limest word in the English [should be 'our'] language,' did occur in a letter to his son." And this positive affirmation, both as to the spuriousness of The Duty Letter, and the genuineness of the Duty Sentence, is repeated by Dr. Jones in "Life and Letters of Robert E. Lee," published in 1906. (See page 436).
It is a remarkable fact that neither in his first book concerning General Lee, published in 1874, nor in the second, published in 1906, thirty-two years later, does Dr. Jones give any reason, whatever, for pronouncing The Duty Letter "unquestionably spurious," or any authority for his emphatic statement that the expression, "Duty, then, is the sublimest word in our language," "did occur in a letter to his son." And yet he must have known, when he published his second book, that many had refused to accept his ipse dixit as to the spuriousness of The Duty Letter; and that those who relied on his assurance of the genuineness of the Duty Sentence, yet longed "to make assurance doubly sure" by being told when the letter containing this precious sentence was written, to which son (General Lee had three sons), and with what context. On all these matters, in both his books, Dr. Jones is as silent as the grave.[1]
- ↑ As to the statement that The Duty Letter is "unquestionably spurious," Dr. Jones, I am informed by both Captain R. E. Lee, Jr., and Captain W. Gordon McCabe, published a letter giving his reasons for pronouncing it a forgery. Captain Lee (letter to the writer, January 18, 1911), says that the article was exhaustive, and caused him to exclude The Duty Letter from his "Recollections and Letters." Captain McCabe (letter to the writer, January 27, 1911), says: "I quite forget his (Dr. Jones') line of argument to prove the spuriousness of the letter, but I suppose it was the obvious one, as indicated in General Custis Lee's letter."
Neither Captain Lee nor Captain McCabe recalled when or where Dr. Jones' letter was published, but Captain McCabe thought, probably, in the Richmond Dispatch. The time of publication must have been prior to 1904, when Captain Lee's book was published, for he omitted The Duty Letter because of Dr. Jones' article.
For more than three years I have used every means in my power to discover Dr. Jones' letter, but without success. It cannot be found among his papers, nor in his scrap-books. For very great kindness in making search for the lost letter among Dr. Jones' papers and scrap-books, I am indebted to his four sons. Rev. Carter Helm Jones, D. D., of Seattle, Wash.; Rev. Howard Lee Jones, D. D., President of Coker College, Hartsville, S. C.; Rev. M. Ashby Jones, D. D., Augusta, Ga., and Rev. E. Pendleton Jones, D. D., of Newberry, S. C.
The Southern Historical Papers and The Confederate Veteran have been carefully searched. Also the Richmond Dispatch from 1887 to 1903,
