Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1851-11-13
reception of Gen. JOSEPH Lane.

Notwithstanding the three days preceding had been cold,
showing and lowering weather, and the aspect of the
weather this morning promised anything but pleasant
and agreeable, yet the crowd which collected to greet
the Old Hero was exceedingly large. AT II o'clock,
the vast crowd was collected around the depot. A shril
whistle announced the approach of the cars, at a few
moments before one o'clock. The General, accompa-
MED by Senator Bright, and other friends, appeared on
the platform Of the cars, where he was greeted by the.
crowd. From thence he was escorted by the Militia,
under the command Of Col. Drake, to the State House
square, the General riding in an open barouch, ac-
c~ompanied by Gov. Wright, Judge Blackiord and others.
After an appropriate prayer, breathing the deep feel.
ing of patriotism, by Rev. C. Ruter, he was addressed
by Gov. Wright as follows:
Fellow CITIzENs-Thc duty that devolves upon me
on this occasion, is a pleasant one. The citizens of the
Metropolis have deputed me to introduce to this assem-
bly,, not a stranger, heralded by fame, but Indiana's own
iavorite son, and your and my personal, political and es-
teemed friend, Gen. JOSEPH LANE.
1t is unnecessary to say to You, Gen. Lane, that after
years of absence and toll, of hardships and laborious
service rendered TO your country, you are again well
come in our midst. You have the evidence before you,
and such evidences have clustered around you from the
time You reached your own beloved Indiana. As a peo-
pie, we are Jealous and proud Of the reputation of our
public men; and this spirit is right and proper, to a GER
tam extent, inasmuch as the mass of mankind are al.
ways made better by every triumph achieved by even
~ NiNiudo'
IS, OF all histories, the most valuable, and especially of
those who, springing from the private walks of life, have
attained the highest point of distinction hy perseverance,
zeal, industry; in a word, by selEculture. The man
who thus rises over every obstacle. is entitled TO the
highest honor. His example incites the ardent minds of
the young to the cultivation of their noblest faculties,
inspires confidence in their own resources. invigorates
and stimulates to action all within the pale Of his innu-
ence.
And such is the character of our distinguished guest.
He has been the artiicer of his own fortunes, and in his
nrO0rnSS n arnnnr On In tnnbo n fka NJ. ol
the commandant Of a hat-boat, to posts of honorable
distinction-to a seat in the House Of Representatives
and in the Senate of Indiana-to the command of a brig.
ade upon the fields of Buena Vista. Huamantla and AT.
lisco-to the Governorship of Oregon, and thence to a
seat in Congress-he has displayed the same high char
acteristics, perseverance and energy. The annals Of our
country present no parallel for these facts. You entered
the army a volunteer IN the ranks, looking forward only
to the career OF a common soldier. You left il a Ma
jOr- General, closing your ardent and brilliant services
in that memorable campaign, by fighting IFS last battle,
and capturing the last enemy.
| make the remark-not because my friend is present.
but because 1t is true, and will be subscribed to by all
who know him. No man of the age has more Of the
iron will, Roman hrmness, or unbending integrity, than
Gen. Joseph Lane. Well do his colleagues in the Lee
glslature, and the people of the State. remember his
hrmness in the arrangement of our State debt, when he
openly met the question of Reputation, and declared
himself in favor of sustaining the honor, the credit, and
integrity Of the State.
Gen. Lane, you left us for the shores Of the Pacific in
184S, when dark clouds were visible in the political no.
rizon. when sectional excitement ran high, creating
alarm in the minds OF many for the stability of our insti-
tutions. But your return finds the olive branch and bow
OF promise visible in every portion of the Union. And
1t will be gratifying 20 you to know that amidst the
whirlwind OF excitement, your beloved Indiana, unmoved
alike by Northern fanaticism or Southern ultraism, with
an abiding confidence in the hearts Of her citizens in the
permanently of the Union, has neither courted the one
nor pandered to the other. The people who dwell with
in our borders, from the highest to the lowest-this liv-
ing mass who surround you to-day-are all for the Union,
for the Constitution as it is, with its sacred guarantees,
its compromises, and its pledges of protection to the
rights of all.
Among those who have como up TO mite in these DEM
onstrations Of welcome, are the officers and soldiers of
the Mexican war, from every portion of the State. Hore
are the men OF every ao ,ation, the p~loughman, the me-
chanic, the merchant, the professional man, from town
and country, from city and hamlet.
Here are the friends and relatives Of the brave men Of
Indiana, who fell around you in the many conflicts in
which you were engaged. In this assembly are the
widowed mother, aud sisters Of the lamented Kinder, who
fell under these flags, fighting nobly for his country.
Kinder has & monument in yonder grave yard, but a
prouder and a hoier monument in the hearts of all who
knew him.
They are all here, Gen. Lane, to give you a hearty
welcome. They are proud, of you. They remember
your services in the Legislative halls of the State, your
perls and gallantry, your heroic bravery on the battle
fields OF Mexico, the MONDAY assaults and the midnight
War.
Your rapid march to the shores of the Pacific. the
services you have rendered with the various Indian
tribes, the prompt manner in winch you have sustained
the laws over a young and feeble territory, your recon-
mendations as Governor, the peace. prosperity and sue
cess that have attended your administration of the ae.
fairs of Oregon-these all hav. been gratifying to your
numerous friends in Indiana and the evidence that you
have nobly discharged your duty, is found in the unani-
nifty with which the sons of that distant Republic have
called you to your present station.
But the &C: Of your life which they hold in highest ad-
miration, and which they will teach their children's
children TO the latest posterity, IS, that having been an
eyewitness of and participation in the scenes of Buena
Vista, YOU were prepared and prompt to do justice to
those who were engaged in that terrible battle.
IL may be mentioned, in this connection, as a remarka-
BILE fact, that the Executive documents published during
the first session OF the thirticth Congress, accompany
ing the Presidents Message OF 1847-S, which are to be
wounded in the Second Regiment OF Indiana Volunteers
in the battle of Buena Vista, to be seUenfy-one, while the
names Of hi'y-sir only are TO be found in that list, an en-
tire omission of the names of ~thirty-fve of the Pr:vates
wounded in companies A B c ID and E. In no other
companies engaged in that battle is there such an omis-
sion. Yet these companies were in the very heat of the
engagement, and suffered as much as any other.
That people who will not preserve the character and
honor OF her sons, deserves no pity or compassion from
the tongue of SANDER.
Yes, sir; never, never be it forgotten by an Indianian,
that in the battle OF Buepa Vista, we lost more men in
kiled.a and wounded, according TO our numbers, than any
portion of the Union that had sons in that conflict. That
our men fell in the hottest of the fight, that each and
every man stood his ground, shoulder to shoulder, and
arm to arm, with the enemy, until ordered to retire from
their position. The first pho fell uere Indianians. and
the last rere Indianians. Yet the tongue of SANDER
would rob the living, as well as the memory Of the dead,
Of the honor and bravery Of that battle. You, sir, at
the proper time, on the right occasion, did conclusively
answer all these charges, refute the last SANDER, and
silence forever this foul aspersion upon the character OF
the State. For this, this whole people owe you a debt
OF gratitude.
Our distinguished guest has moved among ms in times
ofhigh party excitement, when the collisions ofparty often
destroyed the most intimate social relations. And al
though our friend was indeed a party man, true to his party
and bis principles, as he is to his country, none Of US ever
knew him beyond the line OF his duty and principle.
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