The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1876-11-01

white and the colored democracy,
among whom were q large number Of
our best ladies'.
The procession was formed on the
Public Square under the direction Of
the Chief Marshal, Capt. J. n. King,
and the Assistant Marshals, Capt. j.
II. Parks, of Greenwood Capt. Scott
Sheppard, of Edgefield Capt. J. b.
Anderson, of Laurens, and Capt. w.
w. Wallace, of Newberry.
The folio wing gentlemen were Aides
de-camp to the Chief Marshal: Messrs.
3. V. Cunningham, J.. K. burst,
Ralph Bohemian and Fl. +. Fuller.
at ten o'clock
THE PROCESSION
moved to the "Old Fort" in,the fol-
lowing older:
The Marshal and Assistant Marshals.
Abbcville Cornet Band.
Carriages with the Speakers and Dis
tinguished Guests.
The AbUeville Mounted Men.
Abbeville Colorcd Band.
Laurens Mounted Men.
Edgefield Mounted Men.
Newberry Mounted Men.
Citizens Iudiscriminately in Carriages,
on foot, &C., &C.
The procession was about q mile in
length and was composed of about two
thirds of the men in attendance upon
the meeting. A more orderly or a
more enthusiastic people wellave never
seen. At this meeting there was the
largest attendance Of colored men than
we have see at any of the meetings,
while there were more elegant ladies
in the Fort than we have seen at all the
other meetings together. The man
who was there and carried his own
heart home with him last night had
none of the sentimental in his soul.
The arrival of the procession at the
Fort was a beautiful sight to behold.
A thousand waving handkerchief in
the hands Of beautiful women who
had crowded on the elevations Of the
Fort was especially effective when con-
trAslilig this spectacle with the bloody
scene which took place on this very
spot nearly a hundred years ago.
The mounted men disposed of their
horses aud assembled around the stand,
when the chairman, Mr.. J. II. Brooks,
at Aalf-paSt eleven O'Clock introduced
GEN. MCGOWAN,
who came forward and made the prin-
ciple speech of the day. He COM
menced his speech with the following
eloquent exordium, which was listen
Ell to with marked attention:
FELLOW. CITIZENS: 1t is good for us
to be here. The place where we stand
is holy ground. We are in the old
Star Fort Of N~inety-SiX, c~onsecrated
one hundred years ago by the blood Of
patriots shed in the ca use OF liberty
and home rule!
"Breathes there a man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself bath said,
This is my own, my native land"
The night of May %, 1871 vas dark
and rainy. During the storm Major
Gen. Green, with q hand-full of Revo-
lutiouary soldiers sat down before
N%inety-Six, thea the most advanced
position in South Clroiina-being all
important link in the chain of militia
ry posts extending from Augusta to
Camden. The General and his Lngin-
Ger, the celebrated Kosciusko, imlne-
dlately made a recOgnoisance and
found Col. Cruger and q regiment of
Red Coats, strongly ~entrenched in this
magnificent fort, having as kosciusko
reported, sixteen salient and return
ing angles" all bristling with bayo-
nets aud cannon. Rather than risk
an assault upon q place Of such
strength he. commenced yonder mine.
The work progressed but was not COM
pleted, when Intelligence reached him
that Lord Rawdon with a strong force
was approaching from Charleston to
raise the se,ge. and had already reach
ed the Little Seluda in Edgetield. No
time was to be lost. and at twelve
o'clock precisely on the 18th June,
l7Sl, our little army assaulted this
great work and the blood Of Captains
Armstrong and Benson, and Of Lieu
tenants Duval and Selden, aud of
many other nameless heroes was pour
ed out in that ditch near the spot
where we stand!
After many difficulties and disasters
the cause in which that blood was
shed triumphed The patriots who
won it have all passed away. Our
fathers enjoyed the blessings of liber-
ty which they achieved for their cOun
try and transmitted 10 US; and nov at
this day we, their descendants, have
imposed upon us an oppression worse
than that against which they turned
and fought. They had q grand old
mother country of Which they were
proud, which felt for them a mothers
enderness and protected them in
their weakness. The chief grievance
of which they complained was tard-
ton WitHout representation. Now the
taxpayers OF South Carolina endure
the same thing in forms ten times
o CALLING, oppressive and odious.
We have no representation and yet
have to pay not only the taxes necessa-
ry to support the Government, but ut
least twice that amount 20 supply the
iueXtinguishable greed OF official
thieves and robbers. The Govern
ment which we thus support it not
merely indifferent to our welfare but,
controlled by aliens and foreigners, is
actually inimical to rs. Which Gov
eminent also labors systematically to
embroIl its misunderstanding of two
distinct races-arraigning against
the other by the basest appeals to the
race prejudices of the most ignorant.
The condition Of u ancestors before
the Revolution was a paradise conf
pared to the present condition of the
taxpayers of PROSTATE South Cardinal!
Here Oh this holy ground with the
of the past crOwding thick
us, shall we not catch inspira-
ton from the glorious example of our
ancestors, and not with bayonets, but
with balIots-not with violence, but
in peace-prove ourselves worthy of
the inheritance transmitted 10 US and
DO our whole duty to ourselves, our
mi and orr God. ]