The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1904-05-18
MIR. DUNCAN s ADDRESS.

MIR. DUNCAN =
You will pardon me when | say that,
owing to the heavy demands of extra
work for several weeks past, l am tru-
ly conscious of my inability to meet
the requirements of this hour. | feel
most deeply my need of help, of in
~spiration for this hour. But what
more inspiration could | ask than is
afforded me here e? Before is bloom
ing youth to my left is honorcd age;
and to my right is matchless beauty f!
To the first L extend sincere congratu-
%lations upon your fair prospects /; to
the second, the gratitude of an honest
heart for your heroic achievements +;
and to the third, that knightly hom-
age hat is cminently due true and
noble w~omanhood for your vigorous
efforts to pcrpctuatc the memory of
our surviving heroes and our valorous
dead.
The subject upon which | wish to
speak for awhile at this time is, "'TuE
PATRIOTISM OF THE SOUTHERN Pro
PIE" Patriotism may be defined as
''thc love of ones country y or "the
passion which aims to serve ones
country" What more appropriate
subject upon which to speak in this
old historic building, forever consecra-
ted by the memories of a patriotic
past, and in the presence of these sur
viving heroes and with the memory of
their fallen comrades whose daring
deeds of profound patriotism have
elected the admiration of a great
country For convenience in treat
mcnt and the facility of memory, we
shall study the subject under the light
of three periods of the history of our
common country THE Ante Bellum
Period The Civil War Period The
Post Bellum Period.
Let us, then, in the first place,
glance briefly at that period proceed
ing the great civil struggle. Let me
say, however, that the world will never
know or understand us till an unbiased
historian shall faithfully record the
annals of our country. But there
were general facts which even the
prejudiced writer had to record in or
der to have a history. Let me here
say that, in my humble opinion, Ed
ward McCrady, of the Charleston Bar,
has done the greatest work of his life
in producing those superb volumes on
South Carolina history. If such work
as he has done for South Carolina
were done for the other Southern
States, the world would have to re-
cast its opinion of the South. From
a brief review of his book, 'sThc His
tory of South Carolina in the Rcvolu-
ton" we find that about fifty battles
were fought in South Carolina alone,
1775-17SO. Some of the most signal
victories of the Americans during this
period were won on Southern soil and
were largely due to Southern bravery.
Take the battle of Cowpcns. The
man whose bravery there distinguished
him above his fellows and whose gal
lantry was rewarded by a silver medal
from Congress, was William a. Wash
ington, a native of Virginia. Or take
the famous battle of Kings Mountain.
The British forces were under the
command of Colonel Ferguson, who
was himself a brave and daring SOL
dier. He had superior forces and po-
sition. 1t is said that when he took
his stand on the summit of the cleva-
ton, he recklessly remarked, "I take
my stand on the Kings Mountain and
L defy either God or man to put me
off = His horse being shot down un-
der him, he mounted another and rode
along the lines urging his men to the
bitter conflict. When some other Of
ficcr, seeing the battle was going
against them ordered the white flag
raised, Colonel Ferguson, seeing the
flag, rushed to the spot and cut it
down with his w sword, cursing the
man who dared to offer to surrender.
But this courage was overmatchcd by
that of the American forces under
Col. Cleaveland, whose dauntless spir-
it was sustained by Southern patriot
ism. The American forces consisted
of men from the two Carolinas and
Georgia, being reinforced by the
backwoods rilemcn of Tennessee who.
at the call of the Governor of North
Carolina, had come to the help of the
patriots. Slowly they climbed the
rugged sides of the mountain, bravcly
facing the fierce fire of the British,
until they o the signal and renowned
victory. Some of Che most disting-
uished names of the Revolutionary
period were those of Southern men.
First of all, there was George Wash
ington, "the noblest Roman of them
ALL" who was a Southcrner Francis
Marion, 'the Swamp Fox" was born
near old Georgetown, S. c.; Thomas
Sumter, "the Game Cock" was born
in Virginia but was brought in early
life to South Carolina !; Andrew Pick
ems, though born IN Pennsylvania,
was brought in early life to the Wax
haw settlement in u borders and be-
came identified. Sergeant Jasper, with
his daring deed at Fort Moultrie, adds
another name to the catalogue of
Southern heroes. We might indef-
nitely prolong this list, but we forbear,
letting these suffice for that particu-
lar period of our history.
~