Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1870-12-01
MEETING OF THE SOCIETY
OF THE ARMY OF THE
p CUMBERLAND. .lselg

hS tOuk Ill ~ 49,
Society of the Army of the Cum
berland commenced at Case Hal
this morning. Among the promi
nent officers present are General
w. T. Sherman, Rosecrans, Hooker
Garfield and jeff q. Davis. Th'
members present marched in process
sion from the Kennard House to th'
hall. reaching there at II O'Clock
The Stage and hall were approPri
ately decorated. The portrait o
Gen. Thomas is draped in mourning
Captain Burts welcomed the mem
bers. speeches were made by Gen
erals Sherman, Hooker, Palmer
Granger and others. 1850.
The afternoon session was devot
ed to business. The Treasures
report shows balance in the treas
ury of S3,100. After the appoint
merit of different committees, let
ter WA; read from President Mahan
of West PoiIt, favoring the erection
by Congress of a monument to Gen
eral Thomas. The letter was ap
propriately referred
A committee was appointed to re-
port upon the death of General
Thomas, expressive ofthe sorrow
of the society, and suitable way to
commemorate his memory.
In the evening General Garfield
delivered and Grafton on General
Thomas. of which the following is
is an abstract;
In obedience to your order,
arise to dincharge, as best l may,
the most honorable, the most diff
cult duty which it was possible for
YOU to assign me. You have re-
anired me to exhibit, in fitting term,
the character and career of Georg1
III. Thomas. | approach the theme
with the deepest reverence, but
with painful consciousness of my
inability to do it even approximate
justice.
There are now living not less than
100000 men who served under Gen.
eral Thomas, who saw him in sun
shine and storm, on the march, IN
the fight, and on the field where
victory had pecn won. Enshridcd
in the hearts of all these are endur-
ing images, and the most precious
memories of their commander and
friend. Who shall collect and write
ilto one worthy picture the bold
outlines, the innumerable lights and
shadows that make up the life and
character of our great leader! Who
shall condense into single hour
the record of life which formed
so large chapter of the nation S
history, and whose fame fills and
overflls q hemisphere? No line can
be omitted, no stroke made, no i'm
perfect sketching done which you,
his soldiers, will not instantly de-
tect and deplore. [ know that each
of you here present sees him in
memory at the moment rs we often
saw him in life. No human life can
be measured by an absolute stand
ard. In this world all is relative
Character itself is the result of in
Vulnerable influences from without
acd from within which act unceas
through life. Who shall climate the
effect of those latent forces cnfold
ed in Shirt of newborn child. Eos
ces that may date back centuries
and find their origin in the life, and
thought, and deeds of rcmCt. arces
tors. Forces, the germs of which
are enveloped in the solemn history
of life, have been transmitted silent
from generation, and never perish.
The problems to be solved in the
study of human life and character
are therefore these Given, the char
acter of a man and the conditions of
life around him, what will be his
career; of girin, his character and
career, of what kind were his sur
roundings? The relation of these
three factors to each other is severe
ly logical. From them is deduced
all genuine history. Character is the
chief element, for it is both a result
and q cause-a result of influence
and cause of results. Each OF
these elements in the career of Gen.
Thomas throws ligts on Others: for
throughout his life, whether we con
slider the causes or results, there
appears a harmony of pronortion,
both logical and beautiful, which
can spring only from genuine soul,
true to itself, and therefore false to
none.
George Henry Thomas was born
on the 31st day of July, 1916, We
know but little of his early boyhood
beyond the fact that it was passed
in a happy country home in tile so
ciety of cultivated parents, and
brothers and sisters. who ranked
among the most influential of Vir
ginia families. When Thomas had
reached the age Of twenty, and had
made some progress in the study oil
law, his family secured him an ap
pointment at the Military Academy
at West Point He entered in 1886
and, after thorough and solid rath
er than brilliant course, he gradna
ted in 1910, ranking twelfth in ;
class OF forty-two members, among
whom were Sherman, Ewell, Jordan
Getty, Herburt, Van Vert and 9th
ers who afterward attained celebrity
As a cadet, he was distinguished fol
what Bacon has called ''round abou
common sense" rather than fol
genius, and for the possession of al
honest, sturdy nature, that accom-
plished whatever he undertook by
thorough intelligent persistent hare
work.
After detailing his life up to 1860
General Garfield proceeds: Here lie
me pause on the threshold of thu
great events then impending, anC
inquire what manner of man Thoma
had become. He was forty-fou