Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1863-02-16

line suns Drl0QT la0ccS EOhkt "A mss ~#
There's Lonsstrsei struggling in the lists.
PP eDe aga IN his an Y aSIS s9, Whipped before. /
'Bay'net aud graper Hear stonewall roar 2,
Charge, Stuart! Pay off Ashby's score
In Stonewall Jacksonfs way
The campaigns of the Valley; the great
flank movement on the Ch~ickabonlnl
the mastery advance npon Manassas mime
rear oil Pope-these are the fsdclcss slo-
ries of the Old Brigadc. Their path has
| been strewed all over with battles. III
credible have been their maFcte. ; count
less their conlbats-almost always against
o~vcrpowering nuIabcTs. The scvthc OF
death has mown down whole ranks OF
them; bnt the Old Brigade still marches
on, and fights and conquers. The war
worn veterans still confront the foe, tho
the thinncd ranks tell the tale of their
g@lories and their losses. Many brave souls
have poured out their blood and fallen
but they are conqnerors, and more than
conquerors, in the worlds great eye. The
comrades of these heroes hold their mem
cries. sacred, and have offered bloody sac
riices to their names. Steady Close
upp! were the last words cchoIug IN the
dying cars-and the aim of the survivors
was only more steady, the charge with the
bayonet more deadly.
Those survivors may be pardoned if
they tell their children, when the war is
ended, that they fought under jackson, in
the " Old S~tonewall Brigade" They may
be pardoned even if they boast of their
exploits-their wonderful marcbes--tbcir
constant and desperate comhats ; the skill
and nerve which snatched victory from
the jaws of defeat, and even when they
were retiring before overwhelming num-
bers, made it truly better that the fne had
~"ne'er been been born" than meet their
bayonet charge.
In speaking of this veteran legion,
praise is virtue" Their history is hlazoncd
all over with glory. They are "happJ
names, beloved children the f~avoriIes
of fame, if not of fortune. In their dingy
uniforms, lying stretched beneath the
pines, or by the roadside, they are the
mark of many eyes which see them not
: the absorbing thought in tho breast OF
. beauty, and the idols of the popular heart.
!, In line before the enemy, with their brist
) ling bayoncts, they are the terror of the
/ foe.
) The heart that does not thrill at sigh
:. of the WON veterans, is cold indeed. Tc
him who writes, they present a spectacle
/ noble and heroic; and their old tattsred
ball pierced flag is the sacred ensign Q
+, liberty.
( Their history and all about them is famil
lar to me. | have seen them going into &C
r ton, after fighting four battles in five days
y with the regularity and we'll dressed front
= holiday soldiers on parade. There was n
struggling, no lagging-eyery man at hi
e work, and advanced with the steady tram
r of the true soldier. The ranks were thin
: and the faces travel worn, but the old fla
l. tioated9n the winds ofthe Potomac as defan
ly as on the banks of the Shenandoah. Tn;
bullet torn ensign might have been write
= all over, on both sides, with the names
II ,battles-and the list have then been incou
= plete. Manassas, Winchester, Kernstowl
= Front Royal, Port Republic, Cold Harbon
d Malvern Hill, Slaughter Mountain, Bristo
70 Station, Groveton-Ox Hill, Sharpsbur
- Fredericksburg were to follow. And thes
,, were but the larger names upon the roll
their glory. The numberless engagement
) of minor character are omitted-but In the:
y | have mentioned they appear to the worl
q and sufficiently vindicate their claim to Il
h title of heroes.
.e l seemed to see those great names, as tt
d Old Brigade advanced that day and n
r whole heart went to greet them. Ever
h heart that is true to our great cause, ar
" loves its defenders will do as much.
=, For these men of the Old Stonewall Bl
$ gade have been brave among the bravest
IN with their noble comrades of Gen. jackson
- corps, they have turned the tide of bat
upon many hard fought fields.
I'd They have "done we'll for the Republic
and let their names be honored. Let /
public salutation greet DEMONSTRATION
% the lip and pen, no less than by the heart
~ meet them and greet them, and call the
glorious-children of glory marching on
y the Pantheon of Fame, in a great and peae
s. ful land!
nv