The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-06-17

tnat Wneu our State Calle0 ner sonS 10 ue-
| fend her, and that command was organized
when your banner, unsullied by any stain OF de-
feat, untarnlshed by any breath OF dish0nor, was
| borne so heroically through the storm OF nearly
Washington Light Infantry that gave me the first
| company OF the Hampton Legion. Can you sup
pose that have forgotten the name OF "Com.
pany A2'' that company which for four years OF
shaken on the right OF the Leglon9 Can 1 forget
| that devoted friend, that unselfsh Patriot, that
gallant soldier. that noble gentleman. Johnson,
who was your first and one OF your costliest sacri-
get the gifted Pettigrew who lived truly long
enough to achieve an undying glory for himself,
but who died too soon for his mourning country
Standing over the graves which hold the halloW-
| ed dust OF so many patriotic soldiers, looking
upon yonder tomb. where are inscribed the names
or forty-fve OF my loved and trusted comrades OF
that single company which you gave me, how
can forget the men who fought and died by my
side? Can l. turning from the lamented dead to
| the honored living, looking once again upon the
familiar faces Of the men %hom b dnager 5angat
ed that trust? Can l look upon Conner, as he
leans upon those crutches, which tell proudly
how noby he discharged his duty, and then Tor.
get the washington Light Infantry2 on. no !!
| these are amongst the most cherished though
saddest Of my heart, and they bind me to my Old
comrades by ties which death may, but nOtning
else, can ever sever. They remind me, too. OF my
none more sacred than that which calls upon me
to vindcate their motives, to praise their patriot
| ism, to commend their example, and to protect
their memory. These are the duties which de.
volve upon u.s. the sad survivors OF that gallant
| band who, OF the call OF their State, rallied to
her defence. Mourning over the graves OF "0ur
sialn," who, "for fai h and for freedom. lay
slaughtered in valn;" standing amid the wreck
of our dearest hopes, looking OF the ruin or our
country, wltnessing the steady but rapid over
| throw OF Republican institutions and constitu-
To InFr fn Rll
exerton but the hallowed memories OF the past
| that past which was made glorious by our great
dead Amid mat noble and a,as, rast ,o. tnIons nops
deserve deeper gratitude, than the men who died
In her cause. Not until death has placed his eter
| nal seal upon the living, and stamped with his
Irreyocable decree all tile actions OF their being.
can they be truly estimated. The Judgment we
pass upon our contemporaries Is too often warped
| by envy jealousy, personal dislike, or political
prejudice: and 1t Is not until death has closed
their career here that we can recognize the great
ness OF their actions or the integrity OF their pur-
poses.
The men to whom you dedicate this monument
afrection have passed this last dread ordeal, and
we deem them worthy to be enshrined in peo-
ple's heart and to receive the grateful plauditS
| OF peoples voice.
| "a peoples voice we are people yet.
| Tho oil men else their nobler dreams forget
Confused by braInless mObs and lawe5s powers,
| We have voice with which to pay the debt
| or boundless love and reverence and regret
To those great men who fought and Kept IL
ourS.n
They fought to vindicate the great truths enun-
ciated in '76. and to defend their inalienable
rights established by our fathers, and bequeathed
! to US as our noblest heritage. For these they
fought in vain; and OF all the attributes OF free
! dom, there Is left to us only peoples voice,
which, though stifed, calls Heaven to witness
| that we were sincere and honest In the convlc-
tlons which prompted our actions, which still as
fattt, to- tIn 1ntIn NJ
cause, and which, rising from oure.hearts
| in our desolate land, utter lamentations for
| the precious blood that was so lavishly but
so bravely shed IN our country's cause. we,
nv friends, who were the actors In that mighty
drama which for four years filled the worlds
stape.hlay not be competent to pronounce an I'M
partial Judgment rs to the justice o(that cause.
| Time, with Its soothing influence, must elapsc,
cool before the record can be fully; made up for
| History to pronounce her final verdict. Be
evlng that Truth, Right and Justice were
| on our slde We submit our case without
one doubt to the impartial Judgment OF posterty,
reserving to ourselves the right OF appeal to the
| Great Tribunal alone, where the Supreme Judge
or the universe, who reads our hearts, VIII pro-
nounce that decree which will through all eternl-
ty irstlry or condemn us. We know that the
| men whose names are written on that marble
believed, as firmly as they did In the existence OF
q God In the justice OF the cause Tor wnlcn tney
died; we know that they sacrificed peace, com.
|
the call and the service OF their State; and know.
Ing this we place them high on the roll
Of those patriotic and heroic dead who
make up the, great army OF mi, martyrs
to u.s. or less honorci, because they fel! IN cause
which God, In His providence, has seen ft to let
! fail Tie hcathcn may delfy the conquering nero,
while he condemns those VINO IAN 10 ealie, I,,,
| evidence Of merit but not so the Christian.
Right TRUTH justice contribute the standard by
which he measures all things. The test nc applies
| to the actions OF men Is the law which God Him.
self has made. By this law, we can distinguish
the laws which decide right from wrong, as readi-
! ly rs we can recognize those which separate light
| from darkness. We know that IN the economy
God @ Is 20
| dust BY vice. We see liberty PROSTATE at the
feet OF tyranny. We see religion superseded by
fanaticism. Intelligence, virtue, patriotism
thrust aside. while ignorance. vice and selfish
ness usnrp the high places OF the earth. These
are the apparent anomalies which strike us,
when we consider the Almighty government
! of this world. But when guided by the
| light of revelation we look more closely into that
wondrous system, and comprehend more fully
| the scheme Of That faith which, sprlnSing from
Calvary, Is lighting with Its sublime truths every
crevce or the eartl we can reconcile the dllcul-
ties which stand III our way. That religion
| taught By the Saviour, which We profess, nowhere
promises that we shall be rewarded in this world
for well doing. 1t does not promise that virtue
shall here triumph while Vice Is punished; IL does
| NOT promise that the cause OF liberty, sustained
though 1t may be by truth, courage patriotism,
will necessarily succeed when 1t has to contend
with unlicensed power directed by ambition,
| ldIfed AMI fear. No such promises are held out
| by the Divine Founder OF our religion to his fol-
lowers. On the contrary, they are explicitly told
that on this earth they are TO look for trials dis
appointments aud ailictions; that they Will often
see the powers OF darkness holding high carnival
OF crime, where they hoped to see virtue eXercs-
| ing her benign and powerful sway; that 1t does
not come within the scope OF the Christian relig-
| ion to punish evil anu to reward the good In this
world and that not until the last trump shall
| summon the quick and the dead to Judgment
will the great Judge, reCiting oil the wrongs, pun
sh all the crimes and reward oil the virtues whs.
have excited her since the foundation of the earth.
1t Is this sublime faith that sustans the Christian
patriot as he struggles to bear his own aIlctions,
or mourns over his countrys loss OF liberty; for
| he knows that II he has discharged his duty to
his God and to his country he will sooner or later
surely reap an exceeding great reward.
| Let US, then, my friends and comrades, cling
with unrelaxing grasp and unshaIen confidence
| to the faith that is In us. Let not the angry
tatiou drive or allure us to f0rsake It, Above all,
| be not misled by that unmeanlng jargOn which
] tells you that your cause was submitted to the
| arbitrameut Of arms, and that the sword hos de-
J c.ded that cause against you. The sword has
never, nor will 1t ever decide principle or estab.
| lish truth 1t can, as it has often done, over.
| throw Just cause and make might take the place
| laws OF God, and make what is evil appear right
| In His sight A noble cause, upheld herocally by
honor, courage and patriotism may die along
with its supporters. A great truth never dies;
but eternal as the God-head from which IL
springs, 1t lives forever, amid all the changes
ttn