The Opelousas courier., 1894-10-27
Gen. John B. Gordon's Lecture.

any very great surprise. But known a
J lt was, no n was prepared to hea
!: such an n as lie delivered in the Court
house in this town on Saturday night
! one week ago. The audience was al
that even he could have desired, mad,
up as 1t was, of the intelligence and re
hnement Of our town and parish. TIL,
Courthouse was filled long before th'
distinguished speaker made his appear
ance. The Opelousas Brass Baud wa
on hand and discoursed some OF it,
most appropriate pieces in artistic style
At precisely 8 o'clock the General made
his appearance amid a most vociferou.
n prolonged applause. He acknowl
edged the compliment by gracefully
bowing to the audience to the right anG
to the left and in front of him. At $40
p. NJ, our able and worthy Mayor as
cended the Judges stand and said il
substance: Ladies and gentlemen: Al
the chief officer Of your city govern
ment, it becomes my duty, as it is my
pleasure, to introduce the orator OF the
evening. One whose valor, patriotism,
craftsmanship and eloquence call for nc
encomiums-Gen. John B. Gordon, OF
Georgia.
A round Of applause went up as the
General rose and stepped forward. AS
ocoh as IL SuuOup HC OCSou w OpCNh IA
an easy, fluent and audible II
silence reigned as he poured forth the
rich tides of his graphic thoughts.
He entered upOn his theme without
circumlocution and from beginning to
the end, held his audience spell bound.
Now e%niivening his hearers by recount
ing some passing incident, as real as it
was amusing, her describing another
as pathetic as it was touching.
One.could hardly indulge a smile, be-
fore his sympathies were aroused and
his eyes filled with tears. Then would
come a burst OF elOquence prompted by
the incidents just related, which for a
time, rivalled the best efforts OF the
worlds acknowledged orators. His ar
ticulati0D, meditation and gesticula-
ton were distinct, natural and apprO-
pirate.
The Incidents were aptly chosen, be-
ing such as came under his personal OBJ
%servatIOns during the struggle hs out
lined. Those which occurred on the
Rapldan We're particularly entertaining
as illustrating the brotherhood of the
antagOniZing armies, and the fidelity
with which they acted in the hours of
deadly conflict.
His description Of the invasion of
Pennsylvania was grand, graphic, hui
morous and singularly peculiar: We
had frequently received and warmly
entertained the numerous visitors from
the North; our commissary supplies had
become aiarmingly insufficient; the
green fields and abundant ~liarvests
waved and smiled beyond the Potomac,
which wendell its quiet way along, and
like the Jordan to the jouIneying Jews,
separated us from the land of promise
and OF plenty. We had not been IN
pited, but ventured to tax the hospitality
of our visitors by unceremoniously Civ
ing them a call. They met us at Gettys-
burg and then and there distinguished
civilities were exchanged. We made our
visit shorter than We had intended, and
emitting to stand upon the order of our
leaving, made hasty strides for home
again.
Whilst the description of the mighty
battle was Il masterpiece of word paint
ing, there al a modesty in it which
concealed his own heroic participation.
Here his eloquence reached its climax
with a naturalness that seemed without
effort. The repeated and frequent
bursts OF applause plainly showed the
ppleclatiOn OF the audience among
whom the very best order prevailed
from the beginning to the end of the
lecture.
Nothing could surpass the description
he gave OF the scenes which occurred
at SpOttsylvania Courthouse. Here the
two greatest generals of any war con
fronted each other-Gen. Lac watching
the movement Of Gen. Grant. HIS Off
GERS had indicated the strategic points, |
but the experienced eye of Lee had
reached a different conclusion. He ap-
preciated the military genius of Grant |
and although his scouts had reported a
movement, Lee kneW that his, |
Grants, strong point was S%pottsylvania
Courthouse and convinced that he
would not fail to avail himself OF it. |
all reports and suggestions
and ordered that that should be defend |
ed. The orator was too modest to say
that with his command be was ordered
to go there. Sure enough Hancock, one
of the most gallant commanders that
rode at the head OF an army, was
arrayiDg his forces at that point. A
force was Immediately formed across
bis flank and q battle of twenty hours
followed. Grants strategy failed, after
deeds OF valOr and courage such as
have never been surpassed on any bat
tlefeld, ancient or modern. One not ac-
quainted with the history of that great
event, would have supposed that
the orator was the most conspicuous
actor in that terrible scene. A splendid
was paid to Gen. Hancock as a
soldier and commander. Here followed
an anecd0te or two which served to
give the intensified minds Of the audi
ence a few minutes of relaxation. Then
too followed az tribute to the private
which as a specimen of oratory
has seldom been equalled. The audi
could see that what he described,
he felt. He was a part of 1.-THE very
soul Of it. His description Of the pri-
vate soldier-tbe I~iatltss. the shoeless,
the starved, the dauntless private.
whose pathway might often be traced
by the blood that oozHd and trickled
from his feet, In the sheets of snow that
covered the fields, or on the rugged
stones that lay on tue lines of march
was grand.
Woman, too, was paid a tribute we'll
earned and in a manne unsurpassed by
specimens of oratory we are ac-
with. Several anecdotes of her
we're told, which showed how much he
admired. how sincerely he adored her
,eif-sacrlficing devotion to the lost
;ause. There was nothing feigned in
Iii he said /; his heart was in it, and it
his audience because himself
vas snrcharged.
Passing hnrriedly on. he came to the
asst tragic 9 at Appomattox. He
rave us a sketch of the last council Of
val. Gen. Lee and his great captains
we're described as they sat npon the
ground in the last bivouac. The rem
liant of his nee grand army were sta
Toned around, weary and careWorn, but
With less of dependency than defiance
md courage manifest in their bearing.
- -~lIs~.~~ 49, .--D