Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1878-05-10

"YOn marble mInstFsIis volealsss stone
10 deathloss OOug shall tell,
When many Q vanlshed age hath h0Wn,
The story how ye fell;
Nor wreck, nor change, nor Winters
Nor Time'S remOrseless doom.
Shall dim one ray OF b ly Hight
That gil1s your glorious tomb"
A few words In regard TO the en-.
blems Of our banner. The coat Of
arms Of Mississippi on the ground Of
pure white, 10 emblsmalIc Of the
record Of our proud State uqder what.
ever nag her sons have fought.
Whether we recall the names Of Clai.
borne, Coffee, MCClung, Qultman, and
Davis, or others who shall live In his.
tory; or speak Of New Orleans, San
Jacinto, Monterey, Buena Vista, CeFrO
Gordo, or the gates Of the capitol Of
Mexico or the great number Of battle
fields Of the late war, the memory Of
Whl;h is fresh 10 our minds; on these
noble cons, 90 well as on these ensan-
guined fields, the star Of Mlssissippfe
glory has risen, and stands unobscured
BY q single cloud. ....
On the reverse side, you see the blue
ground, with the beautiful gold.leaved
circle enclosing the date Of orgAplzS.
ton Of the "0ld Guard" "May 1872
and the motto, 1--WE HAVE sRRvRD.n This
10 the climax Of expression. What
volumes OF thought and memory
are contained In those three WOFds-
ave haze SerUedP What names come
uubidden 10 our mlndsl Manassas,
Yorktown, FredeFicksbuFg, Richmond,
Seven Pines, Malvern Hill, Chancellor.
Vile, ShArpsburg, Gettysburg, The
Wilderness, Petersburg, AppOmAttoxI !
DouelSon, Shiloh, CoEinth, Murfrees.
bOrO, Missionary Ridge, ChIckamauga,
Atlanta, Franklin; Lexington, Elk
horn, Oak Ridge; Port Hudson, Chick.
asaW Bayou, VIoKtBURG-nOhle, sndOr.
ing, historic Vicksburg, the Queen City
Of the inland sec. The very ground on
which we tread, these now silent walls,
II these could speak, they would
alike attest, I'VE have served" The
names and memory Of hundreds Of
faces dear and familiar 10 US all,
but loved and lost, and who we
shall never meet again unless II be In
the beautiful land beyond the river; the
living witnesses here present; all these
attest when, and how and where I've
have served" !"
Fellow comrades of the Old Guard
While we gaze upon this beautiful hag
as the standard Of our organization, We
cannot help recalling tender memories
of the Banner under which we once
marched, even though We must say OI
1t in the sweet, touching language Of
song:
"Furl that Banner! for 'tis weary.
ROuDd its staR 'tis dropping dreary,
Furl 1t, fold IL, II is best.
; "Take that Banner down, 'tIs tatterod,
Broken is lls stan and shattered,
And the valiant hosts are scattered
Over whom II noated high.
Furl that Banner true, tits CORY,
Yet 'tls wreathed around with glory,
And twill live In song aud story,
Though lts folds are IN the dust;
For iis fame on brightest pages,
Penped by poets and by sages,
Shall go sounding down through ages;
Furl itS iolds, though now we must.
"Furi that Banner, softly, slowly!
Treat II gently, II Is holy,
For II droops above the dead"
And yet again, turning 10 our new
standard, we can exClaim In the Ian
guage Of the pOet-prlest:
"Liit It up! wave It high-'tis as bright a
OF Oldi
Not stain on itS white, not blot on tn
gold;
Tho the woes and wrongs Of many lonI
years
Have drenched the SOuth's sunburst will
blood and with tears.
Look alOftl look aloft. 10! the cloud
drifting byl
There's CLEAN through the glOom-theTo'
light In the sky!
IT'S the sunburst resplendent-far, Aash
ing on hlghl
The south's dark night is waning, her day
dawn is nigh"