Daily Republican., 1879-06-13
Winches ter's Rebel Demonstration

"luCnestef'S heDcA RECOMMENDATION
The proceedings attendant on the un-
yelling Of the Confederate monument
at Winchester, Virginia,on Friday last,
sound queerly, and CRATE somewhat
harshlv upon loyal ears. 1t was gener-
ally supposed that when the war closed
the "Lost cause" was really lost, no
more to be revived in this nation. But
strange to say the real rebel Aag-the
stars and bars-ths emblem of seces-
sion, floated in triumph from every flag
staff upon that occasion. The rebel
army in all its glory had possession Of
Winchester that day, as much so as
when Jubal Early took his turn in cap
turing and holding it during the war.
When the war closed, it was supposed
by the loyal victors that the nation
was again united under one flag, and
that, the old time flag of the Union.
There could be no peace then while the
emblem of secession was allowed to
wave and bid defiance to the nat on,
and it is hard to see how there can be
peace now, with rebel parades, under
r4bel flags. In all Winchester that
day, it is said that but one solitary
National flag was to b. seen, and it
toated in sorrow from the flag staff in
the National cemetery. 1t seemed
N IRE to be- the emblem of a lost cause
than that which was carried gayly along
in that rebel line OF parade, to the
music of "Dixey Land" and other
rebel airs used to fire the rebel heart
during the days of the war. We say
this all has a surprising aspect, and
may well bewilder the gallant soldiers
who fought and won in that terrible
struggle. Looking at Winchester en-
that day referred TO, they might.appro
priately ask themselves the question:
Which side did win in the war? We
thought that when Lee delivered his
sword to General Grant at Appomattox,
the war was over, and We thought that
the Union side was triumphant. We
thought that the spirit of rebellion was
broken and humbled, that the rebels
made full and unconditional surren-
der, that they were to i've p.ac fully
with us under one flag, but now we
lind that we were mistaken. Looking
at the rebel demonstration on Friday
last, things have been exactly reversed.
1t was the rebel army that triumphed,
AMI here is the evidence of it.
Here are the indications that nothing
was gained after all that bloody four
years of st. ite and war. The rebel war
whoop is just as defiant as in 1863
The rebel flag floats more proudly than
before, because tn. rebel brigadiers
have possession Of Congress. We mus,
come to the conclusion that the rebel
spirit is still alive and as active in the
representative men of the South as it
ever was before and all the South wants
is favorable opportunity to rise up,
throw off The thin gauze of pretended
loyalty in which she is clothed and as
ser: the doctrine of State sovereignty.
as being paramount. to national power.
Rebel flag, rebel cockades, rebel
military companies, rebel bands of fmu-
sic, rebel commanders, rebel every
thing was the order of the day. The
speakers stand was draped with the re
b9l flag, and the graves Of the rebel
dead were eDshrUuded with the stars
and bars of the confederacy. On one
side OF a monument was the following
inscription 9 Erected by the people of
the South to the SO Confederate dead
who lie beneath this ground, in CRATE
iul 1emem berance Of their heroic efforts
and their example of unstinted devo-
tiOn TO duty" On another monument
was the inscription g In memory of
the 39s Virginia soldiers lying in this
ground, who fell in defence of Consti-
tutional liberty and the sovereignty Of
the states from 1861 to 1865" These
inscriptions do not look as if the rebel,
hal accepted the situation any more in
1879 then they had before the war clos
ell, and they show that instead of peace
t. Us in the long years of the future
before it, anarchy civil strife, and war
are .o)mins up and that perhaps not
f.r off. The evident purposes Of the
rebels aided by tn cir dough faced allies
o. the north, are to make it ap-
par that the rebellion was no
crime, that it was right In purpose and
in Irinciple, and if these feelings are ell
coura5ed j. will not be long before stra-
t-gy and political duplicity will gain
more than the rebels ever claimed
when they flew to arms to disrupt and
destroy the Union. Senator Morgan,
considered conservative representative
of southern sentiment, tells the whole
story'in truthful manner, and if he re.
presents the modified conservative sen-
tment of the South, the loyalty Of the
North may we'll be alarmed. In his
memorial grafton. on the dav referred