"...Nevertheless it has not seemed the whole truth to me that the Confederate soldier went into battle to vindicate a constitutional argument. He went to war because he loved his people, because his country was invaded, because his heart was throbbing for his hearthstone. Here was the land which gave him birth; here was his childhood's home; here were the graves of his dead; here was the church spire where he had learned it was not all of life to live nor all of death to die. No hostile foot should ever tread this consecrated ground except over his dead body. It was the prospect of invasion that made the men of the border States with bleeding hearts go and cast their lot with the Confederacy. He who could have expected a Lee to do battle against Virginia or a Hampton to draw his sword against South Carolina has never learned the language of the human heart. Nothing but the most devoted love of country could ever have sustained the Confederate soldier in his unequal and terrible struggle. It was not necessary to find a reward for the Confederate soldier in unexpected good results of the great conflict. The reward of noble actions lies in the capacity to do them. The Confederate soldier who fought with unflinching courage had the reward of being a brave man. He who loved his country had the reward of being a true patriot. He who faced the cannon's mouth for those he loved dearer than life had the reward of being a hero. He who was faithful unto death had the reward of a stainless honor. What other course could a Southerner have taken? Behind him were the great traditions of his English race. There were Hastings and Cressy and Agincourt; there were Naseby, Blenheim, and Quebec; there were King's Mountain and Valley Forge. In his veins flowed the blood of a thousand years of chivalry. He could face the line of fire, but not the shame of standing back"
