Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1909-06-18
THE "NEN OF THE RANKS;
OR. The CONFEDERATE
PRIVATE ASATIPE; AND
HIS PLACE IN HIS
TORY.

| fAn address delivered lin part in
HOLLYWOOD Cemetery Richmond Va
by request Of the Hollywood Me-
mortal Association. May 29th, 1909,
nv DIR. z. d. Stephenson. pastor oI
the Pres y'erian church, Woodstock
Virginia.
Ladies of the Hollywood Memorial
Association: Comrades of the Con
federate Army; Fellow Citizens OF
once divided but Gov united Country
] There is enoug aud more than
enough in this occ sion, to inspire 10
the sublimest heights ofeloquence and
Z, make even an old mans withered
h. ~ ~enew its youth, and send forth
lowe and fruits of fragrant poesF
and oratory, End [ am not unmindiul
OF il. am not unmindiul OF al mat
| this almost matches, moment means
I appreciate it all. | appreciate the
honor the ladies have put upon me-
and the greeting of an audience such
as this: / appreciate the glory OF
standing I'm theover powering presence
OF the mute yet mighty Dead of Holly
wood. and above all, the opportunity
OF attempting some tribute TO their
virtues and their deeds. But my
friends. nv hearc is too full, on such
occasions TO he congealed into the
poli,hed coldnesS of studied and fine
p5ra ses-If eioqucnce falls from my
Inns at all today. it can only be rhe
eloouence of a comrades loving sym
na,bv. and If indeed | do command
your attention to the end. it viii be
solely because of my Theme, and be-
cause of the power of simple Truth,
converted in the accents of artless hon
e,ty and candor
one reason that determined me to
accept this invitation to speak 10 Won
today. was the desire TO say word
i'm behalf of the Private Soldier OF the
Confederate Armies: the Men of the
Rann," Friends, the men lying i'm
their dusty beds around that pyramid
thera. were. the Men of the Ranks.
We had great and gallant Leaders;
never had army better. But they
have and will continue to have, their
proper share of recognition ard OF
praise. The "Priyate" however
a. Private. is apt 10 he unnoticed.
Therefore my Subject today, viz
"T6e Men qf tie Ronhs, or the Co"-
fsderof, Prlrofe as Type: and his
piare in History"
Allow me at the outset, one or two
preliminary observations
a. OF course. 10 trying TO put be-
fore YOU the Men OF the Ranks, ] can
not touch on personal peculiaritieS or
characteristics. car but speak Of
1.-THE Type" and of those character
istics common to the typical confed-
ei ate
~ My aim shall be to avoid both
magnifying and belittling; to keep, in
other words. TO moderation and ac-
curacy of statement: to present, in
short. the typical confederate SOL
der.
80 l shall assume that the typical
confederate soldier was the same man
everywhere: that there was no essential
difference. for instance, between the
men that fought in Virginia, and the
men that fought in Tennessee or across
the Mississippi River. My hope IS
that the approval by the old veterans
of Lee. before me here, OF what an
about to say, will show that | an
right
And now let US see, what manner o.
men these were; these "Men Of th'
Ranks?'
TA-F:rst, then they were as arule
yo ung men! From Is to % years old
Mostly boys, indeed
l. True, all ages went in, from th'
start. Thousands were under Is
thousands we're over p. And at th'
end. as Gen. Grant said, the "cradl'
and the grave were robbed, " to ~e
plenish our depleted ranks. Yet, a
a rule, the "Men Of the Ranks" wer'
| Is to % years old.
>. That is, they were the very howel
OF the Confederacy, of all classes ant
conditions.
lB)-They were, as rule, Repre-
; sentative Men. That is, men repre-
senting all classes and conditions o
life In other words they representa-
a general uprising Of the whole peo
pie.
I. That was not a rich mans war
not an aristocrat's war; not a slav
owners war: not a war ofcertain elias
or for a certain class.
H) B-l. Thousands were in n
ranks who did not own slave thou
. sands were in the ranks who were
independent circumstances. Rich an
poor high and low, touched should'
10 shoulder, gOiLg into battle,
welded spade and pickaxe side
side in the trenches.
,. To quote from Gen. French sui
q stantially, 3i6, 900 slave owners Out
AN OLD ADACE