the day by coming in on the enemy's rear and routing Kilpatrick's division. At Gettysburg he was on the extreme left, hotly engaging the enemy's cavalry; and on the subsequent retreat of the army he did his accustomed good service in bringing up the

rear.

In the latter part of 1863, the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia was divided into two divisions, of three brigades each; and Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee were promoted to command them, the two being under Stuart as senior Major-General. This promotion Gen. Fitzhugh Lee had obtained on a record of almost unexampled success; his active disposition and brilliant courage had by this time made for him one of the first reputations in the army. The repeated mention of his name in the careful reports of Gen. Robert E. Lee had made it familiar and dear to the public; and in May, 1863, shortly after the battle of Chancellorsville, we find the Commanding General warmly writing to him as follows: "Your admirable conduct, devotion to the cause of your country, and devotion to duty, fill me with pleasure. I hope you will soon see her efforts for independence crowned with success, and long live to enjoy the affection and gratitude of your country." No doubt Gen. Robert E. Lee felt honourable pride in the achievements of his gallant nephew. At another time he wrote: "Your division has always had a high reputation. It must not lose it." And it never did lose it, to the last day of the Confederacy.

We must pass to the vital campaign of 1864 to find the most memorable and brilliant passages in the military career of Gen. Fitzhugh Lee. In the very opening of that campaign, when Grant crossed the Rapidan, Lee's division was called upon for a decisive action. It then formed the right of the long Confederate line, extending from Madison Court-House to a point below Fredericksburg, and was rapidly moved to cover Spottsylvania Court-House. From this time commenced a series of cavalry fights running from North Virginia to the neighbourhood of Richmond. On the day on which Longstreet's advance arrived at Spottsylvania Court-House, the Federal cavalry were relieved by the Fifth corps of infantry (the advance of Grant's army); and against this force the cavalry division of Fitzhugh Lee held its ground most manfully, until the Confederate infantry arrived,

and the position was secured to Gen. Lee. The importance of Spottsylvania Court-House, as a military position, was then vital, and the service of Lee's cavalry on this occasion was an important element of the campaign.

Scarcely a day elapsed when it was called to another and imminent field, Sheridan had started on a raid to the Central railroad, and in the direction of Richmond; and Lee's division was ordered to follow, Gen. Stuart having joined it, and reinforced the expedition by Gordon's brigade, which, however, moved by a different route. On the entire march Lee's advance was engaged with the enemy's rear; it chased out of Ashland a Massachusetts regiment, which had already fired three houses in the village; and the same day at Yellow Tavern, six miles from Richmond, it fought in one of the most thrilling conjunctures, within hearing of the alarmed population of the capital. From ten o'clock in the morning until six in the evening Fitzhugh Lee's seven regiments contested the ground with Sheridan's whole corps, and accomplished the object of the action in the purchase of time, although forced at last to retire. It was in this engagement that Gen. Stuart fell; and it must have comforted the heroic heart of the dying man that the favourite division of his command had won such an important day. A letter from Gen. Bragg to Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, after the battle, assured him that the safety of Richmond had been accomplished at Yellow Tavern, as the resistance there had enabled him to withdraw troops from Drewry's Bluff to man the works on that side of the city.

It is not possible within the limits and designs of this sketch to include all the operations of Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's command, when the campaign lingered around Richmond, and the cavalry was almost daily skirmishing on the lines, or making excursions to check Sheridan's active and erratic movements. The action, however, of Reams Station claims notice as the most important incident of these operations; the prize contested here was the Danville railroad; and the glory achieved here by Fitzhugh Lee's division is a laurel of the command not to be omitted. Twc divisions of Federal cavalry, under Wilson, were returning from their raid on railroad, when Lee, in concert with two of Mahone's brigades struck them, stripped them of their spoils and artillery, and put them to shameful rout. Wilson carried back to his

lines nothing on wheels; his wagons, eighteen pieces of artillery, and even his ambulances, fell into Lee's hands, besides 800 negroes who had been abducted from their homes.

Shortly after this event, Fitzhugh Lee's division was ordered to report to Lieut.-Gen. Anderson, who was sent to Early with Kershaw's division, and the campaign of the Valley was inaugurated. The important events of that campaign have already been related. In the disastrous battle of Winchester, Gen. Lee was conspicuous for his gallantry, and exposed his life on every part of the field. Three horses were shot under him-one his beautiful mare, "Nelly Gray," a favourite of the command-and at last he was brought to the ground by a miniè ball, which pierced his thigh.

He was kept from duty by the wound for several months. In the spring of 1865, he was summoned to Richmond, and by order. of the Commanding General placed in command of the cavalry corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. Shortly thereafter followed the battle of Five Forks, in which the mistake was made. -not by Fitzhugh Lee-of not following up the first success, when the enemy was driven within a quarter of a mile of Dinwiddie Court-House. The superiority of the Virginia cavalry was never better shown than on the retreat, ending at Appomattox Court-House. Fitzhugh Lee was one of the three corps commanders, who, with Gen. Robert E. Lee, composed the council of war just before the surrender. His cavalry had covered the retreat, and been in one scene of incessant fight; and though passing events and knowledge of the failure of the cause were depressing the spirits of the men, a more gallant or more faithful body never resisted the enemy. It was ultimately determined in the council of war referred to that Fitzhugh Lee and Gordon should attack the enemy on the road to Appomattox Station, so as to cut an exit to Lynchburg; the conditions of attack being reduced to this: if cavalry only was found in front, they might push on; if infantry, a surrender was inevitable. It is well known that heavy masses of infantry were discovered in front; that the enemy showed himself on all sides, and that the necessity of surrender was then accepted.

The career of Gen. Fitzhugh Lee entitles him to a marked place in all records of the war. He won many victories, and never sustained a considerable disaster, when he was independent in command. His courage was of the chivalric type; his temper,

quick but placable; his inspiration in the war that of a champion of a cause rather than a personal enemy. He had none of the coarser animosities of the war; he was animated by the principles he fought for, rather than by the phobia of brutal conflict. He was faultlessly brave; he had social qualities of the highest order; his genial humour, his high spirits, his strong friendships, made him not only a popular man, but a choice and admirable companion.

It is said of him that he had not a personal enemy in the world. He was always the favourite of his school companions; and the pranks we have related at West Point were conceived in the purest spirit of fun. He was merry and innocent, all his tricks and jokes being rather for sport than injury. His habit of signing his name "F. Lee" gave a handle to his gay companions at West Point to nickname him "Flea." He was the most popular cadet in the academy. In the stern task of war he never abandoned his gaiety of disposition. He was always in for any thing like "fun," and nothing pleased him better than to get off jokes on his staff and couriers. In this respect he resembled Stuart very much. The two commanders seemed to have established a mutual admiration society, and suited each other famously; and, next to killing Yankees, they enjoyed cracking jokes at each other more than anything else. On the march they generally rode together, and the peals of laughter and cav alry songs which they gave vent to in unison could often be heard far down the column, above the tramping of the horses and the clinking of the sabres. Both were very fond of music, and during the winter of '63 Fitz. Lee organized in his brigade a band of ten or twelve musicians, who were known as "Fitz. Lee's Minstrels."

A prominent trait in his character (and in that of all the Lees) was an excessive fondness for the fair sex; and, it is said, he has been seen to produce from his pocket-book a dozen rings received from a dozen young ladies, to prove that he was not a badlytreated man.

His character may be summed up as an excellent soldier, a true patriot, a boon companion, a remarkable type of engaging manners. Virginia has reason to be proud of him as one of her first living gentlemen, and a brilliant contribution to her history in the war.

BRIG.-GEN. HENRY A. WISE.

CHAPTER LII.

An extraordinary excitement in Richmond.-The days of the Secession Convention.Wise's idea of "fighting in the Union."-His style of eloquence in the Convention. A remarkable conversation in his hotel.-His rhetorical bravura.— Short-sighted vanity of the South.-Gen. Wise's campaign in Western Virginia. The disaster of Roanoke Island.-Gen. Wise relieved from censure.-— Death of his son.-An affecting scene.-Interview between Gen. Wise and Secretary Randolph.-His command in South Carolina.-At Petersburg.-Gen. Wise's fame as a soldier.—His mental gifts.—Marks of an afflicted intellect.— His tribute to the private soldiers of the Confederacy.

IN the latter days of April, 1861, there was in Richmond, Virginia-a city already of no mean historical memories-an excitement unsurpassed within the memory of its living citizens, and equal to any that had occurred in the political annals of America. The Convention, summoned by the voters of the State, was debating the high question of peace or war, and the revolution that had gathered in the Cotton States paused for the decision of the powerful and dominant commonwealth of Virginia. All commercial business in Richmond was well nigh suspended; the political excitement involved all classes of the population; and, in a city which had voted largely for the Union in the call of the Convention, secession demonstrations were now prevalent on the streets, and the nightly caucuses and political gatherings in the hotels pronounced for war, declared themselves the equivalents of the Convention, and even threatened it with the violence of the mob. Men who, a few days before, had upheld Governor Letcher in his "conservatism," were now stricken dumb amid the popular clamour for immediate action; all the newspapers of the city declared for