The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-07-07

BdILle-pTOuIu ItltDi Wv
Members Of the North Carolina Society
OF Baltimore, Ladies ana Gentlemen
| am thankful to you 1of an lhEl'a'ioi1
to be present on this OCCASION -
pleasant beyond measure 10 ma auch d
patriotic band, whose ann ~ 10 Secule
for the soldiers OF the Ola Eofth 9tdte
that recognition and praise tLaI lheli
deeds and gallantry deserve WIN Sucn
societies to keep fresh the memories y
their Ia hors. hardships and herolsm. the
Southern soldiers can rest secure as ~
their fame. And Tor the battle-scarred
veterans OF our " good ofd otaIe,
want to thank you for tins organization
and for what you are DONG But 1 lnuSt
warn Won that YOU must not expect a
highly wrought Grafton from me. l was
once a soldier, never a speaker Besides
our good friends, the enemy, look goou
care ON this field Of Gettysburg that l
should never become an orator, lot d
Yankee bullet ruined my throat and took
away a part Of my tongue ana deprived
me of my teeth. Yet, with your kind for
bearance, | will do my best to tell you
something of the personnel, spirit and
,ooduct Of the 26th North Carolina Re
giment in whose honor l am pleased TO
think you have Invited me to be with
you.
Forty vears ago-who can realize it,
forty years ago, on the first OF july at ~
o'clock a. M, our regiment lay over there
facine McPherson's hill. in line OF battle.
How the heart of the old soldier, especial
w the old officer, returns with affection
and pride to his old regiment. What a
magnificent body OF men 1t was! l see
them now. In the center with the first
glow of youth on his cheek, was the gal
liant Col. Harry King Burgwyn. HIS
eve was afiame with the ardOr Tor pat
tie. Near him was his Lieutenant Colonel,
commanding the right, and MAJOR Johh
It. Jones commanding the lett. These OF
fcers had put their souls INTO the tram
ing Of the soldiers and were now waiting
the issue of battle with full confidence
In their courage and proficiency. On the
right of the Colonel was Company + from
Chatham, Capt. s. w. Brewer, on the
left Company F from Caldwell county
Capt. r. NJ. futile. Near the center also
was Company G from Chatham, Captain
H. c. Albright, and Company A from
Ashe, Captain Sam p. Wagg; the other
companies with their officers were Com
pany c from Wilkes county, Capt. }. A.
Jarrett; Company d from Wake county,
Capt. ]. T. Adams; Company II from
Moore county under command OF Lieut..
Mcleod, Capt. j. d. Mclver beng absent
on detached service; Company L from
Caldwell under Capt. n. CT. Bradford;
ompan * from Arson, Capt. j. c.. Nc
Lauchlin. Pardon my PRIDE do not
ask to pardon my loving remembrance of
them, and the tears that gather IN my
heart and rise to my eyes, but pardon
Try priAe,-When l say a finer body OF
men never gathered for battle. May
mention some OF the things that went to
make them good soldiers? In the first
place the soldiers came OF good blood. l
do not mean that their parents were arIs-
tocrats-far from it, many OF them never
owned a slave. They We're the great mlu-
die class that owned small farms IN cen
trail and western North Carolina; who
earned their living with honest sweat and
owed not any man. They were good, hon
est, American stock, their blood untaint-
ed with crime, their eyes not dimmed by
vice. These boys had grown up on the
farm and were OF magnificent physique.
Their life between the pillow handles and
welding the axe had made them strong.
They had chased the fox and the deer
over hill and valley and had gained great
mower OF endurance lid SSol IL .
cold and the parching heat Of a July's
sun. Again these men, many OF them
without much schooling, were intelligent,
and their life on the farm and III the
woods had taught them to be observant
and self-reliant. They were quick to see,
ouick to understand, quick to act. Again,
every man of them had been trained from
bovhood to shoot a rifle with precision.
r..,orol DottIppaNI OhSprVInO the deadly
execution of their muskets on this field,
remar ked that the 18th shot as if shooting
SQUIRRELS. Again these men were pa
triots: they loved their country, they
lovad liberty. Their fo~refathers had
fought the British at Kings Mountain,
and Guilford Court House. They had
grown ND to love and cherish their noble
deads Now every man of them was con
WINGED that the cause for which he was
f~qhting was Just; he believed that he
oved allegiance first to his home and his
State He was standing to combat an I'M
inst invader. Finally, these men had ma
tive coura ge-not the loud-mouthed cOur-
age of the BRA g~gart-but the quiet, UNI
falteripo courage that caused them to
advance in the face OF a murderous tire.
The men of this regiment would never
endure an officer who covered IN battle.
They demanded in the officer the same
courage they manifested themselves; they
would endure no domineering, they
would suffer no driving. At this time the
men had come to understand and to trust
the Officers. the officers the men, and like
a mighty. well-arranged military engine
it was ready with one spirit to move for
ward. That noble band OF men, God
bless tbem, God bless them. Here the
brave fellows lay from early morn until
p. m when orders to advance were
gwen.
And now | will describe to you the best
l can the charge that brought wounds
and death to so many friends and Toes
And in order that l may not seem to BOAST
Of my own deeds, nor yet through 100
much modesty may be thought to keep
back essential facts, l shall in that part
which relates to myself follow the ac-
count as given in our reglmental history,
" al speak of myself in the third person.
Inc 18th Was the extreme lett regiment OF
'ltlSreW's BRIGADE. As | have SAID II dl-