Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1882-06-13
MtS CELLANEeu
THE LOST CAUSE,u

The following prize oration was delivered
by Master George W. johnson, son Of Col,
Stodcard johnson, of Virginia, at tho reoopt
celebration of the junior class of Yalo COLLAGE.
The civil war of 1861 was a trial of
strength between the North and South. and
the weaker fell. 1t was tho inevitable cuI>
mination of century's discord. Tho sound
Of political strife, from Washington to Lin
coin, toretoId contest ru6er than that of
words, as faint subterraneau mutteriprs in,
dIeste volcanic forces and predict their yio
leHce. The eruption came, wrought its de
vastat!on aud ceased. Years have cooled the
lava streams. Believing that the war is truly
over, and that there now exists 10 regard TO
it clearer judgment than ouoe was possible
L ask your attention to the people whose
cause in that war lacks the persuasive orpu>
ment of success.
cit ls not my purpose to review dead is
sues by endeavoring to Justify secession. Nv
subject is the South which lost What mat
ters to-day the cry that she was wrong?'
demand recognition of her devotion to ,ha.
which she deemed her duty.
"AfectioEete pride loves to reoall the he-
rolsm By which tho South proved the SINGER.
NY OF her 'rlotives. All was energy, daring,
self,sscrifice. Have soldiers ever been more
sIPpII Have commanders ever been moro
pure, more free from personal ambition than
Lee and Jackson? There were repeated tho
virtues of Marious, Sumpters, and Light
horse Harrys of the Revolution In the cav.
airy charges of Stuart England saw tho fery
Vslor OF Rupert inpelled by the convictions
OF Hampden. 1n the battle of the Wilder
ness France witnessed a courage no less ple>
rloss than that which immortaiized Nano.
Icons Guard.
''What aVailed the devotion of the South
the fearless spirit of her soldiers, tho patient
denial Of her women who gave so much to
the land they loved7 But tho end is sippu.
larly tragic. Gettysburg is over, and see
slowly Withdrawing across the Potomac the
bleeding fragments Of an army which once
gained ChancelIorsville aud Fredericks-
burg. For the eGtermination of this army
there follows another, enthusiastic, well
equipped, overwhelming ir numbers. Tho
chain surrounding the South is tight,
ened, aud process of attrition' is employed.
She rcsists. but with whatI Hsr courage.
1t ls true, knows no abstemsnt But couraoa
alone cannot draw resources from an ex-
hausted land; it cannot rsplete an empty
treasury men cannot live without food and
clothing; battles cannot be fought without
powder and ball. Still there is resistance.
Every nerve is stifeued with tho resolution
to save the South or perish. The ragged
regiments, thinaed by death, are filled with
boys and thinned again. Need, exposure
famine, pes:ilsuce have made of a once glo-
rious form a skeleton. Yet IL moves and
strikes with supcrhuman energy. Every
ioch of ground is slubborly disputed. Rnt
the beginning of the end has como. There
Is quick succession of attacks and repulses
a final concerted movement, a defeat. and
Richmond is taken. A hurried retreat. A
last convu!sive threb of the wasted BODY. An
Appomatox. The standards that have bean
SO long aud proudly bor1e are lowered. The
South has fallen. The cause is lost.
'How differently peace came to North and
South. To the one it meant ezultation over
vietoTy-a national credit restored-a coro,
rerce revived. Booming cannon and neal
ing bells told the glad tiding4 of surrender.
The Union was saved. To the South peace
brought despair. 1t brought the dull awak,
enlDg to the rsvages of war Iavasion had
found land of plenty the cyclone passed
and left land of ruin. Her cities were
sacked. In the valley Of the ShenAndoah.
IN Georgia and South Carolina, there were
devastated plantations, deserted villages,
olackened heaps of once happy homes, mark
ing the course of Sheridan's raid or Sher-
mans march. The neglected fields bore no
harvests. A close blockade had shattered
commerce. Widows and orphans we're with
ont defenders, and the South was beggared.
| What hand was stretched out to aid her ?
! nhen your armies were returning, crowned