Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-06-30
A WORD OF WELCOME.

WORD OF WEitOhE'
Lang syne. the campfire vas the place
where we brothers of the Confederacy
MA, N divide our griefs and borrow COM
fort from one another There the scanty
ration was cooked and eaten. There let
ters from home were read. There we
sang our songs OF joyous love and un-
dying patriotism.
Sometimes these fires were lighted IN
majestic forests, beneath the archihs
boughs of great trees, and by some rip
ling brook. Sometimes they were lighted
On ravines behind the breastwoTks, where
they would be tolerably well sheltered
from the enemys shot and shell; but
evervwhere and at all times, they were
popular gathering-places-the social ciuDS
Of the men in the field, where the gos-
sinner brought his choicest bits Of news
md where the camps raconteur retailed
his drollest stories. and won his greatest
renown.
O,,r good swords are rust. our muskets
nave been used for junk. and the metal
of our great guns. thrown into the furnace
again. has reappeared In locomotive
wheels and the governments modern ar
tillery. Furled. too, is our fiag-except
IN Richmond, where it floats out In wei
co,oe 70 ALI who venerate the names or
Davis ana Lee, and TO all who re1er
with honest pride TO the time when they
wore the Rebel gray"
Gone. too, is every camp; extinguished
Is every campfire. No chance TO borrow
chunk. No longer the smoke curls through
the tree-tops. Pots and skillests are known
no longer as utensils of men, and few even
OF our tidiest fellows, nowadays, do their
own laundering or button-sewinS. DIS
,ersed. too are all those companies OF
manly boys, bearded and bronzed before
their time. Some persisted In the battle
storm of shot and shell at Chickamauga;
.ome were arrested by death alongside
the stone wall at Gettysburg; some were
nlucked out of life on lonely picket-posts'
some fell here at diseases door; some IAN
gu,shed and died in distant prisons; some
ESCAPED all dangers, to strive and star'e
and fight until they surrendered with Lee
~ Anpomattox, or with Johnston In
North Carolina, or with Kirby Smith. in
the Mississippi Department
An, many are they who have since
.o,nea the great majority; yet not few
abide with US unto this day-unpensioned
and accomplishing survivors of the most
ytvantic war OF modern times; types OF
the most unselGsh soldiery that ever stood
the shock of battle. fearless fighters, in
comparable citizens. All these we ask to
,o,n ms at our camp-fires here this week.
Welcome to you. brothers, and let us
ait together and revive the fragrant me-
morIes of the eventful past. and re-
oount the dangers and experiences of our
army-life; Of the time when we were
young. and strong In heart and hope; oil
that heroic period when, for love Of the
South. we dared everything and suffered
much: nor counted death too great a
premium TO pay for glory!
For this occasion. Richmond becomes a
Confederate camp again. Everywhere
here the stars and bars float upon the
breezes. Everywhere the veterans have
a welcome. And again shall we gather
about the platter; again drink from the
same cup; again sing the old camp-songs
again rehearse the story of our battles
and wounds--again be TO one another
the loving comrades that we were Of
yore.
The measure of our hospitality, we
foresee. VIII poorly express our wishes
and IN the great crowds present doubt
less some who merit special considera'
ton win be overlooked. So we beg al
virginians who may be nere this week t'
help rs entertain our brethren from
treat u consider that Richmond is agai'
a Confederate camp-a well-proyisioned
though maybe crowded camp
where there Is bread and bed
for every veteran. and hearty
welcome for all; and. whoever has 9
mind 4, do so. has leave to fly In oul
faces "rebep' flags or din into our ears
''rebel yefls." or iuli us TO sleep. or walk
us in the early morning with "rebe
SONGS" Our sole ambition is that -oul