The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-21
HISTORICAL. ADfFwnn>~faon.

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 Forty-seven years ago, April c, 1883, | the people of Florence had assembled | in their perspective churches for rslig- ious worship. when the booming of can- non and the firing of musketry on tho battlefield of Shiloh could be distinctly heard. where the Confederate and Fed eral armies had met in the fierce strug- gle of war. Where they lived and ex- perienced more in those few brief years of civil life.
 Our immortal Robert D. Lee. who "nothing lacked in soldiership excep. good fortune." when parting with his veterans at Appomatox, said: "MAks your sons Americana" We are not the less Americans by honoring our fathers and their heroic deeds in that great struggle. Forgetting tho past, these Veterans of the Southern army have built up their ruined and desolatsd country In the Spanish American wsl. the mon of the South rushed to the call to arms with the same patriotism and courage as the men of any other section of the country. Nowhere else could this have been DO but in America and by Americans. Southern chivAlry is shown on every battlefield. when tn. youngest of those who fought In the Civil War have long since reached the summit and are now fast descending the western slope and soon the order will be for them to fall in. who then will be left to teach their children that their fathers were not rebels; that the great struggle between the States was war and not rebellion. revolution anS not conspiracy7.
 To teach their children that their fa. thers were not traitors nor rebels. but patriots who fought in defense of truth and their homes: that their love for ~tu vvhAn they undertook to grapple with all the difaculties which opposed them.
 So long as the English language is spoken and history tells the truth. the fame of the Confederate soldiers will endure. When the Veterans returned to their homes they came not with the victor's crown. but with crushed and bleeding hearts. yet there are heroes without the laurel and eonQuerors with out the triumphal march. The women of the South have always been foremost Tn their love of country. In the dark days of the civil war they inspired the soldiers to deeds of daring and lofty patriotism when hope had almost died within them. When the army was lack ing in artillery. they sent their church bells to be moulded into cannon.
 Now prosperity reigns throughout our land that rose from the ruins of the battlefield. and have built up . nation with men at the helm that would have been an honor and glory to any nation.
 Patriotism and courage are true American characteristics and are mon- opolized sby no one section of this great country. We have our Southern heroes whose heroic souls shine out over the whole and claim the wonder and admiration of the world.
 In conclusion let me urge our Veter- ans and our Daughters to write facts within their knowledge and if they would not have the children of succeed ing generations feel ashamed of their brave ancestors in the Civil War. they must not be idle in preserving. record ing and teaching the real facts upon which their undaunted courage and ne- roic actions depend.
 Mrs. John D. Weeden.
 Historian Florence Chapter. Q. D. O. A swAR-TTME" WEDDING OF 1885. This Account Ys Furnished By One Of
 The Wedding Guests. . Reia-
 tive Of the Bride. Contributed by Greensboro Chapter.)
 On the night of the Sd of April. 1865.