St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1878-05-18

| =, WI, u L . L OIt luGiOuuCeu AlF. y. l.
salisbury, Jr., the gentleman selected
to read the letter Of e1-President JEFF
ferson Davis. Mr.. Salisbury rose ant
in an eloquent manner read one of th,
grandest letters ever penned by human
hand. The selection of the reader wa
peculiarly felicitous. In a voice modu
lated to great perfection and in man
ner which showed how deeply the reade1
telt the sentiments of glowing patriO
tlsm OF the great ex-President of the
COntederacy, Mr.. S. executed the trust
assigned.
The letter was read as follows:
LETTER FROM PRESIDENT JEFFERSON
| DAVIS.
MISSISSIPPI CITY, Miss, April II, 1878.
Genttenen-l sincerely regret my ina
blllty to be present at the laying of the
cornerstone Of "a monument to be
erected at Macon, Ga., in honor of ou1
dead Confederate soldiers"
Ihe event possesses every attraction
| to me it is inspired by the Ladies' Mem
orlal Association the monument is to
be located in the Keystone State of the
| Confederate arch, and to commemorate
| the sacrifices Of those who died in the
defense OF inherited and inalienable' y
rights.
What though we were overborne by
numbers, and accessories not less eff
Client, truth Is not to be measured by
success IN maintaining it against force
nor is the glory less of him who upholds
it in the face UNEQUAL odds. but if is not
rather more to his credit thathe counted
all else as dust in the balance when
weighed with honor and duty! On many
a stricken field our soldiers stood few
and faint, but fearless still, for they
wore the panoply of unquestioning con-
tidence in the rectitude of their cause,
and know how to die but not to surren-
der. Let not any of their survivors i'm
pugn their faith by offering the peni-
tential plea that "they believed they
Be it ours to transmit to posterity our
unequlvocal testimony to the justice Of
their convictions, to their virtues, and
the sanctity of the motives by which
they were actuated.
1t is meet that this monument should
have originated with the ladies of the
land, whose self denial was conspicuous
through all the trials and sufferings of
war, whose gentle ministrations in hos
pitfalls and at wayside refectories so
largely contributed to relieve the sick
and wounded, and whose unfaltering
devotion to their country's cause in the
darkest hours OF our struggle illustrated
the fidelity of the sex which was last at
the cross and first at the sepulchre.
am profoundly thankful to them for
inviting me to represent them, as their
orator, on the approaching occasion.
Had it been practicable to accept, their
request would have been to me a COM
mand, obeyed with no other reluctance
than the consciousness of inability to
do justice to the theme.
Thanks to the merits of our Confed-
crate dead, they need neither orator
nor bard to commend their deeds to the
present generation of their countrymen.
Many fell far from home and kindred,
and sleep in unmarked graves; but all
are gathered in the love of those for
whom they died, and their memories are
hallowed in the hearts of all true Con-
federates.
By, the pious effort Of our people, many
humble cemeteries, such, as, in their
been prepared, and the Confederate
dead have been collected in them from
neighboring battleields. There an
nually, with reverential affection, the
graves, alike of the known and the un-
known, are decked with vernal flowers,
expressive of gratitude renewable for
ever, and typical of the hope of res
direction and reunion where the wicked
cease from troubling and the weary are
at rest.
To be remembered, honored, beloved
by their people is the reward bestowed
ON our Confederate dead. It is the
highest which a good and purely patrio-
tic man could desire. Should it be
asked, why then build this monument?
the answer is, they do not need it, but
posterity may. It is not their reward,
but our debt. II the greatest gift a
hero gives his race is to have been a
hero, in order that this gift may be
utilized to coming generations its ap-
probation by contemporaries should be
rendered as visible and enduring as pos
sible. Let the monument, rising from
earth toward heaven, lift the minds Of
those who come after us to a higher
standard than the common test of sue
cess. Let it teach that man is born for
duty. not for expediency; that when an
attack is made on the community to
tected, and to which his allegiance is
due, his first obligation is to defend that
community and that under such con-
ditions it is better to have fought and
lost, than never to have fought at ALL"
Let posterity learn by this monument
that you commemorate men who fought
In q defensive war; that they did not,
as has been idly stated, submit to the
arbitrament of arms the questions at
which involved the
inalienable rights inherited from their
and held in trust for their
posterity; but. that they strove to main
tain the States sovereignty which their
fathers left them, and which it was their
duty, if possible, to transmit to their
children.
Away then with such feeble excuse
for the heabandOnmentofp principles, which
may be crushed for a while, but which,
possessing the eternal vitality of truth,
must IN Its own good time prevail over
perishable error.
Let this mOnumentteach that heroism |
derives its lustre from the Justice of the
cause in which it is displayed, and let
make the difference between a war
Waged for the robber-like purpose of
conquest and one. to repel invasion
and to maintain their laws and liberties. |
Such was the war in which our heroes
fell, and theirs is the crown which |
sparkles with the gems of patriotism |
and righteousness, with a glory undim-
med by any motive Of ACCOMPLISHMENT |
or intent to lnttlct ruin on Others. We |
present. them to posterity as examples |
to be followed, and wait securely for |
the verdict of mankind when knowledge |
shall have dispelled misrepresentation
and delusion. Is it unreasonable to |
hope that nature reflection and closer |
study of a political history of the Union
may yet restore the rights prostrated
by the passions developed in our long
and bloody war? If, however, it should |