Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 23.djvu/354

 348 Southern Historical Society Papers.

ridicules Stonewall Jackson as a soldier, belittles A. P. Hill, and makes light of nearly every other Confederate soldier, except Gen- eral James Longstreet; who " knew it all," and virtually did it all that he submitted to several newspaper interviews, in which he said many unlovely things, and that he has now published his book, which has so fully shown the philosophy of the proverb, " Oh, that mine enemy would write a book! "

It will thus be seen that instead of being the meek martyr whom his critics have persecuted and goaded into saying some ugly things, General Longstreet began the controversy, and kept it up that his attacks upon General Lee have been as unjust as they have been un- seemly and ungrateful; and that the only thing "politics" has had to do with the controversy has been that ever since Longstreet be- came a Republican, a partisan Republican press has labored to make him the great general on the Confederate side, and to exalt him at Lee's expense.

So far as I am personally concerned, while I would not pluck a single leaf that belongs to the laurel crown of the brave leader, the indomitable fighter, the courageous soldier who commanded his old brigade, his old division, his old corps of heroes on so many glorious fields of victory, yet I shall not stand idly by and see him or his par- tisans criticise and belittle our grand old chief, Robert Edward Lee the peerless soldier of the centuries without raising my humble voice or using my feeble pen in indignant burning protest.

J. WILLIAM JONES, The Miller School, Crozet, Va. February 14, 1896.

STUART AND GETTYSBURG.

Col. John S. Mosby's Defense of the Great Cavalry Leader.

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., January 28,

To the Editor of the Dispatch :

I have just read in the Post the report of Colonel Charles Mar- shall's speech at the celebration of the anniversary of General Lee's birthday. It is the argument of an astute advocate and sophist, and utterly destitute of judicial candor. I shall briefly notice and