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Editorial paragraphs.


General Fitzhugh Lee's tour in South Carolina and Georgia, in behalf of the Southern Historical Society, has been one continued ovation, and a splendid success.

Leaving Richmond at 3:15 P. M., on Monday, Nov. 13th, by the “Atlantic coast line,” we found ourselves at 2 A. M. the next morning, at the little town of Florence, S. C., expecting to find some difficulty in securing quarters at so unseasonable an hour. But we were met, on stepping from the cars, by a committee from Darlington, ten miles off, who had provided for us a comfortable room, and every way excellent accommodation at the hotel kept by an old Confederate.

At


Darlington,

General Lee was met at the depot by a committee of the “Legion of honor,” and the “Darlington guards,” (commanded by Lieutenant White,) who greeted him with three rousing cheers, and, headed by a band of music, escorted him to his quarters, amid the plaudits of the crowd, who lined the streets of the beautiful little town.

That night the “Guards,” and the Cadets of the Military Academy, (under the Principal, D. E. Hydrick,) escorted General Lee to the hall, where a packed house greeted him. After prayer by Rev. Dr. Capers, and a brief statement of the objects and plans of the Society, by the Secretary, Captain R. W. Boyd, in a few well chosen words, introduced General Lee, who was greeted with enthusiastic applause, frequently repeated, as he proceeded to deliver his admirable lecture on Chancellorsville. [570]

The lecture gave the liveliest satisfaction to all who heard it, many crowded forward to take the distinguished soldier by the hand, and all seemed delighted. Our brief stay was rendered very pleasant by the kind courtesies of Mr.Saunders and Mrs. Saunders, at whose pleasant house we staid, and the calls of a number of old soldiers and other friends.

The next morning we were off for


Charleston,

where we were met at the depot by a committee of gentlemen, and escorted to elegant quarters in the beautiful home of Captain F. W. Dawson, Editor of the News and Courier, who gallantly and skillfully served on General Lee's staff during the war, and who now seemed to count it a high privilege to do everything in his power for his old chief, and his friend, and for the cause they represented.

That night Captain Dawson, and his accomplished wife, gave us an elegant reception, at which we met a number of the most gallant soldiers, and polished gentlemen of Charleston, and had a “feast of reason and flow of soul,” as well as a magnificent supper.

At 12 o'clock, General Lee was serenaded by the “Palmetto guards,” and responded in a happy speech, after which Captain Dawson invited the company in to refresh themselves, and a number of little speeches were made, closing with a singularly felicitous and eloquent one by Captain Dawson, which showed that he can use the arts of the orator as well as handle the sword, or wield the pen.

At 10 o'clock on the morning of the 18th, we were escorted to the Armory of the Washington Light Infantry, where we were met by a committee of that historic corps, and courteously shown a number of interesting relics and mementoes, which we regret our space will not permit us to describe in detail.

Then followed, in the new city hall, a reception, which was tendered by the following official action of the city council:

Hibernian Hall, Special Meeting, Nov. 9, 1882.
Council met this day at 7 P. M. Present--Hon. Wm. A. Courtenay, Mayor; Aldermen Dingle, Roddy, Aichel, Webb, White, Ufferhardt, Sweegan, Loeb, Eckel, Thayer, Johnson, Mauran, Rodgers, Ebaugh and Knee.

The Mayor announced to the Council that he had called the meeting to consider the proposed visit of General Fitzhugh Lee to Charleston in the interest of the Southern Historical Society. He was sure that Council would be glad of the opportunity to give expression to their feelings at this time, and to commend the object of the visit.

Alderman Dingle offered the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That the City Council of Charleston learn with unfeigned pleasure that General Fitzhugh Lee, who wears so worthily an illustrious name, is about to visit this city.

Resolved, That the City Council commend to the public the immediate object of General Lee's visit, which is to strengthen the financial condition of the Southern Historical Society, the only Society in the South which was formed and is carried on for the purpose of publishing the Southern annals of the Confederate war, in vindication and assertion of the purity of motive, the fortitude and the valor of the Southern people.

Resolved, That the City Council, in remembrance and appreciation of the distinguished merit and high position of General Fitzhugh Lee as a Confederate [571] officer, and of his wisdom in council and liberality of sentiment since the war, do tender to him a public reception in the Council Chamber on Thursday, the 16th instant, at noon.

Resolved, That the City Council in like manner will give a hearty welcome to the Rev. John Wm. Jones, one of the chaplains of the Army of Northern Virginia, now the Secretary of the Southern Historical Society, and tender him a public reception at the time and place first mentioned.

Resolved, That a committee of five aldermen and five citizens be appointed by the Mayor to carry out these resolutions.

The Mayor appointed the following committee:

Alderman G. W. Dingle, A. B. Rose, B. L. White, Samuel Webb, P. Moran, and the following citizens: Captain F. W. Dawson, E. L. Wells, Esq., Captain James Simons, Asher D. Cohen, Esq., and Captain J. J. Wescott.


In accordance with the above resolutions we had a reception from twelve to two, during which a large number of the best people of Charleston (including a number of ladies) did us the honor to call, and be introduced by His Honor, Mayor Courtenay, who, by the way, was none the less courteous and cordial in all of his arrangements for the comfort and pleasure of his guests, because he had been a gallant Confederate soldier.

At two o'clock we were escorted into an elegant collation, spread in the city court room, and over which His Honor, the Mayor, gracefully presided. At the close of the feasting, Mayor Courtenay offered as a sentiment, “The State of Virginia, and her two distinguished and honored sons here with us.”

General Fitzhugh Lee, amid oft repeated and enthusiastic applause, responded to the toast. After thanking the Mayor and the citizens of Charleston for the magnificent welcome which had been given him and his companion, Dr. Jones, General Lee said:
Although I stand for the first time beneath the blue sky which contains the sentinel stars that watch over the destinies of your people, I feel that I am not a stranger in a strange land, for I know full well that I stand within the hospitable walls of the Queen City of the Palmetto State. For many years I have had a warm spot in my heart for the people of South Carolina. When a cadet at the United States Academy many years ago, my room-mate was a South Carolinian, and during those four fiery years of trial, when the crimson tide of battle ebbed and flowed over the soil of the old Commonwealth of Virginia, when the war drums throbbed, and sheeted flashes flew from serried ranks of steel, I had two representatives from South Carolina on my personal staff--one my adjutant-general, and the other my chief of ordnance, Captain F. W. Dawson, then a gallant soldier, now an honored adopted son of South Carolina, a patriotic citizen of Charleston, who has played since the war so important a part in restoring equal rights and privileges to all the citizens of your State. It has been my fortune in the days gone by, often to have stood, as many of you have done, watching and waiting for the coming day, and as I have stood and watched and waited, I have seen the clouds gradually become brighter and brighter, until at last their tips were gilded with the coming sunshine, and the great orb of day would burst forth in all the splendor of his unclouded majesty. I think to day, that I may congratulate the people of South Carolina, that the dark clouds that have hung like a funeral pall over their State, have at last permanently drifted away before the new sun of peace and prosperity, whose rays are now gilding with a new glory her lovely hillsides and valleys. In the beautiful drama of Ion, when the death-devoted Greek is about to yield his life as a sacrifice to fate, he is asked by his Cleman the if they would ever meet again, and he responds I have asked that dreadful question of the hills that are eternal, of the clear streams that flow forever, of the stars amid whose azure fields my raised spirits have walked in glory, and they are dumb; but when I look upon thy living face I feel that there is something in the love that mantles through its beauty that cannot wholly perish. We shall meet [572] again Clemanthe! We shall meet again South Carolina-meet in better and happier days, meet when we once more feel a patriotic pride in knowing that we are citizens of a common country, entitled to all the rights and privileges of citizens of all other sections; meet when all traces of National hostile legislation are removed, and the Confederate soldier is the legal equal of the brave soldiers who fought against him. Then going forward with renewed patriotism, it will be their pleasant duty to contribute their humble share in restoring the ancient landmarks of the Republic, and in contributing their earnest efforts in making her what our fore-fathers intended she should be, “the glory of America and a blessing to humanity.” In that event, while the South is growing in material prosperity and wealth, in manufactures and commerce, she will look upon the National government with loving eyes, and will exclaim from the very veins of her heart, “Thy gentleness hath made me great!”

Gentleman of Charleston: For your kind hospitality, and for this magnificent reception, I beg to tender you my most heartfelt thanks. [Loud applause.]

We quote from the News and Courier a part of its full and admirable report of General Lee's lecture that night:

The magnificent audience which assembled in Hibernian Hall last evening to hear the lecture of General Fitzhugh Lee spoke in tones louder than words the high esteem in which the lecturer is held and how dear to the hearts of the people of Charleston is the sacred cause in which he is laboring. A larger and more brilliant assemblage has rarely before been gathered together in Charleston. At 8 o'clock General Lee and Dr. Jones, in charge of a committee, arrived at the Hall and were escorted through double ranks of the cadets of the State Military Academy who were drawn up in the rotunda. A few minutes later General Lee, leaning upon the arm of Mayor Courtenay, and followed by a large number of prominent citizens, entered the Hall and ascended the stage amidst loud applause. Upon the stage with the lecturer were seated Dr. J. William Jones, Mayor Courtenay, Judge Bryan, Major Buist, Rev. John Johnson, General Siegling, Colonel Edward McCrady, General B. H. Rutledge, Captain F. W. Dawson, Colonel J. P. Thomas, Aldermen Fehan, Dingle, and Webb, Mr. J. H. Harleston, Mr. Edward Wells, Captain James Simons, Mr. Asher D. Cohen, Colonel Zimmerman Davis, Colonel Wm. M. Bruns, and Captain Wm. Aiken Kelly.

Mayor Courtenay presided and at his request the Rev. John Johnson offered a prayer.

Mayor Courtenay then came forward and introduced General Lee to the audience. In doing so he said:

Ladies and Gentlemen.--We have assembled this evening to extend a warm welcome to our friends from Virginia, and to encourage them in an important work they are doing — the preservation of the Southern records of the war between the States. I know of no place in the South where General Lee's presence and appeal should be received with more attention than in Charleston, for while within sight of our steeples great events have happened and heroic deeds been enacted, the permanent narrative which is to perpetuate the valor and virtue of a disastrous period has not yet been written. The best and most protracted defence of a fortified place, since the siege of Troy, was made in our harbor; the courage and persistency of the besiegers has been long ago told, but, alas! the story of the three hundred who fought and held the fort is yet unrecorded. We keep in our minds and in our hearts remembrance of these things, and affection for the actors [573] in that great war drama, but ere the survivors pass away and nothing but tradition remain to those who come after us, let us make our record of these military events. The day will come when this great Union of States will recognize the wondrous glories of the late civil strife; then the names of our heroes will be inscribed on the common roll of illustrious sons worthy of love and reverence. In England, the White and Red Roses of York and Lancaster bloom on the same stem, and the genius and services of Cavalier and Roundhead, of Jacobite and Hanoverian, each working out the destinies of this nation in his own way and according to his own conscience, are equal now in public honor and remembrance, and if from English history the names of so called English traitors were stricken off, much of her glorious record would be lost. Our Southern communities, self confident, in some respect careless of their historic record, need this Southern Historical Society for this special work, and it is with great pleasure that I present to you General Fitzhugh Lee, of Virginia.

General Lee arose amid a burst of applause, which lasted for some moments, and as soon as he could be heard commenced the delivery of his lecture.

After a full synopsis of the lecture, for which we have not space, the News and Courier thus concluded its appreciative notice:

His summing up of the results of the campaign, and quiet humor over Hooker's famous general order, contained some very fine touches. His closing eulogy on Stonewall Jackson, was an eloquent tribute from a gallant and able soldier to one of the great military geniuses of all history.

The lecture was, in a word, an able military criticism of a great campaign, a vivid description of interesting movements, and an eloquent tribute to the skill of our leaders, and the heroism of our men which emblazoned “Chancellorsville” on the tattered battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia.

General Lee spoke throughout in a strong, clear voice, and his every word could be heard in the most remote parts of the hall. The closest attention was paid to the speaker, and all the finer passages of the lecture were received with warm and generous applause. At the close of the lecture, Dr. Jones, in a few well chosen words, thanked the people of Charleston for the more than cordial manner in which they had received General Lee and himself, and for the magnificent audience which had greeted the lecturer. He expressed also his particular gratification at the official recognition of the work of his Society, which had been so frankly vouchsafed by the city authorities. Those who desired to aid the Society further by subscription to the Southern Historical Society papers, he referred to Colonel Zimmerman Davis, the Charleston agent of the Southern Historical Society.

After the lecture we fell into the hands of “an old cavalryman,” (Mr. E. L. Wells,) who spread for us one of the most elegant suppers we ever saw, which was seasoned until “the wee sma‘ hours” with delightful converse and congenial company.

At ten o'clock the next morning the committee took charge of us again, and we had a most delightful excursion to the historic points of Charleston harbor,--Moultre, Sumter, Morris Island, &c.--the time passing away most charmingly as a number of Confederate veterans pointed out to us everything of interest, and recalled reminiscences of thrilling or ludicrous incidents in the ever memorable defence of Charleston. [574]

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.


[575] Our report of Rev. Father Hugh S. Mcgivney's lecture in Baltimore for the benefit of the Southern Historical Society is crowded out of this issue, and we can only say now that it was an eloquent and effective lecture, before a very large and appreciative audience, and that our warmest thanks are due to the distinguished lecturer, as also to the efficient committee who worked it up so throughly and made of it a splendid financial success — enabling us to redeem the promise made in our annual report and now to declare the Society not only out of debt, but in better financial condition than ever before.


Renewals are now in order as this number closes the year, and we beg our friends to remit their subscription at once. And while sending your own please see if you cannot send us at least one new subscription.


A permanent endowment for the Southern Historical Society is not only a desideratum but an absolute necessity if we would accomplish even a small part of the work before us. This is clearly set forth in our annual report, and will be insisted upon from time to time. But the practical question is how shall we secure an endowment? There are several ways in which it can be done:

1. If the Legislature of each one of the late Confederate States would make even a small appropriation to this object, (under such proper restrictions as might be devised) the work would be at once, simply, and effectively, accomplished.

Will not our Vice-Presidents, and other friends in the several States think over the matter, and advise with us concerning it?

2. If some wealthy friend, or friends, could be found who would give us $100,000, $50,000, $25,000, or $10,000, that would solve the problem. And why can we not find the men (or women) who will do this? How could one better invest money for coming years than to link his (or her) name with this effort to vindicate the truth of History? We are looking for the men, or women, who can, and will, do this, and we beg our friends everywhere to help us in the search, and let us have the names.

3. In the course of time we can accumulate an endowment by the proceeds of lectures, small contributions, and the surplus of receipts over our current expenses. We have made an encourging start. The recent tour of General Lee, the grand meeting in New Orleans last April, and the recent lecture of Father McGivney in Baltimore show what can be done by the zealous help of our friends, and we beg that in every quarter they will move in this direction. The Executive Committee have elected Judge George L. Christian--the gallant soldier, able jurist, and incorruptible gentleman — Treasurer and Manager of our Permanent Endowment Fund, and contributors may feel assured that the money could not possibly be in safer hands, or under better management.


Push on the work and let us be able to announce at an early day that an ample endowment is secured.


General George D. Johnston has been doing noble work for the Society in Jackson, Vicksburg, Port Gibson, Yazoo City, Natchez, Columbus, and other points [576] in Mississippi. He writes us that General W. T. Martin (our able Vice-President for Mississippi) and Captain James W. Lambert of Natchez, Captain A. K. Jones of Port Gibson, Major E. T. Sykes and others of Columbus, and friends wherever he has been, have rendered him and the cause most efficient aid. He says that he has also been under many obligations for the kind and effective help of the press of Mississippi.

In Columbus he organized an Auxilliary Society, with the following officers: President, W. H. Sims; first Vice-President, W. C. Richards; Secretary, C. H. Cocke; Treasurer, Lewis Walberg. Vice-Presidents for Supervisors Districts: James L. Egger, J. O. Banks, A. S. Payne, J. H. Sharp, R. W. Banks. Executive Committee: E. T. Sykes, Chairman; J, M. Billups, J. E. Leigh, J. H. Field, W. D. Humphries, E. Gross, C. A Johnston, A. J. Ervin, John A. Neilson.

General Johnston will visit several other points in Mississippi, and then, after a few days rest with his family, go to Arkansas, St. Louis, etc. We commend him to our friends wherever he may go as a gallant, genial gentleman, and the most efficient agent we ever knew.


Major Lachland H. Mcintosh, our General Agent for Georgia, Alabama and Florida, has just sent us a list of subscribers from Savannah, which is, we trust, an earnest of many more to follow. It was a great pleasure to have the Major with us in Atlanta and Savannah on our recent tour, and to know personally the accomplished gentleman who represents us in these States.


Colonel H. D. Capers has just entered upon an agency for the Society in Tennessee and Kentucky, and we cordially commend him to the friends of the cause among whom he may labor.

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