The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1898-12-24
DEATH OF THOMAS D. wIER.

Another of the old heroes of '6I
is DEAD. One by one the menrwho
earned, for the Southern Confeder-
acy the admiral on of the world,
drop out of the ranks. One by one
they join the majority of that ire
proachable army of patriots who
knew not fear and would die for
principle. The beginning of the
new century will be honored with
but comparatively few of those
splendid specimens of American
manhood. for every day, aye,
every hour, records the passing
away into the ssvalley of the shadow
of death" of one or more of these
sturdy Southrons, who offered to
the world one of the most sublime
spectacles in the history Of ancient
or modern times. To-day we
mourn tor the death of Thomas
D. Wier, and we'll may we
mourn for him, because in his
death we lose as good and as brave
a Confederate as ever marched with
the gallant followers of the i'm M ortal
Lee. It was meet that his remains
were laid to rest in the presence of
suited, what other request would
have been more natural to him
TO be buried by those who shared
with him the miseries of those
troublous times is perhaps the dear
est privilege of the Confederate
soldier.
Mr.. Weir was born sixty five
years ago in Green County, Ala
bama. But shortly after the Civil
war he moved to Avoyelles parish,
this State, where he engaged in the
cultivation of cotton. About five
years ago he settled in Lafayette
parish, purchasing plantation
few miles from this town. a short
residence in our midst was sufficient
to bring the splendid qualities pos
sessed by the deceased to the no.
tice of those who appreciate recti-
tude and honor.
The innate modesty of the old
Southe:ner was SO pronounced in
him, his demeanOr SO unassuming,
and his simplicity SO unaffected, tina,
to know his full worth one had to
know him we'll. He loved to tell of
his "reminiscences of the war and
though he clurg with religious fer
vor to the memories of that crucial
period, he was as loyal to the Stars
and Stripes as he was to the Stars
and Bars when it huttered in the
glorious days OF the Confederacy.
Going to the front with Company
B, Fourth Mississippi Regiment, he
served with conspicuous gallantry
in soma Of the ard-fought battles
Of that hard fought war. Though
wounded at Atlanta he survived
and when Lee laid down his sword
at Appomattox Courthouse he,
with the other sturdy men who had
enlisted at the outbreak of the war,
returned to the devastated fields of
the South and started on that mag
niflcent struggle against adversely,
the ike of which has never been
known in the history of conquered
people. These men, who had won
imperish able fame on the "tented
field" went to work to rebuild the
fortunes of the South, and how we'll
they succeeded there is ample evil
dence in the prosperous condition
of the country to- day. When one
of those patriots passes away let
there be mourning throughout the
land, and let every true Southerner
shed upon his bier tears of regret
and place upon His coffin the sweet
est of flowers, for his deeds Of valor
and patriotism will be inmortalized
in song and poetry SO long as man
loves what is good and true.
The following pretty tribute was
Maid TO the deceased nv his conn.,