Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1908-04-08

private soldier who whipped the fight
always, and 1t will always be so.
Without him there would be no war,
no battle would be fought on land
nr sea. We have seen him pressing
the Ice and snow with hare and bleed
Ing feet, trousers torn, jacket rent,
his blanket in shreds, with old
slouched hat, and haversack empty,
but he followed the battle-torn flag,
| and wrote ON the brightest pages Of
history the names that will never die
1t was the private soldier who will
| make the names of Lee, Longstreet,
| Jackson, Gordon, Hampton and For
| rest ride down the ages; and 1t Is our
duty to keep alive the fires of devo-
tion and patriotism. Every true mo-
| ther will teach her children to love
God, love home, love family, and to
love their native land.
We have another picture that will
eclipse all others. 1t Is
The Southern Women,
the fair daughters of the Confede-
| racy, the "uncrowned queens" Of our
hearts, the Inspiration Of every noble
and chivalrous deed, the arbiters of
fortunes and political historieg of ma
tions. Her chiefest virtues. how
ever, do not exha}e their sweetest
fragrance in the bright hours of pros
perity, for 1t Is her sacred mission
to wipe away tears, to soften sorrows
and heartaches, and to bind up with
| tender hands the open wounds Of
grief. How truly can this be said of
our Southern women Of Confederate
times! From the time the bugler's
clarion sounded the first alarm of
war until the smoke of the last bat
tie had cleared away, and the folds
OF the conquered banner dropped pa
| thetically over land Of broken
hearts, our heroic women were alb
Solutely true. Their sacrifices were
not made in the glare Of noon-day
sun, but In the innermost recesses of
their hearts. They gave their sons,
their brothers, their husbands to the
Confederacy with that Willingness
which could have sprung only from
the truest patriotic zeal; and this
they did, although the mother knew
In her heart that the glimpse she
caught Of her boy as she stood watch
Ing for the last wave Of the handker-
chief was perhaps the last time that
her aged eyes would rest upon that
stalwart form.
While the war was going on the
misfortunes Of our women were most
uncommon ones. In the solitude of
their homes, once grand and magnifi-
cent, now stripped of even the neces-
stiles of life, they were left to that
consuming anxiety from which there
was no rest. Sewing and weaving
were the occupation of the day to
support the little ones around them,
and night after night they worked
upon those gray uniforms, which
L nf ff,ly I'D kxo
Upon the battlefields, among the
wounded and IN the hospitals Of the
sick and the dying, our Southern wo-
men did their duty. Many a Confed-
crate soldier, just before passing on
to his reward beyond, felt upon his
feverish brow the soothing touch of
a gentle hand and heard from fair
lips words OF divine hope and inspi-
ration as soft and sweet as an angel 8
prayer.
When the war was over and the
Confederate soldier returned home
to begin anew the struggle Of life,
the brave heart that had not quailed
before relentless foe sank deep into
the der tn. Of dispair at the SIGHT that
met his i;aze. The mailed hand of
the enemy had left its trail upon
every side. 1t was a ruined home
except its queen, but she was there to
greet him, to inspire him with new
hope and with renewed zeal for life's
duties, and to our women are we
chiefly indebted for the healing of
those terrible scars of war.
Even up to this day the loving
hearts Of our Southern women have
never ceased their well-doing, for
now come these fair daughters of
the Confederacy with all their kind
ly deeds, a noble band of true, pa
triotic, Christian women, to care for
these Confederate veterans who have
been buffeted by the storms of life,
and in declining years feel the need
OF supporting hand. And each
year, at the season when the birds
sing their sweetest carols, and all
the earth is abloom with beautiful
flowers, they come to scatter roses
over the Confederate graves, In sa-
cred memory of the heroes Of the
South. AS "the vestal virgins kept
alive the sacred fire of their God
upon his altar" so will these daugh-
ters OF the Confederacy ever keep
before posterity YOUR noble deeds
j. Russell Wright.