The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-10-13
IN MEMORY OF R. E. LEE
EULOGIEs DELIVERED BY vETER-
 ANS AT ELECTRIC PARK.
Cross of Honor Presented by Daugh- ters of Confederacy to Warren
 F. Dent Who Was . Boy
 Hero.

! In spite of the biting weather a few Confederate Veterans were present yes-
 terday afternoon at Electric Park to
 give an open air commemoration of
 the thirty-fffth anniversary of General
 Robert E. Lees death.
 A few representatives of local chap
 ters of the Daughters of the Confed-
 consisted of orations on the character of the renowned military leader delivered by Gen. John w. A. Sanford, Captain c. A. Lanier and Rev. A. F. Dix. very impressive feature of the cel-
 ebration was the presentation of a Cross of Honor to w. F. Dent, of Mont gomery. by the Dixie Chapter of the
 Daughters of the Confederacy This honor was bestowed upon Mir Dent in recognition of the valuable services
 he performed in the Confederate Secret Mall Service. This was in the years 1S63-65. when General Lee was striv- ing with inferior forces to defend Rich
 mond. MT. Dent was only ten years old at this momentous epoch in the South's history. Yet history says of him that he rode through miles of country carrying i1 secret trust some that went across the Potomac river tc and from the North.
 Captain Lanier was charged will presenting the cross to Mir. Dent by
 Judge ]. B. Fuller who presided oyei the exercises. Captain .Lanier, in tht
 ceremony, read extracts from Thomas A. Jones' history of John Wilkes Booth Jones had charge of the secret mai
 service in all Maryland and was par ticnlarly responsible for the safe transportation of the mall from the North and Canada across the Potomac into Maryland and that which went to After telling of his successful career in this work. Jones alluded to- the lad of the. service. Warren Dent, after in l troducing his father. pr. Stowten w | Dent. thus:
 "stowen W. Dent and my brother in-law, Thomas H. Harbin. were two of our most active agents.
 "Dr. Dent. who died in 1888. at the advanced age of eighty, had two sons in the Confederate army. His home was near Centerville, a small village Charles County, (Va.)
 He was a practicing physician, and used to make his professional rounds | on horseback. In winter he invariably
 wore an overcoat that came down be- | low his knees, provided with num- erous and capacious pockets and high boots, and in summer, long linen duster also well provided with pock- | cts.
 some one in the neighborhood of Pope's Creek was always sick Scarce- | ly a day passed that some members l of the Watson family or mine did lnot need Dr. Dent. He came and went unquestioned and unsuspected. He would take the mail as far as Port Tobacco, ten miles from my home, or Bryantown, a village in the eastern part of the county about fifteen miles | from Pope's Creek; or even as far as Charlotte Hall. in St. Mary's county, fully twenty miles off. and then trans | fer it some other agent who would
 convey it further on towards its des- l tination.
 "The doctor had a son named War ren, a mere lad of about ten years of age, who, child though he was, was as energetic. discreet and intelligent as any agent in the Confederate ser vice. The most important matter was often intrusted to his care. and always | safely intrusted."
 At the conclusion of this seading Captain Lanier handed the metallic cross to Mir. Dent who bowed thanks for the distinction that was conferred on an appropriate occasion. The first eulogies of the afternoon were spoken by General Sanford and Captain Lanier. They dwelt more up on the military genius and the tenn poral affairs of General Lee. Rev. A.