The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-12-18
CIVIL AND MILITARY COLONIES
Gallant Record Of a North Caro-
Iinian in Civil Mar
Dallas Lawyer Pays Eloquent Tribut
to Deeds of valor of the Late DIR. s.
ID. Thruston-Ent red the Wa as
Captain of the Smithville Guards and
Rose to Rank of Colonel.

(Col. r. E. Cowart in Dallas News
1t is ~conservatively estimated that
the census Of 1910 will give the United
States a population Of eighty millions.
1t is certain that the honorable army
OF which | am a conspicuous member
p~ost-bellum colonels, will furnish at
least twenty millions of the total. Like
Bill Nye's autumn leaves, we have
colonies everywhere, colonies in the
atmosphere and colonies in the air" AS
the nervous and ever active citizens Of
Dallas go marching down their crowd
ed tho~roughfares, let some excited cit
izen yell, "Oh, Colonel" and at least
a hundred men will turn around to
answer. Even /, modest as / am
known to be, lose a great deal of val
liable time turning, and some times
greeting, by mistake. a caller. AS |
have before said, the title colonel Is
no longer a military designation. Like
the ancient title Of esquire" it is pure
~ civil. 1t is a strange fate to over
take the most important office in any
army. If an army if officered by eff
cient colonies. it canrot fail. If a SOL
der succeeds as a colonel, he is almost
certain to prove successful in the high
er grades of service. Many of the
worlds greatest commanders began
their careers as colonies. Cromwell,
Marlborough, Washington and We'll
lington were colonies. Lee, Stonewall,
Jackson, Forrest, Longsreet, Hood,
Sheridan, Logan, Gordon and scores
of the brilliant soldiers of the civil war
served their apprenticeship as colonies.
The old evolutionary process Of beating
swords into plowshares, is still going
ON and now in comic papers, in novels
and in theworld's satire, the honorable
title of colonel has become a mockery.
This disdainful process has gone on
until now, many of the surviving colo
lels of the civil war have moved up
their rank a grade and pose and try
to persuade themselves that at some
time somehow, very mysteriously dur
ing the dreadful struggle, they acquired
a brigadier generalship. 1t is a harm
less delusiOn. Let us forgive them!
1t is a real pleasure o to meet and
to gnow a genuine, live colonel. We
have here in Dallas four gentlemen
who were genuine, bona fide colonies,
durante bello.
ROBERT r. EAWTHER.
Robert r. LaWther, of our city, was
colonel of the Tenth Missouri cavalry
in the army of the Confederate states.
The record Of the civil war is starred
all owe with his brilliant exploits.
Froissart never chronicled more chiv-
alrous deeds than were performed dur
ing u civil war by this gallant sol
der.
P. B. Hunt.
Then we meet in orr daily wa1Ec D
B. Hunt, now collector of internal reve-
nue. in this district, who was colonel of
the Fourth Kentucky infantry in the
Union army during the civil war. A
knightlier soldier never mustered in
the files of war.
PROF. J. r. COLE.
Our honored citizen, Prof. j. R.
Cole, is another. He was colonel of the
Twenty-first North Carolina infantry
regiment in the Confederate army.
When the summons came he rushed to
Virginia in April, 1861. He surrender
ed at Goldsboro. n. c., in 1865.
Through all the war he pore a hero's
part.
WILLIAM l.. CRAWFORD.
That lifty intellect, that eXquisitely
organized mind, that Incompatible ad-
vocate, the finest nisi prius, trial law
yer on the globe, my very dear and
long time friend, William l.. Crawford,
was colonel of the Nineteenth Texas
Infantry. He was as brilliant a sol
der as he is a great lawyer. He barred
his breast to the storm of war. When
scarcely out of his teens, he was elect
ed colonel of his regiment and on the
perilous edge Of many battles, bore to
victory his country's flag. He was
never commanded by any officer, his
equal in ability, unless it was possibly,
Lieutenant General Dick Taylor. 1t is
my purpose soon to give a sketch Of
these very valiant ~colonels unless the
threat to do SO causes me IN the mean
time to be lynched.
DIR. S. D. THRUSTON.
AT his home on Mckinney avenue,
through weary days and months there
lay stretched pOn his couch of pain
the divinest sight this world is privil-
eyed to sea brave, true, genuine man
and soldier, fighting his last battle.
On Thursday last Just as the victorious
autumn sun was going down, in all
his splendor. Stephen Decatur Thrus-
ton heard his Great Captains call.
He assembled on high. He was colonel
of the Third North Carolina infantry.
No Drawer nan ever led a drawer band
than Colonel Thruston. In 1860 he
vas elected captain of the Smithville
| guards, a volunteer military ~organiZa-
ton Of Smithville, n. c. With a shrewd
infallible instinct, on the 9Th of jan
| uary. 1861, more than three months be-
fore his state seeded, Captain Thrus-
ton orders marched his COM
mand to Forts Caswell and johnson
on Cape Fear river near Wilmington
n seized them in the name of the
secretary of war, Holt, wrote TO Cover
chief magistrate of his state, Governor
Ellis was terribly demoralized. fHe i'm
mediately ordered the forts restored to
the possession of the United States
n wrote then to President Buchanan