The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-04-20
CONFEDERATE VETERANS
PAY TRIBUTE TO DEAD

Butte TO DEAD
the battles roar was hushed, but its
thunders are still reverberatpg
through my memory. No tongue nor
pen can adequately portray its vacci- /
lating fortunes at each dreadful mo-
ment. AS ! write it now, a myraiG /
thrilling incidents and rapidly chang
ing scenes, now inspiring now appall-
ing, rush over my, memory. l hear
again the words of Barlow, Tell my
wife that 1 freely gave my life for my
country YOnder, resting on his ell
in his bloodp gray uniform, among
his brave North Carolineans, writingi
as he died, Tell father that l died
with my face to the foe!' Truly, as
President Davis said, The manner of
their death is the GROWING glory OF
their lives
My comrades, those of this genera
ton can hardly measure the depth of
grief that fills your souls, in recalling
all your sad experiences during the
four years of your vicarious service
At this moment the dirges resOund in
your heart and o! my younger friend,
hneal defendants of these battle scar
red veterans, can you not catch the
sounds of the requirems for our brave,
noble comrades that sleep on every
hill, and in every valley from the1
PotOmbac to the Rio Grande, and from
the Ohio to our own sun-kissed sea-
washed beech. They sleep in honor,
and l trust their memories will be en-
shrined in the hearts of our people
to the remotest generation. Yea,
'NUntil the stars shall grow old,
And until the sun grow cold,
And the leaves Of the Judgment book
unfold"
Loyalty to Union.
while / firmly believe that thei
cause Of the south was right in its +,
organization and operation, let no one
think me wanting in loyalty to our
reunited country. believe in the fu-
ture glory of our Republic. That
glory, however, will not reach the
limit of the desires of the patriotic
and thoughtful, until wisdom, justice,
and moderation, shall sway the minds
of the people; until strenuous arrog-
aIce, trait and disregard of the writ
ten constitution, are things Of the
past; until the scales Of jlstice arei
held in equal balance, between tneI
rich and the poor; until integrity,
manhood, and ability shall be the re-
quisites to positions of trust and hon
or, and the size of the pocket book,
until the government abandons i'm
perialistic tendencies and we treat all
people, of all countries, as we would
be treated; until we return to the
rock bed principles, of true American
manhood, and honesty, and obsery-
ance of the laws.
Superb Courage.
THE past glory Of the Republic is
insepeTable from the names of Wash
ton, Jefferson, Jackson, Lee, Calhoun, |
Beckham, Prentice, Davis and host
of others 1 might mention. Their |
records and deeds are a glorious her
itage; and your fathers who wore the /
gray, whose mighty deeds will gveI
them place in future history for |
chivalric bravery, along with the
three hundred of Old Tehmopalae, and
the charge of the Light Brigade at /
Ballaclava, and the fiery hosts that
Swarmed up the breach at Ascylon /
Unbiased history will surely gve
them this distinction for with supurb /
courage, and unyielding fortitude, they
held at bay for four long years the
splendid armies of the north.
Their immortal deeds proclaim in
them that no people of any age of the
world made a grander struggle for
home and inalienable rights than did
the southern people. No wonder that, /
in contemplation of all the sacrifices
cheerfully rendered, the superb hero
ism and endurance. of the Confederate
soldier under the most trying condi-
tiOns, that the immortal Grady ex-
claimed, Out there in Appamattox, /
where the Lord God Almighty has
placed on every ragged gray cap the
sword of his imperishable knight
hood
Tribute to Women.
And the noble women of the Con-
federacy! HerOines, who were the
power behind the heroes at the front.
Defeating to the relief Of husbands,
fathers, sons, brothers and sweet
hearts, all of their domestic accom-
plishments. 1t has been beaut fully
said that, in that labor of love, every
click of the needle was a prayer and
every stitch a tear. How poor are
my words in attempting to pay fitting
tribute to them. The evils of war
fell relentlessly upon them, but with
what sublime Spartan-like courage
did they work on, hope on, and pray
ever. Patient, true and patriotic
through all those dark days of terri
bic anxiety, ministering angels to
many who died far away from home
and loved ones. Forgetting their own
great danger at all times, in their
solicitude for their loved ones at the
front. And when ALL save honor, was
lost, in holy remembrance, and devot-
ed loyalty to the fallen, they institut-
ed this beautiful custom of memorial.
ooh, it is a sad, sad thought that