The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-05-28
CalnaQe
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talrnage, d. D.


, old, tender theme Of a nations sorrow
and how it was healed receives new
treatment. and the lesson Is learned Of
great people united in the bonds of a
common patriotic brotherhood. The
text is Isaiah kill, 6, Il VIII a II the
north, Give up, and to the s;,.;n. Keep
not back"
l sometimes think we make Il mis-
take when we think of the civil war as
ending at Appomattox. The wounds
were too fresh then on both sides. We
know that the war Is ended now, and
think the beginning OF the end dated
about twenty years ago. The begin
ming Of the end came In q letter which
Adjutant General r. c. Drum on April
80, 1887, addressed to Hon. w. c. Endi-
colt secretary Of war in President
thus:
Sir-T have the honor to state that there
are now in this Office. stored in one of the
attic rooms of the Quilting. number Of
Union flags captured In action. but recov-
cred on the fall Of thg Confederacy and
| forwarded to the War department for safe
keeping. together with a number of Con-
federate flags. which the fortunes of war
placed in our hands during the late civil
war. While In the past favorable action has
always been taken on applications, proper
| ly supported, for the return of the Union
| flags to organizations representing surviv-
ors of the military service of the govern
ment, / beg to submit that 1t would be
graceful act to anticipate future requests
of this nature and venture to suggest the
propriety of returning all the flags tUnion
1 fl y -
respective states in which the regiments
which love those colors were organized
While In all civilized nations of the old
| world trophies taken in wars against for
| eign enemies have been carefully preserv-
| ed and exhibited as proud mementos of
| the nations military glories. wise and oh
vfous reasons have always excepted from
| the rule evidences of past internecine
troubles which. by appeals to the arbitra-
ton of the sword. have disturbed the
| peaceful march of people to its destiny.
Over twenty years have elapsed since the
| termination of the late civil war. Many
Of the prominent leaders. civil and mill
| tary, are now honored representatives of
the people in the national council or In
other eminent positions and lend the aid
of their talents to the wise administration
| of the affairs of the whole country, and
| the people of the several states comp0s
| ing the Union are now united. treading
Very truly yours. r. c. DRUM.
AdjuIant General.
But were the people in 1887 united!
| No sooner did President Cleveland al
| low Secretary Endicott to approve the
suggestion of his adjutant general than
| d great howl of denunciation arose.
/ BY one of the leading newspapers of
| Minnesota, Cleveland was assailed
| with opprobrious epithets. The news
papers east and west excoriated him.
Over the public banquet tables Gen
eral B. f. Butler, General Lucius Fair
l>cifild, commander In chief of the Grand
Army of the Republic: Murat Halstead
| and others hurled their vituperation.
The then governor of Ohio wrote let
| ter, which Senator John Sherman in
| dor>ed, In which he emphatieally re
| fused to surrender the flags, saying.
| mo rebel flags shall be returned while
/ am governor" General Fairchild
said: MAY God palsy the hand that
wrote the order. May God palsy the
| brain that conceived 1t, and may God
| palsy the. tongue that dictated It," So
overwhelming was the public bitter
ness at the thought Of giving back the
| captured flags that the president had
| to rescind the order to deliver up to
| the southern states their flags on the
/ ground that the flags were the proper
! ty of the United States, and therefore
the United States alone had the right
| to return them.
| Beginning of the End.
/ Oh, the sectional bitterness which
was ranking In the human hearts
north and south in 1887. But In spite
Of that fact that letter Of r. c. Drums
proved to be the beginning of the end.
Rapidly and surely the last fires of
sectional strife died away. In 1898 the
| very men who had most vehemently
opposed the returning of the Confeder
ate flags were most anxious to see Ma
| jor Mckinley do what President Cleye
land had failed to accomplish. On Feb.
| "a, 1903, congress passed the bill au-
| thorizing the war department to return
all the Confederate flags captured In
| battle. Governor Foraker, who had
| fought the movement before, was then
senator, and he was the most enthusl-
/ astic advocate Of the bill. Yes, yes, at
/ last the civil war was ended. At last
by the voluntary return of the blood
soaked battIefags the United States
congress declared there was no north,
/ no south, no east, no west. no conquer
ors and no vanquished. The Confeder-
Gte battlefags were given back to the
men whose comrades had baptized
!, them with their lffe's blood
Why did the north return those old
battlefiags of the southern army?
First. the northerners realized that the
southerners were honest men and had
been honest In their advocacy of the
state rights principle all through the
war The northerners realized that the
same fidelity to principle which made
| Massachusetts and Illinois and Wis
eonsin and California fight for the CEN
REALIZATION of government drove Geor-
gia and Alabama and South Carolina
to fieht for state rights These men