The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-11-03

shows hal the ZigZag character Of the
federal lines does not affect the ques-
ton. and says. the front of an army is
it's line of battle, and the opposing
troops which penetrate that line are
farther to the front than those which
do not" 1t shows that the COMPARE
tive losses of the North Carolina and
Virginia troops engaged in the charge
cannot be relied on to establish North
Carolina'S claim, for the reason that the
losses sustained by any command in ali
three days at Gettysburg are combined;
and as the North C~arolinians were ell
gagged on the first and third days, and
the Virginians only On the third day. it
was reasonable that the losses of North
Carolina in the two days aggregated
more than those of Virginia in the one
day. The report contains the letter
from General Lee to General Pickett,
advising the latter to suppress his re-
port of the charge, evidently because
it reflected on the North Carolina troops
and in which General Lee says: you
and your men have crowned yourselves
with glory"
AT CHICKAMAUGA.
(c) AS to Chickamauga: The report
does not discuss the grounds of the
claim here, except to say that the report
of the commanding general (Bragg), a
native of North Carolina, makes no
mention of any special service render
ed by the few North Carolina troops in
that battle.
(d) As to AppomatoX: The report
only says that the claim preferred By
North Carolina here is also claimed
by several other southern states, and
that the conditions at the surrender
were such as to make it difficult, if not
impossible, to determine what troops
were really entitled to the honor claim
ed here by North Carolina.
Co The report then quotes from the
report of the confederate secretary u
war, in which he speaks of the army OF
Northern Virginia as one "in which
every virtue of an army and the EMU
Of consummate generalship had been
displayed" and says here is glory
enough for all confederates to share,
and again deprecates all envying and
~jealousies where all did their part SO
we'll" 1t then quotes from the report
signed by all the representatives of the
confederate congress, in which the con-
duct and bearing of Virginia are eulo-
gized in the highest terms. and con-
cludes by saying:
"On such testimony as this. Virginia
can safely rest her title to share equal
ly with her southern sisters in the
wealth of glory produced by the war,
and this equality is all she asks, or
would have. She disdains to pluck one
laurel from a sisters BROW"
CD The report closes with a notice of
Bruce's School History of the United
States" and with a criticism of Step
ping Stones to Literature" the latter
written by Captain Carter r. Bishop,
Of Petersburg. a member of the commit
tee.
Following the report, DR.. James Bat
tie Everett, a North CarOlinian, who
married a Virginian lady. took the floor
and commended the report, saying that
Judge Christian had followed the tenn
per of General Robert E. Lee and later
of Schley, as expressed by the latter
after he battle of Santiago, There
is glory enough for ALL" North Carolina
and Virginia, he said, had always been
together, and, please God, would always
be together. There was no doubt, he
said, tina North Carolina would reply
to the report.
But said DR.. Everett, we have
enough to do without Quarreling among
ourselves"
While DR.. Everett evidently did not
fancy the report, he made no attempt 10
bolster up the claims made by certain
North Carolinians that troops of that
state were first at Gettysburg and
Chickamauga and last at AppomattoX.'
He, however, proposed and secured the
adoption of a resolution expressing the
undying devotion of the veterans to the
memories Of John Latcher and Zebuloa
B. Vance. war governors Of vi gina
and North Carolina, respectively. This
was later amended by enato John W.
Daniel 10 include the immortal Extra
Billy Smith, whose son Colonel Tom
Smith, of W~arrenton. is a member Of the
grand Camp and was present TODAY.