The Columbus weekly dispatch., 1908-07-26
Company "K" Twenty-Sixth
Alabama Regiment.

/ Forward, !" he taking the lead, KEN
per on the right, Garnett on the left,
Armistead in the rear. Such hero
ism had never been seen on the Am
erican continent. They reach the
plank fence in the open grove; it
requires but a moment to leap it.
| Half way over the open ground Pick
EFT shouts, Halt; left; oblique.
j The movement was beautifully and
cooIly executed as one hundred can
non cut down your comrades as grain
! before the scythe. Dauntlessly the
column presses forward in the road
| beyond the plank fence, in the face
of the awful fire of cannon and mus
kerry from all sides, your ranks be-
| ing ploughed through by the iron
hail. Above the roar and crash of
| battle, above the means of the dying
the immortal Picket gave the COM
mand, Halt; form line; fall in;
right Dress" and the heroes reform
ed as their comrades dropped in
death for the cause they all loved
- "~AAr VI !" SAA As 10ANhs AAtAA@A8
and with all the grace of dress pa
rade the immortal few resumed the
march to death. Faster, faster; We
are almost there" cried Garnett's
clarion voice; then he went down
with the dead Armistead's brigade
closed up the front-the immortal
few not born to die. He raised his
cap on the point Of his sword and
led the way The division was now
only four ranks deep, but as the iron
storm opened gaps in their ranks,
the privates would give the COM
mand, "Close up, close up" That
was the only command heard. They
break into double quick; they reach
the enemy's works. Armistead leaps
on the works, followed by $50 men,
to capture the guns The heavens
seemed to open and rain shot and
shell on the gallant few Armistead
gave his last command Come on,
boys; we will give them the bayo-
net and fell fighting hand to hand
with the enemy At this moment
Gen. Lee saw the blue flag of Vir-
ginia float above the stone wall, but
there were no men to maintain it
there. Of the 5000 heroes who bore
the Bonnie blue flag of Virginia to
the crest of Cemetery Ridge, 1916
had found the soldiers glorious
death. The flower of the South S
young manhood had gone down in
death in a moment. Looking around
him, Pickett, the Incompatible Pal
adm of the South's far-famed infan-
try-Pickett, who most of all had /
courted death by his daring-found |
himself, alone walking back from the |
charge by the side of Kemper, his I
wounded brigadier, tanning him with |
his cap. Pickett, the hero of Cha I
paultepec, or Indian wars, of Gains I
Mill. of Gettysburg, gave the true
measure of his greatness when he
said, Il have done nothing; my men /
have done it all; but all the glory |
in the world cannot pay for the wild
ows and orphans this day has made"
The battle flag of the Confederacy t
had waved for a moment, to drop
around its staff forever. But not so
with Pickett's charge; it will live
in song and story as long as the sons
Of men cherish a love for liberty, as
long as history records the gallant
deeds of noble men. Gettysburg is
written in letters of gold on the
brightest pages of history by the side
of those sacred battles OF old Mar
athon, of Bannoekburn and of Bum
ker Hill. Immortal old Twenty
sixth Alabama, your glorious deeds
will live as long as men constitute
and maintain governments.
When I was a mere boy my ia
ther, your friend. often took me on
his knee and taught me Of the hero
ISM Of the veterans of '61: he taught
me that they were the bravest, the
noblest, the best men that God ever
My friends. as I grow older
find more and more that father
was correct. I find that the life OF
he Confederate veteran has been like
he path OF the just; 1t leads him
through green pastures; 1t causeth