The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-01-20

Burnside, was put in command Of the |
Army of the Potomac. He essayed to |
win his way to Richmond by way OF
Fredericksburg, at which place, Dec.
ID, the Federa1s sustained another dis |
astrous defeat, their army. which made
an heroic attack, losing over 10000
men.
In the spring Of 1863, Gen. Joseph
Hooker, in command Of the Finest
Army on the Planet" aggregating
49,, 900 men, made another attempt TO
march to Richmond. Lee, with less
than $4,000, met and defeated him at
Charlottesville, but. alas. he lost his
ablest lieutenant, Stonewal Jackson.
The highest military critics have
pronounced almost faultless the man
euvers that won the battle OF Chan
cellorsvlle against odds Of over two
and a half to one. During three days,
the great Federal army was SO tangled
that It could not use it's own strength
or estimate that Of It's foe. Also, the
lConfederates displayed the most dash
ing courage in attack and resolute
| tenacity in defense. Napoleon's first
| Italian campaign was slow in COM
parison.
| Again. Lee tried to invade the North.
and in June led the Confederacy's
greatest army, about 10000 men.
across the Potomac. The turning point
of the great struggle came at Gettys-
burg. This battle was a Confederate
victory until Pickett's Inflated charge
on the afternoon OF July 3. Even then,
| the Union loss was heavier than the
Confederate, but men to fill the thin
ming Confederate ranks were becom-
ing scarce.
Lee retreated into Virginia, and
Meade. his opponent at Gettysburg,
followed, but there was no more i'm
portant fighting in Virginia during
the year. Nearly a third of Lees army
was sent to help the hard pressed
lSoutherners in Tennessee. They help
ed win the barren victory Of Chick
lamauga, sustained a bloody repulse at
Knoxville and finally returned, sadly
reduced in number, to Lee.
In May, ga, the last act of the ire
mendous drama opened. Ulysses S.
lGrant, the most successful OF the Fed
era1 generals, advanced on Richmond
with 100000 men. Lee could muster
against him but $4,000. Broadsword
against napier, the two mighty oppon-
! ents fought their armies from near
Charlottesville where Hooker was de-
feated to McClellan's old base on the
James. Here Grant grimly sat down
to besiege Petersburg. "the back door
to Richmond" He lost more men
from the Rappahannock to the James
than Lee had, but there were plenty
more where they came from. Lees
skeleton lines, the men often standing
five yards apart, held Petersburg
against three or four times their num-
Der, and semi-starvation beside, fol
almost ten months. Then they gave
: up and retreated and the end came a
Appamatox on April 9. 1865.
: Except Frederick the Great OF Prus
> STA, no modern general has ever Tough
so successfully and so long agains
) such immense odds as Lee had to con
tend against. And Frederick hat
many advantages that were denied t.
Lee.
There is no doubt that Grant was
great general. His victories in tn
u West were won against armies nearl,
equal in numbers to his own, an
$ sometimes, as at Missionary Ridge
i against great natural disadvantages
q But it is probable that had there bee
S another Lee in the West. Grant woul
: never have become great. Vicksbul,
: was naturally much stronger thai
q Petersburg, and Burnside had a bette
: chance to win at Fredericksburg thai
: Grant had al Missionary Ridge. It :
o also true that from the first the sol
= diers in the Unions Western armic
e were better able to cope with thei
s Opponents than those in the East
: When Grant came to the Army of tn
o Potomac, he found a tremendous fight
n ing machine. a weapon forged in tn
- 4 81 l.,
nearly it's opponents temper and ia
a more than it's opponents weight
/ Almost the only tactical mistak
a Lee made was in ordering Pickett
: charge at Gettysburg. Yet it was n
e more desperate than some that wo
n near Richmond a year before, and i
l. came very near succeeding as t
= justify it by all the rules of war
n One of the proofs of the nobility o
o Lees character is that he took all tn
e blame for this mistake. This IS m
l. fault. boys" he said, to his bleedin
IS battalions they reeled back fror
g Seminary Ridge. How different fror
l. almost any other general who made
n, mistake during the war. And the fear
1t full repulse did not shake the faith @
n his army in his udgment.
l. Says the Encyclopedia Britannica
= which is as nearly non-partisan as
1t book ever gets to be: with tn
lie final close Of hostilities. General LIE
retired to the private walks of lif
y accepting the results of the war wit
IF a candor and dignity characteristic c
ID that type of elevated manhood that h
l. so truly exemplified, and exerting a
N influence irresistible and widely eN
d, tended to bind up the wounds betwee
re the two sections. He accepted tn
of presidency OF Washington Colleg
Id (now Washington and Lee University
n. at Lexington, Va, and as a public edit
er Gator passed the closing years of hi
rs life. He died at Lexington Oct. 1
= 1870 and was buried three days late
m in the chapel of the university"
Sc Hero worship is a silly thing whe
lie wasted on unworthy objects. but til
Id South truly ennobles herself in tn
lie homage she pays to Lee and gives
n priceless heritage to her young pee
l. pie in keeping his name and deed
IS bright in their memories.