Eyewitness Report: The Reluctant General

This is one in a series of articles being featured on the Political Spectrum as part of Secession Week.

Robert E. Lee, Veteran

In the midst of his arduous labors he from time to time cast anxious glances at the threatening aspect of the political horizon, and with a foreboding heart watched the cloud grow darker and more angry until the storm burst in the North and rolled South, whence it thundered back until the popular tempest rent the country in twain. The triumph of the party that had caused so much alarm throughout the South by the election of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency in 1860 spread consternation among the conservatives of both sections, and especially among those of the South, since the radical hostility was directed principally at them. Nevertheless, there were many who hoped that the fears of the despondent were groundless, and that the country would be saved. But when Congress assembled in December it was soon discovered that the spirit of conciliation had departed from the deliberative body of the nation, and that there was no prospect of an amicable settlement of the political questions that had divided the country; and therefore the Southern representatives advised their constituents to prepare for a withdrawal from the Union—peaceably if possible, forcibly if necessary.

South Carolina, being the first to act, passed her ordinance of secession about the last of December, and the other Cotton States speedily followed her example.

From Texas in January, 1861, Colonel Lee expresses himself on the condition of the country as follows:

"I received Everett's Life of General Washington, which you sent me, and enjoyed its perusal. How his spirit would be grieved could he see the wreck of his mighty labors! I will not, however, permit myself to believe, until all the ground for hope has gone, that the fruit of his noble deeds will be destroyed and that his precious advice and virtuous example will so soon be forgotten by his countrymen. As far as I can judge from the papers, we are between a state of anarchy and civil war. May God avert both of these evils from us! I fear that mankind for years will not be sufficiently Christianized to bear the absence of restraint and force. I see that four States have declared themselves out of the Union: four more will apparently follow their example. Then, if the Border States are brought into the gulf of revolution, one half of the country will be arrayed against the other. I must try and be patient and await the end, for I can do nothing to hasten or retard it."

From the above it may be observed with what pain and regret Colonel Lee witnessed the progressive steps leading toward the dissolution of the Union. In further illustration of this feeling, and of the political knowledge and wisdom of the writer, we may quote from another letter of the same date. It is addressed to his son from "Fort Mason, Texas, January 23, 1861," and contains the following highly interesting passage:

"The South, in my opinion, has been aggrieved by the acts of the North, as you say. I feel the aggression, and am willing to take every proper step for redress. It is the principle I contend for, not individual or private benefit. As an American citizen I take great pride in my country, her prosperity, and her institutions, and would defend any State if her rights were invaded. But I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union. It would be an accumulation of all the evils we complain of, and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation. I hope, therefore, that all constitutional means will be exhausted before there is a resort to force. Secession is nothing but revolution. The framers of our Constitution never exhausted so much labor, wisdom, and forbearance in its formation, and surrounded it with so many guards and securities, if it was intended to be broken by every member of the Confederacy at will. It is intended for 'perpetual union,' so expressed in the preamble, and for the establishment of a government, not a compact, which can only be dissolved by revolution or the consent of all the people in convention assembled. It is idle to talk of secession. Anarchy would have been established, and not a government, by Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, and all the other patriots of the Revolution. .... Still, a Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the

place of brotherly love and kindness, has no charm for me. I shall mourn for my country and for the welfare and progress of mankind. If the Union is dissolved and the Government disrupted, I shall return to my native State and share the miseries of my people, and save in defence will draw my sword on none."

In February, 1861, the seven Cotton States united themselves into an independent republic under the designation of the Confederate States of America, and selected for its capital Montgomery, Alabama. The Border slaveholding States still adhered to the Union, hoping that after party passion should subside the final separation of the States would be prevented, and that the government under which they had attained a remarkable degree of wealth and prosperity would be preserved. At that time there was much speculation as to the policy Mr. Lincoln would adopt, and his inaugural address was awaited with impatience. At his inauguration on the 4th of March the address in which he declared his future policy was regarded as enigmatical, and various opinions were formed as to the probable course of the new President on the exciting questions which agitated the country. It was generally believed that his course would be conservative; at least it was thought that "honest old Abe," as Mr. Lincoln was familiarly called, would be governed by a desire for conciliation. It is probable that the intention of Mr. Lincoln was at first to adopt a national policy, as in his inaugural address, which seemed calm and dispassionate, he assured the country that he had no purpose to interfere with the institution of slavery where it already existed, and that, in his opinion, he had no right to do so. Yet he denounced the doctrine of the right of secession from the Union as unconstitutional, and declared his firm purpose to hold, occupy, and possess the places and property in the South belonging to the Federal Government. This announcement was received in the South as equivalent to a declaration of war.

Wishing to effect an amicable adjustment of the questions at issue, especially that of the surrender of Fort Sumter, the new Confederacy sent commissioners to Washington for that purpose. They were, however, not officially received by Mr. Lincoin, but were led to believe that bis intentions toward the Confederacy were amicable, and that he would in due time order a peaceable surrender of Fort Sumter. With that belief the commissioners returned to Montgomery. Soon after the departure of the Confederate commissioners from Washington, Mr. Lincoln sent a formidable expedition to Charleston harbor for the relief of the fort. As soon as the attitude of Mr. Lincoln was discovered at Montgomery the Confederate authorities ordered the immediate reduction of Fort Sumter. Before attacking the place General Beauregard demanded its peaceable surrender, which being refused by its commander, Major Anderson, the fort was assailed by all the Confederate batteries which could be brought to bear upon it. After a bombardment of thirtytwo hours Major Anderson was forced to capitulate on the 13th of April, 1861.

On the 15th of April, the second day after the fall of Fort Sumter, Mr. Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteers, and a few days later he issued proclamations ordering the blockade of the Southern ports and suspending the writ of habeas corpus. These acts were immediately resented by Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Missouri by the withdrawal of these States from the Union and their entrance into the Southern Confederacy, while Kentucky refused to comply with the call for troops and declared a neutrality. Maryland also refused to furnish troops, but from her geographical position was forced to submit . On the other hand, the non-slaveholding States obeyed the President's proclamation and promptly furnished troops.

Seeing the gigantic preparations which were being made by the United States to coerce them, the Southern States with similar activity prepared for their defence. The rupture which had thus divided the country reduced the officers of the army and navy to the alternative of either appearing in arms against their native States or of resigning their commissions in the service of the United States. All those of Southern birth, with few exceptions, adopted this latter course, and joined their fellow-countrymen "for weal or woe." Colonel Lee, who had been summoned from Texas to report in person to the commander-in-chief at Washington, reached that city on March 1st, and was there at the time of the events above described.

On the 17th of April, 1861, the ordinance of secession was passed in the convention of Virginia. This cast the die for Colonel Lee. The sentiments expressed in his letters and his strong sense of the debt of allegiance he owed to his native State effectually prevented him from remaining any longer an officer of the United States army, and obliged him by every sentiment of duty and affection to cast his lot with the State of his nativity and with the numerous friends and relatives who made this State their natal home. Yet his final decision was not reached without severe mental trouble, nor without efforts on the side of the Government to preserve his highly-valued services to the Federal army. In fact, an offer of a most alluring character, and which must have won over any one with less than his supreme sense of duty, was made to him—no less an offer, in short, than the supreme command of the Federal army.
Source: The Memoirs and Recollections of Robert E. Lee
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