The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-11
Thousands Assemble III Oakwood
Where Confederate Legions
Lie Buried.
COLONEL CAMERoN's TRIBUTE
Eloquently He Portrays the He
roic Dead and Urges Emula-
ton by the Living.


and n bright, warm sun shed its lustre
through the green of Oakwoods trees
yesterday afternoon, while the exercises
| commemorative Of the life and deeds OF
| $4,000 Confederate soldiers wero held in
| the presence of a great throng of people.
It was at first supposed that the con-
| d!tion Of the weather would render 1t i'm
possible to visit thel cemetery, and It
was arranged that the exercises should
be held in st. Johns Church. But the
spring like warmth and brightness Of the
new day that succeeded the buster and
blur Of the night previous changed things
back to their first plans, and the crowd
poured out as in former years. The at
tendance was probably never larger es-
tini:ited at from eight to ten thousand
people
The Parade.
| The parade formed at Twenty fourth
and Broad, and shortly after 4 o'clock
began to move. Iardella's Band led the
column with its stirring national notes.
| Behind 1t came four companies OF the
| Seventieth8 Regiment--B IN command OF
| Captain Miller; G in command of Cap
tain Skipwlth: r in command of Captain
| Stone.A and II in command OF Captain
Baptist. The battalion was under Captain
Miller. A detachment from Battery A ot
the Howitzers In command Of Lieutenant
Minson came behind. The carriages fol.
lowed with the distinguished guests, the
delegations, and the members of the
oakwood Memorial Association The
column marched to Twentysixth Street,
passed down to the park and saluted
| the Soldiers and Sailors monument,
went out Twenty-ninth to Broad, Il out
Broad to Thirty-sixth and THENCE to Oak
wood, where It was Joined by the vet.
Grams from Lee and Pickett Camps, and
the Soldiers Home. .te5l 5yf
| ,Withil the cemetery the scene was a
beautiful one. The place was cool and
| trees was a grateful reminder of the
presence of spring. The skies were
bright and clear. and showed in spots
| through the branches. The crowd was
spread around In every direction, and in
| 1t were many school children enjoying
the holiday. The soldiers marched in to
a quick-step and ranged themselves
around and the exercises began.
After an anthem by the chorus, under
the direction of Professor Mitchell, pray
or was offered and DR. James p Smith,
commander of Lee Camp. presented the
| orator of the occasion, Colonel William
/ T.. Cameron, of Petersburg. Upon the
stand were the members Of the associa-
| ton and a number of special guests, in
Guiding General Fitzhugh Lee, Judge
| George l.. Christian and others Bene-
dicton was pronounced by the Rev. Mr..
Mears. The rattle Of musketrys and the
roar of cannon sounded in a salute and
the party dispersed. The occasion was
we'll managed and the crowd very or
derby one in that there was no dis
turbance.
COL. cAMERoN's SPEECH.
The speech by Colonel Cameron was the
feature of the day. 1t was brief. but
eloquent In the well known style of the
distinguished former Governor Of Nir-
gini;t Colonel Cameron was literally APP
pauded, and very warmly congratulated
by his friends. He said in part:
This occasion appeals with resistless force
to the tenderness OF love with which every
true son and daughter of the South cherishes
tho memories Of the Confederacy and of the
devoted patriots who died for 1t:
TO those who shared in the glores and sor-
rows OF those heroic days there needs no voice
of oratory TO keep alive that love or TO fresheh
that remembrance.
in It's deepest recess a sanctuary In which the
pride and glory and the regrets OF Confederate
times are stored and treasured.
Those hearts are like the ocean shells which
are found upon the mountain tops where ere, once one
have recedcd and left them far away from
their native element. Yet hold their r6seatte
give forth with plaintlve echo the murmur OF
tho waves. So we plod along IN tho path %, OF
duty Of business or ambition Ihe neW d he
charge. We have built up new fortunes on the
ruins OF the old. good God has CREASED Cor
war so rudey sundercd. We have bowed to the
DEGREES Of Providence and found that recon-
pense which comes from such acceptance Of
higher will and more fnr-seeng purpose. But
ever and anon the old times viii reasscrt them
selves and call out OF the shadows unto us
hopes and we see again dead faces and hear
again dead voices, and the real present Is for
r,Ntfn In hn
And often In the night the pictures OF our
dreams become so vivld-the waving of the flag
kerry. the cheer Of victory that when we wake
the bitterness OF loss must all be suffered DER
As when the chIdcss mother thinks to have
learned the lessons Of resignatl9n and seeks
in sleep the boon Of Kind oh,lvl9dn but nh, T.
nestes In her arms and COOS upon her bosom.
An, what price she pays FOR such brief
awakening that mother has. And yet she
would not yield those dreams for all the treas
But that the heart Of the South was an,
chorsd in fidelity to The cause which , failed ana
%hS So asd and fGF ae
this subject worthily. But your memories of
the sacred past and OF Its mar 'r herSss
and cares engross YOU seemingly there needs
hut the simplest word upon this magic theme
my duh words may strike the sensitive chord
and bring forth tnneful answer SO n dusty
X,
once familiar. but Impractical hand thrills TO
the core beneath the touch and sounds a note
of by-gone hours.
In the happy oden times before tho war
our enemes-with malicious friends In kindly
humor--were used TO say we worshipped the
poorest acre of yirgnia's territory as sacred
soil"
And verify. in our heart OF hearts, there
were some Of us who did not think the chris
tening inappropriate even then!
Since then the ploughshares OF war have
seamed our hlsides and our valleys with
scars. Since then every freside IN the Old
Dominion has become sacrihcial altar since
then the lintel-poss of nearly every home
stead in her borders has been sprnked with |
The blood Of n hrst-born, since then some
mother IN every hamlet in this broad southland |
has walled with the voice q Rachel, refusing
to be colnforted, for her fair boy laid low by |
fatai bullet on some Virginia battlefield! since |
then Virginia's bosom has been beloved DER |
with graves and her fields have been criinsoned |
with heroic blood from the Potomac to The
Roanoke!
realm Of tombs. she holds, and cherishes
the dust of nations dead, The brave and |
the beautiful, the bud and blossom, OF our r
south and manhood, the best and dearest or |
our couniry's children are asleep beneath VIZ
glnias sod--the Lord their Nalor glorlned--
the Lord their ashes consecrate.
And now, Friends. Comrades and Virglnans. |
we take the ancient Joke of enyious foes ana |