Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1907-09-04
CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS
As Seen Through the Eyes of o
Yankee Artist


World Today" published in Chi,
cago, and is from the pen of a
prominent Northern artist, who
was visitor at the recent Confed-
crate reunion held ia Richmond:
81 find that | am engaged in a
delicate task in describing a Con-
federate reunion. There is an i'm
preston abroad in the North that
the less said about such things the
better. | believed 80, too, until l
saw that in Richmond a few weeks
ago. Lprofess no historical ac-
curacy or careful analysis Of ex.
listing conditions in the South, ut
l found that my ideas (they are
qulIe like these of my neighb, RS }
had done the South great .njrst
ice. Thls sketch Of the Richmond
celebration is intended to be sort
cf al policy for ever having held
such opinion.
81 merely happened to be at tins
greatest Of all Confederate reun-
ions. We near little of these
things 'up North and / was
quite unprepared when / ar.
rived in Richmond Saturday after
noon TO find the streets Jhronged
with old men in gray and build
ings hung with fags and bunting /;
while the Stars and Bars-not
that the Stars and Stripes were
not in evidence-were new TO me
az a street d cOratiOn. | had IN
tended going on to- jamestown,
but | knew there could be nothing
there that could equal in interesl
this glimpse of the past. A mon
ument to Jefferson Davis would be
unveiled Monday at the close OF a
great review Of the cid Confeder-
ate veterans and such an occasion
was too full of artistic suggestion
TO be passed by.
The procession moved Erincl-
pally on Franklin street, fac old
street at the lower end with spIAn.
did homes and big trees. |
picked out e good place near Mon
roe Park from which to make my
pictures. The crowd which strag-
gled along both walks became a
jam, but kept on the inside of
the line. Sounds of cheering
crept under the overhangipg trees,
mingled with fragments Of sound
from marching bands. First
squad of bicycle police-and then
the real thing! Not militia, or
regularp, but the veterans them.
selves IN uniforms as diversified as
the flowers of the fr Id; every man
a type. This was treat for Az
artist, Uniforms that had been
religiously preserved since the last
parole were not iGfrequent. O'd
battle tags, dull in color and full
of holes, autte-ed between the
brighter banners of the posts.
How they were cheered! Stone
wall Jackson's Brigade, Stua:t's
Cavalry, Morgan's Rangers, For
rests Cavalry Corps, the old gray
jackets and others less famous,
got each OF them an ovation. |
stood on Broadway in New York,
last fall, and saw several remnants
of G. A. r. posts march up the
street amid almost perfect silence,
and was ashamed of my country.
Hew diflerelt here Every bcdy
cheered and | was as crazy az the
rest Of them, as compOLy after
company of the cid guard went
by.
"One old veteran danced u pig
eOn-Ying az far as could see him
and others were almost a. emo
tional. 1t is hard for Northern
er to y mpathize with the feeling
or to understand it Yet | hea!d
one SOutherner say "The North
and South united can whip the
world" And that bit of bragga-
docio indicated their true spirit
"There were but few militia com
panies and no regulars. But the
militia was sOu ething to loo Mt.
The Richmond Light Infantry
Blues, the crack military orgeni
cation of Richmond, over hun
drad years old, and fighter from
its birth, is the finest body OF
troops ever saw. There was
regiment of them in black uni
forms, whi:e stripes and facings, !
white gloves, enormous shakos
surmounted with lofty plum of
white feathers. When they came
down the street twenty abreast in
perfect alignment it was worth
seeing.
81 was impressed repeatedly with !
the courtesy of these Southern vet
Grams. | wished to get a picture
of young woman who always
rides at the mead of Forrest Caval-
ry Corps. AS the corps passed
stepped out to the line and asked
II distinguished. looking officer on
horse back for pernis' ior end in
formation. He leaned forward,
put out his hand, shook mine
heartily ard told me what wished
to know. Imagine that in a New
York military prot esslon!
'In the evening the Stonewall
Brigade band serenaded Mrs.
] Jackson, the widow of General
"S.onewall" Jackson, ct the JEFF
ferson. The band swung into the