Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-05-12

| and we repair to the resting places Of
our immortal heroes to place with rev.
erent hands above their graves our
fowers-flowers,S bearing testimony to
our loving reverence for their mem
lory-then, we feel that we are in the
presence Of the dead Soldiers who
have crossed over the river to rest un-
der the shade of the trees, come back
from the echoless shore and stand once
again mid the scenes they knew in the
long ago. That fact adds solemnity to,
| the occasion. a5
The custom Of decorating the graves
1 Of our dead soldiers is not only a most
beautiful one, but also a most useful
one. 1t serves to keep alive the men,
ory OF our country's heroes And that
memory should always be kept ablaze.
The monuments erected throughout
our state to the memory of the men
and women Of our heroic past are
worth indefinitely more than the mon
ey which IT cost to rear them. Under
meath the building of those monu-
ments Is an eternal principle-recogni
tfon and reward for service, and an
ambition to show to coming genera
tons the history and example Of those
who nave proceeded them. The effect
on the youth Of the state may be be-
yond estimation. That state is build
ing for the future which instils into
her children reverence and honor for
her heroes and desire to emulate
their virtues. South Carolina has been
too negligent in this respect. We have
been too content to forget our history
and to allow the deeds and exploits Of
our great men to go unrecorded. South
Carolina's Pinckney and Rutledge, her
Lowndes and Cheves, her Hayne and
McDufhe, her Legare and Pettigru, her
Hamilton and Preston---names that
would distinguish a nation, and with
one or two exceptions, no written lives,
no, public monuments to tell us of
their work! And John c.. Calhoun,
| whom heard Governor Aycock de-
clare to have been the greatest logici-
an since the days Of St Paul is little
known to the rising generation! True,
we enjoy the benefits Of the bloodshed,
sacrifice, and service Of Cardinals
bright galaxy of soldiers and states
men; but my friends, they have on us
q claim which demands more than
that. Is 1t thus in other states? Geor-
gia, and Virginia, and North Carolina
are forever heralding abroad the name
and fame Of their great sons while
South Carolina is content to allow
hers to pass into oblivion. Surely a
better day Is dawning.
L ~ 10 Suotoliday VII lfilS udy LUZ bpedh-
ers to deal with historical aspects of
the Civil War, its causes and results.
But sometimes think 1t well for us to
turn rather aside from these questions
l and to think more tof present day af-
| fairs in the light Of the past. So have
chosen for our subject this morning
The Spirit Of the Sixties and the Prob
lens Of Today. aafs .alr3
| Memorial Day orators have paid
high tribute to the Confederate soldier.
And rightly so. He must never, be
forgotten. 1t was genuine sentiment,
and one that finds response in our
hearts, expressed by a southern man
who said: I would rather possess the
heritage belonging to the son Of a true
Confederate soldier, private though
he was, than to be able to trace my
lineage back to one who In glory and
honor followed proud Caesar In his
triumphal march through the streets
Of Rome. We are proud Of the record
Of our fathers and allow no man to
cast aspersion upon them or their
memory. For four mortal years they
held the countless armies Of the north
| at bay ana carried the fortunes of this
land upon their bayonets." Against
absolutely overwhelming odds they
held their own and for deeds Of val
| no army that ever trod the face of
Gods earth. To fight the battles of
the Confederacy, from the state Of
South Carolina, one soldier out Of ev-
cry five of the entire population went
| to the front. Louisiana sent one out
Of every four and North Carolina sent
to the front 10000 more soldiers thar
they had voters In the state. VIII you
| try to imagine the scenes that were
taking place when those men were
leaving home for the front? The young
man is taking his last walk with the
maiden to whom he has pledged his
| undying devotion. Vows of eternal
love are made and they part. The
father is bending over the cradle to
kiss for the last time his sleeping
babe. The son is caught in the en-
brace Of a fond mother whose face
bears the trace Of inward suffering
The husband Is bidding farewell to
the wife and helpless children. Slowly
\ he walks away from his own doorstep,
at turn In the road waves a last fare
well and is gone-in thousands of In
stances, gone forever. Follow the SOL
dier, If you please, through the hard
/ ships Of those four years. Maybe he
| falls In battle. We gather with the
| little company at home when the paper
| Is read and his name is in the list Of
| the dead When the body is brought
home by faithful slave or aged father
who has gone after it. we go to the
church-yard and stand with the little
| group Of friends as they lay him away
\ In q homemade coffin to await the
summons Of the Resurrection. oh, my
friends, do We realize what war was?
Have we any conception Of the hard
ships and sufferings through which
our fathers and mothers passed?
| The greatest was probably not dur
ing the war but in the days immedi-
\ ately following. Those were the days
that tried mems souls. You remember
Henry Grady's immortal picture Of the
foot-sore Confederate soldier as he
buttoned up in his faded gray jacket
the parole which was to bear testimony
to his children of his fidelity and faith,
and turned his face southwark from
Appomattox in April, 1865. Ragged,
half heavy-hearted, enfeebled
by want and wounds, having fought to
| exhaustion, he surrenders his gun,
wrings the hands of his comrades in
silence, and lifting his tear-stained and
pallid face for the last time to the
graves that dot the old Virginia hills,
he pulls his gray cap over his brow
and begins the slow and painful Jour-
ney hoIneward." And when he reach
ed home what did he find? Everything
| gone! 1t was ruin! Ruin everywhere!.
The red ploughshare Of ruin" had up
turned his ancestral hearth -stone
Nothing was left. The garden that
had blossomed like the rose had been
transformed into dreary desert. When
the cyclone Of the Civil War was pass
ed, nothing, absolutely nothing was
left to the southerner but a ruined
country, and, thank God, his self-re-
| spect, and his faith in Him!
| Now, under those circumstances,
what did the men who had followed
Lee and Jackson do? This hero in
gray with a heart Of gold"-as Grady
calls him. What did he do? He lost
not a single day, but sets himself to
the stupendous task Of rebuilding his
country! Noble example he set us.
Through long and trying years they
did their work we'll, but now when the
south has regained her position, Is
coming again to her own, when once
again a southern man presides over
the destiny of this country-but few
of them are left to enjoy the fruits Of
their labors To borrow the figure used
- At. ~, 60