Thats too simple.  I doubt that Mrs. Lee was embarassed by the fact of a
guard.  The fact that the Union officers, out of all the soldiers at
their disposal, chose a black soldier as a guard, does not strike me as
a random act, but one designed to make a socio-political point that Mrs
Lee would be forced to react to.  It would be interesting to know
whether the guard was replaced by a white soldier and whether Mrs. Lee
accepted or rejected him.  As far as Mrs. Lee being a racist, in the
context of the times, is there any doubt and does the starement, again
in the context of the time, have any meaning?

Anne Pemberton wrote:
> Certainly, the effect of having a guard is embarassing. How could it be
> more so by the race of the guard unless one is a racists?
>
> Anne
>
> At 05:49 PM 2/22/03 -0500, you wrote:
>
>> Hmm, who was it who put Mrs. Lee is a such a position to make such a
>> choice, or was the intention to embarass her.
>>
>> Anne Pemberton wrote:
>>
>>> I believe the facts are that Lee inherited them from his wife. Seems
>>> I've
>>> read somewhere that she stopped the manumission so that she would not
>>> live
>>> alone while he was about his soldiering. If actions speak louder than
>>> words, then Mrs. Lee's refusal to accept a black US soldier as guard
>>> when
>>> Richmond fell, indicates her feelings on the subject of Negroes. She was
>>> most ungracious!
>>>
>>>                                 Anne
>>
>> --
>> James P. ('Jim') Lynch
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>>
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>
>
> Anne Pemberton
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>
> http://www.erols.com/stevepem
> http://www.educationalsynthesis.org
>
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>


--
James P. ('Jim') Lynch
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