be had of others of greater moment and
interest. I may add that, as no one has been more bitterly assailed, not
only while living but even after death, than General Morgan, so no man's
memory should be more peculiarly the subject of vindication and
protection to his friends.
But there are also other and cogent reasons why this tribute should be
rendered him by some one, who, devoted to the interests of the living
chieftain, is sensitive regarding the reputation he has left. The cruel
ingratitude which embittered the last days of his life, has made his
memory all the dearer to the many who were true and constant in their
love and esteem for him, and they feel that he should be justly
depicted. The fame which he desired will be accorded him; the reward for
which he strove is his already, in the affection of the people by whom
he hoped and deserved that the kindest recollections of him should be
cherished and the warmest eulogies pronounced. In the glory won, in the
tremendous and unequal struggle, in the pride with which they speak the
names of the dead heroes whose martyrdom illustrated it, the Southern
people possess treasures of which no conqueror can deprive them.
A man who, like General Morgan, uninfluenced by the public opinion of
the State in which he resided, yet surrendered fortune, home and friends
to assist the people of the South when embarked in the desperate and
vital strife which their action had provoked, because sharing their
blood and their convictions, he thought that they had an imperative
claim upon his services; who pledged his all to their cause, and
identified his name with every phase of the contest, until his death
became an event of the last and most bitter--such a man can never be
forgotten by them. It is impossible that the memory of his services can
ever fade from their minds.
In the beautiful land for which he fought and died, the traditions which
will indicate the spots where he struck her foes, will also preserve his
name in undying affection and honor. The men of the generation which
knew him can forget him only when they forget the fate from which he
strove to save them; his name belongs to the history of the race, and it
can not die.
A narrative of the operations of a command composed, in great part, of
Kentuckians, must possess some interest for the people of their own
State. So general and intense was the interest which Morgan excited
among the young men of the State, that he
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