Birmingham state herald., 1896-07-17
VETERANS DAY.
The Grizzled Old Heroes Were in Force at
 the Chautauqua.

The GriZZled Old Heroes Were Tn Force at the Chautauqua.
 Talladega, July 16-(Special Corre- spondence.) e.)-Veterans' day was observed here at the assembly hall on Wednesday with great eclat. The city was full of | visitors from all over the state, and dur | ing the morning exercises standing room | in the auditorium was at premium. At a. m Rev. John D. Simpson of Tuskaloosa gave his third lecture on nor nal Sunday school work.
 At 10 a. m Grambs' orchestra enter tained the audience for an hour with ap- propriate and choice selections.
 At Il a. m. General Gordon arrived ana was greeted with the widest enthusiasm. Just as he stepped upon the platform Grambs' orchestra began to play D1xie:
 Men yelled and whistled and waved thelr hats, women clapped and children joined in the general excitement, screaming lustily. It was a never-to-pe-IprBotte sight General Gordon, the Cheval1er Bayard of our southern army, stood lowing to the right and left until the ap- plause ceased with a princely dignity which only could have been assumed py so great and grand man. The veterans were present several hundred strong, and many went up to greet their old-tlme leader before the beginning of the lec- ture
 Gen Gordon was introduced by Hon. J. B. Graham and proceeded 10 denVer his lecture on the Last Days Of the con federacy." He spoke for more than two hours, and from beginning to end re- ceived the closest attention from his au- ditors. General Gordon declared that ne was there to speak of war, but that ne
 meant to change it to "a message or peace and universal brotherhood. Ills tribute to the heroes of the Host cause" was exceedingly touching. "Every one who fell in that great struggle became martyr to what he though was right. AL Vicksburg the sun of the Confederacy reached its zenith, and at Gettysours and Appomattox Court House 1t went down, never to rise again, but-thank God-it left behind it a glory the ages shall never see again." He then gave In very amusing way his reasons for ln- vading the north. In the first place, the troops that viewed the fat and plenty of the fields of Pennsylvania were hum gry horde Then 1t was matter or rec iprocity-we owed our northern cousins | some visits and we determined to pay | them. The reception was so hearty that | 1t was absolutely hot, and we didn't stay
 long, So Lee rapidly and cheerfully l crossed the Potomac, and in few days | more rapidly and less cheerfully re- ! crossed it." The last scenes in the great
 drama were faithfully described and | many incidents of life on field and camp
 were related. The southern women,
 "cheering the soldiers in the hour of dis
 aster and tempering their joys in the
 hour of victory" were lauded to the
 skies. He told of the beautiful confi- | dence which existed between Lee and his
 men. "The failure at Gettysburg did not | lower, by one hairs breadth, the conf1- | dence, the men had in their matchless
 leader, a confidence which In all history
 was equaled only by that deep trust | which every heart felt that followed the
 waving plume of grand old Joe John
 ston" The, private soldiers-those he- | roes who wrote the glorified history or
 their country in their own blood-came
 in for their share of the laurels. The last l council of war was graphically de-
 scribed: "A painters brush might trans fer to canvas the physical features of | the scene, but no tongue nor language
 can tell the unutterable woe of those l broken hearts as they looked into their | commanders eyes for last ray or | hope" The sorrowful scene at Appo- | mattox was pictured-the calm, regal, | dignifled bearing of Lee and the gentle
 manly conduct of Grant.
 | In conclusion he pointed to our com l mon country. Though the bonnie blue l flag waves no longer, we have country | which is just is truly ours as Dixie-a | country shaped largely by southern | brain, defended in its infancy by south | ern valor, administered to by southern | statesmanship for the first half of its ex- | istence and turned over to their suc- cessors without a stain upon its flag or a | blot upon it's honor.
 | But all the strife is in the past. What | Is your duty and mine toward that past
 and toward the mighty future? As you
 value southern manhood, l charge you | to cherish all the glories connected with | every battlefield from Texas to old Vir- | ginia. And now l want your authority for saying to our comrades in blue that
 we are ready to rally around the stars | and the stripes and bear it aloft and call | thu faffarad millions of earth to the free | dom of It's protection"
 The scene at the conclusion beggars all | description. Hundreds of grizzled vete- | rans, tears coursing down their cheeks, l surrounded our hero of Atlanta on all | sides In the midst of them General Cor l don, trembling like leaf exclaimed: | "Id rather deserve your love and bear | it in my heart than to wear the crown of
 the Caesars or be president of this grand | republic forever"
 | At4 D. m. the officers of Highland City | lodge of Knights of Pythias were pub | licly installed at the auditorium. An ex-
 cellent programme of music had been | prepared and the occasion was very en- | joyable. Grambs orchestra, MT. w. H.
 Boynton and Miss Mamie Camp, whose | trills and runs are as clear and fiute-like | as those of the bobolink of which she sc
 charmingly sang, furnished the music
 Hon. Tennent Lomax of Montgomery
 delivered an entertaining address on | Pythianism.
 At D. m. the usual musical concert | was given. Two special attractions were
 vocal solo, Happy Days Gone By" by | Miss Alice Hammond of this city, and a
 violin solo by Miss Printup of Rome, Ca. Edwin l.. Barker, Chicago's renowned | impersonator, was to have presented
 Peaceful Valley" but owing to the de-
 lay of the Birmingham and Atlantic train, arrived dn the city only a short
 time before the beginning hour. and had | not sufficient time to make the necessary | preparation. Instead Mir. c. Oliver l Power gave his illustrated lecture, From Manager to Throne" At the con-