.--1-,:-'. ..;;;.•
.......... .
_:_---,----.-----.
....._,..7_,...-- - •
.' '' • , '.: :,i- o- - ;'_ ',.:...• , -r:n. , , t'.-3 •-.F . 44 . , ' , .'t , - .. , __ . ... _,
-, • ' '- - , .; --::;:. :a::• , ,..
~
. .. ... -- .
I-- r.....:.',...; S; ,• : ;11."1 , - _ C:,•.:
..; .-
T ,
.• .
,••
. ..
„,.
.. •
..
„
...••. 1 .,...„..•,.. _,,
;,.......
.. •
..
~....„-.. ~:,...
.. ....
..,........,"_,,,;.,.,..,,..._...., ..,, : ,..... : _, :7
. .:;,.. ... ,
.
~,,„:.,:,..., _.;.:...... .:.:, ~ ...
f ,
' Si
..",
~
• -
: . .j,
_ .
.-' ~ ••• ~ Ai , - ...,'. to,l, . ••• '
.5. .
-!..!: 'F- •
;..• - .
•
..:' :. •
.._, J
. .1 .1 I . -•
'''
A...,.
, ...,._, ~
........,•..ii.,.„;.„..
- ' a
_
-_ , .
. . ----..... --.........,-. _ _
-
L
.7 , : - '
A. J. GERRITSON. Publisher.l'
Mt MUM'S HMO
ON Tag OCCASION ON
THE DEDICATORY CEREMONIES
or iris
West Point Battle Monument.
All nations have days sacred to the re
membrance of joy and grief. They have
thanksgiving for success; fastiegs and
prayer in the hour,,of humiliation and de
feat; triumphs and peans to greet thq
living, laurel-crowned victor. They have
obsequies and eulogies for the warrior
slam on the field of battle. Such is the
duty we are to . performao-day. The po
etry, the' histories, the orations of antiqui
ty, all resound with the clang of arms;
they dwell rather upon rough deeds of
war than the gentle arts of peace. They
have preserved to us the names of heroes,
and the memory of their deeds even to
this distant day. Our own Old Testa
ment teems with the narrations of the
brave actions and heroic deaths of Jewish
patriots; while the New Testament of
our meek and suffering Saviour often se
lects the soldier and his weapons to typi
fy and illustrate religions heroism and du
ty. These stories of the actions of the
dead have frequently, survived, in the
lapse of ages, the names of those whose
fall was commemorated centuries ago.—
But, although we know not how the
names of the brave men who fought and
fell upon the plain of Marathon, in the
pass of Thermopylae, and on the bills of
Palestine, we have not lost the memory
of their examples. As long as the warm
blood courses in the veins of man ; as
long as the human heart beats high and
quick at the recital of brave deeds and
patriotic services ; so long will the lesson
still invite generous men to emulate the
heroism of the past. Among the Greeks
it was the custom that the fathers of the
most valiant of the slain should pronounce
the eulogies of the dead. Sometimes it
devolved upon their great statesmen and
and orators to perform this mournful du
ty. Would that a new Demosthen
es, or a second Pericles could rise and
take my place to-day, for he would find a
theme worthy of his most brilliant powers
—of his most most touching eloquence.
I stand - here now t -I:tot as an orator, but
as the whilom commander, and in the
place of the fathers of the most valiant
dead ; as their comrade, too, on Many a
hard-fought field against domestic and
foreign foes—in early youth and mature
manhood—moved by all the love that Da
vid felt when he poured forth the lamen.
cation for the mighty father and son who
fell on Mount Gilboa. God knows that
David's love for Jonathan was no more
deep than mine for the tried friends of
many long and eventful years, whose
names are to be recorded upon the struc
ture that is to rise upon this spot. Would
that his more than mortal eloquent , could
grace my lips and do justice to the theme!
We -have met to-day, my comrades, to
do honor to our own dead—brothers uni
ted to us by the closest and dearest ties
—who have freely given their lives for
their country in this war—so just and
righteous so long as its purpose is to
crush rebellion and to save our nation
from the infinite evils of dismemberment t .
Such an occasion as this should call forth
the deepest and noblest emotions of our
nature, pride, sorrow and pray& Pride,
that our country has possessed such sons;
sorrow, that she has lost them • prayer,
that she may have others like them ; that
we and our successors may adorn her an
nals as they have done; and that, when •
our parting hour arrives, whenever and
however it may be, our souls may be pre
pared for the great change.
We have assembled to commemorate a
cenotaph which shall remind our child
ren's children in the distant future of
their father's struggles in the days of the
great rebellion. This monument is to
perpetuate the memory of a Fortiori only
of those who have fallen for the nation in
unhappy war; it is dedicated to the offi
cers and soldiers of the regular army.—
Yet this is done in no class or exclusive
spirit, and in the act we remember with
reverence and love our comrades of the
volunteers who have so gloriously fought
and fallen by our sides.
Each State will, no doubt, commemor
ate in some fitting way the services of its
sons, who abandoned their avocations of
peace and shed their blood in the ranks;
will receive some memento 'of a nation's
love, a nation's gratitude.. With what he
roism they have confronted death, have ,
wrested victory from a stubborn foe, and
have- illustrated defeat, it well,becomes
me to pay, for it has been my lot to com
mand them on many -a' sanguinary field.
I know that I but echo the feelings of
the regulars when I award the high cred
it they deserve.to their brave brothers of
the volunteers,
But we of, Abe. reguljir army have - um
states to look-to foe the hquora due our
dead. We betting - to the - Whole onntry.
We c*neithei-expect or desire the gen
eral government.to make, perbga. an 1 4-
1 ' , idiot:ls - distinction in our favor.'' We are'
few in numbers, a small band of comrades,
united by peculiar and very binding ties.
For, with -many of us, our frienclabipa
were oommetmed. in boyhood,- irt*:l4ar.O
rested beneath the shadow of the granite ecent past and present, without advert
hills' which look down upon tie where we ing to the gallant men who were so long
- stand ; with others the ties of brother- of our number, but have now gone to
hood were formed in more mature years; their last home; for no small portion of
while fighting amid the rugged mountains the glory of which we boast, was expect
and Sertile.velleys of Mexico ; withlnhear- ed from such men as Taylor, Worth,l3ra
ing of theitternal waves ',Atha Pacific, or dy,• Brooks, Totten and Iluneare
in the lonely grandeur of the great plains There is a sad etory. of Venetian. hiato
of the far West. With all, our love and ry that has moved many a heart, and of
confidence has been cemented by common ten employed the poet's pen and painter's
dangers and Sufferings,on the toilsome pencil. It is of an old man whoselife was
march, in the dreary bivouac, and amid gloriously spent in the service of the State
the clash of arms and the presence of as a -warrior and a statesman, and who,
death on scores of battle-fields. West. when his hair was white and his feeble
Point, with her large heart, adopts us all limbs could scarce carry his bent form .
—graduates and thoee 'appointed from toward the, grave, attained the highest
ne
civil life ; o ffi cers and ivates. In her honor that a 'Venetian bitiien could reach.
eyes we are all her children, jeal- He was Doge of Venice. Convicted of
ens of her fame, and eager to: sus. treason 4taiust the State, he not only lost
taro her world-wide reputation. Gen• his life but suffered beside a penalty
erals and private soldiers, men who have which will endure as long as the name
' cheerfully offered oar all for dear country, of Venice is remembered. The spot,
we stand here before' this shrine, ever where his portrait should have hung in
hereafter sacred to our' dead, equals and the great ball of the Doge's palace, was
brothers in the presence of the common nailed with black ; there still the frame
death which awaits us all—perhaps in the remains with its black mass of canvass ; 1
death
which unite ns- , -the most endearing and this vacant frame is the most conspie
that exist among men; such the relations uous in the long line of effigies of illustri
which hind us together—the closest of oils Doges! Oh, that such a pall as that
the sacred brotherhood of arms. It has which , replaces the portrait of Marino Fe.
therefore seemed, and it is fitting, that hero could conceal from history the names
we should erect upon this spot, sacred to of those, once our comrades, who are now
us all, an enduring monument to our dear I in arms against the flag under which we
brothers who have preceded us on the , fought side by side in years gone by. But
path of peril and honor which it is the no veil, however thick, can cover, the an
destiny of many of us some day to tread. guish that fills our hearts when we look
What is this regular army to vvetetk we back upon the sad memory of the past, I
belong ? and recall the respont and affection we en-
Who were the men whose death mer. tertained toward men against whom it is
lite such honors from the living? now our duty to act in mortal combat,—
'
What is the cause foie which they have Would that the courage, ability, and
laid down their lives?- I
steadfastness they display had been em-
Our regular or permanent army is the ployed in the defence of the stars and
nucleus which in time of peace preserves I stripes against a foreign foe, rather than
the military traditions of the nation, as this fatuous and unjustifiable rebellion,-
well as the organization, science and as
in- which could not have been so long main
tained but for the skill of these oar form
struction indispensible to modern armies.
It may be regarded as coeval with the na- er comrades.
Lion: It derives its origin from the old But we have reason to rejoice that up.
continental and.,statejities of the Revolu. on this they, so sacred and eventful for us,
one grand old mortal monument of the
tion, whence, with - seine interruptions
and many changes, it has attained its pres. past still lifts high his head among us,and
ent condition. In .fact, we may with pro- should have graced by his presence the
priety go even beyond the Revolution to Arensecration of this tomb by his children.
seek the roots of our genealegical tree in We may well be proud that we are here ,
the old French , wars ; for the cisatlantic commanded by the hero who purchased
campaigns of the several years war were vittory with his blood near the great wa
not confined to the ' " red men scalping tors of Niagara ; who repeated and eclips
each other by the great Lakes of North ed the achievements of Cortez; who, al-
America ;" and it was in them that our though a consummate and'confident com
ancestors first participated as Americans mander, ever preferred, when duty and
in the large operations of civilized armies. honor would permit, the olive-branch of
American regiments that fought on the peace to the blood-stained laurels of war;
banks of the St. Lawrence and the Ohio, and who stands at the close of a long,
on the shores of Ontario and Lake George, glorious and eventful life, a living column
in the islands of the Caribbean Sea, and of granite, against which have beaten in
in South America. Louisburg, Quebec, vain alike the blandishments and storms
Duquesne, the Moro ' and Porto Bello at- of treason. His name will ever be one of
test the valor of provincial troops, and in our proudest boasts and most moving in
that school were educated such soldiers spirationa.
as Washington, Putnam,Lee, Monigom. In long distant ages, when this incipi
ery and Gates. These an men like Knox, ent monument has become venerable,
Greene, Wayne and Steuben were the moss-clad, and perhaps ruinous; when the
fathers of our permanent army, and names inscribed upon it shall seem to
under them our troops acquired that die- those who pause to read them indistinct
cipline and steadiness which enabled them mementos of an almost mythical past, the
to meet upon equal terms, and often to name of Winfield Scott will be clear cut
defeat the tried veterans of England. The upon the long forgotten .. monuments of
study of the history of. the Revolution the Pharaohs.
and a perusal of the dispatches of Wash- But it is. time to approach the present.
ington, will convince the most skeptical In the war which now shakes the land to
of the value of the permanent army in its foundation, the regular army has borne
achieving out independence,
and estate a most honorable part. Too fetin nun:-
liShing the civil edifice which we are now hers to act by themselves, regular regi
fighting to preserve. The war of 1812 meats have participated in everygreatbat
found the army on a footing far from ad- the in , the east, and most of those west of
equa e to the emergency, bat it was ra-
the Alleghenies. Their terrible losses and
pid increased, and of the new genera- diminished numbers prove that they , have
t nof soldiers Many found equal to the been in the thickest of the fight, and the
eqeirements of the occasion. Lundy's testimony of their comrades and cowman
-1
e,Chippewa, Queenstown, Plattsburg, ders show with what undaunted heroism
Orleans, all bear witness to the gal. they have upheld their ancient renown.—
lantry of the regulars. Then came an in- Their vigorous charges have often won
terval of more than thirty years internal the day, and in defeat they have more
peace, marked by many changes in the than once saved the army from destruct
organization and strength of the regular tion or terrible losses by the obstinacy
1 army, and broken at times bytedious and with which they resisted overpowering
numbers. They can refer with pride to
bloody Indian wars. Of these the most
remarkable were the Black Hawk war, in the part they played upon the glorious
fields
which our troops met unflinchingly a foe of Mexico, and exult on what they
as relentless and far more destructive than did at Manassas, Gaines' Mills, Malvern,
the Indians—that terrible scourge, the Aptietam, Shiloh, Stone River, Gettys
cholera—and the tedious Florida war, burg, and the great battles just fought
where, for so many years, the Seminoles from the Rapidan to the Chickahommy.
eluded, /a their pestilential swamps, our They can point also to the,officers who
ntatest effigy,.
_end in: which wee° dis• have risen from among them and achieved
played - smelt traits of heroism as that cora• great deeds for their country in this war,
memorated by yonder monument to Dade
to the living warriors who are upon the
and his command, when all fell save two, nation's tongues and heart, too numerous
without an attempt to retreat,, At lain' to be repeated here, yet not one of whom
came the Mexican war to rePlace •Whin' Vivould willingly omit . But perhaps the
contests, and the monotony of frontier proudest episode in the histFy of the reg!
service, and for the first , time in many ular army. is that touching instance of fi,
yearn t h al a mi of, -- -,. egu y ac l i n o s wan delity on the part of the non-coramigaion.
conceotrated, and took the principal ca r t *A officers and privates, who, traitorous
in the battles of that.' remarkable 'ante°. ly made prisoners m Texas, resisted.ev-
Mantic War. Palo Afte,Reseca' and port cry temptation to violate their oath_MA
...iblown were thcachieVeinents of thereg- dese rt thew flag. Offered commissions
tilers unaided ;` tus'tr,ati;to *the battles of in the rebel serviMM9neZAd hindfreis- 1
Monterey, Buena:T*4ll/0h Crux; Cer. ij tendered Ahem, they all scorned thein
ducements held out fothern, submitted to
rib Gordo, and the 'Anal t triumphs in the
alley, none 61 tra w, a i r th a t t h e y c ool their hardships, and - -when at last ex
line been won wittout 'the'regolars..'7. °hanged; avenged thethsWettOri tlielleld ,
wh en peace creame d ( ki r v i ctories ic d ie ofbattlifor the Unavailing Insalt offered
capital of the M'onteznintur,the-army waa their integrity: dlisKy,iiPainci,,bright•
atonee dispersed over the largelrontier, er exam pl e :of bonbr than that of these
spa %%Aged in harrassittg anddangeraus breve men, tempted, as I blush to say
wars with the Indians of the pl a i c e.- Th t a f they . wersOly scone of theft-former offt : ,.
this , long ye* W er e c pea tf, i c ia the 0i15,:F1'0,13844 tgemielVes pro's , ' 'ell falie
Present' 'War broke ow ) and the MU, of it! Oeir fingt. enleAr. 4 lo 14 ' l'Oue:9-tlift
the army wall 'drawn - re to' be eutpl,?yea liilo:WhObe4 4411,1tlweitthembatienii
1 0** dolikelittit )- GA.' , ' ' : t, 'bit lad 'war': 44. Motiotikeal - whti
i r istinot TioOeed - tote : m o te eflthe 'refilfgelsalaigle'' ' _
MONTROSE, PA., THURSDAY, JlTf.rt't,
Such is the regular army; such-ite his
tory and antecellente; • such its officers
and its men. It needs co herald so trum
pet forth its praises, It can proud
ly appeal to the numerous fields from the
tropics to the frosen•banks of the St.Law
fencefrom the Atlantic to the Pacific,
fertilized by the blood, and whitened by
the bones of its members. But I will not
pause to eulogize it, let .itaideede speak
for it ; they are more eloquent than
tongue of mine.
Why are we here thy, Thisienot
_the funeral of one breve warrior, nor even
of the harvest of deathOn a single
.battle
field; but these ,are the,Cbsequisitiof' the
best and bravest chlidren-oftite)und Who.
have fallen le
.actio*akilest, nutaberlesa,
many of thein
,the most, :sanguinary of
which history, beara, record. The. men
whose. names and cleeds,we now seek to
perpetuate, to render them thehigheat
honor in our power, have:ranee Wherever
armed rebellion showed, its front, in the
far distant New Wale?, in the broad
valley of the Vississitipi, .on bl oody .
hunting gronnds„ of „Kentucky, in the
mountains of Tennessee,,ainkl the swamps '
of Carolina , and "'on " 'the 'fertile fields of
Maryland; and in the blood stained thick
eta of Virginia. They were of all grades,
from tile General to the priiate; of all
ages, from the gray-haired veteran of fif
ty years' service, to the beardless youth ;
and of all degrees of cultivation, from the
man of science to the nnedneeted boy. It
is not necessary, nor is it possible, to re
peat the mournful yet illustrious roll of
the dead heroes we have met to - honor,
nor mast I nemesia thaste,seho most tnier
it praise ; simply a few who will exempli
fy the classes to which - they belong.
Among the last of the slain, and among
the first in honor and reputation, was
that hero of twenty battles, John Sedg
wick. Gentle and kind as a woman ;
brave as a braveman can be; honest, sin
cere and able; a model that all may strive
to imitate,. but whom few -can equal. In
the terrible battle just preceding his death
he had occasion to display the highest
qualities of the soldier and, commander.—''
Atter escaping the stroke of death when
men fell around him by thousands, be at
last met his fate at. a moment of compare.-1
tive quiet by the ball of a single rifleman.
He died as a soldier would choose to die,
with truth at his heart, and a sweet, tran
quil smile upon his lips. Alas! our great
nation
. pottsess few sons like , true John
Sedgeauk. -
Like him, fell, too, at the very head of
their corps, the white-haired Mansfield,
after a career of usefulness, illustrated by
his skill and cool courage at Fort Brown,
Monterey and Buena Vista; John F. Rey
nolds and Reno, both in the full vigor of
manhood and intellect, men who hadprov
ed their ability and chivalry in many al
field in Mexico and in this civil war, gal
lant gentlemen, of whom their country
had much to hope, had it pleased God to
spare their lives. Lyon fell in the prime
of life leading his little army against super
ior numbers, his• brierctireer affording a
brilliant exampleof patriotism and ability.
The impetuous Kearney and such brave
generals as Richardson, Williams, Terrill,
Stevens, Weed, Saunders and Hayes lost
their lives while in the midst of a career
of usefuless. Young Bayard, so like the
most renowned of his name, that "knight
above fear and abeve . reproach," was cut
off too early for his country. No regi-1
menta can spare such gallant, devoted
l
and able commanders as Rossell, Davis,
Gove, Simmons, Bailey, Putnam, and
Kingsbury—all of 'whom fell in the thick
est of the contest, sonic of them veterans,
others young in service—all good men and
well beloved. Our batteries have partial
ly paid their terrible debt to fate in the
loss of such commanders as, Greble (the
flrst to fall in the war,)Beation; Haggard,
Sweat, Dr. Hart, Hazlett, and those gal
lant boys, Kirby, Woo4rtiffilronick, and
Cushing : while the en eery lament the
promising and gallant Wagner and Cross.
Beneath remote' battle-fields re.f.t the corp
ses of the heroic Mcßae, Bisbee), Stone,
Sweet, and many other company 'o ffi cers.
Besides these: there are, bests or, veteran
sergeants, cor p orals and privates who had
fought tinder Seot.ti t in Mexico, or contest
ed with.the salvages of . the far West and
Florida; and Mingled with them young
soldiers whe, eel:wage:Ms, 'ateadyand true,
met death unflinehingly withotit tbo hope
of personal glory:\ Thhse . men, in their
more - humble sphetek' "Served' their'
Gently with as much faith andlinitcelsiti
the most illnatrictiet'generalsOind' all of
them with perfect singleness of `litatt:
Although their names may not libeiu the=
psgeofhistory i their nothing,
oontage'svill.. Their naenieriee - will tong :
be
preseitied in - their regimen* for' there
were many of them whenaerited as trend
a distinction' as- that ' aticorded- to ('the
firate grenadier of Prams"- or' - to- that'
other Russian soldier. Wks- :gave: hieelife•
for his _comrade:s,n Bat there is laiother
elaes of men of who-have , gene Ilona.. be:
since this weieomeienclea; who - fie-fate:it!.
was not to die in battle, but who ,- ,are!
none -tbe tto :be meatione d
here- Ih.erOmlisSuMpertsbrar4aconest%'
4004 rm ~ c tiFf4nit,of imoraitiban. half a;
century's_ service, WhO itad...oonfrontedi
demo tiPWROPI.Pgky. eaLseoresof battle;
Ilmw)fkimukariast ratdedg
a more an once told laeltitathe 11641
kopc4 that , his long career
would end meld the dim of battle.
died atlidthationiefrectibrthehardships of
his campaigns. That most excellent sold ,
ier, the elegant C. F. - Smith, whom many
of no remember to have seen so often on
this very plain, with his superb bearing,
escaped the bullet, to fall a victim to the
disease' whichilas deprived the army of
so tatty of its bestsoldiers. -John Buford,
cool and-intrepid Kitchell, eminent in ,
science, Palmer, and many,,other officers
have lost their bysickness contracted
in the field. tut - I cannotn close this long
list of glorious martyrs without paying a
sacred debt of offliiial duty and personal
friendship; There is oak' dead-- soldier,
*who possessed pecnlitir . blaittertipon
-love 'and gratitride he Weal en - ardent ,
patriot; aatintelfish man, n tit() soldier,
the beau , ideal of a staff officer, he was
my aid-de-camp, 001. Colburu. There is
a lesson to be drawn from the death and
services of these glorious men, which we
should read for the present and future
benefit of the nation. .
War in these modern days is •a science
and it should now appear-to themost p.re
judiced that the organization and arming
of 'arinies ; and the high combination of
strategy, perfect familiarity with the the
oretical science of war is :requisite: To
ant. opine suCcess when the plans or exe
cution of oampaigtm are intrusted to men
who have knowledge of war, is as idler
as to expecithe legal wisdom of a Story or'
Rent from a skilitelphysician.
But what is the honorable and holy
cause far which these men have laid down
their lives, and for which the nation still
demands the sacrifice of the precious blood
of so many of her children ?
Soon after the close of the Revolution
ary war,. it was found that the confeder
acy whch bad grown up daring that
memorable - cohost was falling to pieces
from its own-weig ht. The central power
was too weak. ' It could recommend to
the different States such Measures as
seemed best,isecause it lacked the execu
tive force to compel obedience to its laws.
The national credit and self-respect had
disappeared, and it Was feared by the
friends of human liberty throughout the
world that ours was another added to the
long list of fruitless attempts at self-gov
ernment. The nation was evidently on
the brink of ruin and dissolution , when
some eighty years ago many of the wisest
and most patriotic of the land met to seek
a remedy - tor the'grtlat ovils4hich threat
ened to destroy the great work of the re
volution. Their sessions were long and
often stormy ; for a time the most san
guine doubted the possibility , of a success
ful termination of their labors. But from
amidst the conflict of sectional interests,
of party prejudice and of personal sel
fishness, the spirit of wisdom and of con
ciliation at length evoked the Constitu
tion under which we have lived so long.
It was not formed in a day ; but was the
result of practical labor, of lofty wisdom,
and of the purest patriotism. It was at
last adopted by the people of all ; the
States, although by some reluctantly, not
as being exactly what all desired, but the
best possible under the circumstances.
It was accepted as giving us a form of
government under which the nation
might live happily and prosper, so long
as the people should continue to be in
fluenced by the same sentiments which
actuated those who formed it, and which
would not be liable to destruction from
internal eatises, so long as the people pre
served the:recollection of the miseries and
ca Amities which led to its adoption. Un- '
der this beneficial constitution the pro
gross of the nation was unsurpassed in
history. The rights and liberties of its
citizens were secured at home and abroad;
vast territories were reached from the
control of the savage and the wild beasts,
and added to the domain of the Union
and civilization. The arts, the sciences,
and commerce grew apace; our flag float
ed upon every sea, and we took. our place
among the great nations of the earth.—
But under this smooth surface of prosper
ity upon which we glided swiftly, with
all the sails set before the common breeze,
dangerous reefs were hidden which now
and then caused ripples upon the surface,
and made anxious the more careful pilots.
Elated by success, the ship swept on, the
crew not heeding the warnings they re
ceived, forgetful of tbe dangers escaped
at the beginning of the voyage, and blind
to thahideons malestrotri which gaped to
receive them.. The earne elements of dis
cord, sectional prejudices, interests and
histitutions Which bad
: rendered the for
mation of tho Constitution - Imo difficult,
threatened more than once to- destroy it.
But.for ,long thne.,,the nation was no
fortunate aa. to, possess aearies of political
ie 'a d6rB 3 W l l -1 :4 0 the highest . abilities,. an.
ited, the, same, spirit of conciliation which
animated the fOundere of this :republic).
aiyithns ler s ina,ny, years the threatened
eff,giiWere.eyorted., l¢es and the log
contingence of god/Mullet ,Obliteratedi
thji.reeellectien ,o(the, calmiticsof years
pree r eding , the adoption,of , the , comitiw
tion. ~They forgot that coneiliatiqp, Conk
mon interest, and mutual charity : had heee
the foundation, and must bo the support,
of oncgotrerament, and all the' relations
of life, At length, men appeared: with
abstai l / 4 isesplisnal And personal 'prejudice&
oatwiigtung-alllcankideri..
'bone of the general good. , Extreaniativot
iVOLUME
one gpct ion furnished the occasion, sage
; Seized as it. pretext by equally extreme
men in tho other, for abandoning - the
pacific remedies aforded by the Constitu
tion.. Stripped of all sophistry, and side
issues, the direct cause of the war as it
presented itself to the honest end Pat
riotic citizens of the North was eitnply
this:
• Certain -states, or rather a portion of
the inhabitants of certain states, feared, or
,professed,to fear, that injury would ra.
suit in their rights and property from thb
elevation of a particular party to power.=
Although the Constitution and the actual
condition of the goieinment provided
them with a peaceable and sure protection
against the apprehended evil,, they lire
-pared to seek: security in the -destrtuitiou
of the goVernment which protest
them, and in the use of force -against na
tional troops holding a national fortress.—
To efface the insult offered to our flag, to
save ourselves fiom the fate of the divid
ed republics of Italy and South America;
to preserve. our government from dia.
truction ; to enforce its just powers and
laws; to maintain our very existence as II
nation : these were the causes which
impelled us to draw the sword. Rebell
ion against government like ours, which
contains, within itself the means of self
adjustment and a pacific remedy for evils,
should• never be confounded with a re
volution against despotic power, which re
fuses redress of wrongs. Such a rebell
ion cannot be justified upon ethical
grounds, and the only alternative for our
choice a re its suppression or the deistino
tion of oar nationality.
At such a time as this, and in such a
struggle, political partisanship should be
merged in a true and brave patriotism,.
which thinks only of the good of the•
whole country. It was in this cause and
with these motives that so many of our
comrades have given their lives, and to
this we are all personally pledged in all
honor and fidelity. Shall such devollon
as that of our dead comrades be of no
avail ? Shall it be said that in after-ages
we lacked the vigor to complete the work
thus begun ? That after all these noble
lives freely given, we hesitated and failed
to keep straight on until our land was
saved ? Forbid it heaven, and give us
firmer, truer hearts than that.
Oh spirits of the valiant dead, souls Uf
heroes, lend us your o*n indomitable
will,' rind if it be permitted you to com
mune with those still chained by the
trammels of mortality, hover around us in
the midst of danger and tribulation, cheer
the firm, strengthen the weak, that none
may doubt the salvation of 'the Republic
and the triumph of our graid old flag.
In the midst of the storms which tum
our ship of state, there is ono great beacon
light to which we can ever turn with con
fidence and hope. It cannot be that this
great nation has played its part in history;
it cannot be that sun, which arose with
such bright promises for the future, has
already set forever. It must be the in
tention of the overruling Deity that this
land, so long the asylum of the oppressed,
the refuge of civil and religions liberty,
shall again stand forth in bright relief,
united, purified, and chastened by our
trials, as an example and encouragement
for those who desire the progress of the
human race. It is not given to our weak
intellects to understand the steps of Pro
vidence, as they occur ; wo comprehend
them only as we look back upon them in
the far distant past; so it is now. We
cannot unravel the seemingly tangled ,
skein of the purposes of the Creator, they
are too high and far.reaohing for our lim- •
ited minds. But all history and His ways,
although inscrutable, are ever righteous.—
Let us, then, honestly and manfully play
mu parts, seek to understand and perform
our whole duty, and trust unwaveringly
in the beneficent God who led our twee&
ton across the sea, and sustained them
afterwards amid dangers more appalling
even than those encountered by His ova
chosen people in their great exodus.. He.
did not - bring ns hero in vain, nor has He.
supported us thus far not naught. If we
do our duty and trust in Him, He will
not desert no in our need. Firm in oar.
faith that God will save our country, we
now dedicate this site to the memory of
bravo men, to, loyalty, patriotism, and
honor. ( L oad applause.)
One portion of the Republican party
having nominated Mr. Lincoln, aid tbek
other Mr. Fremont, the Democrats ire
lookers-on, and listen how beantifiglif the . ,
friends of miscegenation are telling the
truth. ' We may look out for some fine.
developments.
—Why don't , Lincoln suppress the Fres
mont party, or send it to Fort Lafayette!
Its orators and newspapers are tittering
the most " disloyal" sentiments on record.
They 'denounce the long-legged 4gOvertii,
mint" in bitter terms, and are'pertnitted
'to'run at large! . • .
—The abolition f candidate' ref Lied,
Governor of Indiana, recently made, `a
speech in which be said" the right of
luni meanti the right of foreign. scomidrsla
to . prOtectionP This has so exasperated
the Germans of Indians that they all re.,
pudiate the Whole Republican ticket.. ' 3
•-;;Litteoln's friends continue. to hive.
to save this obUnteyi
beanie a goose saved florae. t
NUAUOM 26.