Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1899-11-24
"ROBIN'S ROosT,"

Published by courtesy Of the Illustrat
"RoBIN's RoosT."
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn, Sept. %, 1893,
70 tho Blue aud the Gray;
Dear Old Veterans of the Unhappy
Past: Not long ago l received an invi-
tation to be present and answer to the
toast, "The Southern Patriot" at a
banquet to be given to the president OF
the United States and other distin-
guished guests on the occasion of the
reunion of the Blue and the Gray, to
be held in Evansville, Ind, on October
1918; and since am deprived of that
pleasure | have concluded to write you
short love letter.
A patriot is citizen who loves his
country, whether he lives in the North
or in the South; therefore every man
who honorably wore the blue, and
every man who honestly wore the gray,
in that struggle which tried the souls
of men, was patriot. The Blue won,
the Gray lost; but the boldness of the
Blue and the gallantry of the Gray
placed us in history as nation of he
roes. There can be no brighter proph-
ecy Of glorious future for our country
than the fraternlzing Of the brave men
who fought each other under opposing
flags long ago. 1t is too late now to
argue questions which were settled by
the sword; it is too late to get hot un-
der the collar and shout "Traitor!"
across Mason and Dixon's line. Grim
nations and recrimnations are very
poor balm for old sores. The Union
can exist in name only if we remain
divided by sectional prejudice and Sec
tional animosity. We must have the
union of hearts and the union of hands
20 perpetuate the republic forever.
Fraternal relations and fraternal feel
ings must exist between the States and
the sections If we would preserve the
institutions established by our fathers.
| believe that these relations of broth
erhood between the North and the
South are being strengthened more
ever before. The shedding of blood
once separated us; the shedding of
blood is reuniting us.
When President Mckinley, little
more than year ago, issued his procla-
nation calling for volunteers to fight
foreign foe under tropical sun, Ten
nesseans toed the mark side by side
with the boys of Indiana and Pennsyl-
vania and Ohio, ready and willing to
follow the broad stripes and bright
stars of the old flag wherever it might
float in battle, and, if need be, to die
with their brethren of the North under
its ample folds. Grant and Lee were
in camp together, Lawton and Wheeler
led at Santiago. and Tennesseans bled
on San Juan ttI. What better proof
of her loyalty - the Union could the
South give than when she sent her sons
into it's armies to suffer and shed their
blood for it's triumph and its glory?
Not long ago heard an old Missis-
sippi Confederate soldier say that he
had fought four years under the Stars
and Bars, and that when he went home
at the close of the war and saw his
country in ruins, lie nursed his hatred
and revenge; but when war was de-
clared against Spain his son volun-
teered in Mississippi regiment, and
when he saw him marching under the
Stars and Stripes and wearing the blue
the spirit of anger came over him, and
he went to the colonel and said: Take
that uniform off these boys and let
them put on the gray and show to the
world how the sons Of old Confederate
veterans can fight under the old flag"
But the colonel shook his head and
said, "No; they must wear the blue
uniform;" and the regiment marched
away. And then he bowed his head
and said, with fearful eyes: ''But when
they brought my boy home, and stood
death, In his blue uniform and wrapped
in his country's flag, all my anger and
animosity vanished, and said: Hence
forth that is my uniform, that is my
flag, and this whole country is my
country
1t is not the number of people that
makes nations great, else China would
be the greatest nation on the face of
the earth today; 1t is not prowess that
preserves empires from decay, else
Rome would have lived forever it is
not genius, else the dust OF the Par
thenon would not now mingle with the
dust Of Grecian art, and we might still
be enchanted with the songs Of some
dark-eyed Sappho and charmed with
the Had of some modern Homer. 1t is
the virtue and patriotism of the people.
and their faith in Almighty God, which
uphold governments and lengthen the
paths Of their glory. 1t seems to me
that the God of nations is guiding us
and shaping our destiny. We have the
numbers and the prowess and the
genius and if we will only continue to
fraternize and cherish the spirit of ma
tional patriotism, we will yet realize
our dreams of liberty enlightening the
world, and the mighty deeds of the
past will be drowned in the light OF our
future glory as the stars are drowned
in the light Of the morning. Let us
fraternize in deed and in truth; never
again, trust, with the sword in fra
ternal war, but through all the future
in fraternal peace aud brotherhood.
The Blue visited the South once un-
invited, and the Gray showed them
some of our Southern mineral resources
in the shape Of muskets and cannons.