The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-02-01

SQN9tS{Qeon of the Republic. over which .Washi4eton, Wfsinia's great hero-statesr men. pcesidad n Tn th4 second wer with EnglaAA the
 men who fought the battles of the North ern Vootter and shed fresh lustre upon
 Penuaylyania Quaker warrior, and the towertng yirginian, General Winfield Scott n the war with Mexico the two young officers who came out with the hiGhest records of achievement wers Rob- ert Y, Lee of Virginia. and George E. Mccielian of Pennsylrania; and later they met on the Peninsula. commanding great armies which for seven days were en- gaeed In deadly conflict, Later, at An tietam, the two arniessagain fought one of the bloodiest battles of the war, un- der the command of Virginia Lee, and Pennsylvania Mcclellan.
 Finally, these opposing forces met at Gettysburg. where Lee, of Virginia. again commanded under the Stars and Bars, and Meade of Pennsylvania. commanded under the Stars and Stripes. Never be- fore in ali the terrible conflicts between those opposing armies was the struggle so desperate and bloody as at Gettysburg. It was accepted on both sides that the issue of that struggle must be fatal to the vanquished. When the last desperate as-' sault was to bA made, Pickett. the 'Vir- ginian, was summoned to make the fatal charge on the centre of the Union lines. His ordAr to his brave men who were to face tns ravest peril was. "charse; re- was tho nearest point for the charging column to reach the Union line, and tn 1t was the Philadeiphia Brigade. to receive the shock of hand-to-hand conflict.
 The commander of the Union forces was another Pennsylvanian, Hancock. the superb, who fell early in the conflict, but when unable to stand. or even to sit, he lay upon his side. unmindfui of the ter rible wounds which had laid him low, until he was enabled to announce to his chief that the enemy was repulsed. Not single general officer who led Pickett's Yirginians to the desperate assault re- turned from the field, and many moro than half of all the rank and file were among the dead and wounded. When the few Vdrginians were retreating from the Bloody Angle over their dead and wound- ed comrades, another great battle was in progress on the extreme right of the Union line. where Stuart. the Virginia Cavalier. and Gregg. the Round Head Pennsylvanian, made the earth tremble as they hurled 1,000 troopers Into deadly conflict. It was the most desperate cav airy engagement of the war, and when Stuart and Picket were repulsed. the issue of battle that had been trembling in the balance for three days was as decisive of the fate of the Confectionery as the battle between Caesar and Pom pey on the Plains of Pharsalia was de- cistve of the destiny of Rome. Appomat- tox was simply the echo of Gettysburg.
 If you ask why this hopeless struggle was continued and many bloody battles fought after Gettysburg. I answer that 1t was because the warriors in gray were Americans. They were our own brethren; our own flesh and blood, and they were as sincere in their convictions as were the heroic warriors who wore the blue. They fought from the Wilderness to Ap- pomattox for the same reason that the Spartans of Leonidas fought at Ther- mopylae. The laws of Sparta forbade the Spartan warrior to retreat from battle. and they made Thermoyplae immortal where all but two of the Spartan band gave their lives for their cause. On their monument was this inscriptions: "Stran- ger. 90 tell the Lacedemonians that We lie here in obedience to their laws"
 There was no centralized power in the Confederacy. It was founded on the sov- ereignty of its States. and there could be no pause in the conflict until the sov- ereign State issued it's mandate. They believed In the sovereignty of the Com monwealth. It was taught them by Jeff ferson and Madison in the resolutions of
 ss. which. though ably disputed, were never overthrown. They were taught 1t in their homes. in their schools. from their pulpits. and at the aitars their supplied tions were for the liberty that was blends ed in the sovereignty of the State, and after Gettysburg. like the spartans. they fought and died in obedience to their laws. That they were in error has been declared by the arbitrament of the sword, and they have accepted that Judgment as only Americans could have accepted It. Had they been less heroic in sup port of their faith. as sincerely cherished as was our own, we would honor them less today. They were Americans then in the flame of fraternal conflict; they are Americans today, and as loyal to the flag as are the men who wore the blue.
 Let me remind you of the records which have been written by those who were most heroic in achievement for the main tenance of the Union. Nearly forty years ago. when the war of the Rebellion was yet In progress, Abraham Lincoln, in his second inaugural address, summed up the duty of North and South in this single sentence, that should be tmperishably impressed on every patriotic heart: With malice toward none, with charity for all" Neither in his State papers or public ad- dresses or private expressions did he ever utter single sentence of resentment against the South.
 Less than four years after tho war had ended Grant, the, great Captain of the Age, was inaugurated as President, and one of his first appointments to an inn portant and lucrative office in the South was that of General Longstreet, next to Jackson the ablest of Lees lieutenants. I we'll remember how Senators, cherish ing the infiamed passions of war, shud- dered when the nomination was sent to the Senate. but the selection had been and the confirmation was promptly siv- en. Later the same great captain called a Confederate soldier to his Cabinet as Attorney General of the United States. and his Republican successor in the Presidency, General Hayes, named a Con- federate soldier as one of his original Cabinet. Even the guerilla. Mosby. who lied 10 the mountains when Lee surrend- cred, because he feared that he was out side the pale of legitimate warfare; from his hiding place sent a messenger to ask the acceptance of his surrender, and af- ter much hesitation it was accepted. He was called to the consular service by Grant. and is now in the service of the Government at Washlngton
 The Confederate soldiers have filled po- sitions under Presidents of both parties, have served as hoRored and respected Senators and CongFessmen as mart of the