Birmingham age-herald., 1895-09-15
GUARDIAN OF LEES TOMB.
'Uncle Tom," His Old Servant, Worships the
 Great Leaders Memory.


 Baltimore Sun.
 MT. c. A. Fonerden of Baltimore writes to the Sun as follows:
 Having spent two days recently in Lexington, Va, among the hallowed memories of that ancient town it then occurred to me how strange 1t must ap- pear to our northern brother that the tomb and magnificent recumbent statue of Gen. R. E. Lee should be kept and sacrediy guarded, as 1t is, by colored man.
 / 50. too, is General Lees office, just as he left 1t, tables, desks, lounges, chairs, table covers papers and letters, and eV- erything, even down to his inkstand and penholders, in persoifdi chai So oi good old Uncle Tom.
 Nor is it an easy task to guard and preserve these venerated relics from the profane and desecrating hand or the rel ic-huntng vandal. Yet with the shafp eys. brave heart and strong arm of the faithful sentinel there remains Uncle Tom. a worthy defender of those sacred things. May his tribe increase!
 And now let me report to whom 1t may concern what Uncle Tom imparted to me concerning his relationship with that mighty captt\ ' of the valorous Con federate hosts. he began by saying m his dialect that he enjoyed the proud privilege and distinction of being close to The great general in camp life for nearly four long years, and that never once, Tn all that trying time, had he ever heard him utter cross, impatient or Improper word to man or beast. It must be admit ted that a relationship of so long pe- riod as that is indeed close connection. and who would be closer observer of the great mans character and daily demean- or than that untutored brother of color? No severer critic is man likely to have than his own valet. body servant or cook :; or at least. the foibles and shortcomings of the man of mark could have no greater or more perilous exposure than that of lhe scrutiny of his servant under condi- tions such as those in which Uncle Tom served his beloved master. IS 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 a party of seventeen northern gentle men he told them, as usual, that his old master was the greatest general in the world and the best man.
 What! Do you, colored man. say that of this man here in our presence? 2 asked one of the number
 Yes 1 would say that before 10, 900 men, said Uncle Tom, and added: If you all had CT had him de war 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.
 'Therupon an old soldier. who was present. replied: But how many are there who think to the contrary. and this great man conscientiously thought otherwise, living and dying a hero in the hearts of his countrymen. with the respect and ad- miration, too, of the whole north and all the world.
 ''Thus reinforced Uncle Tom said he enjoyed the speech of that good old sol der, once brave adversary on the field of blood and strife Then the young man retorted:
 Well, he got whipped anyhow
 'Whupt! whuptr blurted Uncle Tom. Does you call it whupt. sah, -ef when like as you wuS a goin' waliin rum here to de hotel, whole parcul uf men woold set upon you and bind you down Now, dat's de way de general was whupt, sah, and only dat way.
 Then Uncle Tom told me personally that on some occasions De Yankees had 200 to 100." In telling him that was in the old Stonewall brigade, early and late, he became fervently eloquent in lauda- tions, the loudest and most emphatic, of my invincible old commander
 ''So taking him through and through. I . think it would be hard to find a more devout love for the south and it's institu- tions than that of Uncle Tom.'