Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1910-01-21
WATR0USSPEAKSON LEE

For nearly four year l hoped FOR the
| whSIns OF capture Of the South's great
est soldier, Gen. Robert f. Lee.
In battle 10 the left of Petersburg
in Gen. Grants closing campaign, one
of Gen. Lees soldiers shot my horse
land dozen more Of them. few feet
Iaway, with guns aimed where they would
do NE the most harm if discharged, de
manded surrender.
Within three-quarters of an hour
stood face to face with the great Confed-
/ crate soldier
| hen in Il gentle voice, full of SYM
pathy, he looked at wounded New
York major and asked Are you badly
wounded, major and the major said he
was, and Lee replied, Il am sorry, | am
sorry, major; take good care of him
gentlemen. | joined in samting the
enemy leader, a great man with Il gen
tle. kindly heart.
\ moment later the idol of the Con
federacy. with his staff and escort, was
hurrylng 10 the field where portion of
Gen. Warren's Fifth corps was driving
che Confederate Gen McCowan's divi-
sion back to White Oak road.
The next morning, while our detected
Dand of prisoners was ON lis way to st.
petersburg. Gen. Lee, his staff and cs-
cort were met. They were riding rapid
~, for already Sheridan had begun his
successful attack ut Five Forks. | re-
call my feeling as | looked into the
troubled. anxious face of the speeding
general that forenoon in 1865 when |
said To friend, Il hope Gen. Lees
army viii he s0undly whipped today. and
that our folks will do nothing worse
than capture him.
have related these incidents for the
purpose of saying that while they led 10
q growth of admiration for the man Lee
aud the Gen, Lee. the man and the gen
erai who at the most critical moment of
ms military life could ask Il dying soldier
what he asked the New York ma jor and
then, with as much sympathy as a fond
mother might address Il dying son, say:
II am sorry, | am sorry has nothing
whatever to do with my firm belief that
no northern soldier or citizen should
raise voice or put an obstacle in the
way Of placing Il statue of Gen. Lee
IN the han of fame at Washington.
| There are many reasons why | give cX-
preston 10 this belief. In the first place,
the law of Congress gives each state the
right to place i'm the Hall of Fame stat
ues of two persons chosen by the state.
| Nothing is said as 10 how the statues
shall he made-how clad. What pleased
Illinois should have been accepted Wis
conSin chose pere Marquette, and in the
garb of "A Catholic missionary priest y
few people criticised Wisconsin for the
selection, particularly the garb in which
the statue appeared, but Wisconsin had
her way, rs she should have done.
Virginia without a dissenting voice,
chose George Washington and Robert T..
| Lee. Does il not go without saying that
| these are two of the greatest Nirginians!
* In, l,of ba ~
! Of Gen Lee should not exhibit the Con
! federate uniform. Virginia chose Lee
in his uniform and Washington in his.
| Both, ii is trne, wore the uniforms fight
! ing their respective countries.
Unquestionably ii was source of real
| pleasure 10 every Nirginian who served
under Gen. Lee, and to every living Con-
! federate soldier, and the south, generally,
| that Virginia desired that the statue of
! Gen. Lee should show him in the uni
| form of the great general they little less
| than wOrshiped and her soldiers willing
/ ~ fought under.
As northern soldier | am frank to
/ say that in this late day. nearly half Il
century after Gen. Lees surrender at
/ AppomattoX, where he and his soldiers
! were so generously treated by another
great American general TO whom he sur
rendered. that ! ann glad to see the old
/ ConfederateS who followed Lee, made
| ing them glad? What danger is there in
! the gray uniform? 1t is but "A memory.
! Ii makes Ge.; Zee none the less one of
| the very first generals of the American
! republic Of the world who, before
wearing that uniform. had honored the
! United States as bur few officers OF his
| rank had ever houored it,.
In years to come the fame Of such sol
! diers as Grant and Lee Sherman and
! Stonewall Jackson, Sheridan and Long
street, Thomas and Joe Johnston. Meade
| and Joe Wheeler. will contribute large
/ ly to the honor and glory of the Amer-
can nation, and few will stop 10 ask
! which army they served in. They were
| leaders in the greatest event the nation
! has known. an event that absolutely had
| To come if America was to become the
| great ration mat J.. IS, and is to be, the
/ first of all Of the nations in the wide
world. Compromising had failed to cure
the cancer; all other efforts had failed;
and many Of them had been made by
the most able and distinguished of our
| statesmen.
Only the clash Of arms, the thrust of
bayonets, the rattle of musketry and the
shrek of shells and solid shot could con
stitute the needed remedy for the correc-
ton Of something that simply had to be
! corrected. if the nation was to progress
and grow mighty IN power, respect and
=
If | have long been of the belief that
it was a good thing for the country 10
make that gigantic test Of the COS, a test
that gave the world to know beyond the
possibility of Il doubt that the Amer
leans are the best type Of the worlds
people, | do not censure myself; fol-
strongly advocating the allowing Of Viz
gnia to do just as she pleases under
the law. in the matter Of the two stat
ues in the Hall of Fame. | do not cen
sure myself; for being glad that the stat
ues of those two great men, great sol
diers. and the best known type Of Chris
tan gentlemen, gladdens the hearts o.
Lees soldiers and the south generally
do not censure myself; for sincerely re-
GREETING the action Of members Of tn
Michigan Loyal Legion in urging Con
gress not to permit the statue Of Gen
Lee in the Confederate uniform TO b.
unveiled in the Hall of Fame, ! do no
censure myself With deep regret Ia
ment the unwise. not to say unpatri
otto action Of handful Of Grand Arm!
men in Chicago who joined the Michigan
Loyal Legion members in demanding
that Congress prevent the placing o
the Lee statue in the Hall of Fame
I - l.f.s gasl