The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1915-01-19
THE PRIVATE SOLDIER IN
THE CONFEDERATE ARMY
Paper by Miss Byrd Wartmann, which
Took Third Prize at the u. ID. c.
Convention at Kissimmee


with the eyes of the world upon him,
and the world waited for news from
that quiet room. The thoughts of the
dying man were not upon his bril-
liant military career or upon the
honors that had come to
him-they counted as nothing. But
with the clearer vision that is given
to those who have tried to see the
right, when the veil between Here
and There has grown thin, he saw
the best for all, for North, for South,
and the word that came to listening
nation was "Let US have peace"
That word was but the echo of the
prayer that rose from the heart of
every thinking man and woman IN
the South IN the dark days of the
fifties. The men in the legislative
halls and in the political arena who
could see the ominous signs, who
could even then hear the muttering
of the distant thunders of war realiz-
ed the grave peril it would bring to
the fair Southland, and prayed for
peace Mothers and wives shuddered
already under the prophetic anguish
and heart-break that the lowering war
cloud threw over the land, and prayed
for peace. To the youth of the South
the thought of change or of danger
to their loved land seemed impossi-
ble-young, gay, care-free, radiant
and joyous in civilization the like of
which has never been seen elsewhere
and will never be seen again. The
life was one of cultured ease and
graceful and free hospitality; perfect
courtesy of man to- man, though with
distinct recognition on the part of
all, of the marked class distinction
which existed then as definitely as in
Europe to-day. The perfect homage
and chivalrous bearing of man to wo-
man enclosed her, as it were in a
garden of lilies. Served by a people
bound to them by ties of humble af-
lection, as the hand that fed, cloth
ed, and in every way cared for them
as well as by the bond of master and
slave-such were the conditions in the
South in the year proceeding the
Civil War. Men who took cogniz-
ance of affairs knew they could not
endure. The political power was in
the hands of the aristocracy; the
young men turned to the profession
of the law as a stepping stone to the
wider field of politics. The slaves, OF
course, were not classed as a politi-
cal factor, though they were mighty
/! subject for discussion and lay heavi
ly on the hearts of their owners. 4
is a matter of historical record thai
the South had made repeated effort!
to rid itself without bankruptcy Of
the black burden of slavery. Whel
the true history of the Civil War il
written, which can only be after I
a fair perspective of time and distanc,
shall have been reached, the fac
that will be made most clear vii
be that the South fought, not 70
slavery, but for the sacred right o
self government.
The question of states rights and o
slavery had been a burning one TO
years. The young men of the educa
ted class entered the field of law an,
hpolitics almost as matter OF. course
Every young Southerner had a geniu
for government; they were traine
for generations in the mastery o
slaves. That political affairs were i
the hands of the educated class, wa
part of the feudal tradition whicl
largely prevailed all through tn
South. However, the politicians an
those who made a study of event
were not the only ones who saw tn
threatening war cloud. Through tn
country villages, towns and cities
there were men of leisure, merchants
clerks and mechanics, who realize
that there was crisis approaching
Those who knew what war meant
prayed that it might be averted, bu
while they prayed they drilled. Ev
cry crossroads village had its littl
.. band of militia that drilled and studi
ed military tactics, for every ma
! knew that If the issue came 1t mean
war. The South has long ago &C
cepted the fact that slavery is n
. longer practical or desirable thing
but there is no one who will den
that we were constitutional in our de
: mand for the right to secede. Tn
South did not want war. She wante