The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-05-19

The ideas and opinions prevailing
there were as surely undermined and
extinguished as were the customs and
habits of this section swept away to a
large extent by the arbitrament of the
sword. Both sections came to realize
the fruitlcssness and barrenness that
must inevitably follow unless the old
lines of strife and bitterness were OBJ
liberated, and in less than three de-
cades there was fading away in the dim
distance all traces Of the deeply i'm
bcdded prejudices which marked the
division between North and South.
Any other result would have heap
ed disaster upon disaster, and wrecked
the future of the country. Need itbe
said that to the heroic patience and
manly resolution of the Confederate
soldier is largely due to the happy is
suance of these events? He came
back from the surrender Of his hopes
and the abandonment of his cherished
aspirations to begin life anew with all
the discouragements and difficulties
that confronted him. 1t required a
courage and constancy for this strug-
lie against odds far more exacting than
was the heroism which had given him
the glory Of renown and the imperish-
able chaplet accorded to him with gen.
erous enthusiasm by the outside
world. His movements were watched
and weighed, and his every expression
as a citizen was scrutinized and sifted
to find that he was steadfastly ad-
herring to the counsel given him by
the immortal Lee, as he urged his fol-
lowers to acquit themselves in peace
with the fortitude and devotion they
had shown in war.
Bronzed by sun
And lit by winters cold, they bear the
scars
And blows Of envious time as valiantly
AS once they bore the butfetings of war.
For them, a nations Golfers have not
bled,
To salve their wounds with gold, but
when worn out
With fatal victories, they left the field
Where valor long had stove in vain with
might,
Like that great son of Rome, whose con-
queriDg arm
Did not disdain to guide the pillow, they
sheathed
Their swords, and asking aid of none but
God,
BY honest toll redeemed and glorifed
The land their fruitless valor could not
save.
Aye, the Confederate soldier stands
uniquely among the representatives of
a cause that was lost. He has never
made apologies to the most rancorous
foe or admitted to his most intimate
friend that there was regret for the
part borne by him in the struggle for
the mastery. He accepted the situa-
ton in which he fouad himself, and
entered without delay upon a career of
industry, frugality and hopeful energy
that has rescued the waste places and
restored the vitalities that were sup
pressed for four long years. The abb
sorbing interest during that period
was directed to a single point, the
achievement of independence for the
Southern Confederacy, and when that
had failed utterly and irrevocably, the
men who had braved all and suffered
all. thrusting aside the spirit Of re-
venge so natural inhuman disappoint-
ments, went earnestly to work with
the purpose of retrieving the losses
incident to a state of war. No matter
that a stroke of the pen had destroyed
millions upon millions of property,
that the fields were barren and the
store-houses empty, that food and raj
ment were scarce and high, that the
aged and infrm were in deepest de-
spair and hat almost every household
was wearing the cmblems of mourning,
these men were not dismayed or faint
hearted, but with slender resources
and limited opportunities they entered
again upon the battle of life, with a
determination that augured victory
from the outset, and compelled the
goddess of fortune to smile upon their
efforts. How we'll and truly this has
been realized may be seen in the pro-
gress made, despite the untoward sur
roundings and in the face Of adverse
winds, until now it is an accepted say
ing that the South is the favored field
of the future. Who was it made this
a possibility? I have no hesitationi in
pointing to the Confederate soldiers
as the foundation stone Of whatever
development has come, and as being
entitled to the credit of preparing the
way for the illimitable expansion Of
coming years. With smiling fields
and happy homes, growing commerce
and tecming industries, enlarged edu-
cational facilities and increased growth
of religious sentiment, the South
stands fairly to the front as including
within it's borders all that makes life
desirable, which, to the dimmed eyes
Of many who have acted well their
part in this drama, far cxcels the
possession of colossal fortunes gained
at the expense of toiling millions.
Amid the labors and sacrifices Of all
these years, the precious dust of our
fallen heroes are not forgotten. The
inspiration which came to a Southern
woman almost identical with the close
of hostilities has been perpetuated
every season with the coming Of the
flowers that tell of their resurrection.
It is this which has called us togeth-
er, and as the graves''are bedecked with
the cmblems of purity and innocence,
the mind goes back with unerring in
stinct to the days when shot and shell
fell thick and fast among the young
men of the South, whose libations were
freely offered for the defense Of what
they believed to be right. 0, that it
were in my power to depict what death
meant to those youthful heroes at
whose graves we lingcr with fondest
memories. They rocked not that dan
ger was nigh when duty called. 1t was
theirs to leave a heritage Of valor and
conservation far better than glittcring
gold and more precious than diamonds.
-Four deadly years we fought,
hinged by a girdls Of unfaltering fire,
That coiled and Kissed lcsseniug circles
higher.
Blood.dyed the Southern wave,
From ocean border to calm inland river,
There was no pause, no peace, no respite
ever.
Blood of our bravest brave
D!enched in a scarlet rain the Western
lea,