Robert E. Lee By Julia Ward Howe -- A Tribute

Robert E. Lee after the War Between The States
as president of Washington College in Lexington, VA.
Later renamed Washington-Lee College in his honor.
(Colorized photo courtesy of Library of Congress)

 

Robert E. Lee

By Julia Ward Howe

A gallant foeman in the fight,
A brother when the fight was o'er,
The hand that led the host with might
The blessed torch of learning bore.

No shriek of shell nor roll of drums,
No challenge fierce, resounding far,
When reconciling Wisdom comes
To hear the cruel wounds of war.

Though may the minds of men divide,
Love makes the heart of nations one,
And so, the soldier grave beside,
We honor thee, Virginia's son.

Mrs. Julia Ward Howe (May 27, 1819 - October 17, 1910) was an American poet and author, best known for writing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 Mother's Day Proclamation. Howe was a prominent American abolitionist and Women's Suffrage activist. Born Julia Ward in New York City, New York, USA, she was the fourth of seven children born to Samuel Ward and Julia Rush Cutler.
Her poem about the former Confederate General Robert. E. Lee was written shortly after his death in October of 1870 in respect for his memory as someone who sought to reunify a nation following the brutal and ugly American Civil War (War Between the States) 1861-1865.