The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-11-27
TOTHE CONFEDERATE VETERANS.
An Important Circular IN Regard to a
Confederate History.
To the United Confederate Veterans OF


Confederate History.
To the United Confederate Veterans Of
South Carolina:
Fellow Comrades: The tlattering en-
dorsement the convention of United
Confederate Veterans in Columbia
gave the plan suggested and published
in various papers, for collecting the
facts and data pertaining to the history
of the South Carolina troops during
the war, prompts me to explain my
reason for not wishing to wait for the
legislature to make an appropriation
to carry on that work.
To ask the State to appropriate mon
ey to be expended in an enterprise IN
which, perhaps, many of its citizens
feel no interest, and less pride, is only
giving ground for obstructionists and
croakers to oppose it and pour cold
water upon it. l have no doubt (and |
shudder at the thought that there are
men in this State today who might be
of some service in this work, who
would rather see the records that
brave men and women have made for
themselves and their State during that
eventful struggle destroyed or hid for
ever from mortal sight, rather than to
have them preserved as history to be
read and revered by loyal and patriot
ic generations yet unborn.
The men of our State who in 1861 to
1865 immortalized the name of Lee,
Jackson, Beauregard, Hill, Longstreet,
Stuart, Hampton, Butler. Evans, Gary,
Jenkins and many others, are not
''deadbeats" knocking at the door of
the State treasury, claiming something
that is not due them. The work be-
fore US is labor of love. Let the sur
vivors of the different regiments, bat
talions and batteries, select their ablest
and most energetic comrade who will
60 to work at once and gather up
every obtainable incident worthy of
note, pertaining to his command, or
any individual soldier dead or alive
connected with it, and let it be written
down for the use Of theSt historian,
whose 1uty it will be to put it in book
form. If this work is done thoroughly
and properly, the State authorities
will see at once a bonanza in procur-
ing the publication of these records
and will willingly pay those who have
labored so faithfully in getting them
up.
l verify believe it will realize suffi-
cheney from the sale of the book (after
paying all expenses incurred in its
publication sum sufficient to bestow
a bounty upon every disabled Confed-
crate soldier in the State without one
cent of expense to the taxpayers.
When the legislature is asked to
raise money to procure the publica-
ton of this history, some people will
begin to cry out: ''It's a money ma
chine, gotten up, by the old soldiers
and their allies to deplete the State
treasury or live ct the expense of the
taxpayers"
Gentlemen, the men who saved the
reputation of the State in its darkest
days, are not going to do any such
thing; neither do they intend that
their enemies shall write their history
for them-mark that.
We have perfect right to meet in
convention, with open doors, as we
have done, and recount the deeds and
recall the memories of the past, with
out being guilty of any disloyalty to
the general government. The war is
over. The flag of the nation is our
flag. The soldiers of both armies,
north and south, can now meet and
exchange courtesies, and in the most
pleasant and dispassionate manner,
recount the incidents of the past, the
needs of the present and the hopes of
the future, without discord or embar-
rassment whatever.
Let every old soldier who fought on
the side of the South remember that
his name will soon be forgotten and
his deeds perish with the cause he held
so dear unless he bestirs himself to the
duty before him.
II he is an uneducated man who
can't write, let him call to his assist.
ance some one who will write for him.
In this he will find some men willing
'and'ready to give him assistance
then the noble women of our State.
goithereisno reason why a single
1ncidentremembered by an old soldier
should not be incorporated in the
history fit is worth preserving at all.
There are plenty ofpublishing hous-
es in our State, and many men
throughout. our country that would be
glad to get disqualification of these
records, and will pay a handsome roy
atty for that privilege. So let us be up
and doing there is not moment to
lose. No loyal son of South Carolina
can distrust his mother State, and he
may rest assured that if he does his
duty faithfully he will recompense
himself forit. A history gotten up to
maintain the truth is of incalcably
more value than one made mainly for
the money, the State might agree to
pay for it. Let us work to the hearts
of the people rather than their pockets
for true history. Hoping all papers
friendly to our course, will copy this
letter, ! am your fraternally,
JAMES L. STRAIN.
Adit. Camp Giles. .. G. '.
Union, S. G.
The United States Senate.
r. II