The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-01-23

man and the gentliestsl antad ~ sta IN
hall among ladies/and tscha.yart ,ha
sternest knight u thy moes.5 foe that
ever put spear IN rest
With reverence and respect we re-
peat am quoting from an ar
ticle which appeared in The Morning
chronicle, Iof Halifax, of October IL,
SIr 8ctors words OF sorrow for
the greatytSir Lancelot. and apply them
to the man who died ~yesterday-the
noolest knight of our generation. The
nero OF the legends. as he lay
dead an Jcyous-Gard with the record
OF a1ife made splendid by great deeds,
night nave revived other than kindly
LSf ~ennobling recoilections in the MOURN
ers mind; for the wronged king and
the breaking up of the goodly fellow
ship OF the Round Table could not be
forgotten, but lay like shadows upon
the dead knight. But in the life OF
Robert Edward Lee there was no re-
proach of man or woman: his deeds
were dimmed by no wrong done or duty
unfulfllled; there was no stain upon his
honor. and no u%nrighteous blood upon
his hands. He was, indeed. a good
knight, noble of heart and strong of
purpose, and both a soldier and a gen.
tleman. The age that knew him, if not
the age OF chivalry. will yet be remark
able for having produced in him a man
90 NAAA as Ill lACN Ia Lllo-
tory. He, too, was one, and the great
est one, Of a goodly fellowship that
was broker up n scattered about the
world. Some of these southern knights
have gone before him, and with him
departs the last remnan OF the cause
for Which they fought and the strength
that so long upheld it.
"'Only nine years ago he was a col
onel of cavalry in the United States ar
my, and yesterday he died the great
est soldier in the world. Four years
service in the field at the head of an
army gained for him this reputation,
n though he was worsted at the last,
it was a reputation that he did not lose
with his losses. 1t is strong praise to
give to him, but none the less deserved,
for even his former enemies must con-
cede to him the first place in the civil
war, and we know of no living Euro
pear general who possesses to the same
extent those attributes of a soldier
which so distinguished the Confederate
leader. 1t is true that Europe has yet
Napier and Mcmahon and Won Moltke,
and that America has also Sherman
n Sheridan and LongStreet, but all
these men n all their fellow-soldiers
lack the grandeur which was inherent
in Lee.
In every particular he possessed
the requisites of a true soldier. He vas
brave; his whole military record and
his lifelong Scorn of danger alike bear
testimony to his bravery. He was wise;
his great successes against great Odds,
n his almost constant anticipation
of the enemy's movements, were proofs
of his wisdom. He was Skillful; his
forced marches and uneXpected vic
tories assert his skill. He was patient
and unyielding; his weary struggle
against the mighty armies Of the north
n his stern defense of Richmond will
forever preserve the memoir of his pa
thence and resolution. He was gentle
n just; the soldiers who fought under
him and who came alive out of the
great fight, remembering and cherish
ing the memory of the man, can one
n all testify to his gentleness and his
justice. Above all, he was faithful:
when he gave up his sword there was
no man in his own ranks or in those
of the enemy that doubted his faith. or
believed that he had not done all that
mortal could do for the cause for
which he had made such a noble strug-
gle.
HE GAINED A GLORY IMPERISH-
ABLE.
Ills military genius derives it's
most important proof from the fact
that, from the time of his appointment
to the position of Confederate COM
lIl1N ohl1l t-C SlOoS VI liz
war, the appointment vas never chang
ed. There were many talented and
brave men in the SOuth-men like
| Longstreet and Polk and the two John
stons, and that one who took with him
to a soldiers grave the love of the
whole world, and the name of Stone
| wall Jackson. But there was only one
Lee, and to him the south knew must
her safety and her hopes be commit
ted. He failed to realize these hopes,
but he gained, if not for his cause, at
least for his country and himself, a
glory imperiShable and unclOuded by
his defeat. On the other hand, the ar
my of the north was compelled to en-
dure a long succession Of leaders, n
as incapable as the other, until men
of real worth were discovered at last.
It seems incredible, on looking Jack to
that wartime, that Lee should have
held his own so long and so bravely,
when he was opposed to ever-changing
tactics, and a force immensely Supe-
rior in numbers. Only a king of men
could have possessed such courage and
endurance, and his whole life is a
proof that among the brotherhood OF
men Lee was indeed a king.
when the last chance was gone,
and all hope was at an end, the old
hero bowed to a higher will than his
own, and accepted the fate Of the
| ooolh ~ ILL DoS III
was done with all his wars. He could
never take the field again; he knew
that it was not for him to see h act
of secession upheld by the south and
recognized by the north, and after the
failure of his own countrymen he was
too old and war-worn to draw his
sword in a foreign quarrel. He passed
from the fever of the camp into the
quiet of the cloister, and as the presi-
den of Washington college, in Vir-
ginia, spent the remaining portion Of
his 63 years in working for the good
of his native state.
1--WE annot express all the truth
hat could be told about Lee, nor can
we do justice to his worth and fame,
out perhaps the few words of Sir Ec-
tor are the best after all. He was a
good knight, a true gentleman; know
ing this. let us leave him with fame
and poSterity; with the rest, the Light,
the Resurrection and the Life
All! lear Drowned face, so fearless and
so bright;
AS kind to friend as thoT vert stern