Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1869-06-22

let not this custom wear out by time. Erect
the monument which you propose, and engrave
the virtues of these modest dead, aud your
own gratitude upon it. Let the white shaft
pierce the sky, that it may speak to all spec
tators, in language like that on the tomb of
Leonidas-"Stranger tell 1t throughout Vir-
ginia, that we lie here in obediencs to her
commands !" See to it therefore, friends of
these Confederate dead, that the monument is
not left unfinished. Bring no reproach upon
yourself by letting that good work fail. But
let it 90 up. Here On the border of that great
battle field, Virginia-on the banks of that
river which during the war rolled its deep
waters between you and the North, until they
were stained with blood-hcre in sight of
chivalric and generous Maryland, whose gal
liant sons came to fight and fall with yours,
and who to this day has never refused to re-
spond with noble willingness to every demand
made upon her sympathy, and her means =
here at the very gate and entrance OF the
Shenandoah Valley, through which the red
not tide of battle ebbed and flowed unceasinS
ly until it became the debatable ground of the
war aud was called the Valley of Humiliation
this rich, great valley, which we hope is
destined to become as prosperous in peace, as
it was renowned and valuable in war right
here in this fttest of places and over these
cherished ashes, let the enduring monument
arise aud speak TO all the nation Thus give
to these dead tongue and a voice that will
speak to present and succeeding generations
with a power unknown to living man.
Women of the South, all this is of your in
vention and your handwork. These cere-
monies are not fashioned after the will of man.
No subtle statesman nor shrewd politician
suggested them. They are not the dictation
of State policy, or professional speculation,
nor do they bear the masculine stamp of
selfshness and motive. They are but the
simultaneous impulses of the mothers, sisters,
and wives of these sleeping around us. Man
is glad to catch the idea and to follow after
with hands and brain to execute these prompt
ings of the woman heart-eaeer to unite in
the womanly tribute to manly worth. We
feel and acknowledge it, and as we stand hero
aud witness 1t all, We bow our heads in CRATE
fulness and worship that noble spirit which
watches over the accomplishment of this
pleasing work.
Come then, yearly and gather about these
graves. Come, with tears, those tenderest
offerings of humanity which drip as sacrcdly
to earth as prayers ascend to Heaven, and
shed them as freely the fallen shed their
blood. Come with flowers, fresh, fragrant,
and newly plucked and offer them us earth's
handsomest tribute to that nOb!er part OF man
which does not return to dust. Come with
your purest emotions, and testify to the full
9ess of our gratitude and affection. To-
morrow this large crowd will be gone and
scattered as the legions and banners which we
so we'll remember; this grove will be silent
and this cemetery given up 10 the ashes and
spirits of the dead, and in the far hereafter,
Wen your tears shall cease to flow, when
al a, bon nd
peared and the very hearts that now beat with
such fresh warm sympathy; shall become
emotionless and cold, the lesson of too day and
thc"exampes of these ceremonies will remain,
and men, now babies, and the unborn, will
know that there is an earthly reward after
death, which rests like crown upon the
grates of these who die for their country and
principle. ..
ADDRESS OF bANIEL D. LUCAS, ESQ.
Ludics and Gentlemen We have assem-
bled on this occasion not to speak the many
words of fattery aud mutual admiration but
the few of bereavement and conservation.
The Dead have nothing to ask OF us!
We come, therefore, not so much to conso-
crate as to be ourselves consecrated 1t IS we
that need the spiritual gifts which an heroic
sorrow can shed around and about itself.
The Dead have nothing to ask of us Z!
gather from the bounty of our valley gardens
-douby embalmed in dew, the tears OF ma
ture, and the tears, the dew of womcn-to lay
upon these silent tombs, are more the gifts of
our dead to us than Of US to our darling dead.
The Dead have nothing to ask of us!
Their liberated spirits have little regard for
| these tehantless sepulchers. The Universe IS
their home, and eternity their epoch, They
/ give US christian spiritual gifts in the chas-
tening lessons Of sorrow they give flowers
through the hands of decomposing and re-
7 composing Nature; they give us the moral
influence of their example. What was that
example, and what may we learn from it ?
These tnen were slow to violence and war
but they had heard with their ears, aud their
fathers had told them that when Virginia
called them, it was theirs to obey. Let not
the men who rjished to the strife upbraid
these stern, silent martyrs who died upon the
side Of defence. They have taught us that
the defensive man is always brayer: more re-
liable, in all respects better soldier; than the
aggressor. The Continent has never seen
such soldiers as these were, whose unbroken
sumber we come here now to witness aud to
conseCrate Many of them were Jackson s
men. Many of them walked through this vdl-
lev with him, as the A postles walked through
! Galliee-performing miracles
These were the men who volunteered with.
out bounty, fought without pay, and died with
out murmur. o! how shall we appreciate
their deeds or magnify their example? Not
alone By songs triumphant, for they were not
victorious: Not alone by dirges sorrowiui,
for they did not survive defeat: Not alone
/ by the glare of rockets, or the roar of artil-
lery, lest Peace should blush to mock the
grander realities of war in which they par
ticipated Not alone by aspiring shaft or
brazen column, because, composed of their
deeds, they have left monument which is
only incomplete because it is all inscription,
and must seek its marble in the breast of an