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8 Extracts from the Oration of James M Smythe* Esq IN HOMO* or THE CONFEDERATE DEAD, DELIVERED IN MAJOR I. I*. GIKAKDKy’s OPERA HOUSE, AUGUSTA, ON THE 23kd of Januar 1872. Ladies and Gentlemen of thin As sembly : W e have met to commemorate the valor, the patriotism, the heroic deeds of those who died in defence of the the liberties which our patriotic ances tors bequeathed to us and designed to be an imperishable heritage. In one sense the cause for which they died was lost, in another there is reason to hope that the. example of their martyrdom for principle will redound to the cause of liberty at home and through out the civilized world. The Con federacy was lost, but true freedom in vites us still, to effort, and beckons us onward to eventual triumph. It may be that the South is destined to restore it, not aloue, for her owngood, but for that of her oppressors. Those clouds, which hover darkly over us, may yet disappear, and the majesty of a brave outraged but re-arisen people, be once more seen in controlling power. To effect this great result mil demand the the utmost wisdom, energy and skill. Let us not despair. The slaughtered forms of our fathers, sons and brothers, teach us in their graves, that tine men can die for principle. Let us who survive learn from this mournful lesson, that it is the duty of the living to struggle for every sacred right. I am not advising a resort to arms Our strength is m peace. We must con quer by example, by precept, by adher ing at the ballot-box, to those great principles, of our fathers, which are now trodden down, and not upon ensanguined plains. The glutted vie tor may see in time, that his own liberty will be lost unless he shall resort to those original doctrines which, like an infidel he has trodden under his un hnllowed feet. All Southern hearts should throb in sympathy and union. Our united strength and effort will be needed not where the artillery thunders, but where men peacefully congregate to reflect and reason, and perhaps, somewhat fearful, to look in their politi cal pathways, for the foot prints of Washington, Jefferson, Madison. Adams, Hancock, und other revolu tionary fathers. These noble patriots, of ’76, knew no triumphs and taught no doctrines save those which secured peace and liberty for Ihemeelveß and their descendents. We have met to commemorate the deeds and services of the Con federate dead. We do that with the more affectionate zeal, because, they died for their country around whose sacred flag were entwined the principles of justice, oiirdearest hopes, our rights, and honor. This hallows their patrio tism and endears tlv ir memories the more, to ,the friends of Southern liberty and equality. Their footsteps fall no more within our hearing, silent, arc those loved voices which fell so sweetly upon our ears, and absent are those manly forms on which we proudly looked. They are mantled, now, only in their deeds of noble daring, and in the silence and darkness of their tombs. As soon could we be apostates to our homes, to our God, to our country, our families and children, now with us under these Southern Skies, as to the memories of those, whose spirits whisper do us their dying love from hundreds of sepulchral hills and vales. Some of them were cradled in infancy with those who hear me now. Mothers may be present who fondled them in their loving arms, and fathers who looked with pride upon their manly forms on which they hoped to lean in their declining years. They were taken from your arms, but not your hearts, to be* offered as bleediug sacrifices for your country and your rights. Some were taken from the arms- of young affection where love had joined their souls in indissolubleties, others from the impul ses, merely of affections ripening smiles. And has the farewell hour gone to be forgotten ? Perish the thought! that dark oblivion could ever blot from memory these sacred visions of the past. ****** The story of these great battles, as well as others not mentioned, must be BANNER OF THE SOUTH aND PLANTERS’JOURNAL. read at leisure. It is thus only, that ! the super-human efforts ol the Con federates can be known. A combat scatters into inumerable details. A regiment moves in steady column t* take a destructive battery and the con solidated movement speaks to the eye of conceit, strength, motnentnm, and com bined courage and effort. This is seen in grander colors, in the movements of a whole brigade, or larger forces in a grand charge. Here is the thundering tramp of the horse shaking the ground like an earthquake amidst the rattling of sabres and the clash of swords. There is a well manned bat tery disgorging the tremendous missiles of death and shaking the skies with itS thundering echoes. Yonder, bodies of men may be seen covered with dust and sweat, thrusting their bayo nets into each others breast in a ter rific hand to hand eucouuter. These murderous sights, the wounded, dy ing and the dead with the reeking tide of blood admidst the thunders, pomp j and circumstance of horrid war, will be painted upon the historic page. I make allusion to them, merely to ex hibit in general terms, the dauntless valor, the indomitable spirit, the faith ful devotion of the soldiers of the Con federate, army. It would seem to be almost impracti cable for them to have achieved the victories that they did with often two, and sometimes three bayonets to their one, flashing in their eyes. Yet it has become an historic truth. It can be accounted for only in their superior prowess, and a holy confidence in the rightfufness of their cause. Os such as these are the Confederate dead in whose honor we have assemb led upon this occasion. Perhaps, in some instances, if patriotism needed an additional spur, it was found in the inhumanities of the foe ; in burning, pillaging, and tor turing the victims of their power, and worse than all, their hellish brutalities to women. Midnight fires, in some in stances, drove the old and the young, feeble women and children, from their burning homes into the lanes and woods, when winter winds were bleak, and lroze the rain drops as they fell. In addition to dwelling houses, facto ries, mills and foundries, plantation tools and every useful thing within the reach of the enemy, were burned or destroyed. And where did these Con federates die? On fields of slaughter, with freedom’s banner waving o’er them; in charging bayonet, to main tain your rights; in silencing deep throated cannon brought to batter down your liberties, and subject you to political inequality ; in baring their breasts to balls and bullets to preserve you lrom social degradation. Or they may have caught their deaths on pick, et, in the bivouac, or on the fatiguing march. Or, it may be in the miserable dungeons of Camp Douglas, Point Lookout, Elmira, Johnson’s Island, or some other fort or place, where they were subjected to the inhumanities of Federal guards. Be that as it may, they were sacrificed upon the altar of Southern patriotism. It is a mournful sweep of thought to look over those ensanguined fields. Lightning speeds the news of the drums deep roll, the trumpets clangor, —artillery's deafening thunders—the storms of battle—the shouts ot com batants. All is over save the groans and sighs of the wounded and dying. Some were suddenly consigned to end less sleep. A chilly sweat is on the limbs of others who, with shortened breath, murmur low the last farewell to loved ones at their distant homes. One parting kiss! One last embrace! No, This is denied me. Go, spirit, and tell them of the deepening agonies I feel; but, tell them, too, I bravely died for them. Yes; the spirits of those noble martyrs still whisper to us the gallantry of their deeds and these last dying words. They were our Southern jewels ; they had the souls of patriots. Oh, Confederate dead of Georgia!— of the whole South !—of every clime and nation! who aided the South in her struggle for freedom! Embracing the doctrines of the fathers of the Republic, that each State was sovereign within herself—that al legiance was due to sovereign power— you obeyed the summons ot your States to arms, not to destroy the old Union, but to maintain these vital doc trines in the new. For that reason you hailed the star of Confederate in dependence. Rising before the dawn to see their coming, your hearts leap ed with admiration as their constellated splendor burst upon your enraptured vigions. Each one distiuct, but all 1 united in silvery harmony to perpetuate | the principles, the hopes, the glories of I republican liberty. To you it was a ; fascinating presentment, the rising Eos of new hopes, new’ destinies, new na tional glories. For your country and the liberties of your people, you gave the highest and noblest evidence of your devotion with baptismal blood. Some of you closed your eyes in end less sleep upon fields of battle Some in the cold and frozen dungeons of the North; some in far distant hospitals where no voice of home or love could reach you. All of you, doubtless, turn ed there your dying thoughts. Alas! that cruel fate denied an exchange of parting looks, of loving words and blessings. But, Ohs Confederate dead! in hospitals and prisons, in cold, un feeling graves, the deep affections of our hearts were with you. In griet we mourn we cannot call you back; your race is finished; but, pride of the South! brave knights of chivalry! we love you still. Pulseless are your hearts, which so nobly throbbed for freedom, but the beauty and power of principle, illustrated in your lives and death, teach us that you did not die in vain. Your people, in their grateful admiration, will erect a monumental shaft on which will-be commingled the light of Nature's glowing king and the splendor of your heroic deeds. It will he at once a symbol of our gratitude and that devoted patriotism which made you die in defence of your land, your homes, your people and their sa wed altars. * * * • * * * You will perceive, ladies and gentle men, that I have made incidental allu sion to the names ol only a few of those who acted in their official capacity. It woidd have been both easy and agreea ble to have referred to many, but I can not allude to all, nor e\ en a small part, either of the living or the dead, in such terms and at such length as their merits demand, and I have preferred to avoid all appearance of discrimination. The gallantry of all amidst the red fires of war—their loyalty to duty, and forti tude in suffering—made them objects of our pride, and their loss, sources of the profoundest sorrow. All were steadfast and true. Death sealed the earthly fates of some, and whether in high stations or low, I leave them in my discourse, to be embodied in the general terms of the living or the dead. Blessings and honor rest upon all the living! Let honor and grateful remem brance be accorded to all the Con federate dead! And how shall we honor them? llow be grateful? In our hearts? Yes; but let us do more. Let each one that can, unite with the mon umental association ot Augusta, in bearing a tangible testimony in their ■ honor, and expressive of our gratitude. | Our hearts are monuments, but we i must speak to the eye, and through that, to the understandings of the pres ent and future generations. The living soldier must see that appropriate honor is paid to the comrade who fell at his side. The young, and those who may come after us, must see that those who wielded their swords in freedom’s holy fight, were not forgotten, though free dom sank with them for a time, to em brace them in their silent graves. Let it not be said, or thought, that affection and gratitude were lost with the cause. ; Spirit of liberty! forbid it Time lies silent upon the bosom of the future. The veil is down, but we know not when Georgia may again waut the aid of her sons. But the dead are gone, let them sleep in j>eaee, and live in our grateful memories! Where? olt*people of the South ! is your proud and patriotic thought The cross of Christ is the touching symbol of God's mercy to man. It speaks to the eye and stirs the soul to holy thought in his sacred temples, as it would in the burning sands of Sahara, in heathen groves, or by the side of the mysterious pyramid*. IV hat, if our cause was lost? What, it the hopes which arose on the golden shores ot the morning of our Southern Confederacy were blasted so soon. That is an additional reason for the erection of a commemorative shaft. Shall the sun gild our land to expose ! a cold forgetfnlness of our heroic dead, ( because we failed to conquer peace and I freedom ? Where were these illus ; trioas martyrs in defeat ? Cold in death, 1 their mangled bodies covered many an : ensanguined field. They bravely died i for us; could we ask for more of them? Let the monument tower towards the j skies. We will gaze upon it with pa triotic sympathy, our children will look at it, and their hearts will glow with pride, as they see in it a symbol of their father's devotion to liberty and their country. The enemy triumphed not, because our defenders were faithless, but, be cause they were fiveefold numerically stronger. When their warriors fell they could supply their places, when ours tell, a heavier responsibility rested upon the remainder, for we had no others to supply their places; and thus the contest lasted until the Confederacy with less than one hundred and fifty thousand men, had to battle against a foe with a million in the field, or at hand to take it • * * • * • Mothers, who gave the last kiss to their manly sons, when they left for the seat of war, will remember how, with tears streaming down their cheeks, they watched their retiring forms until they were lost to sight, and with many, they were lost to "sight to be seen on this earth no more. How many lovinsr wives took final leave of their devoted husbands, and thus throngh all the re lations of love and friendship. All such will take an interest in this grand State enterprize of erecting a monu ment to Georgia’s Confederate dead They will sympathize, also, with those who loved the dead of other States, who were buried within our beloved soil. Those, who were not bereaved jin the death ot kindred, or personal friends, must sympathize with an ob ject which appeals so forcibly to their patriotic sentiments and emotions. How is it possible to escape the claim ot honor, of continuous sacrifice, from the call to arms through summer's heat and winter's cold, through wars terrific storms, and banishment from home, with all its love and joys, to that dread hour when death, ghastly and cold, claimed our faithful Confederates :is its victims. PerhaDs it may not be amiss in me to say, that those who w ill not aid in I raising this monument, may plant the | ashes of a vain regret in their souls. | when lookiug upon it in other days, to know that they had no part nor lot in I placing it there. Tl* old man who ! witholds his mite, will feel that he must soon meet those who fought and died for his rights, but whom he failed to honor with his grateful contribution. The young man, who denies his pit tance, will, when passing by it in youthful pride, with the girl of his heart upon his arm. be abashed in her presence lest she may learn that it was built unaidod by him. Even the North ern man who differed with us on con stitutional constructions, who fought us bravely, but at the same time, recog nized the integrity of our purpose and devotion to. principle, can but admire the sentimeut which animates our pert j pie in thi.< grateful effort to honor the j Confederatedead. Some of them, we i have no will see the day when they will come to us and hail us as the defenders and saviours of true consti tutional freedom. This monument is not alone to per petuate the valor, the honor and mem ories of the Confederate dead, but ; the gratitude of our people, and their l devotion to the great States-rights principles of our glorious ancestors. The object for which it is to be con structed, takes in the broad sweep of our people, and appeals to the patriot ism of every citizen of Georgia. To the fair daughters of Georgia it cannot appeal in vain. Woman through out the war was emphatically the sol diers friend. Her tread was like an angel s, w’hen she drew near the couch ot the wounded soldier. Many w’ere indebted to her ministrations for the preservation of their lives. Even her jnere presence and sympathy were of incalculable value. Strange mysterious power! for her strength lies in her weakness, and her potency in her tears. The babe sleeps on its mother’s bosom and is happy. Man, like the infant, leans upon her for happiness. Marvel lous it is not, then, that the praises of woman should be upon the lips of eve |ry Confederate soldier, whose health, j far distant from his home, needed the I attentions which that home had given him. We will not fail, for woman is at work in this sacred cause. It would lie almost vain to cherish hope without her aid, and others will bring their al most angelic help to give to freedom’s sons a tribute worthy of their fame. Man may work and fail, but woman never fails to triumph. To those now aiding in this grateful work, will be added many othere, and when the work is finished, young men and aged sires may point to it with truth, and say, it would have failed but for the magic smiles and aid of woman. Nations and peoples in all ages of the world, have exhibited their admi ration and gratitude in the erection ot statues, obelisks, Mausoleum’s and pillars, pantheons, pyramids, triumphal arches, and other commemorative mon uments. No people ever died in a nobler cause than those whose services the monumental association of Augus ta are seeking to honor. A young na tion sprung upon the world whose sun soon set in blood. It is like a brilliant dream in the flight of time, but its tale of chivalry, though sad, will be the story of our noble sons, fighting for man's most sacred rights, country, hon or, liberty and home. What we do, let us do without de lay. An early exhibition of generous and patriotic contribution will encour age others at a distance to come up quiekly to this sacred work. One thought alone, it seems to me, should kindle a flame of patriotic sentiment in the hearts of all our people; the ruddy life drops of our heroic dead, stream ing from their mangled bodies, upon a hundred hard-fought fields, and freely offered for them and freedom. I can almost imagine, my fair coun try-women and my countrymen, even now, while dwelling upon this theme, that I hear the love-tones of some Con federate dead saying: I may not perish thus—Farewell, Yet no, my country, no! Is not love stronger than the grave? I feci it must be so! Perhaps he was lying wounded al most in the agonies of death, with its dews gathering upon his pale brow. Still bis thoughts were turned to his country, and the verdant glades and shady vistas of his childhood’s home. Yes, love is stronger than the grave, ; and in saying that my task is nearly | done, I feel in my kindling soul, some 1 magic power, which tells me that the ; principles for which our brave Confcd ] crates died, will yet blaze in triumph I with ineffable splendour. They never fail who die lu a great cause; the block may Soak their gore. Their heads may sodden in the sun, Their limbs Be strung to city gates and castle walls, But still their spirit walks abroad Though years Elapse, and others share as Dark a doom. They but augment the deep and sweep ing thoughts Which over-power all others, and conduct The world at last to freedom. llow to have Eaki.y Tomatoes.— To produce the earliest ripening toma toes, just before frost, take cuttings from the old plants and keep ‘ them in sand, or in sharp, sandy soil during the winter in a cool, dry cellar. The cut : tings should be made from the base of the old plants just above the main roots, taking at the base end of each cutting about four inches of the stem, trom which new fibres or rootlets have started, and then making the cutting so that it will have two or more leaf buds above the rooted end. Usually the cutting will be about ten to twelve inches long. It should, as soon as taken off from the main or old plant, have its fibrous end at once planted in a pot or box of sand or sharp, sandy loam, given a good watering and then set away in a cool place, say in a dry cellar or under the stage of a green house. These cuttiDgs started into growth in the latter end of February, by plaeingthem in the south windows ot a warmly kept living room or placed o» the shelves of the green house or in a hotbed frame, will give fruit two to three weeks earlier than the best plants that can possibly be grown from seed. Again, he who wishes to originate anew, early variety by fertilizing the Alger with the early red, will probably produce an early and extra large, smooth variety.— Elliott.