Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 10.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

We spent an hour in Sumter, with the rare advantage of having with us the first commandant of the fort during the siege (Colonel Rhett), its last commandant (Major T. A. Huegenin), and the present United States engineer officer in charge (Captain Post),--all of whom were very polite in explaining everything to us. We came away more impressed than ever with the heroic skill and indomitable pluck with which Sumter and Charleston were held to the last, and more anxious than ever to see in print the history of the siege which our old college friend, Major John Johnson, (now Rev. John Johnson, of Charleston), the engineer officer in charge of Sumter, has nearly completed. We hope we have arranged with a competent writer for a series of papers on the siege of Charleston.

An elegant collation on the steamer closed a charming day, and after adieus to our kind friends, and further delicate courtesies from Captain Dawson and his good wife, we were off for Atlanta.

Our printers warn us that our space is now very limited, and we can barely allude to much that we had purposed saying.

We received many courtesies from friends in Atlanta, were elegantly entertained at the Kimbal House by mine hosts Scoville and Terry, and General Lee had a very appreciative audience to hear his lecture.

In Savannah we had another grand ovation; but we will be compelled to post-pone, until our next, a notice of that, and of a number of points of historic interest in the beautiful “Forest City.” It must suffice to say now that the Messrs. Goodsell gave us elegant quarters and entertainment at the Pulaski House — that the committee had made every arrangement for our pleasure, and for the success of the lecture, that we were driven all over the city (in beautiful carriages kindly tendered us by Messrs A. W. Harmon and Luke Carson)--that the Savannah theatre was crowded with the best people of the city, who heard General Lee's lecture with enthusiastic appreciation — that the banquet given General Lee by the famous old Chatham Artillery, was a superb affair — that the reception at the City Exchange, under the courteous management of His Honor, Mayor Wheaton, was very pleasant — and that our visit to Savannah was in every respect as charming as possible.

And so we can only say now, that our visits to Augusta, Athens, Rome, and Greenville, S C., were made very pleasant by our kind friends, and that the whole trip was a decided success, financially, and in every other respect.

Acknowledgments of all of the courtesies received would fill pages, but, reserving others for future mention, we must here thank Supt. J. R. Kenly, of the Richmond and Petersburg railroad; Supt. R. M. Sully, of the Petersburg railroad; President R. R. Bridges, of the Weldon and Wilmington, and Wilmington and Columbia railroads; John B. Peck, General Manager of the S. C. R. R.; Colonel J. W Green, General Manager of the Georgia railroad; General E. P. Alexander, President of the Central & S. W. Ga. R. R.; Gov. Jos. E. Brown, President of the Atlantic and Western railroad; Dr. Hillyer, President of the Kingston and Rome railroad; Colonel W. J. Houston, General Ticket Agent Piedmont Air-Line; and Colonel T. M. R. Talcott, General Manager Richmond and Danville railroad, for courtesies which facilitated our journey, and enabled us to pass in comfort over their admirably managed lines.

But to General Fitz. Lee the Society is under the highest obligations for giving us so much of his valuable time in this “labor of love” for our good cause.