Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1870-05-13


mics, speaking the same language and sprincino
from kindred race. On the Contrary NAV ne
grant that the causes of strife, being at last all
extinct, peace and harmony may prevail. and
make this land i'll truth, and not merely i'm name
the asylum of human liberty
IL 10 III order that these noble lessons NAV he
deeply engraved in the hearts of our peonIe that
throughout the South the Memorial Ass6cIst;oT.
Oh our generous hearted ladies are calling us to-
eetner TINS DAY from every town and village
Ia the land, to the cemeteries wherein their mons
care mas collected the precious remains II our
that this the 10th day Of May should Lave beee
selected by almost unanimous consent as the
great memorial day Of the South, For it is on
THIS oay, seven years ago, that the greatest and
most Illustrlous OF our dead feIow-soldiers WELD
ed up his spirit to his Maker and left his conntrv
TO mourn the lrreparable loss Of SToNEwA1f.
To-day all nature smiles genially around M
The forest and the field lie all glowing beneath
the Spring sunlight. The gentle breeze that
tans our brows brings naught but the perfumes
OF sweet flowers and the songs of iovons hirds
In In this tranquil and beauteous resting-place of
the dead all speaks of calmness and peace. Tbs
busy hum of the distant city scarce penetrates
this placid retreat, while the mellow sounds of
the church bells family ring in meanchoIv
chimes. like sad, yet soothing requiem.
| But seven years ago this day
! Shall l retrace before your ewes the picfuro
that memory brings to mine?
A scrubby growth Of: dwarf oaks Iso dense as
to be almost impenetable, blasted and scorch-
| ed by the fires kindled by bursting shells and
still concealing within its gloomy depths the half
! calclned corpses of those hapless wounded too
feeble to escape the fearful coDhagration AS far
as the eye can reach, nothing to be seen but that
dreary region Of the Wilderness in which Nature
herself looks frowning, even in the iocund davs
! OF spring, Blackened ruins, lettering chimneys
crumblin8 Notifications and shattered cannon.
wheels, alone mark tho site where once stood tho
| quiet hamlet of Chancellorsyie. Trees riyen aud
shorn few feet above the ground, as il by some
gigantic scythe bushes, showing in every twig
the fractures caused by some monstrous hail ex.
hlolt the terrible traces of artilery and muske:-
~. No sweet perfumes of Spring flowers here
10 that peculiar acrid smell OF the battlefield
never to be forgotten or mistaken by those who
nave once breathed it to that mingled odor of
burning leaves, fresh blood, and powde smoke
has succeeded the far moro repuIsiye scent of
corruption and decay The whole atmosphere is
reeklng with the putrid emanations from hun.
dreds OF dead horses, and from thousands Of ehal-
low graves for, as We tide this Sunday MORN
ing over that wasted battlefield of a week ago
at every step we see the skeleton hands and feet,
washed out by tho recent rains, and already
blackened aud feshless. And for fitting musio
Ia this Golgotha, not the tuneful song Of summer
birds, but the pestiferoue humming of carbon
flies. Not the peneive sound of holy bells on this
Sabbath morning, but the suIleu roar Of tha stiII
uneXtlngulshed forest, ana the irregular crash
OF bursting shells, as the danes re&ch and ex.
plode them.
the banks of the Rappahannock, on the desoiate
field Of the great battle.
And yet, you remember comradcs-for somo
OF you are present here to-day who were with mo
tber7-yOu well remember that our veterans in
ured to all the vicissitudes OF a soldiers life were
enjoying the temporary rest after the fierce con
n!ct. Our dead had been buried, cur wounded
transported to more remote hospitals Our hopes
were buoyant, for though great leader was
Frustrated for the present by his wounds, we all
looked forward to time not far distant when he
would again lead us to other victories, which
would at last bring blessed peace TO the lard. In
the camps OF the division, VIXEN evening came,
the usual song and jest were heard as before, ox-
hibiting that careless gaiety so gratifying to be
hold, indicating q cheerful readiness for al
emergencies. Thus it was up to that Sunday,
the 10th of May seven years ago.
The rose cloudless on that sabbath morn
nh6nn N " NJ ibn p1ntr OF
smouldering woods. In most of our camps ser
vices wero held by the Chaplains, and attended
but the Omniscient can tell what pray ers arose
that day-many from hearts and lips unused to
pray for themselves-on behalf OF the beloved
chieftain who, at that very moment, descend
ing into the shadow OF the dark valley. But
death, which he had so often looked in the face.
had no terrors for him. Both for this world gud
the next he had fought the good fight, no had
won the victory; and whom in the supreme hour
his soul beheld the weird river of death hia LAT
rest Under the tFeoesnS one minute more and tho
cold stream wac passed, and he rests forever uu-
der those heavenly trees whose leaves are for
the healing of nations.
All. my countrymen, could you havc seen and
felt as did, the sudden change in these camps
of the Wilderness, when the dread announce
ment came that evening, jackson is dead!" it
would be a memory never to be effaced from
your hearts. The sounds OF merriment died
away as if the Angel of Death himself had flap
ped his mutfed wings over the troops. A silence
profound, mournful sitting and oppressive as o.
funeresl pail, succeeded to the voices OF cheer
fitness and many were the veterans who had
followed him from Harper's Ferry to Manassas,
from Winchester to Port Republic, from Cold
Harbor to Fredericksburg, whose bronzed cheeks
were now wet with burning tears, and whose dsunt-
less breasts were heaving with uncomfortable
sobs. Alas, the star OF our fortunes set when 10
fell. and thenceforth 'unmerciful disaster follow
ed fast and followed faster" until our meteor
flag, conquered, but still spotless and glorious,
went down forever
On this sad anniversary day let us therefore
remember him, and with him all our slain broth.
N Of yDh he 10 hp
tative.
But how shall we, how can we do sufficient
honor to their memories. We look in vain around
US this day for statelystructure to commemorate
their names. Nothing meets our eyes, nothing
but
"a simple sodded mound OF earth,
Without line aboveit
With only fragrant native flowers
TO show that any love it ~
Imperial Rome, rich in the spoils OF world,
could eternize in marble and in bronze the tri-
umphs OF her legions; and the columns of Ira.
verus still standing to-day to rescue from
oblivion the proud names of her Caesars. Greece,
radiant with the prodlgalty Of geniue, crystal
ICES the glores OF her past ages in the unrivaled
outlines OF the Parthenon, while nature itself
dows her with the imperisb able monuments Of
IhermOpy!R and Salamjs.
But. alas, not for US, the despoiled IONS Of the
South, to build such memorials to
our lRmented dead. Not for US to dedicate the
''storied urn or animated bust" Yet let us not
despond if adversely still forbids US to erect
proud mausoleums to our fallen heroes. The day
will come, doubt it not, when returning prosper
lty will enable us to do this. But meanwhile
there are other monuments, ''not made with
hands," yet lasting than brass whose
foundations it is orr present duty to sink doep
that they may endure forever. They those
traditions and sentiments which live eternal in the
hearts OF nation, and become interviewer with
its very existence.
The Israelite, descended from Gods chosen
people. needs no lofty pile to remind him of his
dehyerance from Egyptian bondage, so long as
Passover "A 81 me
mento of Exodus. His simple observance OF his
anniversary day has outlived 6oIomon's magni-
ed, dispersed, prosecuted, banished, nothing has
ever made him forget or neglect the tradition Of
his race.
Well, cay fellow citizens, oppressed and impov-
erished as we are, it is in our power to establish
for ourselves and our posterity forever as unfs-
ding and significant memorial. Let this day
become the national Holy day Of the South. Let
il be celebrated each returning year by the pray
ers of tho Church for the nrosperitY OF the land