The Portland daily press., 1869-07-02

cemetery about 10 o'clock under military es-
cort. Gen. Meade, Gov. Morton, Rev. HI. w.
Beecher, Mayor Wells, r. II. McCurdy and
otners VINO are to participate in the celebra-
ton are present.
The proceedings at the monument. around
which were stationed the military. were com
menced by the singing of a hymn by the Bal
nnore Arlon Society. Henry Ward Beecher
Divine protection for the future Of this land as
IL nad been accorded 10 it in the day OF trial,
and praying that God would remember those
VINO are entombed on the field OF battle, and
beseeching Divine guidance for the rulers OF
of the country and that peace may ever bless
the whole land. At the conclusion of the pray
er the hymn 'Tis Holy ground" written by B.
B. French for the Dedication of the Cemetery
in 1863 was sung by the choir. President Will
lis then announced that Gen. Meade would
address the audience preparatory to unveiling
the monument, which would take place during
the firing of salute of one gun for each State
having dead buried within its limits. General
Meade was received with cheers. When the
cheering had subsided Gen. Meade said
My Fellow Citizens, Ladies and Gentlemen:
six years ago stood upon this ground up-
der circumstances very different from these
which now summon u.s. These beautiful hills
sl anu valleys now teeming with luxuriant crops,
these happy faces around me, are widely differ
ent from the tumultuous roar of war and the
scenes enacted at that time. Four years ago
stood here by invitation of the same honorable
gentlemen who have brought me here this
time, and laid the corner stone of the mOnu-
ment which we are brought together to-day to
dedicate; and now for the third time appear
before you at the request of the managers of
the Monument Association to render assist
ance, humble that it is, in paying respect to
tne memory OF the brave men who FELL by ded-
lcatlng this monument to them; and, at the re-
quest OF these gentlemen, am about to make
TO you few, very few, remarks which are in
cldental to the occasion and are suggested by
it.
When look around and see as now see so
many brave men who were by my side in that
memorable battle, among them his Excellency,
the present Governor of Pennsylvania, Gen.
Geary, and others who were with me at that
time, when look back and think of the noble
spirits who then fought SO well and now sleep
the sleep that knows no waking, gallant Rey-
nolds! my bosom friend as well as my right
hand officer, brave Vincent, and Book, and
Weed and others, far more in numbers than /
have time or words to mention, my feelings are
those of mingled sadness and ioy Sadness
my friends, to think that there ever was an oc-
casion when such men should be arrayed in
battle as they were here; that we should ever
have been called upon to this field to defend
the flag of our country and the government
which had been handed down to us by our
forefathers. Sad to think Of the mourning and
desolation which prostrated our whole land,
North and South; sad to contemplate the vast
destruction of life which we here wrought in
obedience to our highest duty am filed with
sadness to think Of the hosts of mourning wild
Qws and orphans left throughout the land by
tnat dreadful struggle. Such thoughts natu-
rally come upon us.
At the same time feel gratitude and ioy.
Gratitude, to the Almighty, who directed the
event and who selected me as the humble in
strument with those then around me npon this
field to obtain that decisive victory which turn
ed the tide OF that great war, and settled for
ever, l trust, in this country the principles of
personal liberty and constitutional freedom
tApplause) feel gratitude, too, that our fell
low countrymen have been moved to such re-
spect and honor as we are now paying to the
memory of those men who, in the discharge of
their duty, laid down their lives, proving by
the highest sacrifice man can render, their de-
voti0n to the cause they were defending. Grat-
itude TO those present to-day who, by their
presence, contribute to render the high honor
justly due to fellow braves.
There is one subject, my friends, which
will mention now, and on this spot where my
attention has been called to it, and in which I
trust my feeble voice will have some influence
When contemplate this field see here and
there, marked with hastily dug trenches, the
graves in which the dead, with whom we
fought, are gathered. They are the work of
my brothe-s-in-arms, the day after the battle.
Above them a bit of plank indicates simply
that these remains of the fallen foe were hur-
riedly laid there by the soldiers who met them
in battle. Why should we not collect them in
some suitable place? I do not ask that mon
ument should be erected over them. do
not ask that we should in any way endorse
their course or their conduct, or entertain other
than feelings of condemnation for their course.
But they are dead; they have gone before their
Maker to be judged. In all civilized countries
1t IS the usage to bury ths dead with decency
and respect. And even to fallen enemy re-
spectful burial is accorded in death. Cap
plause.) earnestly hope this suggestion ma
have some influence throughout this broad
land, for this is only one among hundred
crowded battle fields. Some persons may be
designated by the Government, if necessary,
to collect these neglected bones and bury them
without commemorative monuments, but SIM
ply indicate that below sleep the misguided
men who fell in battle for cause over which
we triumphed.
I shall detain you no longer, for you are
about to listen to one of the most eloquent
men in the country. My purpose was simply
to comply with the kind invitation given to me
to speak meet words of praise for the dead
heroes sleeping around, at the solemnities of
this occasion. thank you for your attention,
and will now unyeil the statue.
AT the conclusion of Gen. Meade's remark S
passage was cleared in front of the platfor m
leading to the base of the monument and s.
sisted by Secretary of War Rawlins, the veil
that shielded the front of the monument wa
dropped and the first full view of all its beau
ties was met with enthusiastic applause,
mingled with the music of the band and the
firing of salute.
President Willis then announced that Hon.
o. P. Morton, Senator from Indiana, would
pronounce the Grafton.
Senator Morton then addressed the audience
He said: When the monument we are about to
dedicate shall have crumbled into dust, when
the last vestige of this cemetery shall have
been obliterated by the hand of time, when
there shall be nothing left of all we see now
but the bills, the valleys, the streams and the
distant mountains, the great battle which here
took place with its far-reashing consequences
will still live in history. Nations have their
birth, maturity, old age and death, and ours,
though we call it eternal and our Constitution
immortal, will be no exception But though
nations must pass away and all physical eyi-
dence OF their existence be lost, yet may they
live through all time in the brightness Of their
examples, in the glory Of their deeds, and in
the beneficence of their institutions These
are the inheritances they may leave to the far
coming centuries. When the pyramids of
Egypt shall have sunk to the level of the Nile,
when the last monument of Grecian architec-
ture, the last INSCRIBED block of marble, shall
have perished, men will still read of Moses and
the Pass of Thermopyl@. Monuments after all
are but for the present, and may only instruct
q few generations; but glorious deed is a joy
forever.
He then recounted eloquently the battle of
Gettysburg, saying: 1t resulted In destroying
the prestige of the reoel army, never to be re-
covered. By our victories at Gettysburg and
Vicksburg the rebellion lost its prestige in Eu-
rope and all hope of foreign Intervention. AT
the foot of this monument sleep the heroes of
the battle. Here lie the father, the husband,
the brother and the only son. In far homes
among the hills of New England, on the shores
of the lakes and in the vallies and plains of
the West, the widow, the orphan and the aged
parent are weeping for these beloved dead
Many ofthe graves are marked unknown"
but they will all be recognized on the morning
Of the resurrection. The unknown dead left
behind them kindred friends and breaking
hearts. None die so humble but leave some
one to mourn. There perished at Gettysburg
in defence OF their country 979 men of whose
names, homes or lineage no trace is left on
earth. Doubtless the recording angel has pre-
served the record, and when the books are
opened at the last day their names will be found
in letters of living light on the immortal pag e
of heroes who died that their country might
live.
He paid a grateful compliment to the cour-
age of the rebel dead, rnd after saying that the
rebellion was cursed by the false belief that
chivalry and glory were the inheritance only
of Shareholders, he said, that row the rebellion,
the offspring of slavery, has murdered it's un-
natural parent and the perfect reign OF liberty
is at hand. The principles of liberty VIII DC
borne through all ages, and the prospect for
liberty throughout the world was never SO
bright as to-day.
He then reviewed the advance Of liberty
since 1776 in the old world. OF Cuba he said
Cuba, the Queen of the Antilles, the richest
gem in the Spanish crown, the most fertile OF
islands, rich beyond description in the fruits
and productions of tropical climes, and from
which the Spanish treasury has been so long
supplied, is making bold, vigorous and as we
trust a successful effort to throw off the Span
ish yoke and establish her independence. The
native oubans, inspired by spirit of liberty,