Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-06-07
BY John t. Boifeui11et.

church, Fort Hamilton avenue and Ninety
ninth street, Long Island, New York, to Gen
eral Robert 3. Lee.
When Lee was a captain in the united
States army he was sent in 1841 or lS42 to
Fort Hamilton, which is located at the Mar
rows, on the southwest shore of Long Island,
New York bay. Lee was one of the ablest Of
ficers in the engineer corps of the united
Estates army and for this reason was ordered,
to Fort Hamilton, "and did such skillful en-
cheering in strengthening the defense of the
harpor that New York City is today indebted
for it's ability to defy any foreign foe to his
able plan"
| Lee was a devout Episcopalan, and while
stationed at Fort Hamilton became vestryman
in st. Johns church, and the tablet above
! mentioned was erected to commemorate his
associations and services at St. Johns:
The memoriahwas. erected more than seventy
five years after his active work in that church
had ended.
Letter From Lee to His Son
! Here is an interesting extract from an af<
! fectionate letter written by Lee at Fort Ham-
ilton on November 80, 1915, to one of his
sons:
II received last night, my G~ar son, your
letter of the 25th instant and was much graft
| flied to perceive the evident improvement IN
your writing and spelling and to learn THAI
you were getting along well in your studies.
"You must endeavor to learn, in order ia
compensate meefor the pain I suffer in being
separated from you, and let nothing d1scourH
age or deter you from endeavoring to acquire
virtue and knowledge"
| 1t Was Stonewall Jackson's Way
| The Brooklyn Eagle, in commenting in .
highly eulogistic manner on the unwilling OF
| the bronze statue to Robert E. Lee, said4
| Cautiously enough, we are told that Thoma@
Jonathan Jackson first displayed his strong
religious trend while stationed at Fort Ham@
! iton. He was there from 1848 to 1S51a
'StonewaH Jackson, the commander of th&
Army of Northern Virginia, organizer of per%
/ haps the fastest moving infantry the science
of war had ever seen, was old Bluelights' i&
the language of the camp, and the soldiers
sang:
"'Down arms, hats off, attention all;
"Old Bluelights" goin' to pray;
Strangle the fool that dares to scott
Attention, it's his way; Il,
Appealing from his native sod, sg
In forma pauperis to God y.
Lay bare thine arm, stretch forth thy
/ rod
That's Stonewall Jackson's way 81
"That the same man cannot be at one and
the same time a Christian soldier and trail
tor is a tradition nursed by nationalism. It
is an interesting tradition more or loss useful
to the powers that be in every civilized land.
But what was Lee and what was Jackson
We can imagine that if the spirit OF that ster-
! ling common sense West Pointer to whom
Lee surrendered at Appomattox were to APP
pear at the manifold ceremonies with which
Union men and Confederate men and their
children and grandchildren will celebrate
Grants birthday, and were asked to answer
that question, a free acknowledgment that
Lee and jackson were morally as good patri-
OTIS as Grant himself would be Forthcoming.
These men were loyal to the right as they saw
the right and both were great Americans"
These are patriotic and deserving words
from high-minded northerner in honor of
two superb southern characters.