October 26, 1862.
I cannot express the anguish I feel at the death of our
sweet Annie. To know that I shall never see her again on earth, that her place
in our circle, which I always hoped one day to enjoy, is forever vacant, is
agonizing in the extreme. But God in this, as in all things, has mingled mercy
with the blow in selecting that one best prepared to leave us. May you be able
to join me in saying, "His will be done!" When I reflect on all she
will escape in life, brief and painful at the best, and all we may hope she
will enjoy with her sainted grandmother, I cannot wish her back. I know how much
you will grieve, and how much she will be mourned. I wish I could give you any
comfort, but beyond our hope in the great mercy of God, and the belief that He
takes her at the time and place when it is best for her to go, there is none.
May that same mercy be extended to us all, and may we be prepared for his
summons.
SOURCE: John William Jones, Life and Letters of
Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man, p. 198-9
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