The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-05-31
"Qh fAME'S ETERNAL

TO the gate of Hollywood cemetery
Yesterday afternoon thousands of PEG
pie packed the streets. waving Their
miniature Stars and Bars, and cheer
ing the procession as II passed on 1t.
way to do honor to the Boys in Ora,
who fell in battle years ago, but wat
yet live fresh in the hearts and mem
DRY of the South. Gone was the feel.
ing of sectionalism and animosity tina
characterized the first Memorial da!
more than nifty years ago, for TIL,
crowds that witnessed the passinl
scene had learned to render fittinf
tribute to their own heroes withou
hatred OF their former foes.
/ The Idnc of March.
First In the line of march was q
detail OF bicycle policemen. followed
by squad OF mounted officers Their
tcame detail of police infantry
making their first appearance in pub
lie GLOWING them were the 30,
Scouts. with their fife and drum corps
and next the well drilled battalion OF
the John Marshall High school cadet.
and the battalion from Binford school
Then the II. f. L~ Camp Confederate
veterans, a small company of officer.
and men who followed the gallant Lee
and survived the many blood -soake ed
fields, were escorted by a provisional
detail OF the First Virginia cavalry
the former Richmond Blues. They
were supported by a detachment oil
infantry from the Richmond Grays
and a part of the Howitzers' battery
OF artillery. Filling the procession
were carriages filed with Daughter.
, of the Confederacy. and Sons of Con-
federate Veterans with other we'll.
known citizens of this city.
| The procession proceeded west
along Franklin street to Laurel, to
! Cherry $ 'eet. and thence to the main
| entrance Of Hollywood Here the
cavalry and artillery halted. The in
I fantry entered Il gate at the side.
I escorted the crowd through the
| ground to the speakers stand near the
! main gate. In the enclosure about the
stand. the line halted and took their
| positions Within earst1ot of the speak,
I e-s.
/ Graves Covered With Flowers.
! Thousands of people were scattered
about the cemetery, where tender
! hands had decked the graves and
monuments of the dead with blossoms
of the season. and had placed en-
| Elems of the lost Gonfsderacy abov.s
the mounds these who gave thais
/ lives in fighting for it. Sixteen .hous-
J and soldier-oead lie sleeping there,
and their graves were heaped high
with flowers. fragrant with the
breath of summer and burdened oith
the message Of devotion and love
/ ! or!e the lost heroes by those who
Will aot let tEeir memory dim.
! Fast Commander p. J. White pre-
sided over the ceremonies, and a
| PRAYER was offered by Rev. DIR. :. r.
! smith, n chaplain in StonewaIl jack
sons brigade, Past Commander
/ White then introduced the speaker of
/ the occasion, Rev. Richard Ferguson.
OF Emporia, who answered tho call
: in 81 and was three times bathed In
/ hloo'l or the battiefields. The az
| dress OF the occasion was as folows
| Rev. Mr.. Fcrgrson's Speech.
! Ladies OF the Hollywood Memorial
Associations; Gentlemen and Iadie.
of Richmond: Citizens of Virginia
young and old; Sons and Daughters
/ of the Confederacy, and last but not
! least, My old Comrades, who still
hnger upon the shores of time: bless
your old souls, you are like bone o.
my own bone, and flesh of my owr
flesh: You are all here to listen tc
one of your number tell of the glorie.
and virtues and deeds of as noble 6
band of patriot heroes as ever drew
sword or shouldered musket. in al
the worlds history, and in behalf o.
a cause both just and righteous il
the sight of God and man.
7 The Cause of the War.
We all believed in the doctrine o.
states rights. 1t was born with our
sosarnmeT1t, And adj tire tempting
bats of Lincoln and his adviser.
could not allure our ilustrious leader
Robert +, Lee, from that great prin.
clple. Consequently when the Fed
ieral government, led by Lincoln and
tthe Republican party, determined &c
Icoerce the states TO remain in the
4 Union whether they wanted to or not
and called upon Virginia for her quota
of the $4,000 troops. Lee resigned
his commission in the federal argnS
and returned to Virginia, and we raj
lied to him like iron filings to a mag.
met, and all the "sic semper tyranns
that was our blood boiled over ana
we said. in Gods name. with the
safne-tseee, IF you do II you will have
Ito march over our dead bodies
We recognized the voice of oul
state as above every other and oboyet
her call And in this view OF states
rights we are sustained by many or
tn eother side, and especially by one
inc less distinguished than the Hon
Charles Francis Adams of New Eng
land. who declared again and agar
that we had right on our side. They
called us Rebels" We hurled back
the sanderous epithet and called
them "Tyrants." The world may cal
I II Edneelns love of country. cat
IT "Tyranny-bald-fa tyrrany,
/ Coercion OF sovereign. independent
states was nothing but ''tyrrany." Yo,
may call that Treason" call i
/ "Trutlt--unvarnish truth" We were
states rights Nirginians, and obeyet
! the powers that be-" Now / ar
talking about what we were in 81
not what we are now, Force brought
ahout a consolidation. Secession, this
Isupremest expression OF states rights
failed. Coercion prevailed and now
we are a consolidated government, ar
F1ian=--- -------------------
l am reminded of two bullets which
I saw at one of the museums, thai
were said to have been picked up or
one OF the battlefelds. They were
Embedded into each other. completed,
ltelescoped. and must have been goinl
with about equal speed when the,
met.
So has force welded all the states
together, as one campact, indivsible
whole.
So much for the cause that brought
a bout the civil war.
Personal Experiences.
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