Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1901-09-18
reunion Of 0RR'S RIFLES.
THEY GATHER FOR THE TWENTIETH TIME
ON THEIR OLD CAMP GROUND.
ORR, HEMPH|LL AKD ALDR|CH
Make Addresses Ledbetter, Now tho
Mother Of the Regiment, Present.
Published by Request. !

VOTS Ol UT Hl1eS WAS nolu To-Day
at Sandy Springs, four miles from
here, on. the Blue Ridge railroad,
which was the old camp of instruc-
tion where the regiment spent some
two months in the summer of 1861
preparing for the serious business of
war.
The purpose was for the veterans
to meet and tent on tho old camp
ground last night, but it rained a
great deal, 80 that not more than
twenty of the survivors, including
Gen. Hemphill, the president of the
association, spent the night there.
But nearly all of tho old tents have
rotted down, and the few remaining
leak 80 badly that the veterans were
in danger Of having revival of war
time experience but for the authori-
ties of Sandy Springs church kindly
asking them in out of the wet and
permitting them to roost through the
night on the church pcws.
This morning the clouds hung low,
and showers fell throughout the day,
and the relatively small attendance,
both of old soldiers and the public
generally, is due to this cause and
not to any decline of interest in
these annual reunions.
Gen. r. II. Hemphill was reelected
president of the association and j.
w. Thompson was continued as
secretary. Comrades r. Y. II. Low
cry, w. Il. McGill and A. M. Guy.
ton were made vice presidents. A
committee, consisting of w. II. Nc
Gill, w. II. Ellis, w. A. Barron, II.
Y. Fl. Lowery and j. r. Burns, was
charged with the duty of selecting
the next place of meeting, which is a
fixture for Tuesday after the second
Sunday in August.
Col. Orr and Hon. Robt. Aldrich,
Of the gentlemen invited to address
the association, were present and
effective, but Col. j. N. Brown sent
a letter of regret, which was read.
Col. Orr made one of his charac-
teristic, off hand speeches, in which,
after speaking of the old regiment
as one of the finest bodies of men in
the armies of the Confederacy, he
pleaded for correct history Of the
war to be taught in the schools of
the South and for a modest, but
comfortable home, with land at
tached, in every county, where the
needy of the old soldiers may round
out their days secure from privation,
and assured that their countrymcn
are proud Of them and their deeds.
lie closed with an account of the
great progress the South is making
along all lines of industrial cndeavor
just now, and predicted marvellous
showing for the future.
Col. Aldrich's address on "I'hc
Confederate Soldier" was master
piece, being, among other things,
complete refutation of the aspcrsions
cast upon the Southern sodcry by
Northern critics. That address,
completely exhaustive of the subject
and clothed in the purcst diction,
should be given place in the
archives Of the association.
Gen. IIemphill also made brief
address, the leading features of which
were running account of his service
with the regiment from the 2Gth of
June, 1862, to the dropping of the
curtain at Appomattox, and an at
tack upon the inequalities in the
operation OF the State pension law.
Since the death Of Mrs. Orr the
mantle of the mother of the rce
mcnt is being worn by Mrs. T.. t..
Ledbetter, widow of Lieutenant Co.
lionel Lcdbctter, killed on the glori-
ous field of Second Manassas, and
this good lady was present to-day,
receiving the respectful salutations
of her husbands old comrades in
arms.
The oldest survivor present to-day
was X. w. IIaddon, of Company G,
who is 81 but the oldest living
survivor of the regiment is w. G. |
Dickson, of Company y, who is
living at White Mound, Grayson
county, Texas. Mr.. Dickson is SS
and is totally blind.
w. II. Ellis, of Due " ct, was the
only survivor of the regimcntal
band present /; in fact, here is but
ono other survivor OF the musical
,orps-John j. Anscl, of Walhalla.
Mr.. ellis exhibited the watch,
double case time piece, which has
Noon runp;pf, oil tbooo ,,no,, l. - |