Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1880-08-26

| to command or an army to muster in, an
without a cause to defend or government t
serve-orphans, indeed; without guns in thei
hands or organization of any kind, with n
! banners fyi ig or drums beating or any of tn
''pomp and circumstance of glorious war" t.
which they had so long been accustomed
| their property destroyed, their country in tn
possession of the spoiler, and themselves un
der the ban of treason, without bread to eat
and almost without hope in the heart, stran
gers in the land Of their birth, pennileSs
friendess homeless, trudging their way o.
foot, thrOu h mud and mire, over hill ant
dale, back to the places in the far South, som
in one State and some in another, which il
happy days had been their homes.
"Where once their pleasant hamlet stood,
Were heaps of ashes slaked in blosd."
GOOD CITIZENS.
Most of them finally reached the places from
which they had gone forth full of buoyant jO.
and hope, but oh how changed. The lan'
had been swept as with the besom Of deStruc
ton. We promised at ~Appemattox -to~sup
port law and order; to be quiet. good citizens
Under the greatest provocations and exasper;l
tions we have done it, and mean still to do so
We have accepted the results of the war il
good faith. Our State, in common with thu
other Southern States, has relapsed into hel
former condition of union under one govern
ment, and we are firmly resolved to do nothing
to disturb the harmony of that government 0l
to retard it's prosperity, but, on the contrary
to do all that in us lies to promote both. We
call the world to witness that the old soldiers
of the Confederacy have been as faithful tt
their obligations in peace, as they were to what
they conceived to be their duty in time of war
AS common citizens of q common government
we ask the rights and privileges which belong
to citizens, and we ask no more. Give us this
and we undertake to maintain that banner OF
stars, which is our banner and if necessary
to defend with our lives this country, which
is our country. For the performance of these
things there are the strongest securities. 1t is
both our interest and our duty. We pledge d
word which was never falsifed, and we give a
hand which has never betrayed. We are re-
solved to do our whole duty as good citizens
without any mental reservation, qualification.
or condition whatever
But while this is true, we cannot consent to
diShonOr the cause for which we fought, OF
write traitor on the graves of our dead com
panions. God forbid We are not conscious
of having done anything which should induce
the feeling of guilt. We know that we were
honest and followed honest convictions at the
risk of life and all that life holds dear. De-
votion to the death has generallybee regarded
as the highest evidence of sincerity, and in all
ages and countries has made martyrs, patriots
and heroes. We claim the right of individual
Judgment, but yield the same 20 those who diff
fer from us. We respect the opinions of Others
which have been bathed in blood, and we de-
mand the same fo our own, tried in the fur
mace s'seven times heated" without shame or
self-reproach or sense of inferiOrity to living
man. We claim the privilege of exercising
the common rights of humanity. We claim
the manhood right to remember thOse-flesh
of our flesh and bone of our bOne-who strug-
gled with us and for us; to spurn all imputa'
tiOns upon their honor or patriotism, and to
hold them III our heart of hearts forever,
whether they are still living, and hobbling
about among us on crutches, or lie in un-
known graves, marked only by little grassy
mounds on mountain sides, or by lonely
brooks, in dark glens or unbroken forests,
from Gettysburg to the Rio Grande.
TWELFTH REGIMENT.
My friends, this is the 10Th day of August
the anniversary of the formation of the
Twelfth Regiment South Carolina Infantry,
in the great struggle to which we have re-
ferred. 1t is also, by striking coincidence,
the anniversary of the battle of COntreraS IN
Mexico, where South Carolina was we'll repre-.
sented, and the first colonel of the Twelfth
Regiment, General Dunoyant, distinguished
himself We are here as survivors of the
Twelfth Regiment for the first time since the
war After long separation ? have met to
shake once more the hand of Aollowship,-to
look into each others faceS,-to talk over the
past to learn how many have fallen by the
way,-to call the roll, and, if we can do nc
more, to drop silent tear to the memory OF
comrades who have received their furloughs.
1t is well For some time after the war,
from the peculiar condition of the country, it
was not considered prudent for the failing par
ty to have reunions of the surviving soldiers
Of the war. 1t might have had tendency to
keep alive the passions engendered by the
strife, which no good citizen desired. 1t might
have been supposed to be the beginning of a
new rebellion. But that condition of things
has happily passed away. 1 hope the time has
come when we can have reunions of old Con-
federate soldiers in peace, and without Great
ing the least suspicion of want of fidelity OF
loyalty to the government. AS / have else
where said, the just and brave everywhere,
and especially all the old soldiers on both sides,
whether they ''wore the blue or the gray
respect honest convictions baptized in blood. /
venture to predict that this will be the univer-
sal voice of the whole country and of the
WOrlQ, as SOOl as the CLOUDS OF projuQlce anu
passion shall have rolled away.
Such meetings are not only creditable to the
sentiments of the heart, but are pleasant so.
opportunity to recall the scenes of the past, to
recount the incidents of the march, the biv.
ouac and the battle, ''hair-breadth Escapes by
flood and field" and to perform the grateful
duty of twinipg chaplets for the beloved dead
"The sad sweet offices that breathing owes to
breathleSS humanity, can only dignity and
bless" 1t is useful to record with public ap.
probation deeds of patriotic herosm. Such
demonstrations perform the double Office OF
eulogium and exhortation, of rewarding past
performance and stimulating future effort
Exhibitions OF this character heap live Goals
upon virtuous ambition, and excite in the
citizen that glowing military spirit, which,
notwithstanding occasional sneerS at 1.-THE
chivalry," we believe to be the very soul OF
independence and liberty.
l congratulate the survivors upon this de.
monstration. We have present as the prin-
cipal figures in the picture, our kind hosts, to
whom we are indebted for this pleasure the
battle SCARED veterans of the glorious old
Twelfth-among the first to lead the wayin
having d reunion of all the survivors, as it was
the foremost i'll the charge in many a well
fought field. Welcome, friends! No associ'
alton produces deeper sentiments of affection
than that of brother soldiers, whose common
tolls and sufferings, common hopes and fears.
common triumphS and disasters, unite in bonds
of affection which can be broken only by the
strong hand of DEATH Welcome comrades OF
the lines and tented field in times that tried
mems souls survivors not only of the war
but Of lost hopes and dear friends whose erect
forms and beaming faces are sadly absent from
this pageant.
We are thankful that you at least are will
us, that you have come down to us as the cOn
Meeting link between this and the past, which
must certainly hereafter be regarded as the he