The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-04-19
Keswick. va.
D. K. {. IN CIVIL WAR.

The following extract from speech
delivered before the Delta Kappa Ep-
silon Association in New York by Sur
rogate Beckett is OF unusual interest, us
showing tho number OF Dekes who
served In the Civil War:
The North and the South! The Delta
Kappa Epsilon Chapters OF the South
those stars that have gone out like tho
lost sun OF the Pleiades! The great
conflict-that whatsoever title has
been given to my words. that. owing to
the noble sacrie,-e and knightly cour-
age OF the men Themselves, and because
OF their honor. their love and their
acts--acts, men. that ia and must be
the subject OF my story.
+ Sir. to your board you should have
summoned here for this office a poet;
for he could have sung to you, ex-
ceiling the old ministries harping tho
songs of their palladins, of the Heroic
deeds OF our brothers behind the guns:
and. as think. of the still higher and
nobler >heroisms-when. after Apo
mattox. that strangest and one of the
greatest events in history, those BROTH
ers turned. each his own way, going
| back to rebuild at their several homes
upon the ruins. South and North, OF a
wasteful conflict. greater, grandsr
and united empire.
It is a subject also for the philoso-
phical historian. Tell me the story of
Delta Kappa Epsilon and will write
you the history of tnat war. That war
began when Brother Theodore VIM
thrcp, of Phi, leading the Northern
advance. was killed at Great Bethel:
and that war did not end until, elk
weeks after Appomattox, Brother Philip
Brent Spence. of Zcta, was the last
1 Confederate commander to surrender
But II could speak with the tongues
OF men and angels. and though had
'f,the gift OF prophecy and understood all
i mysteries and all knowledge, L could
not tell. and no man will ever know
the full blazon of the noble deeds vi
our dead brothers; enacted, alas! in
agony and bloody sweat during those
four awful years.
Our fraternity was founded In 1874,
The wisdom of our founders created a
national order. Two of the fifteen
founders were Southern men. zetu
although situated at Princeton. re-
gard as Southern chapter, because
substantially al OF her men We're from
the South. Between April. 1s47, and
february. 1851. We established eleven
chapters In the South; two Of these
tChi University OF MississippD. FOUND.
ed II. April 1850 and Eta UNIVERSITY
Of Firginia). founded in November
1852. survived the struggle. Four 9th.
ers have since been revived; Iota (Cen.
tral Kentucky and Psi (Alabara) In
1888, Beta North Carolina in 1887, ana
Gamma (Vanderb.4D in> 1882 At the
opening OF the war our fraternity had
existed only seventeen years. Its
wonderful war record has been snlan
1 didly epitomized by the historian :,
our fraternity:
or major generals. D. X. -. ha6
eight (stX Union and two Confederatel
8 of briSs diers, thirty-one (twentv-fire
4 Unton);of Colonies. ninety -eight fabou1
a equally divided between Blue and
I Cray: Of lieutenant-colonels lis: q
majors. ITO; OF captains sOS, and 5,
Nother staff officers. above 500. Alpha
Del.a I'M and Psi Epsilon are justi,
p = Or their war records. OF tl,t
2,ioo members that by 1861 were nota,
on the rolls of Psi Epsilon, $50 were n
the Union and sixty-three in the Con
dederate service; while OF the near,>
1900 who had been the Alma Del.s
. Phls, ISL had served in Blue nm,
elghty-siX In Grey. In other words
50 per cent. OF the Psi Epsilon and 2,
;. per cent. Of the Alpha Delta Phi mem
bership were in the war on one side q,
the other' When the war. broke GU
there had been enrolled in orr cla n
tiers. including brothers then dend So ~,
1900 members. OF these, d. X. 80. FUR
nlshed to the war more than Psi I'm
sllon and Alpha Delta Phi combined
indeed, D. *. e. gave to each. III,
! Union and the Confederate armies
more soldiers than did either Psi IN
! sion and Alpha Delta Phi to both 8
them' p, IS. ~ sent to the ranks NOR
J e'an l,ooo Of her sons--6O per cent. a
5 all names on her rolls, nearly two
thirds of all the p. K. Els then liz
Ing, and probably -nlne-tcnths 81 ~
those then eligible for service. =