e stood in the middle aisle, and the president, rising,
said:

"MAJOR-GENERAL LEE: In the name of the people of our native State,
here represented, I bid you a cordial and heart-felt welcome to
this hall, in which we may almost yet hear the echoes of the
voices of the statesmen, the soldiers, and sages of by-gone days,
who have borne your name, and whose blood now flows in your veins.

"We met in the month of February last, charged with the solemn
duty of protecting the rights, the honor, and the interests of the
people of this Commonwealth. We differed for a time as to the best
means of accomplishing that object, but there never was, at any
moment, a shade of difference among us as to the great object
itself; and now, Virginia having taken her position, as far as
the power of this convention extends, we stand animated by one
impulse, governed by one desire and one determination, and that
is, that she shall be defended, and that no spot of her soil shall
be polluted by the foot of an invader.

"When the necessity became apparent of having a leader for our
forces, all hearts and all eyes, by the impulse of an instinct
which is a surer guide than reason itself, turned to the old
county of Westmoreland. We knew how prolific she had been in other
days of heroes and statesmen. We knew she had given birth to the
Father of his Country, to Richard Henry Lee, to Monroe, and last,
though not least, to your own gallant father, and we knew well, by
your deeds, that her productive power was not yet exhausted.

"Sir, we watched with the most profound and intense interest the
triumphal march of the army led by General Scott, to which you
were attached, from Vera Cruz to the capital of Mexico. We read of
the sanguinary conflicts and the blood-stained fields, in all
of which victory perched upon our own banners. We knew of the
unfading lustre that was shed upon the American arms by that
campaign, and we know, also, what your modesty has always
disclaimed, that no small share of the glory of those achievements
was due to your valor and your military genius.

"Sir, one of the proudest recollections of my life will be the
honor that I yesterday had of submitting to this body confirmation
of the nomination, made by the Governor of this State, of you
as commander-in-chief of the military and nav