The Last Full Measure
Page 67
LIEUTENANT COLONEL CHARLES MARSHALL The grandson of the illustrious John Marshall, the first U.S. Chief justice, the young man who serves Lee so well was in reality the author of many of Lee's most famous documents, including the General Order Number 9 (Lee's farewell to his troops). After the war he settles in Baltimore and establishes a successful law practice. He is often called upon to speak at dedications to Lee monuments around the South, and continues to eloquently defend the southern cause. As the years pass, he becomes equally as outspoken in the cause of healing the wounds of the country. He speaks at the dedication of Grant's Tomb in New York, where he says, "Men who were arrayed against each other in deadly strife are now met together to do honor to the memory of one who led one part of this audience to a complete and absolute victory over the other, yet in the hearts of the victors there is no feeling of triumph, and in the hearts of the vanquished there is no bitterness, no humiliation."
He survives until 1904.
MAJOR GENERAL WILLIAM MA HONE At the time of the surrender, "Little Billy" was regarded by many as Lee's finest commander. His troops identify themselves as "Mahone's Division"' at reunions and gatherings for decades, despite the brief duration of his command. He becomes president of the Southside Railroad and prospers in the business of operating the very line that his troops had fought to defend. He becomes a United States senator from Virginia in 188o, survives until 1895.
MAJOR GENERAL FITZ HUGH LEE After Lee's army exhausted any hope of escape at Appomattox, Lee's nephew, "Fitz," insisted that surrender was not an option, and without telling his commander, led what remained of his cavalry command away from the town, intending to continue the fight as a guerrilla. He changed his mind, returned, and surrendered his cavalry at Farinville two days after Lee and Grant have met.
He establishes himself prominently in Virginia politics, becomes governor in 1885, but his greatest peacetime notoriety comes as U.S. Minister to Cuba, handling the difficult duties of diplomacy prior to the Spanish-American War. On the basis of his excellent service, he applies for and is granted commission as Major General of Volunteers in 1898, commands the Seventh Army Corps during that war. He retires in igoi, and dies in 1905.
MAJORGENERALGEORGE WASHINGTON CUSTIs LEE The oldest and the only one of Lee's sons who seems destined not to be a professional soldier, the shy and self-effacing man is released from capture on orders from Grant at Appomattox. He moves to Lexington, Virginia, around the same time as his father, and becomes a professor of engineering at VMI. When his father is near death, the board of Washington College votes to allow Mary Lee lifelong occupancy of the President's Residence, which she refuses. Though qualified and certainly suitable for the post himself, the board's earnest desire to assist Lee's widow plays some role in Custis's election to the presidency, succeeding his father. Since he will live in the residence, it solves the dilemma for Mary as well, who remains with her oldest son until her death in 1873. If nepotism is a motive, it proves to bring exceptionally good fortune to the school, which is soon named Washington and Lee University. Custis serves as a much-respected administrator until he retires in 1897. He survives until 1913.
LIEUTENANTGENERALRiCHARD S. EWE LL As the successor to Stonewall, no commander in Lee's army had the opportunity for lasting fame as much as "Old Baldy." It remains a mystery why he could not rise to the challenge, though blame is often given to the dominance of his wife. His harsh temper, constant illness-real or imagined- drained all the fire of the Cause from him. After the war, he fades into obscurity, and dies in Virginia in 1872.
LIEUTENANTGENERALJUBALA. EARLY "Old Jubilee" was finally relieved of service by Lee just prior to Appomattox, and he became a commander without a command. He disguises himself and goes to Texas, to bring what forces he can to assist Kirby Smith. After Smith's surrender, Early hops the border into Mexico and continues to fight the war in his own mind. He goes to Canada, where he writes his memoirs. Finally returning to Virginia after Lee's death, he becomes embroiled with Longstreet in the controversy over blame for the loss at Gettysburg. Considered vain, III tempered and vindictive, it is likely that his unfortunate behavior did much to diminish the reputation he earned with his troops as an excellent field commander. He never marries, and dies in 1894.
GENERAL P. G. T. BEAU REGARD
His unfortunate vanity and hunger for the limelight is a combination that makes enemies, and so throughout the war he was never allowed to remain long in any command where serious fighting took place. Considered an able commander of troops in the field, and noted particularly for his brilliant defense of Petersburg against extraordinary odds, he has an unfortunate talent for making ill-advised demands and exaggerating his own military situation. His single-minded need to put himself in the center of the war made his superiors uncomfortable, notably Jefferson Davis. He still offered a steady flow of grand plans and military strategies, none of which showed any rational hope of success.
He was assigned to Joe Johnston's command in the Carolinas, must endure being the subordinate again, but the war ended before he could alienate yet another commander.
Afterward, he serves briefly as a railroad executive, but astonishingly, his reputation for greatness is expanded abroad, and he is offered command of armies in both Egypt and Romania, which he turns down, though with some regret. He writes extensively on his role in the war, creates considerable controversy by giving a slanted and wholly inaccurate account of his communications with Lee prior to the Petersburg campaign, putting himself in the best possible light, and harshly criticizing Lee's generalship. The articles are not published until after Lee's death. He survives until 1893.
PRESIDENT JEFFERSON DAvis Despite great effort, he does not fulfill Lincoln's wish that he escape, and thus fade into obscurity. He maintains some semblance of a Confederate government, traveling first to Danville, Virginia, then Charlotte, North Carolina. Johnston's surrender to Sherman turns all energy to Davis's capture, and finally, desperate and on the move, he is captured near Irwinville, Georgia, on May- -- " - Fort Monroe on the Virginia peninsula for nearly two years, subjected to humiliating and inhumane treatment. But what Lincoln had feared is realized, and the publicity that begins to spread creates an uncomfortable situation for the government. Ultimately, he is simply released, and the scars that would be opened by a public trial are avoided. He travels to Europe, but feels some bitterness at what he sees as the betrayal of the powers that could have given so much aid to the Confederacy. He settles in Memphis in 1869, and accepts a position as head of an insurance company, which fails in 1873. Then he moves to Mobile, where he begins a long and bitter dispute with Joe Johnston, their wartime feud now expanding. In 1881 Davis completes his memoirs, much of which is devoted to disputing Johnston's own book. It is suggested by friends that Davis apply for a congressional pardon, to participate in the healing that has helped many of his former subordinates in their new lives. He responds, "... repentance must precede the right of a pardon, and I have not repented." He continues to insist that though the war showed secession "to be impracticable, this did not prove it to be wrong." He dies of malaria in 1889 at the age of eighty-one.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL RICHARD H. ANDERSON
Even before his crushing defeat at Saylor's Creek, Anderson's zeal for the Cause of the Confederacy had faded, and by the war's end he shared none of the political fire that still inspired men like Jubal Early. He returns to his family's old homestead in South Carolina, and, unlike Billy Mahone, he never makes the effort to fit himself into the new opportunities that open up in the rebuilding of the South. He settles into a difficult life as a farmer and suffers financial failure. He eventually endures humiliating work as a day laborer, earning a meager living from the sympathy of his neighbors. He dies in poverty in 1879, at age fifty-seven.
TRAVELLER
Purchased by Lee in 1862 for two hundred dollars, he is possibly the best known horse in American history. He outlives his master, but in death, as in life, the two remain close companions. T
raveller is buried close beside the Lee Chapel at Washington and Lee University, which houses the final resting place of Robert E. Lee and his family.
The End