The age-herald., 1901-04-21


  | Rufus N. Rhodes to represent them upon
 this occasion, and Mrs, J. A. Rountree
 will recite poem appropriate to the day. | The address comforting the Crosses of | Honor will be made by Mrs. J. A. Mont
 gomery, and the veterans will then be | presented with the crosses, the following women having been appointed to present each veteran with the Southern Cross of
 the Legion of Honor: Mrs. A. A. Clisby.
 Mrs. John G. Whitfield. Mrs. Louis Brad field, Mrs. J. A. Rountree Miss Lillian
 Roden, Miss Estelle Slaughter, Miss Car | oline Chisolm and Miss Josie Oxford. | It Is estimated that at least two hun | dred and fifty Confederate soldiers will
 receive the Crosses of Honor. The ap- plicaton blanks have been at the office | of Colonel J. w. Bush for several weeks,
 and they could be procured up to last | Monday The first supply of these blanks
 received by Colonel Bush was quickly
 exhausted and Mrs. Rose Garland 1 Lewis, who had the applications, was
 most gratified at this enmistakable evi-
 dencc of interest and appreciation on the
 part of the veterans for the work of the Daughters. The request for more blanks WAS promptly feSpO0ueu tO anu liO BUT
 dier who fought under the Confederate flag has been denied the privilege of forwarding his name through the me | dium suggested by the Daughters when | they first decided upon bestowing this | decoration upon the men of the army and , navy of the Confederate States. | As the Cross of Honor cannot be be- slowed upon any soldier without a certi- fled statement from Confederate camp indorsing the character of the soldier up- on whom it is bestowed the task of com pleting the lists, while being simplifed by each Confederate chapter bestowing the crosses upon the veterans in each city. still the work of reaching the old soldiers has been greatly facilitated by the aid rendered the Daughters here by Colonel Bush, who has so kindly assist ed them in their efforts to reach all vet erans whether they were members of the local Confederate camp or not.
 The design is the cross, with battle flag on the face, surrounded by wreath of laurels with the inscription: ''The Southern Cross of Honor" On the re- verse the motto of the Confederate States, 'Deo Vindice God our Vindica- tor) 1S6l-65'' with the inscription: From the U. D. c, to the U. c. ""
 The suggestion that the Daughters pre- sent the veterans with Cross of Honor
 was made by Mrs. Alexander s. Erwin of Athens, Ga, and was brought forward | by the Georgia delegation at the annual | meeting of the United Daughters of the | Confederacy held in Hot Springs, Ark, in November, 1S9S
 | The following resolution was intro
 duced at that time by Mrs. Helen Plane | of Atlanta:
 | Whereas, it has been the custom of | every civilized nation to bestow upon it's
 members of the army and navy and such
 others as peculiarly deserve it, medals | and crosses of honor-such as the Vic l toria Cross, of England the Iron Cross,
 of Germany, and the Cross of the Legion | of Honor of France; and medals and
 crosses bestowed by the United States | government, and,
 Whereas. we, the Daughters of the | Confederacy, recognizing the fact that
 the army and navy of the Confederate | States have never had such decorations
 conferred upon them, consider it es- pecally our duty and privilege to supply
 that deficiency; and.
 | Whereas. every veterans of the army
 and navy of the Confederate States "quitted themselves like men in the
 times that tried mems souls and gave | an exhibition of dauntless and unyelding
 courage in the face of overwhelming | odds, such as has never been known in | the history of the world; therefore, be it | Resolved, That we, the Daughters of | the Confederacy, do confer upon each l and every member of the army and navy
 of the Confederate States of America l cross, to be known as ''The Southern
 Cross of the Legion of Honor" to be han l ded down from one generation to another | as most priceless heritage bought as it was, with the blood of their fathers, and
 though of no intrinsic value within it. | self, to stand as record for all time
 of the memory of those men who repre- | sented all that was lofty in principle, | in courage; and be it
 | Resolved further, That upon those
 who distinguished themselves by remark
 able feats of courage the cross be at tached to a laurel leaf pin to designate | it as q special mark of value; and be it Resolved further. That it be made a feature of Memorial Day to confer these
 crosses and be it
 Resolved further That the president | of the U. D. C.. the presidents of the
 state divisions. as we'll as the presidents of all chapters be requested to bring the
 matter before these several organizations | so as to have the plan in operation in
 time to inaugurate It's observance next Memorial Day"
 The Alabama Daughters who were present at the convention will recall that
 at the time the resolution was presented that Mrs. Gabbett of Georgia presented design for the cross. offering the Cross of DanEeberg as being the most appro- priate design.
 When the tomb of Dagmar, Queen of Denmark, was opened after six hundred years burial an exquisite cross was
 found lying upon her breast. "Dagmar' signifed 'the light of day. and the significance of this Southern Cross Is to throw ''the light of day upon the valor and fidelity of our Confederate veterans.
 Mrs Gabbett was appointed chairman of the committee to further investigate the subject and at the U. D. c. conven- ton that assembled in Richmond the fol- lowing year the design selected by the committee was accepted saS Mrs. Gab-