My impressions of him were so favorable and agreeable as to create a desire on my part to cultivate his acquaintance and know more of his character.  We met frequently, and discussed freely the social and political topics which engaged the attention of members of Congress at the national capital.  He was modest and unobtrusive in the expression of his opinions; but as I knew him better I was profoundly impressed with the scope and breadth of his information.

His judgment of men and measures was as free from local prejudice and partisan bias as any man’s I ever met.  He was induced by his generous nature to attribute good rather than unworthy motives to those with whom he differed.  He was honest, true, and unsuspicious.  On all occasions he expressed attachment to the Union of the States, and manifested a patriotic devotion to the Constitution as the charter of our liberties.

He was a brave soldier, and fought on the losing side in a war that convulsed the continent and astonished the civilized world; and as a brave soldier he accepted without reservation the verdict of the war.  It is to be regretted that his heroic services were not on the side of the Union, but the conditions which placed him in hostility to the flag of the United States are forever removed.  Every cause which produced that terrible conflict was eradicated and obliterated in carnage and blood.  The horrors of that fratricidal war are now history.  The glorious results achieved are being realized in the abolition of slavery; in the Union of the States restored, strengthened, and cemented; in the respect, confidence, and just estimation of the people of all the sections for each other, and in the establishment beyond question of the capacity of the citizens of the Republic to dare and to do in great emergencies what to all the world seemed impossible.

To-day the virtue, the patriotism, and the renown of the fathers of the Revolution and the founders of our free institutions are the common heritage of all the people, both North and South.  The gallant and daring exploits of Legion Harry or Light-Horse Harry Lee, the grandsire of the deceased, inspire the same admiration and respect in the sons of the North as in the sons of the South.  It is most gratifying that the descendants of the comrades in war and associates in council who gained the independence and established the Government of the United States are again united in stronger bonds of interest, good fellowship, and respect than ever before existed.

Generations to come will enjoy not only the fruits of the Revolutionary struggle and the establishment of constitutional liberty, but they will be blessed with liberty that knows no slavery and with a Union forever indivisible, and they will contemplate with no partisan feeling the sacrifices which were necessary to secure such results.  The type of manly virtue of which our deceased friend was a conspicuous example is one of the best fruits of free institutions.  His death in the prime of his manhood and in the days of his usefulness was a great loss to the country and a bereavement to his family for which there is no earthly compensation.  But he has left for them in his good name, his unimpeachable character, and his many virtues an inheritance more valuable than gold.