The National tribune., 1889-02-28

Its glory shall be my pride In life-in death 1t
shall be my windingsheeti
After this rodomontade Rosser went on to
describe the difference between the Southern
gentleman and the Northern mudsilli
propose to tell you how In the days Of civil
strife the Southern men whipped the Yankees.
The young man of the South was good horse
man-and fancy him now as he proudly rides by
you on his way to join the cavalryi Please look
at him-dressed in his hunting suit of velveteen or
corduroy, SLOUGH hat and top boots carrying
donble-barreled, Misunderstanding shotgun on bis
shoulder, his grandfatber's mot "hat," success
fu in politics. but his) revolutionary parade sword
at his side and pair of old intlock holster pistols
strapped to his saddle. He is mounted on thor
oughbred charger. His boyish face is full Of hope
and his manly heart is as bold as Julius Cesar's.
The cavalry soldier of the Confederate army
mounted, armed and equipped himself at his own
expense, and there was nothing to be proud of but
himself and his horse. The Federal cayalryman
was mounted and equipped by his rich Govern
ment; but he marches out before you to join his
command please inspect himl His seat is stiff and
ungraceful his horse Is better fitted for the collar
than the saddle, and there is nothing to be admired
either about him or his horse, but his equipment Is
first class.
Now that we have inspected the privates, let rs
turn eyes to their gallant commanders as they
ride out. You recognize some of the most superb
figures of history. There is gallant Ashby, raid
ing, fighting reckless Jeb Stuart, cool and delib-
crate Hampton, the handsome, solderly Young,
the chivalrous Butler. brave, Jolly Fitz Lee in
Tepid Billy Payne, bearing, Pelham and your own
distinguished PRESIDENTIAL graceful horsemen,
knghtly gentlemen, ardent lovers, as brave as the
bright swords which flashed from their strong up
lifted arms, and withal as generous the sun
beams that battle the earth and terrible to the
foe as the lightning arrows of offended love.
win not ask the Federal cavalry commanders
to ride out by the side of these superb Generals.
They entirely too dull for the brightness of the
| picture.
That is, such unsurpassed riders and fight
ers as Custer, "Grimes" Davis, Dufie
Averell, the Farnsworths, Pleasonton, Blu
ford, Fitzpatrick, Merritt, Wilson, Mckenzie
Gregg, Kautz and Sheridan are too dull fol
the brightness of the picture! They were
each and every one of them more than 6
match for any rebel eavalryman who rode
against them. Brighter achievements, bet
ter soldiership, can be shown of the least o.
them than any that Rossers heroes car
boast Of
After long account of the operations O.
the cavalry of the Army of Northern Vir
ginia, in which every occurrence was delib
erately falsifed, Rosser wound up with;
The story is too long to be fully told on an oeca
sion like this. could tell you of many suoccsse!
af.
the last days of the Confederacy the courage aDC
patriotism Of the cavalry shone out at every mo
menf of its life in more and more Respondent glory
| and fatered not the star of her destiny ap
preached the plane of the political horizon beneath
| which it was so soon to sink forever. And finally
at Appomattox, as fate blotted the gallant littlt
Confederacy from the map of the world, the un
conquered cavalry. like the eagle whose lofty mes
has been torn from the mountains crag by thu
bowling cyclone, dashed triumphantly through
the tempest Of battle and defantly proclaimed
| The cavalry never surrendersI"
This is all bosh. The rebel cavalry sur
rendered at Appomattox just as quietly a
the infantry did. One was just as tired 0
fighting as the other. While the arrange
ments for the surrender were being made
man named Geary, commanding small bri
gade of South Carolina cavalry, made lit
tie disturbance, announcing that "Soutl
Carolinians never surrender but Merit
took that nonsense out of him inside G
three minutes, and Geary was only too gla
to get chance to surrender.
If this wretched stuff was merely th
individual vaporings of a man embittere
by his failure to get the honor and appre
citation given the men who defeated hi
reasonable efforts, it would attract but lii
tie attention.
But what makes it specially odious an
alarming is that it is uttered as voicing til
sentiment of very large number of nae
! who were but q little while ago in arme
rebellion against the Government; some
, the highest officials of the GoYernmer
countenance and sanction it by their pre-.
enee and applause, and it goes out throug
! the Southern press to prejudice the mind
! the rising generation against the Cover
ment and all our institutions, to imbu
them with hatred of that which cost IL
: lives of hundreds of thousands of better nae
than Rosser to maintain. It is monstrel
in whatever light it is looked at.
:,
PREFERENCE IN WISCONSIN.