Grady’s words offered olive branch, hope

Second of two parts.

Read part one

Wars are fought with gun and sword, but peace is made with words.

On the evening of Dec. 22, 1886, Henry W. Grady gripped a handful of pages bearing words of peace and reconciliation that came straight from his heart. The words made up what would become known as the “New South Speech.”

By the time the former University of Virginia student walked to the lectern in Delmonico’s Restaurant in New York City, he had become a success by anyone’s measure. Although he was only in his mid-30s he was part owner of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper.

Earlier in the year he had added new laurels to his already impressive journalistic reputation when he covered an earthquake that struck Charleston, S.C., on Aug. 31, 1886. It was the largest earthquake to hit the southeastern portion of the country - and was one of the biggest stories of the decade.

Moving forward

But on the night of the speech Grady’s focus was on binding up old, festering wounds and giving birth to a new beginning. He willingly shouldered the task of being the business-promoting champion of the South, which still suffered greatly from the destructive effects of the Civil War.

Grady’s father had been killed in the war, and his beloved Atlanta still bore the blackened scars from the conflagration it had suffered. When the journalist stepped up to the lectern and looked over the audience, one of the people with whom he locked eyes was the very man who had ordered Atlanta burned to the ground.

Among Southerners, Gen. William T. Sherman was arguably the most reviled and detested of all the Union leaders. Nonetheless, Grady masterfully employed his rich sense of humor to both compliment the general and advance his message that a “New South” was eager to put the war behind them.

Message for Sherman

Grady was midway through his speech when he addressed the general.

“I want to say to General Sherman, who is considered an able man in our hearts, though some people think he is a kind of careless man about fire, that from the ashes he left us in 1864 we have raised a brave and beautiful city; that somehow or other we have caught the sunshine in the bricks and mortar of our homes, and have built therein not one ignoble prejudice or memory.”

At different points during the speech, Grady had his audience laughing, cheering and applauding. More importantly, he got powerful men like J.P. Morgan thinking about investing in this new South.

With elegant words the speaker told of a South that remained fiercely proud of its heritage, and unapologetic for having fought for its convictions.

He masterfully leavened his serious remarks with funny anecdotes such as the remarks made by a Rebel soldier to a friend as they were parting at the end of the war.

“You may leave the South if you want to,” Grady quoted the Rebel as saying.

“But I am going to Sandersville, kiss my wife and raise a crop, and if the Yankees fool with me any more I will whip ’em again.”

The audience of Northerners responded with applause, showing their deep admiration for the legendary fighting spirit of Confederate soldiers. But many of them had fought hard as well, and their struggle had ultimately saved the Union.

So the greatest cheering and applause of the evening came toward the end of the speech. Throughout the talk Grady had presented word pictures of an unbowed South, genuinely extending a hand of friendship.

He had taken on the metaphoric role of a wise father bringing two warring brothers back into the fold. He felt privileged to have a part in the great work.

“Never was nobler duty confided to human hands than the uplifting and upbuilding of the prostrate and bleeding South, misguided perhaps, but beautiful in her suffering, and honest, brave and generous always,” Grady said.

The man who claimed to have fully come to appreciate the power of words while studying at Thomas Jefferson’s university used them with great effect in his closing remarks.

“This message, Mr. President, comes to you from consecrated ground,” Grady said. “Every foot of the soil about the city in which I live is sacred as a battleground of the Republic.

“Every hill that invests it is hallowed to you by the blood of your brothers, who died for your victory, and doubly hallowed to us by the blood of those who died hopeless, but undaunted, in defeat.

“Sacred soil to all of us rich with memories that make us purer and stronger and better, silent but stanch witnesses in its red desolation of the matchless valor of American hearts and the deathless glory of American arms - speaking an eloquent witness in its white peace and prosperity to the indissoluble union of American States and the imperishable brotherhood of the American people.”

Three years and a day after the speech, Grady was dead of pneumonia. During his short life he had become known for his writing and great passion as the spokesman for the recovering South.

On that cold December night in 1886, Grady’s words of peace had warmed, stirred and changed the hearts of men.

In so doing he had helped to usher in a new day for a new South.