An address delivered before the Confederate Survivors' Association, in Augusta, Georgia, at its first annual meeting, on Memorial Day, April 26th, 1879 / by Col. Charles C. Jones

ADDRESS
DELIVERED BEFORE THE
CONFEDERATE
SURVIVORS ASSOCIATION,
IN
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, /
AT ITS FIRST ANNUAL MEETING, ON MEMORIAL DAY,
APRIL 26TH, 1879,
"
COL. CHARLES C, JONES, JR
PKIXTBD BY OKDER OF THE ASSOCIATION,
AUGUSTA, GA.
.TOWITT & SHAVEK, STEAM PRINTERS. 1879.

ADDRESS.
FELLOW MEMBERS By the Vlllth Article of our Constitution it is provided that at our annual meeting, on Memorial Day, the history of the Association for the preceding twelve months shall be sub mitted and considered. In the absence of our beloved President, who, in the discharge of the duties appertaining to his sacred office, has been removed from our immediate companionship, I respond to this requirement.
Appreciating the propriety of a closer union and a more pro nounced fellowship between those who were in the service of the Confederate States during the late war between the States, and who were honorably discharged therefrom, the expediency of forming in this city a Confederate Survivors Association was discussed by a number of ex-Confederates convened, in an informal way, in one of the private offices of Augusta, on the 30th of April last. So happy was the thought, and so cordial the response, that the desire of all then present found public expression in an assemblage in this hall a few days afterwards, when, in pursuance of an appropriate call, seventy-two ex-Confederate soldiers appeared and were enrolled as members of this Association, Brigadier General G-oode Bryan pre sided. A constitution, proclaiming the general objects of the Asso ciation, and prescribing rules for its governance, was presented, discussed, and adopted. An election was held, which resulted in the choice of the present officers of the Association, with two exceptions.
At first there was no provision for the office of Chaplain. This manifest omission was subsequently supplied by the creation of that most appropriate office, and our Chaplain, the Rev. Edwin G. Weed, duly elected.
Our first Treasurer, Capt. Butler, moved by delicate health and by the pressure of other engagements, resigned his present Treasurer, Capt. Coffin, was selected as his SUCC

Auditing and visiting committees were appointed; and, since the 3d of May, 1878, our Association has maintained an active and a harmonious existence.
Our objects, as concisely expressed in our constitution, are the conservation of Confederate memories the promotion of fellowship and the cultivation of friendship between the surviving officers and soldiers of the army, navy, marine and signal corps, and. of other organizations in the active service of the Confederacy the exhibi tion of loyal respect to the recollections and impulses of a Confed erate past the encouragement and practice of manly virtues the extension of reasonable aid and sympathy to fellow members in seasons of sickness and distress, and, in case of death, the rendition of suitable funeral honors. To the accomplishment of aims so charitable and. elevating, and to the perpetuation of a fellowship begotten of a tie so noble, inculcated bv a bond so sacred and valorous, do we all stand pledged.
At our quarterly meeting in August last, ex-President Jefferson Davis and General Alfred Gumming were elected honorary members of our Association. Resolutions were adopted requesting the Ladies of the Memorial Association of Augusta not to disband their organi zation upon the completion and dedication of the Confederate mon ument in this city, but to perpetuate it for the honor of Augusta, the pride of all true Confederates, and the conservation of the last resting places of many of our dead comrades. We then promised that we would cordially unite with them ou each Memorial Day in decorating the graves, and paying suitable tributes of respect to the memory of those who gave their lives in defense of home, country, right, and liberty. This obligation will abide with us; and, in its loyal fulfillment, we will not be found wanting.
On the 22d of October, 1878, at a called meeting, resolutions were unanimously passed complimenting the Ladies of the Memorial Association upon the near completion of their grand work, electing them honorary members of our Association, and assuring them that, upon the occasion of the unveiling and dedication of the beautiful Confederate monument which they had builded, we would esteem it not only a joy, but a genuine privilege, by our presence to testify our profound gratitude, and aid in rendering every honor to the memory of the cause which had enlisted our noblest passions. Responding to their expressed wish, we then resolved to participate in the public demons! ration and bear such part as might be assigned us by the

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committee of arrangements. Twenty-five dollars were donated from the treasury to aid in the procurement of the services of a suitable military band, and this sum was handsomely augmented by private contributions from the members.
On the 31st of October last, with full ranks, throbbing hearts, and battle-torn banners, we united in a ceremony without parallel in the history of this city, which eventuated in the unveiling and dedication of that august monument, in the chief place in Augusta, to the memory of our fallen nation and of our Confederate dead. Glorious gift from the hand of pure woman in honor of a consecrated past, dignifying our laud, and crystalizing in towering and symmetrical form the recollections of our momentous struggle for independence, it will stand, while the ages endure, a noble expression, of a peoples gratitude, and an ever abiding incentive to virtue, patriotism, and valor. But, my Comrades, the events of that memorable occasion are so fresh in your cherished remembrance that they need no rehearsal here.
We have, with our old flag, commemorated the return of days rendered historic during the recent war.
We have obtained from the City Council the cession of a section in the Cemetery for the interment of such of our members as may possess no burial places of their own.
When, during the past summer, the Angel of Death cast the shadow of his black wings over the Mississippi valley, we contributed two hundred and fifty dollars for the relief of the sufferers from yelknv fever.
During his recent dangerous illness, we conveyed to Gren. Wade Hampton assurances of our heartfelt sympathy.
Believing that all the members of this Association will entertain such a lively interest in its welfare that no fine is requisite to insure their attendance, whenever practicable, at the stated and called meetings, we have abrogated paragraph 1st of section XXV of our constitution.
In pursuance of a resolution adopted at one of our recent meet ings, the City Council was memorialized to place under our charge the imposing chimney of the late Confederate Powder Works, that we might inclose it with a suitable railing, insert in one of its faces a memorial tablet with appropriate inscription; and, preserving it from desecration, maintain it as a memento of the most noted public works erected by the Confederacy, proclaim it a monument to the

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Lost Cause, and dedicate it as an impressive obelisk in memory of all who perished in the effort to achieve the independence of the South. The action taken by the Mayor and Aldermen, while not conclusive in favor of our request, encourages the belief that our petition will, in the end, be granted.
Through the courtesy of Captain Clark and the Richmond Hussars, we have, upon reasonable terms, secured the use of this commodious hall for our meetings. Here we have an abiding place, and hither may be brought for preservation any Confederate memorials. The collection and conservation of these are among the avowed objects of our Association. Here, too, in the coming days we hope, by personal narratives, to revive the recollections of battle, siege, inarch, prisoncamp and hospital.
Since our organization we have promptly met every pecuniary obligation devolving upon us, and now have in our treasury one hundred and six dollars and thirty cents. I regret to state, however, that some of our members have been dilatory in the payment of their quarterly dues. This should not be. These dues are light. Upon becoming members of this Association we promised to pay them, and the obligation should be faithfully and promptly met. We need the funds thence arising for the payment of our current expenses, for the relief of our members in seasons of sickness and distress, and for the decorous sepulture of such as, in the providence of God, may not be able to bear the charge of the last sad offices. I earnestly trust that all who are in default will recognize -the propriety of responding at once to their obligations, and that they will, without delay, cancel these dues.
At a recent meeting, General John B. Gordon, General Wade Hampton, General M. C. Butler, Governor Nicholls, of Louisiana, Governor Marks, of Tennessee, Governor Holliday, of Virginia, and Governor A. H. Colquitt, of Georgia, were elected honorary members of this Association,
Our regular membership has attained a maximum of two hundred and forty-three. Of this number two have resigned, and six have been called away by death :
Private Jerry OHara, Company C, 5th Regiment, Georgia Infan try died on the 8th of May, 1878.
Private W. H. Antony, Company A, Cobb Legion, Cavalry died December 1, 1878.

Private H. P. Arlington, Company I, 12tli Georgia Battalion of Infantry died on the 15th of January, 1879.
Capt. Auvergne DAntignac, Company K, 10th Regiment, Georgia Infantry died on the 12th of February, 1879.
Maj. William H. Howard, Jr., 60th Regiment, Georgia Infantry died on the 2cl of April, 1879.
Private Geo. W. Bouchillon, Company A, 63d Regiment, Georgia Infantry died on the 21st of April, 1879.
Thus, Brothers, within the year have we been forcibly admonished that our circle is narrowing. While there are still in the community those who of a right should associate themselves with us, and whom, as Confederate survivors, we will gladly welcome to the companion ship of our society, there is no rising generation whence we can gather recruits. Our right to membership in this organization was begotten in the past, is born of a bond which can never be renewed, and sinks into the grave with each one of us. We transmit our principles, we inculcate our faith, we bequeath our hopes, but that proud distinction, that grand fact, I was a soldier in the armies of the Southern Confederacy, cannot be transmitted. A precious thought, and a proud consolation while we lire, it can only be mentioned in our praise when we are gone. . There are none to take our places when the generation that followed Lee and Jackson and their com peers shall have crossed the dark river, and, with them, found rest beneath the evergreen trees which beatify the Further Shore.
When Wilkie was in the Escurial studying those famous pictures which have so long challenged the admiration of all lovers of art, an old Jeronymite said to him: I have sat daily in sight of those paint ings for nearly four score years. During that time all who were older than myself have passed away. My contemporaries are gone. Many, younger than myself, are in their graves; and yet the figures upon those canvasses remain unchanged. I look at them until I sometimes think they are the realities and we but the shadows.
The experience of this old Jeronymite is in store for the longest liver of us.
The battle scenes which the heroes of our war have painted the memories which Confederate valor, loyalty and endurance have bequeathed the holy recollections which the pious labors, saintly ministrations, and more than Spartan inspiration of the women of our Revolution have embalmed, will dignify for all time the annals of the civilized world. But we the shadows will pass away.
GEOR&L

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stoutest of us there is but the span of a little life; and then, in tht generous bosom of this, our mother land, for whose salvation w< fought, we will sleep that long and peaceful sleep .which knows n< waking until the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
Brethren, in the nature of things the duration of this, our abol ished Association, is short. Knit by the particular tie which bind; us so closely together, let us be faithful to each other, loyal to ou! organization, devoted to the traditions and the impulses of a Con federate past, and observant of all that is just, pure, and of- gooi report.