SAVANNAH, 22d November,
1861
My Darling Daughters:
I wish I could see you, be with you, and never again part
from you. God only can give me that happiness. I pray for it night and day. But
my prayers, I know, are not worthy to be heard. . . . . I am much pleased at
your description of Stratford and your visit there. It is endeared to me by
many recollections, and it has always been the desire of my life to be able to
purchase it. Now that we have no other home, and the one we so loved has been
for ever desecrated, that desire is stronger with me than ever. The horse-chestnut
you mention in the garden was planted by my mother. I am sorry the vault is so
dilapidated. You do not mention the spring, one of the objects of my earliest
recollections. How my heart goes back to those happy days! . . . . This is my second
visit to Savannah. I have been down the coast as far as Amelia Island to
examine the defences. They are poor indeed, and I have laid off work to employ
our people a month. I hope our enemy will be polite enough to wait for us. It
is difficult to get our people to realize their position. . . .
Your devoted father,
R. E. Lee.
SOURCES: John William Jones, Life and Letters of
Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man, p. 154; Armistead Lindsay Long, Marcus
Joseph Wright, Memoirs of Robert E. Lee:
His Military and Personal History, p. 139-40
No comments:
Post a Comment