Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1909-06-18

mean. MT men o. army age, but men
of al ages. widows and ors.-
:. 300. 900 divided by $4,000 the mum
ber of slave owners) gives 24. only
one in p then, of the southern whites
OF 1860 owned slaves.
3. And yet. the charge against the
south was that theirs was a slave
owners war" And the slander by
which the fact on in the North called
abo,itionists fired the northern heart,
and eventually, the heart Of Europe
against Us was, that "the South was
breaking up the Union. for the sake Cf
slavery
{. The truth is, the Confederate
Army was the most democratic army
the world ever saw. The most truly
representative of all classes and con-
dj;ions of the people--It was 50 be-
cause it was the biggest volunteer
army the world ever Saw-By con-
trast with the armies Of other lands:
or even # the North. this is true. for
the northern armies were of mixed
material whilst those of the south
were practically pure American, and
from the section where the volunteer
,prit most prevailed
(C)-Again: the "Nlen of the Ranks -
we're as a rule. Intelligent Men. Com
pared, for instance with the rank and
file of most armies of such size: CON-
pared with the rank and file of the
armies of the North. All the proofs
OF this are too numerous TO mention.
Thousands in ;he ranks were from
schools. academies, colleges, uniyer-
sites. The boys of the Virginia Mill
tlry Institute of Lexington were rot
exceptional bat representative.
,. one of several books OF "War
Poetry" published IN the South dur
ing the war. COUPLED by William
Gilmore Simms, has over two humid
red poems, two-thirds Of which have
genuine literary merit. Many of these
were written by priya tes or officers of
the line. Henry Timrod, Sidney
L1n.er Jno. Il. Thompson, john
E>teu Cooke. Jas Barron Hope, VIM
Gilmore Simms. and. think. Paul
Hayne, were privates or subordinate
officers in our armies Gem Cicburuc
enlisted us private. Bedford Forre-t
began as private They We're but
representative cases. challcu-e lac
North to produce a volume OF verse
equal in number or merit To the war
poetry" otthe South. challenge tho
North to produce the men, either as -
number or merit. VINO rose during the
war. from the ranks to hei Iht, az
eminent station and uuJylng fame. IS
did the many from the Men OF the
Ranks" in the South.
3. We admit, OF course that the
'Nlen of the Ranks were not all col
lcge men. The great bulk OF them
we're not Yet they were OF far finer
intelligence. especially in matters po-
llitical, than the rank and t,e OF the
other great armies OF history, a for
instance. the armies of the North.
They we're men OF the cOnquering
races. of native W. inheriting Free
Institutions from ancestors who IN
former years had fought the great
historic fight for civil and religious
liberty: iuheritl,g jealousy too. for
the preservation OF free institutions:
men whose politics before the war,
consisted largely OF questions OF con-
stitutional Interpretation, discussed
upon the stump. The northern ante
bellum taunt was, southern people
are all politicians. They referred to
the south as always being alive to at
tacks on the constitution. The pecu-
liarity of the southern mind was,
proneness to principle the northern
md was ana is. practical, putting
the emphasis on results" Southern
jmeu. therefore, knew what they fought
for, and fought because they knew II
They we're not "merccnaries; they
( wee not machines: not foreigners; no
men stealerS: not stolen slaves armeC
against their rightful masters; no
bounty Jumpers: not the scum OF the
sums of great cities; not adventures
not conscripts; nor substitutes, save
I, small degree They were as {
rule, country boys, coming from whole
some happy country homes, to stand
at the firing line, and repel an armed
unlawful invading foe,
lD)-Once more; these "Men of the
Ranks" were as a rule, upright men
and manly men-men actuated that is
by the finer virtues of the heart.
!. OF course, army life, with us, a
every where. was demoralizing. L
was school OF vice TO many; it wa
the wreck and ruin of many. But,
5 speak comparatively, and | say, com
pared with other armies OF equal size
G the moral tone of our army was eS
J. ceptionally high. Thousands cam
q out of christian homes and retaine
d their Integrity, thousands becam
r christians in the army.
>. Regular religious services, prayf
> meetings, protracted services, n
viyals, were features of our army lif
Stonewall Jackson attending his men
" prayer meeting, Elijah Paxton con
mander OF the StOnewall Brigade
Charlottesville, stepping aside to
private spot during lull In the frin
and drawing forth his Bible, the
when the firing began anew, springir
to the front and meeting death at II
head OF his men, these instance
friends were not incongruities in Il