The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-01-29

HA-Gov. Bob Iaylors Eloquent Tri}oute to
the Heroes Of the ''Lost Cause.''
Atlanta Journal.

At the request Of number Of Con-
fcdcrate Veterans, the Journal pub
fishes below the speech Of cx.Govcr-
nor Bob Taylor, delivered on July
23th last, at the Confederate Vetcr-
ans reunion at Brownvillc, Tenn.
The speech is so rich in lore Of the
South, its products and beauties, that
there has been general request to
have it republishcd for the benefit of
the old soldiers who could not hear it,
and who have been unable to secure a
copy of it. The speech is as follows
'Time in its tirclcss flight has
brought US again to the full leaf and
Hover Of another summer. The grass
grows green about the dust Of heroes;
the roses twinc once more about their
tomb, and the morning glorics point
their purple buglcs toward the sky as
if to sound a revcillc 10 our immortal
dead. Another year with it's sun
shine and its shadows, its laughter
and its tears, its sowing and it's reap
ing, its cradle songs and funeral
hymns, now lies between US and that
dark day at Appomattox when the
star Of Southern hope went down and
the flag Of Southern chivalry was furl-
cl forever.
Another year has added whittier
locks to the temples of these old vet.
Grams who wore the gray, and deeper
furrows to their brows, and they now
stand among US like solitary oaks in
the middle Of of fallen forest, hoary
with age, covered with scars and glo-
r'"us as the living monuments of
~uthern manhood aud Southern cour-
age.
"B2: we are not far enough away
from that awful struggle to forget the
bloody hills of Shiloh, where Albert
Sidney johnson died, and the fatal
field of Charlottesville, where Stone
wall Jackson fell.
"We are not yet far enough away to
forget the frowning heights Of Get
tysburg, where Picketts charging lines
rushed to glory and the grave. We
are not yet far enough away to forget
Murfreesboro, Missionary Ridge and
Chickamauga and the hundred other
fields o? death and carnage, where the
flower Of the South, the bravest of the
brave and the truest Of the true fought
for the cause they thought was right
and died for the land they loved.
"We are not yet far enough away to
forget the agony and the tears Of
nation that was crushed when the
shattered armies of Lee and Johnston,
worn and weary, half starved, bare
footed and in rags, stacked their arms
in the gloom of defeat and left the
field Of valor overwhelmed and over.
powered, yet undaunted and uncon-
quered. When time has measured off
thousand years the world will not
forget the sufferings and the sacrifices
of the brave men who so freely gave
their fortunes and shed their blood to
preserve the most brilliant cviliza-
tion that ever fourished in any land
or in any age, for literature loves
lost cause.
Historians will some day sit down
OH our battle6elds and write true his.
: tory-history which will read like the
!. widest dreams of fancy that were ever
woven into fiction, and poets will lin
ger among our graves and sing sweeter
songs than were ever sung before.
For each monuments n volume within
itself of wild and thrilling adventure,
and every tombstone tells story
touching as the soldiers last tear on
. the white bosom OF his manhood S
bride, tender as his last farewell.
L would not utter word of bitter
ness against the men who wore the
blue. They fought and died under
the old Dag to pcrpetuatc the union
and :!.ey we're men worthy of South
ern prowcss and Southern valor.
81 would ..ot il could rob Grant,
the great and noble chicftain of his
fame and glory. Every Southern SOL
dier ought to stand with uncovered
head when his name is spoken. For
when all was lost, in the darkest and
eaddest moment Of Southern history,
he was magnanimous to Lee and kind
to his tattcrcd and famishcd army.
Along the blue lines Of the trium,
phant foe, when the unhappy Confod-
crat, marched between them and laid
down heir guns, there was no shout
of vic Dry nor flourish of trumpets,
but OILY silence and tears.