Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 31.djvu/348

 340 Southern Historical Society Papers.

NORTH CAROLINA AND VIRGINIA.

Report of the History Committee of the Grand Camp Confederate Veterans, of Virginia.

To the Grand Camp Confederate Veterans of Virginia :

Your History Committee again returns its thanks to you, and the public, for the flattering and cordial way in which you have re- ceived its last report. It will be as gratifying to you, as it is to the Committee, to know, that we have heard of no attempt to contro- vert any statement contained in any report of this Committee up to this time. It will also be gratifying to you to learn, that at the late Re-union of the United Confederate Veterans held in New Orleans, the several reports of your Committee were not only incorporated as a part of the report of the History Committee of that great organi- zation, but received its unanimous and unqualified endorsation.

We had expected in this report, to discuss a very different subject from that which now claims our attention. Indeed we deeply regret that the matter which demands our attention at this time, should have to be considered by us at all. But we conceive it to be our first duty to our Mother State to see that her record in the Confed- erate war is kept true, and not misunderstood or misrepresented by either friend or foe. We have always deprecated controversies be- tween Confederates. We think, as General Early once said, there is glory enough attached to the Confederate struggle for all of us to have a share, that we should stand together and see that the truth of that conflict is preserved; this is all we have a right to ask, and we should be content with nothing less.

This being our position, we repeat our sincere regret that some recent publications from representatives of our sister State of North Carolina have come to us in such a way, and that these publications emanate from such sources, that they demand consideration and attention at the hands of your Committee. We again repeat our sorrow, that we feel compelled to notice these matters, and in doing so, we shall strive to say nothing which will even tend to detract from the fame won by the glorious " Old North State " in the Con- federate war, except in so far as attempts have been made to augment that fame at the expense of Virginia.

We know the people of North Carolina, and greatly admire their