St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-12-15
Unsuccessful, but Right.

Geu. A. NJ. Scales, of North, Carolina,
delivered the annual address before the.
Society of the Army of Northern Viz.
ginia, at Richmond, recently. His clos
ing words, as reported in the Richmond
Dispatch, were as follows:
No; we were overwhelmed by num-
bers. IG degenerated into a war OF tflc-
ton and waste. They could loose two
to our one and yet be greatly superior
to us in numbers. The immigrants from
the Old World i'll countless Numbers
were rushed to the front to supply the
places made vacant by wounds, deser-
ton, and death. Grant, in his CAM
paisn, bnt continued the policy inangu-
rated early in the war OF accomplishing
by the wearing out process what he
could not accomplish by skill or proW-
ess. We yielded to Overwhelming
numbers, We fell commanding the res
! pect Of our enemies and the admiration
of the balance of mankind. Richmond
was the objective point OF every move
ment. For this, fredericksburg, Chan
| cellorsville, and all the battles OF the
| Army of the Potomac were fought For
| this, Sherman marched through Georgia
| to the sea, leaving in his wake burning
cities, ruined homes, and a desolate land.
Richmond was the object, and Virginia
1 for the most part was the battle ground:
She barred her bosom TO the storms and
| for the four long years breasted It's
/ fury, yet she faltered not, but by her
example proved that though her soil
might be overrun the spirit OF her peo..
pie was inyincible. She lost nothing OF
her ancient renOwn in the war. she
/ gave Washington and Lee to the first
I ,l,,fi Presidents
to our country. She gave Scott and
| Taylor to the Mexican war; she gave
Lee, Jackson, Ewell, Stuart, and A. p.
Hill, among the dead, and Joe
johnson, Early and a host
of Others, among the living, to the
/ Confederacy. She has given an empire
to the republic in the day Of her wealth
and power, and in the day of her ex-
haustiOn and weakness the republic
divided and plundered her, and yet to-
day is an empire within herself the
mother OF heroes and statesmen the
i admiratio1P1 Of her sister States and the
pride Of her people. God bless the no
BILE commonwealth ! Richmond fell /;
then fell Virginia, and then the Confed-
eracy.
MY comrades, nearly eighteen years
have passed since peace was declared
OF those who have survived the war q
large number have, year by year, fallen
into their graves. Year by year time
4 is tracing it's indelible impressions upon
4 us all. Many have grown gray, all o. o.
/ us have fallen into the sere and yellow
\ leaf, and we too. must soon go the way
Of all earth. While we live to MS is
4 committed the sacred duty of keeping
], green the graves and to preserve un.
sullied the memories of the dead
While one of us may remain, let him
if need be, like Old Mortality, devote
n himself to the piOus task OF renewing
and preserving the records and chisel
4 ing deeper in the marble inscriptions
that tell of deeds that must not die
and let me urge you, if it be necessary
to this end, to teach yonr children tht
names of the battles, the names OF thu
heroes, as far as it can be done, and thu
graves of the unknown martyrs. Lei
them take up the sacred task where W.
leave it, and let them so teach theil
children and children's children to thu
latest generation. Let Dixie and Yam
i kee Doodle live side by side. They hat
, their origin in the aspirations OF liberty
We will cherish them both. Let Ma
nassas, Fredericskb and Chancel
lorsville, Kings Mountain and York
town, live in our memories together
never to be forgotten. We We're un
successful. That proves nothing as t!
the right. The principle is unchanged
Impartial history will vindicate us, ant
to that tribunal we commit the Los
Cause. There need be no conflict in al
this with our duty to the Union. 1t j
the duty of every citizen to preserve i
/, in peace and defend it in war, and nom
I will respond to that duty with NOR
alacrity than the battle-scarred vete
rams that followed Lee and jackson
and their descendants.