ded to be expressed. It indicated the difference between
these two great soldiers in their outward appearance. Lee retained
about him, upon all occasions, more or less of the commander-in-chief,
passing before the troops on an excellent and well-groomed horse, his
figure erect and graceful in the saddle, for he was one of the best
riders in the army; his demeanor grave and thoughtful; his whole
bearing that of a man intrusted with great responsibilities and the
general care of the whole army. Jackson's personal appearance and air
were very different. His dress was generally dingy: a faded cadet-cap
tilted over his eyes, causing him to raise his chin into the air; his
stirrups were apt to be too short, and his knees were thus elevated
ungracefully, and he would amble along on his rawboned horse with a
singularly absent-minded expression of countenance, raising, from time
to time, his right hand and slapping his knee. This brief outline of
the two commanders will serve to show the difference between them
personally, and it must be added that Jackson's eccentric bearing was
the source, in some degree, of his popularity. The men admired him
immensely for his great military ability, and his odd ways procured
for him that familiar liking to which we have alluded.

It is not intended, however, in these observations to convey the idea
that General Lee was regarded as a stiff and unapproachable personage
of whom the private soldiers stood in awe. Such a statement would not
express the truth. Lee was perfectly approachable, and no instance is
upon record, or ever came to the knowledge of the present writer, in
which he repelled the approach of his men, or received the humblest of
them with any thing but kindness. He was naturally simple and kind,
with great gentleness and patience; and it will not be credible,
to any who knew the man, that he ever made any difference in his
treatment of those who approached him from a consideration of their
rank in the army. His theory, expressed upon many occasions, was, that
the private soldiers--men who fought without the stimulus of rank,
emolument, or individual renown--were the most meritorious class of
the army, and that they deserved and should receive the utmost respect
and consideration. This statement, however, is doubtless unnecessary.
Men of Lee's pride and dignity never make a difference in their
treatment of men, because one is humble, and the other of high rank.
Of such human bein