Compliments of The Welby Carter Chapter U.D.C. Upperville, Virginia. GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO DALLAS ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED LONDON BOMBAY CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO (JrKNKRAL Ll-:i- .S L.\ST PlCTLKK Made by Mr. M. Miley, Lexington, Va., in 1869 and published by General Lee s son, Captain Robert K. Lee in his Recollections and Letters of General Lee. GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX EDITED BY FRANKLIN L. RILEY PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY fork THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1922 All rights reserved COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY Set up and printed. Published January, 1922 G/f7 OJf We.QU - HflKK^ Printed in the United States of America THIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, ISSUED FIFTY YEARS AFTER THE TERMINATION OF THE INCOMPARABLE SERVICES OF GENERAL ROBERT EDWARD LEE AS PRESIDENT OF WASHINGTON COLLEGE, IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO THE "LEE ALUMNI" BY THEIR ALMA MATER PUBLICATION COMMITTEE OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES: MR. WILLIAM A. ANDERSON, DR. E. C. GORDON, MR. HARRINGTON WADDELL. PREFACE after the death of General Robert E. SHORTLYLee the faculty of Washington and Lee Uni versity began the preparation of a "Lee Me morial Volume," but circumstances "delayed and finally prevented the publication" of this work. The manuscripts that had been prepared by members of the faculty and other papers that had been collected for this volume were turned over to Dr. J. William Jones and incorporated in his Personal Reminiscences of Gen. R. E. Lee, which was published in 1874. Among the "faculty contributions" to that volume were the valuable sketches by Dr. J. L. Kirkpatrick, Profes sor of Moral Science, by Dr. Edward S. Joynes, Profes sor of English, and by Col. William Preston Johnston, Professor of History. In June, 1917, the trustees of the university decided to collect all facts, then available, on General Lee s connection with the institution. The executive com mittee of the board later requested the professor of history of the university to undertake this work. In carrying out his commission he sent appeals to all living "Lee Alumni," as far as their addresses could be obtained, asking for every item of information, however small, that they could furnish, relative to their college days. A suggested list of topics was also sent to aid the x PREFACE alumni in determining the nature and scope of the infor mation desired. The responses to these appeals were hearty and gen erous, though it was impossible to overcome the handi in of cap of a fifty years delay the prosecution the work. It is safe to say that the contributions obtained in this way will perhaps be the last to be had from this source. They constitute a large part of the contents of this volume. Unfortunately, many alumni of this unique period had passed away before a systematic effort was made to gather and preserve their reminiscences for the benefit of future generations. At least two of the contributors to this volume, Mr. F. A. Berlin and Rev. Robert H. Fleming, have died since the inauguration of this work. In the course of a few more years the last of this honored group, who heard the voice and observed the daily movements of our great President, will cease to bear living testimony to his memory, and the record will be closed. The contents of this volume have also been enriched by the reproduction of valuable contributions which have appeared from time to time in ephemeral publica tions. Documents of this class were written either by members of General Lee s faculty or by others who came in personal contact with him after the war. Two brief extracts have been taken from standard biogra phies of General Lee, because the volumes from which they were taken are now out of print. Although the incidents and impressions here given will probably not alter the judgment of the reading PREFACE xi public on the character of General Lee, they will af ford something more than corroborative testimony on the subject. They will explain, in part at least, the methods by which this great college executive in the brief period of five years achieved results that would have been highly creditable to the full life-effort of a successful educator. FRANKLIN L. RILEY. Washington and Lee University, October 12, 1920. CONTENTS Preface ix List of Illustrations xv How General Lee Became a College President. By Prof. A. L. Nelson I Why General Lee Accepted the Presidency of Washington College. By Capt. R. E. Lee 5 Inauguration of General Lee as President of Washington College. By Correspondent of the New York Herald 1 2 General Lee as a College President. By Prof. Edward S. Joynes 16 General Lee at Lexington. By Prof. C. A. Graves 22 Reminiscences of General Lee as President of Washington College. By Prof. M. W. Humphreys 32 Recollections of General Lee. By Mr. F. A. Berlin 40 Tribute of an Appreciative Student. By Mr. W. W. Estill 49 Reflections of a Lee Alumnus. By Judge Robert Ewing 54 Reminiscences of General Lee and Washington College. By Richard W. Rogers 59 A College Boy s Observation of General Lee. By Mr. John B. Collyar 65 An Incident in the Life of General R. E. Lee. By Mr. ]. W. Ewing. ... 69 Recollections of General Robert E. Lee s Administration As President of Washington College. By Dr. E. C. Gordon 75 Brief Statements by "LEE ALUMNI:" Rev. W. Strother Jones 106 Mr. Mike G. Harman 107 Rev. Frank Bell Webb 108 Mr. John Blackmar 109 Mr. C. W. Hedger in Dr. T. H. Somerville 112 Rt. Rev. James R. Winchester 113 Mr. Hubbard G. Carlton 116 Mr. Graham Robinson 117 Rev. Robert H. Fleming 1 18 Rev. William Boyle 119 Mr. A. H. Hamilton 1 19 xiv CONTENTS " Brief Statements by LEE ALUMNI " Continued. PAGE Mr. Jo Lane Stern 120 Mr. Willa Viley 120 Mr. Albert L. Rees 121 Supt. J. Parry McCluer 122 Mr. James H. McCown 122 Mr. John F. Ponder 123 Mr. W. H. Tayloe 125 Judge D. Gardiner Tyler 128 Mr. Joseph John Allen 131 Mr. David J. Wilson 132 Dr. Chalmers Deadrick 135 Rev. C. C. Brown 138 President Lee and the Student. By Dr. S. Z. Ammen 142 Reminiscences of General Lee. By Mr. Edward F. Valentine 146 What General Lee Read After the War. By Franklin L. Riley 157 The Christian Character of Robert E. Lee. By Dr. J. William Jones 182 Tribute to General Lee as a Man. By Mr. W. A. Anderson 196 Tribute to General Lee as an Educator. By President Henry Lou s Smith 203 Death and Funeral of General Lee. By Col. William Preston Johnston 206 General Lee s Last Office. By Dr. J. William Jones 223 The Mausoleum and Recumbent Statue. By Col. William Allan 226 Appendix: General Lee s Letter to Lord Acton 237 Index 243 ILLUSTRATIONS General Lee s Last Picture (1869) Frontispiece Facing page Reproduction of General Lee s Letter of Acceptance 8 General Lee s Campus Homes General Lee s Office in the Chapel 24 Rare Pictures of General Lee 78 General Lee on Traveller Last Homes of General Lee and Traveller 134 General Lee during the War 146 Exterior View of Lee Memorial Chapel Interior View of Lee Memorial Chapel 194 Recumbent Statue of General Lee Mausoleum beneath the Recumbent Statue 224 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX HOW LEE BECAME A COLLEGE PRESIDENT By PROF. ALEXANDER L. NELSON This sketch, written by an honored and appreciative member of General Lee s faculty, is taken from the "Lee Memorial Number" of the Wake Forest Student, a magazine published in January, 1907, by Wake Forest College. It is here reproduced because it is deemed worthy of permanent preservation. Editor. the war closed Washington College was WHENa wreck, but the board of trustees, animated by indomitable Scotch-Irish pluck, deter mined to resuscitate it. It was announced that the board would meet on the 4th day of August, 1 865. The members of the faculty were present by invitation, as most interested spectators. Several highly respectable gentleman and scholars were placed in nomination for president and their mer its discussed. At length the board seemed ready to take the vote. Just then Col. Bolivar Christian arose and said, in a somewhat hesitating manner, that he deemed it his duty to make a statement, before the vote was taken, which might have some influence on the election. He then said that a lady friend of his, who was also a friend of Miss Mary Lee, daughter of General Robert E. Lee, recently told him that Miss Mary Lee had remarked to her that while the Southern people were 2 GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE AFTER APPOMATTOX willing and ready to give her father everything that he might need, no offer had ever been made him by which he could earn a living for himself and family. A member asked Colonel Christian if he nominated General Lee. No, he replied, he would not do that, but he merely wanted the board to know what Miss Mary Lee had said. Then various members of the board said what a great thing it would be for the college if the services of Gen eral Lee could be secured, and wondered if there was any chance of doing so. At length, after repeated urging, Colonel Christian did make the nomination. All other names were immediately withdrawn and the roll was called, and General Lee was unanimously elected.