The Wail of a Southern Orator
June 9, 1894
Summary
A monument dedicated to the “deeds of valor” of Confederate veterans is unveiled, with a reverend delivering an oration in support of the South.
Transcription
The monument to commemorate the deeds of valor of the soldiers and sailors of the late Confederacy was unveiled May 30, and a Rev RC Cave of St. Louis delivered the oration. it was a production which has caused endless comment. Had the Republican leaders of the north been asked as to what they wished most just at this time, their answer was unquestionably have been-”Just such a speech as Rev. Mr. Cave delivered.”
The fact that the local press had to come to his defense and bold Lee declare that he asserted the sentiments of the Southern heart made the aration all the more valuable as a campaign document, and will cause an estrangement among even those Democrats who wore the blue and patriotically fought for the supremacy of the “ old flag”.
The oration will check the streams of Finance and paralyzed Industries which might otherwise have felt the exhilarating, is backed of Northern capital. For this reason, we regret that such a reverend, Indiscreet trade killing or at or should have been allowed to air his views to the detriment of the section which he professes to love.
We know that well the southerners will suffer as a result, we cannot fail to feel the blow.
In order to give the reader an idea as to what extent this Rev. Mr. Cave’s “brains was in his breeches”,one has but to note a few extracts from his remarkable address:
“I am not one of those who, clinging to the old Superstition that the will of Heaven is revealed in the immediate results of “ trial by combat,” Shanty that right must always be on the side of might, and speak of Appomattox as a judgement of God. I do not forget that at Suwaroff triumphed, and a Kosciusko fell; that a Nero wielded it the scepter of Empire, and a Paul was beheaded; that a Herod was crowned and a Christ was crucified; and, instead of accepting the defeat of the South as a Divine verdict against her, I regard it as but another instance of ‘Truth on the scaffold, and wrong on the throne’”
In any other country but hours those utterances would be regarded as treasonable….
The fact that the local press had to come to his defense and bold Lee declare that he asserted the sentiments of the Southern heart made the aration all the more valuable as a campaign document, and will cause an estrangement among even those Democrats who wore the blue and patriotically fought for the supremacy of the “ old flag”.
The oration will check the streams of Finance and paralyzed Industries which might otherwise have felt the exhilarating, is backed of Northern capital. For this reason, we regret that such a reverend, Indiscreet trade killing or at or should have been allowed to air his views to the detriment of the section which he professes to love.
We know that well the southerners will suffer as a result, we cannot fail to feel the blow.
In order to give the reader an idea as to what extent this Rev. Mr. Cave’s “brains was in his breeches”,one has but to note a few extracts from his remarkable address:
“I am not one of those who, clinging to the old Superstition that the will of Heaven is revealed in the immediate results of “ trial by combat,” Shanty that right must always be on the side of might, and speak of Appomattox as a judgement of God. I do not forget that at Suwaroff triumphed, and a Kosciusko fell; that a Nero wielded it the scepter of Empire, and a Paul was beheaded; that a Herod was crowned and a Christ was crucified; and, instead of accepting the defeat of the South as a Divine verdict against her, I regard it as but another instance of ‘Truth on the scaffold, and wrong on the throne’”
In any other country but hours those utterances would be regarded as treasonable….
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Upper Right Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Carlos Serrano
Citation
“The Wail of a Southern Orator,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed January 20, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1537.