The age-herald., 1901-03-24

ther. If he can set q boost from maid en aunt, he proceeds to shine up his fam fly tree In quest of this desirable adjunct. If. however. short-sighted providence has seen fit to translate her single bless edness in the days when he was more in- terested in what she left behind than in all that had gone before, he needs must have no recourse to one of those oracles of genealogy who get their livelihood by shaking ancestral boughs.
 Though the Mayflower was a heavily laden little bark, and the signers of the Declaration appear to have done their duty towards peopling their depleted country the man who can give you the maiden names of his four great-grand- mothers and perform other genealogical feats of q like magnitude does not grow on every family bush.
 Simultaneously with the establishment of his claims to a pedigree comes the de- sire to surround himself with the insig- mia of American aristocracy. Said an eX- pert on antiquities recently: Bring out your heirlooms, your old china, your va rious ancestral treasures, and I will tell you where your grandfathers stood on the social ladder" By their teapots and platters shall ye know them. Have q care, therefore ye proud possessor of china closets and corner cabinets, what you point out as your great t-great-grand- fathers coffee pot or your equally remote grandmothers bridal set.
 But the American woman. in her hunt for ancestors and ancestral heraldry and insignia. celipses any effort of the Ameri- can man, and her craze in the organiza- tion of Colonial Danes" and "Daugh- ters of the American Revolution to sup plant her sister in official position dis counts the seeking and pulling for office in tha Topti1ar nOdpr the present administration.
 l wonder how many of the Daughters and Danes" know where our Revolu- tionary heroes lie buried and of their neglected graves. It is a sad fact that the future, with all it's uncertain results. appeals to us more than the past, with It's tender memories and glorious tri- umphs.
 America's past Is far enough removed to have gained agperspective, and to chal- lenge the assertion that there is nothing to lend tnge of romance to her history. Her battlefields, moss-grown and ivy mantled ruins, monuments and historic landmarks all speak of country rich in traditions and proud of her struggle for principle. From such a past should be envolyed a deep and ardent desire to keep alive the memories of those who partici- pate in that struggle and made it glort- ous by their sacrifices
 During the colonial and revolutionary times and the early days of the republic men were too busy making history to think of burial places; but when the glo- rious deeds of those patriots passed into history and they. were consigned to the grave, it seems singular that a patriotic people, to say nothing of their immediate descendants, did not take some measures for marking their last resting-places.
 In many instances at, the South these men of heroic memories were buried on their plantations, each of which had its own burial ground.
 An article In an old Southern magazine, written by Mrs. r. C. DeF'ontaine, gives the burial place of many of these heroes Gen Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox" of the Revolution, is buried on his plan tation, Belle Isle" in St. Stephens par ish. South Carolina. A crumbling and broken shaft bears this inscription:
 Sacred to the memory of Brig. Gen. Francis Marion, who departed this life on the 27th of February, 1795 in the 6Sd year of his age, deeply regretted by his felloW-citizcns. History will record his worth and rising generations emblam his memory as one of the most distinguished patriots and heroes of the American Rev olutlon which elevated his native coun- try to honor and independence, and se- cured to her the blessings of liberty and peace. This tribute of veneration and gratitude is erected in commemoration of the noble and disinterested virtues of the citizen and the gallant exploits of the soldier, who lived without fear and died without reproach."
 Gen William Moultrie is also buried on his plantation. "Winsor Iill," about fourteen miles from Charleston, S. C., l and has no monument. He 1t was whC l on the 2Sth of June, 1776, gained the first complete victory achieved by America over British forces and saved his native city, Charleston. twica from capture. In 1775 he designed the flag. blue ground with a singl. crescent, which was shot away at Fort Moultrie and restored to position by Sergeant Jasper.
 The Cincinnati Society, whose first pres ident he was, has placed a tablet to his memory In the vestibule of St. Phillips church. Charleston. The following in scription Is copied from the tablet erect ed by the Cincinnati Society:
 Sacred to the memory of Maj Gen. William Moultrie, who by his intrepidity and good conduct on the 2Sth of June, 1776, gained with his regiment the first complete victory achieved by America over the forces of Britain, preserving Charleston from capture. giving conh- dence to the union, and showing that the boasted navy of England was no longer invincible; who in ITS, saved Beaufort from capture by gallantly displaying his faithful band of militia in the open field, discomforting an equal number of the British regulars and proving the superb ority of patriotic valor, well directed over the sheltered discipline of despots: who in 1779 again by his activity and firmness rescued his native city Charles tom, assailed by formidable British army, thus thrice wrestling the moral crown; and who, though captured and dis tressed rejected with disdain the splen- did bribe of rank and emolument in the enen1y's army, demonstrated that re- verses of fortune could only add fresh lustre to his laurels. Though daring in action and inhexible In patriotic prnci- ples, he was, in society. mild, benevolent and unassuming. No domestic character was more beloved; no friend more cher ished. He died the 27th of September, 1865, In the 76th year of his age"
 Gen. Thomas Sumter, the Game Cock of the Revolution" has no stone to mark his resting place. He is buried in the family graveyard near Statesburg. Sum- ter County S c. The place is called the Home House, and is owned by his youngest grandson. The General died in 1892 His son and only child died shortly afterward. The family contemplated erecting a handsome monument to the memory of their illustrious ancestor, but the money set aside for that purpose was lost during the late war, and so the grave remains unmarked.
 Gen. Christopher Gadsden, who intro- duced the flag to be used in the American snake coiled and ready to strike. with 1 fho 11rnr de " ,Jo,, it