Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1885-01-30

/ ludI Tue Olu OOumOuNCdllh iC-
sounds through all her borders in
those autumn and early winter days
of 1859, with the cry to arms ?
'tO armsp Under the inspiration of
this cry a quarter of a century
ago today, sixty gallant men and
boys met on this spot, and organ
lied a military company which they
named, THE Blue Ridge Rifles,
afterwards to become Company A.,
2Sth Regiment Of Virginia Infant
ry in the army of Northern Virgin
ia-Who of them are here to-day to
participate in this reunion How
many are present for dutyl Or
derly Sergeant, turn out your COM
pany. Form it on the parade
ground. Call the roll. Report the
What is this remnant
of grizzled and ay-haired men |
now see before me, all that you can
muster? Account for the absentees.
Asleepl Yes, asleep! All account
ed for and so many of them asleep.
Some sleep on the field of glory.
'On fame's eternal camping ground,
Their silent teihs are spread
And glory guards with solemn round,
The bivouac Of the dead
Others who toiled all through the
heat and burden of those memora-
bic years of war and blood, and fol-
lowed the flag of the starry cross
until it was furled forever, have
since Joined their comrades in the
silent land. BuG we will not dis
turb their sweet and dreamless
sleep by vain repinings. Did not
the great Apostle write concern
ing those who are asleep sorrow
not? The flying years glide by,
and in a very little while, he who
tarries longest here will pass over
the river and rest with his com
rades in the shade of the trces-l
only pause to drop tear and to
scatter some immortelles on the
turf that wraps the clay OF Our
dead, and then pass on to trace the
career of 'The Blue Ridge Rifles
from the 9th day Of December,
1859, until the company was finally
disbanded at AppOmattOX g. H.,
on the 9th day Of April, 1867
Armed, and uniformed in gray cloth,
The Blue Ridge Rifles make rapid
progress in the manual of arms and
in company drill. The spring of
1860 opens with three uniformed
infantry companies in Botetourt.
The military spirit is alive in the
land, and during the summer COM
petitive drills are the order OF the
day. Wives, sisters and sweet
hearts, are always on hand to en-
courage the bold soldier boys with
their approving smiles. And the
boys themselves, how grandly they
diSport themselves in their CANDY
uniform! Oh, those halcyon sum
mer days of 1860. Voices from
the past, sweet voices from that
radiant past, float upon my ears to-
day, like the remembered music
of a dream But the fall and win
ter come on apace. And now stir
ring events follow one another in
rapid succession. a sectional pres
ident is elected in November. The
people of BOtetOurt meet in mass
meeting at December county court,
and resolve in the language of their
revolutionary fathers, that liberty
is so dear to them that they cannot
think of parting with it but with
their lives. South Carolina secedes
from the Union on the 10Th day OF
December. That little cloud is
growing larger now. The lightning
is more vivid. The muttering
thunder and moaning winds beto-
ken the storm burst. The NON.
Orable year of 1861 dawns. Other
Southern States following the lead
of South Carolina IN rapid success
sion resume their sovereignty. The
Southern COnfederacy is formed,
and preparations for war rapidly
progress. But the old mother Com
monwealth stands with Outstretch-
ed hands pleading for peace, foE
blessed peace, with healing in its
wings for the people. Lincoln is
inaugurated on the 4th OF March.
! A few weeks of intense excitement
succeed, and then on the morning
of April 18th, a signal gun IN a
battery at Charleston, South Caro-
lima, announces to the world that
the curtain has risen on one Of the
bloOdiest dramas of all history
And that little cloud erst no larger
than a mans hand now pals the
whole heavens in black. Virginia
resumes her sovereignty and Sc
cedes from the Union on the 18th
day of April, and her organized
volunteer companies are rapidly
ordered under arms. 1t is the mid
dleO May when the captain Of 'ThC
Blue Ridge Blaes receives orders
to move his company across the
mountains to Buford's Depot, from
thence to be transported by rail u
Lynchburg. How the hearts Of the
men swell in their bosoms For
ward, march With elastic step
they move of. Little do they
dream of the four years Of suffering
and blood that are just before them
Vending their way up the noun
tain they see lying behind and be
.ootb tba,, tha haoufifuI vaIIav n