Ah, You Know My Weaknesses--my

The Cause Of The Great War Of The Rebellion Against The United States Will Have To Be Attributed To Slavery. For Some Years Before The War Began It Was A Trite Saying Among Some Politicians That "a State Half Slave And Half Free Cannot Exist." All Must Become Slave Or All Free, Or The State Will Go Down. I Took No Part Myself In Any Such View Of The Case At The Time, But Since The War Is Over, Reviewing The Whole Question, I Have Come To The Conclusion That The Saying Is Quite True.

The Natural Disposition Of Most People Is To Clothe A Commander Of A Large Army Whom They Do Not Know, With Almost Superhuman Abilities. A Large Part Of The National Army, For Instance, And Most Of The Press Of The Country, Clothed General Lee With Just Such Qualities, But I Had Known Him Personally, And Knew That He Was Mortal; And It Was Just As Well That I Felt This.

...i Never Heard Him Abuse An Enemy. Some Of The Cruel Things Said About President Lincoln, Particularly In The North, Used To Pierce Him To The Heart; But Never In My Presence Did He Evince A Revengeful Disposition.

As Soon As Slavery Fired Upon The Flag It Was Felt, We All Felt, Even Those Who Did Not Object To Slaves, That Slavery Must Be Destroyed. We Felt That It Was A Stain To The Union That Men Should Be Bought And Sold Like Cattle.

I Read The Story And Reread The Story, But I Still Could Not Find The Universality That The Little Irishman Had Spoken Of. All I Saw In The Story Was Some Irishmen Meeting In A Room And Talking Politics. What Had That To Do With America, Especially With My People? It Was Not Until Years Later That I Saw What He Meant ... I Began To Listen, To Listen Closely To How They Talked About Their Heroes, To How They Talked About The Dead And How Great The Dead Had Once Been. I Heard It Everywhere.