.^ * ■ HvC. 1UD*QJTALD IF.E ARM : ';: going to have 2,000 Suberic Authorized Agent paper, Christmas, ; : V • Voi. m. SATURDAY, MAY 11,1889 ADDRESS OF HON. Z. B. VANCE, the Battle of Guilford Court House. IttUvoreii at tho Celebration on Mag 4th, ■ , From time immemorial that por . tioB of the human robe which has left any record of Its actions have : indulged the practice of commemora ‘ ting the notable events of its histo ry. The method by which this was done was a good test of their civili : zatioii. In Genesis it is recorded that •: Jacob took the stone upon Which his head had rested, whilst the won drous vision Was displayed to him, of the angels ascending and descend ing, and erected it as a memorial ; pillar. Again, when the Lord ap peared to 'Jacob when, he came but ■of Padim-aram and blessed him and renewed the promises which had " been made unto Abraham, Jacob , set up a pillar of stone in the plaee as a memorial and called it Beth-el. Twelve stones were likewise set, up; : in commemoration of the crossing of : the river Jordan .by the tribes dry shod. Thi Assyrians and the Egyp tians did likewise, but in more elab 'i orate manner. Inf act, almost the only history by which we trace the history of the East is by deciphering the inscriptions upon' their momu f merits and memorial structures. So enduring monuments are the great' pyramids that mankind has almost forgotten the purpose for which i ‘.they ware erected and by whom, they ' have actually outlasted all knowl edge or tradition,concerning them. • The Greeks excelled all others per haps in the number and artistic ex ^ celienee of their commemorating v, atones. Not only all great events but nil their great men were thus ; commended to the attention of pos terity by the erection of temples and Statutes, which have never yet been surpassed, if indeed they have been ■ equalled. The Eomana copied. their r customs and their art in this regard. To this day they remind, us of the genius and glory of Greece; In very v truth 7.-'.;.... •The silent pillars lone and grifj ■ /Hahn kindred witti tlieir sscrea day.” Much of the profoundest learning of modern times has'been devoted to these exhibitions of Greek art and the Egyptology of the Nile. Thus the progress of art is traced from the ■-'t rude unhewn stone of Jacob to the . exquisitely chiselled and proportion ed column of the Athenian Acropo • Its, and the wondrous structures^ of ‘ .Egypt, _ _ _ . In addition to this method of com memoration the moderns have adopt ed what may be called the! tradition al. Great masses of the people meet together cn anniversary days, and discourse concerning the events which are the object of the meeting. -Tbiswe'^all “celebrating,” It is ■ nothing more than the renewing and strengthening the remembrance - ■ at the events which we wish to per petuate. Perhaps,jof all the west • % ern people, we in the United ’ States "'“iexcel in this matter of celebrating ■events in our history. We are not satisfied with the mere erection of -monuments or piles of stone, but we -meet together . in multitudes; we inarch in procession with ijands of music, we fire cannon and display banners; so that the deeds which we wisii renieiiiDertJU ui»jr- uuii uhij W fastened in the memory of these ad ' '' juncts, but may serve £o excite the i ■ emulation of tne young; .and train . ithem to that degree of perfect citi zenship wh ich leads to the surrender ^ tot all tilings to the common good. It is well that we do so. There is no Letter school for our youth than this *' hero-worship, this exalting of great deeds! There is no inauguration ■; whieh can conceive the extent of its influence upon character; and it is “ always a high and noble influence. A pathetic story is told of a Scotch girl - who had been sent to France to be J.-.educated, she was asked as a part of ■tl the exercises, to give a description of a highland regiment. She begin . to read her piece, describing the tall brawny forms clad in the bonnet and tartan, with the claymores at their . aides, the proud, free steps with which they marched to the music of their bag-pipes, when the pride of being the country women of such “ soldiers overcame her, pausing she_ - Ljbttrst into tears. The feeling she 5- excited and the cheers with which f'-: her patriotic fervor was appreciated by strangers, showed that ner educa tioh in the echo ol of patriotism and bero-worship was already advanced. After all that can be done with marble or granite, the truest mon - ument by which the memory of auy can be perpetuated is to be found in the results. It rarely happens that an event in people’s history is worth the perpetuating in stone," which 1s ^ "not already everlastingly embalmed ff* in the hearts of the people.‘What . monument is required to keep Blive the memory of the'man who invent ' ed the mariner’s compass, by which the trackless paths of tns> sea are made as familiar to commereeas out iuter-State highways? What stone is necessary to the inventor of the art of printing, when all »cience and all literature daily, unconsciously byman his praise? What shaft is needed by the inventor of the steam engine, when the whole earth is full of the works which magnify him? Or tu the discoverer of the cotton S'n by which the world is clothed ? deft the memory of the great physi cians whose genius has mitigated human suffering depend upon a-pile of stones? Or do the great lawyers to-whose acumen we are indebted for tho chief liberties of the people need onr care? For themselves —no; hut for ourselves, to show our gratitude and appreciation, to remind us we, too,can make ourselves gublime-rr yes.. Their great achievements, are tlieir-monuments, for, verily, “their Works do follow, them;". ,and any shafts we may .erect are rather ourfl than theirs. \ They testify not so much of their deals as of what lives in out hearts. The philosophy of this is-found in the explanation - of the Wise aiid Witty Cato, the Censor, who said that he had rather have the stranger ask why he had no statue than to ask why he had one. In the walls of St. Paul’s, is inserted a tablet on which is written the name of Sir Christopher Wren, its archie tect, with the -words underneath, “Lector sc monumentum requiris cir cumspice." The.imposing structure reaching upward with all its lines of beauty and strength was his monu ment! • v Should the inquiry be made, what was done at this spot in 1,781, and where is the monument of results to commemorate it? the answer might well be made in the single word, "Circtmspiee." Beyond question the foundation ofAmerican liberty was laid on this spot on -that noted day in March, 1781. A brief and philosophical consideration *of the hrilitary situation of these colonies, and of the events which immediately preceded and followed the struggle herevvrill satisfy any one ? that , the importance of that day’s work is not overrated by this statement. * The British armies havo failed of success among the Northern portion of the colonies, owing to the skill and vigilance of Washington, the attention of their commander, was directed to the Southern department. There, it was believed that owing to the hold which the British already had upon the' country, its widely scattered rural population and the noted loyalty of a considerable por tion of it, the prospect of final suc cess was much better than in any other quarter. With a picked and veteran force, therefore, Lord Corn wallis began his celebrated march from Charleston through South C aroli n a an d Nor fch' Carolrna into Virginia. He calculated upon em bodying the loyal element wher ever he went and encouraging it to join him and swell, his force®- This was reasonable after the shameful disaster at Camden, and to a great extent this expectation was justified by large numbers of loyalists join ing him in South Carolina, whilst qpite a number either did, "or at tempted the saraein North Carolina, But his presence And proclamations were two-edged weapon*; they not only called opt me ioyy element, but roused and brought to arms every patriotic Whig in the region through which he marched. These alone proved more-tban sufficient to deal with their countrymen who took sides-with the British. The first great serious check which his hitherto triumphant advance had received was at King’s Mountain in October, 1780, preceding liis advance into North Carolina, Cornwallis had sent Major Ferguson with a battal ion of regular troops to call out and embody all the Tory element “of the western part of the two Carolinas. This he did with considerable suc cess, and incorporated with his Own forces a large number of volunteers. But the effort to do so had alarmed the Whigs of the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia. These gallant Frontiersmen sprang up by magic, and crossing the great Iron and Yellow mountains from the val ues of the Ilolston and Nalichucky nssemhled in the valley of the Ca tawba und made their final arrange, ments to dispose of Ferguson and his Tories. Advancing by forced marches, receiving recruits at every step their array became so formida ble that Ferguson took the alarm and retreated to King’s Mountain, vainly imagining that the faw mili tia from the wilderness would not dare toattnek him there. But lit tle did he know of' the spirit ol thoseTneri^ ^Iiiko*-mouataiiv ava lanche they swept onward after then prey, and like an eagle when found they seized it in defiance of all mil itary rules, in its own chosen posi tion of strength. Authors, orator* and military critics have dwelt alrkf exhaustively upon this wonderous feat of anus, U» timely importance to the patriotic cause and its unex ampled heroism. There is Tittle con cerning it which remainsjto be said. To me, it appears'^-impossible for language to over-estimate its impor tance or to do adequate justice to the courage, audacity and war-like skill which, enabled untrained militia, without artilleij, without bayonets, without even discipline, with simply hunting rides and inadequate ammu nition, to assault fortified mountain height defended by almost equal numbers, af*part of whom were train ed veteran troops—and .carry them by storm. There is no story in the annals of war, there is ' no incident told of the great Hannibal, or of the retreat of the ten thousand, or of the Roman legions in any part of the earth, which excels it for- piire heroism, grim and sturdy courage, and as an exhibition of the true fire of war-like genius. I know that it is not.perhaps in good taste for citi zens or a Democratic country to" boast of the blood which is in their veins, but I am sure I will be par doned for indulging in a strain of filial pride by glorying in the fact that my grandfather was: one of those who amidst smoke and fire as cended those heights on that day. However, perhaps I need not apolo gize. If it be proper for us to feel proud of our ancestors in the mass, it cannot be improper to boast of their deeds in the individual. The Chinese proverb well saysj “To forget one’s ancestors is to he a brook without a source—a tree without a root." - .t,; The next mOstsenous check which was given to the royal advance was inflicted at the Cowpens in Decem ber, 1780, Furious at the. destruc tion of Ferguson’s command, Corn wallis hurried forward to retrieve the- disaster, the celebrated and hitherto invincible cavalry com mancL Colonel Tarleton, with a considerable force of splendid troops. He was met at the Cowpens by General Mor gan with a large force of the patri otic militia of North and South' Carolina—many of whom had par ticipated in the victory at King's Mountain, and Was signally defeated, with the loss of a large number of killed, wounded and prisoners. Thiw, two'most important detach ments of the royal invading army having been defeated—one being absolutely destroyed—Lord Corn wallis, being justly alarmed for the success of the campaign and smart-, ing from humiliation and defeat, determined upon a prompt and ag gressive advance which should sub due all opposition and restore all lost prestige or his army. From this time forward, until fate compelled him to retreat from the State, it is impossi ble to withhold'from him our admi ration of his high military qualities* as evinced by the discipline of his troops and the wisdom and modera tion of his conduct. Gut it was de creed that he should fail, and on this spot where we now stand, in 1781, the finishing blow was given to all his prospects for subjugating the Southern Colonies, and which drove him to his ships at Wilmington and finally to the end at Yorktown. ^ From this day dates the real free dom and independence of North Carolina. Had he not here been successfully resisted—had the army of Gen. Greene been destroyed as Ferguson’s 'had- been at King’s Mountuin, beyond alf questions' the independency of these' colonies would have been indefinitely post poned. now Lius uhluic was auu^iil uuu successfuly won, and the part ' our North Carolina ancestors took there in, I will hot attempt to describe to day. It has been done again and again by onr historians and orators —by Hawks, Graham, Swain Caru thers, butneverso well and com pletely done as by that honorabbe gentleman, David Scbenok, who dis coursed to you at your last celebra tion and to whose untiring and ’pa triotic exertions wo are innebted to keep alive the memory of our liber ty-loving forefathers. For one I unhesitatingly accept the 'conclu sion of his laborious researches, and believe thorn to bo the truth of his-, tory. I believe that the regular and volunteer troops of North Carolina did their duty that day as well os any men upon that'field, and that the lines of raw, undisciplined mili tia did as well that day as was ex pected of them by their comman der, been expected of them by any critic with sufficient military knowl edge to judge of the capacity of such forces, so armed, agamBt such trained and disciplined and perfectly armed, troops. - W hat then is their work P What is the monument that they that day erected to themselves as seen in the result? Suppose an intelligent stanger were here and he were hold to look that monument by inching ; least twenty* able and two m# which are ^extends east red, miles in around, what would he see? He would behold a free and indepen dent commonwealth, which for more than a hundred years has en joyed the blessings of liberty and which has advanced steadily without retrogreeion and anarchy in all the Rof prosperityfand civilization. fifty-thousand square miles of territory contuining thirty-two mill ion acres, of which ;!11-1| nine millions are : thousand square mih island seas. This ail and west for six hund length with ait average breath of a hundred and forty. In it is found a general elevation from tide water to the mountain tops of six, thousand feet, giving the varieties of climate which are to be found within twenty degress of latitude Northand South. The varieties of productions are abundantly commensurate with these varieties of soil and climate. Her forest have always been remark able, and still are, for their greatex tentand value, and the treasures within her bosom have bugun to be explored and exposed., Not to men tion the smaller streams, this erea is traversed by three thousand miles of water courses of the dignity of rivers, furnishing in their gradual fall from the western highlands in to the sea, water power sufficient to turn all the machinery of the world. This happily located land at—once profitable, pleasant and picturesque, containing ell the'best gifts of Hod to his creatures, in the home of""the children of the men who-made it free and establishined its institutions and laws with a view to the happiness of its people. So well did they, build that after more than a century' of trial, no flaw has been found in its struct ures, no weakenening, no evidence of decay. Straight forward it has grown in population and wealth, in intelligence without pause or decay, save on;y in the ever memoriable ©never-damnable days of recon struction. In 1870 the number of UUt pcupie t)UO,WU, 1U JVW was.l,400,000; it the ratio increase which obtained from 1870 to 1880 be preserved ill 1890 our population will be at least 1,750,000, and whether it may be a matter of boast ing or a matter of regret, it is equal ly the truth, this steady and heath increase has been aided very little by emigration. The statistics show that no American State has been so little indebted to foreigners, for either population or wealth. Em phatically our progress is our own, find whatever may We maybe that we have become by our own efforts. Let us lave it accordingly. The Germans say “OneV own straw is better than an enemy’s wool.” and the Latins, “The smoke of our own country is brighter than fires abroad/1-v-• ’ j-j So much do we'»lfea