Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee
by Captain Robert E. Lee, His Son

Chapter XII
Lee's Opinion upon the Late War

His intention to write the history of his Virginia campaigns--Called
before a committee of Congress--Preaches patience and silence in the
South--Shuns controversy and publicity--Corresponds with an Englishman,
Herbert C. Saunders

My father had a strong desire at this time to write a history of his
campaigns.  I think, however, he gradually gave it up when he saw the
great difficulties to be overcome and the labour required to produce
anything worthy of the subject, especially as he began to realise
that his strength was slowly failing--a fact which his letters indicate.
Just after the cessation of hostilities, he had taken some preliminary
steps toward acquiring the necessary material.  In a circular letter
which he sent out to a great many of his general officers, he wrote:

"I am desirous that the bravery and devotion of the Army of Northern
Virginia be correctly transmitted to posterity.  This is the only
tribute that can now be paid to the worth of its noble officers and
soldiers, and I am anxious to collect the necessary information for
the hisotry of its campaigns, including the operations in the Valley
and in Western Virginia, from its organisation to its final
surrender...."

In a letter to the Honourable W. B. Reid, of Philadelphia, he writes
on the same subject:

"...I concur with you entirely as to the importance of a true history
of the war, and it is my purpose, unless prevented, to write the
history of the campaigns in Virginia.  With this view, I have been
engaged since the cessation of hostilities in endeavouring to procure
the necessary official information.  All my records, reports, returns,
etc., etc., with the headquarters of the army, were needlessly destroyed
by the clerks having them in charge on the retreat from Petersburg,
and such as had been forwarded to the War Department in Richmond were
either destroyed in the conflagration or captured at the South in the
attempt to save them.  I desire to obtain some vouchers in support
of my memory, or I should otherwise have made some progress in the
narrative.  the have not even my letter- or order-books to which to refer.
I have thought it possible that some of my official correspondence,
which would be of value to me, might be found among the captured records
in Washington, and that General Grant, who possesses magnanimity as
well as ability, might cause me to be furnished with copies.  I have,
however, hesitated to approach him on the subject, as it is one in
which he would naturally feel no interest."

In a letter to General Early, written in November, 1865, on the same
subject, he says:

"...I desire, if not prevented, to write a history of the campaigns
in Virginia....  Your reports of your operations in '64 and '65 were
among those destroyed.  Can not you repeat them, and send me copies
of such letters, orders, etc., of mine (including that last letter,
to which you refer), and particularly give me your recollections of
our effective strength at the principal battles?  My only object is
to transmit, if possible, the truth to posterity, and do justice to
our brave soldiers."

Here is another letter to General Early, written March 16th, containing
references to the same subject, and to two letters of General Early
which had been published in the papers.  It is interesting, also, as
showing his moderation in speaking of those who had misrepresented
his words and acts:

"My Dear General:  I am very much obliged to you for the copies of my
letters, forwarded with yours of January 25th.  I hope you will be
able to send me reports of the operations of your commands in the
campaign, from the Wilderness to Richmond, at Lynchburg, in the Valley,
Maryland, etc.; all statistics as regards numbers, destruction of
private property by the Federal troops, etc., I should like to have,
as I wish my memory strengthened on these points.  It will be difficult
to get the world to understand the odds against which we fought, and
the destruction or loss of all returns of the army embarrass me very
much.  I read your letter from Havana to the New York Times, and was
pleased with the temper in which it was written.  I have since received
the paper containing it, published in the City of Mexico, and also
your letter in reference to Mr. Davis.  I understand and appreciate
the motives which prompted both letters, and think they will be of
service in the way you intended.  I have been much pained to see the
attempts made to cast odium upon Mr. Davis, but do not think they will
be successful with the reflecting or informed portion of the country.
The accusations against myself I have not thought proper to notice, or
even to correct misrepresentations of my words or acts.  WE SHALL HAVE
TO BE PATIENT and suffer for awhile at least; and all controversy, I
think, will only serve to prolong angry and bitter feeling, and postpone
the period when reason and charity may resume their sway.  At present,
the public mind is not prepared to receive the truth.  The feelings
which influenced you to leave the country were natural, and, I presume,
were uppermost in the breasts of many.  It was a matter which each
one had to decide for himself, as he only could know  the reasons
which governed him.  I was particularly anxious on your account, as
I had the same apprehensions to which you refer.  I am truly glad that
you are beyond the reach of annoyance, and hope you may be able to
employ yourself profitably and usefully.  Mexico is a beautiful
country, fertile, of vast resources; and, with a stable government
and virtuous population, will rise to greatness.  I do not think that
your letters can be construed by your former associates as reflecting
upon them, and I have never heard the least blame cast by those who
have remained upon those who thought it best to leave the country.  I
think I stated in a former letter the reasons which governed me, and
will not therefore repeat them.  I hope, in time, peace will be restored
to the country, and that the South may enjoy some measure of prosperity.
I fear, however, much suffering is still in store for her, and that
her people must be prepared to exercise fortitude and forbearance.
I must beg you to present my kind regards to the gentlemen with you,
and, with my best wishes for yourself and undiminished esteem, I am,

                       "Most truly yours,

                                     "R. E. Lee."

That his purpose had been heard of in the outside world is evident
from this reply to a publisher in Cincinnati:

                     "Near Cartersville, Virginia, August 26, 1865.

"Mr. Joseph Topham, Cincinnati, Ohio.

"My Dear Sir:  I have just received your letter of the 17th inst.,
in reference to a history of the late war to be written by myself.
I cannot, at present, undertake such a work, but am endeavouring to
collect certain material to enable me to write a history of the
campaigns in Virginia.  Its completion is uncertain, and dependent
upon so many contingencies that I think it useless to speak of
arrangements for its publication at present.  Thanking you for your
kind proposition, I am,

                     "Very respectfully yours,

                                  "R. E. Lee."

There were a great many letters of this kind from Northern publishing
houses, and his replies were all of the same character.  His failure
to carry out this much cherished wish is greatly to be deplored.  How
much we and our children have missed, those who know his truth and
honesty of purpose, his manliness, simplicity, and charity, can best
tell.

During the last days of February he was summoned to Washington to appear
before a committee of Congress which was inquiring into the conditions
of things in the Southern States, with a view to passing some of the
so-called reconstruction measures.  His testimony was simple, direct,
and dignified, and is well worth reading by all who wish to hear the
plain truth.  It was his first appearance in any city save Richmond
since the war, and being at a time of such political excitement, his
visit was an occasion of absorbing interest to the crowds then in the
capital.

When in Washington, Armanda, one of the house-servants at Arlington,
called on him but failed to see him.  In answer to a letter from her,
my father replies as follows:

                                "Lexington, Virginia, March 9, 1866.

"Amanda Parks.

"Amanda:  I have received your letter of the 27th ult., and regret
very much that I did not see you when I was in Washington.  I heard
on returning to my room, Sunday night, that you had been to see me;
and I was sorry to have missed you, for I wished to learn how you
were, and how all the people from Arlington were getting on in the
world.  My interest in them is as great now as it ever was, and I
sincerely wish for their happiness and prosperity.  At the period
specified in Mr. Custis's will--five years from the time of his death--
I caused the liberation of all the people at Arlington, as well as
those at the White House and Romancoke, to be recorded in the Hustings
Court at Richmond; and letters of manumission to be given to those
with whom I could communicate who desired them.  In consequence of
the war which then existed, I could do nothing more for them.  I do
not know why you should ask if I am angry with you.  I am not aware
of your having done anything to give me offense, and I hope you would
not say or do what was wrong.  While you lived at Arlington you behaved
very well, and were attentive and faithful to your duties.  I hope you
will always conduct yourself in the same manner.  Wishing you health,
happiness, and success in life, I am truly,

                          "R. E. Lee."

Shortly after his return to Lexington, he writes to Mrs. Jefferson
Davis.  In this letter he expresses such noble sentiments, and is so
moderate and sensible in his views of those who were harassing him and
the South, that all who read it must profit thereby:

                            "Lexington, Virginia, February 23, 1866.

"My Dear Mrs. Davis:  Your letter of the 12th inst. reached Lexington
during my absence at Washington.  I have never seen Mr. Colfax's
speech, and am, therefore, ignorant of the statements it contained.
Had it, however, come under my notice, I doubt whether I should have
thought it proper to reply.  I HAVE THOUGHT, FROM THE TIME OF THE
CESSATION OF THE HOSTILITIES, THAT SILENCE AND PATIENCE ON THE PART
OF THE SOUTH WAS THE TRUE COURSE; and I think so still.  CONTROVERSY
OF ALL KINDS will, in my opinion, only serve to continue excitement
and passion, and will prevent the public mind from the acknowledgement
and acceptance of the truth.  These considerations have kept me from
replying to accusations made against myself, and induced me to recommend
the same to others.  As regards the treatment of the Andersonville
prisoners, to which you allude, I know nothing and can say nothing
of my own knowledge.  I never had anything to do with any prisoners,
except to send those taken on the fields, where I was engaged, to the
Provost Marshal General at Richmond.  I have felt most keenly the
sufferings and imprisonment of your husband, and have earnestly
consulted with friends as to any possible mode of affording him relief
and consolation.  He enjoys the sympathy and respect of all good men;
and if, as you state, his trial is now near, the exhibition of the
while truth in his case will, I trust, prove his defense and
justification.  With sincere prayers for his health and speedy
restoration to liberty, and earnest supplications to God that He may
take you and yours under His guidance and protection, I am, with great
respect,

                 "Your obedient servant,

                            "R. E. Lee."

In further illustration of these views, held so strongly by him and
practised so faithfully throughout his life, the following, written
to a gentleman in Baltimore, is given:

                              "Lexington, Virginia, April 13, 1866.

"My Dear Sir:  Your letter of the 5th inst., inclosing a slip from
the Baltimore "American," has been received.  The same statement has
been published at the North for several years.  The statement is not
true; but I have not thought proper to publish a contradiction, being
unwilling to be drawn into a newspaper discussion, believing that
those who know me would not credit it and those who do not would care
nothing about it.  I cannot now depart from the rule I have followed.
It is so easy to make accusations against the people at the South
upon similar testimony, that those so disposed, should one be refuted,
will immediately create another; and thus you would be led into endless
controversy.  I think it better to leave their correction to the return
of reason and good feeling.

"Thanking you for your interest in my behalf, and begging you to
consider my letter as intended only for yourself, I am,

    "Most respectfully your obedient servant,

                                      "R. E. Lee."

In this connection I give the following letter thanking Mr. Burr for
a copy of the "Old Guard" which he had sent him, and showing also
what, in his opinion, the South had fought for, and of what true
republicanism consists:

                              "Lexington, Virginia, January 5, 1866.

"Mr. C. Chauncey Burr.

"My Dear Sir:  I am very much obliged to you for your letter of the
27th ult., and for the number of the 'Old Guard' which you kindly sent
me.  I am glad to know that the intelligent and respectable people at
the North are true and conservative in their opinions, for I believe
by no other course can the right interests of the country be maintained.
All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established
by our forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government as
originally organised should be administered in purity and truth.  If
such is the desire of the North, there can be no contention between
the two sections, and all true patriots will unite in advocating that
policy which will soonest restore the country to tranquility and order,
and serve to perpetuate true republicanism.  Please accept my thanks
for your advocacy of right and liberty and the kind sentiments which
you express toward myself, and believe me to be, with great respect,

                        "Your obedient servant,

                                     "R. E. Lee."

An interesting view of my father's desire to keep himself from public
attention is shown by his correspondence with an English gentleman,
Mr. Herbert C. Saunders.  The connected interview states his opinions
on several points which are valuable.  The copy of these papers was
kindly furnished me by Mr. John Lyle Campbell, the Proctor of Washington
and Lee University:

"Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, January 19, 1900.

"Capt. Robert E. Lee, West Point, Virginia.

Dear Capt. Lee:  I inclose the copy promised you of the papers found
in General Lee's desk.  The paper seems to have had his careful
revision, as there are a good many passages stricken out and a good
many insertions in what seems to me undoubtedly to be his handwriting;
and I was very much interested in the changes that he made, as they
were most characteristic of him--toning everything down, striking out
adjectives, turning phrases from a personal to a general character,
and always adding simplicity and force to the original.  It seems to
me most likely that he was a first disposed to allow the publication,
but declined at last, on August 22d, the full limit of time indicated
in Mr. Saunders's letter.  I am Yours truly,

"(Dict.)                             Jno. L. Campbell."

The papers of which the following are copies were found in General
Robert E. Lee's desk in the President's office at Washington and Lee
University.  On the envelope in which they were inclosed was the
following indorsement in General Lee's handwriting:

                                            "London, July 31, 1866.

"Herbert C. Sanders asks permission to publish his conversation with
me.  August 22d--Refused."

        "3 Bolton Gardens, South Kensington, London, July 31, 1866.

"My Dear General Lee:  Presuming on the acquaintance with you which I
had the honour and pleasure of making last November at Lexington, while
travelling in Virginia, I venture now to write to you under these
circumstances.  You may remember that, at the time I presented to
you my letter of introduction, I told you that two other Englishmen,
friends of mine, who had come with me to America, were then making a
tour through Georgia, the Carolinas, and some other Southern States.
One of them, Mr. Kennaway, was so much interested with all he saw, and
the people at home have appreciated his letters descriptive of it so
well, that he is intending to publish a short account of his visit.
Not having, however, had an introduction to yourself, he is anxious
to avail himself of the somewhat full accounts I wrote home at the
time, descriptive of my most interesting interview with you, and, with
this view, he has asked me to put into the shape of a letter all those
more prominent points which occur to me as gathered from my letters
and my recollection, and which are likely to interest and instruct
the English public.  I have, after some hesitation, acceded to the
request--a hesitation caused mainly by the fact that at the time I
saw you I neither prepared my notes with a view to publication nor
did I inform you that there was any chance of what you told me being
repeated.  I may add that I never until a month or two ago had the
slightest thought of publishing anything, and, in fact, have constantly
resisted the many applications by my friends that I should let my
letters see the light.  My object in now writing to you is to know
whether you have any objection to my giving my friend the inclosed
short account of our interview, as it would, I am convinced, add
greatly to the interest of the narrative.  If you have no objection
to this, perhaps you would kindly correct any statements put into
your mouth which are not quite accurate, or expunge anything which
might prejudice you with the public either of the North or the South,
if unluckily anything of this nature should have crept in.  My letters,
were written a day or two after the conversation, but you had so much
of interest and new to tell me that I do not feel sure that I may not
have confused names of battles, etc., in some instances.  It will be
necessary for me to deliver my part of the performance early in
September to the publishers, and, therefore, I should feel much obliged
by your sending me an answer at your earliest convenience.  There will
be a mail due here about the first of that month, leaving the United
States on Wednesday, the 22d, and I shall, therefore, wait till its
arrival before sending my letter to Mr. Kennaway; but should I not
hear from you then I shall consider you have no objections to make
or alterations to suggest, and act accordingly.  If you have any new
facts which you think it desirable should be known by the public, it
will give me much pleasure to be the medium of their communication.

"I am sure I need scarcely tell you with what keen interest I have
read all the accounts from your continent of the proceedings in Congress
and elsewhere in connection with the reconstruction of the South.  I
do sincerely trust it may be eventually effected in a way satisfactory
to the South, and I most deeply deplore the steps taken by the Radical
side of the House to set the two (North and South) by the ears again.
President Johnson's policy seems to me to be that which, if pursued,
would be most likely to contribute to the consolidation of the
country; but I am both surprised and pained to find how little power
the Executive has against so strong a faction as the Radicals, who,
while they claim to represent the North, do, in fact, but misrepresent
the country.  I am sure you will believe that I say with sincerity
that I always take great interest in anything I hears said or that
I read of yourself, and I am happy to say that, even with all the
rancour of the Northern Radicals against the South, it is little they
find of ill to say of you.

"Hoping you will not think I am doing wrong in the course I propose
to take, and that your answer may be satisfactory, I remain, my dear
General Lee,

             "Yours very sincerely, Herbert C. Saunders.

"General Robert E. Lee."

                             "Lexington, Virginia, August 22, 1866.

"Mr. Herbert C. Saunders,

"3 Bolton Gardens, South Kensington, London, England.

"My Dear Mr. Saunders:  I received to-day your letter of the 31st ult.
What I stated to you in conversation, during the visit which you did
me the honour to pay me in November last, was entirely for your own
information, and was in no way intended for publication.  My only
object was to gratify the interest which you apparently evinced on the
several topics which were introduced, and to point to facts which you
might investigate, if you so desired, in your own way.  I have an
objection to the publication of my private conversations, which are
never intended but for those to whom they are addressed.  I cannot,
therefore, without an entire disregard of the rule which I have followed
in other cases, and in violation of my own sense of propriety, assent
to what you propose.  I hope, therefore, you will excuse me.  What
you may think proper to publish I hope will be the result of your
own observations and convictions, and not on my authority.  In the
hasty perusal which I have been obliged to give the manuscript inclosed
to me, I perceive many inaccuracies, resulting as much, from my
imperfect narrative as from misapprehension on your part.  Though
fully appreciating your kind wish to correct certain erroneous
statements as regards myself, I prefer remaining silent to doing
anything that might excite angry discussion at this time, when strong
efforts are being made by conservative men, North and South, to sustain
President Johnson in his policy, which, I think, offers the only means
of healing the lamentable divisions of the country, and which the
result of the late convention at Philadelphia gives great promise of
doing.  Thanking you for the opportunity afforded me of expressing
my opinion before executing your purpose, I am, etc.,

                                      "R. E. Lee."

The following is Mr. Saunders' account of the interview:

"On only one subject would he take at any length about his own conduct,
and that was with reference to the treatment of the Federal prisoners
who had fallen into his hands.  He seemed to feel deeply the backhanded
stigma cast upon him by his having been included by name in the first
indictment framed against Wirz, though he was afterward omitted from
the new charges.  He explained to me the circumstances under which
he had arranged with McClellan for the exchange of prisoners; how he
had, after the battles of Manassas, Fredericksburg, and (I think)
Chancellorsville, sent all the wounded over to the enemy on the
engagement of their generals to parole them.  He also told me that on
several occasions his commissary generals had come to him after a
battle and represented that he had not rations enough both for prisoners
and the army when the former had to be sent several days' march to
their place of confinement, and he had always given orders that the
wants of the prisoners should be first attended to, as from their
position they could not save themselves from starvation by foraging
or otherwise, as the army could when in straits for provisions.  The
General also explained how every effort had always been made by the
Confederates to do away with the necessity of retaining prisoners by
offering every facility for exchange, till at last, when all exchange
was refused, they found themselves with 30,000 prisoners for whom
they were quite unable to do as much as they wished in the way of food.
He stated, furthermore, that many of their hardships arose from the
necessity of constantly changing the prisons to prevent recapture.
With the management of the prisons he assured me he had no more to
do than I had, and did not even know that Wirz was in charge of
Andersonville prison (at least, I think he asserted this) till after
the war was over.  I could quite sympathise with him in his feeling
of pain under which his generous nature evidently suffered that the
authorities at Washington should have included him and others similarly
circumstanced in this charge of cruelty at the time that letters written
by himself (General Lee), taken in Richmond when captured, complaining
that the troops in his army had actually been for days together on
several occasions without an ounce of meat, were in possession of
the military authorities.

"When discussing the state of feeling in England with regard to the
war, he assured me that it had all along given him the greatest
pleasure to feel that the Southern cause had the sympathies of so many
in the 'old country,' to which he looked as a second home; but, in
answer to my questions, he replied that he had never expected us to
give them material aid, and added that he thought all governments were
right in studying only the interests of their own people and in not
going to war for an 'idea' when they had no distinct cause of quarrel.

"On the subject of slavery, he assured me that he had always been in
favour of the emancipation of the negroes, and that in Virginia the
feeling had been strongly inclining in the same direction, till the
ill-judged enthusiasm (accounting to rancour) of the abolitionists in
the North had turned the southern tide of feeling in the other
direction.  In Virginia, about thirty years ago, an ordinance for the
emancipation of the slaves had been rejected by only a small majority,
and every one fully expected at the next convention it would have been
carried, but for the above cause.  He went on to say that there was
scarcely a Virginian new who was not glad that the subject had been
definitely settled, though nearly all regretted that they had not been
wise enough to do it themselves the first year of the war.  Allusion
was made by him to a conversation he had with a distinguished contryman
of mine.  He had been visiting a large slave plantation (Shirley) on
the James River.  The Englishman had told him that the working
population were better cared for there than in any country he had ever
visited, but that he must never expect an approval of the institution
of slavery by England, or aid from her in any cause in which that
question was involved.  Taking these facts and the well-known antipathy
of the mass of the English to the institution in consideration, he
said he had never expected help from England.  The people 'at the South'
(as the expression is), in the main, though scarcely unanimously,
seem to hold much the same language as General Lee with reference to
our neutrality, and to be much less bitter than Northerners generally--
who, I must confess, in my own opinion, have much less cause to complain
of our interpretation of the laws of neutrality than the South.  I may
mention here, by way of parenthesis, that I was, on two separate
occasions (one in Washington and once in Lexington), told that there
were many people in the country who wished that General Washington
had never lived and that they were still subjects of Queen Victoria;
but I should certainly say as a rule the Americans are much too well
satisfied with themselves for this feeling to be at all common.  General
Lee, in the course of this to me most interesting evening's seance,
gave me many details of the war too long to put on paper, but, with
reference to the small result of their numerous victories, accounted
for it in this way:  the force which the Confederates brought to bear
was so often inferior in numbers to that of the Yankees that the more
they followed up the victory against one portion of the enemy's line
the more did they lay themselves open to being surrounded by the
remainder of the enemy.  He likened the operation to a man breasting
a wave of the sea, who, as rapidly as he clears a way before him, is
enveloped by the very water he has displaced.  He spoke of the final
surrender as inevitable owing to the superiority in numbers of the
enemy.  His own army had, during the last few weeks, suffered materially
from defection in its ranks, and, discouraged by failures and worn out
by hardships, had at the time of the surrender only 7,892 men under
arms, and this little army was almost surrounded by one of 100,000.
They might, the General said with an air piteous to behold, have cut
their way out as they had done before, but, looking upon the struggle
as hopeless, I was not surprised to hear him say that he thought it
cruel to prolong it.  In two other battles he named (Sharpsburg and
Chancellorsville, I think he said), the Confederates were to the
Federals in point of numbers as 35,000 to 120,000 and 45,000 to
155,000 respectively, so that the mere disparity of numbers was not
sufficient to convince him of the necessity of surrender; but feeling
that his own army was persuaded of the ultimate hopelessness of the
contest as evidenced by their defection, he took the course of
surrendering his army in lieu of reserving it for utter annihilation.

"Turning to the political bearing of the important question at issue,
the great Southern general gave me, at some length, his feelings with
regard to the abstract right of secession.  This right, he told me,
was held as a constitutional maxim at the South.  As to its exercise
at the time on the part of the South, he was distinctly opposed, and
it was not until Lincoln issued a proclamation for 75,000 men to invade
the South, which was deemed clearly unconstitutional, that Virginia
withdrew from the United States.

"We discussed a variety of other topics, and, at eleven o'clock when
I rose to go, he begged me to stay on, as he found the nights full long.
His son, General Custis Lee, who had distinguished himself much during
the war, but whom I had not the good fortune of meeting, is the only
one of his family at present with him at Lexington, where he occupies
the position of a professor in the Military Institute of Virginia.
This college had 250 cadets in it when the war broke out, General
'Stonewall' Jackson being one of the professors.  At one moment in the
war, when the Federal were advancing steadily up the Shenandoah Valley,
these youths (from 16 to 22 years of age) were marched to join the
Confederate Army, and did good service.  In one battle at Newmarket,
of which I shall have occasion to speak later in my letters, they
distinguished themselves in a conspicuous way under the leadership of
Colonel Shipp, who is still their commandant.  By a brilliant charge,
they contributed, in a great measure, to turn the tide of affairs,
losing nine of their number killed and more than forty wounded.  General
Hunter, on a subsequent occasion, when occupying Lexington with a body
of Federal troops, quartered his men in the Military Institute for
several days, and, on leaving, had the building--a very handsome and
extensive one--fired in numerous places, completely destroying all but
the external walls, which now stand.  The professors' houses stood in
detached positions, and these, too, with the house of Mr. Letcher, a
former governor of the State, he also burnt to the ground.  The
Washington college, the presidency of which General Lee now holds, they
also ransacked, destroying everything it contained, and were preparing
it for the flames, to which they were with difficulty restrained from
devoting it by earnest representations of its strictly educational
nature."