Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1905-06-08
came within one vote of passing law

School Histories OF the South, made to
the Grand Camp of Virginia, in 1899,
states that General Lee set free his
slaves before the war began, while
General Grant retained his until freed
by the pr clamation. DR.. Mcclure al
so SAYS in his report that not one man
in thirty of the Stonewall Brigade
owned slave of the so men of my
company, 40 never owned slave, nor
did their fathers before them own one"
Did any of you ever see soldier who
was fighting for slavery ? A celebrat-
ed English historian in treating this
subject remarks, slavery was but the
occasion of the rupture, in no sense the
object of the war"
Slavery would have been abolished
in time had the South succeeded. Vir-
GINA would have taken the lnitiatory
in few years. Her whole history, and
the action Of her statesmen and repre-
sentatives in Congress, go to show this.
The enlightened sentiment Of man
kind, the spirit of the age, was against
chattel slavery. England and France
had freed theirs Russia emancipated
her serfs about 1880 In 1873 the Island
of Porto Rico taxed itself twelve mil
lions of dollars and freed 10000 slaves.
Does any one suppose that the enlight-
ened and Christian people OF the South
ern States would have set themselves
against the moral sentiment of man
kind, and refused to heed the voice of
civilization and progress
Continuing, Captain Lamb said:
We sing praises to the officers, we
erect monuments of bronze and marble
to their memories, we hang portraits
on the walls of our camps that will re-
mind our children's children of their
undying fame and imperishable valor,
but we do not emphasize on every occa-
sion, as we should, the self-sacriice and
devotion to duty of the private soldier,
who mad possible the fame and glory
of their officers. The Confederate pri-
vate soldier was far above the average
Of the armies Of the world. No Coun-
thinking and intelligent men IN the
ranks-men more thoroughly imbued
with moral principle.
To their everlasting honor stands the
fact that in their march through the
enemy's country they left behind them
no wasted fields, no families cruelty
robbed, no homes violated.
An English writer at the time said
"In no case had the PennsYlvanians to
complain of personal injury or even
discourtesy at the hands Of those whose
homes they had burned, whose families
they had insulted. robbed and torment
ed. Even the tardy destruction Of
Cham bersburg was an act OF regular,
limited and righteous reprisal." Dur
ing this invasion Pennsylvania farmer
was heard 10 say /: 81 must say, they
acted like gentlemen and, their cause
aside, | would rather have 40 900 rebels
quartered on my premises than 1000
Union troops" No one who partiCi-
pated in that struggle for Constitution
al Government could have failed TO OBJ
serve the unselfsh devotion of the pri
vate soldier.
THE WOMEN OF THE SOUTH.
No story of our war; no record Of the
gallant defenders Of our stainless ban
ner no recital Of the deeds of daring
and the unselfsh sacrifices Of these
men, would be complete without men
tion of the heroic spirit and undying
devotion of the noble women of the
South. The old stories Of the Roman
matrons and the self sacrifices of the
Spartan women, were reproduced in
every State and nearly every home of
this Southland.
1t would be easy to furnish from men,
DRY of the stirring events during the
lot he hot
would show the most exalted patriot
ism and the highest conception Of duty
on the part of the noble women Of the
South that the history OF any people
in any age can furnish.
We are proud of the fact that their
mantle has fallen upon the shoulders OF
the Daughters OF the Confederacy,
whose hearts burn today with a love
and devotion as pure and sacred as that
of their mothers when they sent forth
their sons to battle, with the Roman
matrons injunction, or gave their part
ing kiss TO loved ones, who they cheer
fully resigned to their countrY's call.
The unseltish devotion Of the noble
women OF the South upheld and pro-
longed the unequal conflict while their
patience and sacrifices at home, rearing
their children, and praying for the alb
sent husband and father, often with no
protector save the faithful slaves who
stood guard at their doors, furnishes
the most striking example of love and
devotion that this world has ever known.
When under the providence of God our
veXed problems are settled. and the
South comes again to her own, as under
the unvarying law of compensation she
surely will, another monument will
crown one of the seven hills of our mon
umental city erected by the Sons and
Daughters Of the Confederacy and ded-
icated to the noble women of the South.