The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1907-06-06
OLD SOLDIERS ARE HAPPY

ULD OULDILNS HNL IlHff |
Governor Swanson and Mayor Nc.
Carthy Welcome the Veterans ia
the State and Richmond, Both Be.
ing Received with Enthusiastic Ap-
plause-old Soldiers Rise to Their
Feet ond Greet General Lee With
the Utmost Enthusiasm.
Richmond, Va, Special.-With the
largest number Of Confederate vet
Grams gathered together since the war.
and the vast horse show building, in
which the convention was held, beau
tiful with flags and bunting and por-
traits Of the leaders Of the Confeder-
acy, the twelfth annual reunion of
the Confederate veterans began here
under the most auspicious conditions.
General Boiling introduced Rev. J.
William Jones, chaplain general Of
the grand camp, who presented Rev.
DR.. J. X. Gravatt, of this city, and
the latter offered the opening prayer.
Governor Swanson of Virginia,
aid the widest enthusiasm, vel
coined the veterans to the Old Do
minion.
Mayor Mccarthy, of Richmond,
welcomed the visitors to the city
which 45 years ago they defended
against the armies Of Burnside, Pope,
Mcclellan, Sheridan and Grant.
Is. b. Morgan, of the local camp
sons of Veterans, added the welcome
oil those lie represents to the wei
comes, which already had been cx-
pressed.
General Boiling introduced the com
mander-ln-chief of the Confederate
veterans, Gen. Stephen d. Lee, and
the old soldiers rose to their feet and
received him with the utmost enthus-
lasm. General Lee assumed the gayei
of the presiding officer and delivered
his annual address.
lie said among other things, that
the coming of a Confederate veteran
to Richmond was like the return of i
lon@-absent child to its mother-that
Richmond is to the Confederacy what
Calais was to that French Prince,
who compelled to live in England,
said: ''When [ die, You will find en-
gravcd on my heart the one word
'Calais.' -
At noon the first session of the re-
union adjourned for the veterans 10
take part in the unveiling of the
equestrian statue of Gen. J. E. 3.
Stuart. erected by the cavalry asso-
cation Of the Army Of Northern Vir-
ginia
The parade incident to this cere-
mony started at 2 p. m. and was a
brilliant pageant. The weather was
beautiful, and the display was wiz
messed by vast concourse, estimated
to number $4,000 to $4,000.
The people were packed along the
whole course of the parade, a dis
tance of about two miles, on the side
walks, on the porches and in the
windows of the buildings on both
sides Of the street.
Tie whole number in line and on
The sidewalks is estimated at from
l25,000 to 100000. There are about
10000 actual veterans in the city.
Of sons of veterans and other auA,
1ilary bodies, military and so on,
there are about 10000 and in addi-
ton to these, there are about 10000
visitors drawn hither by the reunion
ceremonies.
Monument Unveiled.
The grand serenade at 2 p. m. at
the unveiling ceremonies at the
Stuart monument were all that could
be desired, both from a scenic view
and the elegant manner Of its being
carried out.
Veterans Stirred By Col. Lee.
Richmond, Va, Special.-In his
speech, which aroused the Confeder-
ate veterans convention and which
proved to be the leading feature Of
the reunion thus far, Col. "Bob"
Lee said in part:
There never has been a more
critical period of American history
than that which ushered the wear
1860 upon the worlds stage of act
lon. The trouble was of recent or
l@ln, 1t was not the spasmodic out
burst of an hour, nor the stubborn
and senseless resistance of a factious
maintenance of groundless opinions,
but was the result of the existence
OF antagOnizing forces operating for
a long time III the country, the seeds
being first sown by the forefathers,
some in the fertile valley of the
James, and some fell down on the
.ock~bound coast of New England.
Feetional differences exhibited them