Sword and shield. (Clinton, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1885-11-14
The Silence Of Peace.
All! II, they could only speak.
Thnrn ;s n mnrhIe slab at the head

There is marble slab at the head
Of every grave in the National Gem
etery to tell of war. If there is NJ
name the word "Unknown" signifies
that soldier who was killed in q
certain battle lies buried there.
1t is the guns which are silent
which have nothing to speak ofthem.
Here and there one has been saved
as a relic, but the vast majority have
disappeared in the melting furnace,
to come out IN a more peaceful
form.
What Of the great bs9bette guns
at Fort Sumter, the bla sk-mouthed
monsters which roared defiance at
Beauregard as he struck his first
blow at the Union? What of the
grim muzzles which belched flame
from the many port holes as brave
Anderson fought to delay the inevi-
table A hundred cannon, manned
by Confederates, hurried death and
destruction at the fort for fateful
hours, and nearly every one of them
was called into use In later years.
Can one single piece ,of that ordi-
nance be found to-day
Great seige guns hurled shot and
shell into Yorktown, Charleston,
Petersburg, Vicksburg, Port Hud-
son, Island no. 10, and half a score
OF other places. Who can point out
the spot where one. of those monsters
lies resting. to-day?
In the rank weeds at Fort Pillow
lies a disabled cannon. It may be
spoken of as dead. A great shell
from a Federal gun-boat inflicted
mortal injury. If that old cannon
could only speak, what story it
could relate of the fierce fights in
the bend of the great river. 1t help
ed drive the gun-boats back again
and again; it thundered at them as
they finally ran the gauntlet; it fell
into Federal hands; it was retaken
by the Confederates it saw all hor-
ribleness of war before it was thrown
down to sink away in the soft soil
and be halfhidden by the weeds.
On the ridge above Vicksburg-
the ridge from which a hundred guns
hurled shot at the Federal craft
one may find two old cannons, de-
faced, crippled, useless. They. will
never thunder again. If they could
speak just think Of the story
they would tell, beginning with
Sherman's attack. and ending on
that glorious Fourth of July which
witnessed Pemberton's surrender !
Between those dates were hundreds
of days and nights-days Of battle
nights of alarm-weeks of Starva-
:ion-months Of suspense and hor-
ror. These cannons could tell US all,
but they are forever silent.
And what of the hundreds of field
batteries !? Each gun came to have
its name and history. Each one
came to have its friends and admir-
ers in the brigade. Each new scar
added to its list of friends-each
battle proved it more worthy Of con
fdence. Think of the battles one of
those rnsty. defaced and usless pieces
could name. Think of the thrilling
incidents it could relate
In the roaSide ditch between Fred
ericksburg and Charlottesville one
lies dead, and so buried out of sight
that few eyes rest upon it. On the
field of Antietam-over in the woods
where Hooker rushed at Stonewall
jackson and could not drive him
lies another. No man can say that
third can be found, though he look
over every field of battle known to
history. What of the pieces which
famed and roared at Bull Run, Will
liamsburg, Carnifex and the Seven
Days? What of those which thun-
dered up and down the Shenandoah
and the I.uray2 What Of the hun
dreds which belched shot and shell
Frederic k S b urg, Charlottesville,
Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Apo
mattox? OF the hundreds, not one
single dozen have been preserved
through these twenty years of peace.
The burden of silence is upon them.
They may exhibit their scars and
rust, but the secrets of the battle lie
safely hidden in their black depths.
They could tell of fathers, brothers
and sons-of heroes and cowards-
Of advance and retreat-of gallant
charges and bloody repulse, but they
are silent forever.-Detroit Free
Press,
-S~-@-$S
Tho XN9nooo Tip,oc cko4nS fbo4