Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1873-06-19
FHE OLD COAT OF GRAY.
S:... ;i---t-t I.
BY Blonde.

s:.... ..;;.A-;;i
BY Blonde.
It lies there alene-itis rusty and faded
With a patch on the elbow, hole in
the side,
But we think Of the brave boy who wore
Look < on la It with with pleasures sand;ttoueh it,
-. with pride. IL: &.
A history clings to it-over and over,
We see proud youth hurried off to
the fray,
With his form like the oak, and his eyes
- Like the eagles.
How gallant he rode in the ranks Of
1.-the GrayT
| 1t is rough-it Is worn-it is tattered in
places
P4I love it the mere for the story it
bears;
A stSry of courage in struggle with Scr
- rows
And heart that bore bravely its bur-
den of cares
It is ragged and rusty, but, ah! it was.
shining
+ In the sHkiest sheen when he wore it
= away,
And his smile was as bright as the glad
Summer morning,
| When he. sprang to his place In the
ranks Of "the Gray"
There's a rip in the sleeve, and the color
The Buttons ali gone with their glitter
and gold;
'Tis thi,ns, of. Of the + past and we reTer-
| Awav With the treasures and relics of
old
AS the gifts of q love, solemn, sweet and
Are cherished as leaves from long
| vanished day,
We will keep the old jacket for the sake
] of'the loved one
Who rode in the van of the ranks OF
"the Gray"
Shot through, ,wv,ith.a,bunet- -ight here in
B. the shoulder -
| And down there the pocket is splin:I
tered and soiled-
All! more-see the lining is stained and
discolored!'
Yes-blood drops the texture hath stiff
fened and spoiled.
1t came when he rode at the head OF the
coluuin,
Charging down in the battle one dead
hest day,
When squadrons. of foemen were broken
ashnder,
And victory rode with the ranks Of
.ss.thc Gray, .ar
It's. memory is sweetness and sorrow
commingled-
TO me it is precious-lnore precious
than gold
| In the Eeilt and the shot hole u volume is
written,
In nthe stains on the lining is agonytold.
That was ten years'a5o, when i'll lfe's
sunny morning
He rode with his comrades down into
the fray.
And the old coat he wore, and the good
sword he welded
| Were all tf,rt came from tho ranks Of
"thr Gray
And it Lies there alone; I'll reverence 1t
The patch on the elbow, the hole inthe
side.
For galinrter heart never beat than the
loved one,
Who wore it III honor ...-' 7Nli;
pride
Let me brush oil the dus. .-or. j,
ters and tarni<h,
Let me fold it up clos';N al1 ny .
aw.N,
1t is all that is leit OF the --.~>.
Who fsrshs fsor the RIGHT in the ranks
Of" the Gray, r
-r---4Li.;.
For the. Advertiser. -,
Mr.. EDIroR.-The Railway Lctweeu
Atlanta and Charlotte, by the way Of
Gainesville and Greenville, will;loubt
less hasten the completion of the
Blue Ridge Railroad. The -Aa Zine,
now about finished, being transverse,
and leading to Commercial Empori-
ums both East and West, will inter
cept,a great deal Of trade and travel
at the base Of the mountains, and
WILL. to that extent, diminish the
business Of all the Towns and Cities
| on the South side of this new Road.
To check mate this move, Columbia,
Wilmington, Charleston, Port Royal,
Sayennah, Macon, Augusta and Ath-'
ems must, in self-defenee, push for.
ward through the Rabun Gap to
Knoxville, where all the Railways
from Chicago. Louisville, and Clncin-
dati, seeking The nearest Southern
market, OF the nearest 4 tlantic Ports,
are to be concentrated al, no distant
period. The proud, and overshadow-
ing position already accorded to st.
Louis, with the. prospect of the Geor-
gin Canal, will precipitate this move
ment on the part of the mighty Cities
controlling the traffic of the Ohio
Valley.
The Great Trunk Lne-for through
frcighs and passengers will be along
the very shortest and best possible
! route from Chicago to Port Royal,
via E'lgefell and Aiken, with radia-
ting lines near Knoxville to the West
ern Cities, and with 'radiating lines
near the Rabun Gap to the Southern
Cities. But would these magnificent
arrangements accommodate the teem-
ing West. well-nigh snothered in its
its own fat? It is thought not.
| A cunal, connecting the waters Of
the Tennessee and the Savannah,
must be constructed. Mr.. Calhoun
and Judge Earl thought such pro-
ject practicable. The copper of Dack-
town, Cullowhee,' and other mines,
the coal from Coal Creek and thou
sand other DEPOSITS; the corn, wheat,
bacon, and hay. of the Western river
bottoms, as we'll as the cotton, rice.
! ord lumhor of Tho 4 t1oatio alone