Excerpt from a speech of William Anderson, former Attorney General of Virginia and member of the Stonewall Brigade, made at the Stonewall Jackson monument in Lexington -- Although Jackson’s life was ended before he knew whether the cause for which he fought would be crowned with success or be overwhelmed in disaster and defeat, and before he had reached the zenith of his powers, that life was by no means a failure. No, it was, beyond the capacity of human language to define, a glorious success. Rising, as he did, superior to circumstance and to temporary conditions, his life has been a priceless heritage to his country— men and to mankind. The example which he gave the world of self—sacrificing devotion to principle and to country, of loyal obedience to duty, and unquestioning faith in God, the unsurpassed manifestations of courage which he exhibited, and the radiance with which his genius illumined the fields of his triumphs, compel the admira— tion alike of friend and foe, and constitute a part of the patrimony of glory, not of Virginia and the Confederate South alone, but of the American people and the human race. These are the unspoken lessons of his life; but there comes to us from the grave that solemn injunction expressed by him in those words, which must go ringing down the centuries, and, I trust, be remembered by his countrymen whenever there may be the temptation to sacrifice honor to ease, or liberty to safety: “What is life without honor? “Degradation is worse than death. “We must think of the living and of those who are to come after us, and see that by God’s blessing we transmit to them the freedom we have ourselves inherited.” And so, in the coming generations and ages, may the statue of our beloved commander, which shall be erected here, be a per— petual reminder of the precious lessons of his life; and may Virginians be ever so obedient to the heavenly vision that in time of stress and trial, when the well being, the virtue, and the liberties of their country shall be imperilled, some future heroic soldier of righteousness will point his countrymen to the figure of Jackson, as it will forever stand out from the pages of history, and again utter that now immortal rallying cry: “Look! there stands Jackson like a stone wall! “Rally behind the Virginians!”
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:22:10 +0000
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