Beaufort Republican. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1873, 1873-05-29
COwPER.

Iatriots have ioilId and In their corntryS cause
"Blsd noby: anI their deeds, as they deserve,
Receive proud rccOmpcnSe."
CowPER.
Enough has been said in preceding
numbers to shcw that the people OF
South Carolina were ever watchful over
their rights, and punctiliousy jealous OF
any invasion of them. In this laudable
vigilance the citizens of Beaufort were
cxccllcd by none. Though quick to pro-
test against any cncroachment on the
part of the general government,-nay,
to meet it with armed resistance, the
Carolinian was equally promptin in espous-
ing the cause of that government,
whether against outside foes or the
stealthy lurkers of the forest. Upon the
breaking out of the Seminole war in
Florida, our citizens were among the
earliest to the front: A company of Vol
unteers was organized on st. Helena
Island under Captain afterwards Col.
Thos. Fripp, an uncle of our fellow
townsman Clarence Chaplin Esq. This
company rendered very efficient services
as mounted rihcmcn, and were among
the first troops of the U. S. thus equ pp-
ed. Two of those from Beaufort were
wounded in that war; Messrs. Mckee
and Black; but none lost their lives.
In the Mexican war too, the sons Of
Beaufort were to be found, voluntarily
engaged: The two brothers, John and
George Bold, James Stuart, who fell
subsequently in Oregon, and whose
monument in the cemetery Of our Parish
Church records his deeds of noble daring,
w. II. Talbird and Meade Verdier.
Not one of these survives. John Bold
received q commisyion in the regular
army for gallant conduct in Mexico; but
died soon after in Texas. His brother
returned to Beaufort after the war, shat
tered in health from hardships and cx-
posure for which he was too young, and
survived but q few months. Talbird was
spared to enter the Confederate service in
1861 and died soon after the close OF the
war; Verdier settled in Florida, and
there fell victim to fever. The South
crn States sent to Mexico many of their
very best men. The Palmetto regiment
was olficcrcd by citizens Of the .hie hest
position, its colonel being an ex-governor
of our State. 1t will be we'll remember
cd how the London Times ridiculed tho
call of our President for NolmtecrS; yet
the number offering iar exceeded the
limits Of the call. The results Of chat
war, the part borne by the Southern
troops, and especially the gallantry of
the South Carolina regiment are matters
of history.
In 1850 the question Of secession from
The Union was openly discussed in ). G.
\ large and respectable number ef her
citizens boldly advocated it. The people
of the low country largely favored its
adoption as constitutional remedy, and
in this opinion Beaufort gave very de-
cidcd majority. The ballot box, however,
revealed the fact that the people atlargc
were not yet ready for so decided step.
The majority judged it inexpcdicnt to
attempt redress by separate state ac-
tion," and, advocating the united rcsis-
tancc of the whole South, Or-at lcast,-
of the Cotton states, under the name Of
"thc Cooperation Party" succeeded in
arrestiug, for the time, the purposes, and
and with them, the hopes Of the rcsis-
tancc party. Many believe that the
effort would have resulted at that time,
lavorably to the South. 1t is a question,
however, whether the Democratic party
would have proved any more true to the
principles which they professed than they
subsequently did. State sovereignty,
including necessarily the right to secede,
was more than broad plank in their
platform A; it was indeed a corner-post.
Subsequent events demonstrated the in
stability, the rottenness of the prop.
But I forbear, and proceed, at once, to
the events transpiring in our immediate
vicinity upon the announced result of
the presidential election in lS60 Al
though that election was conducted with
out suspicion Of fraud, yet the choice of
the people resulted in the elevation to
Office of a candidate avowedly opposed
to the institution Of slavery. Such an