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A SERMON: 
 
 PREACHED BEFORE 
 
 "Brig.-G-en. Hoke's Brigade,! 
 
 AT KINSTON, N. ft, ON THE 28th OF FEBRUARY, 1864, 
 
 BY Rev. JOHN PARIS, 
 
 Chaplain Fifty-fourth Regiment N. C. Troops, 
 
 UPON THE DEATH OF TWENTY-TWO MEN, 
 
 "WHO HAD BEEN EXECUTED IN THE PRESENCE OF THE BRIGADE 
 FOR THE CRIME OF DESERTION. 
 
 GREENSBOROUGH, N. C. 
 
 A. W. INGOLD & CO., BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS, 
 1864. 
 
NOTE 
 
 On the morning of the first of February, Brig. Gen. R. F. Hoke forced 
 the passage of Batchelor's Creek, nine miles west from Newbern ; the enemy 
 abandoned his works and retreated upon the town. A hot and vigorous 
 pursuit was made, which resulted in the capture of a large number of pris- 
 oners, and the surrender to our forces of many others, who were cut off 
 from escape by the celerity of the pursuit, and our troops seizing and hold- 
 ing every avenue leading into the town, near the enemy's batteriesi 
 
 Among the prisoners taken, were about fifty native North Carolinians, 
 dressed out in Yankee uniform, with muskets upon their shoulders. Twenty- 
 two of these men were recognized as men who had deserted from our ranks, 
 and gone over to the enemy. Fifteen of the'm belonged to Netheroutt'& 
 Battalion. They were arraigned before a court martial, proved guilty of 
 the charges, and condemned to suffer death by hanging. 
 
 It became my duty to visit these men in prison before their execution, in 
 a religious capacity. From them I learned that bad and mischievous influ- 
 ences had been U3ed with every one to induce him to desert his flag, and such 
 influences had led to their ruin. From citizens who had known them for 
 many years, I learned that some of them had heretofore borne good names, 
 as honest, harmless, unoffending citizens. After their execution. I thought 
 it proper, for the benefit of the living, that I should deliver a discourse be. 
 fore our brigade, upon the death of these men, that the eyes of the living 
 might be opened, to view the horrid and ruinous crime and sin of desertion, 
 which had become so prevalent. A gentleman from Forsyth county, who 
 was present at the delivery of the discourse, solicited a copy for publication, 
 which has been granted. 
 
 For the style and arrangement, as it was preached as well as written in 
 the camp, no apology is offered. Having no pecuniary interest in its pub- 
 lication, it is respectfully submitted to all who go for the unqualified inde- 
 pendence of the Southern Confederacy. J. Paeis. 
 
 Heke's Brigade, April 1st, 1SG4. 
 
SEEMON. 
 
 Matthew xxyii Chapter, 3, 4, and 5th Verses^ 
 
 3. Then Judas which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was ceil* 
 xlemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to 
 the chief priests and elders, 
 
 4. Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent bleod. And 
 they said, what is that to us ? See thou to that. 
 
 6. And he cast down the pieees of silver in the temple, and departed, 
 and went and hanged himself. 
 
 You are aware, my friends, that I have given public notice 
 that upon this occasion I would preach a funeral discourse upon 
 the death of the twenty-two unfortunate, yet wicked and deluded 
 men, whom you have witnessed hanged upon the gallows within 
 a few days. I do so, not to eulogize or benefit the dead. But 
 I do so, solely, for the benefit of the living: and in doing so, I 
 shall preach in my own way, and according to my own manner, 
 or rule. What I shall say will either be true or false. I there- 
 fore request that you will watch me closely ; weigh my argu- 
 ments in the balance of truth ; measure them by the light of 
 candid reason, and compare them by the Standard of Eternal 
 Truth, the Book of God ; what is wrong, reject, and what is. 
 true, accept, for the sake of the truth, as responsible beings. 
 
 Of all deserters and traitors, Judas Iseariot, who figures in 
 our text, is undoubtedly the most infamous, whose names have 
 found a place in history, either sacred or profane. No name has 
 ever been more execrated by mankind: and all this has been 
 justly done. But there was a time and a period when this man 
 wore a different character, and had a better name. A time when 
 he went forth with the eleven Apostles at the command of the- 
 Master to preach the gospel, heal the sick and cast out devils. 
 And he, too, returned with this same chosen hand, when the' 
 grand, and general report was made ©f what they had done and 
 what they had taught. 
 
 But a change caree over this man.. He was the treasurer of 
 the Apostolic board ;• an office that warranted the confidence and 
 trust of his compeers. "He bare the bag and kept what was 
 put therein." Possibly this was the grand and successful temp- 
 tation presented him by the evil One. He contracted an. undue 
 love for money, and Holy Writ informs us "the love of money 
 is the root of all evil j 1 '' so must it ever be when valued above a. 
 
 •r, 
 
6 FUNERAL LISCOUBSB. 
 
 good name, truth or honor. Now comes his base and unprinci- 
 pled desertion of his blessed Master. He goes to the chief 
 priests. His object is selfish, base and sordid, — to get money. 
 He enters into a contract with them, to lead their armed guards 
 to the place to which the Saviour had retired, that they might 
 arrest him. Thirty pieces of silver is the price agreed upon,— 
 about twenty-two dollars and fifty cents of our money. A poor 
 price, indeed, for any man to accept for his reputation, his life, 
 his soul, his all. When Judas saw that the Saviour was con- 
 demned, it is stated in the text that "he repented himself, and 
 brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and 
 elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the inno- 
 cent blood." "And he cast down the thirty pieces of silver in 
 the temple, and departed and went and hanged himself." The 
 way of transgressors is truly hard. As sure as there is a God 
 in heaven, justice and judgment will overtake the wicked ; though 
 he may flourish as a green bay tree for awhile, yet the eye of God 
 is upon him and retribution must and will overtake him. 
 
 Let us now consider what this man gained by his wicked 
 transaction. First, twenty-two dollars and fifty cents. Second- 
 ly, a remorse of conscience too intolerable to be borne. An im- 
 mortality of infamy without a parallel in the family of man. 
 "What did he lose ? His reputation. His money. His apos- 
 tleship. His peace of conscience, his life, his soul, his all. 
 
 Well may it be said that this man is the most execrable of all 
 whose names stand on the black list of deserters and traitors 
 that the world has furnished from the beginning until now. — 
 Turning to the history of our own country, I find written high 
 on the scroll of infamy the name of Benedict Arnold, who at 
 one time stood high in the confidence of the great and good 
 Washington. What was his crime ? Desertion and treason. 
 He too hoped to better his condition by selling his principles 
 for money, to the enemies of his country, betraying his Wash- 
 ington into the feands of his foes, and committing the heaven- 
 insulting crime of perjury before God and man. Verily, he ob- 
 tained his reward ; an immortality of infamy ; the scorn and 
 contempt of the good and the loyal of all ages and all countries. 
 
 Thus, gentlemen, I have brought before you two grand proto- 
 types of desertion, whose names tower high over all on the 
 scroll of infamy. And I now lay down the proposition, that 
 «very man who has taken up arms in defence of his country, 
 and basely deserts or abandons that service, belongs in principle 
 and practice to the family of Judas and Arnold. But what was 
 the status of those twenty-two deserters whose sad end and just 
 fate you witnessed across the river in the old field ? Like you 
 they came as volunteers to tight for the independence of their 
 
 v 
 
 ftl 
 
PUNEEAL DISCOUESE. 7 
 
 own country. Like you they received the bounty money offered 
 by their country. Like you they took upon themselves the most 
 solemn obligations of this oath: "I, A. B. do solemnly swear 
 that I will bear true allegiance to the Confederate States of 
 America, and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully 
 against all their enemies or opposers whatsoever, and observe 
 and obey the orders of the Confederate States, and the orders 
 of the officers appointed over me, according to the rules and 
 articles for the government of the Confederate States, so help 
 me God.'" 
 
 With all the responsibilities of this solemn oath upon their 
 souls, and all the ties that bind men to the land that gave them 
 birth, ignoring every principle that pertains to the patriot, dis- 
 owning that natural, as well as lawful allegiance that every man 
 owes to the government of the State which throws around him 
 the aegis of its protection, they went boldly, Judas and Arnold- 
 like, made an agreement with the enemies of their country, took 
 an oath of fidelity and allegiance to them, and agreed with them 
 for money to take up arms and assist in the unholy and hellish 
 work of the subjugation of tht country which was their own, 
 their native land ! These men have only met the punishment 
 meted out by all civilized nations for such crimes. To this, all 
 good men, all true men, and all loyal men who love their coun- 
 try, will say, Amen ! 
 
 But who were those twenty-two men whom you hanged upon 
 the gallows ? They were your fellow-beings. They were citi- 
 zens of our own Carolina. They once marched under the same 
 beautiful flag that waves over our heads ; but in an evil hour, 
 they yielded to mischievous influence, and from motives or feel- 
 ings base and sordid, unmanly and vile, resolved to% abandon 
 every principle of patriotism, and sacrifice every impulse of 
 honor ; this sealed their ruin and enstamped their lasting dis- 
 grace. The question now arises, what are the influences and the 
 circumstances that lead men into the high and damning crimes, 
 of perjury and treaso* ? It will be hard to frame an answer 
 that will fit every case. But as I speak for the benefit of those 
 whom I stand before to-day, I will say I have made the answer 
 to this question a matter of serious inquiry for more than eigh- 
 teen months. The duties of my office as Chaplain have brought 
 me much in contact Avith this class of men. I have visited twen- 
 ty-four of them under sentence of death in their cells of con- 
 finement, and with death staring them in the face, and only a few 
 short hours between them and the bar of God. I have warned 
 them to tell the whole truth, confess everything wrong before 
 God and man, and yet I have hot been able to obtain the full, 
 fair and frank confession of everything relating to their guilt 
 
3 FUNERAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 from even one of them, that I thought circumstances demanded, 
 although I had baptized ten of them in the name of the Holy 
 Trinity. In confessing their crimes, they would begin at New- 
 "bern, where they joined the enemy, saying nothing about per- 
 jury and desertion. Every man of the twenty-two, whose 
 exeoution you witnessed, confessed that bad or mischievous 
 influences had been used with him to influence him to desert. 
 All but two, willingly gave me the names of their seducer s. But 
 none of these deluded and ruined men seemed to think he ought 
 to suffer the penalty of death, because he had been persuaded to 
 commit these high crimes by other men. 
 
 But gentlemen, I now come to give you my answer to the 
 question just asked. From all that I have learned in the prison, 
 in the guard house, in the camp, and in the country, I am fully 
 satisfied, that the great amount of desertions from our army 
 are produced by, and are the fruits of a bad, mischievous, 
 restless, and dissatisfied, not to say disloyal influence that is at 
 work in the country at home. If in this bloody war our coun- 
 try should be overrun, this same mischievous home influence will 
 no .doubt be the prime agent in producing such a calamity. Dis- 
 contentment has, and does exist in various parts of the State. 
 We hear of these malcontents holding public meetings, not for 
 ^the purpose of supporting the Government in the prosecution of 
 "'the war, and maintenance of our independence, but for<the pur- 
 pose of finding fault with the Government. Some of these 
 meetings have been dignified with the name of "peace meetings ;" 
 some have been ostensibly called for other purposes, but they 
 have' invariably been composed of men who talk more about 
 their "rights," than about their duty and loyalty to their coun- 
 try. These malcontents profess to be greatly afflicted in mind 
 about ie state of public affairs. In their doleful croakings tney 
 are apt to give vent to their melancholy lamentations in such 
 words as these: "The country is ruined!" "We are whipt !" 
 "We might as well give up!" "It is useless to attempt to fight 
 any longer !" "This is the rich man's war and the poor man's 
 fight;" &c. Some newspapers have caught the mania and lent 
 their influence to this work of mischief; whilst the pulpit, to 
 the scandal of its character. for faith and holiness, has belched 
 forth in some places doctrines and counsels through the minis- 
 trations of unworthy occupants, sufficient to cause Christianity 
 to blush under all the circumstances. I would here remark,, 
 standing in the relation which I do before you, that the pulpit 
 and the press, when true and loyal to the Government which 
 affords them protection, are mighty engines for good ; but when 
 they see that Government engaged in a bloody struggle for ex- 
 istence, and show themselves opposed to its efforts to maintain, 
 
FUNBEAL DISCOURSE. 9 
 
 its authority by all constitutional and legal means, such a press, 
 and such pulpits should receive no support for an hour from a 
 people that would he free. The seal of condemnation should 
 consign them to oblivion. 
 
 Such sentiments as ire have just alluded to, are sent in letters 
 to our young men in the army, by writers professing to be 
 friends ; often uith an urgent and pressing invitation to come 
 home ; and some have even added that execrable and detestable 
 falsehood, the quintescence of treason, "the State is going to 
 secede." Letters coming into our camps on the Rappahannock 
 and Rapidan sustain this position. What are the effects pro- 
 duced upon our young men In the ranks ? With the illiterate, 
 they are baleful indeed. The incautious youth takes it for grant- 
 ed that the country is ruined and that the Government is his 
 enemy. The poisonous contagion of treason from home gets 
 hold m his mind and steals into his feelings. This appeal from 
 home has overcome him. The young man of promise and of 
 hope once, now becomes a deserter. Is guilty by one false step 
 of the awful crimes of perjury and desertion. The solemn obli- 
 gations of his oath are disregarded; he takes to the woods, tra^ 
 verses weary roads by night for days, until he reaches the com- 
 munity in which he claims his home ; but for what ? To engage 
 in any of the honorable vocations of life '? No, gentlemen. But 
 to he hidden from the face of all good, true and loyal men. But 
 for what purpose ? To keep from serving his country as a man 
 and a citizen. To consume the provisions kept in the country 
 for the support of the women and children, families of soldiers 
 who are serving their country, indeed ; and lastly, to get his liv- 
 ing in part, at least, by stealing and robbing. And here allow 
 me to say, I am not sufficiently skilled in language to command 
 words to express the deep and unutterable detestation I have of 
 the character of a deserter. If my brother were to be guilty of 
 such a high crime, I should certainly make an effort to have his 
 name changed to something else, that I, and my children after 
 me, might not feel the deep and lasting disgrace which his con- 
 duct had enstamped upon it. 
 
 I hold, gentlemen, that there are few crimes in the sight of 
 either God or man, that are more wicked and detestable than 
 desertion. The first step in it is perjury. Who would ever be- 
 lieve such an one in a court of justice again ? The second, is 
 treason. He has abandoned the flag of his country ; thus much 
 he has tided the common enemy. These are startling crimes, 
 indeed, but the third is equally so. He ens tamps disgrace upon 
 the name of his family and children. 
 
 From amidst the smoke and flames of Sinai God has declared 
 that He "is a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers 
 
10 FUNERAL DISCOUBSE. 
 
 upon the children unto the third and fourth generations of them 
 that hate me." The infamy that the act of disloyalty on the 
 part of a father places his children in after him, is a disability 
 they cannot escape : it was his act, not theirs ; and to them it 
 has become God's visitation according to the text quoted above. 
 The character of infamy acquired by the tories of the revolu- 
 tion of 1V76, is to this day imputed to their descendants, in a 
 genealogical sense. Disloyalty is a crime that mankind never 
 forget and but seldom forgive ; the grave cannot cover it. ■ 
 
 Many cry out in this the day of our discontent, and say, "we 
 want peace." This is true, we all want peace, the land mourns 
 on account of the absence of peace, and we all pray for peace. 
 You have often heard me pray for peace, but I think you will 
 bear me witness to-day that you have never heard me pray for 
 peace without independence. God forbid that we should have 
 a peace that brought no independence. 
 
 But how are we to obtain peace ? There are but two modes 
 known by which to obtain this most desirable boon. First: to 
 lay down our arms, cease to fight, and submit to the terms of 
 our enemy, the tyrant at Washington. Fortunately for us, we 
 already know what those terms are. They stand recorded in 
 his law books, and in his published orders and edicts,— and con- 
 stitute with our enemies, the lata of the iana t so far as we are con- 
 cerned. 
 
 1. The lands of our citizens are to be sold for the purpose of 
 paying the enormous public debt of the Yankees. This part of 
 the programme has already been put into operation at points 
 held by the enemy, as in Fairfax county, Va., and Beaufort, S. 
 C In the latter place, the lands have been laid off into thirty 
 acre lots, and bought mostly by negroes. 
 
 2. The negroes, everywhere, to be declared free, and placed 
 upon a state of equality with the whites. 
 
 3. Every man who has taken any part in the war, denied the 
 right of voting at the polls. 
 
 4. Our Governors and Judges appointed by the Federal Gov- 
 ernment at Washington, and sent to rule over us at his pleasure. 
 
 5. Even the men selected to administer to us in holy things 
 at the altars of our God, must be men approved and appointed 
 by his military authorities ; as it is now done in Norfolk and 
 Portsmouth, where I am acquainted. 
 
 In addition to this, gentlemen, we of course will have to en- 
 dure the deep and untold mortification of having bands of negro 
 soldiers stationed in almost every neighborhood, to enforce these 
 laws and regulations. 
 
 These things would be some of the "blessings" we would 
 obtain by such a peace. Tell me to-day, sons of Carolina, would 
 
FUSEEALDISCOUESE. 11 
 
 sot such a peace bring ten-fold more horrors and distress to onr 
 ■country than this war has yet produced ? Can any people on 
 the face of this earth, fit to be freemen, ever accept a peace that 
 will place them in such a condition ? 1ST ever ! never ! never ! 
 
 The great and good Stonewall Jackson, a few weeks before 
 his death was talking with a friend about the probable issue of 
 the war ; the conversation turned upon the possibility of the 
 -Confederate States being brought again under the rule an-d au- 
 thority of the United States ; when our illustrious chief re- 
 marked, that if he could have his choice in view of such a 
 contingency, he would prefer the grave as his refuge. "What 
 patriot would not ? "What soldier would not ? What freeman 
 would not ? This was the noble sentiment of a man whom we 
 all believed to be fit to five, or fit to die. 
 
 The other mode by which to obtain peace, is to fight it out to 
 the bitter end, as our forefathers did in the revolution of 1776, 
 and reduce our enemies, by our manly defence, to the necessity 
 of acknowledging our independence, and "letting us alone." — 
 We are involved in this bloody war, and the question before us 
 is, not how did we get into it, but how shall we get out of it ? 
 
 Many tell us the war cloud looks dark and impenetrable to 
 .mortal vision. This is all true. But are we not men ? Have 
 we not buckled on the armor, putting our trust in the Lord of 
 hosts, as the arbiter of our destiny as a nation ? Shall we then 
 lay down our arms before we are overthrown? God forbid! 
 Sons of Carolina, let your battle-cry be, Onward ! Onward ! 
 until victory shall crown the beautiful banner that floats over us 
 to-day with such a peace as freemen only love, and brave "men 
 only can accept. We are engaged in a mighty work, the estab- 
 lishment of an empire, which we trust by the blessing of God 
 will become the freest, the best and the greatest on the face of 
 the earth. Every man must act his part in this great work. Let 
 us then look to the manner in which we perform the part which 
 duty assigns, that there may be no regrets or heart-burnings 
 hereafter. For just as sure as this cruel war began, it will have 
 an end, and that end is nearer now than when it began. And 
 when the sweet and lovely days of delightful peace return to 
 cheer us, and friend meets with friend, and talk over the trials, 
 the perils and sufferings we have endured in freedom's cause ; 
 with what emotions of pleasure shall we speak of the soldier 
 ever true and faithful who stood by us, faithful alike both in the 
 sunshine and storm of war. But what will then be said of the 
 miserable skulker ? May God give him a better heart that he 
 may become a better man and a better soldier. 
 
 From the position which I occupy, I have been enabled to 
 notice deserters and skulkers close! v, and I have made it my bu- 
 
12 FUNERAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 siness to inquire into their history, and I am happy to say for 
 the credit of Christianity, that among the multitude I have 
 known guilty of desertion, only three of that number professed 
 to be members of any Church, and they had been no credit to 
 the religion they professed, as it lived only upon their lips and 
 was a stranger in their hearts. 
 
 The true christian is always a true patriot. Patriotism and 
 Christianity walk hand in hand. When perils and dangers 
 gather around the country that protects him, he then belongs to 
 no party but his country's party ; his leyalty must stand un- 
 questioned and unquestionable. As one that fears God, he knows 
 that, if a man is not for his country, he is against it. Hence, 
 there is no neutral ground or position for him to occupy ; but to 
 staod by his country as its fast, unwavering friend, that its tri- 
 umph may be his triumph, and its destiny his destiny. There is 
 no toryism in a Christian's heart. The two principles cannot 
 dwell together. 
 
 War is the scourge of nations. God is no doubt chastising 
 us for our good. When the ends of His providence are accom- 
 plished, He will no doubt remove the rod. But the ways of His 
 providence are generaUy dark to mortal vision. Yet He is able 
 to bring light out of darkness. We are only drinking now from 
 a cup, from which every nation upon the face of the earth have 
 drank before us. We have walked the bloody road of revolu- 
 tion for three years ; and still we face the foe. Our fathers trod 
 it for seven, and in the end were successful. 
 
 The pious Dr. Watts tells us in one of his beautiful hymns,, 
 that, 
 
 "God moves in a mysterious way, 
 
 His wonders to perform ; 
 He plants his footsteps in the sea, 
 And rides upon the storm." 
 
 His ways with the nations of the earth are deeply mysterious 
 to mortal vision, and whilst they are the exhibitions of His ma- 
 jesty and power, we should regard them likewise as the evidences 
 of His goodness and mercy towards fallen man. As He deals 
 with individuals, so dees He deal with nations. He litteth up 
 one and putteth down another ; but all this is done for the good 
 of the whole. Kighteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a re- 
 proach to any people, is the doctrine laid down in Holy Writ. ' 
 Proud Egypt, the cradle of the arts and sciences, has sadly fall- 
 en from her ancient glory and splendor. Ezekiel, speaking as 
 the oracle of God, and accusing her of her sins, declared "she 
 shall become the basest of the kingdoms," and the words of the 
 Seer have become verified to the letter. For transgression, the 
 vhosen people of God, the Israelites, were compelled to wander 
 
FUXEEAL DISCOURSE. 18 
 
 forty years in the Arabian desert, thus suffering the chastisement 
 of the disfavor of offended Deity. And when they were per- 
 mitted to cross over Jordan into the land of promise, they were 
 required to do a strange and wondrous work; namely, to des- 
 troy the nations of this goodly land and possess it for their own 
 inheritance. The sins of these nations had cried unto heaven, 
 and Israel became the instrument in the hand of God by which 
 the judgments of offended Justice was meted out to the guilty 
 nations. Jerusalem, the lovely, queenly Jerusalem, whose beau- 
 tiful temple was the glory of the Whole earth, in which the pres- 
 ence of the Eternal Shekinah was visible annually to mortal eye, 
 and where Solomon in all his glory once reigned — sinned with 
 an high hand against God ; she knew not the day of her visita- 
 tion, the cup of her iniquity was full; the judgment of offended 
 heaven overtook her ; her glory departed ; the besom of destruc- 
 tion swept over her, and she is now trodden down by the gen- 
 tiles — a crumbling monument of her departed greatness. 
 
 Babylon, onae the proud mistress of the East, whose spacious 
 walls., hanging gardens, and lofty temples stood as the wonders 
 of the world, and Daniel, the prophet, robed in the vestments 
 of royal honors, once spake and wrote by heaven's prompting of 
 things to come — has fallen ; her greatness is lost ; her walls have 
 perished ; her palaces have crumbled ; her temples are entombed, 
 and the wandering Arab now nightly pitches his tent over the 
 spot where Belshazzar held his impious feast. Where is Kine- 
 veh? The mighty Xineveh? And Tadmor, and Persepolis, 
 and hundred-gated Thebes ? They belong only to the past ; the 
 silence of death has spread its sepulchral pall over them, and 
 the relics of fallen greatness alone remain to mark the spot 
 where they lie entombed. Sparta has departed from the map 
 of nations, and Athens is but the tomb of the Athens that was. 
 These have all sinned, and "there is a God that judgeth in the 
 earth." 
 
 Four years ago, these Confederate States formed an integral 
 part of the U. States. Perhaps no nation of people ever sinned 
 against more light, and abused more privileges than the United 
 States. The Korthern pulpits hatched and fostered the spirit 
 that produced this cruel and bloody war : but cruel and bloody 
 as it is, I believe in God, to-day, that great good will come to us 
 of the South as a people, if we will only depart from our sins 
 and lean upon the Almighty Arm. If He be for us, who #an 
 stand successfully against us? - He gave to our fathers a Wash- 
 ington, a man who feared God, to guide them through the revo- 
 lution of 1778. lie lias given to us a Lee, a man of like faith 
 and of like hopes, to be our leader in these dark days of trial, 
 and we all love to follow where he leads. 
 
li funeral discourse. 
 
 He lent to us a Jackson, that bright and shiaing light of Chris- 
 tianity, whose ardent piety and strong faith, always presented 
 the same beauties, in the halls of science, at the altars of God, 
 around the camp-fires, or on the battle-field. Oh, what a model 
 of a Christian soldier ! Well do I remember how his presence 
 cheered us as he rode along our line on the morning of the first 
 battle of Fredericksburg, after the artillery began to roar heavi- 
 ly. His very appearance seemed to be the presage of victory. 
 He seemed like one sent by God. But God has seen proper in 
 His providence to take him away, and whatsoever He doeth is 
 right. Let us then bow to the hand that afflicts in such dispen- 
 sations as this, take courage, and press onward. 
 
 Let us then humble ourselves before God as a people, confess 
 our sins, and implore His protecting power to guide us through 
 this mighty struggle to a successful issue. He has certainly done 
 great things for us as a people, Avhereof we should be glad. 
 
 I think you will bear me witness that I have never been hope- 
 fid of an early peace in my intercourse among you. But to-day 
 I fancy that I can discover a little cloud, in the political heavens 
 as large as a man's hand at least, that seems to portend peace. 
 Take courage, then, companions in arms. All things around us 
 to-day bid us be of good courage. History fails to tell us often 
 millions of freemen being enslaved, who had determined to be 
 free. A braver or more patriotic army than we have, never fol- 
 lowed their chief to victory. Their endurance challenges the 
 admiration of the world. When I have seen our brave men in 
 winter's cold and summer's heat, marching from battle-field: to 
 battle-field, bare-footed as they were born, and without a mur- 
 mur, I could not doubt our final success. Such men as these, 
 were never horn to he slaves. Again, when I have turned my eye 
 homeward from the camp, and witnessed the labors of our fair 
 country women, in preparing clothing to meet the wants of the 
 suffering in the field, and witnessed their untiring devotion to 
 the relief of the sick and wounded in the hospitals, I knew that 
 the history of no country, and of no age afforded anything like 
 a parallel, and my faith assured me we never were born to fee 
 the slaves of Yankees. Then let your trust to-day be strong in 
 the God of nations. 
 
 Surely, then, no man can be found in all our land who owes 
 allegiance to his country, that is so lost to himself, and to all 
 that is noble and patriotic, as to say, "I am for the Union as it 
 was." Such an one could only merit the good man's scorn, and 
 desire the tory's infamy for himself, and disgrace for his 
 children. 
 
 Gentlemen, I have followed your fortunes for twenty months, 
 leaving wife and children far behind me. I have rejoiced in, 
 
FUNIEAL DISCOURSE. IS 
 
 your prosperity, and mourned over your adversity." Marches, 
 battles, sufferings are before, us still. # By the help of God I am 
 with you, and hope still to be with y©u to share in your tri- 
 umphs, your sufferings and your joys. If these be the days to 
 try men's souls, for my country's sake I am willing to be tried, 
 by bearing my humble part in this mighty struggle. 
 
 For, standing before you to-day, you most permit me to say 
 in the language of a noble patriot, "I am for my country right, 
 yea, for my country wrong." My loyalty to her is unqualified, 
 and without any condition^. Her cause is always my cause. If 
 her cause be right, she shall have my free support; if it be 
 wrong, she shall have my unqualified support. Therefore, when 
 I shall sleep in the dust, you must not say to my children, "your 
 father was a conservative, (or any other name,) when his coun- 
 try was engaged in a bloody struggle for existence." Then you 
 would do me wrong, and do them wrong also. I belong only to 
 my country's party. But it may be said, that I can afford to use 
 string language when I am not required to take position in the 
 front ranks on the battle-field. The duties of my office require 
 me, as you are aware, to take position in the rear, to assist with 
 the wounded, — but yet at Fredericksburg, William sport, Mine 
 Run, and Batchelor's Creek, I was under the fire of both artille- 
 ry and musketry, and I will here add that if ever my country 
 calls upon me to fall into ranks in her defence with a musket on 
 my shoulder, my answer shall be, "here am I." 
 
 Then, to-day, in the light of this beautiful Sabbath sun, let us 
 take courage, and with renewed trust in God, resolve to do our 
 whole duty as patriots and soldiers, and leave the event to the 
 Arbiter of nations. Amen I 
 
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