Rensselaer Republican, Volume 20, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 November 1887 — “CONFEDERACY DAY.” [ARTICLE]

“CONFEDERACY DAY.”

Wonderful >Outpouring of Ex-Oon-federates at Macoit, Georgia. Remarkable DeniouHtratlon in Honor of Jt-fiT Davin and the SciirM and Rars—A Startling Speech. * A special from Macon, Ga.. says: yesterday (the 2flth) was “Confederacy” day in Maeofi. ft was ithe last gasp, but it v. as a startlin'' ond Everywhere throughout the city’/Confederate flags were flying. .Everybody had from one to a dozen badges on his breast indicative of love for Jest Davis and for the “lost cause,” but still the leading and thinking people here say that it means no disloyalty to the Union; that this is only a last farewell to the old man who must soon leave this world and to the cause these people fought for under him. The especial feature of the celebration was the so-called review of the Confederate veterans by their old president. Mr. Davis, with his family and I a number of distinguished Georgians, was sitting on the porch of Captain I Johnston’s bouse, when the procession * wheeled into the front carriage gate, intending to pass close by Mr. Davis and out at the rear gate, hut the crowd soon had swarmed over the fence and filled the front lawn completely full. Every fellow was struggling to push nearer to ‘he porch and every voice was straining to be heard above every other voice, shouting “Hurrah for Jeff Davis!” The arrangements that bad been made for reviewing’ the veterans were blown to kingdom come. What the btowd wanted was to see Jeff Davis himself, touch him, if possible, and worship at his feet. The old veterans broke ranks and began climbing upon the preh. The police tried to pull them down, but they shouted back that all the policemen in Georgia could not keep them from shaking hands with Jeff Davis.

Mr. Davis, whose seventy nine years have left him in a very feeble state, made desperate efforts to shake hands over the porch railing with everybody whom he could reach. Of the 5,000, perhaps 200 managed to touch the hands, which Mr. Davis now and then tore away from those who sought to hold them and dangled over the railing. Whenever he did this the crowd below would grab his hands, and some of the men who were strong enough to keep the others away, stood and held the thin pale hands to their lips and washed them with their tears. Long-haired, unkempt old fellows crawled right up on the shoulders of the men in front of them and piled over their beads, regardless of everything but their own purpose o' touching the hand of Jeff Davis They scrambled and fought and yelled and cried till bedlam would have seemed a dense silence beside them. Yet, even then, the enthusiasm was not at its height. It was not until somebody handed the ragged battle-flag of the Third Georgia regiment over the heads of the crowd that the storm blew its worst. Mr. Davis grasped the tatters of the flag and pressed them to his lips. This was the signal for the most violent breaking forth. The air was full of such expressions as “God bless Jeff Davis,” “God bless the flag,” and kindred sentiments. Men in the crowd below, and men and women on the porch, broke down under the strain put upon their emotions, and in a moment the entire multitude was in tears. The old Confederate President waved the battle-torn sign over the heads of the pbople, who yelled and threw their hats away and cried like so many children. Mrs Davis and her two daughters kissed the flag in turn, and for each kiss 5,000 hurrahs went up. Mrs. Davis at last tore off a shred of the flag and placed it within the bosom of her dress, whereupon a perfect pandemonium of “God bless you” and similar shouts were let loose. When the flag was handed back to the multitude the men snatched all available tatters and pressed them warmly to their lips. Pretty soon Mr. Davis rose, and,facing the people in the attitude of a speechmaker. managed finally to bring about, -alull, in which-ha -was heard by the very nearest ones to say: Friends and Brothers—l am like that old flag—tattered and torn by storms and vears. I love it for its own sake and for your’s. I love it as a memento of what ’ our fathers did, and what they hoped you would do. t will .see you again. At this point anothei flag—one ot the old original flags with the three bars and the eleven stars —was passed up, and Mr. Davis and his entire family kissed and wept over it. Several badges were presented to Mr. Davis and his daughters. These presents were made in. behalf of several military organizations which are here, and the badges, which are very beautiful, all bore conspiciously on their faces Confederate flags and printed sentiments, of which the following from the badge presented to Mr. Davis by the Young Men’s .Veterans’association is an example: While the survivors’ of the Confederacy do honor to their chieftain, we, their sons, ro'ri?rabefing your faithfulness to and suiferings for them, join our hearts with theirs in sratituie, and together pledge you eternal love Our prayer is that God. who has ever been just, may still care for you, and when the end comes, crown you with glory that never fades in a cause that never dies. When Mr. Davis received, this badge from the hands of Congressman Blount’s son, the old President wept like, a child, and said: My young countrymen, lam proud to know that you hold in reverence the memory and prin--ciples of your fathers. Another special says that on that night a great torch-light demonstration occurred in honor of Jefferson Dav.’S.

■ ’ .... , ■ 1 1 -L..W .■■ & I General Henry Jackson,'ex minister to Mexico, jn his speech to the veterans said: Behold majestic ti nth revealing herself. State sovereignty is not dead. Georgia is sovereign still, and calls upon her people to glory with har to-day. Her glory is tn her htgrarv. net history is the memory of tor dead, and thly day Is consecrnU-d to her. Confederatedesd. Thea were guilty of no tress n to her. To whom,then could'they to traitors? Where shall we seek' l their higher sovereign? Shall we Hud him in the federal eonetiiiitton? Phen, there was sovereign smitten to earth by traitors’ hands, trampled in the dust by traitors teet, butthe hauds and feet were not theirs? Do we hold that the men who fought against them were traitors? Not'at all. They, too, w< re loyal to tneir sovereign. The constitution was but a treaty tietweeri Illsh eom tractin l sovereign parties, without one atom of sovereignty in Itself, since with impunity, through loug years of painful agitation, was it broken by the sovereign party of t e North. They enacted into crime the mere attempt of federal power- to enforce its de rtfltse within th.-ir dominions, and becan>e, after decades of endurance as patient its it was delusive, the sovereign parties of the South declined to accept their revolutionary will in permanent place of the constitution, the compact-breaking .sovereigns of the North, with numb -rs overwhelming and material unbounde l, made aggressive war upon them to force them to accept it. THie world has been told that the people of the South mad» the war to perpetuate A frican slavery. This faJalse. They did notcreate, institute, nor do they now wish to restore it The principle for which we fought -the only principle of Government expressive enough to meet the requirements of advancing civilization, made of late by Gladstone's eloquence so familiar to European thought—was American torn. Red with the blood of Confederate heroes, moist with , the tears <>f Confederate widows and '(j ’ eHstutsaS.sball ittominue to roll. carrvl’st with 1 Lttltabi'-ssed light of the Christian civilteatioa all around the globe- And so surely as it moves it shall bring the day of triumph. In that triumphant procession; 'Abraham Lincoln shall not move as the rightful President, but Jeff Davis, the so-called traitor, leader of a so-called lost ci use. We, as confederates, can echo from our heart* the Patriotic cry of Webster the great, Thanks be to God that I, too, am an American citizen,” but if the so-called new south be a htw surrender of the old, a false confession, meanly salsa of shame in our past, sires, shame in our dead, which none but the silliest foot can honestly feel, then, with all the power given m by the God of truth, we cry, “Avaunt, false south; avaunt, rotten trunk upon a cursed rent ■. thy fruit shall tnrn to ashes.”