Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1917-08-22
FORTHWITH ANNUAL RE-
UNION OF ORR'S REGIMENT
Principal Address Delivered by R. T. Jaynes, Esq
Pertinent to Present Time.

longs to the whOle American people
because OF their achievements, there
is compensation for all the loss and,
sacrifice which was theirs, and all the
ills which the South has suffered. In
the lustre which shines undimmed
upon their records there in inspira-
ton for the present and abiding con-
tidence in and encouragement for the
future.
"rhe glory dies not, and the grief is
past!'
And what can we say Of the Con-
federate soldier? How can language
picture 1.-The hero in gray with
heart Of gOld?" During those four
years of bloody warfare, and on many
hard-fought battlefields, from Manas-
sas to Appomattox. the Confederate
soldier was both loyal and heroic in
his devotion to duty. What q record!
Truly may it be said that upon this
worlds stage no more pathetic scene,
no more heroic incident, has ever
been witnessed. With what pride the
generations yet unborn shall claim
descent from those who, true to their
sense of duty, fought under that old
flag, 80 battlescarred, tattered and
torn-now forever furled-but once
the proud ensign which was follow
ed. even though it led right into the
jaws of death, where, amid the
sounds of shrieking shells, mingled
with the groans OF the fallen and the
dying, there were none to falter. AS
we think upon these things, the query
naturally arises: Was it all in vain?
Was there no gain? No recompense,
for all that costly sacrifice of blood
and treasure? We answer, "No!"
All was not lost; it was not all in
vain; there was gain, great gain, for
then and there, by "the hero in
gray as an ensample to the heroic
American youth Of to-day. who by
countless thousands are again an
swering their countrys call, as we'll
as for generations yet unborn, was
wrought out the priceless treasure Of
the Confederate Character
AS fit representative of this char
acter stood Gen. Lee at Appomattox,
illustrating in his calm and lofty
bearing, the noble adage which he
afterwards announced, that "The vir-
tue Of humanity ought always to
equal it's trials" An eyewitness Of
that trying ordeal, the late beloved
and heroic Gen John b. Gordon, OF
Georgia, spoke Of him as "self-poised
and modest, bearing on his great
heart a mountain load of woe. with
the light OF an unclouded conscience
nate dignity and nobility of spirit
rarely equalled and never excelled,
the central figure Of the Confederate
Cause rose In this hour OF supremest
trial, in the estimation at least OF
those who followed him, to the high
est place of the morally sublime"
The place Of Lee in impartial his
tory Is forever fixed AS the years
come and go, his name and fame will
become dearer and dearer still to
the hearts Of the whole American peo-
pie. Long after that bronze statue
in the Hall Of Fame at our country's
capital, where 1t so worthily stands
to-day, in Confederate uniform, shall
have crumbled into dust, his name
will survive, and his fame as an
American soldier will shine out as
one Of the few greatest warriors and
generals this old earth has ever pro-
duced. The carpings Of small critics
Of former days. as we'll as the names
Of the critics themselves, will ere
long be forgotten and bruied in eter-
nal oblivion. but the name Of Lee
will stand forth as the Great Ameri-
can Soldier Of the Nineteenth Gem
tury.
The Women Of the Confctleracy.
And what can we say Of and for
the women Of the sixties? Words
are halting and language lame when
we come to speak Of "The Women Of
the Confederacy.' No mortal tongue
can give adequate expression to their
heroic forti!ude. patient endurance
and lonely suffering during those four
years, as they stood guard the por-
tails Of the homes throughout our
Southland or watched by the bedside
Of the wounded, the sick and the dy-
ing.
The nervous tension, the constant
dread, the anxious watching forever