The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1872-06-07
THEL LAST SCENE AT APPOMATTOx.
Speech OF a Federal Onieer.


There was a reunion of the S5cie-
ty of the Army of the Potomoc, held
at Cleveland, on the 7th instant. At
this celebration the Grafton was de
livered by Gen. Steward L. Wood
ford, of New York, and from this ora
ton we make the following extracts:
The morning crept slowly on
first into grey dawn, then into rosy
flush. Still on! still on The mists
crept upward and into line YOU
wheeled, and on your muskets lay
! down, each man IN place to get scant
| rest, which even In the exhaustion
of those 36 hours of terrible march
ing you neither sought nor needed
You were squarely across Lees front,
and had closed forever his last line
of retreat.
The enemy reaching your cavalry
| advance saw the serried line of Union
troopers. Gordon gathered and
massed his men for their last charge
Tattered and hungry, worn by cease
less marching and fighting, with no
hope of victory, with little possibili-
ty of escape, they closed their lines
with a fidelity of discipline an sold
| ierly resolution, to which words can
| do little justice-but which each
soldiers heart must recognize and
honor.
As the old guard closed around
their Emperor at Waterloo, SO these
men closed round the flags of their
| lost cause. Ny heart abhors their
treason. But it warns beyond re
| stTaint to their manhood 50 grandly
brave, even in dislOyalty. Slowly
they advanced to their last attack
No battle yell, no crack of the skir-
misher's rifle broke the strange still
ness of that Sabbath morn. SteadI-
| ly, silently they came, when Sheri-
| dan drew back his horseInen, as parts
of some mighty curtain, and there
stood the closeformed battalions of
your infantry, the cannon cleaning
in the openings, quietly awaiting tie
coming of Gordon's men.
Instinctively your enemy halted.
Meanwhile Lee has turned back to
meet Grant and surrender his com
mand. Sheridan swung his cavalry
around upon GOrdon's left, and was
about to charge, when Custar reach
ed LongstTeet. Assurance of surren-
der was given and the end had
! come.
That Sabbath day, with tears and
in sorrow, Southern men folded the
banner of the "Lost Cause" and
their bravest and the best sought
honorably to bury them from sight
forever.
How sad it is that poor ambitions,
jealousies of race, the wretched
greed of pelf and place, and the mis-
cradle hates of social riyalries, should
so often disturb the hearty reconcile
alton of that surrender and for time
revive the bitterness which you then
! sought to bury there in common
grave.
This hour is no time for politics.
Mine not the lips, I trust, to in
troduce them here. But when l
thing of that heroic past, which your
! faces and presence so vividly recall,
and then how trading, trickster pei
iticians, forgetful o. what baptism Of
blood sealsd tue new birth of the
nation, seek t. array races in need-
less hostility. TO excite the ignorruce
of the one and the brutal prejudices
of the other, l would like TO sum
mon a guard, half from the rebel ar
my of Northern Virginia and h.lf
from the loyal army of the Potomac,
take such malcontents out, give them
drum-head court martial, immediate
execution and soldierly burial under
the apple tree at AppOmattox.