Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 40.djvu/117

Rh for him to write "my fine old regiment has been ordered to that distant region," as if the order had just been given, and that he "must hasten to see that they are properly taken care of." These words might have been written by him at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, on November 21, 1855, when he records in his Memorandum Book, "The Regiment gone to Texas"; but if he wrote them then, he must have changed his mind when he "determined to take Arlington on my way," and did not join his regiment until March 25, 1856. Besides, The Duty Letter is dated "Arlington House," and declares that he is "in the act of leaving home." Must this be changed as well as the date of the letter?

Another objection to the year 1856 is that the letter is addressed to "G. W. Custis Lee," and in it he is advised: "Deal kindly, but firmly, with all your classmates." But what "classmates" did Custis Lee have in 1856, nearly two years after his graduation from West Point, in June, 1854? He was, in 1856, in the Corps of Engineers, and might have messmates, but surely not classmates. Besides, in 1856, Custis Lee, a man grown, having graduated first in his class at West Point, where he was Adjutant of the Corps, a young man of the highest character, would hardly receive from his father such a letter as The Duty Letter. But, in 1856, W. H. Fitzhugh Lee was a student at Harvard, and had classmates, and it has been suggested that the letter was written to him. But while this would explain the word "classmates," it does not reconcile the first two sentences of The Duty Letter with the known facts. Besides, the letter was addressed to "G. W. Custis Lee," not to W. H. Fitzhugh Lee. Is it possible that General Lee would not only give a wrong date to his letter, but would also address it to the wrong son? And when all this is done, the first two sentences still remain impossible. And if, to save General Lee from such blundering, it is suggested that some copyist made these mistakes, this seems incredible. And if it is suggested that General Lee's letter was correct, as he wrote it but that some one intentionally changed it, the reply is, with what conceivable motive?