Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 18.djvu/386

 380 Southern Historical Society Papers.

PAROLES OF THE ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA.

Statement of Brigadier General W. P. Roberts as to his Staff and Command.

The Editor has pleasure in publishing the following letter, which is inspired by a highly worthy motive. It is his desire to give place in the Papers to all proper representations regarding the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse ; everything incidental thereto, and any personal explanation under signature of any soldier or officer who was of the Army of Northern Virginia.

The embarrassment experienced in the preparation of Volume XV of the Southern Historical Society Papers is stated in the Introduc- tion thereto. " W. P. Roberts, Brigadier-General," was paroled singly, and the parole was without further information or explana- tion. Brigadier-General W. P. Roberts is said to have been the youngest officer of his rank in the Confederate States Army. His is a noble record. He " entered the army in June, 1861, al the age of nineteen years as a Sergeant in the Second North Carolina Cavalry ; was appointed Second Lieutenant in September following ; promoted First Lieutenant in August, 1862, Captain in October, 1863, Major in May, 1864, Colonel in August, 1864, and Brigadier- General in February, 1865, being then in the thirty-third year of his age. He had received no military training before entering the army, and had not finished his education."

GATESVILLE, N. C.,July 7, 1891. DEAR SIR :

Volume XV of the Southern Historical Papers is wholly taken up with the names of paroled prisoners, Army Northern Virginia, who surrendered at Appomattox, and the name of " W. P. Roberts, Briga- dier-General," appears among or next to a list of ordnance officers, without naming his arm of the service, and without a word said about his command or staff. I do not care about the matter so far as I am personally concerned, but in all human probability some of these days the volume will be quoted as evidence that the names contained in it were the only men who fought at Appomattox, and as I know better, I desire to make the correction, so far as my own brigade was con-