The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1896-07-11
GEN. GORDON'S FINE SPEECH.
He Expresses the Appreciation of the
U.C. V. to Virginia anu Rich
mOnd.

, He Expresses the ApreclatiOn of the
U.C. V. to Virginia and Rich
mOnd.
The fo wing is the address given
by Gen. John b. Gordon before the
United Confederate Veterans, ai Rich.
mond, Va:
Governor. MI. Mayor, General WIS.,, Ladic.,
and Ny Com I"deIHte Comrades:
You will not wonder that am litcI
ally overwhelmed by the flood of emo.
tons which This scene cvukcs. As We
look upon the griHzlcd locks and fur
rowcd brows OF these Stalm arr men,
who thirty years ago were soldiers OF
an army which they immortal Zrd II!
their deeds; when their presence in
Richmond so vIvidly recalls that heroic
era in which they were the heroic
actors; when we remember the posi-
liz of Richmoud, of Virginia, through
out whose borders and otcr whose
homes the tides of war swept, from
first TO last, with their widest and
most destructive floods; when we
recur 10 the dauntless prowess of her
sons, and TO the fortitude, almost mar
tyrdom, of her glorious women, who
for our sakes stripped their homes of
the simplest comforts-when, l say, all
these deathless memories thrill us
afresh when we gather again in this
long-beleagurcd and ever-beloved city,
how utterly inadequate are the words
of our lips TO express the emotion of
our heartsl (Applause.)
| CHIvALRIC MEN; NOBLE WOMEN.
Let me say to these gentlemen who,
in the name of this great people, bid
us welcome, that full and cordial as is
our appreciation of this splendid recep-
tion, we are in no sense surprised at its
prlncely munilicence. We are not
surprised, because we know Virginia
and Virginians. (Applause) For
nearly three hundred years, on the
banks of this historic river, there have
lived and died, in successive genera
tIoas, the most chivalric OF men and
the fairest and noblest of women. At
every stage of her history, from the
earliest settlements, through the Colo
NAL period, and the eventful life of the
republic, 1t has been VirginIa's destiny
TO hold the position of primacy and
leadership in every cause to which her
proud people have given their allegi-
ance. This Old Dominion, peerless
Virginia, whose very name is the syn
onym of all that Is glol ious in repub-
lican history, was the nursery of our
distinctive civilization and the foster
mother of our American freedom. 1t
was Virginia that first established rep
resentatIve, popular government on
this new continent. 1t was she that
laid the foundations, deep and abiding,
of legislative liberty 1t was she that
first denounced, by legislative protest,
the British stamp-act as subversive Of
chartered rights. 1t was her hand
that rang the alarm bell "and gave the
signal" that aroused the colonies. 1t
was her two illustrius sons who wrote,
the one our "Bill of Rights" the other
the constitution of the union of the
states. 1t was Virginia's fortune 10
give to both those immortal armies
the Revolutionary and the Confederate
their illustrious commanders-in-c chief.
(Great applause.)
With such history, therefore, who
could doubt the character of the recep-
tion which Virginia would accord TO
these battle e-scarred veterans, wherever
and whenever convened upon her soil.
(Applause.)
ITS IMPORT AND PURPOSE.
impressed by its boundless
hospitality, and keenly sensible of its
every meaning, | should fall far short
of my duty TO the southern people and
to the republic itself if l failed to
analyze to some extent its import and
purpose. l should fall far shortiof my
duty to Virginia as our queenly hostess,
and to these brave COnfederates rs
her noble guests, if failed to note the
unselfish motives which prompt the
one and the patriotic impulses which
inspire the other.
OF all the public honors ever paid to
the worlds heroes, none have been so
unique in character as these heartfelt
tributes offered by the southern people.
Were the recipients of these hOnors
the ex-soldiers of victorious armies,
bringing 10 grateful people the tro-
phies of triumph, the world would
comprehend the meaning of such a
welcome as is here extended; but they
were not the victOrs in that titanic
They are the shattered
remnants of long-since disbanded
armies, which leave TO pOsterIty no
Of territory, no accrnlions
The legacy which these men leave to
their children and people is record
of untarnished honor, and of the most
heroic defensive struggle in human
annals; and the sole compensation for
their services and suffering is the
reward which noble natures feel in
such recognition by their grateful {
(Applause.)
UNsELFIsH IN CHARACTER
On the other hand, no popular s
assemblies of intelligent and high
spirited citizens in the worlds history
Sgn