Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-07-22

Nalor they did, that every day Of
suffering they endured. should be
writ down in letters Of gold. But
who shall attempt the stupendous
task? For when r. T.. Lee pointed
the way that duty lay, they lcapcd to
lis deadly passage; where Stoncwall
Jackson led. there stalkcd death and
desperate deeds, but they sprang
with shouts OF Joy to 10 his bidding;
where Stuart and Hampton and But
lcr rode. disaster fell m,pn al! in
ih"ir way. and the gay troopers who
answered their buglc calls shouted
with 10y as their sabrcS flashed in
the red light Of battle
Other armies in the worlds his
tory have won fame on the fields OF
battle. The Lcgions Of Caesar were
accounted inNiuCibc, and under his
l"adcrShip, and that Of the generals
trained by him in the art OF war.
these soldiers OF the greatest power
OF that time laid tribute to Rome
the Countries OF Gaul. carried cap
tive to RoL.c the peoples Of the lands
OF the GothS and Nandals. and pcne-
Iratcd to the far land Of Britain.
but ii must be borne in mind that
these c0nnucring troops were equip
pei with The most perfect arms then
"noWn in warfare. and were supplied
with all the munitions and acceSSO-
Ni"S OF their calling which the wealth
and power OF Imperial Rome could
command. The weakly Electorate
Of Rrandcnburg had grown in power
intil it became. with its accessories.
undcr Frederick the Great, a domi-
n0nt factor in the affairs Of Europe.
The army which he created and
trained was composed Of the very
elite OF those who could meet his
rigid requirements OF soldier. Tn
dor his direction they swept, with
the Black Eagle Of Prussia. from
victory to victory. But they were
the very apothcosis OF the doctrine
Of the survival OF the httcsl by the
process Of selection OF the perfect.
The sterncst discipline. the Years Of
technical training. unlimited re-
sources. and the dominant will Of
master in the art Of war, made for
them an absolute assurance OF vic
tory where they Joined battle.
Under the Duke Of Marlborough.
aud the "Grcat Duke OF Wclling-
ton. ihc armies OF England snatchrd
victory from defeat. made sure the
fam" Of their @reat commanders,
and added luSIrc to the English
name. But let il not be forgotten
that these had at their command
all tn" power and wealth OF Il king
dom which loves to boast that the
sun never sets o" its dOminionS. The
armies OF Franc. created. inspired
and led by Napoleon Bonaparlc. the
most consUmmatc master OF the art
OF war that the world has even seen
duHzlcd the world by the briliancy
o. their exploits. and all Europe
tr"mblcd ut their tread; yea. tho
at last on the famous field Of Water
100, the flag which wuS sprinklcd
with the Golden Bees of Napolron's
fancy sank forever before that which
Dor" the Lion and Unicorn OF Eng
land. yet is the fame OF Napoleon
and his "Old Guard undimmcd by
defeat and undimi,.ishcd by the pas
sagr Of time. BIt these grand ar
mics o. France lacked nothing in
their organization and preparation
which could be provided by the fore
Thought. the energy Of their great
leader or the millions OF treasure Of
IN Empire.
Contrast with the conditions un-
der which these famous armies Opc-
rated those which confronted the
Confederate armies. 1t is an open
question whether the seeding states
really believed that the United
States would rndCaNOr by the force
OF arms 10 compel them TO return to
IN" Union. UnQucstionably the
trend Of the opinion OF the people Of
the South was that. even ii war
came, it would be Of short duration.
SO preparation had been made for
war, no munitions gathered. no sup
plies stored. no a'micS mobilizcd,
and il was impossible that II govern
mcnl born in the throcS OF rcSOlu-
lion. without organization. without
FUNDS, and without credit. could at
once arm ana equip the men who
CiamorCd Tor admission to the ranks
Of its armies. The militia Of the
states were impcrEcclIy armed with
Obsolete pieces. and their training
FOR actual service had been OF such
casual nature as an annual regimen
tai or brigade muster could give.
whore Irolic, fun and iiSIicuifS were
The order, rather than rigid diScip-
line, or hard training. When. there
fore, the actua' clash Of arms came,
tn" toMlcdcrat, armies were WO-
fully deficient in equipment. arma-
mcMt and ordinance. During the
FIRST year OF the war, and, in fact,
all through its course. the COnfcdc-
rate soldiers captured from the enc
my the very arms with which they {
fought him. no less deficient were
the commiS&ary and the quartcrmaH-
ter departments. The people gave
freely and without price from their
stores. But as the struggle dragged
its years along, and the blockade be-
came more ViGilamt and effective, it
became increasingly difficult. and at
length impossible, to supply these
branches Of the governments In