The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1865-03-23
!;fGs6eE!aneous.
From thS2E. =. Daily Ne,os, Of Feb. %, 1860
The Ashes of Charleston.

the tug of war. The conflict is about to
assume its fercest, bloodlest, deadliest
phase. There is no longer any doubt as
to the temper of tho South In the ashes
of hedoonled city, the retiring footsteps
of its proud defenders traced their deter
.ninationsto conquer independence what
ever might be the sacrifice of comfort,
property or-life. Charleston was to the
Carolinians what Moscow was to the Rus
slams. For beyondits material value they
srererenced it.for the sake Of associations
that linked it with their emotions ofpride
land affection. If they had obeyed their
in.linations, they would have stood by
the city to tho last, spilIing their life-blood
drop by drop, jim its defence. But the
hour had come for them to sacrifice all To-
cal prejudices, all pride, all passion, all
sentimentality, all personal considerations
to the cause in which they had embarked.
They did not hesitate. The appeal lSsyas
made to their moral courage, and it7was
answered by a devotion like thotgwhich
fired the sacred city ofthc Musco7ites and
gave to the invadera blackcned ruin for
his prize, and desert for his land of
promise.
One journal in this city, the most fan
aGical ofits kind, has asserted that it was
cl5wardice which induced the abandon
ment Of Charleston. All men ofintelli-
gence know this to be false {: AL just men
will Acknowledged q SANDER, and all who
appreciate true courage will blush for
shame that it was ever uttered. 1t was
that kind of cowardice that impelled the
Hack, Douglas to fling the heart of Bruce
into the centre of the Saracen host, that
fpr its redemption his arm might be ner-
we'd to victory. 1t was the kind of cow
ardice that caused Tell to aim his Shaft at
the head. of his loved best; that caused the
first Brutus to pronounce the. doom Of
death upon his son;and the second Brutus
10 slay his nearest friend. Some such
cowardly instinct induced Fabius to shun
the cnomy, and Washington to follow his
example, even when the failing spirits Of
ll,is. conn trYmcn seemed to upraid his eau
iots posipy
that fears to icopardize a cause by graft
ssying q vanity or ambicion. 1T is. moral
courage: thel9fticst and purest that God
has given to his creatures.
j What man is there, who is not a flnatic
or a simpleton, who believes that the
Northern people would; burn and destroy
their property to assist;in suojugating the
South. They would make every needful
sacrifice to resist invasion but for con
quest. onlysuch as are forced upon them
By the military power that conducts the
WAR. But at .last the North begins te
comprehend the stern, unfaltering and in
vincible purpose of the foe. They under
stand atIast the true character ofthe wal
and they know that it means Southern in
| 1
1 depeildenceor determination.
Three years ago, or two, OF even a yeal
! ago, the capture of Charleston would haye
set the Northern pulse in a fever of cx
citenc1.t and exultation. To-day, al
though the flags are flying, and cities and
villages wear holiday aspect, there is
discemable in the midst Of strained en-.
tbasiasal and superficial rejoicing, amore
reflective mood than has been apparent
siuee the commencement Of hostilities
Our people havenot tlost all their sagaoity
inthe whirl of cxcNem ent. They know
4 that the southerners do not burn theil
cities and destroy their property because
of despair or phrensy or if it be madness
there is method in it that is dangerous
TO others than themselves.
The South has accepted a great bnlaaift-
ation as "a prelude toaa great triumph
The woladerrufintellectt now controls
the military action Of tie eonfe deraoy has
IEprompted the saerafc thateHen the North
Ebcloidszwith wonder. Let US eoIfsss
that, beneath the outward seemingsoe f re;
EEioicins there is bewilderment and forsbo,
ding and "a consciousness that the fruit we
have 80 long reached for, and that, at last
has fallen of its own accord into our hands
may turn torashes on our lips hen
American freemen go forth to battle with
the flames of their homesteads lighting
their way to victory or death, dedicating
their household goods to destruction, and
giving all their worldly treasures asa trab=
ute to a political sentiment, the word re-