Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-12-30

Thursday, October 8, 1s57.-kins's
Mountain Ceiebration.-On Monday
last the cadets of Kings Mountain
Military school pitched their tents ir
true soldier fashion on "Kerr's OLD
Field" at about mile from the court
house. On Monday and Tuesday
evenings quite a number of ladies ant
gentlemen were in attendance to wit
ness their military skill and discipline
The exactness, the regularity, and IA
cility of their evolutions, attested the
care with which they had been trained
to the performance Of duty, while
their soldier-like bearing gave suffi-
cient evidence Of that native prowess
which has hitherto proved the surest
bulwark of freedom. Though many oi
the cadets were apparently very young
yet they bore muskets, nearly az
heavy as themselves, with the sans
froid of staunch veterans, thus pre-
senting an agreeable contrast to the
somewhat effeminate tendency Of the
present age. The old men Of ouI
country, whose ideas of physical pow
er were formed from examples Of the
sturdy pioneers, tell US there are nc
men In these degenerate days. Gould
they witness the fair promise Of the
hail and hearty cadets, with erec,
forms and ruddy cheeks-the lumer
purpureum juventus-they would con-
clude that the era Of manhood was
soon to be re-inaugurated. With those
who prefer the indolence-the otium
cum dignitate-of merely literary in.
stitutions we have no quarrel, but the
discipline and precise requirements
of the military school appear to be the
only refuge from disgraceful insubor-
dination left to the southern parent
We are led into this train Of refiec-
tions by the spectacle Of order and
decorum presented by the cadets
young as they are-in the perform
ance of their varied duties, literary
and military.
But not the least interesting portion
Of this weeks pageant Is the lectures
and address by w. Gilmore Sims-the
pride of Carolina's literature. On Mon
day night he gave us a long and in
teresting lecture on the Anti -Colum-
bian history of our country. We have
not time to give even an outline OF
these novel speculations, founded or
traditions, discovered ruins and phil
illogical analogies, which link the
first discovery Of the magnificent do
main. of America with the enterprise
of an age long anterior to the time OF
Columbus. Suffice it to say that the
lecture exhibited proofs Of historical
research which would do credit to the
industry and acumen of Macaulay
while the eloquence and brilliancy OF
the language was unsurpassed by the
splendid diction of the majestic Glib
bon. Above all, there was vein OF
genuine southern feeling running
through the entire speech, which evi.
denced the con amore labor with which
the speaker had delved among the le-
gends Of our early romantic history.
On Wednesday morning, the cadets
were paraded in front of the court
house, where they were Joined by the
Masons, Cadets Of Temperance, q
bright array Of ladies, and those citi-
zens who chose to join the procession
They were then marched to the garri-
son, Col. w. B. Wilson acting as mar
shall Of the day, assisted by Maj. Jen'
kins, Capt Coward, Lieuts. Seabrook
Law and Abbott. At the garrison, con-
venient seats had been prepared and
rostrum erected. Around this assem-
bled a large audience drawn from a!
portions of the state, eager to hear the
DISTINGUISHED orator and to feel theii
bosoms thrill with the recital Of the
heroism of their ancestry. They were
not kept long in suspense. Col. VIII
son presented DR.. Sims to the audi
ence, and on rising he delivered ar
oration as splendid as it was erudite
as interesting as it was patriotic. Be.
ginning his exordium with reference
to the celebrated battlefields which
had been baptized in the blood Of he
roes and consecrated by chivalrous
devotion and sacrifice Of life, he dwell
for a moment on the character Of the
t4h
the dust where rest the brave ir
dreamless sleep. From fields render.
ed illustrious by Greclan and Roman
valor was easy to our Thermopylae-
Kings Mountain.
Here like the gathering Of Scot
lands clansmen at the bibroch's sound
or the brave Circassians from theii
mountain homes, collected the undis'
ciplined yeomanry Of the two Carroll
has to repell an insolent and cruel
though brave and skilful foe. A sim
pie stone records the result. Most OF
our readers have read its inscription.
The unfortunate Ferguson fell after
desperate valor had done its utmost tc
sustain the Royal cause. He fell tc
rise no more, and many brave SOL
dier fell by his side; but their blood
was mingled with that Of hearts ever
more heroic. He fell, after he had
twice cut down the flag, which attest
ed the hopelessness Of his bravery
and his shrill whistle, above the tu-
multi of battle, cheered on his dispair-
ing comrades-but the heroic VIII
liams, who vowed that he would ST.
lence that whistle or be silenced for,
ever" in the achievement of that re-
solve, fell mortally wounded. But this
history Is familiar to all, and the hon.
age due to such heroism, has lone
since marked Col. Williams as "the
hero of Kings Mountain"
The Grafton closed with patriotic
advice to the cadets-a parallel be-
tween their opportunities and those
enjoyed by their revolutionary fore
fathers, and the greater. responsibility
which would consequently rest upon
them. The address was no less char
acterized by historical accuracy, than
by it's literary and oratorical merits
which unfortunately cannot be said oi
rhetorical productions. We hope II
hnf