Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-11-09
HEADQUARTERS q. A. H.,
ADJUTANT GENERALS OFFICE,
L ID w NnAt 4 1Gn1

HEADQUARTERS G. A. r.,
ADJUTANT GENERALS OFFICE,
ALBANY, Nov. 4, 1891.
The attention of the commander-in-chiet
has been called to the fact that comrades
wearing the badge and uniform of the
Grand Army of the Republic participated
in recent demonstration where the Con,
federate flag was carried and displayed
For four years you braved all the perils
and vicissitudes of war to wipe out all that
that flag represented, When your great
work was accomplished the grand Union
armies had become the most powerful and
effective the world had ever seen, They
melted away like the snow on the hilltops
under the beams of n monday sun. You
resumed the peaceful vocations of civil
life, and the nation resumed once more
its career of unparalleled progress, pros
perity and happiness
There never was in the history of any
civilized warfare such magnaminity
evinced towards foe, as in the terms Of
surrender of Lees army at Appomatox.
We had learned to admire the gallantry
of the men we had vanquished, as only
men could admire them who had tested
their endurance and valor upon many
bloody battlefields. When they laid down
their arms we sought peace; we reached
out the right hand of fellowship to all
who would accept it on the broad grounds
of American citizenship and uncondi
tional loyalty, The contest has cost us
untold millions of dollars, and the lives
of thousands of the bravest and the best
who marched under the stars and stripes
down into the jaws of DEATH not for
party or a creed, for men of all opinions
Ios, t.
the nation from disruption and the flag
from dishonor
Today the same flag which floats over
and protects the conquerers, protects
equally as well the conquered. We ad-
mire the spirit which prompts the people
of the south to commemorate the gal
lantry of the men who sacrificed their
lives in the "lost cause" but that civil
conflict settled one great questionable
battle for the Union was right, the doc
trine of secession was wrong, and the stars
and stripes, the emblem of liberty, equal
rights, justice and law is the only flag
which the loyal people of this great nation
respect and honor We saved our chill
dren the contest that they would have
have given them heritage of peace
nous and expensive litigation to be set
tied by q jury of soldiers and today every
American citizen is in the full enjoyment
of the fruits of our great labors. We can
not afford to lose sight of the valor that
achieved victory for the right We can
never forget what the contest cost us in
blood and treasure. We must not forget
that loyalty to country is not mere SEN
timent, but that it requires a devotion to
principle, and that means that the flag
which every Union soldier stood ready TO
defend with his life must now be saluted
with honor One of the great principles
of our organization is to teach the rising
generation loyalty to country and fidelity
to duty.
The Union soldiers have repeatedly said
to the soldiers of the south; eve have no !
desire to arouse sectional animosities or
passions engendered by the war. Give us
loyalty and in return we will give you
fraternity" You have demonstrated your
fraternity on numerous occasions, but |
when comrades joined in the recent cere-
monies in honor of the memory of patIi- |
otic southern journalist and philanthro-
piSt, they found their fraternity con
fronted with the emblem of treason"
which is an evidence to you that there |
still turks in the hearts of few desire,
by the display of that flag, to fire the
hearts of the young generation of the
south to rebellion.
A comrade wearing the badge or uni
form of the order participating in any
where the rebel flag is dis
played, violates his obligation, "to main
tain true allegiance to the United States
of America; to honor its constitution; to
whatever tends to weaken
loyalty, incite treason or rebellion; and to
universal liberty and justice to
all mankind and brings disgrace upon
the order of which he is member While
the commander-in-chie has neither the
right nor disposition to interfere with the
individual rights or privileges of mem
bers of the order, he has assumed an obi
cation to protect it against any and all
nets that will bring reproach upon it's
good name. Do you propose to surrender
what you fought for, and what your COM
rades, who sleep in heroic graves, died
for? Your patriotism is fixed and inn
to preserve the memories and
fruits of that great struggle
If this grand army of loyal Americ tn
citizens serves no other purpose, it will
keep fresh in the hearts of the rising
generation that love of country, that de-
votion to the Union, that reverence for
5he stars and stripes, the constitution and
he laws, which, in the future as they
nave been in the past, must be the anchors
which hold us firmly to a solid, perma-
lent and prosperous national existence.
With these words of admonition / have
confidence in your fidelity to
eel that there will be no further partici-
1ation in any demonstration or parade
where the emblem of treason" is carried
,r displayed. Let the cause which tri-
IMPLIED in the war be maintained in the
Of its victory and the full
less of its significance.
JOHN PALMER,
Commander-in-Chief
BY the commander-in-chief,
FRED PhIsTERER,
Adjutant General.
ID. u. QUICK,
Assistant Adjutant General.