Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 37.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

[340] of this country; of Jefferson, the author of the declaration of this country's independence; of Marshall, the great Chief Justice became district number one. Our children and those who come to live among us should have these things in remembrance. Our rightful position in the government which our fathers founded will depend upon whether we are true to the principles of constitutional liberty for which the flower of our land died; and to the principles of self-government, self-defense, selfrespect and loyalty to our traditions for which we have contended ever since Appomattox. By the good hand of God the past has made the present, we must see to it that the future shall be worthy of the past and the present.

It is too late to be asking or discussing the question, Were we right? That has been proved and reproved, and proved again, to Him that hath an ear to hear, and who has not subscribed to the heresy that ‘might is right.’ My brethren, you know you feel it in your souls that you did not fight for ‘the right as you thought it was,’ or ‘as it was given you to see it,’ and so you may be forgiven, because you did it ‘ignorantly in unbelief;’ but you fought for the right as it was, and hence we do not need, and do not ask for forgiveness for doing what was right. In those days it was not the custom of our people to discuss the question, ‘Is it expedient?’ when we were satisfied it was right. And just so far as this cannot be truthfully said of our people to-day, do we need to look to the past, and stand by the graves of our heroes and remember.

Less than two weeks ago the President of the United States, in a public address, is reported as using these words: ‘They said that Grant had not the military genius that other generals displayed in the war. To my mind, his mind and brain represented the very genius of war to suppress the rebellion, because it was his mind that grasped the thought that until we had fought it out with our brave opponents and met them in the field and fought them as soldiers, until we convinced them by our strength that the battle was hopeless, we could not expect to have a united country. And therefore, from the time he began in Belmont until he accomplished the surrender of Lee, at Appomattox, he fought not cities, not points of strategy, but he fought ’