The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-02-09
rITHHUGH LHE's OPINION.

tho plan OF campo!gu aud the battle were
Lees own conception.
FIT2HUGH LEES OPINION.
General gltzhugh Lee in a biography OF
his uncle, a panegyric which Is Row as nc.
copied southern authority, distinctly says;
AS Hooker could not be attacked OK,
copt ut disadvantage, General Lee de-
termined TO draw him from his position
aud transfer the scene Of hostiltles beyond
the Potomac"
Here Il. Il. Lees language In the Seldom
letter IL pnraphrasod From such source
thus used thirty years afterwards thls
can lead 10 only one conclusion,
FitzhuHh Leo further Says that General
Lee was eager for the contest at Gettys.
burg and earnestly denies that hls uncle
was under any agreement with IsOpgstrtNt
10 light defensive battle
Lees family and partisans do not d9Al
that he was the protector Of the PcnnGyl-
yuula invasion. They content themselves
by enormously ascrlbing It's disastrous close
10 alleged military faults Of Lees chief
lieutenant on the Held Of Gettysburg.
Independent of all general military consid
oratlons, and beside the mere question OF
protecting the Confederate capital. there
! was then aud always distinct and over.
/ wholmuR local force operating to compel
an offensive movement from Virginia, re
Gently greatly strengthened by the victory
OF Charlottesville II was founded upon
passionate longing fully reflected by Gen
, eral Lee, In which President Davis, who
was Western horn, could not so keenly par
| ticIplte Neither could General LonRstreet,
| a south Caroimian. All Yirgiuans natural.
| ~ desired 10 rid their State OF the enemy
| Lees prediction for a Northern Invasion
| IS thus explained by another bog1Oher,
| William Parker Snow
"That object especially dear TO himself
and to every Virginlan IN his army, as well
8s necessary 10 the South, was to compel
the Union forces 10 evacuate the state and
| fan back on their own Federal soil"
THE VIRGINIA CROWD"
! Although virginia contributed no more
men to the rank and file Of the splendid
amy OF Northern virginia than far away
! Georgia, Tor instance, on North Carolina, yer
more than oue-third Of all It's general onl
| GERS were NlrgnlanH. several OF whom Were
| personal fayOrltes Of General Lee. one OF
! them wax q son and another a nephew. OF
its i've corps commanders. Including the
! cavalry aud artillery, 1OuT-EWe!l. A.. 4,
| Hill stuart and Pcudlcton--were from Gen
! ernl Lees State. LOngstreet WAS the ouly
really conspicuous onicer In the army not
! 4 Nirginiau. There were some htty-fiYe gen
cral officers IN the army: aside from Long
( street there were ohN hFe OUTSIDERS haNluE
] and considerable reputation as leaders OF
/ ~ euhireut status 10 influence Lee These
were AlcLaws, Hood Rodes. x. n. Ander
son and BENDER an division commanders.
! LonEgtreet, ot course was TOO able anc
/ conspicuous before me country 10 be IL
nored when great operations were under
consideration, but the army, nevertheless
was practically controlled bT the virgin
lans~the Lees. Ewel. Hill, Stuart, Pendle
ton. Pickett. Early, Heth and long linz
regiments.
Thus the personal influences enyirouinl
Lee. as well az material interests. all mad'
strongly for an invasion which would throw
back the Federals from his State. II II
easy 10 see the source Of Lees inspiration
md the reason for II.
on the other hand. Davis and Longstree
took scope more Of National interests. i
WIS impossible for either 10 fully appre
ciate this representative Virginia feeling
With bis capital defensiyely safe. Davis
eyes were then bent 10 the Southwest III
thought the Mississippi was the cgitica
line In 1863.
lee holding II 70 be q choice between
two Threatened sacrifices. naturally looked
| 10 Virginia On this frontier his influence
nffer Charlottesville was supreme: be wal
almost necessarily given free rein. Unde
( hls pressure Richmond notwithstanding
Davis fears, was almost deuudcd OF De
Tenders. and Gettysburg followed Ia dn'
( course.
Lee. differing from Davis. correctly ar
eued that the most certain method 70 dc
fend Richmond wBs 70 invade tho Nortl
and threaten Washington. lust es Grant. thu
following year soon showed IincolR uans
stanton fhat the safest method TO defens
Washington was 20 push for Richmond
I0ngstreet's theory was precisely the same
only be would have operated In another
quarter from that chosen by Lee.
! Finally " e. worth noting concerning
r.ongstreet's military CRITICISMS OF Gettye
burg, ana particularly The eply ems he eYei