Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1878-05-21
MISCELLANE GUS.
THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIER.

Alfred NJ Waddell, of North Carolina,
delivered lecture in Steinway Hall last
evening entitled ''The Confederate Soldier"
Mr.. Waddell is = member of Congress and
the chairman of the Committee on Post Of
fees and Post Roads in the House of Rep
resentatives. The proceeds ofthe lecture are
to be for the benefit of the Veteran corps, of
the Forty seventh regiment New York Vol>
unteers, of which Private Miles O'Rielly was
a member. On the platform were ex>Gov.
Hoffman, Mayor Fly, Gen. Smith, Rev. Fl.
Garnett, colored, exLieut Gov. Woodford,
Thurlow Weed Gen. Veil, DR.. Deems, Gen.
Martin MoMahou. Postmaster James, Post
master McLecr, of BrookIiu aud Col. PeIton.
Music was furnished by the Governors Is
land band and by Mr.. Pratt, organist. Mr..
Joseph W. Parker President of the Veteran
corps of the Forty>seventh regiment, intro-
duced Mr. Waddall, who spoke as follows -
Soldiers of the Union-My Friends and
Countrymen The man who could without
misgivings occupy the position assigned me
this evening would indeed be unenviable.-
| frankly confess that this is to me one of
the most trying, as it is one Of the most
gratifying occasions in my experience. You
asked me to select as ing theme this evening
"The Confederate Soldier" aud the deed
was as manly and generous in you as it was
acceptable to me and to all those who once
bore that name. Confederate soldier and the
male citizen of the Confederate States were
nearly synonymous terms. In no other coun-
try, with such q population and territory, was
there ever such an approximation to universal
soldierhood as was exhibited there. No
other government was ever charged with
"robbipg the cradle and the grave" to re-
cruit its armies. In the good old conserv-
alive State in which live-and which was
so averse TO the conflict before it was begun
the number of soldiers exceeded the num-
ber of voters by 6,0O0-a fact which 1 be-
lieve is without parallel.
From the first fight at Bethel to the last
one at Bentonville she was in the front line
all the time, and her list of killed exceeds
that of any other State on either side yet
this was a State that voted down secession
by decided majority. All this was, and
with some of the Northern people, perhaps,
is still, a mystery. The answer is that while
the people differed as to the abstract right
of State to secede, majority doubling, if
not denying such right, and while they all
loved the Union, they were almost unani-
nous in the conviction that if State did
secede the other States had no right to use
armed force to hold her, and that the first
own State. This had been the political ed
ucation of men of all parties. Holding these
opinions in regard to other States, they did
not hesitate. on an issue. to take similar
position. Hence the Confederate soldier.
The Southern peple did not want an aristo-
cratic government, because they adopted the
Constitution of the United States almost
verbatim, only Incorporating into it . clearer
statement of the relative rights of the States
and the general government, and fixing the
term of the Executive at six years and de-
claring his ineligibility to a second term.
Another erroneous idea was that they loved
slavery and were determined to risk every
thing for it, and great stress was laid upon
the utterance attributed to q distinguished
Georgian but which was gross misrepresen-
tation, that the new government was to be
founded upon slavery as its corner stone.
Yet only small portion of the people of
the South owned slaves, and l assert here
now as = fact which no Southern man will
deny, that not one man in one hundred liv-
ing there at that time, aud perhaps not one
in q thousand, would have shed one drop of
his blood simply to save that institution. A
priyste soldier, gentleman of education, ss>
sured me during the war that his association
with his comrades satisfied him that if the
copnlct terminated successfully Tor the Con
federacy the rank and file of the army would
demand the abolition of slavery in some way.
The Confederate soldier left his freside to
fight through long and weary years for
(strarge as II may sound to some ears) love
of country and constitutional liberty. He
believed he was defending his home sgainst
an invader who was bent upon his subJuga-
ton. He was Just ss sincere and honest as
YOU were and at the bar of conscience, ard
before the Righteous Judge, a. whose tri-
buual We must all appear. he will stand ac-
quilted of any offence in this respect.
W .l It,, and ,at1rnad amid