The Atlanta constitution., 1900-07-09

"Breathes a man with soul go dead
Who never to himself has said:
This is my own, my native land
Thirty-seven years ago, upon the
Fourth. our Vicksburg fell, and what
fall was that. 1t rang the deathknen OK
the confederacy, and perhaps another
man should not have been sacrificed after
that. l speak of this in no spirit OF plt-
terness. for perhaps it was well for the
south to suffer such two reyerses as lhe
one at Gettysburg the 30 and at Vicks-
burg on the 4th, to illustrate to the world
the fortitude that has never yet and VIII
never be surpassed. The first, second and
third days OF July, 1862 were days 10 lrS
mems souls across the Potomac, whhe
upon the Mississippi there was that trans
piring to cause the fall of Nicksburg upon
the 4th These things are but a mem-
ory TO the old, to study over Whlie
youngser set rejoice in the glories or the
day and boast of achievements from san
tiago to Manila, with no telling of what
is i'm the future. No matter what may
be I'm store for the future, a feeling
started at Santiago which binds us all'in
links as strong as those of '76, and let US
hone that il may be as golden in results
as the deliverance that was accomplish
ed then and brought forth the day as the
day it is.
While the younger people rejoicing ID
the present and holding with pardonaDie
pride the recent achievements on Iaid
and sea allow the older folks to thlnk as
they please and live in the memory or
the years that are gone> l well rernen-
Der that Fourth at Vicksburg, the starved
men. the persistcncy of General Grant
to have the surrender upon that day anu
the sad results OF that surrender. but II
is not of such this that L had rather
teIl-history gives you all OF TINS. Dut MS
tory does not give the ridiculous thlhgs
and there are always ridiculous thih5S
upon such occasions.
When the confederates had been led
and received their paroles there was
general and an anxious hurry to get OUT
from there. Among the confederateS
were many negroes, kept along as ser
wants, of course, and there was hluch
speculation as to what these wouid 10
General Grant insisted that they should
do just as they pleased. without undue
influence from either side. To the faith
fulress of these negroes, be Il said, they
we're almost unanimous IN sticking 10
their masters and took up the tramp
away from the city with as much energy
as any of the whites. This struck the
yankees as strange. and II was strange
but it was not any stranger than a great
many other things that happened there-
OF all the strange things of that occa-
sion, the strangest il seemed to me was
the notion that a long. lank Georgian got
in his head to secure some of the iron
that was so plentiful there When this
man learned that he was to so to MS
homo on parole. nothing would do him
but what he must take some OF the IRON
along He had much trouble In devising
a plan to do this, but at last he thought
Of a wheelbarrow and went crazy IN his
anxiety to secure one. At last he secured
one. loaded 1t with iron scraps and rolled
il all the way from Vicksburg TO his home
in the mountains of Georgia How IS
that for an eye TO having iron at his
home?
Another one Of these Vicksburg soldiers.
after much suffering upon the way. sWore
that he would have dinner at the next
house whether il was agreeable to the
owners or not. He was then somewhere
down in Tennessee and t was pretty
DANGEROUS for q soldier 70 put on too
many airs down there but he had the
nerve and his success was abundant Any
how the next house happened TO be
most prosperous plantation and 1 expect
that 4 most excellent woman presided
there at the time for It was no trouble
for the soldier 10 secure her promise
that ne should have his dinner, but Win
the promise she explained that comQA-
nr Of officers were to dine with her and
that the soldier must walt until the OH
GERS were through. There was nothing Tor
the soldier to DO but comply with this
and comply he did. Fortunately or unfor-
tuuateIy, from where they seated the sol
dier 10 wait. he could look through
a door and see the jaDis as pain
as If ne had been seated at IL There
he sit. smelling The vituals. seeing them
smoke, and ne having been living upon
mule meat and herbs Tor months at Nicizs-
burg. lie turned and twisted in mis- chair
ana held his nose with his fingers as dish
after dish was set upon the tao4e- At
last a small bell was ruus. and from away
down u long hail lie SAW the hns CincerS
approaching He could stand It no longer
L.ither the fear that these officers would
eat everything or something else caused
him TO arise from his chair. hesitate ior "a
moment and then make 4 grand rush for
the table he was the first one there. and
without any ceremony. he took d seat.
This caused the lady to be embarrassed,
for after ali the seats were taken, ono
officer was left standing. The officer was
a sensible fellow, and the lady was too
polite to disturb the soldier. and SO the
dinner went on. After so long time, the
officers at the table suspected there was
some hing wrong IN the SoldieT S DeIIle
there, and, whispering a little among
themselves. a 1Ine officer who sit near
our Vicksburg friend turned 10 him and
asked:
do you know. sir. that You have the
honor OF dining with General MagrudeTF
i am General Magruder."
Don't mention it, replied the soldier.
as he stuffed a handful in his mouth;
don't mention it at al. used 10 be a
little particular who l dined with. but
since the war l don't care a cent
There was some more talk among the
officers. and there might have been
trouble. bUt they learned that the soldier
was one OF the paroled Of NIclIsburG, and
all joined in doing whatever they cou.d 10
give him a good time, and then the lazy
filled his haversack to help him on his
way.
1t gives me pleasure to sec 4 revival of
the spirit of the Old-time Fourth" The
recent wars have done this much good
anyway. Here In the south the day had
lost its old-time spirit 1t had come to be
looked upon as a day to get cheap rail-
road tickets. or a day to make a little
more money than upon other days-that
was about all there was ia II since the
war between the states. The Italians
trimmed up their stands with an extra
supply OF fruits. the Germans laid in q
little more beer from the breweries, the
Irishman got ready his whisky and the
Jew his cheap clothing, while the Georgia
cracker done nothing and cared nothing