The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1907-01-05
Lees Conduct Throughout the Trying Ordeal
Was Thoroughly Characteristic Of II
the Great Man. (~
The Surrender at Appornat * Reflected'
Credit Upon Both the Ill1strious
Soldiers Who Directed It. @

With the centenary or the birth OF
that great soldier and commander OF
the Confederate troops, General Rob-
ert z. Lee, "reminiscences OF his llfc
are in demand. However reEretable
THE Brothers War" none will testify
more earnestly of tho sincerity and
courage of the Southerners than their
brave northern opponents. Robert x.
Lee was noble in defeat and nobly
treated. says the Boston Pilot.
IF ] owned tho four million slaves
in the South, would sacrifice them
all to the Union" he said to Mr.. Blair;
but how can l draw my sword on
Virginia, my native state?"
None were perhaps eventually glad
der than he that the integrity OF tho
Union remained unbroken. We all re-
member the splendid record Of his
nephey. Fitzhugh Lee. eight years ago,
as g. United States officer in the Cuban
War.
In last weeks Outlook, General
Horace Porter, LII. D.. graphically de-
scribes Lees Surrender at Appomat-
tox." We quote the concluding pages
OF an incident as poignant now in the
reading to sons Of victor as to sons
Of vanquished:
Lee in the meantime had directed
Colonel Marshall to draw up for his
signature q letter Of acceptance Of the
terms of surrender. Colonel Marshall
wrote out draft Of such a letter. maxi
ing it quite formal. beginning with. Il
munication," etc. General Lee took IL,
and, after reading it over very care
fully, directed that these formal eX-
pressions be stricken out and that .lc
letter be otherwise shortened. He
seemed to change some words, and
afterward went over it again and
then told the Colonel to make u final
copy in ink. When it came to provid-
| ing the paper it was found that we had
the only supply Of that important in
gredicnt in the recipe for surrender
ing an army, so wc gave n few pages
to the Colonel. The letter when COM
pletcd read as foliews:
General:
1<,t ,r ri. IN
containing the terms of the surrender
of tho Army Of Northern Virginia rs
proposed by you. AS they are sub
stantially the same hs those expressed
in your letter Of the Sth inst, they arc
accepted. / will proceed to designate
tho proper officers to carry the stipu-
| lations into effect.
"R. L. LEE. General.
| "Licut-G General u. S. Grant
While the letters were being copied
General Grant introduced tho general
officers who had entered. and each
member Of the staff, to General Lee
The General shook hands with General
Seth williams, who had been his ad-
jutant when Lee was superintendent at
West Point some years before The
war, and gave his hand to some Of the
other officers who had extended theirs
but to most Of those who were intro
duced he merely bowed in dgnified
ond formal manner
Lee did not utter Il word while tao
introductions were going on, except
to Seth Williams, with whom he
talked quite cordially. Flo now took
the initiative again In leading the con.
versation back into business channels
He said:
II have d thousand or more Of your
| men as prisoners, General Grant, a
number Of them officers, whom we
have required to march along with us
for several days. / shall be glad to
send them into your lines. as soon as
it can be arranged, for have no pro-
visions for them. J have, indeed
nothing for my own men. They have
been living for the past few days prin.