Page:Confederate Portraits.djvu/121

 appear so well. Without doubt the greatest man of re- bellion times, the one matchless among forty millions for the peculiar difficulties of the period, was Abraham Lincoln." 58

But who could leave Longstreet so ? It is incontestable that, with all these marked and disastrous defects, the man was immensely lovable and had not only force, but charm. Under the stolid exterior there were kindly emo- tions as well as sharper ones. Socially he is said to have been quiet and undemonstrative, yet at times he showed a tenderness and affection which were all the more appreciated.

There can be no doubt that his patriotism and devotion to the cause he served were strong and genuine. "While we weep with the friends of our gallant dead, we must confess that a soldier's grave, in soholy and just a cause, is the highest honor that a man can attain." 59 "or myself," he says, after Vicksburg and Gettysburg, "I felt that our last hope was gone, and that it was only a question of time with us." 60 Yet he fought on as steadily, as bravely, as persistently as ever, and declared, in January, 1865, "We are better able to cope with the enemy now than we have ever been, if we will profit by our experience and exert ourselves properly in improving our organization." 61

He was as thoughtful in his sympathy for noncombatants as he was hardy in fighting. Thus after Fredericksburg he directs a subscription to be taken up for the