Memorial Addresses on the Life and Character of William H. F. Lee Part 4

With Gen. LEE they bore tidings of good will to partisan friend and partisan foe alike. They bespoke in mute eloquence the expansive heart of one "that loved his fellow-men." Little, however, did he think at the time that these beautiful roses were especially speaking to him as emblems of a near immortality. Awakening from their sleep of winter, they were also harbingers of a brighter day to him and of the bloom of a glorious resurrection. The Germans have a saying that "he who loves flowers loves G.o.d." If this be applied to Gen. LEE, we have the blessed a.s.surance that he has approached close to the celestial throne.

Gen. LEE belonged to one of the most historic families of America.

Looking back to the early settlement and the pioneer struggles of the peninsula and then through the plantation and colonial period of entire Virginia, we everywhere discover the genius, the dauntless courage, the independence, and the resolute patriotism of the Lees. It has been well said, sir, that Virginia is the mother of Presidents; and this is true.

A momentary reflection does not suffice to demonstrate the various causes which combined to bestow upon the Old Dominion this prominence. A mature study, however, will serve a double purpose. It will teach us not only how Virginia more than any other State became the nursery for Presidents and statesmen, but how at the same time were given character and fame to its distinguished family--the Lees.

The permanency and prosperity of states and political bodies are as much due to the character of their superstructures as are the strength and stability of the material edifice to the foundation upon which it rests.

The Argonauts of Virginia united in a remarkable degree the pride and culture and learning and loyalty of the Cavaliers with the conviction of purpose and martial courage and discipline of the followers of Cromwell.

First came the heroic vanguard--the men like Capt. John Smith--who blazed the way through the forests of the James, the York, the Chickahominy, and Pamunkey. Then followed the refined, enthusiastic, and chivalric gentlemen of the polished court of Charles I, with many of the clergy, who brought with them their intense loyalty to the Crown, as well as to the episcopal government and Anglican ritual. Among these, too, were the proselyted royalists; old and honorable families after the defeat of Charles, seeking exile in the far distant yet faithful Virginia. Then came those who triumphed at Naseby, and overthrew the kingly office and maintained the const.i.tution of the realm and the integrity of Magna Charta and the Pet.i.tion of Rights.

The necessity for self-defense and the maintenance of order originated self-government and the a.s.sertion of individual right, and these united the widely variant elements of the community in a loyal union. It was the amalgamation of such spirits in Virginia in 1676 which demanded the right of personal liberty, of universal suffrage, and of representation; and here was fought the prelude of that great drama one hundred years later, when a Virginian, in the name of a whole nation, penned the immortal words which proclaimed to all the world the "inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Here were the Lees, the Patrick Henrys, the Randolphs, the Jeffersons, the Madisons, and the Masons of Virginia; and here, to close the drama with freedom's triumphant army, was the most ill.u.s.trious of them all--George Was.h.i.+ngton. It was from such an ancestry our late colleague was descended, and it was from such teachings and such examples he imbibed his zealous convictions of right and his st.u.r.dy regard for the exalted prerogatives of a free people.

ADDRESS OF MR. WAs.h.i.+NGTON, OF TENNESSEE.

Mr. SPEAKER: On the 15th of last October death again invaded the ranks of this House. The mysterious messenger laid the summons of his cold silent hand upon one who had immeasurably endeared himself to all whose good fortune it had been to know him. To-day we pause amid the rush of a nation's public business to mourn the country's loss and to pay a just tribute to the n.o.ble dead. When such a man as our late colleague, Gen.

WILLIAM H.F. LEE, is taken from our midst, a void is made which can nevermore be filled. It is not his visible presence or his tangible body that we shall so much miss. It is the magnetism of a pure mind, the silent, potent influence of a spotless character, the power of a great, good, and n.o.ble soul to elevate and dignify all with whom it came in contact that will prove our irreparable loss. No man ever a.s.sociated with Gen. LEE without feeling the better for it. To have been with him made you feel like one who had drawn a long deep inspiration of pure fresh air into his lungs after breathing the stifling atmosphere of a close room. His thoughts, his conversation, his ideas diffused about him a sound and healthy morality, that was as natural to him as its delicate odor is to the rose. Modest and gentle as a woman; sympathetic as a child; guileless as the day; a logical, well-trained, accurate mind; a horror of injustice; absolutely devoid of resentment; a benignant countenance, and a splendid physique, made him indeed a man among men.

Sir, I believe not only in early training, but in the force of early surroundings and family traditions. Sprung from an ill.u.s.trious line of statesmen and patriots, who had left their impress on every page of the history, civil and military, of this country from the colonial days to the present; born on those beautiful heights overlooking this city at Arlington, where the house was filled with the sanctified relics and the very atmosphere he breathed in childhood was pregnant with the traditions and precepts of "the Father of his Country;" his mother being the daughter of George Was.h.i.+ngton Parke Custis, the adopted son of the immortal Was.h.i.+ngton; his father that world-renowned military commander, the self-poised, calm, patient, dignified, glorious Gen. Robert E. Lee, it would be unnatural not to expect to find the impress of all these on the heart and mind and character and life of Gen. WILLIAM H.F. LEE.

To some my words of eulogy may appear fulsome; but having known him in public and in private, at home by his own fireside, as well as abroad on the active field of life, I know that my poor words can but fail to do full justice to his true worth. With him the performance of duty was accompanied by no harsh word or cynical expression; on the contrary, his calmness and uniform sweetness of manner were almost poetical. I recall a notable instance in the Fiftieth Congress, when, pressing under the most trying circ.u.mstances the pa.s.sage of a bill for the relief of the Episcopal high school near Alexandria, he was temperate and patient.

Standing on the Republican side of this Hall, among those who questioned him, his words fell softly and evenly as snowflakes on the turbulent House, which finally by an almost unanimous vote pa.s.sed his bill.

He shrank from publicity; therefore he never spoke on this floor unless it was necessary to push a measure intrusted to his charge; then he always acquitted himself with credit. In the committee and among his colleagues his influence was irresistible, because his judgment and integrity were above dispute.

With him a public office was a public trust, which he accepted and administered for his State and his const.i.tuents without regard to race, color, or party affiliation. Many times have I seen him, when coming in from his country home in the morning, met at the depot by a dozen or more of his const.i.tuents, claiming his attention to their private matters with the Departments of the Government.

The patience and tender care with which he heard and looked after each were paternal and pathetic. His love for little children was intense and beautiful. Nothing made him happier than to fill some little fellow's hands and pockets with candies and fruits, claiming only in return a shy caress. In his home is where his perfectly balanced Christian character shone in its brightest light. As father and husband he was indeed a model man.

I shall attempt no extended biographical sketch; that has already been well done by others. Yet I can not refrain from saying that in every stage of his career Gen. LEE did his whole duty, actuated entirely and solely by the loftiest motives.

A graduate of Harvard at twenty, he was appointed a second lieutenant in the regular Army. Often I have heard him tell of the wearisome march across the plains to California with his regiment, long in advance of civilization and railroads, when most of that journey through the desert was made perilous by roving bands of hostile Indians. Retiring from the Army, he married and settled at the historic White House, in lower Virginia. There he was the typical Southern country gentleman of refinement and culture, taking an active interest in agriculture and the public affairs of his community. When the war between the States summoned Virginia's sons to her defense he again became a soldier.

Throughout the struggle he discharged every duty and was equal to every responsibility placed upon him. His soldiers loved and trusted him as a father, for they knew he would sacrifice no life for empty glory. The saddest chapter in all his life was when--a prisoner of war at Fort Monroe, lying desperately wounded, with the threat of a retaliatory death-sentence suspended over his head, in hourly expectation of its execution--he heard of the fatal illness of his wife and two little children but a few miles away. Earnestly his friends begged that he might be allowed to go and say the last farewell to them on earth. A devoted brother came, like Damon of old, and offered himself to die in "Rooney's" place. War, inexorable war, always stern and cruel, could not accept the subst.i.tuted sacrifice, and while the sick wounded soldier, under sentence of death, lay, himself almost dying, in the dungeon of the Fort, his wife and children "pa.s.sed over the river to rest under the trees" and wait there his coming. Yet no word of reproach ever pa.s.sed his gentle lips. He accepted it all as the fortune of war.

In all the walks of life--as a student at college, as an officer in the regular Army, as a planter on the Pamunkey, as a leader of cavalry in the civil war, as a farmer struggling with the chaos and confusion that beset him under the new order of things following the abolition of slavery, as president of the Virginia Agricultural Society, as State senator, and as a member of Congress--Gen. WILLIAM H.F. LEE met every requirement, was equal to every emergency, and left a name for honor, truth, and virtue which should be a blessed heritage and the inspiration for a n.o.bler and loftier life to all those who shall succeed him.

ADDRESS OF MR. HENDERSON, OF ILLINOIS.

Mr. SPEAKER: It is not my purpose at this time to make any extended remarks upon the life and public services of the late Gen. WILLIAM H.F.

LEE. Other gentlemen of the House, more intimately acquainted with Gen.

LEE in his lifetime, are better prepared to do justice to his memory than I am. But having enjoyed a very pleasant acquaintance with the deceased during his four years' service as a member of this body, I desire to express the great respect which I entertained for him as a gentleman of high character and of n.o.ble, manly qualities. Descended from one of the most highly honored families in the State in which he had his birth, he was liberally educated, and at an early age entered the Army as a second lieutenant and served as such until 1859, when he resigned his commission and returned to the peaceful pursuits of civil life. In 1861 he followed his ill.u.s.trious father, and entered the service of the Confederate States as a captain of cavalry. That he was a brave and gallant soldier there can be no doubt, for his military history shows that he rose step by step from the rank of a captain to that of a major-general of cavalry. In 1865 he surrendered with his father at Appomattox, and renewed his allegiance and devotion, as I am glad to believe, to the Government of the United States.

I can but wish, Mr. Speaker, that such honored names as those of Gen.

WILLIAM H.F. LEE and his distinguished father had never been led into rebellion against the Government of their country. But they felt it to be their duty to follow the fortunes of their State, and let us to-day, while mourning the departure of our deceased friend, rejoice that the surrender at Appomattox has been followed by a restored Union, and that our reunited, undivided country is now one of the strongest, most powerful, and prosperous of all the nations of the earth.

As a Representative in this body, while he was not inclined to partic.i.p.ate actively in the discussion of public and political questions, still Gen. LEE took great interest in all that pertained to the public welfare, and especially in that which, in his judgment, was in the interest of his immediate const.i.tuents. He was an able, faithful, and efficient Representative as well as a n.o.ble, manly man, and in all my intercourse with men I never met a more genial, warm-hearted, pleasant gentleman than the distinguished citizen to whose memory we pay tribute to-day. I well remember his kindly greetings, and I am sure all of us who knew Gen. LEE deeply regret his loss as a member of this body, to which he was for a third time elected by his confiding const.i.tuents, and extend to his sorrowing bereaved family our warm heartfelt sympathies.

ADDRESS OF MR. CHIPMAN, OF MICHIGAN.

Mr. SPEAKER: I have not been in the habit of speaking upon occasions of this kind, but it is one of the joys of my life, a very great joy indeed, to feel that I had a place in the heart of the gentleman whom we are now commemorating. I knew him very well, and in many respects I regarded him as one of the most fortunate men whom it was ever my pleasure to know. While many men here are struggling for fame, while many of them will leave the struggle heartsick, weary, defeated, he had that power, that charm, so precious and so lovely, of attaching men to him by the ties of affection. Little children loved him.

There was a benignancy, a sweetness of demeanor, which attracted them to him, and while his name may not be sounded in the trump of fame, yet the subtile power of his gentleness and goodness has permeated many lives, will shape many destinies, and will have a force in the history of the world greater than that which will be exerted by many who will succeed him here. He was a soldier, yet he was gentle and kind. He was a descendant of a long line of honored ancestry, yet he did not believe that mere wealth was necessary either to respectability or to greatness.

He was a farmer and loved the soil. He looked upon the ripened grain as the flower of human hope and as a minister to human needs. He loved the breath of cattle, and he regarded the occupation of an agriculturist as the n.o.blest and the best in which a man could be engaged. He was a true son of the soil--hearty, simple, gentle, true.

But, sir, the particulars of his career, both public and private, have been recounted by those who knew him well; have been recounted with great force, with great eloquence and propriety. There is, however, one part of that career to which I wish to refer. He was engaged in the memorable struggle which convulsed this nation from center to circ.u.mference and which fastened the gaze of the civilized world. I wish upon this occasion to say emphatically, that wherever we may have stood in that struggle, whatever was good and great in any man partic.i.p.ating on either side of it is a precious heritage to the entire American people to-day. We proved that, North, South, East, West, we had not degenerated in the qualities which make a nation great.

Grant and Lee, Sherman, Sheridan, and the two Johnstons have gone from us forever, and every day the green sward of peace, the flowers of affection, are placed above the grave of some hero of the blue or the gray. But I love to think that above these graves stands the Genius of American freedom, serene and grand, and bids the world behold how brave the sons of the Republic were in the past; how united they are in one purpose and one destiny in the present; how certain they are to be a people noted for reasonable liberty, for perfect union, and for sufficient material power to be formidable and just alike to the other nations of the earth.

And so, sir, I come and lay the flowers of my Northern home upon the bier of this son of Virginia, this good citizen, this patriot, this man who, I am proud to believe, held even me in his affection. And when gentlemen here speak of the terror and the mystery of death, I tell them that to such a man death has no terrors, and that to the good man it has no mystery; for in that illimitable hereafter, which must be populated by all the sons of men, it must be, it will be, well with all of us.

ADDRESS OF MR. WILSON, OF WEST VIRGINIA.

Mr. SPEAKER: The House has already heard from his friend and successor the story of Gen. LEE's life. I shall not, therefore, repeat it even in briefest outline. Enough for me to say that he was one in a long lineage of noted men, who by some innate force and virtue had stood forth in three generations as leaders of their fellow-men; that he was the son of the greatest of all who have borne the name, and that in early manhood he exhibited the soldierly instincts and the soldierly capacity that seemed to be historically a.s.sociated with it.

With such a lineage and with such a history he came to this House, and I believe I can offer no higher tribute to his memory to-day than to say that in all his a.s.sociations with us here he was the embodiment of gentleness and modesty. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, as I now recall Gen. LEE, and explore with aching heart the memory of a close and cordial friends.h.i.+p with him, I can say with confidence that in the blending of these rare traits I have never known his equal. They were a part of his nature, not more ill.u.s.trated in business and social intercourse with fellow-members than in his relations with the page who did him service and who learned to regard himself in some way as the special friend and a.s.sociate of Gen. LEE.

Many of us doubtless can recall the evident pride of the little fellow who occasionally placed upon our desks the roses which his kindly patron brought by the basketful in the spring mornings from his Virginia home to brighten the sittings of the House. And this gentleness and modesty were the more attractive because they were the adornment of a sincere and manly character. How much came to him as the rich legacy of ancestral blood and how much was wrought into his nature by the training of his youth it is idle to speculate. In both respects he was lifted far above the common lot of men. Of his mother it is said by those who knew her well that she was one of the most accomplished and at the same time most domestic, sensible, and practical of women. Of his father's influence and teaching, to say nothing of his lofty example, we have the striking proofs, if any were needed, in letters that have been published. Let me cull but an occasional expression from these unaffected outpourings of the heart of Robert E. Lee toward the son he loved so well. "My precious Roon," as he was wont to call him.

When the boy was not yet ten years of age he closes a playful letter, adapted to such tender years, with these earnest words:

Be true, kind, and generous, and pray earnestly to G.o.d to enable you to keep His commandments and to walk in the same all the days of your life.

A year later, writing from the s.h.i.+p _Ma.s.sachusetts_, off Lobos, to his two sons, a letter full of interest to boys, he urges them to diligence in study:

I shall not feel my long separation from you if I find that my absence has been of no injury to you, and that you have both grown in goodness and knowledge as well as in stature; but how I shall suffer on my return if the reverse has occurred. You enter into all my thoughts, into all my prayers, and on you in part will depend whether I shall be happy or miserable, as you know how much I love you.

Ten years later, when the son had become a lieutenant in the Army, he admonishes him:

I hope you will always be distinguished for your avoidance of the universal bane whisky and every immorality. Nor need you fear to be ruled out of the society that indulges in it, for you will acquire their esteem and respect, as all venerate, if they do not practice, virtue. I hope you will make many friends, as you will be thrown with those who deserve this feeling. But indiscriminate intimacies you will find annoying and entangling, and they can be avoided by politeness and civility. When I think of your youth, impulsiveness, and many temptations, your distance from me, and the ease (and even innocence) with which you might commence an erroneous course, my heart quails within me and my whole frame and being tremble at the possible results. May Almighty G.o.d have you in His holy keeping. To His merciful providence I commit you, and I will rely upon Him and the efficacy of the prayers that will be daily and hourly offered up by those who love you.

A year or two later, on New Year's Day, 1859, he writes:

I always thought there was stuff in you for a good soldier and I trust you will prove it. I can not express the gratification I felt, in meeting Col. May in New York, at the encomium he pa.s.sed upon your soldiers.h.i.+p, your zeal, and your devotion to your duty.