Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1864-07-07

mountains and fertile valleys OF Mexico,
within hearing of the eternal waves Of the
Pacific; or in the lonely grandeur Of the
great plains of the far West. With all, oul
love and confidence have been cemcnted by
common danger and suffering on the toll
some march, in the dreary bivouac, and
amid the clash of arms, and in the presence
of death, on scores of battlelields Vest
Point, with her large heart, adopt us all
graduates and those appointed from civil
life, officers and prvatcs. In her eyes we
are all her children, jealous of her fame and
eager to sustain her worldwide reputation.
Generals and private soldiers, men who
have chceriully offered our all for our dear
country, we stand here before this shrine,
ever hereafter sacred to our dead, equals
and brothers in the presence of the common
death which awaits us all-pcrhaps on the
same field and at the same hour. Such arc
the ties which unite us--thc most endCarinp
! which exist among men such the relations
which bind US togcthcr-thc closest of the
sccrcd brotherhood OF arms Ithas, there
/ fore, seemed and it is fitting that we should
erect upon this spot, so sacred to us all, an
enduring monument to our dear brothers
! who have preceded US in the post ofall peril
and of honor, which it is the destiny ofmany
Of Us to tread.
What is this regular army to which We
bclong2 Who were the men whose death,
merit such honors from the living? What
is the cause for which hey have laid down
their lives? Our regular or permanent ar
my is the nucleus which, in time Of peace
preserves the military traditions Of the ma
ton, as well as the organization, science ant
instruction Indispensable to modern armies
1t may DC regarded as cocval with the ma
ton. 1T derives its origin from the ole
Continental and State lines Of the Rcyolu
ton, whence, with some interruption anc
many dangers it has attained it present
condition. In fact, we may with prOplicty
90 even beyond the Revolution to seek the
roots of our genealogical tree in the old
French wars, for the Cs Atlantic campaign,
Of the seven years war were not confined tC
the red men sculping each other by the
great lakes Of North America; and it was in
them our ancestors first participated aS
Americans in the large operations of cizil
izcd armies. American regiments thel
fought on the banks Of the St. Lawrence
and the Ohio, ON the shores Of Ontario anu
Lake George, on the islands Of the Calib
bean and in South America. Louisburg
q Quebec, Duqucsnc, DE Mare and PortobcllC
e attest the value Of the provincial troops
b and in that school were educated such mel
as Washington, Putnam, Lee, Montgomery
p and Gates. These, and men like Greene
5 Knox, Wayne and Stcubcn, were the faith
l CrS OF our permanent army, and under then
our troops acquired that discipline an,
e stcalincsS which enabled them to meet oI
e equal terms, and often to defeat the tric,
g veterans of England. The study Of tn
+ history Of the Revolution, and pcrusal o
? the dispatchcsof Washington, will convnc
7 the most sccptcal of the value Of the per
| mancnt army in achieving our ndcpcndcnc,
and establishing the civil cdilicc which W,
are now lighting to maintain.
l The war of 1872 found the army on Il
footing far from adequate to the emergency,
but it was rapidly increased, and OF the new
generation of soldiers many proved equal
to the requirements Of the occasion. Ldn-
dy's Lane, Queenstown, Plattsburg, Now
/ Orleans all bear witness to the gallautry ol
the regulars. Then came an interval OF
more than twenty years OF external peace,
marked by many changes III the organlza
ton and strength of the regular army, anC
broken at times by tedious and bloody In
, dian wars. Ofthcsc the most remarkable
were the Black Hawk war, in which on
| troops met uniinchingly foe as relentless
and far more destructive than the Indians
! that terrible scourgc, the cholera and In
Il tedious Florida War; when for many year
c the Seminoles cludcd in the pestllcnti;
( sWamps our utmost efforts, and III whc
: were displayed such traits of hcrolSm aS thI
u cOmmcmOratCd by your monument to Dad
i and his command, when all fell, save TIVE
r without an attempt to retreat. At la,
Il came the Mexican war, to replace India
Il CUmhats and the monotony of the lrontic
, service and for the first time i'll many ycal
the mass of the regular army was conceu
; tratcd, and took the principal part i'll battle
I OF that remarkable and romantic war. Pal
II Alto, Resaca and Fort Brown were tn
70 achievements of the regulars unaidcd an
+ rs to the battles of Monterey, Buena Vista
/ Vera Cruz, Ccrro Gordo, and the final tr
r mmph in the ' alley, none can truly say tia
n they could have been won without the reg
5 ulars. When peace crowned our yictorc
u i'll the capital of the Mone2umas, the arm
ii was at once dispersed over the long lrontic
= and engaged in hnrraSsing and dangcrol
q wars with the Indians Of the plains. Thu
+ thirteen long years were spent until It
% present war broke out, and the mass of Il
army was drawn III, to be employed again
10 II domestic foe.
oI cannot proceed to the events of the T.
g cent past and the present without adycrtir
IN to the gallcnt men who were so long of Ol
Is number, but who have now gone to the
re- long homc-lor no small portion of the ri
= ry of which we boast was reflected from sue
d men rs Taylor, WORTH Brady, Brook, To
Is ten and Duncan. There is is Il sad story
; Venetian history that has moved many
h heart, and often employed the poet : pc
Vt aud painters pencil 1t is of an old m,
Is whose long lie was gIoriousy spent in II
t. service Of the State aS Il warrior and state
il man. aud who, when his hair was white an
e his feeble limbs could scarce bear his ben
Il form toward the grave, attained the highc
'- honors that citizen could reach. lie WI
L noge Of Venice. Convicted of trcast
Of against the State, he not only lost his lii
but suffered besides II penalty which W
n endure rs long ms the namo Of Venice is T.
j. mcmhercd, The spot where his portru
1t should have hung in the great hall of Il
of Dogc' \ palace, was vcilrd with black, NJ
40 there still remains the frame, with its ba,
sc mass of canvass and this vacant frame
N the most conspicuous in the long line orcl
ri ges of illustrious Doges. Oh ! that such
IA pail as that which replaces the portrait
ne Malion lalier could conceal from history t
no names of those, once our comrades, who u
rd now in arms against the ilag under viii
's. we fought side by side in years gone by.
/ : But no veil, however thick, can cover I
% anguish which fills our hearts when we 10
'S- back upon the sad memory of the past, n
il recall the affection and respect we cut,
y, tanned toward men against whom it is Q
in duty To act IN mortal combat Would Il
tat the courage, ability and stcadiilstncsS I'll