Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1870-05-30

10y al sons Of the Union burst forth into blaz
Of enthusiastic wrath.
The core Of the nation was touched, and he
tonished the world. s-.,
The sound Of alarm had not yet ceased Its vi
brations when, as A II BY magic, an army ha'
hood. Lad no equal In the past.
What gathering II was!
:" Fast as the fatal symbol flies,
In arms the huts ard hamlets rise; q
From winding glen, from upland brown,
They poured each hardy tenant down,
Nor Stacked the messenger his pace,
And pressing forward al like % the wind, vim
Left clamor and surprise behind.
The fisherman forsook the strand,
| The swarthy smith took dirk and brand,
With changed cheer, the mower blithe
Left In the half-cut swathe his scythe;
| The herds without keeper strayed,
| = The plough was in mid -furrow STAYED, r
The lalconer tossed his hawk away,
| The hunter left the stag at bay;
Prompt at the signal Of alarms,
l Each eon Of Alpine rushed to arms;
| So swept the tumult and affray
Along the margin Of Achray."
| Such was the rising of this people all over the
Each loyal State Wed with the other in noble
1 emulation to send to the theater of war the
greatest number and hest cast OF troops, burn
ing with zeal first to measure arms with the foe.
Workshops sprang up as IL raised by the an
and engines Of war sprang q the front, con
strueted BY men who had never followed any
| mission but that OF prosperous peace.
History could not furnish us with encouraging
precedents; her teachings rather seemed to indi-
| cate that disastrous results were almost the
| inevitable consequences OF intestine struggles.
| Friends even became faint hearted, finding in
the past but little hope for the future. But the
| daring yalOr Of COlumbia's sons besitated not
on that account; grasping the sword Of RIGHT
| in their hands, and inscribing FREEDOM upon
their banner. they rushed to hew for themselves
| new path to glory, and TO teach history a new
| lefsoD-that of conquering what seemed to be
The first shock of the strife came, and the
brave hearts which now lie pulseiess beneath
the turf stood like q bulwark between the cita-
del or freedom and the front OF the enemy.
They met the first onset and stayed the mad
dened frenzy OF fanatics until the rallying pat
riots could reach the scene Of action.
The roll Of the dead then opened its pages,
and with terrible swiftness the victims or four
long years OF bloody strife flied the voluminous
annals Of death. -
fires at night dead the smoke cloud Of battle aad
dead an the murderous prison-Penf" ...rt
Long rows of graves and deep streams Of blood
the hearthstones Of numSeriess boss SaTiea
the fearful struggle.
Yet onward, steadily onward, the noble col.
t, umn moved towards the center Of rAbellion and
Undaunted by reverses, they carved a road
through defeat to victory, and unchecked by
misfortune they swept away every obstacle.
Every vacant space caused by the carnage of
battle was filled by another brave warrior, who
bade defiance to death, until at last the beam
Of hope shone through the clouds of smoke,
and the bright rays of victory cheered the
loyal hearts amidst the scenes Of agony and
horror. -l-7 80
At last the bloody drama was ended, and the
yubilant shout Of a nation, redeemed by the
brave, re-echoed from the starry concaye over
the land OF the free.
At last the Union was saved, and the old ship
OF state that had entered the tempest in the
most perflous moment, and under the discoura-
ging scorn Of foreign rivals, who wished to see
her go down beneath the breakers Of rebellion,
noats as proudly as ever, and waves her glorious
Aghast the dsappoiat,ff NJ isSsasors sS stood like
saw the fnaI conquest of our gallant snous slss
fIatricidal foes. !,
,nI They bad ss hoped % the endangered vessel
fragments.
The storm and waves beat high, the captain
at their post; yet the noble craft weathered the
most frightful blasts, and now rides more
proudly than ever on the smiling ocean Of pros
lofty pennon kissed the crest Of the waves, stout
hearts again bore IL aloft.
The vortex which we escaped swallowed le-
gons on our pest comrades yet immortality is
their lot; and when the reyelle of resurrection
calls them from their resting ng-places, we hope,
touching their elbows to pass with them our
The nations marvelled over the new liobt os a
voluntary obedience to law, and freedom con-
trolling power unequalled and unknown in
realms where obedience is esacted only by fear
world shouted applause to the new dogma. that
republics, based upon self government and gem
ulne freedom, possess latent Power of self
preservation which makes the monarchical
structures of the eastern hemisphere tremb,e.
Around us, in this garden OF the dead. lie
many OF the martyrs OF this new creed who
like the immortal Swiss, had turned the spears
m ha aVau ir,f<n fl.asro
way OF freedom and victory for their country
men. lA4I
z" Make way for liberty, he cried;
Z Then ran with arms extended wide
As If his dearest friend to clasp,
Ten spears he swept within his grasp.
Make way for liberty, he cried
Their points met from side TO side.
He bowed among them like a tree;
And thus made way for liberty.
Thus Switzerland again was free,
Thus death made way for liberty
These noble dead around us likewise M lde
way for liberty, and although they may not
have Terminated their life In quite as poetic a
manner, there was not one among them a VAS
sal or hirclng, and their self sacrifice for our
honor and our peace is hardly less pathetic than
that Of any of the ancient patriots.
The extreme bitterness Of their death amidst
the gloom of danger, without ray Of hope for
appreciated by you, my comrades, who were
with them in the dark hour, but have lived 10
see the glory Of the cause for which they bat |
Lis this appreciation of their greater loss and
higher sacrifice which impels US annually to pay
our homage to them.
Not that we love the living comrades less,
but that we honor the dead more, do we paw
this tribute Of respect to the fallen heroes, and
teach the rising generation that noble deeds are
most keenly admired by those who have parti-
cipsted in them, and that those Who die for
their country can never be honored enough
He who holds the destinies Of nations in His
hands has permitted us 20 see the termiAation
Of the struggle. He has granted NJ ehe un-
speakable blessing that after the hours Of dan
ger and repeated humiliation we should enjoy
the glory Of victory, the triumph Of our national
honor, and the blissful peace Of freemen.
The anticipationsof Of the most sanguine friends |
of our cause have been more than realixed; the |
framework Of our goyernnenthas been restored /
In all its frmnese and beauty; the cancer which 4
had crept into our national health has BET b Il
the evils of the past have been /
cured, and ample measures hare been taken for i
our future welfare and permanent safety. 4
Herculean was the task, but the valor OF our 4
Of the crisis. q - . - -
Providence strengthened the hand OF our
martyred President when he penned the Proc
OF EMANCIPATION, WHICH forever
wiped from our national escut ;heon the dark |
spot Of slavery, and new impetus was fmbued
into the ranks Of our wearied troops, almost
to inspiration. - -
The song Of freedom sounded in clearer notes