Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-01-20
VETERANSH0N0RL LEE
mrs prpTupay FIFTY CELEBRATED
AT THE SOLDIERS HOME.
OCCASION OF GREAT INTEREST.
MANY visitors Attend the Exercises
DIR. Mason Conducts the RIGHTEOUS
Service. and Mr.. wallace Delivers
the Grafton.

immortal r.. +. Lee was celebrated yes
tcrday at the Soldiers Home with appro
priate exercises. and the event proved
quite an enjoyable one TO the veterans,
whose lives are drawing to a close with
few happenings of any moment to dis
turb the tranquility of their days. Wher
a red-letter day does occur in their his
tory now. the old soldiers are all astir,
and eager for the occasion.
The feature of the exercises yesterday,
which were quite simple and thoroughly
in accord with the man in whose memory
they were held. was the address of Hon.
Charles NJ. Wallace, Jr., which was a
splendid effort, and was received with
hearty demonstrations of applause by the
veterans.
INTERESTING EXERCISES.
The exercises occurred in the pretty
little chapel located just at the entrance
TO the grounds Rev. L. II. Mason con-
Quoted the services of the Episcopal
Church. Mrs. Gill presided at the organ.
while about thirty of the orphan boys
sat to the left and made splendid choir,
their young voices ringing out clear and
strong in singing the hymns of praise.
Colonel A. J. Rogers. of the House, in
troduced the orator referring in his few
remarks TO General Robert +. Lee as a
soldier of the Cross"
Mr.. Wallace. in opening his address,
said that he could not feel more highly
honorcd than in addressing a body of
men who wore the Confederate gray in
the days of 1S6l-65. I'VE commemorate
to-day" said he. mot so much the birth
day of a man. but the Lost Cause, a
cause led by a man in whose character
no single flaw could be found"
1t is useless. he said, for the pessimist
to say that because we lost we Will not
be done justice in history. He believed
that a brighter day was dawning for the
South and that time was coming when
she would gain that for which she fought,
and that. too. without bending to the
North. one day her cause would be pre-
sented truthfully 10 the world Justice
would be done the South by posterity,
and be done her by the very accounts Of
her enemies. Although the South was
defeated. and the power of making his
tory was forever lodged with the victor,
vet the great name of Robert Lee would
be handed down to the ages. and there
could be no man upon whose brow the
laurel wreath was placed, who was more
iii TO wear IT,
Among all the names that adorn his
tory. the South had the consolation of
knowing that it had one of the noblest.
And the cause for which Lee fought
lived in the hearts of the sons of those
who battled for it,
HIS NAME WILL NOT PERISH.
Let US hope therefore" said Mr.. Wal
lace. that the name Of Lee will not
perish, that the name Of the great com
mander OF the southern armies will not
be lost; that the fame Of the South and
the glory which hangs around the folds
of the blOod-red flag will not be forgot
ten, but that it will be remembered in
history with a sigh from the regretful
with tear from the pitiful, with a beat
ing of the heart Of the brave.
For although we have no hand
in it," continued the speaker, al
though we may never recover and be
able TO properly present our side Of the
case, yet justice must be done US. and
Will be done US, even in the presentation
Of the other side. For human nature is
of many elements, some bad, |
others good. Prejudice. malice, hatred, |
and all uncharitableness are part OF it;
but there is also admiration. OF this |
quality it is impossible for us wholly 10
dvest ourselves. IT comes out IN spite |
Of us it manifests itself in our most |
malignant productions; il shines through !
the veil that our evil passions throw |
over il; and pOsterity reads the account |
otherwise than II was intended u lie !
read, and accOrds honor where nor Is |
due. Troy fell; its walls lay in ashes; |
its people were put 10 the sword; TIE |
Had was written by a Greek from the !
accounts that came down to him from /
the Greeks themselves. and il was Wrlt- |
ten TO celebrate the deeds and proves |
Of his countrymen. And yet the great, |
heroic name Of the Trojan war is the |
name of Hector. Carthage persisted; the |
city passed away; its commerce was no |
more, its people disappeared from the |
face of the earth: that proud and opuleut |
was as utterly destroyed as !
when a man is slain. his body burned, |
and the ashes scattered 10 the four /
winds. The history of Carthage has been |
gathered from the accounts If the de- |
siOyers themselves. And yet the name |
of Hannibal remains the great name Of /
the Punic wars. Scotland was oyerrun |
by Edward; its people led in chains 3nd, |
though the Scotch afterwards rceained |
their liberty. yet the history IF those |
Times is contained in English annals. |
And yet the name Of Wallace is the ore |
and which awakens in every hcar: the |
thrill Of enthusiasm. And so. although |
the South went down, and its cause was !
lost. its people PROSTATE, and IT'S prin-
oiples decred. and although the con-
luerOrS may have the exclusive power
of writing the account. Yet in the history |
which goes nown to pOsterity the great.
erOic name Of the war between the |
States Will be the name of Robert Il. Lee.
At the conclusion of Mr. Wallace's ad-
dress. which was received with great APP
plause, the benediction was pronounced