The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-01-22

holy brotherhood whose ties are now
scaled By the blood Of your ompa-
triots who have fallen, and whose
liberty Is coevaI with the brilliant re-
cord Of the past -four years.
Soldiers, amid the imperishabIe
Iaurels that surround you broHs. no
brighter leaf adorns them thar your
connection with the late army OF
@ortnen Virginia.
The star that shown With splendor
over its oft-repeated fields Of victory.
over the two deadly struggIes Of
Manassas Plains. over Richmond.
charlottesville. ana FrederickS burg,
mas sent its rays and been reflected
wherever freedom has a friend. That
star has set III blood. but yet in glory.
That army is nov of the past. The
banHerS fur, but not with igaminy.
No stain blotS their cScutcheons. No
blush can tinge your cheeks as you
proudly that you have a
part in the history Of the army OF
Northern Virginia.
My comrades. we have borne to-
gether the same hardships; We have
sharcd the same dangers, we have
f~Joiccd over the same Victories. Your
trials ana your patience have excited
sympathy ana admiration. and | have
borne willing witness to your bravery.
1t Is with a heart full Of grateful emo
tons for your services and ready obed-
fence that | take leave Of you. May
the future Of each one be as nappy
rs your past career has been brilliant,
and may no cloud ever dim the bright
ness of your fame. The past rises
before me in its illimitable grandeur
Its memories are part Of the life Of
each one Of Us. But it is all over now.
Yet, though the sad dark veil of de-
feat Is over US, fear not the future.
but meet il with manly hearts. You
carry 70 yGur homes the heartfelt
wishes of yoJpe geleral for your pros
peritv.
INV con,rad.e rarouyouo
- Da,. ~
a. ~ ~ -A"ui'99.
~ - - p"il ~ lhe 9ehd.e VT;
~ ! "tN > NdileH COUNTY anu
~ 10y 'di''f - huhS'lhnt oohii-
: Hdp p'tH Sf!etled 70 denver al
=, 80 upon ms o'c"Sl"li. senator
folh WAS the mrs. 10 speak, ana ne
'"ld II pdft:
Forty Odd years have passed away
into the ~devoufing touch OF time since
the war for Southern Independence
brcathed its last upon the fateful field
Of ApD0mattox. and ever since then
at the mention of the name of Lee
or his army our minds instinctiveiy
%retlace the track Of years. Again we
hear the rattle of mus<etry, the
booming of the cannon, the shouting
Of the captains. and the tramp.
tramp, tramp Of the opposing
hosts. Again we see bat
ties magnificent stern array
: and again we see his figure OBJ
/ served of all observers in Il way that
has no parallel in history. oh!
l what Il war was that, my friends, No
tongue of orator or pen Of writer or
5 brush of painter can portray its hor-
rors or do justice 10 the deeds Of
heroism that We're done by those who
; wore the gray and by those who wore
the blue. And Oh. what men it pro-
duced. 1t has been Wei said that
times of great calamity and confusion
are ever productive of the greatest
| minds, just as the purest ore is pro-
: duced from the hottest furnace and
: the brightest thunderbolt from the
! darkest storm. In those four years
! of calamity and confusion, in those
! four years of darkness and storm,
how bright were the thunderboltS that
flashed across our blood despatched
sky, There flashed Joseph +. john
ston, h Fabius of the Confederacy;
there flashed j. f. B.. Stuart, the Ru-
pert of the C~onfederacy; there flash
ed Albert Sidney Johnston, 4 soldier
; almost without peer; there flashed
Forrest and Pelham, and Rhodes,
LOngstrcet, Cheatham and Hill; there
flashed North Carolina's great Petit
grew, Pender Hoke. Branch Grimes
and RamSeur, there flashed the
worlds 'StoneWaiI Jackson, that
thunderbOlt of war, striking when and
where he was least expected, and
ShlEeIIng Whatever he struck, ana
.ast and erandest OF ali, the majestic,
; peerless, Robert +. Lee, Il star OF the
irst MAGNITUDE. the rays of whose
military genius will never be dimmed.
around whom all of our hODeS clus-
tered forty odd Years ago, and arOund
whom all OF our dearest memories
cluster tOda-.
From the beginning of the war
until the middle of 1862 General Lee
had very little to do with active opera
tons in the field. In 1862 at the bat
tie of Seven Pines General Johnston
was wounded by a shell IN the
shoulder, and was borne from the
ield. General Lee was called upon
to take command of the army. In
: fancy | can see him now as he rode
out from the city of Richmond in
obedience to that call. In his eye was
rhe light of = dauntIess co,lrag and
! in his heart was hone. Behind him
was the past with its lows and its
griefs; before him was the future
with its fears and its doubts. ehind
: him was the morning radiant and
sweet; before him was the evening
and-darkness. before him was thai
army which vac destined "a ,,aLe
botb hin, ana jteaIf irn,nortal Gu