The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-10-09

the commanding general enlisting as a
private in his army was ont thought to
be anything remarkable or unusual
Neither my mother, my family, my
friends, nor myself, expected any other
course, and 1 do not suppose 1t ever oc-
Cured to my father to think Of giving
me an office, which he could easily have
done. 1 know 1t never occurred to me,
nor did ever hear, at that time or after
wards from anyone. that / might have
been entitled to better rank than that
of private because of my fathers prom
inence In Virginia and In the Confedera-
cy. With the good advice to be obedi-
ent to all authority, to do my duty In
everything, great or small, he babe me
goodbye, and sent me off to the Valley
of Virginia, where the command in which
I was about to enlist. were serving under
"Stonewall Jackson"
In the Field.
Captain Lee became private in his
fathers great army. How he met his
father Is an interesting story. which he
tells as follows:
ION May 81 the battle Of Seven Pines
was fought. and General Joseph Z. john
ston. commanding the Confederate army,
was severely wounded. The next day,
by order Of the President. General Lee
took command Of the Army Of Northern
Virginia
"tThe day after the battle of Cold Har-
Dor, during the seven days fighting
around Richmond, was the first time I
met my father after had Joined General
Jackson. The tremendous work Stone
wall Jacksons men had performed. in
GLIDING the rapid march from the Valley
of Virginia, the short rations, the bad wa
ter and the great heat had begun to tell
upon us, and I was pretty well worn out.
On this particular morning my battery
had not moved from Its bivouac ground
of the previous night, but was parked In
an open field all ready, waiting orders.
Most of the men were lying down, many
sleeping, myself among the latter num-
Der. To get some shade and to be out
of the way, I had crawled under a cais-
son, and was busy making up many lost
hours of rest. Suddenly I was rudely
awakened by cornrade, prodding me
with a sponge-staff, as I had failed to
be aroused by his call, and was told to
get up and come out that some one
wished to see me. Half awake, 1 stag
gered out, and found myself face to face
with General Lee and his staff. Their
fresh uniforms, bright equipments and
well groomed horses contrasted so forci-
bly, with the war-worn appearance of our
command that I was completely da>ed.
1t took me a moment or two to realize
what 1t all meant, but saw my father 8
loving eyes and smile 1t became clear
to me that he had ridden by to see II I
was safe and to ask how / was getting
along. l remember we'll how curiously
those with him gazed at me, and l am
sure that it must have struck them as
very odd that such dirty, ragged I'M
kempt youth could have been the son
of this grand looking. victorious COM
mander."
Continuing Captain Lee says:
when again saw my father, he rode
at the head of Longstreet's men on the
field Of Manassas, and we of Jackson $
corps, hard pressed for two days, well
coined him AMI the divisions which fol-
lowed him with great cheers. Two rifle
guns from our battery had been detached
and sent to join Longstreets advance
artillery, under General Stephen d. Lee,
moving into action on our right. l was
No. L at one of these guns. We adj
vanced rapidly, from hill to hill. firing
| as hst as we could, trying to keep
ahead of our gallant comrades, just ar
| rived. As we were ordered to cease mr.
| ing from the last position we took and
| the breathless cannoneers We're leaning
| on their guns, General Lee and stan gal
| loped up, and from this point of vantage
| scanned the movements of the enemy
| and of our forces. The general refined
| in Traveller close to my gun, not fifteen
! feet from me. looked at them all some
| minutes, and then went up and spoke