General Lee's Birthday. [from the Richmond, Va., Dispatch, Jan. 20, 1898 ]
The anniversary very generally observed in Richmond. Light of the Camp fire of R. E. Lee Camp, no. 1, C. V.
Many Veterans gather in its genial Glow—Captain R. S. Parks delivers a splendid Oration—Howitzers salute the monument.The anniversary of the birth of General Robert E. Lee was celebrated in Richmond yesterday by the closing of the State and city offices, the banks, and many commercial institutions. Salutes were fired in honor of the event, and from the masthead of nearly every flagpole in the city, the colors of the Confederacy floated to the breeze. The holiday was generally observed. The particular celebrations of the anniversary, however, took place at the Soldier's Home, and at Lee Camp, where orations were delivered, and carefully prepared programmes were carried out. A salute of seventeen guns was fired at the Home at noon, and a platoon of the Howitzers fired another salute at 5 o'clock beneath the shadow of the monument to the great General, erected in the western portion of the city.