Our Confederate Dead
YOUR EXCELLENCY, veterans,
ladies and gentlemen :
A few days ago I stood by the
bedside of a gallant gentleman, a
brave soldier and a cherished friend.
The beckoning linger of Eternity was
marking his earthly span. The eross-
ill. ril-ar tlUHniul in ll... ...tor
• I . . . • ...
•rtal
"You must go to Gettysburg." he
said, "and bear my message to my
old comrades. I will not be there in
tlesh. but my spirit will be with you.
WUI you go!"
I ntn here to do bis bidding.
Baldy Hoyden now sleeps in the
land of the South: the land for
which he fought and lived.
Just a few short hours ago we laid
him gently upon her bosom under the
shade of the oak. the symbol of his
strength, and the laurel, the emblem
of his honor; while overhead the
breezes through the branches seemed
to sob and sigh a gentle miserere.
This beautiful memorial is in a
large measure due to his devotion,
courage and persistence. . . .
ing into the Union. Del iteration has
always marked her course.
It was months after the inaugura¬
tion of General Washington as its
Иы
President that she oast her lot
with the new-born Republic, and
then only upon the agreed condition
that the Hill of Rights he incorpo¬
rated in our organi
State had been violated.
г гош
until Appomattox,
where North Carolinians tired the
Inst shots in lev’s Army, she gave
all she hud to the Confederacy, in
men and wealth, in sacrifice and de-
v’ol ion.
We have met here today to honor
the deeds and the mciuorv of her sons
#_1|
„„
.1*. k..,iU<i.,U . ,,.|,n
ige and stain-
-unrcme saeri-
North Carolina soldiers constitut¬
ed more than one-fourth of the Con¬
federate troops in the battle of Get¬
tysburg.
Up yonder Slone into n withering
maelstrom
»U and
deadly bullets marched the flower of
our Southland. It was incomparable!
Nothing in history surpass. . I>.
to
A few days ago we came across
a copy of the speech which the
Hon. Walter (Pete) Murphy
made on the occasion of the un¬
veiling of the memorial to the
North Carolina Confederate
Dead in the field of Gettysburg.
July 3. 1929.
We were immediately im¬
pressed with the beauty of
phraseology and the patriotic
and inspiring sentiment con¬
tained therein. We asked Mr.
Murphy to deliver it over the
radio last Monday night, which
he did. The reaction was most
favorable, and believing that
many of our readers will want
a permanent record of his talk,
we are publishing it herewith.
—
«I/
—
HALTER MIRPHY
Saix at Marengo. Cambronne at Wa¬
terloo are its nearest approaches.
Over the ramparts that bristled with
cannon surged North Carolinians to
death and defeat : that slope ran red
with blood : it is sacred ground, bap¬
tized ami consecrated with human
life.
result with a fortitude which char¬
acterizes the noble and the brave.
I can see him fighting above the
elouds nt Uhieamanga ; dying in the
Imyous nt Vicksburg: charging up
yonder slope, in victory and defeat —
and in it all and through it all. he
was a splendid and heroic figure.
1 eau see him. bearded man or
I *ea nil ess boy. who. when his country
called, donned his suit of grey, shoul¬
dered his rifle, and with heart at¬
tuned to ihe strains of "Dixie."
marched forth to fight for and if
need be to die for the sake of home.
On a hundred battlefields thou¬
sands of them sleep in graves the sods
rhieh were turned by the bayo-
lets of their comrades: sleeping in
|н*йсс
otonifll, there thev await
fa
of
J
Г
oi a new
ho survived the awful con¬
flict went back to the land they loved ;
ragged, penniless, heart. sore and
weary, back to desolate homes and
blackened firesides. They accepted the
result in the spirit of their great
chieftain, Lee: with resignation and
fortitude and sustained by indomi¬
table courage and hallowed memo¬
ries. they set themselves to the task
of rebuilding an Empire.
The old South with its romance
and glamour had passed : new condi¬
tions lmd arisen: civilization had en¬
tered n new phase. The task was
great : but what a wonder they
wrought !
On this and a hundred battlefield-,
should be erected monuments bear¬
ing the Spartan inscription. “Go.
stranger and Lacaedemon tell that
today the S..uth is a land of happy
and contented people: a land as beau¬
tiful as the vale of Cashmere; a land
of thrift, industry and plenty : a land
here, obeying her behest, we fell."
On the erc>t of that ridge sixty-
which offers apologies to none for its
past, and glories in its record.
six years age
Southern Cross commenced to wane
in the firmament of the nations, fad¬
ing each day until it passed beyond
the sunset \s radiant glow into the
realm of glorious history from the
field of Appomattox.
To my mind the Confederate sol¬
dier is one <>f the most gloriously pa
thetic figures in the world’s history.
He fought for n belief and fought
with a courage and devotion never
surpassed in any army among any
people.
He gave all and lost all. save hon¬
or. in defense of a cause which he
held dearer than life and which he
believed was just. And when it was
all over and the God of battles had
decreed against him, he accepted the
II IN
tlTlf FV
And you, Rari nautes in gurgite
vasto, n few survivors afloat on the
face of the deep, the whole world hon¬
ors and respects you. your own peo¬
ple love and idolize you. your deeds
are recorded on the imperishable tab¬
let* of Time; in war you made a ree-
the proud heritage of
peace you have
shown mankind how to survive and
gain victory over defeat.
At Appomattox when the Bonnie
Blue Flag was furled forever, you
came hack into the Union never to
leave it again.
A; El
Гансу,
at Santiago, at Car¬
denas you gave your sons to the
Union Iii the great conflict
аег<«ч>
the seas, when the peace anil the
(CW.W on page tu-entyfour)