Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1898-01-20
united Daugbters of the Confederacy.

Cnapter OF the ohiIeu DauSn'ois u
the Confederacy yesterday at Mrs. Il.
C. Martens all the old officers were
reelected. A dollar was donated to-
ward placing memorial window in
the church of which Joe Davis was
member, in his memory. A paper
was read in which lady told OF what
came under her own knowledge, show
ing General Lees efforts to make the
wounded spirit whole" The presen-
tation of a gavel elsewhere referred
to in this paper was pleasant fea-
ture of the meeting, and rising vote
of thanks was rendered to Miss Nellie
Marten.
The following paper from the pen
of DR.. l. S. Tanner was read at the
meeting:
For thirty-three years we have quiet
ly and patiently remained silent while
cohorts of scrbblers and news mongers
of every grade and caste have been flood
ing the country with false reports as TO
facts and with biased descriptions OF
the battles and as to the numbers OF the
troops engaged in the different contests
between the northern and the southern
armies.
So biased and so prejudiced and SO
devoid of the actual truth have these
reports generally been, and so misrepre-
senting of Southern valor and character,
and as to the long and patient endur-
ance Of wrong and vituperation, and as
to the northern violation of the consti-
tuition of 1887, and as to the cause that
led up to and compelled the secession OF
the Southern States, that we deem it our
duty as Daughters of the Confederacy
70 set forth the facts and the truth OF
history in the defense and the justice of
the acts of our fathers in claiming, de-
handing and defending their rights un-
der the constitution of 1887.
This constitution, under the provis-
ions of which all the States, North and
South, had agreed and covenanted to
live and abide by, had secured to all the
citizens of all the States life, liberty and
the protection OF all their property and
to the defense and enforcement Of all
its provisions all the States through
their accredited representatives had
plighted their faith and their sacred
honor.
1t shall be part of our duty as Daugh-
tiers of the Confederacy to show by the
truth of impartial history who were the
first parties to disregard and to grossly
and shamefully violate the provisions of
the Constitution of the United States,
which led to the secession of the South.
ern States. But before entering into
detail of the occurrences which led to
the war between the States, we will
mention one or two instances of the
most gross perversion Of facts; the one
relates to the battle of Antietam and the
other to the battle of Gettysburg. AS to
the occurrence on the Potomac heights,
on the day after the Antietam fight, as
described by party from Philadelphia,
who recently visited the battle-ground
and had published in the Shepherds
town papers a statement that the Penn
svlvania and the New York troops en-
gagged in the heights south of the Poto-
mac were greatly outnumbered by Long
streets men, now, we know the fol-
lowing facts to be true:
General Longstreet'S men were really
not within eight miles of the heights
when the fight took place. General
Earlys men had crossed the river at the
Falling Waters, ten miles above Shep-
herdstown. General Lees supplies of
ammunition being entirely exhausted
by the two previous days fighting, his
army was slowly moving on toward Rich
mond. in order 10 be nearer 10 the base
of his supplies. The 2lst Georgia, the
2lst North Carolina the 18th Georgia,
and the 4th Alabama regiments were
moving on leisurely and were near
Charlestown, about on line with Long
street on the left and below Harper s
Ferry, and Early on the right, near
Smithfeld, and General Ransom in the
rear on the Shepherdstown and Charles
town road, near Dufiields, when the fight
on the heights took place
General r. E. Hoke, then colonel of
the brave and gallant 9th North Caro-
lima. was little in the rear of the prin-
cipal part of Ranson's brigade, when a
courier and some staff officers arrived
and reported that body Of the Penn
sylvania and New York troops were
crossing the river below the dam of the
Cement Mill, and were forming on the
heights above the millOpposite Wysong S
house. Hoke wanted to return and at
tack them, but the question was How
can you contend with such fearful odds,
until others can be brought back to sup
port YOU You have but one regiment,
with but two rounds of cartridges His
answer was LET me attack. | know
my men. I'll give them one round and
the bayonet."
General Holle, although one of the
youngest officers in the southern army,
with the judgment and the skill of a
field marshal (Which made him such a
favorite with General Lee, had crossed
the river at the same place and had
passed over the ground in which the
Frederal troops were forming and knew
that if he could reach the lower part of
the heights by passing down ravine
that emptied into the rivera that point,