VZZa. 
 C.Z. 
 
 Add re? 8 at the G-uilford battle 
 prround 
 
 Zebulon B. Vance 
 
The 
 
 
 Howell Collection 
 
 OF HISTORICAL 
 MATERIALS 
 
 Presented by Kay Kyser 
 
 And his Mother 
 
 Emily Royster Howell Kyser 
 
 As a Memorial 
 
 To her Brother 
 
 Edward Vernon Howell 
 
 Dean School of Pharmacy 
 
 1897-1931 
 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
ADDRKSS 
 
 BY 
 
 Hon. Zebulon B, Vance, 
 
 AT THE 
 
 Guilford Battle Ground, 
 
 MRY 4, 1889. 
 
 Reece & Elam, Printers. 
 
ADDRESS 
 
 BY 
 
 Hon. Zebulon B, Vance 
 
 AT THE 
 
 Guilford Battle Ground, 
 
 MRY 4, 1889. 
 
 Reece & Elain, Printers. 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
 
 in 2010 witii funding from 
 
 University of Nortii Carolina at Chapel Hil 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/addressatguilforOOvanc 
 
Ladies and Gcntlcnu-it : 
 
 I congratulate this audience on the pleasant surrounc!- 
 ings. I regret that my health has not ailoueLi me to 
 prepare a more elaborate address; but I have never }x-t 
 failed to respond when called on by the people of Xorth 
 Carolina, and I am here to do what I can to assist in the 
 Celebration of the Battle of Guilford Court House. 
 [Great applause greeted this, after which the Senator 
 proceeded as follows]: 
 
 From time immemorial that portion of the human race 
 which has left any record of its actions has indulged the 
 practice of commemorating the notable events of its his- 
 tory. The method by which this was done was a good 
 test of their civilization. In Genesis it is recorded that 
 Jacob took the stone upon which his head had rested, 
 whilst the wondrous vision was displayed to him, of the 
 angels ascending and descending, and erected it as a 
 memorial pillar. Again, when the Lord appeared to 
 Jacob when he came out of the Padan-aram and blessed 
 him and renewed the promises which had been made 
 unto Abraham. Jacob set up a pillar of stone in the place 
 as a memorial, and called it " Bethel." Twelve stones 
 were likewise set up in commemoration of the crossing 
 of the river Jordan by the tribes dry shod. The sacreci 
 record is full oi this method of perpetuating the memory 
 of noted events by the priests, prophets and people of 
 the Jews. The Assyrians and the Egyptians did like- 
 wise — -but in a more elaborate manner. In fact, almost 
 the only record by which we trace the history of the East 
 is by deciphering the inscriptions upon their monuments 
 and memorial structures. So enduring as monuments are 
 the great pyramids that mankind has almost forgotten 
 the purpose for which they were erected and by whom. 
 
They have actuallx' outlasted all knowledge or tradition 
 Concerning them. The Greeks excelled all others, per- 
 haps, in the number and artistic excellence of their com- 
 memorating stones. Not only all great events, but all 
 their great men were thus commended to the attention 
 of posterity, b}- the erection of temples and statues, 
 which have never }-et been surpassed, if, indeed, they 
 have been equalled. The Romans copied their custom 
 and their art in this regard. To this da)' the)' remind us 
 of the genius and glory of Greece. In very truth, 
 " The silent pillar lone and gray 
 Claims kindred with their sacred clay." 
 
 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 rude unhewn stone of Jacob to the ex- 
 quisitely chiseled and proportioned column of the Athe- 
 nian Acropolis, and the wondrous structures of Egypt. 
 
 In addition to this method of commemoration, the 
 moderns have adopted what may be called the tradi- 
 tional. Great masses of people meet together on anni- 
 versary days, and discourse concerning the events which 
 are the object of the meeting. This we call " celebra- 
 ting." It is nothing more than the renewing and 
 strengthening the remeinbrance of the events which we 
 wish to perpetuate. Perhaps of all the western peoples, 
 we in the United States excel in this matter of celebra- 
 ting 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 speak; we march in pro- 
 cession with bands of music, we fire cannon and displa\' 
 banners, so that the deeds whicli we wish remembered 
 may not only be fastened in the memory b)' these ad- 
 juncts but may serve to excite the emulation of the )'oung, 
 and train them to that degree of perfect cititizenship 
 
5 
 
 which leads to the surrender of all thiuc^s to the commort 
 good. It is well that we do so. There is no better 
 school for our youth than this hero-worship, this e.xalt- 
 ing of great deeds! There is no imagination which 
 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 educated. She was asked, as a part of her exer- 
 cise, to give a description of a Highland regiment. She 
 began to read her piece describing the tall, brawny forms 
 clad in the bonnet and tartan, with the clay-mores at 
 their sides, the proud, free steps with which they march- 
 ed to the music of the bag-pipes, when the pride of being 
 the countrywomen of such soldiers overcame her, and 
 pausing, she burst into tears. The feeling she e.xcited 
 and the cheers with which her patriotic fervor was appre- 
 ciated, showed that her education in the school of pa- 
 triotism and hero-worship was already advanced. 
 
 After all that can be done with marble or granite, the 
 truest monument by which the memory of any event can 
 be perpetuated is to be found in the results. It rarely 
 happens that an event in a people's history is worth the 
 perpetuating in stone, which is not already everlastingly 
 embalmed in the hearts of the people. What monument 
 is required to keep alive the memory of the man who in- 
 vented the mariner's compass, by which the trackless 
 paths of the sea are made as familiar to commerce as our 
 inter-state highways.-* What stone is necessary to the 
 inventor of the art of printing, when all science and all 
 literature, daily, unconsciously hymn his praise.' What 
 shaft is needed by the inventor of the steam engine, 
 when the whole earth is full of the works which magnif}' 
 him.'' or to the discoverer of the cotton gin by which the 
 world is clothed.'' Does the memory of the great physi- 
 cian whose genius has mitigated human suffering depend 
 
on a pile of stones.^ Or do the i^rcat la\v\xTS tf» whose 
 acumen \vc arc indebtctl for the cliicf hberties of our jX'o- 
 plc nfCHi our care? I''()r tliLmsch'cs — no, but f>r r»ur- 
 selves, to show our ^"ratitucle and appreciation, t*) remind 
 us we, too, can n^.ake our h\es sublime — yes. d lieir 
 g-reat achievements are their monuments, for, \crily. 
 " their wcirks do f()U<>w them ;" and an}- shafts we ma)- 
 erect are rather ours than theirs. ddie_\- testif}', not so 
 nnich of tlieir deeds, as wdiat lives in r>ur hearts. 'I he 
 j)hih)si >ph}' of this is found in the c.vph\p,ation of the wise 
 and witt\- Cato, the (.'ensi^r. who said that he had ratlier 
 have the strani.^er ask why he had no statue, than to ask 
 wh\- he had (»ne. In the waUs of St. Paul is inserted a 
 tablet, on which is written the n.ame of Sir Christopher 
 Wren, its architect, with the words underneath, "Lector 
 si monumentuni rcquiris circunisi.)ice." Tlie imposing' 
 structure reaching upward with all its linqsof beaut}- and 
 strength, was his monument. 
 
 Should the iiu]uir\- be made, wdiat was done at this 
 spot in i/Si.-'and where is the monument of results to 
 commemorate it, the answer might well be made in the 
 single word, " Circumspice." Be}'ond question the foun- 
 dation of American libert}- was laid on this spot on that 
 noted da}' in March, 17S1. A brief ai^id philosophical 
 consideration of the militar}- situation of these colonies, 
 and of the events which immediatel}' preceded and fol- 
 lowed the struggle here, will satisfy an}- one that the im- 
 portance of that day's work is not over-rated b}- this 
 statenieiit. 
 
 The British armies having failed of success among the 
 northern portion of the colonies, owing to the skill an.d 
 vigilance of Washington, the attention of their cf>m- 
 mander was directed to the Southern department. There, 
 it was believed that, owing to the hold which the British 
 alreacl}/ had upon the country, its widely scattered rural 
 
population aiul the noted lo}-alty of a considerable por- 
 tion of it, the prospect of final success was much better 
 than in an)' other cjuarter. With a picked and veteran 
 force, tlierefore, Lord Cornwallis began his celebrated 
 march from Charleston through South Carolina and North 
 Carolina into Virginia. He calculated upon embod\'ing 
 the loyal element wherever he went, and encouraging it 
 to join him and swell his forces. This was reasonable, 
 after the shameful disaster at Camden, and to a great ex- 
 tent this e.xpectation was justified b}' large numbers of 
 lo}'alists joining him in South Carolina, whilst quite a 
 number either did, or attempted, the same in North Caro- 
 lina. But his presence and proclamations were two- 
 edged weapons; they not only called out the tory ele- 
 ment, but roused and brought to arms every patriotic 
 Whig in the regions through which he marched. These 
 alone proved more than sufficient to deal with their coun- 
 trj'men who took sides with the British. 
 
 The first great serious check which his hitherto trium- 
 phant advance had received was at King's Mountain in 
 October, 17S0. Preceding his advance into North Caro- 
 lina, 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 success, 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 frontiers- 
 men sprang up as by magic, and crossing the great Iron 
 and Yellow Mountains from the valleys of the Holston 
 and Nolichucky, assembled in the valley of the Catawba 
 and made their final arrangements to dispose of Ferguson 
 and his Tories. Advancing by forced marches, receiving 
 recruits at every step, their array became so formidable 
 that Fersruson took the alarm and retreated to King's 
 
Mountain, vainly imay;inini^ that the raw militia rr(^m the 
 wilderness woulJ not dare to attack him there. But lit- 
 tle did he know ()f the s[)irit of these men. Like a 
 mountain ax'alanche the)- swej^t onward after their prey, 
 and like an eas^de, when found, they seized it, in defiance 
 f)f all military rules, in its own chosen position of 
 streni4'th. .Vuthors, orators and militar}" critics have 
 ilwelt alike exhausti\'ely upon the wondrous feat of arms, 
 its timel)' importance to the patriotic cause and its unex- 
 ampletl heroism. There is little concerniuL^ it which re- 
 mains to be said. 
 
 To me, it aj)pears imp(TssibIe for lans^uai^e to over- 
 estimate its importance or to do adec]uate justice to the 
 courai^e, audacit>' and war-like skill which enabled un- 
 trained militia, without artillerx', without ba\-onets, with- 
 out even discipline, with simpl\- hunting rifles and inade- 
 quate ammunition, to assault fortified mountain heights 
 defended by almost equal numbers, a part of whom were 
 trained veteran troops — and carr}' them by storm. There 
 is no story in the annals of war; there is no incident told 
 ot 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 pure 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 
 citizens of a Democratic country to boast of the blood 
 which is in tlieir veins, but I am sure I will be pardoned 
 tor indulging in a strain of filial pride by glorjdng in the 
 fact that m_\- grandfather was one of those who amidst 
 smoke and fire ascended those heights on that day. 
 However, perhaps I need not apologize. If it be proper 
 for us to feel proud of our ancestors in the mass, it can- 
 not be improper to boast of their deeds in the individual. 
 The Chinese proverb well says: " To forget one's ances- 
 tors is to be a brook without a source — a tree without a 
 root." 
 
The next most serious check which was given to the 
 royal advance was inflicted at the Cowpens in January, 
 1 78 1. Furious at the destruction of Ferguson's com- 
 mand, Cornwallis hurried forward to retrieve the disaster, 
 with the celebrated and hitherto invincible calvar\' com- 
 mander, Colonel Tarlton, with a considerable force of 
 splendid troops. He was met atthe Cowpens by General 
 Morgan with a large force of the patriotic militia of North 
 and South Carolina, many who had participated in the 
 victoi-\- at King's Mountain, and was signally defeated 
 with the loss of a large number of killed, wounded and 
 prisoners. 
 
 Thus, two most important detachments of the royal 
 invading army having been defeated — one being abso- 
 lutely destroyed — Lord Cornwallis, being justly alarmed 
 for the success of the campaign and smarting from hu- 
 miliation and defeat, determined upon a prompt and ag- 
 gressive advance which should subdue all opposition and 
 restore all lost prestige of his army. From this time for- 
 ward until fate compelled him to retreat from the State 
 it is impossible to withhold from him our admiration at 
 his high military qualities, as evinced by the discipline of 
 his troops and the moderation of his conduct. But it 
 was decreed 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 freedom and independence 
 of North Carolina. Had he not here been successfully 
 resisted — had the army of General Greene been destroyed 
 as Ferguson's had been at King's Mountain, beyond all 
 question the independence of these Colonies would have 
 been indefinitely postponed. 
 
 How this battle was fought and substantially won, and 
 
!0 
 
 (lie [:iart wliicli our North Carolina ancestors took therein, 
 J \vill not attempt to describe to-chi\'. It has been ch^ne 
 ai^Min and risjain by our historians and orators', b_\' Hawks, 
 Gr.diam, Swain ;ind Caruthers, but ne\'er so well and 
 coni})lete] y done as b_\' the honorable g"entleman, David 
 Schenck, wIk) discoursed to \'ou at }'our last celebration, 
 and t<:) whose untirin_L( and patriotic exertirjus we are in- 
 debted (c>v these effi^rts to keep ali\'e the memory of our 
 iibert\'-lo\-in<j,' fore-fathers. For one, I unhesitatingl}' ac- 
 cept the conclusi(-)ns of hds lab(")rious researches, and be- 
 lieve them to i)e the truth of histor\'. I believe that the 
 rci^idar and \"olunteer tro!:)ps oi North Car^Dlina did their 
 duty that day as well as any men ujjon that field, and 
 that the lines of raw, undisciplined militia did all that 
 was expected of them by their commanLler, or all that 
 could ha\'e reasonabh^ been expected of them by an}' 
 critic with sufficient military knowledg'e to JucIljc of the 
 capacity of such forces, so armed, against such trained 
 and disciplined and perfectly armed troops. 
 
 Wdiat then was their work.^ What is the monument 
 w hich the\- that da\- erected to themselves as seen in the 
 result.^ Suppose an intelligent stranger were here and 
 \\ere told to search for that monument by looking around, 
 w hat would he see.^ He would behold a free and inde- 
 pendent commonwealth, which for more than a hundred 
 \ears has enjo)'ed the blessings of liberty, and which has 
 advanced st'^adily without retrogression or anarchy in all 
 the paths of prosperity' and civilization. With fifty thou- 
 sand square miles of territor}', containing thirty-two mil- 
 lions of acre^, of which at least twenty-nine millions are 
 arable and two thousand scpiare .niles of which are in- 
 land seas. This area extends east and west for six hun- 
 dred miles in length with an average breadth of a 
 hundred and fort\'. In it is found a general elevation 
 from tide water to the mountain tops of si.x thousand feet, 
 
II 
 
 giving the \'arietics of climate which are to be found 
 within twent)' degrees of latitude north and south. The 
 variety of productions are abundant and commensurate 
 with these varieties of soil and climate. Her forests have 
 always been remarkable and still are, for their great ex- 
 tent and value, and the treasures within her bosom have 
 barely begun to be explored and exposed. Not to men- 
 tion smader streams, this area is traversed b\' three thou- 
 sand miles of water-courses of the dignity of rivers, 
 furnishing in their gradual fall from the western high- 
 lands into the sea, water-power sufficient to turn all the 
 machinery of the world. This happily located land, at 
 once profitable, pleasant and picturesque, containing all 
 the best gifts of God to his creatures, is the home of the 
 children of the men who made it free and established 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 the structure, 
 no weakening, no evidence of decay. Straight forward 
 it has marched, still upward it has grown, in popuiation, 
 in wealth, in intelligence, without pause or delay, save 
 only in the ever memorable and ever damnable days of 
 Reconstruction. In 1790 the number of our people was 
 393,000; in 1880 it was 1,400,000; if the rate of increase 
 which obtained from 1870 to 18S0 be preserved, in 1890 
 our population will be at least 1,750,000, and wdiether it 
 may be a matter for boasting or a matter for regret, it is 
 equally the truth this steady and healthful increase has 
 been aided very little by immigration. The statistics 
 show that no American State has been so little indebted 
 to foreigners for either population or Avealth. Em.phati- 
 cally our progress is our own; and whatever we ma)' be, 
 THAT we have become by our own efforts. Let us love 
 it accordingly. The Germans say, " One's own straw is 
 better than an enemy's wool," and the Latins "The smoke 
 of our own country is brighter than fire abroad." 
 
12 
 
 So much do we alrcad\' sec of the results of their wis- 
 dom and valor, l^ut what of the things in the future 
 which we do not see? What poetic vision, thou^li reach- 
 ing "far as angel's ken " can picture the future which 
 awaits this people, or point out where the influence of 
 the deeds done on this spot in 1 781 shall cease to aiTect 
 their destinies? One of the most curi(5us questions ot 
 metaph}\sics is that of the dependence of one event upon 
 another. The casuists and theologians of the world ha\'e 
 in all time disputed concerning its effects upr)n the free 
 will of man and the decrees of God. The cause and ef- 
 fect can be more obviously traceJ in the material than 
 in the moral world; and \'et without refining too much, 
 we can reasonably trace moral effects from great events 
 over \'ast stretches of time. In 18S3 the island of Kra- 
 katoa in the straits of Sunda was literally ejected from 
 its place in the seas and blown into space. The effect 
 was recognized in tidal disturbances upon e\'er\' shore, 
 more or less, where observations were made throughout 
 the earth. You all remember the red skies which gave 
 even additional beauty and glory to our celestial scenery 
 at the settings of the sun in iS83-'84? The men of science 
 have now determined without dissent, that those red 
 skies were directly the results of that great volcanic 
 eruption which had shattered masses of obsidian of which 
 the island was composed, into impalpable dust. The 
 force of the explosion had hurled the obsidian dust into 
 those regions of the upper air which are far be)'ond 
 the influence of the circulation near the surface; and b\' 
 tlie operation of those lofty currents of which we know 
 little, it had been diffused throughout the world, causing 
 the beauteous phenomena at which we so much wonder- 
 ed and upon which we gazed with so much rapture. Who 
 can say then what commonwealths, a thousand >'ears 
 from now, ma\' not be inspired by our example, as our 
 
13 
 
 prosperit}' and happiness were secured b\- these same 
 deeds of our ancestors? Who can sa\- tint the unseen 
 and lofty currents of human affection may not waft and 
 diffuse tlie enno'oHng lessons and inspirations emanatini; 
 from Guilford Court H;)use in [7S1, to th j rem itest quar- 
 ters of the earth and to the most distant times, bri<^dn- 
 ening- the skies with crimson <^lor)- for man\' faint-hearted 
 and struggling people? 
 
 I have said that the fruit of their labors constituted 
 the true monument of our ancestors; that for themsehxs 
 no other was needed, but that others were needed for us. 
 That for our own sakes we should celebrate and erect 
 shafts in order to demonstrate what was in our own hearts. 
 It has long been a matter of reproach that North Caro- 
 lina has done so little to perpetuate in stone her lo\'e for 
 her sages and heroes. The day when the foot of the 
 first Anglo-Saxon was placed on American soil is known 
 historically, but the spot where the colon\- of the great 
 and splendid Raleigh landed is unmarked b>' a single 
 memento. This genesis of the mightiest revelation in 
 the history of nations, was upon North Carolina soil, yet 
 we have left neglected both the time and place. The 
 men of Mecklenburg Declaration have as yet no monu- 
 ment. Until the patriotic impulse inspired one man, 
 whose enthusiasm inspired you, this sacred spot had no 
 commemoration. Cross Creek and Moore Creek are yet 
 without a stone." The battle of the Regulators, where 
 the first blood was shed for real liberty in America is un- 
 marked and unsignified to the traveller. Davie and Da- 
 vidson and Shelby, Sevier, Cleveland, McDowell, Lilling- 
 ton, Harnett, Moore, all sleep in graves hallowed by pa- 
 triotism, but unknown save onl}' to private affection. \\"e 
 do not even sufficiently guard the traditions of their rep- 
 utation, but leave incompetent or partial historians to 
 
 '••rhis is incorrect, Theie is a munumenf at Moore's Creek, 
 
slur their dcccis or scandalize their mcm()ries. This 
 criminal nci^'Ii^rcncc continues te) this da}-. Some of the 
 stories and misrepresentations concerning X()rth Carolina 
 troops in the late ci\'il war are sufficienth' scandalous to 
 make the Ijlood of c\er\' truth-lox-in^^ man in the State 
 boil wath indiL^nant heat. \\ e should not, in silence, per- 
 mit those misre}iresentations. The honor of those wdio 
 died for Xorth Carolina shr)uld be as sacred t(.) us as the 
 virtue of iHu- m()thers. The thanks of our peojile are due 
 to all those who have come forward to defend our coun- 
 try-men and Secure for tliem justice in histor\-. Notable 
 amouL^ those w ho hax'e thus e;irned our gratitude I am 
 glad to mention Judge Da\id Schenck, Ca])t. W. R. 
 Bond and Col. W. L.. Sanders. The research and labor 
 of these patriotic gentlemen ha\-e alread}' \isibl\- ai.ected 
 the tone of contemporar}- authors; aiid I beg to assure 
 them of the apjireciation of our countr}-men. Of our 
 abundance we should e\-er\'w-here erect those lasting tes- 
 timonials oi (vur appreciatie)n of all of our great and pa- 
 triotic citizens. I repeat, it is due not so much to them 
 as to ourselves. 
 
 But there is hope for North Carolina worthies }'et. 
 Sixteen years before the birth of our Sax'iour there w-as 
 born in the forests c^f German}'- a child who was called 
 Arminius; or as the German peasant lox'ed t > terna him, 
 Herman, Prince of the Cherusci. He cr)ncei\'ed the idea 
 of delivering his countr}* tVon-> the dominion of the Ko- 
 mans, then in the zenith of their power. Not far from 
 the time when our Saviour was teaching upon the shores 
 of Galilee, and healing the sick, this patriotic German de- 
 ccn'ed a Roman arm\- into the morasses of his nati\-e 
 countr}-, and slauglitered it with such an overwhelming 
 slaughter as rendered it impossible for the great Augus- 
 tus ever again to conquer his country. Nineteen hun- 
 dred years thereafter the German people erected a statue 
 
15 
 
 in his honor. His example demonstrate.-- that there is 
 gratitude in mankind, though the proof was undoubtedh- 
 slow in coming. I trust that the people of North Caro- 
 lina will not wait so long to do honor to those who 
 .served them and died for them in the hour of need. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 L 00032709141 
 
 FOR USE ONLY IN 
 THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION