Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1870-06-08
COL. GTLL'S ADDRESS.

readers the neat and appropriate adatess of
Col. C. P. Gill, delivered by him ON the
occasion of the decorating of the Soldiers
| Graves, at Madison, on the Both of May:
Comrades Of the late Union army and Eel.
top Gtizens-Nothing that can say could
add 10 the impresSiyeness of the ceremony
of to-day no poor words of mine could
| equal in significance this outpo uring of CIT
| liens to-day, to do honor to those W no died
| for their country "All is quiet on the
| Potomac" ''sil is quiet ON the Mississippi =
! Gen. sGrant is safe in Wellington
! words we were accustomed to hear from
day to day years ago. and they are true to-
| day, but with what different meaning
| How grateful should we be for that quiet
| ness which exists throughout the land so
late the scene of noisy strife. Not cotton
| is king, but Piece, and we SHALL forever
| pray that it shalt rule over the land ever
| more. War is a sad necessity, and the eff
feet of such ceremonies as those of to day
il to impress upon Us what terrible ca.
| !anity it IS. War may be Il good thing as
| the surgeons knife may be for the deceased
body, but it must be brief aud must com
| seldom, or its evil will far outmeasure all
good. We have great cause of gratitude for
| the result Of our war, and that now. within
less than ten years from lis beginning, We
see tie country restored to such prosperity
! and quietnesS with so much gained by the
| terrible ordeal through which We passed.
| We owe our thanks to those who achieved
| these results for us, and we ought to honor
! these dead defenders OF our liberties W hose
| sacrifices their surviving comrades can
/ full
| Those who remained ut home in the North
canuor'realize how terrible thing u war is,
! as Can those who have seen children cry to
mothers for bread, ofwhich strange soldiery
| by the hard necessity of war has deprived
| them, aud yet n single falterng column in
the long line defending your hearthstoues
might haze left you to exchange experiences
! with the women of the South.
1t wa not necessary to refer to the hard
lot OF the soldier, parting with those he
loved most .,tenderly, making toilsome
marches with scanty ration5 of poor food
drinking filthy water bearing the yoke ofs
slavery which left. him not master OF the
motions of his own body, which forbade his
going to the bedside of wife, mother, father,
sick to DEATH or the horrors of battle, to
show how cruel athing war Is, md how
those who endured these hardships and
trials merited the thanks of all lovers of
their country. Not only to the soldiers ia
the army was praise due, but to the great
army of reserves, the citizens who at home
rendered their support, icheer aud assistance
TO. the men at the front, to the self sacrificing
ladies who ministered to the sick and
wounded, and the surviving soldiers would
never forget the debt they owed to these
| Glasses. The conflict was over, some little
scars indeed remained, but who
could expect that a ship tossed to and fro
by winds and waves, with battered hull,
rudderless, sails rent mast gone and drifted
| on shore, be able to sail out of harbor the
next day. History, however, records no
instance of a nation so rapidly recovering
from such tremendous havoc as the late war
made in this land. While we enjoy the
blessings of liberty and peace, soldiers and
citizens should remember that it be-
hooves them to guard duty forever, and see
TO 1t that no man despoils US of our treasures
Considering how much treasure, precious
blood and sorrow this war has cost, we
should see to it that the tongue Of the
representative should be palsied who shall
advocate any measure to thrust til g country
into Il useless war. We should never have
another war, unless national safety impera-
lively demands it. Let us have no war for
some speck of the sea, some imaginary ad-
vantage. 1t was no easy matter to win
even in a war Tor the nations life One
trembles to think what might have been
the result of defeat at Gettysburg, Vicks-
burg, Atlanta, Richmond. Cheered on by
their fellow citizens, the Union army, after
a gigantic struggle, was able to cope with
powerful revolt, and subdue it, but we
should strike the first man who seeks to ex.
pose us TO such SKIS in the future for light
cause. There are some bereaved who can
hardly realize that our national peace and
liberty is worth its cost to them, but while
they mourn the son that came not back.
they may reflect how his sacrifice secured
the safety, honor, and happiness of the sur
vivOrs and rejoice amid their tears. If the
spirits OF the dead can see, as it seems to me
they can, how proud must our fallen COM
rades be. of the honors shown them, and the
principles for which they commended. 1t
seems impossible that nation should lose
its liberty that thus honors it's defenders,
and the example will be inspired if the
necessity should ever arise for raising such
armies again.
John Browns soul is no longer marching
on. 1t has reached its haven of rest be-
cause the United States has, within the
last few months become what it never was
before, a truly free land, with a homogen-
eous people, where all have equal civil
rights. Our career will be onward hence.
forth. We have everything to hope for,
and such exercises as these to revive the
memories of the past will stimulate us to do
worthiiy our part in the noblest mission
and the grandest era of the worlds history.