Freestone County, Texas History DALLAS HERALD newspaper of Dallas, Dallas County, Texas October 16, 1861 edition, page 1, column 7 Flag Presentations The following addresses have been handed on for publication. They were delivered on the occasion of the presentation of a handsome Confederate Flag, by a few ladies of this county, to the company of "Freestone Boys," Capt. Maddux of Col. Parsons' Regiment of State troops, on the 3d inst., at the camp on Rowlett's Creek. The flag was presented in the name of the ladies, by Miss Lizzie Johnston, of this county, and received by W. F. Compton, Esq., one of the non-commissioned officers of the company. Address of Miss Johnston. Gentlemen:--It has been imposed upon me, by my friends, to address you on this occasion. I do so, deeply sensible of my incompetency to the task, of saying a word in behalf of the great and glorious cause in which you are enlisted. We are well aware of the disadvantages under which the Southern States will have to labor, being poorly supplied with arms, they have entered into a combat with a people who have at their command all the improvements in arms that the age can afford; but this deficiency will be more than doubly supplied by the valor and chivalry of the sons of Southern soil. Our sympathies are especially enlisted in behalf of the border States, for within their limits will be the great battle fields of contending armies, and their sons and daughters are destined to become familiar with scenes of carnage and blood. Missouri claims a large share of sympathy, and for her success our feelings are more deeply enlisted. Borne down by over-powering numbers of Black Republican cohorts, and smarting under the chains of a military despotism, she has severed her connection with the Northern Government, and has added another star to the bright galaxy of the Southern constellation. We, as a community of ladies, in testimony of the interest we feel for the success of our country's cause, have reared [?] this flag, and now present it to you in token of our confidence in your valor and integrity, believing that you will honor and sustain it with that unshrinking devotion that Southern hearts have always manifested for the flag of their country. Suffer not its stars to be dimmed by the dust of defeat, or its colors tarnished by the foul touch of an enemy's hand; but may it wave in triumph over every battle-field in which you may be engaged, and wherever the streaming colors are unfurled, may it waft pestilence and death to the gathered minions of Northern foes. Brave and noble hearted volunteers of Capt. Maddux's company! We ask you when called to meet the enemies of your country, to march forth proudly under this bright banner, and calmly sustain the shock of battle that you may encounter with unyielding fortitude, ever keeping in mind that glorious motto that should characterize the soldier, "Victory or Death." Remember that it is glorious to die in defence of your country's rights and the death of him who thus nobly falls will be enshrined forever in the hearts of a grateful people,--admiring gratitude shall write his epitaph, and time shall mellow and consecrate his memory. Strike! til the last armed foe expires! Strike! for your altars and your fires! Strike! for the green graves of your sires, Home! and your native South. Response of Mr. W. F. Compton. Miss Johnston.—By the presentation of this flag, and the patriotic remarks accompanying the same the hearts of the "Freestone Boys," (a band of strangers,) are filled with thankfulness to you and the kind ladies of Dallas county, who assisted in rearing this banner; and also to God for his goodness manifested toward us as a nation, in inspiring the fair ones of the South with patriotic spirits to imitate the matrons of '76. For this banner, this beautiful banner of red, white, and blue, I in the name of the "Freestone Boys," officers and privates, tender you our ardent thanks. We have ever been proud of our national flag. Under the Star-spangled Banner our fathers fought and died; with their blood they paid the price of our liberty, thus making that banner doubly dear to their children. Under its folds we would freely have fallen rather than see this favored land over-run or trampled under the foot of tyranny. But, alas! sad to tell, that banner is no longer dear to the sons of the South.—No longer do we feel ready or willing to defend it. No longer does the sight of its stars and stripes gladden our hearts. Never, no never again, will we acknowledge it as our nation's ensign. That cluster of stars, once fit emblem of the band of sister States, is now severed; twelve of its brightest stars have, as with an angel's wing, been brushed away, and carried to a place appointed them by an All-wise Providence, see, on this lovely flag, they blaze,--o'er this heaven favored land they float, bidding defiance to all our enemies. Does any ask why this change in our hearts and flag? If so, we reply, the people of the South were loyal to the constitution of the U.S., and so long as we could, by compromise or any other way, save submission, receive and enjoy the rights and privileges therein guaranteed unto us were satisfied. But in the action of people of the North towards us, we plainly saw that unless we resisted we were a ruined people. They, by the election of a Black Republican President, in the person of Abraham Lincoln, manifested a determination to subjugate the South, and to degrade the anglo saxon race to a level with the servile African. We long bore their insults and abuses. But the thought of seeing the fair ones of our land taken from the elevated position to which God had placed them, and caused to move in an uncongenial latitude, side by side with the negro, caused our hearts to sicken and recoil, and inspired us with feelings similar to those which reigned in the bosoms of the patriots of '76. And with almost a unanimous shout, we cried, "God avert such evils or give us death." Determined never to submit to such wrongs, we asked the privilege of peaceably withdrawing from the Union. But we were not only denied the privilege, but also threatened with coercion if we attempted to secede. We loved the Union, but were driven to secession. South Carolina led the way, and one after another followed, til the number in the once glorious constellation is twelve less. Refusing longer to be loyal citizens of the U. S., it became our duty to form a new government, and rear a new and different flag. This we have done. By the guidance of the Almighty we have been enabled to organize and arrange the best constitution the world has ever known, and in the time of our country's need, God blessed us with another Washington, Jeff. Davis, the man for the times. And as was said of Napoleon, so be it said of him, "A man without a model and without a shadow." We have chosen a new banner. Here it is. See how proudly it floats in the breeze. Beautiful banner. Thee we love; for thee have we discarded the Star-Spangled banner. We hail thee as our nation's flag—Wave, proudly—wave on every wind. Heaven's blessings rest upon the land over which you float, and whilst the sight of thee inspires the sons of the south with courage, may it fill the hearts of the Northern fanatics with astonishment and fear. We love our country, and feel a deep interest in all her battles. But while we sympathise [sic] with Missouri and the other border States, our hearts and feelings are enlisted in the defence of our own loved Texas. For her safety our prayers ascend; for her defence we have left our homes, and for her we will freely die. Miss Johnston:--Again, in the name of the "Freestone Boys," I tender you our thanks for this lovely flag; and be assured that the confidence placed in us shall never be betrayed. Under its folds we will proudly march forth to meet the foes of our country and institutions; and our watch-word shall ever be, onward and onward, conquering and to conquer, so long as the tramp of the enemy's horse or the roar of his cannon is heard in our land. And never, no never, will we suffer this banner to trail in the dust of defeat, or its bright colors tarnished by the foul touch of the enemy's hand.