Life of Robert Edward Lee . spheres which over-leaps local, and in brilliant instances even national, cir-cumscription. In the sphere of legal, political, and ma-terial achievement, they are among the foremost forcesthat make for righteousness in all the complex and criticalphases of our contemporary life. These, however, aremerely isolated examples. Illustrations without numbermay be cited to attest to coming ages the incomparablecharacter of the army that followed Lee from Richmondto the closing scene in April, 1865. The moral and in-tellectual strength of the Army of Northern Virginia hasne
Life of Robert Edward Lee . spheres which over-leaps local, and in brilliant instances even national, cir-cumscription. In the sphere of legal, political, and ma-terial achievement, they are among the foremost forcesthat make for righteousness in all the complex and criticalphases of our contemporary life. These, however, aremerely isolated examples. Illustrations without numbermay be cited to attest to coming ages the incomparablecharacter of the army that followed Lee from Richmondto the closing scene in April, 1865. The moral and in-tellectual strength of the Army of Northern Virginia hasnever been estimated at its real and surpassing value,even by the people of the South. Let us reinforce thisbroad and comprehensive statement by illustrationsdrawn from experience, for all of those to whom I referI had seen face to face, and some of them were the teach-ers or the associates of my youthful days. The mosteminent classical scholar in America, whose fame hasgone out into all lands, professor of Greek in the Uni-. ROBERT EDWARD LEEAS BREVET LIEUTENANT-COLONEL OF ENGINEERS IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY FACING PAGE 20 ROBERT EDWARD LEE 21 versity of Virginia, became a volunteer aid upon the staffof Gen. J. B. Gordon, and bears in his body the marksof his service during Earlys campaign in the Valley ofVirginia. It was his colleague, in the chair of Latin inthe same university, Col. William E. Peters, who inflex-ibly refused to carry out the order for the burning ofChambersburg, Pa., resolved not to place himself uponthe long file of illustrious vandals—Sheridan, Sherman,and Hunter. Despite the intense provocation whichmight have excused the act upon the ground of simpleretaliation our university professor disobeyed the com-mand of his superior rather than tarnish the fair fameof the Confederate soldier. The destruction of Cham-bersburg cannot be laid to his account. My professorof Latin, predecessor of Colonel Peters, Lewis MinorColeman, died of wounds received at Frederic
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectleerobe, bookyear1906
