The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1847-09-15
(nEronTED FOR THE ABnEvlILE nANNER.)

(REroRTED FOR TIE ABBEvII.LE EANNER)
Won!d YOU believe it Mr. + ito, las.
night all was calm and qu,rt; the angel
OF Ecacc seemed to hover over our city; but
this morning precisely at o'clock, tha, an
gel unfurlcd her beautiful and shining wings
and scared alolt to heaven, and all, in the
twlnkling Of an eye, was cnvcl.oped in the
noise, the hustle, and the cIangor Of wa.
Naught was heard but the 'sclash of rcsound-
ing arms"-thc roar Of "bombs, guns,
drums and batteries"
1t appears the young men Of the school,
great and small, forsaking acadsmic groves,
had suddenly become hclmeted heroes and
warworn veterans. What an awful Gala
nifty is war how true the OLD proverb spar
potior bcllo' The fact Is not to be disguised
that grea, military interest, is rapidly
growing up amongst us-we arc getting to
be decidedly military people: like our
imb2cile neighbors miserable enemy This
interest having no sympathy with ndustri-
al pursuits-in its nature aristocratic, is one
indeed to be dreaded, when we reflect upon
tie materials OF strife within us, the rancho
ofp ,rty spirit, and the recIilcssness of fanati-
cism. This however, is an inseparable ap-
pcn'lage to all wars. We have to encoun.
ter the peril-the peril which has destroyed
many a state moe powerful than Ours. AS
the military interest in our country seems in
Aourshing condition, perhaps this con-
munication may interest some Of your read.
crs.
This morning our town was thrown in
ecs,acies by grand display Of sundry evo-
lulions and military manoeuvrcs. What
with the proud waving Of the Palmetto
standard-the nodling Of plumes-:he mar
ching and coun,cr-marching Of the Fcnci-
b!es. dressed in white uniforms with red
belts anl flowing scarEs-.he rumbing of
drlnns, the braying Of trumpets, and the,
shrill whistle Of fifes, to 5ether with larg,
concourse oc citizens, and any quanti o f
children, dogs and little negroes, we did
have ra zee shop, in lee But it was truly
sublime spectacle, for an up-country viii
lage, was this military parade OF the Cokes-
bury Fencibles.
About o'clock a procession was formed
in front Of Dr.. Gary's hotel, Capt Stokes
acting as marshll of the day. Prof. F. W.
Capers, of the State Military Academy at
Charleston, was then escorted to the Inst i.
tuition Campus, where he delivered an ad.
dress on tactics before the Cadets of the
school and large audience of citizens
He entert ,ined The au1ience for more
than.an hour in very sensible, approp. ilt,
and manly address. After some display of
military gallantry, in compliments to the la
dies, he spoke of the importance of tactics,
but more particularly Of the squad drill
- He complimented the Fencibles as the only
Company where he had seen the squad drill
introd9ccd, except in military schools. He
then spoke Of the necessity Of implicit re
reliance and confidence in superior officers
Tactics he said might do much, but it mus
be combined with implicit reliance and e
spirit Of obed :ence to orders. He illustrated
This by instances from Napoleon's cam
paigns and our own eventfill history. He
4 condemned the too oft mistaken character o.
the soldier---the fierce look-the swagger.
ing gait-said it was not requisite that he