The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1908-05-01
'Furl that banner. for it's weary,
Round its staff tbs dropping dreary;
Furl it, fold it, it is best;

Round its staff It's dropping dreary;
Furl it, fold it, it is best;
For there's not a man to wave it,
And there's not a sword to save it,
And there's not one left to lave it
In the blood which heroes gave it.
And it's foes now scOrn and brave it,
And, though conquered, we still adore
il.
And love the cold, dead hands that
bore it,
And weep for those who fell before
it,
And pardon those who trailed and tore
it"
1t is faded now. but spotless still.
the storms have drenched it; enemy'e
missiles have pierced and torn it. bu-
never a deed by him who marched be
meath it has ever dishonOred it.
This the theme for the hour $
thought: The battles we fought, the
lessons they taught, the blessings they
brought and the changes they
wrought. What a theme is this for
the poets song, the painters brush,
the musicians note, the historians
pen, or the orators tongue. Orators
have lavished their eloquence in praise
Of the soldiery; painters have thrown
upon canvass the views Of the battle
and battlefields; poets have sung OF
the heroism and the victories of COM
panies; historians have found it a
treasure for record; statesmen have
stood over the movement and delved
into the intricacies of the collision and
sought for the fundamentals Of civil
government. Indeed, all minds have
given the four years struggle an in
tense investigation, but the orators
lips may be silenced and the harp
strings OF the musician may be brOk-
en-, and the rhythm Of the poet may di..
away in the stiffness, and this research
of the statesman may be abandoned,
but woman, true to her mission, will
preserve the glorious memories of
those years Of strife. She has enshrin-
ed them within her heart. She has
woven them into the web of her life
and she has crystalized them into her
tears. She has sketched them in I'M
dying colors on the canvass. She has
chiseled them in monuments of bronze
and marble. She keeps the story
fresh in the songs which echo from lip
to cradle, and Dixie" and "Bonny Blue
Flag" become the legacy Of future
years.
The scene before me is not an unus-
ual occurrence. In every village. ham
let and city within the southland the
children from the school, the women
from their homes. and the men from
their places Of business and the sur
viving veterans. SCARED in battle and
weighted down with years. may b.
seen in the winding procession that
finds its way to where the dead SOL
der is buried, there to deposit their
tributes Of praise. the flowers Of love.
Such scenes as this come to me now.
and for more than forty years this an
nual tribute 1 have helped to pay and
with the Scotch bard can afford 20
say:
Still Ger these scenes my memory
wakes.
And fondly broods with miser care:
Time. but the impression stronger
makes.
As streams their channels deeper
wear"
But we come to a more solid discus
sion OF this theme. and as every event
brings its message. and as every crea-
ture has its mission. we ask. what
message comes TO Us from the battles
strife of forty years ago? What mis-
sion did that war perform for mankind
and for God?
The first lesson it teaches US is this:
The power and efficiency Of the citizen
soldiery. When the bugle call was
sounded to arms, men unheard Of left
their fields and stepped to the front
with the grasp of the plow handle stinI
in their grip. and Selling their sabres
led armies to the battle and to vic
tory. Boys threw down their text
books, and grasping their muskets
showed how soon the lad might be
converted into the strength and cour-
age Of the soldier The illustrious
names on record prove to the world the
possibility of southern manhood-how
they may rise to meet emergencies. It'll
has led nations to put trust and conf
denCe in the patriotism Of men who
live in the quiet walks of life.
The war has shown US in what high
esteem men Of little speech NAV hold
the love Of country and the honor an
the liberty we have enjoyed to the