Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 38.djvu/145

Rh On May 21, 1909, of the current month, General Clement A. Evans, General Commanding, issued a special order, No. 13, in which he noted the restoration of the Davis' name and said:

"By this restoration an act of justice has been done to one of America's greatest statesmen. The fact is in itself trivial, but it is momentous in significance. It emphasizes the truth that our countrymen will recognize worth; that Mr. Davis, who was thoroughly Southern in his sentiments, can be truly valued by those who were once his enemies, and that he was actuated by lofty motives and conceptions of duty, as were other statesmen and soldiers of the Confederacy.

"It is possible that this desirable result would never have been reached had not our glorious women taken the matter in hand and pushed it to completion. The Confederated Southern Memorial Association started the work in 1907, and Mrs. J. Enders Robinson, of Richmond, and Mrs. YV '. J. Behan, of New Orleans, assisted by the U. D. C. and kindred organizations have the thanks of all Confederates for the accomplishment of this work."

On May 17th, of this month, Mrs. Behan released the Committee appointed in Richmond in 1907, and extended her sincere congratulations over the result. The committee consisted of General Clement A. Evans, vice General Stephen D. Lee, deceased; Mrs. Cornelia Branch Stone, vice Mrs. Lizzie George Henderson, retired; Mr. John W. Apperson, Mrs. George S. Holmes, Mrs. J. Enders Robinson, Mrs. Alfred Gray, Miss AI. B. Poppenheim, Hon. Murphy J. Foster, United States Senator, vice Hon. Adolph Meyer, deceased; Mrs. W. J. Behan, chairman.

At the Annual Convention of the Confederated Southern Memorial Association, held in Richmond, Va., May 30-June 3, 1907, this important work was inaugurated. On June 1st, Mrs. J.