Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1886-04-30

speech Gen. John B. Gordon was intro.
dnced and spoke as follows:
Mr. Chairman. Ladies, Brother Soldiers and
Fellow Citizens:
The Invitation Of your committee found me
engr0ssed with the G res and conflicts of i'm
pOrtant business engagements; buG it would
nave be n accepted had the burden upOn me
been tenfOld greater. That request closed with
these impressive words: ut will be memorable
event, upon historic around. This invitation ap-
peals TO your patriotism"
Perhaps no more appropriate line Of thought
could Ee pursued by me than the one suggested
by these closing words.
The events Of this day will be memorable"
because the monument whose foundations we
are assembled to lay will testify to future ages
Alabamas appreciation Of tho courage. fidelity.
devoted patriotism and self-sacriice of the
braYest and best of her sons,
Til s ground is Historic" because II was the
home OF a race antedating the red man by
centuries; because the Spanish cavaliers ritched
their tents upon these hills nearly w hundred
Years ago because Il was the probable birth
place and home of WeatherfOrd and Tecumsph:
but. more than all, because here was born The
confederate States of America" Here. amidst
the prayers and hopes. the aspirations and an.
prem nslon OF aproud, brave, free and freedom
loving people, was christened the Young re-
public, destined to only four years of meiPOric
lie as a marion, but to an eternity of renOwn.
Here the Chief executive of that young re-
pu0licIlts first aud its last President-calltd by
the united voice of the representative of hS
people,, modestiy but firmly assumed the
~stupendous responsibility of his high office.
may be pardOned, even in his presence. a brief
allllslon TO Two memorable o~ccasions-the only
tWO-upon which 1t was my privilege to meet
him from 1861 TO 1865. These occ tsiOns illustrate
the very climaXiI the antithesis of fortune The
one was in victory, the other in defeat. On the
one ne was a PRESIDENT; on the other a prisoner.
On the one occasion he rode with lofty hearing
on the battlefield Of the first Manassas the con,
stitutiOnal commander in-cllief of a victOrious
army; on the other he lay incarcerated in
Yanquished people. "'
AS l saw HIM in that first great conflict of the
Conied.eracy, with the shouts of victorious lp-
glOlls IN his ears. and the glory of battle on his
lace, ne was In the meridian blaze Of his fame.
commanding the unqualified confidence of his
S0uthtrn countrymen and the attention of
CnTlstehdnm. But as a prisoner, stripped of all
power save the power to endure, sustained by
that majestic spirit which no force but death
coulu CONQUER, awaiting his Judicial trial and all
us consequences with a repOSe or mind, an
equlpoise and dignity Ofldemeanor rarely equal
ca and never eXcelled-it was then that he bound
himself to the hearts of his people in death
leHS dlecllon ana rose 10 the sublimest height
Il the morally heroic. Of these two scenes, lie
one III the Fortress was more profoundly i'm
pTeSSlve. Its les son Is of inestimable yalue TO
the Young men OF the country. 1t teaches that
no reVlusiOn In pol tical fortunes, however sud-
den or extreme can Overwhelm or crush the man
whose aims are lofty and whose life is blameless.
10 my mind. great and grand as he WAS at
the head IT a nation, he was greater and grand.
q ntlli as d natloh prisoner. And when aliella-
lions and bitter memories are G ne. when The
crucial tests OF historical ANALYSIS Shall be fully.
larry ana truthllllly made-then his name anu
ha4a ali & ms CoHsPlcuouS services 10 the country
wv" vii ~ wal, ms uiTlNa'ed state papers and
hany utteIauceS during the war, and his moral
So = oH a,lu inatclless I9rtltuue as prisoner OF
ne e" ~ ny wa, WIZ command universal
i' X tamg cndiense uhqqailned admiration.
an a M d, u tast tnQugng suggested by your
S0mi, ~ , tnntLatton, ~; IilaU tle occasion dp-
IN IFS 6 Tuu PAN anG doI m1Snmsii einnrace tills truth
ranca JTiS S en-" dr cacultscTlDed Slghl1l-
ANY, lniS 'lleinoraDle event upon historic
sto"lW VIII asSultuly Increase me strength
t ths Nni"iS0 ny ocuPe u 'Le ,palrlOtisnl" OF
w. a LNVpio' i1T ldtuidI, logical, inevitable L.
:" =" AZ lay ~ dnausouS events must be 10
Inn"nce lle SeIi-EesHecl, augment the Seil-re-
iange, eAdlt the manhood and ~helghten the ap-
pr1IIi" - u y III , ptopiG loT thelr past history
~ wv ~ az eiiellSl dnu therefore intensity their
a aoT. ~ t..,l'tI!' lne converse proposition Is
w iItr" Sn histor nmou nno W. oullu no monuments,
m ON w w t tho y Cltris1 No memories OF M
,moi.a in IN, unV uVeun "iilcn trulllui history would
f ~ i NV, we YOU'D sap llie most solid
I lY =" q ~ H. VI onl Mallllood ana DTllg CERTAIN
d die y thG Pdtllo!i1nl q our people, Il, sol
Wand f,n u Ii, MN y oHe NoIll or me oolitl VINO
tio " uh ioT " m upon sVetes i'ke tnis ID either sec
ho WI a "no uoi 10 H tho esteem Lhe rehoWh one Dy.
t IUs hi.tn = ,n ~ u IL late VAT as enrlcItlent OF
wroIe ueoJnia ~ Is n nt,rru ~ ane pItIIotlsll OF lle
dired III v,teion - N"iio" III cohceplloh ana lauh-
TN The ~ ,ho nn9tEt, cf ou1
ono tbat ..S5atrint LUtu nolthgoIohe was Ine true
urinici, Ice a P%i cu a, 81 niasE We rounded on great
tHharIcfara' f %In SupPhUiteu ny great virtues. IL
The nrincilIeS o MA ma ma w more colllllendaDl4
moved and slInIorted the m9 ,.nnr sn1 - fllags WHICH
N, ~ #. f y " a SnG more ile.glVlhg IS the nutrl-
nI ttemnlation y NJ RaI[lotlsnl Oh az by tnelr