The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-06-15

not Tar distant when the Durueu or our
 entertainment will no longer require
 the famous hospitality of Louisville when no magnificent auditorium will l be needed for the scattered and venera- ble survivors; but. as long as our days | may be prolonged by reason of strength let us gather to renew ties of the bat tlefeld, and to keep alive the tradi- tions which have made the world SO rich in honor.
 Now that we approach the close of our days and we are passing the responsibilities of citizenship to young CT and stronger hands, 1t is -appro- priate that on an occasion like this we should consider briefly the retrospect of our lives. We need not discuss the causes of the great war through which we passed, nor consider our construc- ton of the Constitution and it's rights we tried to maintain--whether we lived under a Confederation of States. or whether that confederation was a national unit. Some Bancroft or Macaulay will later sift all the argu- ments and facts, apd bring out the truth, and give due credit to our mo- tives. and our patriotism. We are conscious of no dishonor In our re- cord. We fought for principles hand ed down by our Revolutionary fore fathers We fought in defending our homes and firesides against invaders. shame on a peopie Wuo WouAu hoS | fight in such a cause! | wye 20 to our graves feeling that we were right. It is true, we failed | in maintaining the principles we fought for. Superior numbers and re- sources under the wisdom of an over ruling providence decided against us. | Yet we are sure we did our duty; and 1 it is our duty to the end to preserve undiminished the treasures of our de- fri mnalAkGn h. and our unalterabIe belief in the sac redness and Justness of our cause One thing is certain. no true Confed- crate soldier has ever hung his head before any human being because of his conduct. We have through all our | lives and under every condition, main tained our self-respeet. and In our old age now. we see we have the re- spect not only of those who fought against us,, but of the whole world.
 we were tried in prosperity before the great conflict We were tested In the great clash of arms. Some pr us
 were at Chickamauga, Shiloh, Mur-
 freesboro-the three bloodiest battles of the war when 2S per cent, 24 per cent and 23 per cent. respectively, of all engaged on both sides were killed or wounded. Some of us were at Gettysburg, where 4s,449 mon were
 killed or wounded and missing. Somo of us were at bloody Sharpsburg-in the seven days battle around Rich mond-at the Wilderness--at Cold Harbor--at Vicksburg, in the battles
 in the 1MississIppi department.
 We fought until about half of our en- listed strength was under the sod.
 There has never been such heroic record in any other great war. We
 have been tested and tried in prosper
 ity, in victory, in defeat, in trihula- A Antf aDA 4 dVaIr
 God. our lives have been spared to old
 age, to see our beloved Southland re-
 stored to prosperity again. and to see
 almost the last vestige of the ravages
 of war disappear,
 '"The response through all your lives
 has, under all tests, been honorable
 and grave, as true as a bugle note to
 every duty as you saw it. We can re- call our patriotism and the pure mos
 tives that inspired us; can recall the ardor with which we rallied around our
 battle flags; the indomitable heroism with which we followed them through
 desolation and danger to death; how
 We fought over almost every foot of our beloved Southland in over twenty three hundred great battles. We eau recall the fortitude and patriotic en- durance and suffering after the war when we were under the feet of the con- queror: how with Integrity and mag hood we stood firm to preserve our An glo-Saxon, civilization against the na- gro. carpetbag and scalawag rule sup ported by the Federal Government with the armies of the Union, by State gov ernments with negro troops how un- der enormity of pr0vocation, In reversal of our social and industrial conditions, we kept quiet and bided our time with dignity, and never lost our self-respect or our confidence in ourselves that we never gave our consent to the debauch of government and pollution of sooi- ety while 1t lasted ;and then. at ap-
 propriate time, we conquered our con- querors by peaceful revolution, and took matters in our own hands.
 We have taught our children to honor the flag of our reunited country
 In the Spanish war we sent our sons and grandsons to follow the flag, that our forefathers filled with stars. and to which we now give again our un- stinted loyalty. Best Of all we re- stored our beloved land as an integral living part of the union of our fathers
 With us now ali passion and bitterness has passed away We are holding only to all that IS sweetest and best and tenderest in living. our lives have been prolonged to see our country re- covered fro mthe ravages and effects of war to see peace and good will even now almost supplant the passion and strife engendere din those bloody days. and what Is dearest to all of us, to sec that we have the esteem and honor and love of our descendants.
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