The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1915-05-14

Cudl OI luS CcS d! = N-S SpIiit W
Stonewa.l Jackson had winged its way
acIuss tie river to rest il the shade Of
the trees, Richmond lay crushed like
a great bleeding heart, and as tie
thousands passed the bier OF that i'm
mortal genius, the sobs and the tears
were but echoes Of pain of nation
which had been stabbed in vital spot.
Among the last to look upon I at noble
face was young boy wlo paused and
spoke to his dead chieftain. Sire, he
said, "if today you consort with Caesar
tell him We still make war" How
trutafully did this youth describe the
real meaning Of L e arm of the South.
Upon the book of history l have
stood with the Spartans at Thermop-
aylae, and I have wondered and ad-
mired. But the band Of Robert Lee,
falling back from Richmond across
Virginia to AppomataX, did not have
the protection Of a mountain pass and
was not even sustained by tie food
necessary to keep up starving body.
Still it fought a force more than five
times as great and its spirit was so un-
broken that Lees first statement to
Grant was that unless he could make
honorable terms for mis- men, the bat
tie would have to continue until tne
army Of Northern Virginia was no
more. Lave stood upon the pages of
history and watched the legions Of
Caesar in their battles with the Gauls.
/ have seen them cross the Rubicon
and bring back to Rome fresh glory,
and yet the army Of Stonewall Jackso..
in the Shenandoah campaign fought
and defeated two armies either Of
which excelled it in numbers, and it
was Gen. Early who said of that feat
of arms that in its beginning he be-
lieved that Jackson was mad, but that
before it was over i.e was convinced
that Jackson was inspired.
I have seen the charge Of the Light
Brigade at Balaklava and the last fu-
tile effort OF the old guard at Waterloo,
but the brave men who followed the
flag of Pickett across tie open fields
of Gettysburg have been to the world a
new record Of daring and courage.
I have seen the army of Napoleon
cross the Alps. l have followed it into
the frozen north of Russia. l have
seen this man Of destiny survey fal-
len enemy at Austerlitz and tnen dis
tribute kingdoms of Lis falien foes
among his relatives and his friends,
but the army Of the Tennessee, with
unframed men, poor equipment and
insufficient supplies, kept far greater
force from breaking the backbone of
the Confederacy for four years, and
under the leadership OF Forrest and
Jackson reformed feats upon which
any people might defend its greatness.
And the Southern cause had great
leaders. Jefferson Davis it was who
led victorious American troups in Mex
leo, who returned to sway the Ameri-
can senate and who stood before the
bar of the American nation accused
of treason. He saw victory first upon
tie banner Of the nation which called
MIN 'chief''-and he was made a cap
tive. He became the ruler of great
people and he was put in chains. He
helped to create nation. He saw it
rise and he saw it fall, and he was
made the scapegoat of that nations
failure, still lie murmured not. He
was greatest in that defeat and in that
humiliation which sought to break and
destroy him.
Far be it from me to indulge in sac
lilige in any form, but l honestly be-
lieve that since the days Of Christ no
man las lived on earth with so ex-
alted a Character as Robert E. Lee.
Great in war and great in peace. When
he stood upon that fatal field and saw
the brave men of Pickett's division
offer themselves upon the shrine of
their country, as a sacrifice which has
no superior in the annals Of time, ne
doubtless knew that the turning point
had come and that the Southern wave
had reached its crest. And yet he was
great enough to shoulder all the blame.
at was all my fault" he said
And he who had led Southern men
and who was the idol OF his people in
war laid down his sword and sought to
teach tie youth of his country the les
sons of life. No reward would he
accept, no position did he seek, moth