The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-07
UNITED DAUGHTERS
 OF THE CONFEDERACY
omeial organ Alabama Division.

mana or Gen. Richardson, but thero was nothing to indicate that a stick of timber had ever covered that ground. It was here Gen. D. H. Hill ordered
 Gen. Malone to charge tho enemy on | June 1st In which one brigade lost | in killed, 339 men and officers, of which the Twelfth brigade lost 52. the Forty-frst Virginia 112, and the Third Alabama 175. Here 1t was that the gal lant Lomax gave up his life for the cause he loved; here. too. fell brave | Ham Johnston. our gallant adJutant, and many other noble ones went down cheering their comrades to victory, even in the throes of death. Delegation at the Crater.
 On Sunday, the End of this month, delegation from Camp W. J. Hardeer consisting of Comrades Mclaughlin, Featherstone. Robertson, Darby. Riggs. oxford and the writer. accompanied by Mrs. Chas. G. Brown Pres. Ala. Div. of U. D. C.. repaired to the scene ot 1 the historic Crater fight near Peters- burg, for the purpose of selecting l spot upon which Is to be erected at q future date a monument or a ceno- 1 taph to commemorate the heroic . l deeds of the brave Alabamians (Wil- | cox's Old brigade) who recaptured the 1 Crater from the enemy after the ex- | plosion July 30th. 1884, in the most l desperately fought and sanguinary | struggle either ancient or modern | time The brigade was commanded In this fight by Brigadicr Gen. J. c. c | Saunders, brother of Mrs. Steel of Bir-s mingham. The reflection Is saddening | when one visits fields of battle made | glorious by deeds of Southern hero- ism unparalleled in history, to find | nothing there to commemorate the | glorious names earned through the ex- trems suffering and privation by -R.N IL .4~s rp that grand army of 1s61-s5.
 | At Salem Church-of sanguinary memory-stands a tribute to the vaior l of the Southern soldier. a display of
 chivaly without parallel doubt tf history has been accorded such . | genuine commendation of the vaior of | foe.
 l Monument at salem Church.
 l When I read the inscription on the I tablet on one side of monument | erected to commemorate the deeds of the Twenty Third New Jersey regt-
 ment. in the battle of Salem Church.
 fought during the progress of the
 Chancellorsvills fight. feeling of mix
 ed shame and contempt for my adopt
 ed state for moment took possession
 of me. When realized that to an ap- | preciative and gallant foe was left tho
 Honor of calling the attention of gen. | erations to come to the heroic work of
 as brave a body of men as ever obey
 ed an order. felt that Alabama had
 been direlict in duty to leave it to a
 federal regiment to be the first to
 herald to the world the glorious deeds of her brave sons on that field of honor
 May End and 3rd 1863, and feel that
 words are inadquate to express the
 appreciation of every true son of Ala.
 bama for this chivalrous act.
 On three sides of the monument are I SnE.Na a1Ts ts4N tIknA rkr&R
 priate historical data of the regiment
 in whose honor 1t was erected: on the
 fourth side facing the post of honor.
 appears the following inscription: To
 the brave Alabama boys. our opponents
 on this field of battle. whose memory
 we honor, this tablet is dedicated" As
 before stated. I doubt if this chival-
 rous act has a parallel in history; cer-
 tainly not in the civil war.
 The good and noble feeling of the
 New Jersey regiment in dedicatlng this
 tablet to a brave and honorable foe on their monument will be appreciated by every Alabama soldier. especially those , of Wilcox's old brigade. The brigade l was composed of the Sth. 9th. 10th. 11th and 14th Alabama Regiments. and } many members living in Jefferson County today will remember the deeds of heroism displayed by friend and
 foe around Salem church on that sec-
 ond and third of May. 1883. So hotly
 was the ground contested that ct one
 time during the fight our men were at
 one end of the church and the Yankees
 at the other. The house of God was
 converted into a slaughter pen and fn-
 struments of death took preference of the Book of Life" There were four
 sharpshooters from the division of
 picked men, in the pulpit firing from
 a window in It's rear-one of whom was
 a countryman of mine. who said to hls
 commanding officer after the battle
 was over: Captain. dear, by the. pow
 CTS of Moll. Kelly. and that's a great
 oath in old Ireland. hurled out in that
 preaching stand today some of the l most forcibls arguments that any man
 ever sent from 1t before. s