The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1897-05-11

&er was nigh when duty called. 1t was
theirs TO leave q heritage of valor and
conservation far better than glitteripg
gold and more precious han diamonds.
-Four deadly years we fought,
Hinged by n irdle of unfaltering fire,
lhat coileo and Missed in lessening circles
higher.
Blood-dyed the Southern wave,
From ocean border to calm inland river,
There was no pause, no peace, no respite
ever.
Blood vi our bravest brave
Drenched in a scarlet rain the Western lea.
Swelleu the hoarse waters of the Tennessee,
lncarnadined the CULTS. the lakes, the rills,
And from a hundred hills
Steamed in a mist of slaughter to the skies
Shutting all hope of heaven from mortal
eyes.
Are thcsc memories to be brushed
aside, and must the glory of splendid
achievement in a noble cause Inc for
ever stifled? TO the South belongs
the pathos, tho poetry, the of
the great struggle, let who will enjoy
the triumph. The distinction is mate
rial and everlasting. 1t is nut wonder.
full that an eminent civilian of New
England soon after the war proposed
to obliterate al recollcction of the strife
by putting out of sight all The relics
thai savored rf battle and carnage. He
desired not to preserve the torn and
tat!ered fl 'gs that epitomizeL the g'n-
ries of Getty slurg and Shiloh, ana ne
would not erect monuments to The men
who scaled Missionary Ridge or plant
ed the stars and stripes upon Vicks-
burS's embellishments. His conviction
was that the sections would be reunited
more speedily by complete oblivion of
the past. In this ho was surely mis-.
taken. n nation that would stiff,
the impulse TO honor the heroic dead
and bury out of view the glorious
achievements of its sons dest rves itself
to perish from the face of the earth.
War with its inevitable horrors is to
be deplorcd, but The nations g. antlq-
uity no less than those of modern times
are more renowned through their war
rlurs thar exalted in their statesmen
who were purely civilians. rs a general
rule. 1t is lamcntable that peace has
not prevailed throughout The ages,
when we look upon the cruelties and
expressions that are inscparable from
grim. jagged war, but blood has flowed
Mhcr> tre' lom eve gained a foolhold,
and crimson is the royal color. In the
language of another: "England was
redeemed by blood; Italy was united
by blood; Switzerland became free
through blood; Germany was enamel
pated by blood; America secured It's
liberty through blood; and it is even
SO that the great hope which lifts us
up TO things invisible and ctcrnl II came
to us by Blood TO erase the remem-
brance OF cruel wal we must blot out
the history of every people who have
wrought nObly in behalf of tie freedom
and enlightenment Of the human race.
Sad us it is in many respects, the heart of
mankind is evcrtouched with the storyOf
conflict II conquest, and calious must
be the soul whose inmost recesses are
not stirred by the struggles of patriots
for h boon of freedom or the preser-
walton of Independence. Valiant Gu
bans striving to throw off the yoke of
the tyrant Spain, or heroic Greece de-
tying the great powers OF Europe in al,
effort TO maintain itself among the Ia
tons of the world, must arouse the
deepest sympathy of every man who
has ever felt the glow of patriotism in
his W breast. No, it is not in vain
that men give honor to the deeds of
heroes, and that they gather the relics
which speak more c%loquently than
words of the courage and constancy Of
then fathers, "r build monuments that
will point future generations to the
Valor and virtue of a noble ancestry.
In this presence it is unnecessary to
eulogizc the patience through privation
that marked the Confederate soldier as
he ploddcd along the weary years, help
ing to ~re-establish the prosperity of The
land that gave him hi. tn and to rcha-
billtatc the government Of his fathers.
The highest cncoinium tk.at he can re-
ccive Is the abundant testimony of
those who were once his enemies, for
In all h land there is not heard the
faintcst whisper hat the ext onfede.
rates are unmindful OF their obligations
rs citizens of acommon country. The
false charge Of ~d!sloyalty has vanished
into thin air, and the groundless cal.
unny that he was not fit to be trusted
has been blottcd out by the splendid
representatives furnished by the south
for service at home and abroad. His
noble manhood as soldier and citizen
has been observed, and it has touched
and will yet touch other lives for good,
Until the stars grow old,
AND the suns grow cod,
And the leaves of the judgment book I'M
fold
Fair women of Anderson, descend
ants of the Confederate soldiers who
blazoned their names ligh on the roll
of fame, and children of the women
who were u~nwavering in theil devotion
and untiring in their labors for the
Lost Cause, what answer will We make
wnen the question. is asked, as it will
be by cunning generations, "Whcre is
the memorial of the brave men who
went from these hills and valleys, en-.
durcd privations and sufferings, ard
yielded up their lives in the vely flower
of youth ?" No soldiers of any com
munity are more entitled to be honored
than the men who went from Amber
son County. Their courage was I'M
flinclling, their deeds of daring were
inspiring, and their fidelity was un.
broken to the end. Nor is there to be
found among your citizenship to-day
any that are truer, nubler and worthier
than the Confederate survivors, and
who will coon take their places among
comrades of the camp and march who
have gone before. How long are they
10 wait in eXDCctation for q ,rIJn