LETTER COPIED IN MANUSCRIPT BY GENERAL JUBAL EARLY: MARYLAND GOVERNOR JOHN LEE CARROLL WROTE THE LETTER TO GENERAL FITZHUGH LEE, ROBERT E. LEE'S NEPHEW, APRIL 15, 1876, CONCERNING ROBERT E. LEE'S OPINION OF GENERAL LONGSTREET'S CONDUCT AT GETTYSBURG.
[np: 1876]. Single leaf, 5" x 8," in the hand of Jubal A. Early, written in ink manuscript on recto and verso. Two stabholes at inner margin, probably from a former binding. Light wear. Very Good.
The letter reads in full:
"Copy State of Maryland
Executive Department
Annapolis Apl 15th 1876
Major Genl Fitzhugh Lee
My Dear Sir
I am in receipt to-day of your letter of the 14th inst., with the interesting enclosure in reference to the Battle of Gettysburg.
I have not had time to follow closely the controversy to which the article refers, but I remember perfectly my conversation with General Lee on this subject. He said plainly to me, that the battle would have been gained, if Gen. Longstreet had obeyed the orders given him, and had made the attack early instead of late. He said further - "Gen. Longstreet when once in a fight, was a most brilliant soldier, but he was the hardest man to move that I had in my army."
I mention this, as you have made the inquiry of me, but pray do not let it appear; for the conversation was a chance one, & perhaps never intended to be repeated.
Thanking you for your kind expressions in my behalf.
Believe me, my dear general
Very truly yours
[signed] John Lee Carroll"
The Lee Family Archive erroneously dates the letter "1874." The correct date is 1876. John Lee Carroll did not become Maryland's Governor until 1876. The letter's return address, the "Executive Department," thus renders an 1874 date extremely unlikely. Jubal Early copied the date as 1876, which he probably transcribed directly from Governor Carroll's original in Fitzhugh Lee's possession. Our copy's handwriting matches that of General Early in manuscript letters and papers held in the Library of Congress's Jubal A. Early Collection.
John Lee Carroll [1830-1911], Governor of Maryland from 1876 to 1880, was the grandson of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and its last surviving Signer. As his middle name suggests, he was also a descendant of the Lee family of Virginia. His brother, Robert Goodloe Harper Carroll [1839-1915], served on the staff of General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. John Lee Carroll was a distant cousin to Robert E. Lee.
The text of Fitzhugh Lee's initial inquiry, to which this Letter is the response, has apparently not survived. But its existence is confirmed by Carroll's Letter, the original of which is housed in the Lee Family Archives. Fitzhugh Lee had asked Carroll to disclose Robert E. Lee's private thoughts about the Battle of Gettysburg. Specifically, Fitzhugh was tracking down what his uncle had said about General James Longstreet's controversial delays.
Jubal A. Early [1816-1894] had been a lawyer, politician, and Confederate General in the Army of Northern Virginia, participating at Chancellorsville and leading the Army of the Valley during the Shenandoah Campaign of 1864. Fitzhugh Lee [1835-1905], nephew of General Robert E. Lee, was a Major General with the Confederate Cavalry, 40th Governor of Virginia [1886-1890], and Major General during the Spanish American War.
In August 1864 Robert E. Lee detached Fitzhugh and his cavalry to serve under Early. The connection between the two men continued throughout the War and for many years thereafter. They collaborated through the Southern Historical Society, organized in 1869, to preserve material related to the Confederacy and to document the history of the War.
In 1876 the Southern Historical Society Papers began publishing its defense of the Southern War effort and of General Robert E. Lee. Early made it his mission to collect documents and write articles defending Robert E. Lee's conduct and enhancing his reputation; and blaming Longstreet for dallying at Gettysburg. This letter demonstrates Fitzhugh's participation in that effort.
["General Longstreet and the Lost Cause," by Stephen W. Sears, American Heritage Magazine, February/March 2005, Volume 56, Issue 1; "The Lost Cause: Definition and Origins," October 30, 2020, American Battlefield Trust website, accessed August 2026; "The Lost Cause," Encyclopedia Virginia; "An Interview with General Jubal A. Early in 1889," by Martin F. Schmitt, The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Nov., 1945), pp. 547-563.]. Item #42399
Price: $7,500.00