El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-05-30
MEMORIAL DAY
SERMON
On the Women of the War.

At the First Presbyterian church
last night Rev. n. w. Moore, the pas
tor, preached to the members of the
Graud Army Of the Republic and the
Confederate Veterans. The text was
from Phil. IV:3. ''Those Women. !"
Part of the sermon is given below:
If it is true that .the world knows
nothing of its nOblest men 1t is still
more true that it knows little of its
noblest women. Victor Hugo is right
The time has long since gone by when
woman is chrOnicled in history only
for her fatal gift of beauty, her intri-
CUES or rs an inspirer of knightly
deeds. Too long has it been woman's
m ssion to suffer quietly at home, or to
learn of stuff ering she could not allie
viate. In the great wars OF history
other nations have furnished here and
there some noble women but it remain
through the rigidity of custom and
give to the world the grandest women
the world. How many followed hus-
bands, brothers, and sons to the battle
held and how many without a relative
in the war went down to the very edge
IT the fight to rescue the wounded,
comfort the dying, penetrate on dan
SSTOuS uIsSlOuS UuS hue VI UuS 6u6my.
These women of north and south who
organized hospital service, collected
PROVISIONS for the front, pulled off the
boots of sick men and bathed their feet,
washed their faces, cOmbed their hair,
sang songs of home and heaven, wrote
heir last message to loved ones. I
,ome tonight to place few for9etme-
iots on the graves of those who do not
igure in official reports; for God him
al hot ho IN
commit to men.
When the great war guns shook the
bills in 81. there was no more gen.
.ral uprising among the men than
among the women. The men left home
behind the shrieking fife and marched
o the tented field; but they took no
more naturally to the musket than the
women did to the needle. They organ
zed sewing societies, saoitsry fairs.
every hamlet, village. city. They, 'af-
;er bending over bloody stretchers,
tying up awful wounds, went home, |
took the public platform and aroused |
the women to work for the boys at the |
front, and during these dark days they !
never tagged. Many women evinced |
alents in their labor that would have |
made men merchant. princes. or great |
admir- istrators of affairs. Mrs. Bcge !
,9ed Soldiers Fair in Chicago that il
letted nearly one hundred thousand
dollars. Mrs. Judge Hopkins, of Ala
)ams, took complete charge of hos
oital in Richmond and was sustained !
oy confederate women. Even the
children were aroused. From one re-
ief society the children sent nearly |
I'D woman of eighty-five knit ninety
3ne pairs of socks for the soldiers. One
Door seamstress stitched late into the
night for months in order to give twen-
~ dollars to the cause. In Wisconsin
he country women furnished 500, 900
bushels of wheat as gift and this is
lot all. They gave their sons, their
husbands and were left to mourn at
,ome. This made the soldier think he
,r mother. How many followed fags
made by consecrsted female hands.
Yes, and even beautiful society lead
rs, those who followed the gay and
rivolous became SO interested as to or
yanize relief societies or 60 to the
ront as nurses. And the higher the
culture and refinement the more like
y they were to enter the cause. God
bless the women OF the war. And
they still live, as does Clara
Barton. or.sleep by the slow, sad rivers,
n in home cemeteries, let rs honor
heir memory.
Follow them to the hospital or the
ield and you will stand in awe at their
courage. tact, executive ability, ten
lerness. Margaret BreckinridRe, frxil
,ut capable, scarcely has . superior.
The soldiers used to cay, Lady, where
lid you come from? How could such
woman come away here to take care of
,oor, sick, dirty boys" II consider 1t
N honor to wash off the mud and blood
rom men who suffered so much for
ne" she would cay. Another soldier
aid: LADY, please write down you
lsme and let me look at it and take it
lome to show my wife who wrote nv
etters, combed my hair and fed me-
The soldiers used to say as she pass. d
long the cots, "God bless her and
pare her life." Mrs. Fowle at VII
sang comfort into many a
lying soldter's ear. One man said TO
Ter: "R. lad the Bible to me and pray
or me for l am dying. Write to Miss
whom 1 have been engaReo
or two years and break her the sa'
Jews. Send her my pocket memoir
Inda, this gold pen and the twelve
dollars in the pocket book. Tell her
lied bravely fighting and die happy"
When Mrs. Hoge visited the rifle pits