The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-05-31

J JUDGE THoM A
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which came to me that night came time
ard time again to thousands and thou
Eands in both al mics as they lay in camp
end or battlefields. 1t was inevitable,
then, when the conflict in arms ceased,
and the years began to pass, that the SOL
diers of either sile would pay sincere
tribute to the valor. patriotism and worth
OF their COUNT men en- the other side
Not the First Time.
1t is a qualification to me to recall that
not here, for the first time, were uttered
the sentiments which fall from my lips
today; for they were spoken more than
a quarter of a century ago, around the
graves of my kindred and neighbors who
fell in the struggle, to those who mourn
ed them at my home in the first capital
of the Confederacy.
Whatever may have been the causes
of the differences that divided us then,
the spirit of the hour forbids their pre-
sentation here. Those issues have gone
out of life into judgment and states
manshtp and patriotism are no longer
concerned with them save as their re-
membrance may preserve us from the
mistakes of the past. Whether we be-
lieve in special Providence, or the oper-
alton of general laws which, under the
same circumstances always produce the
same results none will deny that the
Creator permits the things that are done
on earth, and that He Is the author of
the general laws under which cause al
ways proceeds to effect. Gods will was
that the republic should not be severed
in twain, and who shall dispute His fiat?
Heaven, to build up the future, oft
skaters the past"
Do trespass upon your soldierly kind
ness because in passing from these refiec-
tions I do not forbear to say that deep
down in my soul is the belief when COM
Ing generations weigh the great strug-
gle, clear of the mists and passions which
time alone can dispel, that our children,
and our children's children. will pro-
nounce that the embattled millions,
though they differed were yet united in
the higher and immortal bond of equal
fidelity to principle; that the differences
of those days were not so much of prin-
ciple as the application of them, to the
apparently unalterable conditions which
then existed; and that of the men of that
day, who, as God gave them to see the
path of duty, marched out in arms to set
tie issues which they did not create and
could not contcol, history will declare all
were making noble sacrifices on the altar
Ol IL country, without which II
could not live to achieve its great mis-
sion on earth.
Cause Is Gone.
The will of God, the Mississippi and the
Potomac, and a common border of more
fnan a thousand miles, with no natural
barrier to separate people united by
thousand ties of knship, interest and hall
lowed traditions of the sacrifices and
achievements of their forefathers all
forbade their separation. None who fol-
lowed Lee and bow in reverence to his
memory, would have 1t otherwise, now
that conditions have been removed whose
only solution then seemed to be in sepa-
ration. Strange as it may seem to the
unthinking, 1t is no longer strange that
the defeated soldier no longer cherishes
the aspirations for which he would have
given his life scarce a third of a century
ago. The cause of the quarrel has gone.
When the Confederate furled his flag no
strange flag vexed him. The banner
which again rose over his home was the
nag OF his forefathers. Every battlefield
and every glory it recalls is bright with
the luster of the valor of his ancestors
When he left he did not claim the flag.
AS 1T comes back to him now, thanks to
the inspiration the man of Appomattox
stamped upon our times, 1t stands for no
thought at war with the interests, liberty
or honor Of those who for time gathered
under another ensign. but streams proud
ly in the skies of every land. a witness
to the grandeur of a reunited country
and an emblem of the majestic power of
the millions enlisted under its folds God
grant that it may wave on forever.
A Great Commander.
No true soldier can deny to the illus
trious man whose mortal remains lie here
the possession of all the qualities Of
great commander. 1t was the genius of a
great soldier which planned and executed
the campaign around Vicksburg, raised
the siege of Chattanooga, contended with
the immortal Lee and controlled the gi-
gantic operations elsewhere which con-
Joined to bring the struggle to an end
The man who died at Mount McGregor
was never envious of the glory of the
captains who won battles for him and
sustained him loyalty in the field. So
long as he justly praised them he rocked
little that his own share of achievements
was hidden in the background. Like the
great artist who ''weaved the Gobelin
tapestry, he was content to stand behind
the screen while others worked out the
design No ignob1e emotions came to
him in the hour of triumph.
He did not take time after the collapse
at the little Virginia village to pass