The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-02-23

from Bull Run to Mobile. The roar Of our guns
was almost unceasing., and now we are as
sembiei 70 mark 2 reriod and turn down
page Iag oi history The past s gone iorevsrm2re H
longing TO the past. Is tours and our chill.
dren's for all time to come. is the record OF our
batta ion. aud In the future ,ws will bring our
monument tell them these wore your faith RS
friends and comrades: they are examples OF
duy thry for their go
the tlre and {. und true.
We oann"t bring their bones back from the
bloody bloody fields where they 80 bravely faced II. the
leaden storm and gave up their young lives.
but We can honor them b. re. and II it be true
that the sUiri,s of the dead revisit their earthly
fore nre &c crovd,ne down ' feom 1 ,hsir @ eternal
campi" z grounds and failing iuto line to view
th.se cer.nos ies. can a sost se+ the features
tho brave ,gsn'leman Brewer, whose lat words
were. Tell my estsfs have lived the life OF u
uh'istiap and die the death Of so,lisr.' and
being struck with 'rag tents oi shell In the
trenches Of Peter. bug. eaid: "Boye. this is
rough 70 me; had | heen killed Ia hattle
isb. It's too bad" an n brave Lieut.. Blair. and
Frazier. WI ton and q fen. a'.d scores of other
gallant fellow. whp wsntto heir d-a'h without
could ba w,itien of the deeds Of these our
WILTON comrades. our bfothere tn arms. wh"s'
name- w. now seek 7" h nor and Wii"e deeds
'
lege to be brief Hnd to he point.
lu 9 Inclusion. again Thanking you and the
association y III r"pr sent Tor tbis magnificent
monument. prnmt 9 tn TIL. nams OF the pr. g.
ent Battalion Washington Ar'illery that this
20 It shall ever bs h'itd s,ersd aud the sod Kept
x,e esn around his memorial OF our dead.
And wban our srns eh. havs grown faeble
with the weight OF av.netrx. Tears We shall
commit to our children and our chidreps
children the care u 1t, hat this record OF tn.
nins,eehth century Iolhier may s'4nd as IN
In tentiv 20 th, youth I coming centuries. 10
show the love OF comrat.s and the dignity and
honor accorded to dis tpgntshe'i vslor
Both spee hes were frequently lue,rupt d by
appause. aud we esupplnneDted W tn snivO
Of forty & ,us. fred by the Washington Artillery.
T. ,,s +tstn b,. f. IA fty taa l.,
Producing the Hon. Thos. J. Semmes. tho
ORATOR OF The DAY.
spoke as foil ws:
Ladies' and genhenen have now the honor
to inll ou nc. to you the Hon. rbos j. semmes.
the Confederate Congress. VINO during the War
wns ever the ffiend of III. WASHINGTON artillery
and nd, Of all other soldi 'rs from the sta.e,
applause and Mr.. Sammes sock" IA nliows:
10 the year 1865 the wall OF defeat through The
Southern laud tutoned the funeral Of the Con.
elders of the daus hters Of Zion sat upon the
ground and kept 81 ene.: tney cast up dust
upon their hea e; they grded thems, Ives with
Now these came elders aud virgins with
heads erect and hearts tuil OF emotion, asaem-
BILE TO honor the sacred dust OF the illustrious
Why thls2 The Roman poet, perhaps. OK
presses the Idea when he says:
Vtcrlx nausa Dels placuit eed victa Catoni.
it is indeed the conquered cause. LINKING
with Its hallowad memories the living and the
dead. which eyokes the profound emotion of
ealls 80 much Of glory. 50 much Of sui.
fering. 40 much OF patriotic duty. That
banner reoresens ut al all that is noble IN the
tsm was q passion. when devotion to great prin-
eiples dwarfed all other considerations than
those Of truth and right. when duty was felt to
b the aublimaet word In our language, when
aanrlhee outweighed seldahuess, when human
virtue was equal TO hu man calaL,tty." 1t is for
this reason We love II and cling to 1t. As the
Southern poet most beautifully expresses 1t
Men will cling with love to the last
And wildly fling their arms round the past.
Aa a vine that cings to the oak that falls
And the Ivy twtnes round the crumbled walls. -
The battalion OF the Louisiana Washington
Artillery Is also linked with the glorious past
and forms a central figure In the history of our
struggle which t.rminatnd at Appomattox.
Tho battalion y dear to our people because
the West those qualities which have ever dis
tinRuished the sons OF Louisiana
Organized In the year ls4o, It law to the aid OF
Gen. Taylor. at Point Isabel In 1s46.
Scarcely had the surrender of Sumter In
1861. proclaimed the commencement Of the con-
diet between North and South. whom the bat
federate States its services for the war.
Its first exploit was the celebrated artillery
duel on the eighteenth Ct July 1861. Just pre-
csding the battle OF Bull Run.
From that time until the final capltulation In
1868 this battalion was distinguished for its gal
lantry and commended for m It's efficiency in
Pennsylvania. Tennessee. Alabama. Georgia
''ii lis impartial blood was shed wherever the
honor or necessities of the Coniederacy de-
manded the services, of the battalion, or any Of
Its flve companies. No territorial limit bounded
It's ambition to serve Its country.
The history Of the battalion is the history OF
the war east Of the Missist ppi, for no import
ant battle can be named In wh ch some Of Its
companies were not engaged 1t served under
its glory Ia entwlned with that OF Lee. Jackson
Joseph f. johnston, sydney Johnston. Beanre-
gard, Bragg, Hood, Polk. Longstreet, Early
These generals never failed to eu1ogze the
conduct and courage Of the Louisiana Wash
tnston Artillery.
On a monument erected by this battalion to
the memory of their heroic dead it is no pre-
sumption to inscribe the names Of Manassas
shiloh: Malvern Htl. Sharpsbure. Chancellors-
tfettysburg. franklin, Nashville. Chantilly and
Yorktown, for on these. and many othe. fields
Of battle. the guns OF the Washington Artillery
into the ranks OF the hostile forces; In these
conflicts many men and officers gloriously died
Id The performance OF duty,
Oh! ye llustrious and deathess dead! Ye
are now but a handful of dust In the land oil
your choice. but ye We're the brave defenders
of the fundamental principle of self govern
ment.
Ye want no Homer to be the herald Of your
praise. no poet TO deck oil a history with the
charms Of verse; lest the opinion of exploits
should suffer by strict relation.
Coming generations will ever respect and
admire the devotion and courage which caused
your names to be chiseled on this monumental
stone
The cause which evoked such unanimous
support south OF the Potomac was based on the
right of the governed to change their govern
mental relations whenever they conceived 1t to
be- their interest to make the change. Those
who participated In the conflict entertained
various theories and were actuated by diverse
mot ves.
For some the motive was the preservation
OF the institution of slavery: for others grey.
snces resulting from the unequal operation o
the revenue laws and the unequal distribution
Of the revenue; for others the avowed disre
gard Of the constitution proclaimed by many o
the States. and the setting no OF a law higher
than the constitution in lieu of Its obligations
for others desire for repose and freedom from
poli itipItl auitHtiOn aypertni TO rasult from