The Sumter watchman. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1855-1881, 1870-11-23
THE MEMORY OF LEE.'
MEETlNG or CONfEDENAfH
N.ix ZfQttipfkMS Y.lrzA,

"'''- ~ 01;o:M11 09I;oi:L11'H III ~
speeches by Ex-Preeifeat pPyys, {,en..
era,s Gordon, 'frcs,on: ismdt .
Osher AissIngalshea
q { .@Se!% dN'
ORGANIZATION OF THE LEE MONUMENT
ASSOCIATION.
rha md,~,ipg .of,CS,SdSi,y soldier: |:
AID sailors held sv.hSfirse presby,eris
an Clutch last night was very larx.l,
attended. I"decd. the crowd :; was. a,y
great thu, many were turued away fnr
luck OF accommodations The body vi ,h.
church 7xss oSSupgfd ~ sbSsIdivrs .snd
saa5rS aud eIs saletit4 V ysidSapsS,a
tors as arrived early enough to secure
seats. ,,l .,s
TEMPORARY ORGANIZATION.
As44,o shssk 5He 'sss4ug ;wss called
to,order 'by'GeK-kB Bradley 1aaJ0hn Iou,
VIII" proposed The following temporary
organization {: .r''i.!
Itssaltnt.-M'j Gen. Jub.l !. Early,
Of VTg'ais. %
Dc
Capt. George wa'ser. and ssrgcuu,
George l.. chris{t!lassnI % s,I,.
with applause, aud unanimously car
r,ed
Gen. Early then .toYk the chair. lie
was o1ad 10 the MlGol1dss~,ei Yray.
which he has never forsakeu since tie
',..,sd Confederate aY M y9H,yoxsDe ss., Appy-
GENERAL EAeLy,s ADDsess,~
Hc *p"ke as follows: '''<, -"
"Frtcnds antl, 0am,rut{es: When the
Information ut The death ui our illustri-
Gus c"mmauder was flashed over the tel
egrap)lc wires ~ all 4}.arts oi the civil
lied world. good nep everywhere mourn
ed the loss "t him Why in; life Was the
noblest exemplar Of his times, ofull that
isgood, aud true, aud great in human
nature; sh'd'a cry Of ati.rish was w,uny
from the hearts-uf every irue l'onie,lcr
ate soldier, which was equalrL tnly by
that which came up t,um the same hear,
when the TACT was reulizrd TINT the
sword OF Robert Il Lee was sheathed
forever aud the banner tn which hi.
deeds ad given such Tu>ire was fnrle,i
a'nid the gl"Vln aud disaster. Aite,
the first burst Of .riet h,d subs idrd. th.
inquiry arose in The breasts of all. Wha,
can we do tn manifest our esteem and
vencration for him we loved 80 we'll
1t was but necessary hat the snggpstin,
should he made to elicit an expression,
Of the general scntiM-mt. | though,
that coold sake the liberty "t making
that s"ggrstioaso so my old CON, adrs aud
therefore made the call under which yuu
are her" assembled Although | mad.
that call as the tnrmer senior in rank al
all the officers Ut the Army oi N"rlh+r,
Virginia now living in the STATE. / de-
sire to say to you t hat ut the tomb al
General Lee all distinctions "ir,uk asr
The private snld er who in TAFT. red uni
fnrm and sdre aud bleeding feet E,llnw
ed the hammer upheld ny LIRE aud jack
sou, aud did not desert ar skuIk in th.
hour OF danger, hut did his daIy 10 ,h.
and 0f the war. aud is nnw dung H..
duty by remaining true to the princi-
Piles tor which he fought, il the peer o
OF the mnst renowned in fame or exult
ed in rank Among the survivors. II.
has an eqnal share in The proud herta..
left us in the memory Of the slorio,,.
deeds and bright virtues of our great
chieitain, All such meet aud welcomn,
here, claiming them rs my friends. com
rades, aud brothers.
My friends. if it is expected that
shall on this occusion deliver a cr'. e,
on Gen Lee, you will be disappointed
have not he language with which I,
give expression OF my estimate Of tn.
greatness and gondue>s of his character
will say. however, that as cxal cd Il.
, is his lame, the world at large has no,
fully appreciated the trnnsccndant abili
tics oil Gen Lee. nor realized the per-
fection Of his character. No one tha
hus not witnessed tie affectionate kind
ness and gen,lcness. aud often playful
ness, OF his manners in private, hi
great self contr"l and dignity in dcalin:
with important public affairs, the exhi
bition Of bis high and unyieldi"g sens
OF duty on all occasions, and the majes.
tic grandeur Of his action and APPEAR.
ance amid the shock of battle can form
more than an approximate estimate o
his real character.
Monuments OF marble or bronze CO,
addTothiug to the fame of General Lee
and it is not necessary to preserve
that such should be- erected. But tn
student Of history in future ages, VIII
shut read Of the deeds aud virtues q
our immortal hero, will be lot iD amaze
meDt at the fact that such u man wen
dawn to his grave disiranchised chi
zen by the cdict Of his contemporaries
which intamOns cdict has been forced T.
be recorded on the stntute book Of hi
native State by the fat OF al inexorabl
de'pOtisni.
We, ny comrades, owe it. to ourselve
at least to purge ourselves of the lou
stain by eredti6g an enduring mouu
ment to him, that will be consta,,
protest, for all time to come, against IL,
righteousness Of the judgments pro
nounced against him, without .arraign
ment, without trial, without evidenc
and without justice. The exact localit
OF that monument / do not now propos
to suggest. When we are in a oondi