LIBBY PRISON.
This letter touched the tender heart of Lee, as well as this story which was told to him by Rev. J. William Jones: After the war, the latter was riding along a road one day, when he saw a young man plowing in a field, guiding the plow with one hand, for on the other side was an empty sleeve.
He soon saw that the man plowing was a soldier whom he had known, and stopped to speak to him. In fact, he had known the young man from boyhood; how, at the first tap of the drum he had gone to fight for his native State; and how he had been maimed for life, and had gone home to find that he must work with one arm for his bread, as his fortune had been wrecked by the war. When he told the young man how sad it made him to see him thus, the latter said: “Oh! it is all right. I thank God that I have one arm left, and can use it for those I love.”
When the Rev. Mr. Jones told this to General Lee, his face flushed, and he said: “What a noble fellow! But it is just like one of our soldiers. The world has never seen nobler men than those who belonged to the Army of Northern Virginia.”
The real corner-stone of Lee’s life was his trust in God. Whatever came to him he always said, “God’s will be done.”
The death of the wife of his son, General W. H. Fitzhugh Lee, gave General Lee much grief. The former General was wounded and taken prisoner. While in prison his lovely wife died. In this bitter grief, General Lee wrote to his son these words:
“My whole trust is in God, and I am ready for whatever He may ordain.”
While the army was at Mine Run, in November, 1863, and a battle was at hand, General Lee, with a number of officers riding down the line of battle, came upon a party of soldiers who were holding a prayer-meeting. The shooting had begun along the lines, the cannon were already roaring, and the mind and heart of the great chief were on the battle. Yet, as he saw these men bent in prayer, he dismounted and joined in the simple worship. So these humble men led the devotions of their loved General.
One day in 1865, while riding along the lines with his staff, General Lee met the Rev. J. William Jones, who was giving tracts to the men in the trenches. He at once reined in his horse and spoke to this “man of God,” while the officers crowded around.