The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1848-08-30


I!3s
steFss slibiipr
the almstt1 gsiHnent.
81 ne Id l2s asik
sdaleaa led bY etiie citizens of this sto
greet you q, lieartfelt welc coile.
& The Heart Of old Sumter leaps with Light
when she feceiiyass those of her child reDif
whom. .tlo fate off war has sli TO retlfn
rom the long pilgrimag your coantry'sS
call. sSss
'Ths spectacle of your presence the hard =;
sshipE you have endured tho good lights you
have sfoughh the peace you have cong quered,s
once upon the mind of him who would address.
you; and s6Ssrwhe Elm him With sucll emotions,
chat all he cnn 8say is, Look around, SOL
llfiers, upon The crowd which have assembled
sto take you to their bosoms, where you be-
long. Look upon the facessof all present
and read that your deeds are egistered in
their hearts. Those eyes that noE behold
You have rested upon you from the moment
when your names were put upon the usters
roll till your f0otsteps touckea upon
The American SOLE These ldieIH,
the deeds you haYes dom spsak for;
themselves dnd need no fhet torlcg 20 emf iorcss
The gratitude Of this people rests not in The
voice Of any ore. Efe,S IN scattered Bapds:
: tulation, applause, welcome, hnyes never been
still, but spoke out in osery form 81 finsuppr
sable emotion, from the public SPECTACLE
where you were tho s.beheld of all behoid iders,
TO those more tender greetings, where the
patriotic emotion was lost in another flame.
6 What can be done that has not been done?
! But can old Sumter do less sthdn othersls
No Sirs! She sent her own peculiar CHILDREN
and ahe desires to speak them herself. The
applause Of other parts was pleasing TO her,
but she desired to see you herself, at her
own festive board, because you we're her own.
s She had her own debt of fgratitude, which others
could not discharge. Her old men had recol-
lections of the scenes of seventy y-six, which the
frosts of many winters had not exiting guished,
and Beautjf had emotions, which none butthe
and they burned to revive them. Our young
brave deserve. The name of your District is
: tho name ,of Hero. His bones rest among
your hillss Some arc still erect, some hearts
are stillswnrm, to whom the name of Sumter
is sacred, and to whom it was q tower Of
strength in our war of independence.
ss$ In many a.seqnestered spot OF our district
lie the bones of those, aoho, in the conflict to
which 1cc owe our national existence and
4 mankind that new aesa in the history of Gov
ernments and doctrines Of human rights, did
long and faithful service. The descendants
of these solaiers hold all recollcctons of that
period as their peculiar birthright It is not
inappropriate, that, with our welcome strains,
we borrow from the past some Of its treasured
associations. The spirits Of the past COM
HIfte with the living, and this is the table,
and these feelings are the elements. and
their spirits will be present 4.
The names Of Camden, Eutaw Springs
and Hanging Rock need to be associated
with those Of Contreras, Churubusco and the
Garita. ,
Who can approach the solitary mound
where Sumter sleeps, but the spirits of the
past riso to his mind, like spectre, and he
fbens q ESiaW Seaasa ana Camden sill strike the
imagination Of the beholder, and, with NEGRO.
= mantle power suspend present existence
in the phantoms OF tho past; the feryid hour
of battle is revived, the form Of the hero takes
life. and the din Of battle sounds in his ear.
WAo would assume to define the magic
spell, by which associations walk sovereign
over human affections, but that the virtue Of
patriotism is the proudest Of the bosom, and,
in her potent strength, gilds more the grave
ing monarch! Such, Gentlemen, are tho
have spread before you.
While your District, thus indulging in
these strains, embraces you as the children
in whom she prides, while the story Of
your fidelity is fresh upon her ear, and its
echoes are not among the s.oried past, she
nskst Where are the rest!-Your diminished
ranks, your shattered Banner, and your
maimed limbs tell her in horrible reality, that
yonrmarch was not among Roses but up to
the altar of bloc ly Sacrifice.
Where are the manly forms of SO many Of
your ranks, whom we saw leave the confines
of each district, and gather under the COM
mon Banner Of the State, SO full of life, en-
joyment, hope and youth! see them not
Alas! Their story has been told, and, as the
tale Of each ones end,-how his blood gushed
upon the ground, or how he languished upon
the narrow pallet of the hospital,-reached
the common bosom Of our country, it has
beenIa poisoned shaft, transfixing the bosom
of parents, relatives and friends, who follow
ed you in anxious imagination. These are
the bitter sacrifices, which our country has
made, and they are scattered abroad in every
quarter Of our country. To gather them up,
to behold them, to condole with them, are
80 many tributes to the altar of patriotism.
These are the sacred, but they arc the grate-
full and tender duties Of yirtuous republican
sentiment. How many heart, with anx-
ious, listening ear, caught every breath of
Rumor, as it swept from the South, and. as
each soldier fell, somc woman's heart was
smitten. Il. II
The nureeling of her former years march,
cd under lis country's banner, and il was
his winding sheet. Peace be to hor wounded
soul. The Banner, under which they fell,
and their praises, as they are hymned by all,
must be her solace and *her balm, You
sbeheld each, one fall; you, Soldiers, who had
beensnursed in the bosom Of most peaceable
4 life, here thes names of violence, blood and
death are ahunned as those Of friendship,
naaEG and fInv6 }hra ha1d yoa crad ,,o,, ,raro