![Robert Edward Lee [As an Officer in the United States Army] in: Life and Letters of Robert Edward Lee, Soldier and Man by J. William Jones, 1906, after page 70.](RobertEdwardLee.jpg "Robert Edward Lee [As an Officer in the United States Army] in: Life and Letters of Robert Edward Lee, Soldier and Man by J. William Jones, 1906, after page 70.")
From Robert E. Lee's letter to his son Lt. G. W. Custis Lee. Arlington, August 19, 1859.
Lt. G. W. Custis Lee.
…
… I do not know that you have been told that George, Wesly and Mary Norris, absconded some months ago, were captured in Maryland, making their way to Pennsylvania, brought back, and are now hired out in lower Virginia. I had to send down before them, Obediah, Edward, Henry, and Austin Bingham. The price here is very small, and I have to hire nearly all the labor. We have nothing but the old men and boys. The N. Y. Tribune has attacked me for my treatment of your grandfather's slaves, but I shall not reply. He has left me an unpleasant legacy. …
Your devoted father,
R. E. Lee.
Arlington, August 19, 1859.