Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-08-30

i o1OIA IAAI4s ~.
Miseellaneons &eaaiug.
TWELFTH REGIMENT SURVIVORS.
.4NNUAL GRAFTON BY COL. ARMSTRONG.
The following is the oration. delivered by
Col. Armstrong before the survivors of the
Twelfth Regiment, S. G. ", at their annu-
al reunion in Columbia, August 16, 1888:
COMRADES: The compliment you have
conferred upon the comrade who now stands
before YOU has awakened in his breast the
liveliest emotions of gratitude. TO be per-
mitted to participate and to take so promi-
nent part in the reunion Of regiment so
faithful and so fearless as was the Twelfth is
an honor as high as the cause for which 1t
fought was holy. [ am poWerless when L
would try to tellhoW promptly and patrlotl-
cally you responded to the call of Carolina,
how gallantly and grandly you fought be-
meath the battle flag of the Confederacy from
the beginning of the war until that fateful
day at tAppomattoX when twas lowered and
folded and it's stainless stars disappeared in
the darkness Of defeat. The duty which
your kind partiality has placed upon me, for
the proper discharge of which am sadly
deficient, was to have been performed by
one of Cardinals most cultured and chival-
rous sons, who, though but temporarily in
command of the brigade to which it was
our pride and privilege to belong, won his
way to the hearts of the men whom he SO
skillfully led at Deep Bottom and Fuzzles
Mill, where they learned to love him, as in
1875, his splendid services in the struggle
which terminated in the redemption of the
State gained for him the gratitude of the
people of Carolina.
Sad to say, General James Conner is lost
to the State which he served so faithfully
and well-to the people by whom he was
adored. His voice, the ringing eloquence
of which was so often heard and so much
admired, is foreverstilled. Hisheart, which
ever throbbed with the loftiest and most gen.
erous emotions, is pulseless and cold. He
will never again meet the men of the Twelfth
Regiment to whom he was so affectiOnately
attached, and of whom he has spoken in the
highest terms of praise. crave your indul-
gence for moment to enable me to make q
brief mention of the relations which existed
between General Conner and the humble
individual who has had the temerity to take
his place at this reunion of gallant men.
Ol
commander; to me he has been lifelong
friend, affection for whom came to me by
inheritance. When I hear his name men
toned, there is borne to me in the mystic
winds of memory the words which were
told me in budding boyhood by my father,
whose voice seems to speak to me from the
churchyard where he dreamlessly sleeps,
who said that when he landed in Charles
ton stranger, he soon found warm friends
benefactors in the persons of Henry w. Con-
ner and William G. Courtney, the father
and uncle of General Conner, whose names
were as familiar as household words and
were breathed with blessings around our
hearthstones. The deep debt of gratitude
which 1 owe General Conner for favors be-
slowed and for the interest he took in my
welfare | shall never be able to repay. L
shall not try to speak of the great and griev-
Gus loss the country has sustained in his
death-it cannot be measured by words.
My heart is heavy and sad and | offer
tribute of tears to the memory of our gal
liant comrade and gifted commander, who
enjoyed the confidence and elected the ad-
of Wilcox, Pender, A. p. Hill and
Lee whose frmnesS and fearlessness amidst
the terrors of battle have been equalled only
by the worth and wisdom he displayed as
the friend and adviser of our noble stand
ard bearer, Governor Wade Hampton.
am confident that you do not look for
any learned or luminous address, otherwise
l should not be able to fill the measure of
your expectation. I am going to try to
speak to you in the language of the heart
a heart which, though scared by sorrow,
has never ceased to throb with reverence
and respect for the men who wore the grey,
with the proud memories of the cause for
vi; ;nI, &Io1y fo 11rho1I which fbnIr
willingly sacrificed their interviewer
with which is love for Carolina and around
which lovingly fingers fragrant and cher
ished recollectiOns Of our noble brigade,
whose brilliant achievements shine in the
armament of Cardinals fame.
We have assembled here to-day to renew
the memories, to revive the recOllectiOns, to
recall the fond faces and familiar forms OF
the proud and precious past. 1t IS in no
spirit of strife that we summon from the
tomb of the dead past, those stirring scenes
that shook the country from centre to cir
cumference, which changed peaceful and
pleasant streams into red sea, over which
war was waged and beneath which so many
thousands sank to rise no more. There is no
hostility in our hearts, no bitterness in our
breasts. We are here in the discharge of a
sacred duty, to commune as comrades who,
If we recur to the lost cause, it is simply to
speak of the sad and sweet memories it
awakens; with these memories there is no
hope expressed Of again seeing the C0nted-
crate flag on the battle field. The men who
followed that flag as it was carried on the
tide of triumph and who stood by it until
the surrender, are engaged in peaceful pur-
suits. They realize and appreciate the fact
that the men who did the fighting on the
Northern side are frank and friendly toward
the soldiers of the South, over whom the
sword of the nation no longer casts dark
ening shadow. If any proof were wanting
to show that the people of the South cher
ish no resentment toward their former foes
that they, too, can admire virtue and valor
amongst the soldiers Of the army that was
arrayed against them, it is to be found in the
earnest and enthusiastic manner in which
they supported for the highest Office in the
gift of the American people, that splendid
soldier, General w. S. Hancock. Among
the tear-gemmed garlands that were laid
upon Garfeld's grave, there were none
fresher or more fragrant than those sent
from the sunny South. There was no sor-
row more sincere, no pity more profound
than that which was felt throughout the
South when the terrible tidings of his death
were told. The people of this State take Il
peculiar pride in praisng the high-mlnded
and heroic General Henry /. Hunt, whom it
was their delight to honor when he was
with them, and whose name lovingly lin
gers in the homes and in the hearts Of Caro-
linians.
Would that were possessed Of the force
and felicity to tittingly express the inspiring
and impressive recollections- tenderand
treasured memories which troop around us
tO-day-memOrieS which the mutations of