The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-10-04
LIFE OF Lee |.
BY HIS. 5 son.
Most Intimate Picture Of Great
Southern Commander
Ever Drawn.
WORK lust FROM THE PRESS
Bulk Of Volume Is Given to Per-
sonal Letters Written 70
Relatives and Friends.
nv Associated prcss. J

tI,y Associated Prcss.)
NEW YORK. october BIN Hecollec-
tons and Letters of General Robert y.
Lee, by his son Robert L. Lee. which
has lust been issued from the press OF
doubleday, Page and Company, an inter-
eating volume has been added to the
literature f the ciyii war and tn of he
so 'ii RI coinmandtr in his private and
not nttcnipt TO enter the field Of the his
teran as far th az es var or th sse work In
plies 1T is largely COMPOSED Of his
fathers letters; most Of them TO ms m IN
mediate family and he makes n no, az,
=, Tic Ii late war. The chief interest Of
tie book lies in It's personal phase. I. as
relating TO the daily HE, the mental AZ,
Lee.
This. correspondence. most Of It Of the
most Intimate cl,araeter y y'o measure re
reer is 50 closely bound. writing with
All the freedom ora husband and 1, father an
i to wife and Children OF to intimate mate.
Il dreamed would see print. the man him-
self stands < revealed. rhreughout his
correspondence is a dcvontly. religious
evidences the deep faitn OF tho man..
Writing from camp and from battle
1Icid. he seldom failed TO acknowledge or
axsks ana ss e There a!s Il oans s
absence Of military information In these
letters. N;hcrcvcr, It Is brought IN u is
( great strussic will be disa appointed.
Deprecates the War.
(; The author condenses into one chapter
the period pr.orJto his fathers rcsigna..
ton from the United States Army. and
confines himself to General Lees own
friends as to the motives which acttiatcd
him In this decision. Writing to his
sister. Mrs. Ann Marshall on the day
+ said: Now We are ina state Of war which
Will yield TO nothing. The whole South
III is In "a state OF revolution. Into when
Virginia, after a long struggle. has been
sity for this state Of things. and would
B have forbornc and pleaded to the end
for redress Of grievances. real or stip-
posed, yet inamy own person ! had e, TO
meet the question whether should take
part against my native State. With al
my devotion TO the Union and the feel
Citizen. i have not been able to make
d UP my mind toAraise my hand against
4 my relatives. my ehildIer. my. home III
y bc aps and TesF ERe
53 1.ative State. with the sincere hope that
y my poor services may never BIO needed
hope Oe 9e daS he Wrote
IN similar strain to his brother ca ptain
sydney Smith Lee. OF the United States
In 1855 General Lee wrote to senator
Rcverdy Johnson In regard tos Al, debate
in The Senate, In which Senator Simon
Cameron had made certain statements.
IN this letter General Lee said ~ never e,
intimalcd to anyone that desired tho
command OF the United States Army;
nor did ever have a conversation with
4 Blair. on this subject which was at his
:. Invitation, and. as understood. at the
instance Of President lincoln After
listening to his remarks declined tho
tho army that. was to PC brought into
Tie Held: stating as courtcousIy as
could. that. though Opposed 70 secession Ae'n
part III an Invasion OF the Southern
& States General Lee adds that he went
directly to General Scott, told him II
and two days later, concluding that he
ought no longer retain his commission.
! resigned from the army. Two days later.
he went to Richmond, found that the
convention had passed the secession ordi-
nance and accepted the position Of COM
TheEe s,ate %
spring and summer .st Of 1851. 10 Ills )" wife
at Arlington counseling her on family
matters and nc homey duties i OF his
WAS transferred viii, his command to
the Confederate States Army. In a letter
he said: II do not, know What my po-
s,tion will be. ] should like to retire to
private life II j could be with you and
81 he children. but IL can bngof any SER
Y vice to the state or her cause must
continue Soon after the first battle of
iE Manassas General Lee vas sent into
West Virginia. and, In the numerous, let
tiers to his family. he interestingly de-.
scrhesF tho country his raw soldiers and
,.ie difficulties he faced. These letters
ter he was sent to South Carolina in the
winter of 1861. Many of these are deeply
X religious Writing his wife on Christmas
sensible OF our t-ansgressons. SO as to
be fully pcnitent and forgiven. that this
heavy punishment under which we labor,
may with Justice be removed from US
contamination Of all that we have en-