Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Pro Aris Et Focis


Pro Aris Et Focis, Coming St., Charleston, SC

Earlier entry.
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1 comment:

Ducrot Peeps said...

I notice the antebellum date next to the motto, "Pro Aris et Focis." This was a popular motto in Southern families and military units in the 19th Century.
I'll append a citation from the book, "Compelled to Fight," by Thomas Rittenburg, a history of Rockbridge County, Virginia, in the run up to the Civil War, containing an example:
"On 8 June 1861, Washington College suspended classes
for the session for lack of students, and the final grades of twelve
members of the senior class were determined. Regular studies
continued intermittently for a small number of younger students
throughout the war.
From the college campus the Liberty Hall Volunteers
marched to the courthouse on Main Street where in front of a large
crowd of people, they were presented a silk Stars and Bars flag with
the motto 'Pro Aris et Focis' ('For Altar and Home') sewn across
the white bar by ladies of the Falling Springs Presbyterian Church.
The pastor, John Miller, presented the flag that was very graciously
accepted by Captain White, who bade farewell to the community
at the same time. His father, the Reverend William S. White of
the Lexington Presbyterian Church, gave a farewell address and
concluding prayer. The ceremony was memorable and one recalled
that, 'No one who witnessed, no one who participated in the scene,
could ever forget the circumstances of their departure.'”

March 19, 2009 at 3:58 PM

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