An Address by the Hon. Joseph Holt

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Excerpt from An Address by the Hon. Joseph Holt: To the People of Kentucky, Delivered at Louisville July 13th, 1861, Also His Letter to J. F. Speed, Esq. Mr. Holt was next introduced to the audience by Hon. Henry Pirtle, who addressed him a few words of welcome. Then taking the stand, amid prolonged cheers, Mr. Holt spoke as follows: - Judge Pirtle: I beg you to be assured that I am most thankful for this distinguished and flattering welcome, and for every one of the kind words which have just fallen from your lips, as I am for the hearty response they have received. Spoken by anybody and anywhere, these words would have been cherished by me, but spoken by yourself and in the presence and on behalf of those in whose midst I commenced the battle of life, whose friendship I have ever labored to deserve, and in whose fortunes I have ever felt the liveliest sympathy, they are doubly grateful to my feelings. I take no credit to myself for loving and being faithful to such a government as this, or for uttering, as I do, with every throb of my existence, a prayer for its preservation. In regard to my official conduct, to which you have alluded with such earnest and generous commendation, I must say that no merit can be accorded to mo beyond that of having humbly but sincerely struggled to perform a public duty, amid embarrassments which the world can never fully know. In reviewing what is past, I have and shall ever have a bitter sorrow, that, while I was enabled to accomplish so little in behalf of our betrayed and suffering country, others were enabled to accomplish so much against it You do me exceeding honor in associating me in your remembrance with the hero of Fort Sumter. There is about his name an atmosphere of light that can never grow dim. Surrounded with his little band, by batteries of treason and by infuriated thousands of traitors, the fires upon the altar of patriotism at which he ministered, only waxed the brighter for the gloom that enveloped him, and history will never forget that it was from these fires that was kindled that conflagration that now blazes throughout the length and breadth of the land. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.