, replied: But how
many are there who think to the
contrary, and this man conscien-
tiously thought otherwise, living
and dying a hero in tho hearts of
his countrymen, with the respect
and admiration, too, of the whole
North and all the world
Thus reinforced, Uncle Tom said
he enjoyed the speech of that good
old soldier, once brave adversary
on the field of blood and strife
Then the young man retorted:
Well, he got whipped, anyhow
'Whupt, whupt!' blurted Uncle
Tom. Does you call 1t whupt, sab,
eft when like as you wus goin'
walkin' frum here to de hotel, a
whole parcul uf men woold set upon
you and bind you down? Now,
dat's de way de General was whupt,
sab, and only dat way
Then Uncle Tom told me person
ally that on some OCCASIONS, de Yam
KEGS had two hundred to 0ne.' In
telling him that 1 was in the old
Stonewall Brigade, early and late,
he became fervently eloquent in
laudations, the loudest and most
emphatic, of my invincible old COM
mander.
So,taking him through and through
1 think IL would be hard to find a
more devout love for the South and
its institutions than that of Uncle
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