Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1900-06-07

pies and guided by tho same motives
which prompted you, volunteered your
services and hazarded your lifOs to pre-
serve the Union.
All honor to the man who has the
courage OF his convictions sufficient to
prompt him to lay down his life for a
cause which he believes to be just. It
was easy in those dark days, no doubt,
to point to th>t grand old flag and say
that il should not be rent asunder, but
the honor belongs to you who possessed
the vaor to stand in front OF the can.
mons mouth for its preservation.
1t is easy to utter fow patriotic SEN
tonces in behalf OF your country, but
hOr safety rests upon the heads of such
men az you, my friends, who were found
in tho field Of action amid shot and
she'll, cannonAdO and musketry fre Of
the enemy in an hour of peril.
say, gentlemen, from the very
depths of my heart. without tho least
desire to indulge in fattery or oxaggsr-
alton, feel tho protoundest sense of
honor to you for the valor, for the stall
wart manhood which you exhibited in
the greatest conflict in which this coun-
try has ever seen engaged. | believe,
and history bears me out in this opn-
ion, IL it wore not for such men as you,
our Liberty would take its flight to re-
gions unknown
While there are many things unpleas-
ant and extremely sad to think of,
which happened in that great struggle,
the grea tness of this nation dates large
ly FROM the result of this war.
behave it is generally conceded by
both des that the victory of the Fed
eral forces over the Coniederacy has
proved the most wholesome and alto
gether the best for the people of both
the north and the south.
We are preserved in union strong and
stalwart, and able, should it become
necessary, to successful ly contend with
any nation on the face of the earth
DUN HOTbu anu SOubu wv bLOhu ID OH0
people, ready and willing to resent the
insults of other nations trampling on
our rights and interfering with our lib
crtios.
While believe that you represented
tho cause, the triumph of which has
proved the greatest blessing to this
l,ak hn naOafU,,J I
would not speak disparagingls OF the
old confederate veteran, Who fought
bled and died on she field OF battle for a
cause which tho rank and file of them
believed to bO right.
While thore was Valor and manhood
in the federal army therO was equal
valor and manhood in the confederate
army. II there is hattie SCARED con.
fedcrate veteran in this body to-day
who fought in tho open held for what
he thought to be right, he has my rs-
spect and congratulations for the gigan-
tic effort he made TO win victory.
II there is a SON or a daughter Of such
confederate veteran here, you have
nothing Of which to be ashamed but arc
rathor to be cOngratulatedon the perso-
verance, the gslrantry, and the irwin
ible bravery displayed by your father
and his comrades in this bloody conflict.
We know that in some instances
brother was arrayed against brother,
fath0r against son, and neighbor against
neiehbor.
Would to God that every vestige of
prejudice and malice could be driven
from the hearts of the people of this
fair south land as the dew before the
silver rays of the morning sun.
There were certainly two hOtly con-
tested sidos in the late war. The very
| fact that you had a brave people to
fight covers you more with glory in
winning the victory. In this great war
the federal loss was more than 300, 900
men. Bonaparte in the battle of Mar
engo lost but 1000 of his forces, while
the loss ut Gettysburg wa' %, Oj0, Wei
lin gtou at Waterloo lost but IL per cent.
of his forces, while iu the battle Of the
| Wilderness the Federal loss was 81 per
cent Napoleon at Austerlitz lost 10
per cent. of his army. while our loss at
Antietam and Murfreesboro was 20 per
cent The history of this war, my
friends, has its pages dyed in blood On
the one hand was a vast multitude of
men detern ined to overthrow the gov
ernment, on the other great force de-
termined to preserve the Union what
ever the cost in sacrifice, exposure or
death.
Why did you go out to engage in this
fierce confliciP Was it for this name2
You answer: mo. My country called
and answered"
You remember the bloody scenes at
Shiloh when so many bodies lay dead
on the battlefield that you could have
walked over acres without ever stepping
on the ground, and what was the cause?
A great principle was at stake. Men
can afford to be true when fighting for
principle.
My fellow citizens, there is no other
, nation on earth that honors its dead
heroes as we American people do. The
memory Of the great leaders in the latS
! war will live forever. Grant. Sheridan
fa.rR.ld 1thon,,a ana gharpnAu will bs