The Bolivar County Democrat. (Rosedale, Miss.) 1887-1969, 1904-04-30
STREWN WITH FLAGS
and BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS
In sn~s Il tshha,r,t, Veterans il
Dstlsh csnssr Decorated By School
clAtna Of hssstah and BsuIsh.

oUsS e.'s~ t~"sssst INV - e'S a'Sui"s'
cemetery to witness the decoration Of
the graves of the Confederate soldiers
within its gates by the school chiltlre,, Of
the two, towns. !: The Daughters Of tho
Coniederncy took the lead, preparing a
very interesting program, consisting pf
prayer, songs, reading md an oration.
Rev. g II. rittmisn opened the exercises
with an ELOQUENT and heart touching
PRAYER, anil was followed by Prot. G. @.
Whitfield IN a reading IN beautiful poem
by Father. Ryan, "Tle March Of the
lpeathless Dead.
4 Mr.. r. r., Roach was the orator Of the
day, and the DEMocRAr. takes pleasure
| in presenting his speech to its readers, as
follows
We have met,here today to pay slight
tribute to the memory r,f the soldiers of
the late Coniederacv who lie. here in this
quiet cemetery, lin the last quiet sleep,
their labors DER and the. warfare in
which they laid down their lives passed
from the experience Of all but the veter-
ans of forty years ago. Here i'll tlIis
Quiet city of the dead. they rest i'll the
silence of the tomb, their only requiem
the. song sCf otir glorious Southern
warbler, the. iMocking Bird; varied at
times by the sigh Of the wind through
the cypress trees that stand near their
last resting place.
know not the history of the individu-
ais who lie here; but feel sure that when
the last trump shall re-awakeii them to
life they will hear the conimendatiQn due
to men who have proven faithtulsto the
cause of their youth; trne to what they
felt was the cadse of justice, freedom and
1.-THE Imminent deadly breach" in safety.
whether, when they passed away, there
was lack of woman s nursing, there was
dearth OF y omans tears" cannot tell
that when the final hoair came to them
they met the King of.Terrors' as they
had often met the human foe, with braye
soul and undaunted serenity. For these
men were Southern soldiers; men who
had shown their courage ON many Il
itard fought field. They had faced death
iii various forms and had learned to fear
npthing that Fate might hold iii store
for humanity, 4: 49,
Whether on the battle fields of Virginia.
where great armies met il, the grapple Of
deadly conflict; nr 0fi the plains OF Ten-
vtldss tie sslssr5kot hv,sssss fass4ss4i
like water. n grarM .libatien tn tie GODS
of War: or pefchatice. amid the t,iig-
dra YIN horrprslof the siege .,fn our OWN
hill-crested Vicksburg. lie Southern sold-]
fer faced the ,hartsliips and dangers OF
war.with an rndauuted front. He might
Weld his lite, hut if so it was in the cause
of stle land where We were dreaming
our bright. dreams of liberty; beautiful
dreams that caine TO such violent and
ljloody awakA,ing.
In thed,ayp,, Of MARCO Bozzaris" we
have the apotheosis OF the death of the
successful warrior: j. ~
but to the hero, when his sword has
won the battle for the free,
The voice sounds like,a prophet 5 word !,
And in its hollow tones are heard
The thanks of millions vet tC Be-
But these men, who gave up their lives
III the cause of the South. were not con-
soled by the knowledge OF victory won;
they simply put aside their lives, All
offering to their countrv's cause. without
knowing how the war would end,
ing nothing beyond the PRAYER that was
ever in the heart Of the soldier, they lay
down, nCd died. They gave their all;
their lives. And here they lie; with the
wall ot the Southern cypress to be their
Lullaby. while. the glorious mocking bird
carols above their lowly restifig place it's
soi,E Of hope end Of evelirual triumph
over death. They haye fulfilled their
n 8 s,sra tso,, m
"Carve out a name in the temple OF
Fame
With the weapons of glorious war;
and they shall sleep in qniet rest until
'titne shall be no more"
They are dead. but not forgotten; for
the loving women Of this fair land have
clerishetitheir memory with that fidelity
that is characteristic of h+ lovely sex;
the brave, teudcr, true-hearted women
who have ever showed themselves ''last
at the Cross and first at the tomb;' and
they have come, here, today, to mark
these graves with the flags of the dead
Contederacy and to bestrew them with
sweet flowers. Natures choicest offer
ing to the dead. And we are sure that
this beautiful custom will continue for
many day. until the generation that
knows the SContedeIate soldier, even as
near memory. shafl have passed away.
1t has been well said that .the bravest
are the tci,derest;" and the lofty courage
OF the Southern woman has been so well
attcsted in a host of trying scenes of dam
ger that we may safely pronounce her
the tenderest and truest of all Gods
hantliwork.
1t may be that, through the efforts
IA fusk fsx1 r..
ing place Of the dead may vet be marked
by monument to commemorate the
deeds of those who are gone; to make a
we'll nigh ,,imperishable record Of the
achievements Of the Confederate soldier.
his gallantrv and his sufferingr-e unto,
death. And when this store rears its
top toward the heavens itl,will testify
of the fidelity Of the living to the memory
of the dead.
We, the world worn veterans of the
Lost Cause, know that the women OF the
South will long maintain the custom, of
decorating the graves of our dead cosn-
rades, handing down to the youth OF the
land the story OF the sacrifices of the
soldier bows al tho four long years of the
war of 1876, so that the new gen.
aration will inherit their love and admi-
ration for the deeds that make this
Southland not only beautiful brt great.
Year by yeafthe roll of the Confederate
dead grow longer. A few mete ,aBni-
versaries like this and the roll will be.
complete. Altiwh, participated in the
great war wilI llave, passed under. the
sod and none Will be left alive of the Inn
knlrtals of ouT histprys The Conieder-
kAte soldier will be only q ylen,pvy. ....,
Aniong the newest graves III this GENE \