El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-05-28

WHAT MOTIVES LED CHIEF OF CONFEDERACY
TO RESIGN FROM ARMY.
Hitherto Unpublished Stories Wrich Are Substantial
History-How Arlington Mansion Came to Be Evac-
uated-Mrs. Robert E. Lees Letter Mount
Vernon Sacred Ground Even in War.

Washington, D. c.. May 2S.-Arhng
I ton our greatest national metropolis -
! a place equally dear to north ana SOUTH
Although at the present time reserNeu
! for the burial of federal veterans anu
! of officers and soldiers OF the OhlIou
States army, a good many confederates
! are inferred there. And, as every pouy
knows. the mansion (Which served as d
hospital during the civil war; was ne
home of Robert E. Lee at the perloo VI
the outbreak of the great conflict.
At that time Lee was colonel Oh the
eecond regiment. United States cavalry
stationed in Texas, and I'm April 1eo1''
was at home on leave Of absence Inc
mansion and estate, however dAtei
wards inherited by his wife. was at lial
date. still the property of his fatherlh-
law, George Washington Parke CustiS'
a grandson of the wife of George WASH
ington by her first marriage. Lee mar
ried the daughter of Mr. Cusus III the
drawing-room of the Arlington mansion
Lees Attitude Uncertain.
At the outbreak of the war much
doubt was felt about Lees attitude, ana
general Scott sent note over to Ar
lington on April 10, asking him to come
to the war department. When ne ar
rived. the following conversation en-
sued:
You are on leave of absence. be
Iieve. colonel Lee?" said general Scott.
YES, general replied Lee; am
STAYING with my family at Arlington
These are times when every officer
in the service should fully determine
what course he viii pursue, and frank
~ declare it, said general Scott Some
of the southern officers are reslSnlnS.
possibly with the intention of :akinS
Sart with their states They make
fatal mistake The contest may De long
and severe, but eventually the issue
must be in favor OF the union L sup
pose" he added, finding that Lee made
no reply that you will go with the
rest. If you purpose TO resign 1t is
proper that you should do so at once;
your present attitude is an eQuivocal
one"
Lees Reply.
General at last responded colonel
Lee, the property belonging TO my chill
dren, all they possess. lies in Virginia
They will be ruined if they do not go
with their state. I cannot raise my
hard against my children
The general having signified that
he had nothing further to say, colonel
Lee withdrew. The next day he tended
his resignation. which was promptly
accepted.
Lees family remained ct Arlington for
some time afterwards. There was no
thought of disturbing them, and -it Is
possible that they might have stayed
there Indefinitely, had it not been that
they were led to believe that the union
forces were on the point of occupying
and fortifying the place Later on, in
deed, earthworks were erected there
the object of them being to prevent the
e.
from which all Of Washington, includ-
ing the capitol and every important
building, might easily have been de-
stroyed with a battery of heavy guns
and bomb throwing mortars.
Mrs. Lees Letter.
Before her departure, Mrs. Lee wrote
to general Scott as follows, under date
of May 5, 1861:
My dear general: Hearing you de-
sired to see the account of my hus-
bands reception in Richmond, L have
sent it to you. No honor can reconcile
either of US to this fratricidal war,
which we would have laid down our
lives freely TO avert. Nor can it ever
terminate now till every heart in the
whole south ceases to beat, or they OBJ
tain the justice they demand. Nothing
can ever make me forget your kind ap-
probation of Mr.. Lee If you knew
ALL you would not think so hardly Of |
him. Were it not that l would not add |
one feather TO his load of care, nothing |
would induce me to abandon my home. |
Yours in sadness and sorrow.
M. c. Lee"
Property Sold for Taxes.
1t has been commonly supposed that !
he Arlington estate, including the man
sion, was confiscated by the federal gov |
NV ha
case, however. Shortly after the first |
oattle of Bull run. informal possession
was taken of it. and it was used for. a
hospital until the close of the war The
,irst burial OF a soldier there was that
# a confederate who died in the hos
1ital- Eventually the property was sold |
Il, auction for taxes and was purchased
or the use Of the government. Neither |
general Lee nor his wife ever made any
lttempt to recover it, but in 1877 their
on, George Washington Custis Lee.
brought suit for the purpose, and, the
quity of his claim being acknowledged
~ the supreme court congress appro-
,riated $780, 900 to square the business |
md thus it comes about that the gov
rnment today is the owner OF the Ar
ington mansion, and of the estate,
Which is occupied by the greatest of our
atiOnal cemeteries
5000 Soldiers Graves.
The roster of the silent armS- that
amps at Arlington now embraces more
han 10000 names. These include many
thousands of dead brought from the
attlefields around Richmond and from
he valley Of the Rappahannock. Any
fficer in the regular 9rmy, or who /
4, in the volunteer service dun :ng airy |
f our wars, may have lot assigned |
D him by making application to the
uartermaster general. No objection is
lade to the burial Of the wife and child !
an officer at Arlington, where, in
eed, great many women have beer
lterred.
In the spring of 1851 muca excite
lent was caused by rep0--s 90 he 81
ect that Mount Vernon, the home Of
1ashington, had been invaded by con-
ederate troops 1t was urged that the
ones of the father of his country ought
} be removed from thence as quickly
possible, lest they be disturbed
oubtless there was not the slightest
anger of anything of the kind. But
eneral Scott, under date of July Il, is
led an order to the effect that there
ust be no trespass by union soldiers
! the premises; and from that time on |