"[A] tall-well dressed, black man stood and strode to the rail. There followed a pregnant pause. According to one witness, "Its effects upon the communicants was startling, and for several moments they retained their seats in solemn silence and did not move, being deeply chagrined at this attempt to inaugurate the 'new regime' to offend and humiliate them...". Then another person rose from the pew and walked down the aisle to the chancel rail. He knelt near the black man and so redeemed the circumstance. This grace- bringer, of course was Lee. Soon after he knelt, the rest of the congregation followed his example and shuffled in turn to the rail...Lee's actions were far more eloquent than anything he spoke or wrote." Emory M. Thomas, Robert E. Lee: A Biography, W.W. Norton & Company Ltd, 1995, p. 372.
I don't think, I know.
Just because something appears in a book does not make it true.
I have -three- biographies of Lee in which the story does not appear:
"The Making of Robert E. Lee", by Micheael Fellman, "Lee Considered" by Alan Nolan, and "The Generals" by Nancy Scott Anderson and Dwight Anderson.
Walt
Now that's an odd statement to originate from none other than Mr. "It appears on the ACW moderated newsgroup and therefore must be true" himself!
Were you there?