The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1897-04-22
THE BANNER IN WAR.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Draws Inspira-
ton From "Old Glory"
Its Lavish Display In the National Capital
Directs His Thoughts to the Use of
Banners as Rallying Points
In All Warfare.

The following discourse by Rev. T.
Dewitt Talmage was inspired by the
lavish display of the national ensign at
the capital during the inauguration. 1t
is based on the text:
Psalms Xxx, 5.
hate war! In my boyhood we may
have read the biography of Alexander
or of some revolutionary hero until our
young heart beat high and we wished
we had been born over 100 years ago,
just for the glory of striking down
Hessian. For rusty swords hung up
| on the rafters and bullets cut out of
log houses in which they were lodged
during the great strife we had un-
bounded admiration, or on some public
day, clothed in our grandfather's sol
dierly accouterments, we felt as brave
| as Garibaldi or Miltiades. We are
wiser now. for we make vast dis
| tinction between the poetry and the
prose of war. The roll of drums and
the call of bugles, and the champing
| of steeds foaming and paving for
the battle; 100000 muskets gilt
tering among dancing plumes;
God save the King" wav-
| ing up from clarionets and trumpets
and rung back from deep defiles or the
arches of a PROSTATE city; distant capi
| tails of kingdoms illuminated at the
| tidings; generals returning home under
| flaming arches and showering anna
ranths and the shout of empires; that is
poetry. Chilled and f-blanketed,
| lying on the wet earth; feet sore with
the march and bleeding at the slightest
touch; hunger pulling on every fiber of
flesh or attempting to satisfy itself
with scanty and spoiled ration; thirst
licking up the dew or drinking out of
filthy and trampled pool; thoughts of
home and kindred far away while just
on the eve of deadly strife, where
death may leap ON him from any one of
a hundred bayonets; the closing in of
two armies, now changed to
a hundred thousand maniacs; the
ground slippery with blood and
shattered flesh; fallen ones writh-
ing under the hoofs of unbridled
chargers maddened with pain; the
dreadfulness of night comes down
when the strife is over: the struggle of
the wounded ones crawling out over
the corpses; the long, feverish agony
| of the crowded barrack and hospital,
from whose mattresses the fragments
of men send up their groans, the only
music of carnage and butchery; desc
late homes from which fathers and
husbands and brothers and sons went
off; without giving any dying message
or sending kiss to the dear ones at
home, tumbled into the soldiers grave
trench, and houses in which few
weeks before unbroken family circles
rejoiced, now plunged in the great sor-
rows of widowhood and orphanage;
that is prose.
But there is now on the earth king
dom which has set itself up for con-
f1icts without number. In its march
it tramples no grain fields, it sacks no
cities, it impoverishes no treasures, it
fills no hospitals, it bereaves no fami-
lies. The courage and victory of Sol
ferino and Magenta without carnage.
The kingdom Of Christ against the
kingdom of Satan. That is the strife
now raging. We will offer no armis-
tees; we will make no treaty. Until
all the revolted nations of the earth
shall submit again to King Emanuel,
''In the name of God we will set up our
banners"
Every army has its ensigns. Long
before the time when David wrote the
text they were in use. The hosts OF
Israel displayed them. The tribe OF
BENJAMIN carried flag with the in
scription of a wolf The tribe of Dan
representation of cherubim. Judah
lion wrought into the groundwork OF
white, purple, crimson and blue. Such
flags from their folds shook fire into
the hearts of such numbers as were in
the field when Abijah fought agains,
Jehoram, and there were 100000
soldiers, and more than 500, 900 were
left dead on the field. These ensigns
gave heroism to such numbers as were
assembled when Asa fought against
Zerah, and there were /, 1,5S0,000 troops
in the battle The Athenians carried
an inscription of the owl, which was
their emblem of wisdom. The flags O.
modern nations are familiar to you all
and many of them SO inappropriate fol
the character Of the nations they rep
, resent it would be impolite to enumer
ate them. These ensigns are streamer
borne on the point of lance and OF
, the top of wooden shafts. They ar
carried in the front and rear of armies
They unroll from the maintop-gallant
masthead of an admirals flagship t.
distinguish it among other ships of tn
same squadron. They are the object
of national pride. The loss of them OF
the field is ignominious.
The three banners of the Lord
!, hosts are the banner of proclamation
the banner of recruit and the banne
, of victory. When a nation feels it
! rights infringed or its honor insulted
when its citizens have in foreign cline
been oppressed and no indemnity ha
been offered to the inhabitant of the re
public Or kingdom, proclamation c
war is uttered. On the top of batter
les and arsenals and customs house
! and revenue offices flags are immediate
ly swung out. All who looks upon the1