The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-05-29

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN I
Americans, through all stages and pc.
riods of their history, have fought, aud
ever will fight, for the preservation of
what they honestly believe to be founded |
in principle. From the byways and |
hedges Of Lexington to the marshes Of |
Yorktown our forcfathcrs fought to es
tablish the equal rights OF men against |
the exactions and cncroachments Of ty |
rants. The blood of Warren sprinklcd |
on the green sward Of Bunker Hill and
the blood of Jasper, bcspattcring the
ramparts of Savannah, were alike sacri
fices upon the altar Of patriotism for love
Of liberty
Tho blood of the brave Mcpherson
freely shed on the plains Of Atlanta and
the blood Of the immortal Stoncwall
Jackson, running freely amid the fast
ncssCs Of the Wilderness on that fatal
night, were alike unstintcd offerings of
devotion to duty, and conscientious con-
viction of right.
Neither were rebels. Both were pa. :
triots AS much SO as the heroic War
| rem or the brave Jasper
When the din and turmoil Cf the Rev
olutionary struggle had comparatively
| subsidized, the separate and independent
| colonies entered into "ArtiClcs Of Con
| federation" and Federal Constitu
ton" in every line and sentence of
which, and in every uttcrancc of debate
| from which they emanatcd, is written
the understanding, that the union WAS
voluntary, with each State remaining
SEPARATE entity; and such powers
81 unr ,riIr ln f,,i.N
pressed and set forth. All others were
RESERVED to the States and their citi.
| Zens.
Time rolled on. Prosperity followed
adversely. The impetus Of Freedom
gave momentum and pusf 20 the engines
of development and enterprise. Indi.
yidual aggrandiZcmcnt and sectional in
tcrcst brought on political turmoil and
unrest Right or wrong, the whole
country was in a fermentation. The one
side asserting the 'lndissolublc Union,"
thcs.othcr asserting the "Indcstruclnblc
States"
South Carolina, whom in part | repre-
sent on this auspicious occasion thc
homo Of John Rutledge, one Of the hrst
Chief Justices Of the Supreme Court Of
the United States the home Of that en-
inent Pinckncy whose cnunciation, "Mil
lions for defense, not Il cent for tribute"
will ever be u pacan in the cause of free.
dom), South Carolina, on the 10th of De
cember, 1860, by solemn conventional
action, retired from that confcderacy,
which she had voluntarily joined and TO
which she had freely contributed Of
blood and treasure.
In the ides of the following April the
first gun "of the war between the Statcs'
reverberatcd in the harbor of old
Charleston.
The North armed to sustain its views
Of the union. The South armed to sus.
tain its ideas Of the sovereignty Of the
States and freedom of action.
AS that great Englishman, an impair
tial witness, Lord Wolseley, has truly
; expressed it, THE true cause Of the con.
, ilict was ANTAGONIST between the spirit
OF Federalism and the principles of
States Rights"
Bull Run ran red with the gore of
brothers. On to Richmond" was the
, cry in the East. 'On to Atlanta" the
cry in the West.
The sanctity Of our homes and our
hcarthstoncs the exercise of home rule
and home government aroused every en-.
crgy of the South : and from the cradle
! to the grave the call to arms was heart
, lily obeyed.
"rhey left the plough ghshare in the mould,
The ilocks and herds without fold"
Through the clover fields of tina,
grand, green valley OF old Virginia the
tocsin of the dread struggle sounded and
surgcd. Marathon and Thermopylir
Pharsalia and Gamma were surpassed in
glory and hcroism.
, The scene shifts beyond the beautiful
Llac mountains. Gaines Mill and Fra
zicr's Farm and Malvern Hill are cnvcl-
opcd with the smoke and turmoil of the
fray. Never did ancient warriors, whether
Grccian, Roman or Macedonian, SHOW
. greater courage and forttudc than that
which the American soldier, on both
sides, exhibited on these cnsanguincd
fields.
No medieval cavalier with FURNISHED 4
armor and urawn cimctcr ever felt the
patriotism that animated the bonnie boys
| of the Southland, who trampcd victori-
Gus over the Seven DAYS battetields
around Richmond
Again Manassas shouts forth the hor
riblc sounds of pcrilous battle, and goes
down into history as victory for the
immortal Lee, more ilustIiOus than
Monticello or Solferino were to the
great Bonaparte.
Mcclellan, with his almost countless
thousands, again grapplcs with the
hardy veterans along the waters of the
Antictam; and sharp and fearful is the
carnage,
The God Of battles himself must have
wept over the fearful destruction of
American manhood.
At Fredericksburg the heroic life Of
Maxcy Gregg, Caro- mas great 80 dicr,
and that Of Tom Cobb, Gcorgia's valiant
son, flowed out and the myriads Of
Burnside were as easily driven back as
those of Ncrxes in the olden times
Charlottesville with its great victory,
but its sad loss, looms up Jackson
passed. over the river and rested under
the shade of the trees and Jcb Stuart,
with his flowing plume and keen Dam.
ascan blade, led the Stonewall brigade
and their associates to victory with as
much dash as ever did Henry of Navarro,
the lion hearted Richard, or the mpctu
Gus Murat.
We crossed tho river once more
Around the Cemetery Heights and
Seminary Ridge the alarm of war broke
loose with its most terrible vigor The
defensive had been transferred to the
North and when Pickett and his yctc
rams were dcCmatcd, and the tide of
fate bore back his bleeding columns
Robert K. Lee met them amid the crash
ing shells and crushing shot and told
them in that manly. moral, heroic man
ncr, "1t is not your fault, boys, it is all
mine"
"Nor purer sword led bravcr band,