Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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BY ?TO THINE OWN SELF BK TUUE, AND IT MUST FOLLOW, AS THE IIOB'T. A. THOMPSON & CO. iummMmnmt?i?fm*?m)?mm i m j '-_ ^ M I I - - rn Milli II I I I I i i n II irn?ri?. m.mi mniii PICKENS COURT HOUSE, S. C. SATURDAY, JULY 27, 1801. NIGHT THE DAY, THOU NO. 5& ORIGrIN AL. SPEECF. OF GEN. WADE HAMPTON, DXMVKRRD AT Walhalla, S. C., Sept. 22t?, 18C0. BEFORE THE M SOLDIERS' ASSOCIATION." Pellote*Citizens and Brother Soldiers oj, J*ickens i In response to your kind invita tion to join you to-day, I have come to partici pate in the grateful ceremonies of this occa sion. It affords nie great satisfaction, I assure you, to do so, because it is eminently fit and proper that every surviving soldier of thc South should, at all times and everywhere, pay all possible respect lo thc memory of his dead comrades. Another reason which urged mc strongly to be present to-day, was that I might have thc pleasure of seeing again so many of thc men who fought so long and so well under my command, I remember with pride that the brave KILPATRICK, who now Hieops in a soldier's grave, brought his gallant Company of Mountaineers to fight under thc banner of my old Legion, on the glorious field of Mausssas, and I take pleasure in saying boro to day, before their kindred and their fellow-citizens, that they did honor to their State. Dickens gave to me, besides CALHOUN'S brnvo men, and volunteers in that noble Ger man Battery of DACH MAN, one whole Company in the gallant 1st S.O. Cavalry, which formed so important a part of my old and beloved Brig ade ; that Brigado which, though it fought on an hundred Colds, never knew defeat. I rec ollect that when tb ut Regiment made its first ol?argo I bsd the honor to bc with it. I re call that bloody Otb June, when nt Brandy Station, its glorious banner was baptized in blood. All the stirring incidents of that event ful day rise up vividly before inc, ns I look upon tile fae??? of tim vnf#?t*???? vrl.o wov? ?l,?r ers in its glory. I see again that magnificent panorama of fertile bill and smiling vale, light ed up by the lurid glare of war. I see our Cavalry, separated, fighting iu ovary quar ter against heavy odds. I sec the enemy gaining ground everywhere, save where your Brigade wus fighting, while our gallant chief, the heroic STUAUT, with characteristic cour age, dashes himself first against one column and then against another ; but iu vain. The circle of fire slowly but surely closed around that devoted band, until they wore thc only onos within its folds. There was but one road over which you could withdraw, and across that were tho serried ranks of thc enemy, whose guns were already thundering upon you. All saw thc critical position in which you were placed, but though all saw it, not one man quilled. Thc day seemed lost, and so it would bare been, but for thc " Old Brigade," as we all loved to call it. With banners proudly flying, with sabres glistening brightly, with ranks as regular as if on parade, it turned to meet thc new enemy, who vainly hoped to bar its way. Tho noble Cobb Legion-than which no better Ungi mont ever fought-was in front, your Regiment next, followed by the brave old 1st North Carolina, and thc dashing Jeff. Davis Logion, when 1 ordered the charge. Artillery ploughed through your ranks-dis mounted moo, in lino of battle, covered the hill, and Cavalry, by ita counter charge, tried to check your progress. Not a shot was fired by my mon, but with drawn sabres, they rode steadily througb tbnt storm of lire for moro^, than half a mile, and sweeping over the bill, thoy left .upon it not one enemy, save thc dead and tho wounded, whoso ghastly wounds told more eloquently than words could do, what good work my koen sabres had done Artil lery, standards, prisoners, were all captured in that obargo and thc fight was over. I re member Uppcrvillc, whore again the fortunes of tho day seemed lost, until that Brigade, by t> scries of desperate charges, which I have never seen surpassed, snatched victory from tho vory grasp of defeat. And Gettysburg, with all its gory memories, brings to my rec ollection tho bravo deeds of these tried sold iers. I have not forgotten-I never shall for got, brother soldiers-that when borne wound ed from that fatal field I sent word back to my mon to bold their ground to thc last, how nobly and nt what a cost, they carried out what ? thon bolieved to be tho last order I should ever givo them. All these proud but sad memovios como thronging fast upon my boort, when I look ng.iin upon tho men who shared with mc for years, tho privations, thc perils ami tho glories of tho post. And though meeting them uudor such circumstances ns tho present, is fraught with ninny snd reflec tions, it is a source of infinito gratification to mc to sec them once more. You, of my old command, never failed to respond when I called upon you, and now that, you call on mo to join with you in paying a merited tribute of respect to our martyred dead, I would bo ungrateful indeed, wcro I to refuso to answer to the appeal. To record thc names of the bravo men who gave theirsHvcs to their country; to perpetu ate the memory of their heroic deeds ; to deck their humble graves with flowers, as wc mourn their untimely fate, arc the sad and the only privileges we now have. In our poverty, we arc not able to raise suitable monuments to mark their last resting places ; in our defeat, we feel, that ns far as human wisdom can fath om, they died in vain ; and in our grief nt their loss, we cati scarcely reconcile their death with tho perfect justice and thc infinite morey of the Almighty, lt was not permitted to surviving kindled and friends to consign their loved remains to their last home, with all the tokens of respect and honor; but they sleep, nevertheless, in honored graves, and their duty nobly done they havo " Sunk to rest, l'y all their country's wishes blest." No pious hand collects their sacred dust. They sleep wherever the folds of thc Southern cross has waved in triumph, and they find flt resting places on tho fields their valor won. Your government sets apart nnd consecrates great National Cemeteries, on your soil, for those who, while invading that soil with fire and sword, were welcomed to hospitable graves; while the men who died on, and in defence of their native land, sleep in unmarked, or per haps unknown graves. Their ashes trre not permitted to repose in National Cemeteries, and branded as rebels while living, they have not thc privilege, accorded to their foctnen, of christin!! sepulture-when dead ll T.ltn?i'? wng nnnAitdnArolnil olftV " Tt behooves us then-thc mon who stood shoulder to shoulder with them while they wcro fighting for their country-the people in whose d efe nco they laid down their lives, to show by all the means in our power, that WC are grateful for thc sacrifices they made in our behalf, and that wc reverence their memory. The Association you have this day formed, has these laudable objects in view, and if these were its only purposes, it should meet thc cor dial approval of every man, woman and child in our State Hut high and worthy as arc these aims, it contemplates others, even high er anil worthier. These arc to clothe the na ked, to feed the hungry, to aid the orphan, to comfort the widow ; to alleviate the suffer ings of all, and to pour balm into their bleed ing hearts, (?od will surely bless ntl under taking which lins such holy purposes in view, ?ind thc good of every laud will think that you aro proving yourselves worthy of the men who died in tho ellbrt to innke you free. I bid you Cod speed in this holy work, and I in voke upon it thc blessing of thc Almighty. I hope that organizations of this sort will sprintr up throughout thc entire South-that they will scatter blessings broadcast over our land, and that they will serve to bind our wholo people together. I cannot conceive how any one, even tho most zealous and sus picious of that police who now infest our conn try, can find anything objectionable in them, Hut the Military Satrap who now holds rub in New Orleans, has nlrcady forbidden all ns socintions of Confederate Brigades, Regiment; or Companies, for any purpose whatever, anrl T suppose he will soon issue a general order declaring it treason for even tho pitying bant of sorrowing woman to drop a flower on tin humble pravo of any poor soldier, who laic down his life, at thc call of his State. Hnv ing earned for himself an undying evil faint Hr/ thc savage barbarity with which bc oxecu ted tho atrocious order to devastate ono of tin fairest portions of Yirginia, ho seems still in cl i nod to do now ns bc did then, wngo cruo mid relentless war upon unarmed and defenco loss citizens. I hope that your Associatioi ?. ill escape the fntc of those in New Orleans nnd that it will soon be sheltered safely undo tho protection of our own State, when oivi law slinll have superseded mnrtinl law, reassu ming its benign swny, and protecting by it ample shield, tho rights, tho institutions nm thc persons of our people, h'or mn ny lon] nnd weary months wo nave waited for tin realization of our ardont hopes; this fulfil ment of our just expectations, hut wo stil wait in vnin. Tho grasp of militniy powc hnR not yet relaxed its hold. I You may, perhnps, follow-citizons, think thu any discussion of general polities is innppropr atc on an occasion fo this sort, butas I may nc again have an opportunity to placo myself rigl upon thcrooord.or to correct thc misrepresent? tions of both my nntcccdent and present pos tion, disseminated by tho Radical press, mn I claim your Indulgence for a brief discussio of theso topics. It is full time that somo voit from tho South should be raisod to dcclar that though conquered she is not humiliated ; though she submits Rho is not degraded ; that ?ho lins nut lost lier self-respect ; flint abo laid down ber anns on honorable terms! that alie lins observed these terms with tho most perfect faith ; and thut she lins thc right todeihand a like observance of them on tho Jrart pf tho North. Would tn (?od that somaf?oi?n moro notent than mine, would utter thr?i??truths ! Would to tiod that thc tongues oislhoSo great Statesmen ol' Carolin-.., vvho in ilunja jmet, wnrned, counselled, directed oiir/pvupta,^Vro not hushed in death, or that those, which inore recently stirred the Southern heart to its pro foundest depths, were not. now fid silent as death itself! Hut perhaps in tjjio midst of this silence so profound, even, Uty voice, feeble r.s it is, may bc not without that weight which ni ways attaches to tt?c utterance of truth, and in this hope, I vcjm?ro to dis cuss our condition and our ppJaQV. What then is our condition? For fcjfflftycara thc Smith was the victim of ii cruel and unneces sary war--a war marked on tho'-part of her opponents hy a barbarity nover-tjimjnsecd, if ever equalled, in thc annuls of M?ilized war fare. The sword failed to contjH&r her, for on nearly every battle-field she yM&ytOtorious, and her enemies were forced tO''ra|ort to wea pons moro congenial to their nature-lire and famine. Thc torch was npplicd&jjnth nu un sparing hand. The mansion of iff??.ricb ; thc cottage bf tho poor; peaceful villages? thriving cities; even thc Temples of tinniest lt ?gb (Jod. fell before this ruthless dCfrafryer, leav ing to murk thc spots whore onffluthoy stood, but ashes ?md blackened ruinsjra'All thc in dustrial resources of tho South-T JO-"Wantonly destroyed or stolon, and gaunt forano followed in thc footsteps of thc invaders.1 Thc men who had borne without a mnriiratr every pri vation ; who had faced death lu a thousand simpes without flinching, woVO not proof against tho eries which conic to them from homeless and starving wives nitd'O'uildrcn. They laid down their anns, which they had crowned with eternal lustre, und they accepted thc terms offered to them by tho*firorth. What were these terms ? Throughout thc whole war tho Vovit, ,1rt/?l.A in fh*Yn?u? u.?Vmn and authoritative manner that ano fought sole ly to re-establish the Union; to bring back to one fold all the States, and to give to all equal rights and equal liberty. This was thc con stant declaration of Mr. LINCOLN. Mr. SK WAHI) nut only announced the same principle, but be declared that whatever might ho thc result of thc war, not only would all the right* of thc Southern States bc preserved, but thal all their institutions would bo intact. Thc Congress of tho United States in a Resolution, passed I think unanimously, and never rc pealed, announced thc object and the sede ob j oct of thc war to bc tho restoration of thc Union, under the supremacy of thc Constitu tion. Thc very powers under which wc lait down our anns, promised thc protection ol the government, and gave thc assurance Ihn wc should not. bc interfered with, so long ni wc obeyed thc laws of thc States wherein wi resided. Those declarations were made no only to the South, but to Foreign Nations and tho South was assured that she had bu to acknowledge thc supremacy of tho Nntiona Government to bo received into the Union ^s equal members of thc great family of States with all her rights and all her privileges un impaired. These wero thc torin? upon whicl the South capitulated. On her part she wa to cease war-to renew her allegiance to th National Government, and to express her loj ftlty to tho Constitution of thc. United State.' On the part of thc North there was to bc am ncsty for thc past-a recognition of the Sou tl ern States as equal members of tho Union and a solemn pledge that nil their rights shout bo held sacred This was tho constructio placed by thc South upon tho oovonant ci tered into, and it is thc only fair and honei construction it will admit of. How have, tli parties tb this covenant fulfilled their oblig tions ? I have said that thc South lias pe formed her.-? with the most perfect faith. Li mc \ rove tho assertion. She was to ccai war. When our commanding oflicors signe tho Conventions which put a stop to thc wa every soldier of the Confederacy, from tl Potomac to thc Rio (Irando, laid down h arms and returned to his home, or to thc sp where his home had been. The next conti tion of thc terms required from the South, renewal of her allegiance to tho (icncral Go eminent, in every Southorn Stato, thc pc plc by their Conventions, their Legislature and individually, conformed promptly to tl condition. Loyalty to tho Constitution of tl United States was exacted, ns thc only otb article of the terms required of the South, assert that she has fulfilled thia part of t compact, as well ns thc others, to tho letti and that in the true acceptation of tho wot she is loyal. What is " loyalty ?" It is not ing moro or less than fu i th ful ness-obedien to tho laws of that government under whi you live. Have any peoplo on earth mai fested a higher faith, or been more obedir to thc laws of tho land, than \\'? havo bec since our allegiance to tho govornmont 1 been renewed ? Many of these laws we gard as illegal 1 unconstitutional, but to i one of tlioin lins thc shadow of resistance boen made. "Wc have yielded our implicit if not n cheerful obedience to nil, trusting thnt t:mc would rectify thc evils under whivh wo h.oor. What higher proof Of loyalty could bc given than this ? Hut, fellow-citizens, was the Routh ever disloyul to the Constitution of tho United States? I deny thnt sho ever was, nnd I challenge hor most bitter enemy to ad duce one singlo instance in which sho. has ! been. From tho ndopff?i? ?f" that Constitution, up ic\ flin timo tv lien ?Tin frfttiind rino foi? bur own governance, no one can Iny to her charge n single violation of any cln?sc of that instru ment. J)id she ever propose to change it ? Did she ever evade any of its provisions r Did she ever denounce it as a " longue with hell nnd a covenant with thc devil? Nay more, when she framed a Constitution for herself did sho not adopt the old and honored one al most word for word ? Had the North been but half ns loyal ns tho South has ever been, no war would have desolated our country, and the Union would be, what its founders intend ed-one of cr j uni and sovereign States, bound together by the strong tics of paternal affec tion, instead of what it now is, a consolidated despotism of thc stronger States, ruling with a rod of iron, the weaker ones. The South is, and ever has been loyal in the proper sense of thc word. 1 tun aware that tho North has given a new meaning to this word when ap plied to thc South. For tho South to bo loyal in thc eyes ot' thc North, she must admit her self to be inferior in all points; she must de clare that she lins sinned, mid liken repentant child, she must humbly sue for forgiveness. She must pronounce State Rights and State Sovereignty fallacies, and she must forget the teachings of PATIUCK IIK.NUY, of JKFFKHSON and of MADISON. YOU, men of Picketts, must forgot the illustrious son you gave to our Stute, nnd you must brand CALHOUN ns a traitor. The names of MoDUFFIK, ClIEVKS, ll AYN K, 1 1A>I?CTON, HAUPF.K, must no longev be held in reverence in their own State, ns those of great statesmen and pure patriots, but the men who bore them, like their immortal compa triot, nrotobecallcd traitors,nnd their doctriuci kwuHlimui V,u, will niit.be lovul until VOA! im port, along with everything else, your polillos your morality and your religion front thc Nor* h 1 know not, fellow-citizens, bow it may be will: others, but for myself, I prefer still to cliiij to tho political faith taught by her great Apos tics of Liberty. I repudiate ns heretical ant! damnable that morality which inculcates i "higher law" than tho Bible teaches. Am ns to religion, I confess that after tho wnj they call heresy, so worship I tho " God o my fathers." Wc obey the laws of thc land we pay thc taxes levied onus; wc suppor the Constitution ; nnd we acknowledge th? supremacy of thc National Government. Tin North has no right to demand or to expect o us, more than this. She has no right to asl that wc should give up the divine right which even slaves enjoy-of freedom of opin ion ; that we should deny the principles w< hold sacred ; that wc should nbasc oursclvc in the dust to propitiate her good will, or tba wc should kiss the rod that smites us. "Shall freeborn men, in bumble awe .Submit to sorvile shame, Who from consent ami custom draw Tbc smnc right to bc ruled by law, Which Kings pretend to reign." Shall wc, who were freeborn men, be so bas as to declare thnt our country has met the fut it deserved ? Shall wa submit to thc sham which would cling to us forcvor, if we ndmi thnt wo hnvo been guilty of treason ? Sha wo oovcr ourselves with cternul infamy b branding ns traitors tho men who died for t and to whoso memory you oro now pnyin honor ? Never ! Never ! Never 1 Let an fate, howevor hard, bo our lot, rather than tin such dishonor idiould bc ours I AV hen tl gallant warrior-king of old, aavr in tho dofci of his brave army, thc ruin of all his hope proud, though conquered, ho could fdill c: claim, " all is lost save honor." Let us nm thc failure of our hopes, thc wreck of our fe tunes, strive to save, like him, what is far mo precious than all clso, our honor. I have given you the record of the Sont I have shown how well shebas kept her fail untarnished, how closely she has observed h obligations. Let me turn now to tho reen of the North. Bear in mind, that in givii this, 1 shall simply state facts, leaving you draw your own inferences. I propose to Si what, the North has done. I do not intend discuss tho morality, thc honesty, or tho jr tiec of her actions. When thc tyrant disput thc assertions of tho philosopher, and enden orcd to draw him into an argument, the ror of thc hitter wns : M 1 do not choose to nrg with the commander of thirty Logions." Without being n philosopher, 1 can recogni the force of this answor, and I waive nrp ment, ns totally inappropriate in a discuss! of this sort. Facts, which arc snid to bnstt born things, will be amply sufficient for i purposes at present : For four years tho North waged war up us, only, as she solemnly declared, to bring bnck into tho Union. Moro thnn a year n the South expressed her willingness to rofu and yet fdic is now ns effectually out of I Union, ns if she had never formed a pari of if. Thc North professed to light forlhe Constitu tion. As soon ns she had the power to do so, she changed that Constitution, nnd she viola ted its sacred provisions. Tho North protest ed that sho did not fight for conquest, or for plunder. Thc ?Southern States aro nt this moment practically conquered provinces, and \ ?nore of their movoable property is now in tho j hands of Northern soldiers, who stoic it, than in thono of its rightful possessors. ? The pa rolo -tt'hiol? ??outberti oold?cis received, prom I iscd, ns I have already snid, that they should j not he interfered with, so long as they obeyed thc laws of their own States. And yet on their return to their States, they were not al lowed to exercise any right pertaining to free citizens, until they had, under oath, endorsed all thc acts of Congress and declared the abo lition of slavery fixed, irrevocable and consti tutional-. Amnesty for the past had been re peatedly promised to the South, yet how many .of her citizens arc still, in the brotherly lan guage ?f the Radicals, only u unpardoned reb els," whilst her most honored and best bolovcd son languishes in a felon's cell, denied the sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution, of n " speedy trial by nh impartial jury." The Southern States were to bc recognized as equal members of thc Uuion. They aro still exclu ded from that Union ; ami even in the imposi tion of taxes, there is no equality, for thc rot ton of thc South has 1?? beni- a heavy discrimi nating tax, for tho benefit of thc North. All thc rights of thc South were to bc hold sacred. She has only thc right to live, and to labor, perhaps to complain, though to do so may be treason. .1 have placed before )-ou thc record of thc South and that of the North. Let the world decide which is entitled to honor; which to shame. 1 have drawn in dark colors, but alas ! in too true ones, the condition of our country, and I now turn to thc discussion of what should be our policy. In tho anomalous con dition in which wc are placed, it is a matter of great difficulty to mark out the proper course for us to pursue, but there nrc certain cardinal principles of" which wc should never lose right. Thc first of those is. that ns we accepted the terms onerca to us by un: Noah, in good faith, we arc bound hy every dictate of honor, to abide by them fully and honestly. They are none the loss binding on us, because the dominant and unscrupulous party at the North refuse to accord to us our just rights. Let us at least prove ourselves worthy of tho rights wc claim ; let us set an example of good faith, and weean then appeal with doub le effect to the justice and magnanimity of thc North. These virtues, ? would fain hope, arc not totally extinct amongst that people, and there are bravo men there, who arc battling for justice, for constitutional liberty, for tho equality of all the States, and for thc rights of the South. The only hope, not alone for the South, but for freedom itself, on this con tinent, lies in thc success of this party. We aro their natural allies, and I would sacrifice much-where honor and principle ore not in vaded, nnd (lien I would not yield one jot ov tittle-to strengthen their hands in the great contest, which is soon to decide the fnte of Constitutional Liberty and Republican Insti tutions in thc United States. Thc President, of thc United Stntcs has lent the great influ ence which his high position, his strong intel lect, his firm purpose and his indomitable will, give, to this new conservative party, and to his support every Southern man should rally cordially. "Wc may perhaps feel that he has not gone to thc extent of his power, or of our expectations, in carrying out his policy to its legitimate ends, but we cannot forget that he has boon thc only bulwark to stand botween our unhappy country and certain, ir retrievable and OYorlnsting rum. Hut for bim, tho horrors wc endured during thc war, would havo been far surpassed by those of ponce. And though differing with him in many points, I cheerfully accord to him tho highest praiso, for thc bravo and patriotic stand he has taken in defence of thc South and of tho Constitution. There is ono other point on which there should be no misunder standing as to our position, no loop on which to hang a possible misconstruction tia to our viewi, And that i:?, thc abolition of slavery. T have already intimated that the mode by which thc North secured the acquiescence of the South in thc consummation of this purpose, was a breach of faith on her part. Ol' all the inconsistencies of which thc North lins been guilty-and their name is Logion--none is greater than that by which she forced tho Southern Stntcs, while rigidly excluding them from tho Union, to ratify tho Constitutional amendment abolishing slavery, which they could do legally, only as States of t hat Union. Rut the deed "hns been done, and 1 for one, do honestly declare that I never wish to seo it revoked. Nor do T believe that thc pooplo of the South would now remand the negro to slavery, if they had thc power to do so un questioned. Under our paternal care, from a mere handful ho grew to bo a mighty host. Ho enmo to us a heathen, we made him a christian. Idle, vicious, savage, in his own country ; in ours, he became industrious, gen tle, civilized. Let his history ns a slave bo compared hc-cafter, with that which he Vi'\\\