The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1895-07-15
LEE AND JOHNSTON.
THE LAST PHOTOGRAPH OF GEN. n.
II. LEE REPRODUCED.
IT WAS TAKEN IN SAVANNAH, GA.
The Farewell Address of General Johnston
20 tho Army of 1ennessee-Two Inter
eating Incidents OF the Past Recalled.

At the luncheon given last week by Ma
| tor Livingston Minis in honor of General
| Pierce Nj. b. Young, United States minister
to Guatemala and Honduras, on the lat
ter's return to Georgia for his vacation,
| two very interesting relies of days gone
| by were brought to light.
| They were the last photograph taken of
General Robert e. Lee and the farewell ad-
| dress of General Joseph e. Johnston to
| his gallant Army of the Tennessee in his
| own handwriting.
These silent tokens. standing for nothing
now but the dead and unforgotton past,
have been hidden beneath a pile of old
| trinkets in the storage corners of Major
| M.ms's office for many years past-buried
beneath the vast heap of interesting things
which lie in the darkened garrets of this
distinguished Georgian, who, by the way,
has in addition to one of the Invest in
surance offices in the south perfect 'old
curiosity shop" choked with all that is
picturesque and strange.
Major Minis Is one of those typical
southerners who cares much for the
sentimental side of this weary old world as
he does for the busy, active progressive
and wide-awake fields of modern develop
ment. While he is what might be termed
In the vernacular OF the fin de steele world
an up to -dater'' in the matter of pushing
his business, he is at the same time one
OF the most picturesque characters in all
the sunny southland. He is a connosseur
In shifting battle smoke and can tell from
the slightest Whit of this commodity the
exact status of affairs on the field; he
could analyZe ii to chemical test In the
days of disaster out on the campaigns
along the Mississippi river. and so familiar
with 1t was he that 1t was an easy task
for him to tell whether 1t came from
yankee gun or a confederate musket. His
handsome brow all crowned in curly gray
today was many a time haloed with the
smoke of battle along the Mississippi in
the campaigns of the stormy days OF the
sixties, and he ckerishes the "reminiscences
OF those trying times like things that are
sacred.
After the war Major Minis was for
long time associated with General Joseph
L. Johnston in the insurance business. with
headquarters in Savannah. He and GEN
eral Johnston formed company known
as ]. T.. Johnston * Co. In the firm was
also General HUMPHREYS, of Mississippi,
for long time governor OF that state.
This firm the first to establish general
agencies OF two or three of the greatest
insurance companies in the south and
covered the territory of the entire south.
Major Minis was a warm personal friend
of General Joseph f. Johnston and was
well acquainted with General Lee. He re-
calls the visit of the latter to the Georgia
coast most wildly and declares that it
was a great treat to hear General john
ston talking of the days of the past when
he met General Lee i'll Savannah
The picture which Major Minis brought
out the other day at the luncheon given
General Z. NJ. B. Young is valued most
highly by him. He holds very dear, also,
the farewell address o. General Johnston
to his gallant army of confederates writ
ten in his own handwriting, an exact copy
of which is reproduced by The Constitu-
ton herewith. The farewell address was
delivered to his men al Benefits house,
North Carolina, near Durham Station. n.
c.. April 26. 1865.
1t wasn't long after General Lee returned
from his visit to Savannah that his death
occurred-October r. 1870.
He had been president of the Washington
and Lee university at Lexington. Va.
about five years, having accepted the posi-
ton Immediately after the surrender of
the confederate forces at Appomattox. 1t
is said by those who remember such things
that the private life of General Lee was
that of a quiet citizen, who loved his coun-
try better than his own life. and who had
an unrepning fondness for the traditions
of the 'storm-cradled nation that fell"
Never was there a man more sincere.
never a man with more striking integrity
in all the little walks of life as well as in
the public career he held as general OF the
confederate army.
General Lees Last Picture.
The last picture made of General Robert
f. Lee in his lifetime was the photograph
taken by an artist in Savannah when Gen
eral Lee was on visit to that place. He
had been down the coast of Georgia,
visiting the island just off the coast where
his distinguished father. 'IIeht-horse
Harry Lee" had been buried. The story
of how General Harry Lee came to be
buried on the island near the Georgia
coast is familiar to everybody. He had
been down to the West Indies for his