The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1877-05-17
II ronnd thc ha,plat roo.,a tl,n mi,a assault.

Oh, God. there is a majesty in Will
The closing hosts, the hollow tramp of feet,
The bounding of elastic souls, to fill
| The compass OF the infinite, and meet
The mighty gods in their Olympian seat
o frantic joy OF battle Manacs feel
Like exultation in their bosoms beat,
When on the gid dy precipice they reel.
And bowling deep below the hungry waves appea
Ye strange aff1nites OF calm and Storm
Ye elemental mysteries that mould
This dust terrene to mans majestic form,
Why stir We still his bosom, as OF old.
Till brother cleaye his brother, cen for gold!
Imbathe with blood fair limbs that mothers BORE
With sinews wrench to agonies untold,
Wiring throbbing life from every writhing port
Till quivering lips would taste a mothers kiss n
more!
Fate limits all. The tide of war must ebb;
The battles din insults our hills no more;
Grim spiders spin the tesselated web,
Where fiery thunders how'd for human gore:-
The cannon ponders and encrusted DER
Ball, bomb and shell lie unappeased of blood
The nimble miller HES from floor to floor,
Barns, mansions stand where meaner mansion
stood,
When russell summer pants the meads along,
Men lose remembrance OF winter SKY;
When ring the echoing woodlands all with song,
We might resign the wounded bird to die;
And years revelye. and seasons wander by;
Youth. age-eternal change-may steel the breast
And lovers pass dead loves without sigh,
Butye-young martyrs of our fate-shall rest
With truthful tongues and tears OF generation
blest!
The foe is gone--that ancient tomb appeased;-
How many tombs the holocaust hath brought!
Oft shall that foe, with virtue not displeased,
Still wan der near the venerate spot. 8
In rank they slumber as in rank they fought;
This soldiers Corner" swee city side by side,
They fill, they hallow with immortal thought,
Truer than Time, for Time will not abide,
Name, glories here enshrined they left with us
and died
We must believe, indeed, they linger here,
Look through the vail in sweet serenity,
Accept your gifts, enjoy your genial cheer;
We are the dead if we refuse to see;
They mingle whispers with your sweet minstrelsy
And this makes all the witchery of your song
Dear memories past, with raptures made to be-
These never die--too beautiful and strong!-
Short be the days of hate 20 years Of love be long
Hail, then, o, Peace 20 Salem Sure thou art
A lovely sound, a voice that makes us feel
Unearthly music breathing in the heart!
Who told the rolling pillows "Peace! be still?"
Celestial stranger!- Through all bosoms steal,
Till we shall taste the sunlight through and
through
Enthron'd below, send round the soft appeal,
I'm a 1u1in Natr wifi 1uciau dnxu
Till men shall come to know what Salem's proph
cts knew.
vague sorrow linger in my soul to-day!
know not why. The time is full OF grace,
The happy lambs are in the meads at play,
The woodlands all, up from the mountains base,
Make jubilant the azure voids ofspace;
Yet am sad ;-some underlined regret
Steals in me, and leaves melancholy trace.
Dear shadowy forms-did one flower forget?
Mono in deeper shade the baleful bird is set!
"Sure all is peace, if Paradise was peace;
Why, pale Remorse, interrogate the dead?
saw him blooming in the years increase,
Young, beautiful. and brave; and yet said
I will not love you till your sword be red;
And then Itriumphed proudly in the roar
OF murderous battle, till this patient bed
Received my lover who can love no more!-,
The brave-the beautiful too poor MY love, too
poor!
"Why war for Edens-lands OF rest afar?
Bleed. die for peace, with peace in all the air?
Why glory in the pride and pomp of war;.
When war is anguish, broken hearts despair?
See here. Elyseam. Eden. Salem fart
Why tempt Wilderness of war and woe?
We ARE in heaven, if we believe we are;
This Vale is Eden if we make it so !;
HERE are our Fanes OF peace, our Shrines of love
below"
At the conclusion of the elegy, Mr.. ID. S
Henkel delivered short and handsome adj
dress of welcome, and in appropriate terms
Gen. John Echols as the orator
Of the occasion.
When Gen. Echols rose ne was loudly
cheered, and one enthusiastic old country
man yelled out, &C Hurrah for Echols Regu-
lar old war horse! ~ In that impressive
manner which our citizens know so well,
and with faultless elocution, Gen. Echols
the following address
ADDRESS.
Thirteen years ago the Sabbath stiffness OF this
arms. Instead of the sweet tones of the church
bells calling to worship, the reverberating thun-
der Of artillery mingled with the rafting volleys
Of musketry, told that here were men engaged in
deadly strife.
Many OF those around me remember the day,
and saw the brave men who then fought and died
in defense of the cause which they then believed,
and which you now believe. was the cause of JUS
tice and of truth.
1t is to do honor to those men, to commemorate
the victory which they then won, that we have
assembled here to-day. We come not in spirit
Of vengeful hate toward others, for we are no
longer enemies of the people of other sections,
but we, as members of family, draw closely to-
gether to tell each other of the heroic deeds and
noble qualities Of our own brothers and sons 1t
Is right that we should do so. In all ages and
where virtue and heroism have been
admired, have the records of services been kept
bright and fresh. by transmission from sire to
son, from generation to generation. Let us emu
late this example, and for ages to come let fathers
point their sons to this scene, and tell them OF
the men and boys who fought and bled and died
upon the field of victory at New Market.
THE INFLUENCE OF THE BATTLE.
In point OF numbers engaged, it may not be
ranked among the great battles of the late war,
but judged of with reference to the mastery
strategy displayed, and the brilliant and desper-
ate fighting exhibited, it must always excite the
admiration of those versed in the military art,
md Of those who admire the display OF true cour-
age wherever found. To us here, the battle will
always be source of deep interest and sincere
pride, for it was fought on our side by Virginia
troops against an invading foe, in defense OF Vir-
ginia homes and soil, in this the loveliest por-
Jon of our venerated and loved mother State.
As to its influence upon the other great opera
lions then being conducted by the military au-
thorities of the two contending governments. we
,an Judge, when state the positions and move
ments OF the troops which were being controlled
with reference to the effort OF the Federal COM
to reach Richmond, the Capital
Of the Confederacy and the heart OF what our enc
mics were pleased to call the Rebellion.
In the first days OF May, 1864, our great Leader
Lee was confronting the immense army OF Grant,
and hurting it back, day by day, with such fearful
slaughter as had not before in our day been wit
messed, always interposing his invincible army
between them and their coveted prize.
need not stop to recapitulate the series OF
grand exploits in those days of that illustrious
man. They are familiar to ALL The Federal Com
mander determined, in aid Of his great object,
upon a combined movement of all the detached
under his control in distant positions.
With this view, Gen. Sigel, with his force of all
arms, amounting to 10000 or 1000 men, was or
1ered to advance up this Valley, his objective
point being Staunton, where he could command
the c. O. R. R.; and General Crook, with force
fa r11Ou