The Taylor-Trotwood Magazine, Vol. IV, No. 4, January 1907

VOL. IV, NO. 4, JANUARY 1907 ***

THE TAYLOR-TROTWOOD MAGAZINE

SUCCESSOR TO BOB TAYLOR’S MAGAZINE and TROTWOOD’S MONTHLY

PUBLISHED BY THE TAYLOR-TROTWOOD PUBLISHING COMPANY, 11, 13, 16, 19 VANDERBILT LAW BUILDING, NASHVILLE, TENN.

GOVERNOR BOB TAYLOR and JOHN TROTWOOD MOORE, Editors

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Contents for January, 1907

FRONTISPIECE—Portrait of General Lee on Traveler

CAPABILITY. (Sonnet) _John Trotwood Moore_ 345

ROBERT EDWARD LEE _Robert L. Taylor_ 346 Illustrated.

HISTORIC HIGHWAYS OF THE SOUTH—CHAPTER XVI _John Trotwood Moore_ 354 Illustrated.

HOW OLE WASH GOT RID OF HIS MOTHERS-IN-LAW _John Trotwood Moore_ 364

SOME BEAUTIFUL WOMEN OF THE SOUTH 368 Illustrated.

COLONIAL FOOTPRINTS _J. K. Collins_ 373 Illustrated.

HISTORY OF THE HALS—CHAPTER XVI _John Trotwood Moore_ 379

THE MEASURE OF A MAN. (Serial Story) _John Trotwood Moore_ 384

MEN OF AFFAIRS 387 Illustrated.

SOME SOUTHERN WRITERS _Kate Alma Orgain_ 392 Illustrated.

TWELFTH NIGHT REVELS _Jane Feild Baskin_ 395

UNCLE ABRAHAM’S SERMON. (Story.) _John Marshall Kelly_ 398

THE STORY OF THE YEAR-GIFTS _Robert Wilson Neal_ 401

THE SHADOW OF THE ATTACOA. (Serial Story.) _Thornwell Jacobs_ 403

THE RACE PROBLEM _James H. Branch_ 415

REMUS. (Serial Narrative.) _Laps. D. McCord_ 423

NAPOLEON—PART V—Continued _Anna Erwin Woods_ 427

WITH BOB TAYLOR 430 SENTIMENT AND STORY. THE PARADISE OF FOOLS.

WITH TROTWOOD 439 THE LAST DRIVE. (Poem.) THE PROBLEM OF LIFE. A QUAIL HUNT IN AN AUTOMOBILE.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS _Lillian Kendrick Byrn_ 450

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[Illustration: GENERAL LEE ON TRAVELER

_“Robert Edward Lee,” page 346_

_Photographed from life. M. Miley, Lexington, Virginia_]

THE

TAYLOR-TROTWOOD MAGAZINE

VOL. IV JANUARY, 1907 NO. 4

_CAPABILITY_

_A SONNET_

_BY JOHN TROTWOOD MOORE_

_God sends duties to those who show themselves capable of duty, and power to those who are worthy of power._—Wm. McKinley.

_There comes a time to Nations, as to man,_ _When God shall test them with a furnace fire,_ _Shall weigh them in the scales of His desire—_ _Predestined law of long predestined plan._ _To him who measureth to the nobler span,_ _He maketh him a model and a chart,_ _Of all His ways a parcel and a part_ _Wherever Fate, His pulse of purpose, ran._

_But woe to him He weigheth and find not!_ _And woe to him that testeth not as gold!_ _His name shall be in blighting and in blot,_ _His fame the murk of mildew and of mold._ _He giveth power to him of power and beauty,_ _He addeth strength to him of strength and duty._

[Illustration]

ROBERT EDWARD LEE

_Born January 19, 1807. Died October 12, 1870_

By Robert L. Taylor

To write of Lee in the fulfilling of his manifold duties would be to fill volumes. Lee as an intrepid young officer in the United States army; as a practical military engineer; as a man among men; as a staunch patriot, a brilliant commander and a magnanimous foe; a hero whose strength was the might of gentleness and self-command; the chief of a vanquished army, setting an example of noble submission; in the sanctity of his home, consecrating his energies to the restoration of a prostrate and desolate country; as the head of a great institution for the upbuilding of character and scholarship; as parent, as husband, friend; and as a modest, God-fearing gentleman—in all of these critical relations which constitute the test of true greatness, the rich nature of Robert Edward Lee shone with unfailing steadfastness and brilliancy.

I cannot attempt, in the limits of a magazine article, to do justice to an inexhaustible subject. Why should I when the most eloquent tongues and pens of two continents have labored to present, with fitting eulogy, the character and career of our cavalier _par excellence_? It is the South’s patent of nobility that he is to-day regarded, the world over, not only as ranking with the greatest military geniuses history has known, but as having less of the selfish littleness of ordinary humanity than any of his compeers. I simply weave a wreath of memory to offer on his natal day.

That he was the son of Light Horse Harry Lee and Anne Carter, and was born at Stratford, the Carter ancestral home in Westmoreland, Virginia, the nineteenth of January, 1807, are well-known statistics. Miss Emily V. Mason, in her “Popular Life of General Lee,”[1] gives the following account of his early life:

When he was but four years of age, his father removed to Alexandria the better to educate his children, and there are many persons yet living in that old town who remember him at that early age. From these sources we are assured that his childhood was as remarkable as his manhood for the modesty and thoughtfulness of his character, and for the performance of every duty which devolved upon him.... At this period General Harry Lee was absent in the West Indies in pursuit of health, and he died when Robert was eleven years of age.... His mother was also an invalid, and Robert was her devoted cavalier, hurrying home from school to take her for her drive, and assuming all the household cares, learning at this time the self-control and economy in all financial concerns which ever characterized him....

General Lee used to say that he was fond of hunting when a boy—that he would sometimes follow the hounds on foot all day. This will account for his well-developed form, and for that wonderful strength which was never known to fail him in all the fatigues and privations of his after life.

It was natural that the son of Light Horse Harry should desire to enter the army, and he was doubtless also inspired to take this step by a desire to relieve his mother of the expense of his maintenance and education. “At West Point,” says General Fitzhugh Lee,[2] “he had four years of hard study, vigorous drill, and was absorbing strategy and tactics to be useful in after years. His excellent habits and close attention to all duties did not desert him; his last year he held the post of honor in the aspirations of cadet life—the adjutant of the corps. He graduated second in a class of forty-six and was commissioned second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. It is interesting to note that his eldest son, George Washington Custis Lee, also entered the Military Academy twenty-one years after his father, was also the cadet adjutant, graduated first in his class and was assigned to the Engineer Corps.” Of still greater interest is the graduation, in 1902, of his greatnephew, Fitzhugh Lee, Jr., who, on his graduation, was appointed special aide to Mrs. Roosevelt.

Lee’s first assignment to duty was at Fortress Monroe, where he remained four years.

[Illustration: COLONEL R. E. LEE

About the time of the Mexican War]

“He went much,” continues his nephew biographer, “in the society of ladies—always most congenial to him.... He was in love from boyhood. Fate brought him to the feet of one who, by birth, education, position and family tradition, was best suited to be his life companion. Mary, the daughter of George Washington Parke Custis, of Arlington, and R. E. Lee were married on the thirtieth of June, 1831.”

The modesty of the newly married couple was spared the modern newspaper accounts of the bride’s wedding garments, her trousseau and trunks, the gifts and other intimate details now demanded by an insatiate public.

Mrs. Lee was possessed of a strong intellect, charming person and fascinating manners, being at the same time very domestic in her tastes, and “such a housekeeper as was to be found among the matrons of her day,” says her friend, Reverend J. W. Jones, who adds: “She was, from the beginning, a model wife and mother.”[3]

A short account of the children of this exemplary couple may not be amiss here. George Washington Custis Lee graduated, as has been said, first in his class, and at the time of the secession of Virginia was an officer in the Engineer Corps. He was appointed aide on President Davis’s staff, became brigadier and then major-general, and after the close of the war was made professor of engineering in the Virginia Military Institute and succeeded his father as president of Washington and Lee University. This position he held for twenty-six years, maintaining the high standards set by his father. Since his retirement, in 1897, he has resided at Burke, Virginia.

William Henry Fitzhugh, the second son, was a Harvard graduate and was appointed lieutenant in the army on the special application of General Scott, but had resigned and was living at home when the war came on, and he raised a cavalry company, of which he was made captain. He had command of two companies and was made major of the squadron. After the war he served in the Virginia Senate and in Congress until his death.

Robert E. Lee, junior, was a student in the University of Virginia when the war began, and promptly enlisted in the Confederate army. He served on the staff of his brother, General W. H. F. Lee, and rose to the rank of captain. Since the war he has been a successful planter, and in 1905 he completed the “Recollections of My Father,” truly a work of love.[4]

Miss Anne Carter Lee died during the war, and Miss Agnes shortly after the death of her devoted father. Miss Mildred Lee died in 1905, and Miss Mary Lee is still living, a prominent figure in all social and historical matters in her state and the national capital.

The oldest son was born at Fortress Monroe, but the other children were all born at Arlington, where Mrs. Lee passed much of her time when her husband was sent to distant stations.

Of Lee’s work as military engineer, Mr. Jones says:

The system of river improvements devised by Lee at St. Louis are still followed there, and to his next work, at Fort Hamilton, the city of New York owes its perfect defenses to-day.

His campaign under General Scott, in Mexico, was his first taste of actual service, and history has recorded his zeal, valor and undaunted energy in that memorable conflict. He now entered upon his real career. He was breveted major at Cerro Gordo, lieutenant-colonel at Churubusco, and colonel at Chapultepec. General Scott testified his appreciation in every report he made to the War Department, and Lee repaid the regard of his beloved general with an extraordinary admiration and devotion.

He brought his son, Robert, a mustang pony from Mexico. “He was,” writes Captain Lee, in his “Recollections,” “for his inches, about as good a horse as I ever met with. While he lived ... he and Grace Darling, my father’s favorite mare, were members of our family. Grace Darling was a chestnut mare of fine size and great power. He bought her in Texas from the Arkansas cavalry on his way to Mexico, her owner having died on the march out. She was with him during all of the war, and was shot seven times. As a little fellow I used to brag of the number of bullets in her, and would place my finger on the scar made by each one.”

In 1852 he was appointed Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he remained for three years, when he was sent to Texas. His services on the frontier covered a period of five years, with one furlough home, during which he was sent, in October, 1859, to capture John Brown, at Harper’s Ferry. In February, 1861, he was recalled from Texas and ordered to report at Washington. He was not in favor of secession, for he loved the Union strongly, and he clung fondly to the hope that the breach might be closed, but he did not hesitate when he saw that his state would secede. A New York banker, an intimate friend of General Scott, asked him at this time, in the course of a conversation on the art of war: “General, whom do you regard as the greatest living soldier?” General Scott replied immediately: “Colonel Robert E. Lee is not only the greatest soldier in America, but the greatest now living in the world. This is my firm conviction from a full knowledge of his extraordinary abilities, and if the occasion ever arises, Lee will win this place in the estimation of the whole world.” Refusing the supreme command of the United States army, he cast in his lot with the Confederacy, and was placed in command of the troops of Virginia.

[Illustration: ARLINGTON, HOME OF THE LEES]

Much discussion has been held concerning the occupation of Arlington by the Federal authorities, but it was claimed that this was a justifiable act, in view of the commanding position of the property. The White House and the department buildings near it were only two miles and a half from the highest point on the Arlington grounds; the Capitol only three and a half miles away, and Georgetown less than a mile. A battery established on the heights would have had the whole of Washington at its mercy. General Scott saw the importance of this position, and, reluctant as he was to turn Mrs. Lee from the lovely home where he had so often received her hospitality; deeply grieved as he must have been to humiliate by his first move one who had been his cherished friend and trusted aide, he sent General Mansfield to take it. “It is quite probable,” wrote the latter in his report, “that our troops assembled at Arlington will create much excitement in Virginia; yet, at the same time, if the enemy were to occupy the ground there a greater excitement would take place on our side.”

Without going into particular details of the four years of fighting, I wish to quote Lord Wolseley’s beautiful tribute to Lee:[5]

It is my wish to describe him as I saw him in the autumn of 1862, when, at the head of proud and victorious troops, he smiled at the notion of defeat by any army that could be sent against him. I desire to make known to the reader not only the renowned soldier, whom I believe to have been the greatest of his age, but to give some insight into the character of one whom I have always considered the most perfect man I ever met....

Outsiders can best weigh and determine the merits of the chief actors on both sides.... On one side I can see, in the dogged determination of the North, persevered in to the end through years of recurring failure, the spirit for which the men of Britain have always been remarkable. It is a virtue to which the United States owed its birth in the last century.... On the other hand, I can recognize the chivalrous valor of those gallant men whom Lee led to victory, who fought not only for fatherland and in defense of home, but for those rights most prized by free men. Washington’s stalwart soldiers were styled rebels by our king and his ministers, and in like manner the men who wore the gray uniform were denounced as rebels from the banks of the Potomac to the headwaters of the St. Lawrence.... As a looker-on, I feel that both parties in the war have so much to be proud of that both can afford to hear what impartial Englishmen or foreigners have to say about it.

Describing Lee’s appointment to the command of the State Militia, he says:

General Lee’s presence commanded respect, even from strangers, by a calm, self-possessed dignity, the like of which I have never seen in other men. Naturally of strong passions, he kept them under perfect control by that iron and determined will of which his expression and his face gave evidence. As this tall, handsome soldier stood before his countrymen he was the picture of the ideal patriot, unconscious and self-possessed in his strength.... There was in his face and about his expression that placid resolve which bespoke great confidence in self, and which in his case, one knows not how, quickly communicated its magnetic influence to others.

Comparing Lee with the Duke of Marlborough, he says:

They were gifted with the same military instinct, the same genius for war. The power of fascinating those with whom they were associated, the spell which they cast over their soldiers, ... their contempt of danger, their daring courage, constitute a parallel that it is difficult to equal between any two other great men of modern times.

He repeats the following pleasantry overheard between two Confederates, after Pope’s dismissal:

Have you heard the news? Lee has resigned!

Good God! What for?

Because he says he cannot feed and supply his army any longer, now that his commissary, General Pope, has been removed.

A characteristic anecdote of Lincoln is also given. He was asked how many rebels were in arms and replied that he knew the number to be one million, “for,” said he, “whenever one of our generals engages a rebel army he reports that he has engaged a force of twice his strength; now I know we have half a million soldiers in the field, so I am bound to believe the rebels have twice that number.” General Wolseley justly criticises the lack of concerted action among our regiments.

No fair estimate of Lee as a general can be made by a simple comparison of what he achieved with that which Napoleon, Wellington or Von Moltke accomplished, unless due allowance is made for the difference in the nature of the American armies and of the armies commanded and encountered by those great leaders. They were at the head of perfectly organized, thoroughly trained and well disciplined troops, while Lee’s soldiers, though gallant and daring to a fault, lacked the military cohesion and efficiency, the trained company leaders ... which are only to be found in a regular army of long standing.

The Englishman concludes:

Where else in history is a great man to be found whose whole life was one such blameless record of duty nobly done? It was consistent in all its parts, complete in all its relations.

... The fierce light which beats upon the throne is as that of a rushlight in comparison with the electric glare which our newspapers now focus upon the public man in Lee’s position. His character has been subjected to that ordeal, and who can point to any spot upon it? His clear, sound judgment, personal courage, untiring activity, genius for war, and absolute devotion to his state mark him as a public man, as a patriot to be forever remembered by all Americans.... I have met many of the great men of my time, but Lee alone impressed me with the feeling that I was in the presence of a man who was cast in a grander mould and made of finer metal than all other men. He is stamped upon my memory as a being apart and superior to all others in every way; a man with whom none I ever knew, a very few of whom I have read, are worthy to be classed.