CAMP NEAR FREDERICKSBURG,
November 24, 1862.
MY DEAR DAUGHTER:
I have just received your letter of the 17th, which has
afforded me great gratification. I regretted not finding you in Richmond, and
grieve over every opportunity of seeing you that is lost, for I fear they will
become less and less frequent. I am glad, however, that you have been able to
enjoy the society of those who are so well qualified to render you happy, and
who are so deservedly loved and admired. The death of my dear Annie was indeed
to me a bitter pang. But the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be
the name of the Lord. In the hours of night, when there is nothing to lighten
the full weight of my grief, I feel as if I should be overwhelmed. I had always
counted, if God should spare me a few days of peace after this cruel war was
ended, that I should have her with me. But year after year my hopes go out, and
I must be resigned. I write with difficulty, and must be brief. Fitzhugh and
Rob are near me and well. Nephew Fitz has laid aside his crutches, and I hope
will soon join me. Your mother, I presume, informs you of the rest. General
Burnside's whole army is apparently opposite Fredericksburg, and stretches from
the Rappahannock to the Potomac. What his intentions are he has not yet
disclosed. I am sorry he is in position to oppress our friends and citizens of
the "Northern Neck." He threatens to bombard Fredericksburg, and the
noble spirit displayed by its citizens, particularly the women and children,
has elicited my highest admiration. They have been abandoning their homes night
and day, during all of this inclement weather, cheerfully and uncomplainingly,
with only such assistance as our wagons and ambulances could afford — women,
girls, and children, trudging through the mud, and bivouacking in the open
field. . . .
Believe me always
your affectionate father,
R. E. LEE.
SOURCE: John William Jones, Life and Letters of
Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man, p. 200
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