The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1892-07-29
orIR HAssr CAUSE.



o. being installed into Office Of
msiar genera q ihe Mississippi digi
sion B lhe Daitaa Confeasrats vster
ans Al 5askaou, July 2, General S.
p Ksse, + short adiFsas thai moved
nsahg 81 bis hsasers ID taafs, asfs
Comrades--I thank you from the
bottam Of my heart for this mex
pected honor. d shows me that the
old feeling that binds The a0uthsrn
soldiers together takes me u, and
that an INIT il Ibis band Of
bFothera who haring once 5sep CON
gades IRE comradas n thn end ] su
psaud q feel shis 81 eaists
Az look into tlie faces If lio men
who have jaat heaored me-, Ireeall the
st0ry Of the old war horses that snF-
YiEsd lbe battle Of Waterloo, who,
whenever they heard the thunder
storms, thought II was The echoes Of
the old artillery and formed IN line at
once ] see before me many old war
horsas- --battle-scarFed Veterans, and !
sppeal b them, II the sight of many
e0mrades Oh this occasion does not
stir their souls and bring a rnsh Of
memories thai almost starts tear.
WeTealizs the great changes that have
coRe over ns, and how few are left Of
those who laid down their arms and
diebanded twenty seven years ago.
Such renBi0ng necessarily recall hthe
days that are no more" Old memo
ries, they cling, they cling We would
mot ask I'd forget them. II would be
impossible 10 look At this glorious
remnant Of gallant survivors aud not
recall the many battle fields and cam
paigns where VIC shared the same per
ils aud the same priyaiioDs. Nov 1t
seems bat 4 dream. Where now is
the sound of tbe bugle, the roll Of
The drum, The boom of the cannon,
the crack 81 The sharpshooter, The rat
lie Of mnaketryl Where is the dark
cloud Of blne uniforms that fnHged
the horizon snd the long lines Of gray
forms that charged upOn them or
resisted their advanced
Vanished forever. And yet fresh
In 0uf minds ever linger the recollee.
tions Of the times when we sat around
the name camp fires, when we marched
without rations, in the dreary winter
rains, and biyonacked at night with
no shelter bat the heagens.
Who can forget the patriotic
motives that inspired as, that thrill
Rs yet9 And we will carry 10 our
graves our unaIted convictions Of be-
lief III The Justness of our struggle.
The ardor with which we rallied
RFoRnd our flag was grand. The in
d0mitRble heroism with winch we fol.
lowed h tbrongh disaster and danger
on 70 death canld only have sprnng
from o conscientious love Of country.
Every soldier felt that be died in
holy cause. We obslinately refused
10 have our right wrested from u.s.
We tonight for q principle that we
were raised 10 believe iB--we believe
IL il yet. We always will believe in
II. Yet comrades, the issue was
hettled forever when we laid down
our arms. We have accepted the
Hituation, but with our honor and
integrity untOrnished, and renewed
our allegiance in good faith to the
flag of our common country.
The struggles of half a life time,
with broken fortunes and disappointed
hopes, have made different men of
many Of MS; bat when We meet as we
do today we lay all aside. awe are
soldiers, just for tonight. If at
home We are battling with every
encouragement, with the energy of
despair, or if We have settled down
into the apatbetic feeling that 1t can
mot get any worse, it makes no differ
ence. 1t is a duty to those who fell
on the field of battle TO treasure the
hailoWed memories of the past.
In days gone BY, when each and all
Of Us were called on to make desper
ate charges on the battle field, and
. which we can never forget, as our
ranks were thinDsd by cannon and
rifle balls, we closed up, got nearer
together, till We could feel the elbow
touch, and pressed forward. Let us
mot forget this custom and our sol
dierly daty. We are now, in ObeyiBg
natures laE, falling faster than we
did amid the carnage Of battle. Those
of rs left have frosted heads and fur
FOWed faces. The con maDd we 90
often heard when soldieFs, Is silently
and quietly coming 10 each one Of ns.
Close mp! The fewer we become, The
stronger seems the tie that binds Us
together. We are met to keep fresh
the memories of the historic past and
10 renew old friendships. Such al
cessation a. like green oasis 10 the
dfesFy desert of common place life.
Let ns enjoy IL, comrades
As long as there Is a survivor left,
let 10 meet together from time 10 time
and fight It over again." Let us
FefeEubee the past and enjoy the feel.
ing Of being band Of brothers 10 the
end. Looking on such body Of men,
bow can ! help feeling proud when
they select me IS their major general
Life has its compensatioBs. This il