Daily Kennebec journal., 1873-05-17

to the cause 1t served, and not in indifference
to its leaders, this army received each an
nouncement, of change of commanders.
Faithful and devoted to those who had pre-
ceded, it prepared to render the same obedi-
cnce to him who now in the very imminence
Of . mortal struggle found its heavy cares
and responsibilities thrown upon him. Gen.
eral Devens gave most thorough and graphic
description of the plan of the battle and of the
battle itself. He gave Meade the full credit
for its success. All the orders he gave, he
said, showed the great skill which he (Meade)
possessed as a tactician on large scale, and
demonstrated his ability to handle an army in
a series of manGuvres Of the greatest impor
tance. He is fully entitled, he was sure, to
the praise bestowed by Swinton, the able critic
of operations OF the army of the Potomac,
who says that in spite of the malicious de-
traction of his adversaries, who have tried to
make it appear that he shrank from the issue
of arms at Getty ysburg, it was in reality The
moral frrncss of General Meade that deter
mined the combat in the form in which it ac-
tually occurred | would not willingly do
injustice to the other great fields of the war
and their splendid results. Gen. Devens said
further on in his Grafton, 'and yet it has always
seemed to me that Gettysburg was the cul
minatng point of the rebellion, and that the
blow struck that day for the Union, accompa-
nying the fall of Vicksburg, turned forever its
bloody tide. Large, varied, and constant as
were the services rendered by General Meade
before that day and after it to the very end of
the war, il is by his judgment in so manpuv
ring his army as to compel the Confederate
commander to take the initiative, bv his en-
ergy in bringing his troops to this decisive
field, by his skill in posting his force and ar
ranging his order OF battle, by his calmness,
courage and persistency in all its vcssitudes
that he will ever be more gratefully remem
bered. His fame is built upon the rocks and
is immovable as the hills of Gettysburg.
Great fields were yet to be fought, great sac
rfces endured, great victories won; the lead
er wise Of head and stout of heart, who
should gather the springs which moved all
our armies into single hand and control them
with single will, was yet to come before the
long tried army of the Potomac should see all
that it fought for fully secured. Yet although
all this was still to be, and although the waves
of the rebellion were to come again and yet
again, never was its bloody crest to be reared
SO high as at Gettysburg. Recognition was
also given to General Meade's service after
Gettysburg. His splendid abilities as Il tacti-
clan, the speaker said, his firmness and judg-
ment, his devotion to his troops, were very
conspicuous at the Wilderness, Spottsylvania
and Cold Harbor, lavish of their dead, and in
every conflict up to the last, when, though
the malaria fever that ragged within his veins
did not permit him to sit his horse, he still d.
rected the army of the Potomac in its stern
pressure upon the encompassed and be
leagured Lee. To the great and high idea OF
duty which he expressed in taking command
of the army, he was faithful to the close OF
its existence, and the succeeding years which
witnessed his command in the southern States
attest that the moderation and firmness, the
humanity and love of justice, which were es
sential attributes of his character, make his
civil life as honorable as his military career
was splendid. General Devens conclusion
was as follows 81
Comrades, the army which he commanded
so long has passed away. No more shall its
bugles break the swee. stiffness of the morn
ing air, as with the reveilles they salute the
coming day; no more shall the falling night
hear the rolling tattoo of its drums; its tents
are struck and its cannons have thundered
their last nights Of defiance and of victory
Each year we who were its survivors assem-
bic in sadly diminishing numbers as the re-
morseless artillery Of time hurls its fatal mis-
siles into our ranks, until shortly few old
men only shall gather and strive with feeble
voices to raise the laundering battle cheer,
with which we once answered the rebel yells,
to sink themselves soon after under the com
mon lot. How fast the coming generations
rise to push US from our places, when you re.
member all whom we have lost even since the
war, l do not need to remind you. Yet as
} generation after generation shall come in their
long succession, while the great flag that it
bore at the head of its marching column.
waves over free and united people, it will
be remembered that in its day and generation,
and in its time and place, the army of the
Potomac did for liberty and law, for the Con-
stitution and the Union deeds worthy of i'm
mortal honor. And he that was its leader on
SO many hot and bloody day, and on so
many well-contested aeld,-we leave him
to his long repose, to his pure, unsullied and
well-earned fame, in the full confidence that
while Christian gentleman, wise and true
soldier, lofty patriot is honored, he will not
be forgotten
mild in manner fair in fight
Kind in temper, fierce in fight
Warrior nobler gentlcr, Drawer,
Never will behold the light, y