Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-10-26
UNVEILED At DUSK,
CONTINUED FROM PAGE &c

Il -
,.-,, ,7rawine this conclusion. Those men
80 not die for slavery or for the right
.ercssion. There were but about one
~ million Shareholders. or slave
;-,-s in al the Union. For one man
NED who owned q slave, twenty died
W., never owned one. Those men died
s-s,tl, for The most priceless blessing
Va man has achievcd-tlae right of local
f,asvcrsu7cnt--that is hut another way
.,vinr liberty We have sometimes
Ken OF it as the right OF secession;
tnat is an incxact and Indifferent
cotton: the true definition is the right
.,rt Government. Ne might have Sc
Ia ana broken UP the Union. and then
III, found ourselves in q worse plight
- ever We might have maintained
chs -eh: and vet have broken into frag-
state standing out for its
sr,Esh interest. Tho true way to
wees ID, Tor 1t is the only way TO state
truth. is that they fought and
ar ibe right OF local self-goverr-
That is. for liberty. And did they
ysfn2 No man ever died for lib
sr8 afed in vain. The blood OF mar
80 .lle seed Of the church; the blood of
.s is an inspiration so patriotism
,--va~. Ne have gained from them
~ a what our. race can 60 and can
--c: NJ have in them an example and
inspiration.
E WARS HORRORS.
nrn tho som of all
~, ,f,Iafnies: ana civil war is the worst
r--l In waste Of life. fr.G-ltful
d the passions st engendered, and of
.gs.., e.,.,ules. not the
s.3, w&s the prison life. My
s 81 the question has led me to the
t1ca that though the ,niseries OF
7r 1870 have not been exaggerated. as,
,-f IL would appear hardly possible
ae snorld he: the causes have
49,, srriorsly distorted. and, in fact, mis-
-aed The story of Andersonville
.s VIII. = luriduess that could spring
5s f~s4,l suffering and hate. has become
--s Of me traditional belief Of half of
~. -r,-n--v. The horrors of Libby Pris-
lark enough no doubt, have been
.s-,.7 in colors that were deepened by
e--.fon from that yet darker picture
y,4r..- hunger. disease. men starved TIL
. became mere skeletons. have been
..-.g-ca with pen and pencil, TIL the
mode south Was believed 10 be in league
HANGING OF WRIT.
,rasor Henry Writ was hanged for his
- ~ Andersonrille, d victim Of popu-
e--~v and popular delusion. and Gene
-. Ey5r6er. 5y his timely death, possibly
s-.7 himself from a similar fate. And
-.z facts are in the records to show
.-- whatever the crime may have been'
.t-s7 men were not the guilty ones.
Whatever the courts-roartial, under the
t-=-e-ce IF partisan passion, may nave
~ -'7a truth of history set up by
me 1,rsectiona1, bipartisan tribunal OF
.s.e-tv viii disapprove the findings ana
, sci the final judgment CT itsi concena-
-saan where ii should rightly rest
n son and citizen of Virginia, and
l.- rfstory-fer welfare, is as dear TO me
rs the rudy drops that visit my hear',
b,.- am also q citizen OF the Cnlted
states. which my fathers helped to es-
--hIisl1. and if I have done any WORK
of the least value it has been Win tie
,=szs-a Of 7icturing the basic sincerity OF
7-,~-+-,5a life and of reconciling the two
actions. know something Of the North,
nd from my own knowledge / can say
tl-a- we are the same people, with the
ss-e principles, the same virtues ana
does. the same loves and hates, Win
.-Ea same love of liberty and hatred OF OPP
rrsssion: with the same hopes and as
-,--atfons. l speak, of course, OF the
american people of the North; Tor there
;gs consid cradle portion Of the population
l.5-aIl
viii be. 1t is not my desire to str up
a-sfn the the slumbering fires that
o~oe burned furiously and that still lie
r,snlzed I'm those hearts that have suf-
;sred.
If it be true, as you and l believe, that
me dead live hereafter, they must look
down on all questions that agltafe US
here below with d widened and CHARMED
vision.
contemplating from the standpoint OF
--gte,it, the supreme self-sacrifice of
sHose men who died in prison, am lea
ask myself what reward they would
ash, OF US who remain. The answer seems
Ia he plain: that we. with our enlarged
sz7erience. should read into their work
Ia~car meaning. and should cherish the
i5sals for which they died.
They died for us, and we owe 1t 10
rern TO live as they, with their Wloeheu
vision. would have Us live; we shonlo
lraser1e the birthright of liberty Whlcn
r- fathers beGueathed 10 them. ano
A..l5fnr i1p the government. the ideal
f-r which they laid down their lives
.rargl5 I7eTpetuate as far as IN US lies.
he bfstorv-rot of war and its rancors
br, the history of their self-sacrtilce OF
their supreme devotion and their go
rI5us. courage for the benefit and emuia-
ton Of all generations.
IN writing this history, it seems TO me,
that one duty that we owe them IS tha1
we should record Their history with ahe
lines OF faith-compelling truth. 1t ap-
rsars 10 ne. that the truth about them
IS in danger of being lost. I feel that
IN within the limits when say tllat
,hay have suffered almost equally at me
hands OF their detractors and their nat
t.rars. There is no argument SO strong as
the tr1.rh-the sheer truth. IT possesses
7awer which cloquence cannot give ana
whfch rhetoric only conceals. Detracdol'
and SANDER haze spent themselves IN
clam0rous fury; the sober second thous .l,
ri Inc people has got new light ana
Prepared q mind ready to receive 'ie
t-gta This is our opportunity. But II we
indulge in cheap rhetoric; il we over
look the tmpregnabie strength Oh our
position. founded on the solid rock OF
:act. and make claim TO what we are nor
eartssa 10. we shall deceive only the lS-
noranr: and sacrificing the priceless OPP
porlunliv Of establishing the truth We
shal waste ourselves and belltue cur
cause / confess that sometimes as !
read the REASONABLE served by some ora
tors and some historians on both sioes,
wonder vino has slandered Hercules. }