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Letter from Robert E. Lee to John MacKay
This gossipy and whimsical letter captures the intimate friendship between Robert
E. Lee and John MacKay. Lee and MacKay met and became close friends while they were
cadets at West Point. Upon graduation in 1829, both men joined the elite Engineer
Corps. Lee found himself assigned to building Fort Pulaski, near Savannah, Georgia.
The MacKay family, who lived in Georgia, “adopted” Lee and gave him a
room in their home to use whenever he was in the city. As this letter demonstrates,
MacKay was one of the few people with whom Lee felt comfortable enough to share his
humorous side. Addressing this letter to “Delectable Jack,” Lee begins
by playfully chiding his friend for not writing sooner.
At the time this letter was written, Robert E. Lee was a 2nd Lieutenant in the United
States Army Engineer Department. In August, 1834, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
The engineering staff at Fort Monroe, where he was stationed, included many West Point
classmates and army friends. With so many of Lee’s and MacKay’s mutual
friends stationed at one place, Lee wished MacKay could be there to take part in the
fun: “Grant that you were here, that is if you wish it, for I think we could
make some fine times!”
One of Lee’s main purposes in this letter is to update MacKay on the lives of
their friends. The playful way in which Lee describes the trials of his comrades reveals
the lighthearted atmosphere at the fort. He teasingly hints about Joseph Johnston’s
recent embarrassment: “Here is our J. E. Johnston, who has been lately accused
of Blushing ...” Later in the letter, he bemoans the fact that MacKay never
told him the name of Farley’s “Dulcinea” (the woman for whom Don
Quixote charged windmills).
Lee also remarks on the increase of the population at Old Point Comfort, where Fort
Monroe is located. He announces the birth of “one little Huger boy” and
predicts the arrival “of a small French. It may be ---- a girl.” He then
coyly notes that: “promising boys hereafter,” French had just been transferred
to Fort Monroe.
No letter from Lee to MacKay would be complete without a roguish remark concerning
the ladies in the area:
As for the daughters of Eve, in this country they are framed in the very
poetry of nature & would make your lips water & fingers tingle. They are beginning
to assemble to put their beautiful limbs in this salt water ...
Lee briefly remarks on people who may be filling cabinet positions and curiously adds:
“J. Fennimore Cooper to be Secy. of the Navy[.] This last having come out in a
political pamphlet shewing what he knows.” In 1839 Cooper would publish “A
History of the Navy of the United States of America.” Perhaps the pamphlet Lee
refers to is a precursor to this work. At any rate, Lee does not trust the reports from
the papers: “But I forget I never mention Politics, thinking that you see all
the Slang Whang in the papers & care & believe as much as I do.”
Lee closes his letter by announcing the death of the Marquis de Lafayette: “We
have been celebrating the death of the Good Lafayette all day.” Lafayette died
on 20 May 1834, just over a month before Lee wrote this letter.
The “fine times” at Fort Monroe would not last forever. By 1834, trouble
between the Engineers, who were working on the fort, and the Artillerists, who manned
the fort, had erupted several times. A month after writing this letter, the War Department
ordered the Engineers to evacuate Fort Monroe and to station themselves on Rip-Raps,
the island where Fort Calhoun was to be built. Lee, who did not want to be on the island,
reluctantly accepted a transfer to Washington as the Assistant to the Chief of Engineers.
Lee’s friendship with MacKay would continue until the latter’s death in
1848.
References: Douglas S. Freeman, R. E. Lee: A Biography (New York, 1935). Emory
Thomas, Robert E. Lee: A Biography (New York, 1995).
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GLC01070 Robert E. Lee to John MacKay
For more information or to obtain copies, contact Ana Ramirez-Luhrs at reference@gilderlehrman.com
or call (212) 787-6616 ext. 209.
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Ft. Monroe 26th June 1834
Delectable Jack
Thine assertion of May, whi[ch] I have now before me, was an onction to my bosom,
& verily it is well that it is so plainly, laid down, that thy friends are never forgotten[text
loss] for I assure you My Child it looks peskily like it, It might seem proper for
me to relate what has made me So dilatory in replying to this Same, But a gentleman
of your French literature cannot be ignorant of the adage 'ne faut point parles de
corde dans la maison d'un pendu' & therefore will be silent, I am truly glad that
you have escaped Ft. Jackson & are quietly & Comfortably located at Augusta, to be
sure it might have been bettered by remaining at S_, but let us despise nothing My
Child- God grant that you were here, that is if you wish it for I think we could 'make
some fine times! Here is our JE Johnston, who has been lately accused of Blushing,
& should it be possible to identify it, it would be as rare as the large diamond of
the Queen of Portugal, for there would be no other in the world, - Here too is the
(Sit, Greares, Ringgold, McClelland, Tent(erman) Tallcott & C&C too numerous toment[text
loss] [2] As for the daughters of Eve, in this Country they are framed In the very
poetry of nature & would make your lips water & fingers tingle, They are beginning
to assemble to put their beautiful limbs in this salt water & among the rest we expect
some friends of ours, what Say you to the Misses Mason? But not so fast, for our Sister
Nanie has gone on to N.York with Miss Matilda Macomb, on a visit to Mrs Stanton (Miss
Alexandrine) But Miss Teaco has promised us a visit & for your sake I hope She is
a lady of her word, in which case she will never forget you. The Point is in mourning
for the loss of our good Colonel, who however cheer us on his departure with the expectation
of his Speedy return, predicated on the reluctance of Genl Walker Armstead to relinquish
his agricultural pursuits, He having lately clawed off till October, Col. Fanning
is now in Command & he & his dame have taken possession of the big House, The population
of the Point has been increased by one little Huger boy, & I take it upon myself to
predict the arrival of a Small French, It may be '---- A girl
Promising boy hereafter'- Ned French is still in Charleston, but we have heard that
the order for his transfer to th[illegible] [illegible] is out - [3] Why did you not
mention the name of Farley's Dulcinea, that I might have plagued him, for here he
plays the inconsolable (For the loss of Miss Catherine Wirt) Frances himself is his
Casemate by the Side of Constantine Smyth & they may at any time be found in a corner
of one or the othersw room reenacting the 'Sorrows of Werter'-
It is reported that 2 Comps from here with a full train of Field Artillery will take
a jaunt over the Alleghany for the purpose of testing the carriages, Today we received
the intelligence of Mr Stevenson's nomination to England & Mr Tancys to the Treasury
Dept. having been re[text loss] by the Senate, Mr Fordyth is spoken of to succeed
Mr McClane, Mr Woodbury to take Cass, place & J. Fennimore Cooper to be Secy of the
Navy This last having come out in a political pamphlet he knows
Shewing what [illegible] T - But I forget I never mention Politics, thinking that
you See all the Slang-whang in the papers, & Care & believe as much as I do- Dick
Tilghman is still on the Cumberlad road, Tom K. has been relieved I have not heard
from him Since, but expect from his sentiments expressed on former occasions, it was
at his request, Joe told me [y]esterday he had written to you, The Boy is so [text
loss] up these late days with Miss Mattie Starke [4] that though pretending to be
philosophical, is rather nervous.- Mackay did I depend upon you My Friend for tidings
of your kind family, I should perish, but thank God I have other resources- when you
write do Say for me all that is good & Clever & tell them that I am famishing for
the sight of them, The idea al[one] thrills through my heart like the neigh of my
blooded Stallion now does through my ears- Touching your promotional speculations,
God grant you were a 1st now, Do not wait for me, for there is no prospect- You are
aware that my assists Capt Talcott & Lt King are at the west on duty & that I am Comd
[illegible] & alone- Mrs. Lee & Young Massa are well, they would doubtless send some
messages, but I am at my labours & they are ignorant of my intentions- Renti[text
loss] is in Washington & Landon Carte writes me So [text loss] up with fat, dignity
& diplomacy that his [text loss] Creditors would not know him, which is as much as
to say that Col. Johnston & myself have made some bad investments- We have been celebrating
the [dea]th of the Good La Fayette all day- Au revoir my friend au revior RE Lee [address
leaf] 25 To) John MacKay Esqr M.S. Artillery Augusta Arsenal Georgia
_______________________________________________________________________
Notes: The expression "clawed of" means gotten rid of. "Ne faut point parler de corde
dans a maison d'un pendu" literally means do not speak of hanging in the house of
the hanged. By this Lee meant that since MacKay's letter to Lee had been delayed,
he should not question why Lee took so long to respond.
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Boatner, Mark M. The Civil War Dictionary, 1988.
Dowdey, Clifford and Manarin, Louis H. The Wartime Papers of Robert E. Lee,
1961.
Freeman, Douglas S. Lee’s Dispatches, 1957.
Freeman, Douglas S. R. E. Lee: a Biography, 1935.
Long, Barbara. The Civil War Day by Day, 1971.
Mathless, Paul et al., Voices of the Civil War: Fredericksburg, 1997.
McPherson, James. Ordeal by Fire, 1992.
Thomas, Emory. Robert E. Lee: A Biography, 1995.
Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, 1909.
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