Mr. Davis then spoke of the straits to which the Confederacy was reduced, and reviewed her sad and glorious history through the advance into Pennsylvania, the battle of Gettysburg, the final surrender. He then proceeded:
Here he now sleeps in the land he loved, and that land is not Virginia only, for they do injustice to Lee who believe he fought only for Virginia. He was ready to go anywhere, on any service for the good of his country, and his heart was as broad as the fifteen States struggling for the principles that our forefathers fought for in the Revolution of 1776. This day we unite our words of sorrow with those of the good and great throughout Christendom, for his fame has gone over the water—his deeds will be remembered, and when the monument we build shall have crumbled into dust, his virtues will live, a high model for the imitation of generations yet unborn.