The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-03-08
Worthy Scion OF
a Famous Family
From the Times Herald.

l. rom llle lllltS-iltIdlu'
m LOOD will tell, and it has told in
IDD the case of General FitZhugh Lee.
Inn His family has always been fa-
lDJ nous in American history. How
could the grandson of Lighthouse
Harry the revolutionary hero" or the
nephew of Robert L. Lee be anything
else but courageous and possessed of tact
and common sense? The son OF a naval
officer he preferred the army as q ca
reer. Graduating from West Point, he
fought on the frontier for six years before
the opening of the rebellion, and was en-
gagged in several desperate encounters
with the Comanche Indians in Texas. ON
one of these occasions he was pierced
through the lungs by an arrow, but he
lived to tell the story. On another occas-
ion he grappled with a big Indian in a
hand-to-hand encounter threw his antag-
onist on the ground and killed him.
O.
Though only q years of age, Lee was
an instructor in cavalry tactics at West
Point when the war broke out. He fol
lowed his state into the secession move
ment His war record is Il matter of pride
to every Virginian. The dashing young
officer was an ideal trooper, fearing moth
ing and loved by his men. He was mod
est, too. After some brilliant movement
of personal valor his brigade formed In a
body and determined to serenade him at
speech. But Lee got an inkling of the
matter, and when he saw them coming
he slipped out of his tent and hid in the
bushes. After the disappointed troopers
had called for him in vain and dispersed
he peeped furtively from his hiding place,
and in a subdued tone asked, Have they
gomez
General Lee possessed remarkable COM
posure in battle. He never got the least
ratified under the most trying condition,
except at Saylor's Creek, on the retreat
from Petersburg; he never betrayed anX-
iety, and, though often under a rafting
fire, no Cne ever saw him dodge. This can
not be said of many OF the bravest men.
Simetimes a bullet will Unexpectedly whiz
close to ones head. and the impulse to
dodge is almost irresistible, though IL
never did anybody any good. One of the
officers with him said once that the only
time he had been moved by the enemy
fire was at the battle of Winchester. lie
and General Early met under am apple
tree near the summit of a hill in a very
exposed place. There was no firing at the
time, but while the two generals, still on
their horses, were intently examing a
map, one shot was fired. 1t fell short and
they paid not attention to it. But lo an
other came, struck the apple tree just
above their heads, and as the apples
Tained down on them they concluded the
map could be better examined in a less OK
posed position--a conclusion i'm which all
others agreed with remarkable unanim-
ity, And nobody stopped to get any ap-
pies.
General Lee is a superb horseman. lie
rode splendid mare named Nellie. She
had the form, the strength the nimble-
ness of limb, the tapering neck, the alert
poise of the head, the bright and intelli-
gent eyes that made her a model worthy
to bear any master. She was all grace
and beauty. When the Confederate coll
umns were broken in the same battle and
| the rout begah, Tor II was little less, GEN
! eral Lee was at a very exposed point. The
| tre Of thirty pieces of artillery was di-
rected against it. The air was full of ex-
| plodlng shells; horses were plunging
| about on three legs, neighlng piteously
| for place of refuge; other were disem-
| boweled by the furious shot; others were
loose running to and fro, bewildered by
| the terrible havoc, while the mutilated
| bodies of men could be seen on every
| hand; numbers who were crippled were
| hobbling away, and all seemed doomed to
| death. 1t was here that the beautiful
| Nellie was gored by one fragment of
shell and her masters leg torn by an
| other. lie was noted for his geniality
and jolity. He loved humoI and fun and
got all there was to be had i'm those try
| ing times. But his cheerfuness failed at
Appomattox. There he cried
| o
After the war had ended General Lee
| settled in Stafford county as a farmer
| and miller. His life was the quiet and un-
| eVentful one of a country gentleman, car
ing for nothing but his wife, whom he
married In 1871, and his children. About
| 1875 he began TO take an active part in
politics, and he attended the national con-
| vention of 1876 as a delegate. In 1885 he
was elected governor of Virginia 1t was
| then that he again became conspicuous.
| General Lee headed the southern division
of the inauguration parade, and his hand
some presence and splendid horsemanship
| forced the men on the sidewalks to cheer
| him with more vim than they did anyone
else. A similar demonstration occurred
| when four years later. General Lee led
the Virginia troops I'm the Washington
centennial parade In New York TO the
| stirring tune of "Dixie." On both of