The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-01-29
The Lost Cause Monument.


The Lost Cause Monument.
Does never a misgiying enter the
minds of the gentlemen of the 80
ciety of the Army and Navy of t e
Confederate States in Maryland"
that in insisting in the manner they
do upon "menument to the patriot
ism and heroism" of 1.-THE men OF
Maryland who died for the South"
to be erected in 'some honorable
place in the city of Baltimore" they
may be placing their old comrades in
arms in ridiculous position-if the
dead can be made ridiculous by the
unwisdem of the living. Was the
"lost cause" so small historical fact
that block of stone ana an inscrip>
tion is needed to keep people from
| forgetting it =? Patriotism" to what?
The State of Maryland was one of
the Union States. She sent more
soldiers to fight for the Union than
to fight against it. She was repre-
sented in the Senate and the House
of Representative of the United
States, and not in the Senate and
House of the Confederacy. Many
brave and enthusiastic young men of
Maryland went into the Southern
army and fell there in battle, fighting
against the Constitution under which
we new live, the Union to which all
are now loyal. Is it not doing
violence to language to speak of their
''Eatriotisln ?" To cherish the MEM
ory of their course, their devotion to
what they supposed to be right,
heWever mistaken that devotion was,
may be we'll enough; but standing
now in the year 1851, can it be said
"They went from home to fight for
, home. They became strangers in
order to redeem the land they loved.'
And is this the sort of inscription
that is to be placed ON the stone in
! tue IViiVI dblS pluIC III tiiN Si'y VI
Baltimore? Did they become ''straa-
gers" by joining the Confederate
army? If they could speak now they
would not tn k those who say so.
To "redeem the land they l0ved"-
was it? Redeem it from what? To
redeem it from its allegiance to the
Constitution of the United State, to
which the majority of its people
wished them to cling; to which the
people of Maryland unanimously
now wish to cling? Is there not
something calculated to make the
memory of those brave but misguid.
ed young men ridiculous in such
claim put forward in their behalf?
To-day, Maryland is an energetic
State, moving on in the path of pro-
gress. She is as loyal to the Federal
Constitution az any State in the
Union. Very few of the gentlemen
of the Army and Navy Of the Con.
federate States would rejoice to-day.
to see this Union broken up; fewer
still, if any. could be found who
would rejoice to see Maryland to-day
amember of a Southern Confeder
acy." Maryland is now petitioner
to the United States for a large ap
priation fer canal from the Chesa.
peake to the Delaware. Baltimore
rallies to the old fiag-and an APP
pr0priation" for new postoffice.
Can the business men who are in fa-
vor of these great Improvements
logically speak now of the "patri-
otism" of those who fought to des
troy this government? The word
patriotism" in this connection is
absurd, unless the Society of the
Army and Navy of the Confederate
States" still desire to redeem" Ma
ryland, and consider that, as an ac-
tual, practical fact, "the despot's foot
is on her shore, his knock is at her
temple d0sr," and desire her to
"avenge the patriotlc gore, that
fiecked the streets Of Baltimore, and
be the battle queen of yore, Mary
land, my Maryland" If this is, in
sober earnest, what it means, then
the erection in the city of Baltimore
of monument to those who fell for