As "Light-Horse Harry" Lee he goes down to history and renown; distinguished in general orders of the army and in promotion from Congress for one exploit, and for another with the thanks of Congress and a gold medal. In statesmanship as in soldiership, he was the friend and follower of Washington. In the Virginia legislature, when the resolutions of 1798 were debated, he took sides against them, and in his speech you may find nearly all the arguments which are used in favor of the Federal construction of the Constitution. When Washington died he was a member of Congress, and pronounced upon him the memorable words, "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his fellow-citizens." He was one of those virile men who could write, speak, and fight.

When Gen. Winfield Scott led the American Army to Mexico there rode by his side Capt. Robert E. Lee, the son of Henry Lee, an officer of engineers upon his staff. He was four times brevetted for gallant conduct and came back famous. When Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston led the Utah expedition in 1858 there marched on foot in his columns Lieut. William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, the son of Robert E. Lee. He was not a soldier by education, but by instinct. A graduate of Harvard College and the stroke oar of his class, he was well prepared for military life, and the third of his line to bear arms for the United States. But no war ensued; the canker of a long peace was settling on military aspirations.

Lieut. Lee resigned, married, and settled on his farm, the White House, on the Pamunkey. With the prattle of little children around his knees and pastoral scenes before him, his prospects were those of domestic tranquillity and joy.

What a rush was there to the standards when war broke out in 1861! Americans acted like Americans. They divided in conviction. They did not differ as to the method of dealing with conviction. To divide was the propulsion of conditions, to fight the law of blood. Not one of the Lees had provoked war, but not one stood back. The whole family of Lees became representative soldiers of their people; Gen. Robert E. Lee commanded the greatest of the Southern armies and his brother became an admiral of the Southern navy. His sons and nephews were soldiers and sailors.

The nephew of Northern identity kept place with the North. The more numerous class of Southern identity kept place with the South; the boy, a private in the ranks or cadet on shipboard, the young men leading companies and regiments and winning brigades and divisions, the sire and chief commanding all. Their names are interwoven with war's dread story and splendid deed. Not one had any reproach; not one struck a blow below the belt. The woman, the child, the captive found a fortress in the hand of Lee, the foeman met his peer. The history of two continents and many centuries was written over again on fields of blood.

William H.F. Lee raised a company of cavalry at the beginning of the war and surrendered as a major-general of cavalry at Appomattox. He fought his way to his rank and suffered all of war's vicissitudes save death. His men believed in him and followed him. He was wounded; he was twice a prisoner; he was held as a hostage in solitary confinement with death impending. His wife and his children died while he lay wounded and in prison. Whatever man may suffer he suffered to the uttermost. Amongst his first acts when he emerged from prison was to visit, shake hands with and congratulate the Federal officer for whom he had been held as hostage. He was a representative Christian, void of vindictiveness and uncomplaining; he made no outcry of pain; he sealed his lips to reproach.

I knew him well, respected him profoundly, and loved him dearly. I have often heard him speak at gatherings of old soldiers and on a variety of occasions; sometimes those of turbulence. I have marveled at his self-poise and reserved power. Never once did I hear him say ill of any man, nor allude to his own sufferings or deeds, nor utter words of bitterness. He took his lot as it came to him, as a man who does the best he can and leaves the rest to the Disposer of events. His conscience and his human sympathy, like his soldiership, were instincts, and his Christian creed was the sum of his intuitions. Gen. Lee was a representative of the times in which he lived, eccentric in no opinion, even-tempered, wise, cautious, prudent, steadfast, and gentle; he sought to be useful rather than to shine. He took deep and active interest in all that concerned his State.

As a State senator he could be relied upon to support liberal and progressive measures; as president of the State Agricultural Society he did much to excite interest and develop improvements; as a trustee or visitor to educational institutions he rendered valuable practical service to the cause of popular enlightenment. In political life he had sharp contests; friend was surprised and opponent discouraged when emergency brought forth the reserve forces of his character and ability. If modesty cloaked his powers in retirement, opposition elicited them; and the fluency, tact, and ability with which he discussed issues and met exigencies were remarkable in one whose experiences of early life had separated him from civil pursuits and training.

If I have spoken of Gen. Lee's ancestral distinctions, it was not because either he or his people have ever presumed upon them. On the contrary, no people whom I have ever known have rested less of claim upon their antecedents or less sought to substitute reminiscences for achievements. The independent, honest, and simple Republicans and Democrats of our country justly despise a pretender who boasts the shadow of a name; but that of which the individual may not boast becomes his country's pride; and I count it great glory to our country that its institutions have nourished and the highest characteristic of our race that it has produced successive generations of men who preserve the continuity of sterling virtues. I count also as the star of hope for this grand Republic that a distinguished soldier of a lost cause becomes the beloved statesman of the cause that won, and finds around him the old-time comrades and old-time foes, all his friends and each other's friends united in the service of our common country.

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