Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1925-11-27
LEE AND HAMPTON
FEED MEN FIRST
Interesting Episode of the Days
Which Tried Mems Souls


The Winchester Star carries the
following wartime and human inter-
est story which shows the humble
ness of the great. The Star says:
When Major-General Sir Freder-
ick Maurice, of the British Army
was in Winchester some weeks ago
he was entertained at the club house
of the Winchester Golf Club. During
the evening he drew apart for a
short while from his hosts and seek
ing quiet nook, engaged in long
talk with two prominent ex-Confed-
crate soldiers-Dr. VIM. P. Nc
CURE, of this city, and Mr.. R. Powell
Page, of Boyce, Clarke county.
During the course of their CONVEX
sation, the topic naturally turned on
wartime stories and DR.. MCGUIRE
relate the following anecdote of
how General Robert E. Lee went
hungry in battle by giving away
his food to two half-starved soldiers.
The story was heard by gentle
man sof the city who wrote it out
and sent it to the New York Times,
which has just printed it. The story
as told by DR.. Mcguire as it ap-
pears in the Times, is as follows:
1t was Spring in Virginia. The
flowers and birds had come, and
across the wide streets of old Fred
ericksburg the great arms of the
| lindens and naples were reaching, as
if to greet one another and show
their new. delicate green garments.
Nature was at her best, but man
wassat his very worst, for it was May
of 1864, the last May in our history
when brother was to be arrayed
against brother and father against
son in the great war between the
States.
For three years the legions of Nc
Clellan, Hooker, Lee and Jackson
had marched and fought in the Val
ley, Piedmont and Tidewater sections
of the Old Dominion, and now the
Army of the Potomac lay on the
northern bank of the Rappahannock
facing the Army of Northern Vir-
ginia. Lee and Grant were about to
begin their duel
1t is a far cry from the Spring OF
1864 to the late Summer of 1925;
from the Valley of the Rappahan.
mock to the Valley of the Shenan-
doah; but the distance can be bridg-
ed, and at the Country Club neal
Winchester an ex-Confederate sol
der is telling Major Gen. Frederick
Maurice of the British Army, a bio
grapher of Lee, a story of the South,
ern leader:
1T was on the afternoon of the
second days fighting, in May, 1864
that a cousin of mine and / were out
foraging for something to eat We
entered a little farmhouse a few
miles from Fredericksburg
AN old lady met us at the door
and with all the kindness that could
ever have been shown to dirty anC
ragged soldiers asked US to enter
as she was Just about to feed some
other of the soldiers
I'VE asked her to allow us tC
wash up first, and then we would
come into her kitchen. Having re
moved the outer dirt and making
shift to straighten up what was left
of our uniforms we entered, and tC
our surprise found two General Off
GERS on the point of sitting at the
table-Robert E. Lee and Wade
Hampton.
Here was a pretty kettle of fish
the Commanding General of the
Confederate Army and one of his
cavalry chiefs paired with two dirty
privates.
Now, the discipline of the South.
ern Army was very different from
that of any other army the sun ever
shone upon. So stammering Good
morning, gentlemen we backed to
the door But we did not get out
We were stopped by General Lee
who said, Men, you need this food
more than we do; sit down and help
yourselves. Come, General, we will
be moving along
THAT, General Maurice, was the
only time / ever saw General Lee
during the war, but that little Incl
dent was only one of hundreds that
occurred to bind him to his men,"