The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1901-05-30

from Aiken County:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
Americans, through all stages and pc.
riods of their history, have fought, and
ever will fight, for the preservation Of
what they honestly believe to be founded I
in principle. From the byways and
hedges Of Lexington to the marshes of
Yorktown our forcfathcrs fought to cs.
tablish the equal rights Of men against
tho exactions and cncroachmcnts Of ty.
rants. The blood of Warren sprinklcd
on the green sward Of Bunker Hill, and
tho blood Of Jasper, bcspattcring the
ramparts of Savannah, were alike sacri.
fees upon the altar Of patriotism for love
Of liberty.
The blood Of tho brave Mcpherson
freely shed on the plains of Atlanta; and
tho blood Of the immortal Stonowall
Jackson, running freely amid the fast
ncsscs of the Wilderness on that fatal
night, were alike unstintcd offerings Of
devotion to duty, and conscientious con-
viction Of right.
Neither were rebels. Both were pa
triots AS much 80 as the heroic War
rem or the brave Jasper.
When the din and turmoil (f the Rev
olutionary struggle had comparatively
subsidized, the separate and independent
colonies entered into "a rticlcs Of Con
federation" and u "Fcderal Consttu.
tion," in every line and sentence of
which, and in every utterancc Of debate
from which they cmanatcd, is written
the understanding, that the union was
voluntary, with each State remaining
SEPARATE entity; and such powers
pressed and set forth. All others were
RESERVED to the States and their Ci,i.
zens.
Time rolled on. Prosperity followed
| adversely. The impetus of Freedom
gave momentum and push to the engines
of development and enterprise. Indi-
| vidual ACKNOWLEDGMENT and sectional in
tcrcst brought on political turmoil and
unrest. Right or wrong, the whole
country was in fermentation. The one
side asserting the ''Indissolublc Union,"
| thc,.,other asserting the "Indcstruc: able
| States"
South Carolina, whom in part repre-
| sent on this auspicious occasion (the
home Of John Ruticdgc, one of the first
Chief Justices Of the Supreme Court of
tho United States the home of that en-
inent Pinckncy whose enunCiation, "Mil-
| lions for defense, lot u cent for tribute" "
| will ever be pacan in the cause Of free.
dOm), South Carolina, on the 10th Of Dc
cember, 1860, by solemn conventional
action, retired from that confederacy,
which she had voluntarily joined and to
which she had freely contributed Of
blood and treasure.
| Iu the idcs Of the following April the
first gun "of the war between the States
rcvcrbcrated in the harbor Of old
Charleston.
The North armed to sustain its views
tain its ideas of the sovereignty Of the
States and freedom Of action.
AS that great Englishman, an impair.
tial witness, Lord Wolseley, has truly
expressed it, "Thc true cause Of the con.
llict was ANTAGONIST between the spirit
Of Federalism and the principles OF
States Rights"
Bull Run ran red with the gore OF
brothers. 'On to Richmond" was tho
cry in the East. 'On to Atlanta" the
cry in the West.
The sanctity of our homes and our
EearthstOncs ; the exercise of home rule
and home government aroused every en-
ergy of the South and from the cradle
|
lily obcyed.
"Thcy left the ploughshare in the mould,
The ilocks and herds without fold
Through the clover fields of thu;
grand, green valley Of old Virginia tho
tocsin Of the dread struggle sounded anc
surgcd. Marathon and Thcrmopylp
Pharsalia and CANINE were surpassed in
glory and hcroism.
The scene shifts beyond the beautiful
blue mountains. Gaines Mill and Fra
zicrs Farm and Malvern Hill arc cnvcl
opcd with the smoke and turmoil Of the
fray. Never did ancient warriors, whether
Grccian, Roman or Macedonian, show
greater courage and fortitudc than that
which the American soldier, on both
sides, exhibited on these cnsanguine ed
fields.
No medieval cavalier with burnishc Cd
armor and drawn ciinutcr ever felt the
patriotism that animated the bonnie boys
of the Southland, who trampcd yictori'
Gus over the Seven Days battlclclds
around Richmond.
| Again Manassas shouts forth the hor.
rible sounds Of pcrilous battle, and goes
down into history as victory for the
immortal Lee, more lllustlious than
Monticello or SolfcrinO were to the
great Bonaparte.
Mcclellan, with his almost countless
thousands, again grapplcs with the
hardy veterans along tho waters Of the
Antictam; and sharp and fearful is the
carnage.
The God Of battles himself must have
wept over the fearful destruction of
| American manhood.
| At Fredericksburg, the heroic life Of
MaXcy Gregg, Caro.ina's great 80 dicr,
and that Of Tom Cobb, Georgia's valiant
son, flowed out; and the myriads of
| Burnside were as easily driven back as
| those of Xcrxes in the oldcn times
Chanccllorsvillc, with its great victory,
but its sad loss, looms up jackson
passed over the river and rested under
the shade Of the trees ; and Jeb Stuart,
with his flowing plume and keen Dam
ascan blade, led the Stonewall brigade
and their associates to victory with as
mnch dash oa ever did Henry Of Navarro