The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1897-12-30
GENERAL ROBERT i. LEE:
A Distinguished Northern, Mans
Opinion of the Great Chieftain-As
Great as NapOIeOu or. Won MOltke: &

Great as Napoleon Won M0ltke: q
DR.. E. Benjamin Andrews, the: dis
tinguished president of Brown Univer--
sity, recently delivered a. lecture in
Chicago upon Gen. R@l}ert E. lee.
which has attracted more than usual
intercS, both North and South: Or.
Andrews is recognized throughout the
length and breadth II this county as
bold, original and independent:
thinker, and his ut,erances on any sub;
ice, command attention and respec'.
The lecturer declared that General
Lee vas not only the greatest soldier.
which The war produced, but that, in,
many phases Of his genius, ne was The
greatest sold er OF modern times. AS
Dr.. Andrews served in the Union
army this candid expression OF optn-
ion in regard to the military skill and
proves Of the SOulh's great SOLDIER
can not fail TO awaken deep interest:rn.
both sections. ..s -. -.
The Chicago 7lmes-HeraM gave a .
report Of the lecture from which the
following IS taken:
DIR. Andrews proclaimed General
Robert +. Lee the most valiant and
most heroic military genius OF modern
times from the stage OF Central Music
hall last night. He did not dlscredlt
the bravery and waller of the. leaders
under whom he himself fought. He
gave the head Of the Confederate army
more glory because lie had to face kill
IN problems i'll addition. to the 0rdl-
nary puzzles Of the severest fight THAT
history knows. The Grafton was one
Of maateriul eloquence, delivered by
man built for an orator. with a rolling
voice and the presence OF a giant. He
spoke with the air Of powerful and
| iirmcst conviction. He praised Gen.
| Lee and pictured the great Intellect Of
| the lost cause as one of the most won
| dcrful Of all American history. He
| thought the General carried out the
instinct which was born with him-the
| love Of the art Of war and the heart
! to carry On the war-inherited from.
an ancestry which could be traced to
one of the fiercest of the companions of
William who sailed away from the
shores Of Normandy and conquered
| England.
'Gencral Lee Joined the Confedera-
cy because Virginia asked him to-
said the doctor. ''He was a Virgin
IAN The call of Virginia to any of
her sons is the voice of law aud duty.
He had the faith of the crusader; his
letters would make guide to holiness.
lie was always soldier. never impure
III thought or act, never profane or OBJ
scene. He did not touch the cup as
did Grant, Hooker, or Phil Sheridan,
and when he lost fight it was never
said Of him that the defeat was due to
a habit which makes mems heads into
muddles. He was never outgeneraled
by Grant in all the campaigns from
Rappahaunock to James River, never
trapped and never caught mapping. 1t
on our side ordered march at a. m
they never made more than half the
distance between the two armies. Lee
had ordered an advance at 4:30.
Il fail to find in the books any such
masterful generalship as this hero
showed. holding that slim, gray line,
half starved, with no prospects of addi-
tons. and fighting when his army was
too hungry to stand and the rifles only
usefulas clubs. His courage was sub.
lime. He was as great as Gustavus
! Adellfhlts, OF Napolean, or W wellington
OF Nen. Moltlle. His cause was nol
/ the. lost ea,rs SO lhucif as: is suspected
/ All that was good ia his. cause is
grated into our laws and constitution
The doctrine of States rights as now
interpreted by the Supreme Court is in
exact accordance with his claims on
the point. General Lee lost at Gettys
burg because the Federal troops
had received new motor OIL
tremendous strength whose power no
one knew-General Hancock lie
also lost because Meade's men were
fighting on union sOil-almost within
hearing distance of the prayers OF THEN
wives and children for victory. They
were at their hearthstOnes. Men are
tigers when wives and families are the
inspiration of war;
, Before closing his tribute to the
South's great soldier, DR.. Andrews de.
clared that the final overthrow of the
r COntederacy was not due to the fac
that General Lee was outgeneraled
but rather to the fact that overwhelm.
ing numbers on the Union side
coupled with the hardships and priva
tons which the Southern army was
compelled to suffer. made the success
: of the Contederacy impossible Will
, the decades which have elapsed sine,
the late war between the states, mucl
5 Of the bitterness of feeling engendere,
by that conflict has passed away, anC
while the South can now, without th,
,, least prejudice, contemplate the superl
qualities of Grant and Sheridan ant
Hancock, it is also true that the Nortl
can fully appreciate the heroic virtue
l of Jackson, Beauregard and Lee.
I The summary of his estimates o
Lee, compared with the Federal gen
r erals is that he was as brave, NOR
watchful and dOubly skillful. in addition
! to having his head filled all the tim
D., with miseries and disappointment
: which did not exist on the other side c
), the line. He concluded by declarin
j that he was glad the republic is gettin
: into that state of mind where it is be
tyin TO ciS- 10
y valor, without regard to section, bour