The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1903-11-13
THAT GALLANT OLD SOLDIER.

lMrltten by "A confederate 10 the IilLOn Ike
cord, of Covington, Tenn.l
Below l give letter written in
1868 in reply to telegram sent by
a number of gentlemen, who then
possessed a controlling influence in
the counsels of the Democratic
party Of this State. Col. Matt &.
Galloway, and a number of promi
nent Democrats addressed letter
to Gen. VIM. B. Bate urging him to
accept the next nomination of the
Democratic party for governor of
Tennessee to succeed Isham @. Har-
ris, assuring him that if he would
signify his willingness to accept the
nomination he would receive it by a
unanimous vote of the convention.
Wartrace, July II, 1868.
ITO Messrs. Galloway, Rice, Win
chester, Brown and others:
Gentlemen: In reply to your
telegram of TO day, l beg to say
that however fattering the honor
you suggest, and to which l am
most sensible, there is a duty that
rises above it. A son of Tennessee
and a Southern soldier, would feel
dishonored in this hour of trial to
quit the field. No, sirs; while an
armed foe treads our soil, and can
fire a shot, or draw blade, | will
take no civic honor. | had rather,
amid her misfortunes, be the defend
er than the governor of Tennessee.
Let me exhort to harmony.
Respectfully,
w. 3. BATE.
This letter speaks for itself. By
simply consenting, VIM. B. Bate
could have honorably retired from
arduous and dangerous service in
the field to accept a position which
carried with it ease and honor and
dignity, with freedom from the
tolls of war and the perils of battle.
He had not sought the honor thus
offered him and he could have truly
said that he was acting in obedience
to the call of his countrymen.
There is no question but that if he
had simply been willing to accept
he would have been elected govern
or of Tennessee. He was at the
time broken and shattered with
wounds, and compelled to 60 upon
crutches. He could not mount his
horse without assistance, or sit in
the saddle without pain. Who
would have blamed him if he had
taken advantage of this opportunity
to find an easy and honorable retire
ment from active service in the
Fl ED?
But he did not do it. Live or
die, he would stay with the boys in
trenches, share with them the hard
ships of war, and brave with them
the dangers of the battlefield. And
until the last shot was fired, until
the last Confederate had surrender
ed, until the flag of the Confederacy
was furled for ever, be remained
with the ragged, but heroic soldiers
of the South.
Never until the war was over and
there was no longer cause, or OPP
pOIluuAIy W uIdW MO S"Oiu AOl lhC
South, or expose his SCARED and
shattered body to the bullets of her
enemies did VIM. B. Bate ask any
civic office at the hands of his
countrymen.
Now we are told that it is about
time for "The old soldier to be put
to sleep" And this plea is made to
induce the people Of Tennessee to
kick him out of Office in his gray
hairs, and give his place to one who
was older than many a soldier who
died for the South, but who never
shouldered a gun or faced bullet
in her cause. "The old soldier
must be put to sleep" and the un-
combatant must wear his glory and
his honors.
Well, a great many of "the old
soldiers" have been "'put to sleep"
Many of them are sleeping in bloody
graves on the battlefield of the Con-
federacY. But there are still some
thousands of them who are not
asleep, and who will not be asleep
in this campaign. For many years
they have been the bone and sinew
of the Democratic party. They not
only faced the dangers of battle,
but they bore the brunt III the terri
BILE days of reconstruction. The
younger men, some of whom now
sneer at them, have as little con-
ception of what it was to be Dem
ocrat in the dark days that followed
the close of armed conflict, as they