The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1895-06-07
GEN. WADE HAMPTON.
Address Delivered by the Noted Ex Con-
fcdernte General af the Dedication of
the Monument In Oakw"ods Cemetery.
Chicago. to the PRISONERS OF War who
Died In Camp Douglas.

Died Ia Camp Douglas
CnlcAGo. May 81. AT the dedicatio
pf the confederate monument 10 the
prisoners Of war who died in Camp
Douglas. ten. Wade Hampton. Of
South Carolina. the orator OF the day,
spoke in substance as follows:
The scene presented here to-day is
one that could not be witnessed in any
country but our own, ana for this rea-
son, II for no other. IL possesses a
significance worthy of the gravest con-
sidcration. a few years ago brave
men from the north and from
the south stood facing each
OF her in hostile array. and the
blood of the country was poured
like water on many battlefield.
Thousands. hundreds of thousands ~
our bravcst sleep in bloody graves;
men who gave their lives to prove the
faith Of their convictions; and now
north and south, standing by these
graves wherever they may be. grasp
hands across the bloody chasm and
proudly claim federal and confederate
soldiers as Americans. men who have
given to the world as noble examples
of courage and devotion TO duty as can
be enrolled on the page Of history.
Nor il this all that marks this occa-
sion as exceptional and remarkable,
and which would render IL mem
orable in orr annals for all time
to come. No monument in the world
has such an honorable history as
attaches to yonder one That marks
the graves of no victorious soldiers,
but Of the followers of a lost cause; il
stands not on southern soil. but on
northern: the men who rest under its
shadow come from our far off south
land. and it owes its erection not To
the comrades of these dead soldiers,
but mainly to the generosity and mag
nanimity Of their former foes. the citi-
zens Of this great city. All honor. then.
to the brave and liberal men of Chi
cago who have shown by their action
that they regard the war as
over. and that they can welcome
as friends. on this solemn and
auspcious occasion, their former
enemies. As long as this lofty
column points 10 Heaven. as long as
one stone Of its foundation remains,
future generations should keep ii up
with pride. not only as an honor TO
those who conceived its construction.
but as a silent though noble emblem
Of a restored union and a reunited
people. In the name Of my comrades.
dead and living. and in nv own name
give grateful thanks to the brave
men Of Chicago. who have done honor
to our dead here. not only as confed-
crate soldiers, but as brave men whc
preferred imprisonment and death
rather than freedom obtained by a
dishonnra BILE sacrifice OF the princi plies
for which they were willing To die.
We. Of the south. measure our dead
comrades buried here by the standard
applied TO men after death. and YOU. of
| Chicago. have measured them by til.
same standard. the only standard by
which we can measure men, and 10y APP
plying this you have shown that you
have come to the highest standard
vouchsafed To men. and on this north
and south can stand with honor alike
to both sections.
Are any federal soldiers disloyal TO
the flag under which they fought be-
cause they join in decorating the
graves Of brave men whom they met in
battle? Thousands of federal soldiers
rest under southern skies. in southern
graves. many in unknown graves.
Where some beneath virgnian hills,
And some by green Atlantic rIlls.
"Sofne by the waters OF the west
"a myriad unknown heroes rest
"Of them. their patriot zeal and pride.
The lofty faith that with them died,
No grateful page shall further tell.
Than that many bravely fell"
F., And when on memorial dav in the
south the graves Of our dead are dec
Grated. gray-headed confederate vet
Grams, and noble devoted women,
strew flowers over the graves OF fed
eral soldiers. If the humane gener-
Gus action Of the people OF this city in
doing honor to the memory Of their
old antagonists is denounced as
| dissertation, il would seem To follow
that the decoration of federal graves
by rebel hands. should be open to
the same criticism. but no denuncia-
ton OF southern people for daring TO
honor the memory Of men who were
once their enemies has met my eyes.
When the north called upon its citi-
zcns to rally TO the defense OF the
old flag they responded To the sum
mons from sense of duty, as did the
people of the south to the call made on
them. State allegiance and state
pride in each case was the moving
cause which arraycd millions OF men
in arms in this country, and while the
war that brought them out caused un-
told misery to the country, il has
taught lesson to the nat ions of the
earth. that America in arms can defy
| the world. II seems to me, too. that
IL should inculcate another lesson
to us. and that is that the time
has come when the actors in
that fearful fratricidal strife and
those whom they represent should
| judge their former opponents as they
should themselves bc judged. This
can bc done without the sacrifice o
principle on either side. as the exam
pie Of our mother country had shown
~. York and Lancaster. cavalier ano
rsundhead, no longer wage war on
each other; all are Englishmcn. proud
| Of their country. and the red rose and
the white are cmblems of peace. and OF
the glory Of old England Can we not
all be proud Of the proves Of the
! American sol diers?