"Headquarters, Army Northern Virginia, August 13, 1863.

"The President of the Confederate States has, in the name of the people,
appointed August 21st as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer.
A strict observance of the day is enjoined upon the officers and
soldiers of this army. All military duties, except such as are
absolutely necessary, will be suspended. The commanding officers of
brigades and regiments are requested to cause divine services, suitable
to the occasion, to be performed in their respective commands.
Soldiers! we have sinned against Almighty God. We have forgotten His
signal mercies, and have cultivated a revengeful, haughty, and boastful
spirit. We have not remembered that the defenders of a just cause
should be pure in His eyes; that 'our times are in His hands,' and we
have relied too much on our own arms for the achievement of our
independence. God is our only refuge and our strength. Let us humble
ourselves before Him. Let us confess our many sins, and beseech Him
to give us a higher courage, a purer patriotism, and more determined
will; that He will hasten the time when war, with its sorrows and
sufferings, shall cease, and that He will give us a name and place
among the nations of the earth.

"R. E. Lee, General."

His was a practical, every-day religion, which supported him all through
his life, enabled him to bear with equanimity every reverse of fortune,
and to accept her gifts without undue elation. During this period of
rest, so unusual to the Army of Northern Virginia, several reviews
were held before the commanding general. I remember being present
when that of the Third Army Corps, General A. P. Hill commanding, took