Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1886-12-02

contest hung. 30 lar a. nN< fn4R1sl-
gence can tell of possible lite. the
decision Of questions that ~ back
for their inception 70 tls <<y fonn-
daiion of our gOvernmes Nd. -
matters of prime politicsl 4 hanasd
down from father 70 sos been -
cherished by generation sffr genera-
.lon Of the tao great serlt1ns Of the
North and South that Air .:rss Of
political thOught had u i.s2th 50 di-
vsrged that there wax no lpp bie ONT
come save by resort % th~. frl-dl a.,
bitter FROM xEese dscssirssssse.c e&s
be no appeal. With full realization
of the responsibility of the act. the
gauntlet was thrown into the arena !;
with equal resolution and resolve it
was lifted from the dust. There was
no paltering upon either side With the
magnitude Of the interest a; stake,
and the preparations were conmensu-
rate with the powers that ware to be
opposed.
Two years.of the stubborn trial Of
strength passed by. and the e,d SEEM
ed a. far off as at the beginning. Ma
nassas and Seven Pines, Donsson and
Pittsburg, the trial of the Seven Days,
and the contest at Anteitam, Corinth
and Perryville, Fredericksburg. Chan.
cellorsville On these, ana on AZ
hundred other battlefelds, tie insati-
ate demands Of the Moloch Of civil
war had been met and still there was
no rift to be seen in the cloud that
hung as q pail over the homes Of the
millions of our land. From The sigh.
ing forests of Maine to where the
tropic tides throb upon our Southern
shores, here in the land of Perm, there
by the fresides Of the lome Of
Washington, where Hudson trod,
and where De Soto sought his
FL Dorado. there in that mighty
region whose life blood pulses in
the restless flow of the father Of
waters, from the Atlantic to the Pa
cifc, in hamlet, town and village, and
in quiet country home, there was the
sound of wailing and the cry of woe
Yet none the less from NortEt 10 South,
from East to West, the fire of battle
still 6ercely glowed in every heart.
But even then the mighty fiat had
gone forth, and the day was close at
hand when the supreme effort was to
be made that was to determine upon
which side the NEED Of the victor
should rest. And it was here-here
that the men that followed Lee met
with that crushing repulse that gave
to the ensuing contests those features
that, eliminating on the plains OF Ap.
pomatox with the fading from our
view of the knightly crest of Lee.
caused to be furled for aye that b:n-
ner so long upheld in honor and in
pride.
At no time since the first sound OF
war had rung throughout, the land
had the heart of the South beat with
more hopeful aspirations than when.
in the early Summer of '63, the line
of march was taken up and the move
ment northward was begun. With
full ranks and as high resolve the op
posing force met one by one the move.
of Lee. With march and counter.
march, thrust and feint aud hurrying
to and fro Of armed battalions aud
brilliant strategy, the game of war
was played. till here where no sound
of wars alarms had ever come, with
a shock that was felt to the utmost
bounds of our continental domain, the
battle Of destiny was joined.
The character Of the campaign, i'm
pressed upon it in its incipiencv, had
marked out for Lee the necessity for
inception in attack. and his was not
a nature to hesitate when the time for
action had come, nor were his the men
to cause a feeling of doubt in the
heart Of their commander. After the
first days engagement, favorable to
the Confederate arms, calmly and with
a soldiers eve he viewed the difficult.
ties to be overcome. estimating at
their full value the advantages to be
gained by possible success, weighing
we'll the resources at his command,
and relying upon his trusty soldiery
to do all that men might do. he deter.
mined upon continuance of the con-
test. And so for two more days OF
bloodshed, from here to Culp's Hill,
there upon the cemetery slopes, and
further on, where the grand charge OF
of Pickett and his Virginians was met
by the storm of shot and shell that
swept them from existence. and fur.
ther still, to where in the far distance