The Columbus journal., 1903-03-11

Charles Francis Adams Praises Lee.
Charles Francis Adams delivered q
notable speech 1t . dinner Of the New
York camp of Confederate Veterans
recently, In which he said:
AS IN American-as IN ex-soldier
of the Union-as one who did his best
in honest, even fight to destroy that
fragment of the army Of the confed-
eracy to which he found himself oD-
posed, I rejoice that no hatred at
taches to the name Of Lee. Reckless
Of life to attain the legitimate ends Of
war, he sought to mitigate its h0r-
rors. Opposed to him at Gettysburg.
l, here, forty years later, do him JUS
tice. No more creditable order ever
issued from q commanding general
than that formulated and signed by
Robert e. Lee as, at the close Of June.
1868, he advanced ON . war Of In.
vasion.
mo greater disgrace he then de-
clared, can befall the army. and
through 1t our whole people. than the
perpetration of barbarous outrages
upon the innocent and defenseless.
and the wanton destruction Of private
property. Such rocceo,ngs not only
disgrace the perpetrators and all con.
nected with them. but all subversive
OF the discipline and efficiency Of the
army, and destructive Of tho ends Of
the army. and destructive Of the ends
of our movement. It must be remem-
bered that We make war only on
armed men,.
Lee did not. like Tilly and Melac,
exhort his followers to kill and burn,
and burn and kill. and again kill and
burn. to mako war hell. He did not
proclaim that he wanted no prisoners.
He did not enjoin 1t u2on his soldiers
as q duty to cause the people Of
PENNSYLVANIA to remember they had
been there. I thank Heaven he did
not. He at least, though Confed-
crate in arms. was still an American.
and not . Tilly or . Mclac.
And here, Is q soldier Of the army
of the Potomac. let mo bear my testi-
mony to such of the army Of North.
ern Virginia rs may now be present.
While war At best is bad. yet its nee
essary and unavoidable badness was
not in that campaign enhanced. In
scope and spirit Lees order was OBJ
served and I doubt II . hostile force
even advanced in IN cnemy's country
or fell back from 1t in retreat leaving
behind It less caus, for hate and bit.
terness than did the army Of North
ern Virginia In that memorable cam
paign which eliminated at Gettys.
burg. Because he was q soldier, Lee
did not feel 1t incumbent upon him to
proclaim himself brute or to exhort
his followers to brutality"
Devotion 20 the Flag.
II see by the daily papers," said Q
well-known Grand Army man the
other day. that the new custodian
of Faneuil Hall market voted for Nc
Clellan in the trenches before vicks-
burg in 1864. That reminds me Of
something which his predecessor. the
late Charles 8. Bolton. did . few
months later. On the seventh Of
March. 1865. he had been offered his
veteran furlough BY his colonel,
Henry Splaine Of the Seventeenth
Massachusetts Infantry. That gave
him forty days to spend With his fam
lily at home. and the colonel ordered
him to start 1t once. I Win ten you
the rest lust q Col. Splaine told Il 10
me:
Noticing my anxiety to hurry him
away, he begged me to tell him Why
I wanted to get rid Of him then. I
took him into my confidence and told
him that We were to engage in hattie
the next morning. and that for that
reason I wanted him to get out Of
danger and enjoy the furlough that
was 20 Justly his.
Then and there hs peremptoeily
refused to 90. saying. II win not no
nov, furlough or NO furlousA: Vim
not desert the nag in the hour Of
peril: viii not desert my comrodes
on the field. VIM stay With them
and fight It out"
He did stay ana Aght Il out.