The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-11-17

1STON, FRIDAY MORNING,
command of all the armies, he determined to
get rid'of the bugbear of superior numbers,
and to have the odds on his side, 80 that he
might destroy us by the mere attrition of num-
bers, II nothing else. 1t was very costly ex-
pertinent to him. in that wonderful campaign,
| from the Rapidan to the James, where The
| military genius Of General Lee, and the fight
ing capacity and endurance of his army, were
so conspicuonsly displaye campaign which,
in my opinion, stands unsurpassed In the
| annals OF warfare, for the marvellous ex-
hibitIon of all the elements of the most ex-
| alted military genius, on the part of our COM
mander, and the sublime courage and steadi-
ness OF his little army, which was less than a
| third as strong as the opposing force; but the
history Of that campaign has never been writ
ten. With an army of very near 100000 men,
up, all of Grants plans were thwarted and de-
feated by an army of less than $1,000 men, In
q contest continuing for nearly forty days,
and extending over distance of eighty miles;
and he was finally, after LOGS In battle OF
considerably more men than General Lee had
River, at point to which he could have gone
without the loss of man. He was then COM
PEELED to invoke to his aid, as an ally ofhis
process OF attritlon, lingering starvation.
These two agencies slowly but surely did their
work; and when, at the head OF more than
10000 men, superbly equipped and bountl-
fully fed. be received the surrender Of less
soldiers with arms In their hands, and, includ-
ing the teamsters, extra-duty men, wounded
and sick, camp.follo wers and stragglers, who
afterwards came In, 21,806 men In all, we can
we'll imagine the feelings with which he and
his priucipal officers looked each other in the
face, and asked, as well they might: is
this the army which has so long baffled our
mighty efforts |? 1t was but the ghost of the
Army of Northern Virginia which they con-
quered.
mo man could look upon that scene at Ap-
pomattox Courthouse, and for moment, In
his heart, believe that the followers of Robert
E. Lee were traitors or rebels. But, my COM
rades, the victor on that occasion had not the
remotest conception of the true meaning OF
the word 'magnanimity,' much less of the SEN
timent Talk of Grants magnanimity on that
occasion, In conceding the terms that he did
10 General Lees demands scout the Idea.
General Lee went to that Interview with the
firm resolve to cut his way out With the small
remnant LETT, If terms were not granted him
deemed honorable In war. Grant saw the
blue mountains not far of-he had sad ex-
perience of what that little army was capa.
ble-he was afraid General Lee might
make his way into those mountains, and
then he would lose the supreme glory OF
terminating the war by the surrender to him
OF his great antagonist, and he granted the
terms, without which he could not have pro-
cured that surrender. Call you this magma
nimity? But 1t Is said he prevented General
Lee from being prosecuted for treason. He
had, then, fortunately for him, mentor who
forced the idea into his dull brain, that his own
honor and glory were In some way connected
in inf nj q
parole granted General Lee and his soldiers,
and he acted In accordance with the sugges-
tions made to him. That mentor has since
gone, and what has been his course, as the
head of powerful government, towards
General Lee and his followers Compared to
what has been done to our people, 1t would
have been mercy to have hung all our leaders,
civil and military, and then granted peace
and amnesty to the masses. Jeffreys, himself,
could not have devised more exquisite torture
and cruelty than has been inflicted on oil our
people,"
The grafton concluded as follows:
"We must and will preserve, green and
fresh, The memories OF our dead heroes, while
the noble and true women OF the South will
continue, from year to year, to strew flowers
on their graves, and teach their fair daughters
| to perpetuate the pious custom; and we Will ad-
| here TO the principles for which Lee, Sidney
Johnston and Jackson fought and died. TO
show to all ages, that We were not unworthy
to be the soldiers of our great leaders, let us
rear q monument, or monuments, to them,
which shall tower towards the heavens, and
| testify, for all time, that the men who were
| true to them In lite did not abandon them In
death. Such monuments are not necessary
| to perpetuate their fame, for that is as Wide
as inc bounds of civilization, and will be as
enduring as the mountains, and hills, and
plains, and valleys, and rivers of their own
well beloved South. It ie to ourselves tnaC
we owe the duty of furnishing an enduring
witness Of our fidelity to our cause and tie
memory of our great leaders.
my comrades, might and wrong cannot al
ways prevall-a just and righteous God rules
above and over all; and however gloomy ana
dark everything may now appear around us,
I have firm and abiding faith that the time Is
coming when 1t will be higher and more
honorable title for man to be able to say:
my ancestor wore the gray, and fought In the
same great struggle for right to which Robert
e. Lee, Sidney Johnston and Stonewall JACK
son devoted themselves than to be able to
claim descent from one who fought at Ronces-
valles, or came over with william the Con-
queror.
"Let us, therefore, foster and extend our
fraternal associations and perpetuate them;
and Let every Confederate soldier jealousy
guard his reputation and honor as such, 30 as
to transmit the rich heritage to his posterity
unimpaired, taking to himself as guide, IN
Its full and highest import, the advice OF Polo
MUS to his son:
"t-to thine ownself be true;
And tt must follow as night the day;
Thou canst not be false to ahy man."