The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-04-24
GENERAL RULING PRAISES LEE

The Messenger called attention to a
F. Ruling, of New Jersey, in which he
was accused Of treating General Rob-
ert E. Lee in a rather ~detracting way
bordering upon an effort to be con-
temptuous. He is out explaining n
denying. Candor requires that we
should state that he was misunderstood
In his reply he says, and his quotations
are very much to his candor and dis
cernment. We quote:
Il have a very high opinion of ZEN
eral Lee, and always have had. On
page 81 of said book / speak of him as
"a confederate gamecock; on page SO
l say he was a gentleman and chival-
rous,' for returning General Kear-
neyS body, ETC., after Chantilry;
on pages 6S and 50 / speak very highly
of his d at Gettysburg; on pages
20 to "A / pronounce him a 'shrewd and
capable commander" on a large scale;
on pages II and rs l admit he 'outma-
noeuvred and outwitted' Genera Meade
in the Culpeper-Centreville campaign,
QS63;) on page 152 l say: In the Will
dernesS, and from the Rapidan to the
James, Q864,) he fought magnificently,
with bent brows and flashing eyes, like
a Roman gladiator On page 1853: At
Petersburg he certainly made a gallant
defense, and fought Gener Grant for
all it IA worth. He was a gen
tleman, a patriot, and a Christian.
On page 156: Let Lee abide in
his own place. 1t is a large place, and
he fills it well. For he wa a gallant
gentleman and an accomplished SOL
der: intelligent, alert, vigilant, brave,
resolute, determined, a hero
worthy Of n age or any land On
page 157: What would Lee have done
in Grants place? Evidently .
he would have succeeded magnificently,
and gone down to history as
our second Washington. Clear
ly the ~confederacy produced no nan
equal or nearly equal to him. . . I"
None Of them could hold a candle to
Robert E. Lee"
But strange to say he does not think
him Grants superior, NOR even his
equal" This will not be the worlds
judgment. 1t is not Br.c.sa and Ger
man judgment. He is {: POOR military
critic who can place Grant above Lee.
Grant had armies at his command
three times the number Lee had to en-
counter. Official reports show that. If
Grant had invaded with an army the
size of Lees, and if Lee could have
met him with an army Of confederates
the size of Grants, there would have
been but one battle, and but for an
hour, m hen Grant would have sur
rendered, and that would have ended
him. The truth is Grant was a hard
fighter and he said before he met Lee
that the way to whip the confederacy
was by constant fighting. He said
when ~ confederate was killed he
was gone, and his place could never be
filled. But If he lost ten he could find
twenty to fill their places. There was
really no fair comparison in the genius
of the two men. Lee was not only
Grants superior by great odds, but he
had no equal on the northern side by a
very great deal. General Thomas, a
virginia., had more genius for war
probably than Grant or Sherman or any
of h northern invaders. The foremost
writer's on war in Great Britain for
the last forty years have put Lee not
only first among Americans, but they
put him with Marlborough and yelling
ton. General Lord Wolseley, head OF
the British army, over his own sigma
ture said Lee was greater than Well
inRton