The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-09-24
hear Of the letter he wrote to Gen.

SenatOr llllman Yes, have hear
OF the Cash letter, and it had referenc
to Gen. Butler's cowardly and ungrat
tul attack on Col. Cash about tl
duel with Shannon. 1t had no re
terence whatever to independentism-
and was not published until afte
Gary's death. When the mass mee
ing was called at Edgefield at whic
my distinguished colleague paid hi
tribute to his dead friend, the mas
meeting to consider the question O
raising o monument to the bald'eagle O
Edgeheld, 1t was Senator Buffers in
huence and that of his friends which
prevented action being taken. The,
pursued the dead hero even into hi
grave and paralyzed the efforts t,
honor his memory. This it was ant
not independentism, which his enemies
had whispered and circulated.
Ii Mart Gary had run as an Indepen
dent it would have been nothing more
than he ought to have done aftel
being swindled and cheated by Hamp
ton, Butler, Hagood and that crowd.
am not pursuing Gen. Butler.
After he was defeated last summer
did he submit? No. There are men
on this floor who, If they would speak,
could tell you, because they have told
me, that he organized the movement.
OF which Pope was the leader, and
travelled from county to county to put
independent tickets in the field; that
he abused all Ref0rmers the news
papers charged that there was ring
and did everything that was disgrace
ful and tried to use the negro. He is
pursuing me In the Senate to keep me
from being seated as your representa-
tive in that body. Does this conven-
tion want to aid him to strangle me too
by giving bis name to this new county :?
No Butler but he Is Known outside OF
the State except to those who have
studied its history. You cannot
divorce him from his ancestry.
We are asked to name q county after
this traitor. Will you disgrace YOUR
self by giving his name to this county?
To rame this county Butler will be re-
garded by the outside world as vindi-
cation of his recent action. Allusions
have been made to Butler and Gary
linking their names together as the
heroes of '76. | acknowledge that But
Ter did his full duty, but he was not
the peerless leader that the other maa
was and l assert here from personal
knowledge that, 1t was Gary's bravery
and audacity which won the fight for
Anglo.SaXon civilization in that trying
period and redeemed the State from
the thraldom and degradation into
which it had sunk. Memory brings to
mind two incidents of that memorable
and | cannot refrain from
relating them as they will feelingly
illustrate the temper and character
and services of the two men.
Those of you who are old enough
will remember that after the famous
joint debate with Chamberlain at
Edgetield Court House on the 18th of
August, in which that dirty carpet
bagger had been 50 badly worsted, the
troops were sent to Edgefield and
preteXt was sought to declare martial
law. The Radical managers felt that
the wave OF liberty was sweeping them
out to the sea and that something
must be done to stem the tide.
Notice was sent out to the negroes
In Edgefield OF mass meeting to be
held, at which Chamberlain would
again attempt to speak under the pro-
lection OF the troops, and naturally q
large number of colOred people were
on hand on the day appointed. Gen.
Garv, who was county chairman, had
Edgefeld more thoroughly
than has ever been known in the his
tory of any people. Every man in it
able to ride horse belonged to some
company, with regularly elected Of
ticers, and many of those companies
had armed themselves with improved
weapons. And such was the state of
feeling that Gary could at any time
mobilize and concentrate a thousand
red shirts in ten hours. Chamberlain,
however, did not come. He was too
cowardly to risk it.. The speakers
who ventured into the lions den, for
Edgetield was as much in state OF
revolution as Paris was in 1889, were
two or three of the minor State officers,
including Jillson, Nagle and the fat
mulatto Small5. Gary had sent out
orders for u large number of red shirts
to be on hand, and upwards of a thous-
and were in and about the public
square when the hour for the Radical
speaking to begin had arrived. 1t
was decided that such game was un-
worthy the Eagles talons, but to show
that the presence of troops had not
cowed the spirit of liberty in the
whites, 1t was determined that the
red shirts in procession should march
by the stand where the negroes were
assembled and then dispense to their
homes. While the procession was
forming Gen. Butler took it upon him
self to ride in advance and pick out
the line of march. He had con-
ference with a scalawag white man
who was acting as marshal for the
negroes and agreed that the process
sion should take q route through the
Academy Grove upward of 100 yards
from the stand. When the Bald Eagle
at the head of his red shirt legion,
making a procession over mile in
length, reached the edge of the grove,
he was met by the Radical marshal
and told of the agreement which But
Ter had mado. In a Voice which rang
out so that the negroes and whites
could hear him he exclaimed: "Get
out OF my way, you damn white puppy.
This is public property and l will ride
on it where please" And he headed
the column straight for the Academy,
passing within twenty yards of the
stand about which the negroes were
massed, forcing some of them to move
to keep from being run over.
Another incident gives even q more
striking illustration of the claim put
| forward in behalf of my dead friend
| that he deserves the honor more thar
any other of redeeming the State. Or
the day of election there were twelve
companies of United States infantry
in our county. They had been SEN
there TO overawe the whites and en-
courage the negroes to vote. Six o
these companies had been distributed
at various election precincts in the
county where the heaviest negro vot,
was usually cast. The other six wer,
at Edgefield Court House under com
mand OF Gen. Ruger. The negroes II
/ L.. III