<hi rend="bold" TEIform="hi">Excerpts from the Diary of Thomas M. Garrett, July 4 and August 31, 1849:</hi> Electronic Edition. Garrett, Thomas Miles, 1830-1864 Erika Lindemann Funding from the State Library of North Carolina supported the electronic publication of this title. Text transcribed by Erika Lindemann Images scanned by Mara E. Dabrishus Text encoded by Amanda Page First Edition, 2005 ca. 20K The University Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina 2005

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 <hi rend="italics" TEIform="hi">True and Candid Compositions: The Lives and Writings of Antebellum Students in North Carolina</hi> written by Lindemann, Erika Thomas Miles Garrett Diary (#1171-z), Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Excerpts from the Diary of Thomas M. Garrett, July 4 and August 31, 1849 Garrett, Thomas Miles, 1830-1864 4 pages, 4 page images 1849 Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Call number 1171-z (Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

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 Library of Congress Subject Headings Erika's vocab English Education/UNC Faculty, Staff, and Servants Education/UNC Curriculum Politics and Government/Political Issues Examples of Student Writing/Diary and Notebook Excerpts Travel and Entertainment/Celebrations and Holidays Travel and Entertainment/Social Events 2005-05-27, Amanda Page finished TEI/XML encoding Document Summary

Garrett's diary entry expresses pride in being an American; he attended a local July 4th oration by George Moses Horton, the slave poet. A second entry contrasts the teaching styles of Prof. William Mercer Green and Gov. David Lowry Swain.

 Excerpts from the Diary of Thomas M. Garrett, July 4 and August 31, 18491 July 4th

Surely there can not be a prouder feeling than that the of love of country. No day can come more joyous than that of which a nation's boast is to her and all mankind the gift of freedom. It is true that this alone is enough to fill the bigest measure a nation's pride but the coming of this day brings to rembrance brighter feelings and brighter joys. All that is great and good is bound up in the remembrance of our great sires. The sweetest joy is to pay them the listless praise of example, and only let the heart move the acsent. "Sleep on Great Farthers a nation's pride is thy memory. We will never disturb nor let be disturbed they peaceful sleep." The unexampled prosperity our country is truly a subject of congratulation. The freedom which we have enjoyed is beyond all conception, and the proudest words upon earth are "I am an American citizen," words of in which the most haughty being would rejoice, if he would know. To know that I have am a sovreighn of the greatest of nations, and can claim the protection of the freest government upon amongst mankind raises even my little self to feel as big as a king, who can claim no more. What have we of which we may boast? All do and should join in the celebration of this great day, and raise a song of triump and praise to God to our farthers and to freedom—I met with serious disappointment to day. A great celebration was to come off at Hillboro', under the direction principly by of the Sons of Temperance, and I was verry much in hope of being able to join in it, because I am a member of that order. I failed however to get a conveyance and it was impossible to get there It seemed that the whole village of C. Hill poured out, and every horse cart waggon, buggy, carriage, and whatever else that was ever made to ride in were filled, besides not a few "rode their mother's colts" We had however a celebration here. The students who remained upon the Hill thought that they would not let the "forth" pass without some noise, and accordingly held a meeting and appointed George Haughton [Horton] alias the N. Carolina bard to deliver the oration. This morning the Poet arrived and about 11 O'clock we formed a procession and conducted the orator upon the stage. He make a speech of about 5 minutes length, to the great disappointment of all present, who expected a long oration. The loud, long and repeated applause occupied however about 15 minutes. With this the celebration of the day ended with us. [. . .]2

August 31st P[rayers] A[ttended].

The day has been highly interesting, teeming with new and interesting events all of which I shall I fear be unable to relate. Early in the morning the class repaired to recitation room of the President who in consequence of the indoposition of the Professor of Rhetoric. This recitation was decidedly the most entertaining that we have yet had. I marked the contrast. Dr Green, although a verry good and pious man, is considered but verry ordinary in intellectual capacity When his mind takes hold of a subject to investigate it, it seems that it restricts the view to one point. The author of these lectures for an instance appears to disadvantage under the instruction of of this man.3 When I go in the recitation I have impressed upon my mind in a clear light the views of the author, the view is regular and consistant, perspicuous and closely divided. The connection is permanently marked between the parts subjects or ends of the lecture. But when we have Dr Green to labor on it, our view is drawn to one or two points, they may be however more prominent. But instead of this Gov. Swain when he ceases a subject, with elastic wing his mind springs above its common level, he lays before you a view at first large grand and beautiful, he talkes on and your vision is extended. H[e] seems to scan the landscape and horizen. He talkes on new beauties before unseen rise up to view. We seem to be surrounded by a landscape of thought, and all dispersed over its uneven surface the bold features of pmountains and hills of wide spread forest and extended planes of fields. It is singular that two minds should place any thing in such different postures. The hour for second recitation in the day was taken for composition, we were highly entertained with the reading of these. But in the hour which afforded still more delight was that of the third recitation. Gov. Swain instead of making the lesson in Rhetoric the subject of the recitation, took occasion to read to us a portion of the address delivered by Judge Gaston at this place together with a sermon delivered by Dr Wm Hooper, late Professor of Languages in the University upon the force of habit.4 It were useless to attempt to give any thing else with regard to this than a bare mention. Twould do them injustice were I to attempt the delineation of a single thought which they express. They are almost inimitable. I can get a copy of the sermon I will take it with me when I leave College, and as for Gaston's address I expect always to keep one. We had a highly interesting meeting this evening. The question was debated at considerable length5 Some of the gentlemen, however who are6 prone to bombast and vain show was7 verry disgusting.

1. Thomas Miles Garrett Papers, SHC. The diary consists of eight loose sheets and six gatherings of sheets of light blue paper measuring 7 3/4 by 15 3/4 inches. Each gathering is made up of ten to thirteen sheets that have been stacked, folded in half, and tied with thread running around the fold. Entries begin on May 13, 1849, and continue through November 16, 1850.

2. An address attributed to Horton and containing some of his poetry survives, but whether or not it is the address Garrett describes is unclear. "An Address to Collegiates of the University of N.C.," housed in the NCC, is undated and in the hand of an amanuensis. At twenty-nine pages, the address would have taken longer than five minutes to deliver. Perhaps Garrett is mistaken about the timing. Perhaps the surviving address was written for another occasion. Perhaps Horton curtailed his delivery, concluding that the "loud, long and repeated applause" was less friendly than Garrett's report makes out. The remainder of Garrett's entry describes a long walk that he and four friends took later that afternoon.

3. Kemp Plummer Battle(BA 1849), a student while Green was at the University, makes the following comment on Green's teaching: "His instruction in Blair's Rhetoric was satisfactory, but in Logic it was deficient, merely requiring the careful study of Hedge's treatise, a diminutive book. Besides these he had a class in Vandenhoff's Elocution" (1:547). The textbooks Battle refers to are Hugh Blair, Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (London: W. Strahan, 1783); Levi Hedge, Elements of Logick (Cambridge, MA: Hilliard and Metcalf, 1816); and George Vandenhoff, The Art of Elocution (London: Wiley and Putnam, 1846).

4. William Gaston, Address Delivered before the Philanthropic and Dialectic Societies at Chapel Hill, June 20, 1832 (Raleigh: Joseph Gales & Son, 1832) and William Hooper, The Force of Habit, A Discourse Delivered to the Students of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, March 31, 1833 (Philadelphia: J. W. Martin and W. K. Boden, 1833).

5. The query for the August 31, 1849, debate had been set on August 24th: Is it practicable to do away with slavery? The question "after being discussed at some length was decided in the negative" on August 31st (Philanthropic Society Minutes, Vol. S-12, UA).

6. Garrett wrote are on top of were.

7. Garrett wrote was on top of were.