The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1896-02-14


ism of his own personality though
Lee to the, rear rang along the lines,
his action filed the breach with rein
spired soldiery, and he held his army
and lines intact until victory crowned
his banner.
Thank heaven the armies were won.
derfully devoted to their leader, and
never doubted his generalship. They
fully sustained him in their devotion
and duty, and in defense of their sacred
firssides they never quailed nor shirk-
ed that duty though all things else
may not have been equal to their valor.
Even after the canse was badly Grip
pied at Gettysburg they went on. a mere
rem nant of an army, half clad and half
starved, holding back from the gate Of
Richmond the grand armyo of the Po-
tomac," and fighting battles in the
Wilderness that are a miracle Of human
endurance and heroic achievement
1t is true that at the finale he,had no
Zama nor Waterloo. and that his army
did not go down in q great blaze of fire
and glory to the music and inspiration
of screaming shot and shell, the roar
ing of cannon and the belowing of
mortars; but he who stood at Appomat-
tox that last Sabbath morn of the Con-
federacy and saw her die in the last
glorious struggle. Of Genl. John B
Gordon's old guard division, where. as
he says, his soldiers fought overwhelm-
ing odds as vigorously and heroically
as at any time during the war saw in
this his final struggle a climax of hero
ism and chivalry more eloquent and
inspiring, grander and more glorious
than the last clash and fearful charge
of Napoleon's glorious legions on the
ever fateful field of Waterloo!
FIR, m the time he took command OF
the army of Virginia, Lee was facile
principe, in the war, towering above
all on both sides, las the pyramid OF
Ghizeh above the desert"
He was truly great captain. wonder
fully skilled in the art of war. In him
the martial genius of the world found
its highest, sublimest 'dev@lopmcnt. I
/ !. Nature has few pecafinr ros dsin her
great foundry Of humanity; but in one
of her most exalted moods she gave the
world a masterpiece in Lee.
An Apollo in appearance, OF magnii-
cent brariug-he surely was entitled TO
the epithet distinguished so marked
was his appearance in this particular
that he would not have passedunnotic-
ed through the streets of any capital.
A high English criticism OF him rates
Fhim above the commanders of the past.
in this, that while he ranked themfully
in military capacity, statesmanshipand
manhood, he possessed in very mark
ed degree a grand moral and christian
character and status that gave him
special prominence over the world S
great commanders.
In the language of Senator Hill, of
Georgia: when we survey the charac-
ter of Lee we find it rising like huge
mountain above the undulating plain
of humanity lift our eyes high to-
ward heaven to catch its summit"
| "He possessed every virtue of other
great commanders without their vices
He was a foe without hate, friend
without treachery, and q victim with
out murmuring. He was public Off
Ger without vices, private citizen with
out wrong-a neighbor without re-
proach, Christian without hypocrisy
| and man without guile.
! .IIe was Caesar without his ambi-
tiop-Fr.derck without his tyranny
| Napoleon without his selfishness, and
/ Washington without his reward. He
was as gentle as woman in life--pure
! and mo6,st rs virgin IN thought,
watchful a. II Ron au vestai in duty,
snhmissives to law as Socrates and as
| yraud in battle ~ Achilles.
j j. Hoop.
Meridian. Miss. Jan. l., 1896.