The Washington times., 1911-07-21
SEMI CENTENNIAL OF
CRUCIAL CONFLICT.

presents To-Day an Impressive llIustra-
tion of the victories of peace. On this
semi-centennial of one of the bloodiest
and most momentous conflicts in the
history of the civil war the grizzled
survivors of that fateful Sunday will
meet and clasp hands where once they
met in bitter and determined combat.
Among the thousands who will assemble
there will be the representatives OF
new generation, to whom that crimson
page of history is but a name. They
cannot fail to come away inspired with
a new and deeper sense of the courage
displayed alike by the Blue and the
Gray, together with spirit of thank
fulness that the sections represented
there in hostile array fifty years ago
are now bound by the ties of brother
hood. i. T.;
1t is not necessary that the "past
should be forgotten" Indeed, it should
be held in high and loyal remembrance
that as people we may boast of an
ancestry like that which made the
name of Manassas memorable for all
time. Although the first of the i'm
portant conflicts, it was by no
means the last on which North and
South alike showed the mettle of their
pasture.
To the student of the art of war it
has ever been field of absorbing in
terest. The skill with which Johnston
eluded the vigilance of Patterson and
Joined his forces with those of Beaure-
gard; the stubborn resistance with
which jackson, standing "like stone
WALL" held the Federal forces in check
until mid-afternoon, when the fresh
contingent of Kirby Smith turned the
tide of battle; the fine chivalry with
which the ranking Confederate general
deferred to the junior officer whose plan
of battle was already matured, the des-
perate valor with which the Federal off,
GERS, reckless of their own safety, sought
to. stay the disordered fight of their
broken battalions-aIl combine to pre-
sent a picture worthy of abiding re-
membrance. 1t lent itself to the pen of
Bull Run" Russell and Henry j. Ray
mond, and all the flower of graphic
correspondents who witnessed the
wavering fortunes of the hour. And
yet we can gather today but an i'm
perfect idea of the thrill which swept
North and South when the issues of
the day were decided. On the one hand
came an overconfdence which was to
cost the South dear. On the other
hand it awakened the country at large
to deep and immediate realization of
the gravity of that civil strife. The
battle cry of "On to Washington" was
seen to have become something more
than an empty slogan. The pallor of
and fear which stalked
abroad in Washington half a century
ago tonight gave place to grim and gi-
gantic preparations for the death-grap-
pie which vas to drag on for four dark
years.
The scene of conflict is today a scene
of revelry and good fellowship. The
President of the United States and the
governor of the Old Dominion are lend
ing the prestige of their presence to
the great occasion. The thin remnant
who witnessed the terrible splendor of
the original drama are exchanging
campfire stories and pledging one an
other in friendly toasts. Over the
banks of the stream whose name has
become immortal, over the Henry farm,
broods a spirit of good will and frater
nal concord. The new day of high en-
deavor is richer for the blood which
consecrated that historic field. The
last lingering touch of bitterness has
been fused into love and peace in the
alembic of time and experience. Out
of the conflict the reunited nation has
come stronger and more enduring than
before.