The troops of other states have their reputation to gain, the sons of the Alamo have theirs to maintain.

The past is dead; let it bury its dead, its hopes and its aspirations; before you lies the future-a future full of golden promise.

Secession belongs to a different class of remedies. It is to be justified upon the basis that the States are Sovereign. There was a time when none denied it. I hope the time may come again, when a better comprehension of the theory of our Government, and the inalienable rights of the people of the States, will prevent any one from denying that each State is a Sovereign, and thus may reclaim the grants which it has made to any agent whomsoever.

Nothing fills me with deeper sadness than to see a Southern man apologizing for the defense we made of our inheritance. Our cause was so just, so sacred, that had I known all that has come to pass, had I known what was to be inflicted upon me, all that my country was to suffer, all that our posterity was to endure, I would do it all over again.

At Rest An American Soldier And Defender of the Constitution.

Pray excuse me. I cannot take it.

Truth crushed to earth is truth still and like a seed will rise again.