The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1922-06-07

iHE rlESr MARTYR
lBY o. 6. yhompSonD
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,a.nk IS generally accepted BY
those who survived the period Of So
raion m'd slavery. tnat James W,
jUckson Of Alexandria, "a, WAS the
m'st matyr 10 the cause in the 3trUg-
Rlo ror Southern Independence.
JackSon, Who was 4 Jealous advo~
cate Of the Southern cause. was nying
Ia Confederate flag from the roof Of
his holcl in Alexandria, right under
the dome Of tho capitol Word had
gone out that the ilag would be torn
down by the invaders at an early day.
jackson had said repeatedly, that if
those Northerncrs pulled down his
flag some Of them would bite the
dust" or that there would be two
dead mon about that time.
IL the early morning of the oath of
May, 1861, Col. Ellsworth. leading his
celebrated Iouavcs, crossed the Po-
| tomac by way Of the famous Long
Bridge, from Washington into Alex
andria and proceeding to the place, as
ccndcd with a file Of soldiers, and hay
! ing torn down Jackson's flag and re
/ placed it with his own, was descend
| ing the stirway, holding the flag in
his hand, when Jackson met and shot
him to death and in turn was riddled
with br and literally pinned to
,1,. I, Il, L.
cnrnged soldicry.
! There has never been an act Of
/ greater hcroism or one Of purcr en-
mutation. He knew full we'll that he
his death With a full knowledge or
| antici alton Of the consequences that
! must inevitably follow his act
| \ great howl went up all over the
| North. and Jackson was branded as an
assassin and murderer.
/ The few survivors Of the period will
/ recall tho sensation this tragedy ere
! atcd 1t was q time when the shadow
! CT coming events had Northern and
Southern nerves strung TO their ut
mCst tension. 1t was Just twenty-five
days before our command 0hc 3rd reg
! imcnD loft camp at "Lightwood Knot
/ Springs for the Bull Run line 1t
! was before any clash Of arms, save
that at Sumter, whore strange as it may
appear, there wss no loss of life. (Mai.
anderson had one or hNo killed by
the bursting Of one Of his guns in his
salute to his flag at the time it was
| lowered after the battlc).
| Following the election of Lincoln
| shore had been the secession Of South
, Carolina, followed at brief and irrcg-
ular intervals, by other Southern
states, the organization Of the Con-
fcdcratc government at Montgomery.
The fruitlcss effort to bring about a
peaceful solution 'of the differences
/ between the sections, the transfer of
/ Maj. AndcrSon's force from Moutrie to
Sumter in Charleston harbor Ca hostile
act, the effort to rc-cnforce Sumter
! by the Lincoln government, the firing
! on The Star OF the West, the inau-
| sN"itI!Oii vi l!iHCOlll, .hdItn ilH, jne
mastering Of troops at Washington and
! Richmond and on the Potomac, the riot
and firing upon a Massachusetts rcgi-
mcnt on the streets Of Baltimore, the
, first battle Of the war at Big Bethel
! june 10th: all these and more, had
come before the curtain had lifted for
| Tho first battle Of any magnitude, Of the
great four years war---On the plains
Of Manassas
| 1t is a fact worthy Of note that the
'irst martyr to the cause Of the Con-
Ecdcracy should have borne the name
jof the one, who amongst the brilliant
galaxy of the great soldiers OF the
South, has by the concurrent Judgment
Of his countrymcn and Of all mankind,
been awarded place second only to
Lee, in the niche OF fame