Red Shirt Shrine Pamphlet

Title

Red Shirt Shrine Pamphlet

Source

Madge Burney Papers, Box 2, Folder 10, Historical Manuscripts, Special Collection, the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries.

Publisher

Edgefield, S. C. Chapter-UDC

Date

Unknown

Rights

Copyright Not Evaluated

Format

Printed Pamphlet

Language

En.

Type

Text

Original Format

Printed Pamphlet

Files

Pamphlet for the Red Shirt Shrine and Historic Home of Confederate General Martin Witherspoon Gary in Edgefield S. C.<br /> <br /> <br /> Oakley Park<br /> Red Shirt Shrine<br /> Historic Home of <br /> Gen. Martin Witherspoon Gary, C. S. A. <br /> Edgefield, S. C.<br /> <br /> One of the most heroic eras of all recorded history is finally being memorialized by the United Daughters of the Confederacy who have so faithfully preserved the annals of the War Between the States. The heroes of Seventy-six, who saved the South from the degradation which followed the surrender at Appomattox Court House, are to be honored in The Red Shirt Shrine in Edgefield. Future generations will visit this shrine, and the spirits of Hampton, Gary, Butler, and the countless members of fearless men who followed their leadership will live on in the grateful memory of a freed people. <br /> <br /> Curran Hartley Feltham, Secretary, Edgefield Chapter U. D. C. <br /> <br /> Mrs. Warren Fair, Custodian
Page two of Red Shirt Shrine Pamphlet produced by the UDC.
Page three of Red Shirt Shrine Pamphlet produced by the UDC. <br /> <br /> pride to the entire state and to all lovers of Southern history, is the designating of this beautiful old home to perpetuate the memory of that class of heroes, long unhonored and unsung—the Red Shirt Patriots of South Carolina's Reconstruction period. <br /> <br /> Oakley Park was the home of the late General Martin Witherspoon Gary, the "Bald Eagle of Edgefield." To the cool and courageous leadership of this veteran who served his country in war and peace, General Wade Hampton is said to have attributed in large measure of the ultimate victory which brought order of chaos in South Carolina. <br /> <br /> General Gary was one of the first advocated of the "Straight-out" system in the States. In that dark period when South Carolina was prostrate beneath the feet of robber governors and beastial judges robbery was prevalent in a system that was sapping economic life. The honor of womanhood was imperiled, brutal insults forced upon the citizens by foul-mouthed freedmen were more than flesh and blood could long endure, and civilization itself hung in the balance. <br /> <br /> <br /> Some of the brave but conservative men of the State, while frantic with anxiety, still hoped that a "watch and wait" policy might restore normalcy in the State. Others, along whom were General M. C. Butler and General M. W. Gary, stood for drastic action in a "Straight-out fight" policy. The time had come when appeasement was out of the question, and only a straight-out fight could succeed in overthrowing the corrupt government in the State, said these determined veterans. <br /> <br /> The Hamburg trouble on July 4, 1876 was the culmination of sorrows and the birth of a new movement for restoring white rule in South Carolina. All over the State men began to organize Saber Clubs and Rifle Clubs, in utmost secrecy. The Movement grew and spread with the same spirit which had motivated our libterty-loving Patriots of 1776 just a hundred years before. Riders were dispatched to summon men in every hamlet and remote rural section int he State to come to the aid of the party. The uniform adopted was the red flannel shirt, in derision of the cheap sensational Radical method of inciting sectional prejudice by "waving the bloody shirt." Even as Paul Revere had ridden for freedom's sake a century before South Carolina Red Shirts rode in grim determination, fearlessly facing perils, daring all for liberty. There were then no telephones to expedite the message, no automobiles or paved roads, only the Red Shirts riding; and over the hills, fording streams, along lonely country roads the riders galloped with the stirring call for men. Danger lurked in ambush, shots sometimes rang out from the forests, and a riderless horse might go on its way alone, but the Red Shirts rode on. <br /> <br /> Edgefield, the home of General Gary, was a hot beat of patriotism, one of the first to adopt a full county "Straight-out" ticket. With the nomination of Wade Hampton for Governor, Edgefield became the center of enthusiasm. Men rode all through the days and nights and women busily sewed red flannel shirts in the grave knowledge that the destiny of South Carolina was at stake. General Martin W.
Page four of the Red Shirt Shrine produced by the UDC. <br /> <br /> Gary set up headquarters for the county in his Oakley Park home. The great doors of the old mansion were thrown wide with lavish Southern hospitality, and glowing logs in the wide fireplaces offered a warm welcome to weary riders, galloping to and from the mansion on errands of mighty import, all through the days and nights. <br /> <br /> At one time when the Radical forces were milling around Edgefield Court House, threatening a fight, General Gary rode up and cooly drawing his pistol, shouted, "If there is going to be a row, there will be a lively one." This from one who had faced cannon fire at Manassas quieted the Radical troops and they moved on without firing a gun. <br /> <br /> "You could put a soldier in front of every cottage in the State and could not prevent the return of South Carolina to her own people," was General Gary's remark to an order forbidding him to interfere in the election of 1876. <br /> <br /> After the election of Wade Hampton and the strange sequel of dual government in the State had ended, General Gary retired to Oakley Park in Edgefield and resumed the practice of law. Here in 1881, he laid down his armor, his "silent tent now spread on fame's eternal camping ground."<br /> <br /> Ex-Governor John Gary Evans, a nephew of General Gary, eventually came into the possession of Oakley Park, and in 1941 he formally presented the town of Edgefield this historic estate, "In consideration for my love and esteem for the citizens and Town of Edgefield." The presentation ceremonies were attended by many prominent people from all over the State. The deed stipulated "that care and keeping of the interior of the home. . .shall be intrusted to the United Daughters of the Confederacy of Edgefield and they shall be allowed to hold their meetings and conventions in the home." Now with the aid fo the South Carolina Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, the old mansion is being furnished in period style, and restored to its former semblance as a typical Southern home of the Red Shirt era. <br /> <br /> Oakley Park mansion, erected n 1835 by Daniel Bird, was built to endure. Its spacious rooms and wide halls which once resounded to the trad of beaux and belles in the Golden age of the Old South are dignified by handsome paneling, while the winding stairway and hand-carved arch in the hall testify to beauty-loving builders. The mansion's facade with the broad piazza, also extending across one side of the house, and tall white columns extending from floor to roof, speaks eloquently of a day when "de big house" typified unspeakable magnificence. <br /> <br /> South Carolina Daughters of the Confederacy have undertaken a worthy objective in the making of this famous old home a center where memories of gallant Red Shirts forever riding up the lanes, the campaign cry, "Hurrah for Hampton," echoed over the forests, will be preserved for the enrichment of future generations.

Citation

“Red Shirt Shrine Pamphlet,” Online Exhibits at Southern Miss, accessed April 26, 2024, https://usmspecialcollections.omeka.net/items/show/188.

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