Never again to be used by brother against brother, these Confederate guns
captured in the defenses about Richmond are parked near the wharves on the
James River ready for shipment to the national arsenal at Washington, once
more the capital of a united country. The reflection of these instruments
of destruction on the peaceful surface of the canal is not more clear than
was the purpose of the South to accept the issues of the war and to
restore as far as in them lay the bases for an enduring prosperity. The
same devotion which manned these guns so bravely and prolonged the contest
as long as it was possible for human powers to endure, was now directed to
the new problems which the cessation of hostilities had provided. The
restored Union came with the years to possess for the South a significance
to be measured only by the thankfulness that the outcome had been what it
was and by the pride in the common traditions and common blood of the
whole American people. These captured guns are a memory therefore, not of
regret, but of recognition, gratitude, that the highest earthly tribunal
settled all strife in 1865.
[Illustration: COEHORNS, MORTARS, LIGHT AND HEAVY GUNS]
[Illustration: LINCOLN THE LAST SITTING--ON THE DAY OF LEE'S SURRENDER