The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-09-18

Il Lawton's brigade, sitting on rock
, with his feet in Il stream of water and
staunching the blood with green leaves
bound to the cuts kept in place by rags
in lieu of socks and shoes. | shall never
forget that honest face, as, with the
light of duty in his eye, he swung on
his haversack, and, Srasping his mus
ket. trudged on in pain after Lee. This
: allusion to the conditions and features
Of the march will explain to any candid
mind the presence of the short. thin
!, line of Confederates on the battlefield
Of Sharpsburg, 80 years ago to-day. We
have said that $4,000 men were captur-
ed at Harpers Ferry with thirteen thou
sand of stands of arms, and valuable
stores. This was part of the rich
fruitage OF this campaign. The Federal
losses have been put down fer BoOnSbOrO,
CHAMPIONS Gap, and Sharp-burg 1920
by Mcclellan himself. while the most
!, careful estimates which | have been
able to employ places the Confederate
loss in these several engagements ut
! 10000 And one will quite understand
the desperation with which the COnfed-
crates fought when the medical authorl-
ties OF the Federal government show
an increase of 10000 patients rs conse-
quent upon the operations of this short
campaign. As Il quick sequel to tins
glorious engagement there is something
else to he said. Gen. Lee crossed the
Potomac into Virginia on the 18th of
September by way Of Shcpherdstown.
: Gen Mcclellan pressed by the Federal
government to render some effective SER
vice with the large number of men he
; had at his command threw Gen. FltZ
/ John POrter'S corps across the Potomac
under the cover of heavy batteries of ar
tilery ON the Maryland side. rms
heavy Federal detachment made Il scrl-
l ous move upon Gen. Lees reserved artil-
!ery in command of Acknowledgement
: Pendleton, chief of artillery. y counter
movement was instituted Ivy Gen. Jack
) son. which was intrusted directly to Gen.
Il \. p. HILL who drove the enemy with
j, such violence and impetuoSity acrosS the
!, river at the point of the bay0net. hurting
j, their advcrsarieS by hundreds into the
| water. that only few of the Federals
reached the Northern bank. 1t was Il
, pit:ahle spectacle that of 5000 Federal
+, troops killed and drowned with 200 pris-
, onerS and one, large brigade nearly eX-
? tinguished by the disaster. This was
the penalty which Mcclellan had to pay
for his nendacity in claiming Il victory
mt Sharpslmrg. Here it may be as
serted without any fear of contradiction,
: without the slightest suggestion of in
!, vidious COMPARISON. that when the old
Stonewall brigade and Hoods noble bril-
= gadeS of Texans and those noble sons
of Georgia under Lawton, in fine where
. all responded SO nnbly to the test APP
piled by Gen. Lee (for it was Gen. Lees
confidence in his men, and not the neces-
sites Of the situation, which caused the
| n,th lin
, ians TO this day have cause to be emf
nently proud Of the record which the
heroism OF her sons made with their
blood on that llustriOus day, and there
; id no wonder that while the 18th Of
September will ever lie a day Of sadness
to thousands of our people. yet must
it lie ever Il day when that sadness
i is tempered by the consciousness Of the
! glory of her noble sons. 1t is very foreign
TO the purpose of this address to carry
You through the campaign of the Kappa
hammock with its great battle Of Fred
cricksburg. nor shall / detain YOU while
\ | rchearse any part of the Chancellors-
I vile campaign during the months Of
April and May. 1863, where at Chan
cellorsvile the great giant of military
genius fell off the edge Of battle. where
| Stonewall Jackson crossed over the riv
or and rested under the trees. having lit
mp the way in all the battles from first
Manassas by his devotion as Christian
the SplendOr of his herOiSm. and his
matchess genius as one of the great
captains of the 10Th century, aye in every
age | shall not detain you i'll referring
you to that with which you are so fam
liar, the Gettysburg campaign in June
and July. 1868 longer than barely to
;,,f; 70 hn f,a fhnf hot
tie of Gettysburg was decisive OF the
war; the spIendor of its heroism, the
powers of its great suffering, the full
consciousness in spite of factious crit
cism that every man did his best; that
these were in part preparatory for the
grandest of all the campaigns. Grants
overland campaign May and June, "a.
1t was in that campaign of manOuevres
between Gen. Lee and Meade from July,
1868 to March, 1864 that we may see
how fully Gen. Lee overmatched Gen.
Meade. Military critics have said, and
some of them so void of prejudice AMI
so full of high capability as to entitle
their opinions to full notice. that the
most remarkable of all military move
ments in the 10Th century was that be-
ginning with May 4th in which with
52,62G men; foot, horse and artillery
ten. Lee bafhed and beat back Gen.
Grant with his four great army corps,
giving him a movable column of about
10000 men of all arms Gladly though
sadly, had I, the time would / light up
your thoughts with the splendor OF the
army of Northern Virginia at the battle
Of the Wilderness along the lines at
Spottsylvania Court House and from
Spottsylvania to- the ChickahOneny,
| MI T fnfn ut ba hot L..
of Cold HarbOr where Gen. Lee reach
ed the apex of his fame, from which he
has never been forced to come, although
the shadows Of the seige of Petersburg
and those even darker events eliminating
at Appomattox Court House announced
the fact that the circle Of the hunt was
. made and the great lion was
brought to bay. Sadly and tenderly was
the Confederate banner furled, and as
an organized body the Army Of Northern
. Virginia stepped out of existence among