The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-05-15

l Hampton's cavalry, but that it was re
+ enforced by Early's division of in
fahtry, and that their combined fo.cc
$ were too great for him. But, sir, 20,
knOw that you, with force less thar
half as great as his own, had com
PEELED him TO retire from the field II
utter disord3r
"And now, comrades, present &c
you chieftain worthy not only oil
your admiration, for Gen. Hampton
has always had that, not only of y"ur
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 I 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 invlrciblc man
mood 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
paigl which required greater courage
than war, when South Carolinians
fought for their liberty sec md time,
that victory was gained
| "Gen. Hampton, these men come to
pay their respects to you. They love
you, they honor YOU, aId as Wonder
sun which is setting in the West marks
the declining hours of peerless day,
so these battlc-scarrcd heloes before
you, with their gray hair and wriuklcd
faces, indicate the declining lay of
their manhood. But such as it is, sir,
1t 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 cries 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: | have indeed, as
Maj Hart has said, heard that Rebe.
yell often before and when | heard it
from my own men, from the men
whom L had the honor TO command,
knew that we were safe. [ think it IS
enc 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 we'll
The long leagues swell
That bids the Rebels close.
IINu nll horoo, 7 l,o,>o "a
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 il 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 children'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 ,-dependeucessof 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
ever they chose so t) do. We were
not succcssful-it is not given to NOR
tails to command success. You have
done more-yCu have deserved it.
"And now in your declining years
and when mine have extended long
beyond the period allotted to man, you,
my Old comrades, whom Flowed, whom
| trusted and with whom l felt as safe
as | do now, l want to say 10 you all
that all the love you have gwen me
has boen more than reciprocated; that
all that / have ever been able to do
for you, for any one of you, or for
South Carolina, has been more than re.
paid by the honors you have unsolcit-
ed conferred upon me and by this the
crowning honor of my life. l may not !
see you again. / remember a story of |
al OLD bishop who when ready TO retire |
from public life went to the abbot and |
said:
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 G. ,ro.
lina-a few feet of earth where my
kindred for six generations are resting.
And | am proud to say that one or
more Of each generation since they
were known in South Carolina has
filled a bloody grave for South Carolina.
| (Applause) l claim no credit for that.
Every South Caroinian who was true
was willing to give his blood aud his
life for the old State. l am sure tha
was willing TO do so. think | ca
say 80 to you, my men, that | never
turned my back upon any OF you when
your faces were turned toward the
enemy. The greatest honor that felt
during the war was once when came
upon poor private who was dying. l
stopped beside him and he said: Il
am happy to die fighting and am
, proud to die fighting under you'
81 pray that God will bless you and
/ will give you peace and prosperity,
! give 1t to the old State, give it to each
one of you and that you will 60 home
and tell your kindred that you have