Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1872-06-15
Address of VIM. L. Wilson, Esq, at
ShepherdStoWn

to offer incense at the shrine of Southern hero
ism. In accordance with that simple and
touching ceremony which has so deservedly be-
come custom among us, we bring flowers for
the graves Of our dead, and for their memories
tribute Of love aud of gratitude.
To the brave and the true among men, the
grave the heroic soldier, wherever il may be,
is hallowei ground, his memory precious in
heritance; but for us who gather to this SER
vice, there are voices from these graves which
no other ears can hear there are memories in
them which no other hearts can feel. The
living were ours, of us and from US, bound to
US in life by the ties of kinship Of friendship,
of sympathy, of association in suffering aud
! danger aud the dead are ours, ours not more
their treasured dust, gathered into this peace
fui cemetery, than all the thronging, glorious
memories that spring immortal from that dust.
Holy indeed was the love, kindled at the
altar of woman's devotion, which, ere the
echoes Of war had died in the land, and when
gloom and dismay were brooding over all
things, sought out, before time could lay his
efIsciug hand upon them, the graves Of our
| fallen soldiers whether they lay upon the field
of battle, along the weary highway, within the
shadow Of the hospital or in the lonely forest
! gathered their ashes as so many treasures
saved from the general wreck, guarded them
! from desecration, and with teuderest care de-
posted them in safe and appropriate burial
places beautifulindeed has been theimpusive
affection that, each returning season, has strewn
their graves with rare and fragrant flowers +;
and high and sacred is the duty now resting
upon us, their survivors and friends, to guard
well their reputation, to cherish their memo
ries and to preserve for ourselves and for pos
terity, all the heritage Of glory and of goodness
! those memories contain. And by the fortune
! Of war this is, at present, our exclusive trust,
! for to us alone, among men, was it granted TO
behold, with our own eyes, the unveiled splen-
dor of those qualities which even through the
gloom Of defeat and the clouds Of passion and
prejudice, awakened the wonder and claimed
the adtniring respect of mankind. False shall
we be to the dead, doubly false to ourselves, il
we fail or refuse, on any fitting occasion, to re-
| call and commemorate whatever was true and
good and great in them, as well for the infor-
nation of history as for ocr own inspiration
and encouragement.
To the outside world, these are the graves Of
soldiers only, of soldiers who fought and fell in
unsuccessful war; whose valOr AID zeal won
the ephemeral applause Of their fellow men,
but failed to achieve the substantial rewards Of
victory and success, but we know that with
these dead the martial prowess and heroic val
or, conspicuous and dazzling as they were,
were but the necessary and incidental adorn-
ments of virtues which, in peace as in war, are
the foundations fall true manhood, the springs
Of all true life.
Theirs, indeed, was the courage which blazed
in the face Of danger, but theirs, also, was the
modesty that could perform heroic deeds and
spurn the fame of their achievement; theirs,
indeed, was the zeal that overcame suffering
and sncrifce but theirs also the unselishness
that could lay upon the altar of its faith COM
fort and wealth, reputation and life, all things
that men most eagerly covet and strive after in
this world, without n murmur, and without a
boast Of sacrifice; and theirs, also the unshrink-
ing devotion to duty that ma lie this life of dan
ger, suffering and sacrifice a courted destiny.
These are the memories which we are per-
mitted to recall on such day as this, for such
to our eyes were the qualities with which these
dead were invested when they moved in life
among us, qualities so rare among men that
! the world can afford to lose no manifestation OF
them.
Is il, then, mere sentiment that brings us
to these services Are there no lessons for the
! living to be learned at the graves Of the dead ?
When the bands Of earthly knship and sym
patty are sundered, are not the influences OF
such a place and such day so many incen-
! tives to urge us 10 seek kiushp and sympathy
with their noble qualities and their unsued
virtues? All we need such shrnes as these
more and more, zach passing year, we need
such lessons to be urged upon us by voices we
cannot refuse to hear. Amid the hustle and
! tumult, amid the riva'Ty and contention, amid
tho vain and hot pursuits Of busy life the
WhiSpcrings Of modesty, the tender plcadings
! Of YrselishneSs, the clarion voice Of duty are
, unhecdci or unheard and happy is the peo-
nIe - hich as the air thickcns with the exhala-
lions OF moral and political decay; as gross
and naked sen, .shuess Becomes the sole com
mended and recogn,z.d law Of human inter
course as the blight of n..HteriaIism hardens
aud deaders every high and generous pulse
of mans spiritual being as the dues OF pa
triotsn., the ties Of blood, the honor Of iA.nly,
the confidential trusts Of life, arc rated at =
price in the current coin Of the day happy,
indeed, is the people that can and will gather
to such a spot as this, bringing the flowers that
fade with the morrow's sun and taking hence
a garland to make their own lives fragrant for
eyermore.
Let us, therefore, guard with increasing ten
derness, let us invest with increasing signif-
canoe this customary tribute to the memory
of our dead, deeming it duty deeming it a
privilege to gather at their graves not with
sumptuous offering, not with pomp Of ceremo-
ny and simulated expressions Of sorrow, but
with hearts warmed to grateful sympathy and
open TO every ennobiug influence that hoyers
about their undecaying shrines
Let US meet, not to call up the spectres Of
hate, not to foster and rekindle the passions
and arrangements Of war, nor yet, in mean
subservence TO the fashions Of the hour, to in
suit tho memories of our fallen by dubious
praise, nor to record our own littleness in
words of excuse and Of apology for them
What though the banners they followed be
fuIled forever? What though the cause on
which they layished all their sollierly valor
and heroic virtues be lost forever? Such de-
yotion to truth and duty arc beyond the reach
of conquest aud decay, immortal and iuvinci-
be- for
Virtue, the strength and beauty Of the soul,
j. the best gift OF heaven q happiness
That even above the smiles and frowns Of fate
Exalts great Natures favoriies
Let US also perpetuate together with this
tribute, the unpretanding ceremony by which
it is offered, so impressive in its simplicity, so
enhanced to-day by the prophecies OF place and