Lucie Boissonnas

“ In problems that still have the power to arouse the passions of a great people, and in which it is so difficult to attribute the faults with equity -- in problems for which so many thousands of men have known how to fight with such an indomitable energy -- to fight and to die -- one must refrain from uttering a severe word that could be unfair and cruel. Yet, we have to say it -- in our opinion, the North had the right and the duty to maintain the Union. ”

“ Unfortunately, he died too soon, when his son, Robert -- with whose life we want to acquaint you -- was only 10-years-old.
One might have feared that the lack of paternal authority would be fatal for the education of the child, but Henry Lee had already managed to imprint in his son's young soul respect for truth and absolute loyalty to duty that were to remain the outstanding features of his character.
One never knows how much good a noble example can do. The memory of Washington, the remembrance of a father worthy of the friendship of such a man, watched over the child. ”

“ Convince yourselves that they must bear fruit, our bitter memories. Everything has changed around us. Could we remain such as we were in the past ? We haven't taken enough heed -- and this is not new -- of our duties towards our home land. France was nothing more to us than a country full of charm, where life was pleasant. We thought we had done all our duty towards her when we paid our taxes, which paid the army. ”

“ The ruin of the influence of the South was the consequence of slavery -- and of slavery alone.
The Blacks, not being considered citizens, did not vote. And, though an extra number of votes was given to their masters, the presence of Negroes, keeping away free workers, deprived the masters of the political help that immigration would have brought them. Thus, the power, for long the attribute of the ancient Southern states, worked its way gradually, naturally, and legally to the Northern states.
Resignation in bad luck is as rare as moderation in success. ”

“ Colonel Lee was not one of those men who hurry to outlaw people or things they do not understand. Before using force, before committing those hideous massacres of which one has too many examples, he tried a pacific campaign among the Comanches and spared no effort to attract the Chiefs and establish with them an atmosphere of friendship capable, on specific occasions, of preventing bloody encounters, the memory of which only stirred up hate. ”

“ Deeply imbued by everything noble, Robert Lee had in him what was necessary to communicate his passion.
It is said that to convince, one must be convinced. Cold moral lessons never improve anybody ; but one does not resist long to the contagion of good practiced with conviction and simplicity.
The visits to Arlington were precious moments. If the father kept in his heart the tender picture of his “little fellow,” the “little fellow,” and later on, his brothers and sisters, had a deep admiration for the great officer who, once at home, seemed to belong to them entirely. ”

“ Nothing of what you will do to increase your value, to extend your knowledge, to accomplish more, will be wasted. A day will come when France will harvest the fruit of all your efforts. The child who takes pain over his science lessons -- the one who molds his tongue to the harsh inflections of a foreign language -- the young man who submits himself to patient research, higher studies -- all of them should be assured that they toil for their country. ”

“ No category of people suffered more during this period of imminent civil war than that of the military or naval officers. Doubly citizens of the Union, bound together by this military comradeship -- christened in all languages, “Fraternity of arms” -- the problem was more complex for them. With the first rumors of war, General Scott, in charge of organizing the Army for the Northern states, feared the burden would be too heavy for his old age, and thought of Robert Lee, who had just been promoted to the rank of General. ”

“ It was not so for the scates in the South. Not only did their climate and the nature of their products fail to attract the Europeans, but an institution -- with reason, called a cursed institution [1] -- drove away the labor of free men.
Slavery, shameful source of an antique prosperity, fatal legacy that England [who has repented since] had made to her colonies, was accepted and lawful in the whole region where cotton was cultivated. To depict the state of abject misery of the black race would be a heart-rending task upon which we will not embark. ”

“ A great calm reigned in the soul of this man, the calm of divine wisdom, and he was possessed by the inflexible will to do his duty. The word duty is the most sublime of our language. Do it in all circumstances like the old Puritan. You can′t do much more, never allow yourself to do less. See to it that not a single of our hairs turns white through your fault. [6]
None of Captain Lee′s advice -- none of his words -- were lost for his children. His sons, though quite young, were going to accomplish what they thought was their duty on the battlefields ”

“ Soon, among the Indians, he passed for a man protected by the great spirit. Marvelous stories were told from clearing to clearing about the new white chief, and his name acquired all the popularity attainable in a savage country.
The dealings which had taken place until that time between the American command and the Comanche changed completely. So much so, that no revolt took place while Colonel Lee remained in Texas. His military actions were limited to watching over the vagrant Indians who belonged to no tribe and looted indifferently friend or foe. ”

“ So much so, that in 1847, the U. S. declared war on Mexico.
There is always something painful in seeing a powerful nation attack a weak one, and Captain Lee was among those who would have preferred the Union government to display a still greater patience. War being declared, he could only be -- and was -- a soldier.
It was the first time since the Washington days that an American army was embarking on a campaign. The nation kept a close watch over its preparation, with an interest easy to conceive. ”

“ The Vice-President, Johnson, who was to succeed him, talked the same language, “This country belongs to the White man, and the White man alone must dominate.” No one could, at that time, foresee how one′s own mind would evolve and what convictions he would reach in 4 years of bloody ordeals. During the conflict, and through the fight itself, convictions grew. Convictions grew stronger, and in each party reached extreme exaltation.
Colonel Lee was then one of those to whom the future was completely veiled. ”

“ It seems that it would have been pleasant for the young officer to spend his life in those beautiful estates, with a beloved wife, and to enjoy peacefully everything an immense fortune could give him. If the temptation arose -- and it must have -- it was defeated by the realization that work -- real work -- alone brings dignity to a life and is one of the duties no one has the right to evade. ”

“ Man of duty, passionate citizen, convinced Christian; Robert Lee ignored all the unhealthy ambitions -- even that of personal glory. His army, for him, represented his share of duty in the torn-apart fatherland. ”

“ There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil in any country. It is useless to expatiate on its disadvantages. ”

“ The hills have preserved the deep shadows of bygone days. No other land succeeds in being, at the same time, richer and more picturesque.
It is in an old mansion settled between the two rivers, on the edge of the woods conquered long ago by the English settlers over the Indian tribes, that, on January 19th, 1807, Robert Edward Lee was born. His family was of English descent. Two hundred years before, one of his ancestors, sent by King Charles II to govern the Province of Virginia, had become attached to the new world and had made it his definite home. ”

“ Remarkable riders, the Indians would escape from their campsites in small groups, cover in a single night enormous distances, surprise isolated settlers, set fire to their farms, herd the cattle away, slaughter men, women, and children, and be back amidst their own people before the news of their attack had reached those who could have pursued them. ”

“ Wherever the proximity of the Mexican border allowed Indian gangs to take refuge, they escaped repression. Soon, a great number of Indians settled in the Mexican territory, and safe from punishment, intensified their destructions. It became completely impossible for the Europeans to live along the extended frontier of Mexico. Like a flight of vultures, the looting Comanches, Apache, Pawnees, et cetera, swooped down on the clearings in the forests, and, loaded with the spoils they had robbed from the settlers, returned to the shelter given by the flag that protected them. ”

“ It is much more important in America than in France to be a good walker, a good swimmer, a good rider. His great height, his muscular strength, and the quality of his horsemanship made of Robert Lee the champion of his comrades. ”

“ In 1859, while he was staying in Arlington, Colonel Lee found himself mixed up with one of the episodes of that troublesome period.
A Kansas farmer -- an aged, hard-working, simple man -- had often taken part in the manifestations launched by the opposing parties. A convinced and passionate abolitionist, John Brown [1] got so exalted in the fight that he came to believe he was to become the liberator of the Blacks. He forgot that all progress built on violence, obtained without regard to laws, is something else than a progress. ”

“ He can cultivate them himself. Why on earth would he go to the South, in those immense plantations of sugar cane that stretch as far as the eye can see, under a torrid sky, or among those rice fields, with their swampy lands, exhaling fevers deadly for the white ?
The population was, therefore, increasing quickly in the North. The colonized states started to colonize, and the new territories, no sooner had they reached a population of 60,000 people, set thernselves up as states that sent to Congress members who increased the strength of the northern party. ”

“ Mistress Lee had at her service an old coachman whom Robert, as a small boy, had loved as one loves those who bring the great joys of one's childhood. It was Natty who had given him the reins to hold the first time. Natty had trained his first pony. Natty had been mingled with all his childhood, and Robert was looking forward to the joy the old servant would feel at seeing his charge wearing a uniform. Alas, poor Natty was seriously ill when his young man arrived ”

“ No state could exist if it were to allow the indefinite parceling out of its territory.
The revolution that bereaved the South from its leadership was legal. It should have been pacific. Whatever the consequences, the duty of the South was to submit to the President imposed by the majority, as in the past the North had submitted to Mr. Buchanan. The South thought otherwise. The Civil War was its fault. ”

“ The Civil War erupted, as all wars basically do, for economic reasons. General Lee was convinced that it could have been avoided if the proper spirit had inspired both North and South. Today, economic rivalry is inspiring misunderstandings and hostile feelings between the USA and Europe. ”

“ There was not a single army to oppose to the invaders. The danger, so obvious, helped Lee to obtain energetic measures, and conscription was established.
Men then arrived, but resources to arm and equip the recruits were lacking. The strong Northern Navy blocked the coasts vigorously ; and the South, congested with cotton, tobacco, sugar, could not exchange its products against the arms, the metals -- the food even -- that it lacked. The City of Richmond, the first to be threatened, did not have a single gun on its walls ”

“ And if, when you measure the accomplishments of devoted men, your hopes for our country become more optimistic, if you return to your tasks stronger and more devoted, our time, dear children, will not have been wasted. ”

“ Such as he was, I want to acquaint you with him. I believe it is good to show you, in these days of universal intolerance, that men whose nobility is not easy to equal can march under a flag that would never be ours. ”

“ Besides, if it was rather difficult to instill militarization more rapidly in the commercial and industrial population of the North, there was less to do to transform into soldiers the rugged planters of Virginia or those of Georgia and Alabama, incessantly riding over their immense savannahs ”

“ She thought a new crusade was springing up and branding as pro-slavery all those who, for various reasons, kept aside from the movement to which she was letting herself go, she held no other wish than abolition. ”

“ Men who had fought courageously an hour before, had become as hares fleeing from pursuing hounds. The confusion was increased and multiplied by the presence among the fugitives of a multitude of panic-stricken picnickers. ”

“ Here is an English translation of a book written in French on the life of General Robert E. Lee and on the Civil War. An American could legitimately ask : ′′Why on earth translate from the French a book on Lee and the Civil War when they have already been treated, in English, in so many other interesting books ? ”

“ Wherever the white men penetrated, wherever their axe opened the primal forests, wide clearings were soon cultivated, and the weak, yet ferocious tribes of Redskins, divided and incapable of uniting, even for their own defense, were fatally condemned to disappear. ”