The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1902-05-16

genius OF tne poet, the painter, the ar
chitect and the statuary.
We may prosecute our demand for
the truth with utter fearlessness, fol
unless the truth acquit us, we are con
demned already
AS to the manner in which we bore
ourselves in the conduct of the war we
can have little to fear The facts here
stand out bold and luminous and their
significance cannot be mistaken We
were seven millions of whites against
twenty. We had four millions Of slaves,
who, while useful to us in many ways
kept us in dread for four terrible years
Of bloody insurrection and awful re-
prisal. We had no manufactures, no
navy and latterly no commerce. We
had practically no currency because
we had nothing upon which to base it
save the credit of government born
in the throes Of revolution and strug-
Cling for its life against desperate odds.
Straining our resources to the utmost
we brought into the field 60O,O men,
a large proportion Of whom were mere
striplings not long out of the nursery.
And these we we're more ,ableproperly to
equip and feed We had against us the
sentiment Of the world, and were com
batting the manifest tendencies Of the
age
And yet we maintained the unequal
struggle for four years facing $500, 900
men in arms, magnifcently equipped,
provisioned and disciplined. and led by
generals of consummate ability, two Of
whom at least would not suffer IN compa-
rison with Marlborough CT Wellington
The war upon the part of the South was
throughout,in the main, a succession of
mastery defensive campaigns culminat-
ing in many of the most terrible battles
Of history, more destructive to human
life perhaps than any battles fought by
civilized men since the Roman legion
ries grappled with their enemies at
close quarters with the short sword.
When the end came our thin gray
lines stood one hundred thousand men,
ragged - ft.@'..starved, confronting
with mistaken courage mighty host
of more than a million. And there are
now upon the pension rolls of the Federal
government the names of more Federal
soldiers killed OF disabled in the wal
than the Confed9lacy was ever able tC
muster all told during the whole Of its
stormy existence.
Whatever else may be called in ques-
tion, the supreme excellence Of Southern
leadership and the magnif ,ent valor of
our Southern soldery must forever pass
unchallenged
We found our leader in the field in
the person of a great Virginian, Robert
Lee. l never pronounce nor hear that
name that do not feel like taking off
my hat and standing uncovered He
drew to himself and united in his own
personality all that was highest and most
distinctive in Southern character He
was the embodiment of our best ideals.
He was the truest exponent of our
civilization. He was, and for all time
to come will remain, the ideal Southern
gentleman.
The war afforded him a theatre for
the display of military genius which
in the judgment Of the most competent
critics entities him to rank with Alex
ander, Hannibal, Caesar and Napolean
as one Of the masters Of the art of war.
1t afforded him theatre also for the
display Of a character Of such majestic
and harmonious proportions that he is
fast coming to be recognized as the
most heroic figure not merely in the
history Of the American people, but OF
the entire English speaking world as
well
And there were others Of scarcely in
ferior merit. Two, at least, johnson
and Jackson, but for their untimely
taking off might lave reached an equal
eminence Of fame.
If Lee and his great subOrdinates can
in military genius be matched any
where it is only IN Napoleon and his
marshals. Aud the rank and file were
worthy Of their leaders-Rather,
should have said, the leaders were wor
thy of the rank and file. 1t was said
of them by the London Telegraph that
'the men who followed Lee and the
Johnsons, while lacking, perhaps il
discipline, might in courage and endur
ance have challenged comparison with
the hest armies tha world has seen