Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1891-05-06
HAMPTON TO HIS MEN.
A GRAND OVATION.
THE GREAT CAvALRYMAN MAKES PROBABLY
THE LAST ADDRESS TO his OLD SOLDIERS
his PLEA FOR TIE CAVALRY AND FOR
THE coNFEDRRAcY.

THE C0NFEDERACY.
At the Confederate Survivors Associa
tion which met in Augusta, Ca, Gen
Wade Hampton received one of the grand
est ovations ever accorded any man.
Gen. Hampton began by reoounting with
fervor and deep feeling his last meeting
with his soldiers, and how they had al
embraced and wiped away their tears-tearl
which he could not restrain even now wher
he thought and spoke of that memorable
scene. He loved these men, and not these
only, but all the cavalry he had the honor
TO command.
| II know" be said, "thas our COCO
| friends Of the infantry used to chaff as
good deal. They used to say that they
never saw dead man with spurs on, bul
| in the great fight at Trevillian station
fought by the cavalry against overwhelm.
ing numbers of infantry, there were us
killed and wounded in Buffers division,
and iu the Sixth regiment there were los!
1872 killed and wounded. [Applause j
And will say that in the great campaign
of Gettysburg, where the desperate fight
ing was by that invincible infantry of ours,
the cavalry corps lost more in killed and
wounded than any other division In Lees
army. Now We, the cavalry, did do some
fighting, on which do not intend to detain
you by telling you what I think of the
cavalry. want to show you what Gem
eral Lee said. Just after the war General
Lee wrote me, and requested that would
give him correct narrative of the opera
tions of the cavalry corps of the last CAM
paign in Virginia. He was. as you know,
about to write history of the war. and it
was great misfortune to the South that he
NO M al hc nd 70 E,fo
In his letter he said that the difference be-
tween the sections culminated in blood, but
not in treason. Those were his words, and
want every cavalryman and infantryman,
and every man who followed the southern
cross, to tell his children and they to tell
their children [applause1 to the remotest
generation that they were neither traitors
nor rebels. GApplause and cheers]. You
fou ght for what we believed were our
rights. We believed it as conscientiously
as any man could believe anything on the
face of the earth. Wo Believed that we
were fighting for God and our fatherland.
Renewed cheers].
''The man who would not fight ought to
be damned. [Applause.] Now while say
that we we're neither traitors nor rebels, I
do not say that we should not recognize our
allegiance to the general government. 1t
is only one country that we have nov, and
it is our uuty, and the duty of every man
in the South. to try to make that country
the field for all freemen for all time to
come. GApplause I am loyal citizen,
but maintain that can at all times ex.
press my opinion, whether in northern pres
ence or southern presence, and never will
1 say that my dead brothers were traitors
to their cause"
Gen. Hampton then read number of
his letters to Gen. Lee, and large number
of brief congratulatory kilograms from
Gen Lee. After reading he said:
''In looking over my records find that
in the last six mouths of the war we turned
in between $4,000 and 10000 prisoners.
That was doing very well for an army of
), ZOO or 5000. Wheeler said that he whip
ped them; but it has been said that the ia
fantry whipped them, and We caught them