Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1866-07-10
NJ M ORAL ADDRESS
THOMAS NJ. IsBEL1, ESQ,
At .CharlestOwn, Wednesday, June q, 1855.
Ladies and Gentlemcn


Ladies and Gentlemen:
Deeply sensible of
my inability to meet the responsibilities of this
occasion, yet could not resist yourunitedap-
peals to participate in ceremony which awak-
enss many cherished memories and eS cites the
| tenderest sensibilties of the present hour
Indeed to minister at the altar which beauty
and affection have erected to heroic patriot
ism, is privilege which converts high and
solemn duty into monrnful pleasure; aud
hence it is | have not hesitated, in this mo-
ment of profound sorrow, to hasten into your
presence and assume the part assigned to me,
in the closing scene of the great drama which
his been enacted in our midst
The act:of collecting-and depositiug in sa-
cred places the dust of fallen heroes, is at all
times touching, and imposing spectacle, but
to you matrOns, and maidens sires aud sons.
these obsequies speak not only of national ca,
lamltles, but of private and personal bereaye-
ments, which would bow down our hearts in
unutterable woe, did not light CLEAN over
THIS dark picture, which makes us smile
through our tears. While kneeling at the
graves of these unsefsh and fearless soldiers.
who with tender words of parting, left behind
the dearest idols of their hearts, and rushed
forth with terrible energy to the carnival of
death-while thus knecling and weeping,
consolation like sweet incense rises from
their tombs, and admonishes us that tie
seputchres at which we bow, are the homes
of stainless virtues, lofty patriotism, and
exalted heroism. Over the graves of such
men halo of glory is ever seen, shining
through the tears of all worshippers at their
shrines, and gliding their sorrow into a smile
of pride and of triumph. Cornelia wher
asked Tor her jewels pointed so Ter living
sons. Nirgnian matrons when asked fHr
theirs, will, with more then Cornelio's nr;do
point to their dead on the field Of battle
Oh! what sweet-scented SAVIOUR is this
coming IRON. the charncl house of war to
comfort. and cheer. and bless the bercay ed,
anu what glorious illustrations of the distin-
! gushing characteristics of Southern heroes
will they furnish for the applause and imita-
tion of the most distant generations!
Now that the last sword has leaped from its
scabbard-the last gun fired and the roar of
battle hushed. let us gather the relics of the
past and cOnsecrate them to the uses of the fu-
ture Tor from the arbitrament of tho sword
| tothe Judgment history, will this great strug-
tlcnce and complacency, the issue of a candid
and truthful examination of the motives and
conduct OF the Southern people, in the terri
Bile conflict through which they have passed.
Without departing from the obvious course
OF propriety marked out for this occasion, l
may say that all history does not furnish a par
alieI to the sublime attitude of the Conieder-
ate States, when, without established govern
ment in the neutrality-suspicious. a navy
without cree dit-with sparse population. with
its capital chiefly in the labour of the country.
and that labour in some particulars an element
! of weakness in our political organization dur
ing the existence of hostilitics-wlen such
people found themselves confronted in arms
By a first rate power, withunlimitcd resources
In men and money, complete masters of the
ocean, with tumultuary population in which
cupidity and fanaticism conspircd in aid of
whatever patriotism remained I say, when
the South accepted battle under these cir
| cumstances simply in defence of what she be-
lleved to be her reserved rights, under the
national compact, she exhibited to the world
spectacle OF moral grandeur and personal
| courage, unapprOached in the annals of apy
people. Whatever diversity of opinion may
now or hereafter exist as to the propriety of
| her course, there can be none with respect to
the galantry with which she maintained it,
| Her decisive victories and disastrous defeats
are equally conspicuous for unshaken courage,
and when in the vcisstudes of fortune She
lowered her standard, she abated nousht of
her integrity or honor. Amidst the general
| wreck of her hopes, this at least was left as a
| legacy to her sons.
Vlrginla-a large sharer in this rich in
her'tance-now that her spear is broken and
her banner furled-Virginia, alike faithful to
her traditonary glories and her present re-
nown, emerging from this conflict mutilated
and despoiled, transfxed with thousand
wounds, and bleeding at every pore, comes
with unbroken pride and untarnished honor
to bless her surviving children and bid then,
call the roll of her dead defenders Were it
practicable 'twere we'll to let them sleep in
the earth they watered with their blood for
TO the soldier, nc spot can be more fitting to
receive his remains than tho last one he de-
fenced with his life, and cOnsecrated with his
death. But to identify and make perpetnally
certain the final resting places of these com
rades IN arms, and partners in Immortality,
1t behooves us to inaugurate the ceremonies
of this day, that in all the future. the pilgrims
who annually assemble here may recognize
the. .shrines at which they bow, and adorn them
with monumental offerings Whether from
the orange groves of Florida, or the corges
| ofthe Alleghanies, from the the sugar planta-
| tions of Louisiana and Texas-the rice and
cotton fields of the Sunny South, or the gras>
| sy plains OF the fertile West, from whence
soever they came, let them not lie in undistin>
gnishablc dust, but each grave hero hold,
and every stone a history.
Geographically, Virginia and especially this
Valley, was the Flanders of America
Pressing close up to the popuous North,
| tee'ning with the comforts and luxurles of
life, with roads suitable for military trans
Portation at all seasons, and supplies much
beyond other sections along the border, 10
say nothing Of stratcgical points, this Valley
invited contending armies, and was dotted all
over with blue and gray in dramatic move
mcnt, or in inanimate silence for four of the
most eventfGl years of modern times 1t
was here that Jackson-more thoroughly en-
bodying the spirit of the revolution than any
| of its crraok oont3;os 80 I..-.:. Al Il L III.