The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1901-05-16

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are men who were with you when you
took command of the Confederate cav.
airy in 1864, and where at Hawes' shoI
you planted its dismounted lines before
the advancing corps of Hardy aud
Sherman and wrenched Richmond
from their grasp with an insignificant
little body of dismounted cavalry. The
excuse of these men then was thai
you had been reinforced. That was
always their excuse; but, sir, there
was nothing in ii.
"And so, sir, when Sherman met YOU
at Trcvalian Station, where the Enfield
rifle was in the grasp of the cavalry
men instead of the useless sabre, Sher-
man as he rode away from the field
wrote to his chief that he was met by
Hampton's cavalry, but that it was re-
enforced by Early's division Of in
fantly, and that their combined forces
were too great for him. But, sir, you
know that you, with force less than
half as great as his own, had COM
PEELED him to retire from the field in
utter disord ".
"And now, comrades, l present to
you Il chicftain worthy not only of
your admiration, for Gen. Hampton
has always had that, not only of your
love and affection, for he won that
long, long ago, but worthy Of the high
est need Of praise that man can be
stow upon his fellow man. | present
to you one who has done more for
South Carolina in peace, in war, and
again in peace than all the orators and
all the statesmen that ever came before
or after. When IN the dark days that
followed disaster and defeat TO our
arms it was he who stands before YOU
this evening, that lent that hope and
courage to the hosts Of invlnciblc man
hood and wOmanhOod-if | may please
say it---of South Carolina that carried
victory when defeat seemed almost the
only result of the campaign. 1t was
due to the sagacious craftsmanship and
the true courage Of him that in cam
paign which required greater courage
than war, when South Carolinians
fought for their liberty a second time,
that victory was gained.
"Gcn. Hampton, these men come TO
pay their respects to you. They love
you, they honor you, and as yonder
sun which is setting in the West marks
the declining hours of a peerless day,
so these battle-scarrcd heroes before
you, with their gray hair and wrinkled
faces, Indicate the declining day OF
their manhood. But such as it is, sir,
it is yours, and yours forever"
Loud cheers followed this speech,
and there were Rebel yells as Gen.
Hampton rose and faced his soldiers.
There were crles of champion"
Gen. Hampton placed his hand on
his right breast and quiet prevailed as
he addressed the great gathering as fol-
lows:
"My Comrades: l have indeed, as
Maj. Hart has said, heard that Rcbe.
yell often before and when / heard it
from my own men, from the men
whom | had the honor to command, l
knew that we were safe. think it Is
one of the British poets who says:
The kites know we'll
The long leagues swell
That bids the Romans close
l might raraphrase this by saying:
The Yankees knew well
The long leagues swell
That bids the Rebels close.
"My old heroes hope it never will
be forgotten. l hope il will be trans
mitted to your children and to your
children's children--if not for them to
use to tell how ii used to ring from the
forests Of Virginia, how it rang from
Gettysburg to the West, and how it al
ways told of men who were willing to
die for their Southland, to die for
truth, for honor, for manhood, for
chivalry and for great truth. | want
you to try and teach to your children
and to your childrcn's children that
ours was not lost cause. l want you
to tell them that we were fighting for
the right. George Washington was a
rebel, but Lee was not. When Great
Britain recognized the independence
of this country she did not recognize
the indepcndcucessof thelUnited States,
but of each sovereign State as indie
pendent and sovereign. There were
l3 independent and sovereign States.
They founded this union and they had
the right to withdraw from it when
S'SA chSJ SiooS oo W w. w Z WCIt
not successfully is not given to NOR.
tails to command success. You have
done morc-ycu have deserved it.
"And now in your declining years
and when mine have extended lone
beyond the period allotted to man, YOU
my Old comrades, whom l loved, whom
l trusted and with whom / felt as safe
as | DO now, 1 want to say to you all
that oil the love you have gwen me
has bocn more than rcciprocated; that
all that l have ever been able to dc
for you, for any one of you, or fol
South Carolina, has been more than re.
paid by the honors you have unsollcit
ed conferred upon me and by this the
crowning honor of my life. I may not
see you again. | remember a story OF
all OLD bishop who when ready to retire
from public life went to the abbot and
said:
CO Father Abbot, an old man whose
heart is broken by the storms of State
is come to lay his weary bones among
you"
"That is all l shall ask of South Caro-
lina-a few feet of earth where my
kindred for six generations arc resting