Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1857-06-18
Address Of Ex.President
Pierce.

The following is the address of ex-Pres-
ident Pierce, delivered before the General
Society of Cincinnati at its Biennial Cele-
bration in Boston, last "Wednesday evening:
"Ihe Last Surviuor of the Army of the
Rerolution.-May his eyes close upon an
unbroken brotherhood of States, full of
their original spirit, and destined to be per-
petual."
ExPresident Pierce was called upon to
respond to this sentiment, and on rising,
he was greeted with enthusiastic applause.
He said,--
GENTLEMEs,-I have pertinaciously de-
clined to occupy any of your time this
evening by remarks that might be inclin-
ed to submit, and until this moment was
not aware that anything could occur to
make it absolutely indispensable. 1 have
been deeply touched ever since 1 met the
society in the other room, and l am free to
confess that the great leading thought in
my mind has been that nearly al soldiers
of the Revolution have passed away; and
this thought is associated with others that
will occur to all your minds. can enjoy
have enjoyed-this delightful intercourse
with you, and all that is SO pleasant in as
sociation. and intrinsically, in the meetings
of this society. l have, 1 may say truly,
felt more deeply than ever before. that it is
good to be in any place, in any association,
whence one is conscious he is to &c out
with higher emotions and purposes than he
went in; and 1 take that to be eminently
true of every meeting of the Society of the
Cincinnati.
Connected as was for long period
with the pension committee, saw the pro-
cess by which that list passed away year
by year. In the county in which l reside
there is not single Revolutionary soldier
surviving. Imay mention as fact, which
has always struck me as a remarkable one,
that the last survivor in the county of Mer-
rimac was man left for dead on the field
Of Saltwater, who remained there during
the night and was carried seven miles next
morning before his wounds were dressed
l recollect seeing him at my fathers house.
He received two bullet wounds and five bay
onet stabs, one shot carrying off part of
his tongue so that he could never speak
plainly; but he was the last survivor in the
county of Merrimac. not dying until witl.-
in two or three years. They have all pass
ed away; but their memory is left to US
And there are left to US not only the pripci-
pies they laid down, the objects they de-
clared when this society was established,
but the order of those objects-as remark
able it seems to me as those objects them
selves. Just at the time when the question
was being discussed in Congress whether
they should be permitted to retain possess
ion of the trusty weapons which had been
their companions through the revolution,
this society was organized, its principals
and objects announced; and if you will
observe the order of those objects you will
see that the loftiest patriotism controlled
every step they took in that organization
1t was not, what are we to do? what are
QUA families to do? how are we to be pro-
vlded for? but they declared them in this
order: The institution was formed to pre-
serve inviolate the rights and liberties for
which they had contended. That was
first, naturally first, iutheir minds, as it was
the great object of the revolution. What
was the next? To promote and cherish the
national honor-to cultivate UNION between
these States. Applause } That was the