Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-09-27

shrinking, no flinching from danger, nor even
destruction, which yields nothing to the in
stinct of self preservation which sinks self,
utterly, in the great we'll being of high and
holy cause. There is a "still small voice"
whispering to the inner ear of the soul, that
friends, fortune, life itself, are nothing, are
less than nothiDg,-when weighed in the bal
ance with the heaven-annonted gift of liber-
ty, nationality and republican institutions.
low much the young man of this age has
to be thankful for, that to him, as to the pat
riots of &c, it was given to suffer and fight
and bleed for the hottest cause that ever sum-
moned men to take up arms. All! my
friends, ours was noble cause, -nobler than
that of '1G,-for while oar fathers fought for
their own liberties, nee, thanks to Almighty
God, fought for the freedom of others, and
| overthrow, in blood, the most atrocious and
barbarous and damnable institution that ever
polluted the soil of Gods fair earth, and strik-
| ing the shackles from four millions of his own
people, raised them from the darkness of
bondage to the glad sunshine of freedom;
from the despair of slavery to the proud de-
gree of manhood, and removed from the dear
old flag the only stain that ever sullied its
fair folds. Thanks be to God, the boast of
England is now become our own glorious
heritage, and from the shores of the Atlantic
to the slopes of the Pacific, from the Gulf to
| tue OF. LaWTeHCe, tHe stars anu stripes, Inc
proudest ensign that greets the rising and the
setting sun, in every quarter and corner of the
globe, wave only over freemen and free in
situations, and henceforth and forever, the
slave who touches our shores or breathes our
air, shall cast aside his fetters and rising
from the cringing servility of slavery, shall
stand erect in the full stature and dignity of
manhood, knowing no master save his own
reason and conscience and bowling the knee
to none but Almighty God, and shall become
an enfranchsed and independent citizen, vest
ed with all the rights and immunities and
privileges and prerogatives that pertain to
American citizenship!
What a retrospect for the men whose
bosoms heaved with the noblest emotions, as
they fell into the ranks, and taking their lives
in their hands, went forth to do battle for the
liberties of whole nation and to uphold the
best government the world ever saw. Can
there be a grander spectacle than that of the
young men of the nation, the flower Of the
Republic, opposing their own strong arms and
stout, brave hearts, an impenetrable shield to
ward off the dagger blows of assassin traitors
from the fair bosom of the mother who had
watched over and protected us so long?
See to it, l charge you, that we who have
learned vigilance from the constant presence
of danger; by the necessity of unceasing
watchiulness; in the perils of picket duty,
amid Virginia's dark and sombre forests, whose
very thicket might conceal lurking foe,-
ye, whose boast it was that the most alert and
cunning enemy was never able to surprise or
penetrate our lines, see to it that We never
tail in that eternal Vigilance which is the
price of liberty
Lie on your arms, we who knew the mean
ing of that order, when we watched beneath
the stars, sleepless that the army might slum-
Der in safety; hushed and silent as we lis
tenedfor the faintest movement of the wary
enemy; when the slightest whisper reused
our motionless ranks to readiness for the
fight, and to beat back the foe whose temerity
often cost him dear lie on your arms, nor ever
let rust or careless Indifference render them
unserviceable for instant use. Twas ours to
help win the great victory of right over
wrong, justice over oppression, order over
anarchy and loyalty over treason, and to us
it still belongs to preserve inviolate the great
principles for which we fought and to main
tain unsullied the flag which led US on from
triumph to triumph.
would that the time allotted me permitted,
that my poor tongue and pen were competent
to do justice to the brave and true who fell in
the conflict, fighting with us in behalf of the
Union and the dear old flag. Douty, the lion
hearted; Boothby, the chivalrous; Bartlett,
the faithful and beloved; Phillips, high mind
ed and heroic; Head the daring and auda-
cious; kimball the intrepds Harris, reso-
lutte and undaunted; Stayner, noble and gen.
erous; Taylor and Neville, brave and cour-
ageous; Collins, the boy hero, and the hosts
OF others, officers and men, whose deeds are
forever recorded on high and in the hearts of
surviving comrades. Above them We know
the cypress waves, but entwining their men,
cries is the unfadng laurel, for these were
men who, forsaking ALL gave their lives in de-
fence of the nOblest and most sacred cause
that ever rallied any people around the stand
ard OF their country's honor; who cOnsecrat-
ed that cause Of humanity, patriotism and
good government, by their hearts blood and
set for us and for all men shining example,
to follow now and SO long as life shall last.
The truest honor we can render them; the
noblest homage we can pay their heroic viz
tues; the most fitting recompense we can
offer for their sublime elfsacrifice, is to con-
tinue faithful and loyal to the great ideas for
which they fought. and to preserve inviolate
the grand principles for which they and we,
together, endured the hardships of the long
and weary years of the rebellion.
l remember ell,-who of US does not P
the consolidation in Ca of the Maine Battal-
lions of the ID. c. Cavalry with the old regi-
ment. consolidation, thank God! not in
name, merely, but a union of hearts aud of
hands; blending of mind and W ill and soul,
|
gether, that none could tell where was the di-
viding line. Shoulder to shoulder stood the
men of the two regiments, firm and and I'M
tiinching, resolute and steady, on that bloody
9th of October, and together they fought the
good fight, manfally and well, forgetting or
ganizations and names, as their life blood
mingled upon the CORY field. All that glori-
Gus, that immortal day fused US all into one
harmonious brotherhood, resolved both regi-
ments into Homogeneous, lasting, fellow
ship, cemented our union with precious blood,
and Joined us together with bonds which
shall never be broken or loosened in this
world, nor, trust, in the world to come!
Side by side they fought and bled; side by
side they fell and died in the appalling storm
of battle; side by side, until the roll call OF
the last great morning, they sleep on the fields
rendered illustrious by their heroic deeds, and
side by side their names shall be inscribed
upon the sacred roll of honor, and written on
the brightest pages of their country's history,
till time shall be no more. They fought to-
gether for common end and with common