Life And Letters of Robert Edward Lee: Soldier And Man by Rev. J. William Jones, D.D. (1906)

PREFACE

It is not my purpose in this book to treat of the great war between the States, its causes, its conduct, or its results. Nor can I treat fully, in the space I shall use, of Lee the soldier, or Lee the man. But as it was my proud privilege to know General Lee in war and in peace, and to enjoy some peculiar facilities for studying his life and character, I think I may, without improper egotism, claim some qualifications for writing of him as he really was.

In the Army I came in somewhat frequent contact with him, but when he was President of Washington College from October, 1865, to October, 1870, 1 was one of his chaplains, and came into almost daily association with him, making it my business, as it was my great pleasure, to study those noble traits which made him grander in peace than in war. I was one of that band of loving hands who bore him to the tomb, when two continents mourned his death, and I had the honor of being selected by Mrs. Lee and the faculty of the College to edit the "Lee Memorial Volume" which it was proposed to publish soon after his death. When the publication of that book was abandoned I was encouraged and authorized to publish, with their full approval, my "Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Letters of R. E. Lee." At that time I was given free access to General Lee's private letters and papers, and from that day I have carefully studied and preserved everything concerning him that has been published, or which I have been able to procure.

I come, then, to my present task with full knowledge of my subject and with warm and loving heart, desiring to present Lee to the world as I knew, and honored, and loved him myself.I should be unworthy of the great man of whom I write if I should allow to creep into this book any of "the bitter memories of a stormy past," any partisan expression, anything which could reasonably offend the most sensitive of any section of our common country.

In the preparation of this volume I have consulted and, as occasion offered, used Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's "Life of Robert E. Lee, "Gen. A. L. Long's Memoirs", Col. Walter H. Taylor's "Four Years with Lee," and Capt. Robert E. Lee's "Recollections of my Father," and many magazine and newspaper articles which I have preserved; and I have freely used my own "Personal Reminiscences." But it will be found that my treatment of the subject is fresh, and that a large proportion of the incidents and letters have never been published.

J.W.J.
Richmond, Va., June 05, 1906

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