Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1902-04-23
WALHALLA, 8. C..
WEDNESDAY. APRIL .s, 1s,s.
Hampton 10 His Comrades.
TGreenville Mountaineer.


union was adjourned to make call
upon their il!ustrious comrade, Wade
Hampton, then in an enfeebled con-
dition at his home, can ever forget
the inspiring and exhilarating words
with which he responded to the
greeting that was 80 lovingly ten
dered to him by Maj. j. f. Hart on
behalf of the men who were present
in hundreds before him, many of
whom followed Hampton as he led
them through dangers that he shared
TO the fullest extent. 1t is fitting to
recall those words, which are price
less legacy to his surviving comrades,
especially to those who heard them
as they fell from lips that always
spoke the truth and sank deep into
their hearts. Unbidden tears coursed
down the checks of those grim men,
who were catching glimpse of the
inner nature of the feeble and vener-
ated man as his soul was poured out
in broken utterances, telling of his
supreme affection for them and his
beloved State. Listen to the echo of
the voice now hushed on earth and
resounding in the arches of eternity,
the words so many of us heard from
Wade Hampton as he spoke for the
last time with trembling voice to
those assembled around his home
My Comrades l have indeed, as
Maj. Hart has said, heard that Rebel
Ill 81 If Il -
from my own men, from the men
whom | had the honor to command,
knew that we were safe. l think
it is one of the British poets who
said:
'The kites know well
The long leagues swell
That bids the Romans close"
| might paraphrase this by saying {:
The Yanks knew well
The Rebel yell
That bade the Johnnies close.
My old heroes, hope it never will
be forgotten. hope it will be trans
mitted to your children and to your
children's children-if not for them
to use to tell how it used to ring
from the forests of Virginia, how it
rang from Gettysburg to the West,
and how it always told of men who
were willing to die for their South
land, 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 chill
dren's children that ours was net a
lost cause. 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 in
dependence of the. United States,
but of each sovereign State as indie
pendent and sovereign. There were
thirteen Independent and sovereign
States. They founded this Union
and they had the right to withdraw
from it whenever they chose so to
do. We were not successful-it is
not given to mortals to command
success. You have done more-you
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 loved,
whom | trusted and with whom
felt as safe as / do now, I want to
say to you all thnc all the love you
have given me has been 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 repaid by the
honors you have unsolicited conferred
upon me and by this the crowning
honor of my life. may not see you
again. remember a-story of an
old bishop who, when ready to re-
tire 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 | shall ask of South
Carolina-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 Ca
rolina, has filled bloody grave for
South Carolina. (Applause) 1
claim no credit for that. Every
South Carolinian who was true was
willing to give his blood and his life
for the old State. / am sure that I
was willing to do so. / think | can
say so to you, my men, that l 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 a poor private who was
dying. | stopped beside him and he
said =" | am happy to die fighting
and | am proud to die fighting under
you"
pray God will bless you and will
give you peace and prosperity, give
it to the old State, give it to each
ono of you, and that you will 90
home and tell y ur kindred that you
have seen your old comrade and that
he thanks them through you.