The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1868-09-03
FLAG PRESENTATION. |.
PreScn satlOn Address of Mrs Sa
rsah II. Bolton, to the White
: BOys I'm Blue, IndfanapOlis,
~ August IS, 1865. ~

having procured magnificent silk flag,
the presentation to the White Boys in
Blue took place at the Metropolitan thea
tire, in the presence Of crowded house.
The meeting was presided over by Judge
Perkins, and speeches were made by Hon.
T. A. Hendricks and others. Ths pre-
sentation address, on behalf of the
ladies, was made by Mrs. Sarah 7. Bolton,
who has for many years charmed the pub
lie with her exquisite songs and prose
writings.
The State Sentinel says:
AS Mrs. Bolton, Indiana's most gifted
poetess, came forward, the most profound
silence fell upon the audience. The hum
of conversation was stilled, and every ear
was strained to catch the words of the
presentation address as they fell from the
lips of one who thinks only in melody.
Although not poetry, it was yet poem
full of the inspiration which has made its
author famous. 1t was as follows:
General Love: am commissioned by
the ladies of Indianapolis to present tc
you, and through you to the Union White
Boys in Blue, this beautiful banner. 1,
bears on field of azure a cluster of thir.
ty-seven stars, representing the thirty-sev
en- states of our glorious Union.
These sister states sit; enthroned on
broad valleys and lofty mountains; some
laving their feet in the waves of the At
lautic, some listening to the roar of the
gray Pacific, some shivering in the pine
woods of the icy north, some crowned with
orange flowers ia the sunny south.
With these greas geographical and
physical differences each one has its OWL
peculiar capabilities, its own especia
needs, its own unalienable rights. Inter
nal laws suitable to the good government
of one state would make dissatisfaction
and confusion in another. Domestic pol
icy which grows out Of the necessities oi
one section, might impose on another bur
dens too heavy to be borne. Each state
is commonwealth and has the right tC
make its own laws, under the constitution
guaranteed to it by the magma charta
which the finger of God has written or
the heart of humanity.
A few years ago some of these states
hot-headed and inconsiderate, found cause
of ofense and withdrew from the Union
They staked their all on a cause which
they believed to be just and right. They
fought bravsIy, but they were defeated
their armies overthrown, their banners
trailed in the dust.
You, who wore the blue won the glori
Gus laurel, the gratitude of your country
and proud mention ON her roll of honor.
But was this the sole aim and objec
you proposed to attain through that Ions
struggle for victory-that fearful sacrifice
IF human hopes and human life?
Was it for this that million brave mer
left their wives, their children, thei
homes to encounter the privations and per
lis of war? To make long marches, thro
mud and mire, to spend weary days in tn
driving rain, sleepless nights on the solt
snow, to meet wounds and death on tn
battlefield?
Was it for this that trembling hand
and loving hearts girded the sword on son
and husbands and sent them forth will
tears and blessings to rally round the oil
flag?
Was it for this that our country wa
covered with mourning and lamentatiol
for her dead sons? For this that soldiers
widows and soldiers orphans excite ou
love and sympathy throughout the lengtl
and breadth of the land?
Nay, there must have been grande
incentive, higher, holier motive to sue
, action What was it?
, A hundred thousand living soldier
would reply, awe fought to preserve tn
Union" And if the dull, cold ear Q
death could hear; if its still white lip
could speak, they would answer from
hundred thousand graves, awe died t
preserve the Union"
In the presidential mansion, in the hal
cf congress, on the field of mortal comba
: the general government pledged itself
' preserve the Union. And 1t was this mo,
solemn, most sacred pledge that nerve
u your arms, and strengthened your hand
and strengthened your hearts through a
the trial, all the suffering Of that terrib
a war. Has the government redeemed tn
Q pledge? Are the ten conquered states r.
s stored to the Union? A.. e they repr
= sented in our national legislature, by me
n of their own choosing? Are they aIlowe
r to elect their own rulers at home, to max