In 1859 he resigned his commission, and soon thereafter was married to Miss Wickham, the daughter of a family distinguished in the annals of Virginia. They went to reside at the White House, on the Pamunkey River, in the county of New Kent. It was at this old historic country home that the marriage of George Washington with the Widow Custis was celebrated. It descended to Gen. Lee from his mother, who was the great-granddaughter of Washington's wife.
Here he devoted himself to the tillage of the soil and became engrossed with the pursuits of a plain and unostentatious farmer. His condition and surroundings at this time were such as to invite contentment and encourage the cultivation of those pure and lofty sentiments for which he was ever distinguished.
Being in the flower and strength of his young manhood and blessed with affluence and the love of an accomplished wife, there seemed wanting nothing to make his home an earthly paradise.
But the course of this peaceful and happy life was not to run thus smoothly to the end. Dark and threatening clouds of war soon lowered upon our land, and the political conflicts and antagonisms, which had grown in intensity and bitterness with the flight of years, ripened into civil war in 1861. The crisis then arrived when the appeal to arms was inevitable, and with it the necessity that all men should decide whether allegiance was first due to the State or General Government. There were honest differences of opinion on this question, which had existed from the very foundation of the Republic.
He was connected by blood with a long line of illustrious men, who had borne a conspicuous part in the events which led to the declaration of American independence and the establishment of this constitutional Government. It was Richard Henry Lee who offered in the Continental Congress, in June, 1776, that stirring resolution which proclaimed to the world "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown; and that all political connection between them and Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."
It was his own grandfather, known in history as "Light-Horse Harry Lee," who, in the long struggle which followed this bold declaration, struck such sturdy blows for the liberties and rights of his countrymen as caused him to receive the special commendation of George Washington, of whom in turn he uttered those memorable words: "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Bearing a name thus associated with all the glorious achievements of the past, it was but natural that he should have felt an ardent attachment to the Union. But he was a son of Virginia, "where American liberty raised its first voice and where its youth was nurtured and sustained."
There the doctrine of the sovereignty of the State was accepted as the true interpretation of the Constitution almost without division of sentiment. Her people held that allegiance was first due to their State, and while all deplored the necessity for, few, if any, doubted as to the right of separation. When in April, 1861, a convention representing her people passed the ordinance of secession, he felt no hesitation in adopting his course. He resolved at once to consecrate himself and his sword to the sacred duty of defending her homes and firesides.
Having raised a company of cavalry, he was made its captain, and was rapidly promoted from rank to rank until he reached that of major-general. Soon after his entry into the Confederate service he became associated with the command of Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, and participated thereafter in nearly all the movements of that fearless and dashing leader, whom the brave Gen. Sedgwick, of the United States Army, pronounced "the best cavalry officer ever foaled in North America." On June 3, 1862, Gen. Robert E. Lee, the father of my deceased colleague, assumed the command of the Army of Northern Virginia three days after the retiracy of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, caused by a wound received in the battle of Seven Pines.
The plans of the Federal commander for the capture of the capital of the Southern Confederacy had been well chosen. His army, according to his own report, numbered 156,000, of whom 115,000 were ready for duty as fighting men. All the vast resources of his Government were being employed to enable him to prosecute his campaign with efficiency and vigor. His troops had been furnished with artillery and small arms of the most approved description and best pattern. They had abundance of ammunition of the finest quality and ample supplies of food and clothing. Gen. McDowell, then at Fredericksburg with 40,000 men, and Gens. Banks and Frémont in the valley of Virginia, were expected to coöperate in the movement. A line of fire was slowly but steadily being drawn around Richmond. These plans, as I have said, had been well conceived and were being executed with great precision and skill.
To oppose this formidable advance there were less than 100,000 fighting men in Virginia, and they were greatly inferior to the enemy in both equipments and supplies. Gen. Johnston, penetrating the designs of his adversary, commenced operations to prevent their accomplishment. The bloody and stubbornly contested battle of Seven Pines was fought in part execution of his plans. When Gen. Robert E. Lee succeeded to the command it was apparent that some decisive blow must be struck to save the Southern capital from a state of siege. Surveying the whole field with a keen and practiced eye, he saw that the left wing of the Union army, which had been thrown across the Chickahominy and advanced to within four or five miles of Richmond, occupied a strong and almost impregnable position. An attack upon the center promised no better results.