Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1903-07-29
BULL RUN NO PICNIC.
Washinalonlans Thought It Would be a
Holiday Witnessed by Thousands.


Very few people there are who
are familiar with the date on which
falls the anniversary Of the battle of
Bull Run, says tue Washington
Post.
The date is remembered by and
known to more people and comes
nearer being celebrated in Washing
ton and the district of Columbia
than in NV other quarter of the
Unit"h .atcs.
Z irst battle of Bull Run was
fought on July 2s, 1861, and when
that day arrived during the present
month it saw large numbers of vete-
rams, ladies and gentlemen of the
, older generation and not q few of
the younger, celebrating, in their
own quiet way, this, one of the list
of unofficial holidays. This state
ment may be surprise to many,
and cause some people to inquire
why, in view of the fact that Bull
Run was "a Union defeat and Con-
federate stampede" as one writer
put it, the remembrance of that
event has been cherished by Wash
ingtonians until the anniversary of
the fight has become sort of half
day, unrecognized, unlegalized holi-
day. This, perhaps, is best answered
by venerable gentleman, now fast
approaching his sOth year, who, for
many years, has been connected with
the Army and Navy Medical
Museum. He said:
THE BULr RUN ANNIVERSARY.
"Perhaps it is little hard for out
siders and newcomers to understand
why we Washingtonians set such
store by the anniversary of the battle
of Bull Run, but to me the reasons
are clear enough. Now that the
civil war and its long train of at
tendant evils are past and gone l
dare say it would be utterly impos-
sible for anyone to imagine or to
form correct idea of the altogether
vague, mistaken and even frivolous
view that people North and South
took of the war at the beginning of
struggle. You see the country had
enjoyed long era of peace. From
1915 down to 1861, almost half
century, there had been no war
worthy of the name. Of course
there was the Mexican war and the
various Indian outbreaks, but these
were left largely to the regular army
to settle and did not affact nor con-
vulse the country as whole. All
over the United States the people
had settled into a rut from which
nothing short of terrible war
could have moved them, and had
matters gone on in this way for an.
other half century we would have
been nation more backward than
the Beers of South Africa.
Therefore when the civil war came
on both sides went about the matter
in lazy, perfunctory, dilatory sort
of way, as though one noisy and
bloodlcss battle would settle the dis.
pute forever and day. This ap-
pears all the more amusing to me
now, as look back over the vista
OF years and think how, early in
July, 1861, we Washingtonians got
word that battle was soon to be
fought out at Bull Run. Our half
century of peace had rendered
bloody spectacles decided novelty,
and l can remember, as the day
drew near, how the city was all
a-bustle and agog over what many
looked forword to as the greatest
sight of their lives. Had any of
Napoleon's veterans dropped into
the city few days before Bull Run
he would never have guessed that a
battle was imminent. 1t was more
like city getting ready for flower
carnival, an exposition opening, or
grand holiday of some sort. Depart
ment clerks were bustling about, be-
seechlng leaves of absence in order to
take their wives and sweethearts
out to see the fight, nor were they
obliged to beg very hard, for their
superiors were quite as anxious as
their subordinates to cape at the
battle which was to settle forever the
question of secession, etc.
THOUGHT 1T A PICNIC.
"When the day came and the