Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1901-11-07
HOW LEE ENDED THE WAR.
Refused to Keep up a Guerilla
Struggle After Appomatox.
Charles Francis Adams Makes Public
An Unwritten Chapter Of Ameri-
can History-The South Afri-
can War.

Charles Francis Adamsi in an address be-
fore the American Antiquarian Society at
Springfield, Mass, reviewed the history OF
Lees surrender. and compared the struS-
gle of the South with the present war in
South Africa. What he said was nov,
and included hitherto unpublished chap
ter of American history. He said in part
'Thc present seems to me a sufficiently
proper occasion, and this "A good place, to
call attention to a matter not otherwise
than gcrmane to the purpose of this socic-
ty. Historical in it's character, 1t conveys
a lesson of grave import One of the most
unhappy. and, to those concerned in it.
disastrous wars of the century, Is that now
in South Africa dragging itself out to a
conclusion apparently still remote. and III
every way. unsatisfactory. There is good
reason to think that the conflict was un-
necessary In it's inception, that, by judi
cious action, 1t might long since have tcer
brought to n close: and. finally that it il
now continued simply because the parties
to it cannot be brought together to discus
and arrive at sensible basis of adjust
mcnt--a basis upon which both are II
reality ready to agree Nevertheless rs
the cable dispatches daily show, the con
test drags YEARLY along, to the probable
obstruction of one of the combatants /,
the great loss of the other and. so far as
can be seen, in utter deregard Of the best
interests of both.
MY purpose, however is to drew at;cn-
ton to the hair-breadth escape we our
selN es had from a similar experience no
thirtN-live years ago, and to assign to
whom II belongs the CrcLit of that esrHp"
In one word, in the strong light OF paSSlla
events I think 1t now opportunc 20 @e'
forth the debt of gratitude this reunitf d
country of ours--Union and Confederate
North and SoutL.--owes to Robert L. lee.
,I.r 49,
mantle commander of the army OF
Northern Virginia Fairly reliable and
very graphic accounts of what took place
at Gen. Lees headquarters in the carly
morning hours of that day have either app
p,9red in print or been told in converse
ton, and to two of these accounts ! pro
pose to call attention. Apparently the Sec
ond Of the interviews described followed
close on the first, not moro than a couple
OF hours intervening between them. 81
the first ! find this account in book r
Gently published by John Sargent VIZ"
entitled The End of an Era John Sar-
gent Wise is the son of Henry A. Vic
once prominent in our National pDliticS
Governor of Virginia in the later fifties, he
was subsequently, a BriEadier General ir
the Confederate service. Though in 1T
but Il youth of nineteen. John s. Wise was
Il hot Confederate, and had already bcec
wounded in battle. At the time nov IL
question he CHANGED to have been sent hN
jefferson Davis. then OF, his way from
Richmond to Danville, with dspatChce L.
Lee; ard. while seeking Lees headqulrt-
erS he came. in the early morning of AnHi
9. cross his father, Governor and Genera
Wise. in bivouac with his brigade. Tho
father was then nearly sixty Years of dsr
but the son found him lying on the ground
asleep among his men. 4 typical SouthcrI
'iire-eater' of the extreme type. Henry A
Wise WAS an out-and-out seCcssionist an
Confederate. Aroused by fis son from hi
uneasy Slumber almost the first wish n,
expressed was to see Gen Lee. and he in
CURED impetuCusly of his herca bouts. TIL
two started to go to Gen. Lees headquar
tor