Composure in battle.

General Lee possessed remarkable composure in battle.  He never got the least rattled under the most trying conditions, except at Saylor’s Creek, on the retreat from Petersburg; he never betrayed anxiety, and, though often under a rattling fire, no one ever saw him dodge.  This cannot be said of many of the bravest men.  Sometimes a bullet will unexpectedly whizz close to one’s head, and the impulse to dodge is almost irresistible, though it never did anybody any good.

One of the officers with him said once that the only time he had been moved by the enemy’s fire was at the battle of Winchester.  He and General Early met under an apple tree near the summit of a hill and in a very exposed place.  There was no firing at the time, but while the two generals, still on their horses, were intently examining a map, one shot was fired.  It fell short and they paid no attention to it.  But lo! another came, struck the apple tree just above their heads, and as the apples rained down on them they concluded the map could be better examined in a less exposed position—­a conclusion in which all others agreed with remarkable unanimity.  And nobody stopped to get any apples.

General Lee is a superb horseman.  He rode a splendid mare named Nellie.  She had the form, the strength, the nimbleness of limb, the tapering neck, the alert poise of the head, the bright and intelligent eyes that made her a model worthy to bear any master.  She was all grace and beauty.  When the confederate columns were broken in the same battle and the rout began, for it was little less, General Lee was at a very exposed point.  The fire of thirty pieces of artillery was directed against it.  The air was full of exploding shells; horses were plunging about on three legs, neighing piteously for a place of refuge; others were disemboweled by the furious shot; others were loose, running to and fro, bewildered by the terrible havoc, while the mutilated bodies of men could be seen on every hand; numbers who were crippled were hobbling away, and all seemed doomed to death.  It was here that the beautiful Nellie was gored by one fragment of shell and her master’s leg torn by another.

He was noted for his geniality and jollity.  He loved humor and fun, and got all there was to be had in those trying times.  But his cheerfulness failed at Appomattox.  There he cried.

After the war had ended, General Lee settled in Stafford County as a farmer and miller.  His life was the quiet and uneventful one of a country gentleman, caring for nothing but his wife, whom he married in 1871, and his children.  About 1875 he began to take an active part in politics, and he attended the national convention of 1876 as a delegate.  In 1885 he was elected governor of Virginia.  It was then that he again became conspicuous.  General Lee headed the southern division of the inauguration parade, and his handsome presence and splendid horsemanship