The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-01-26
Answer to Col. Mcclure.
From the Jacksonville Times-Unic
and Citizen.

From the Jacksonville IlmeS-U mon
and Citizen.
Editor Tines Union and Citizen: In
your issue of last Sunday you pub
llsh, from the pen of Col. A. K. Nc
Clure; a sketch of Gen. r. e. Lee, my
late commander, in which he is rated
as a great defensive general only. [
was onlyfa private during the Civil
War; but had the honor of belonging to
the Army of Northern Virginia, ana
can speak by the card
Gen. Lee took command of the army
after Gen. Joseph e. Johnston was
wounded. He recalled Gen. Jackson
from the valley of Virginia and at
tackled Mcclellan by the right flank
at Mechanicsville. and drove him to
the shelter of his gunboats on the
James. On this occasion Gen. Lee, for
the first time, commanded large army
in battle. In the seven days of con-
secutive fighting which ended in the
abandonment of McClellan's peninsu-
lar campaign, Gen. Lee was always
the aggressor. Col. Mcclure may see
something defensive on the part of the
Confederates in this fight, but l can
not.
In the Maryland campaign Gen.
Lees army captured Harper's Ferry,
with it's garrison of 1000 men and
battle of Spartanburg the day after
and held it's ground against an army
three times as strong. Did that show
only defensive ability?
Later, Gen. Hooker-they called him
Fighting Joe'-crossed the Kappa
hammock with an army outnumbering
that of Gen. Lee three to one, and en-
trenched himself on the south bank.
Gen. Lee, in the face of an army three
times as strong as his own, cut his
army in two and sent Jackson to at
tack the enemy's right flank. The re-
suit was a victory SO complete that
Fighting Joe" felt that he had some
thing TO be proud of when he saved
his army from complete destruction by
escaping across the river The history
of the world does not show for any
commander a more brilliant achieve
ment than the Confederate victory at
Charlottesville. Gen. Lee fought on
the offensive throughout the entire bat
tie,
In the valley campaign. Gen. Jack
son, under Gen. Lees command, drove
four armies sent against him out of
Virginia. This was offensive if any
thing could be.
At Gettysburg the Confederates
drove the enemy from the field the
first day, were the aggressors on the
second. l know this, for l was in the
field, and was wounded in three places
in five minutes. The charge of Pick .
EFT on the third day had for it's pre-
cedent MacDonald's famous charge al
Wagram. Surely no one would term
this a defensive fight.
AS a matter of fact, Gen. Lee fought
but one purely defensive fight-that
of Fredericksburg, and 1 am unable
to understand how anyone who knows
anything of his history at all can call
him a purely defensive general.
Thus far / have written of what /
know of my own knowledge, having
participated in the events referred to.
Col. McClure's differences from con-
versations with President Davis are
as unaccountabIe to me as his estimate
of Gen. Lee as only a defensive COM
mander. Col Mcclure says he asked
Mr.. Davis whether the Gettysburg
campaign was dictated by military or
political considerations. The reply was
that it would not have been under
taken if it had not been believed to be
a wise military movement. He asked
whether Gen. Lee proposed or advised
it, The answer was ii would not have
been attempted without Gen. Lees as
sent. From this Col. Mcclure draws
the conclusion that Gen. Lee opposed
it. In other words, when Mr.. Davis
said yes, Col. Mcclure inferred no.
His reasoning faculties must be fear
fully and wonderfully made.
This same strangely formed reason
ing faculty enabled Col. Mcclure to
conclude that Gen. Lee was willing to
command the army of the United
States against the South prior to the
succession of Virginia in spite of Gen.
Lees own published statement, II de-