Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1874-10-19

II EROES OF 1ltE n1E-AilaN " Ah IL hio
address before the veterans OF the Mexican
war, iu Washington, General Albert Pike,
said
More than to any other one mau-more,
perhaps, than to all others Of her Generals 10
Mexico, we owe to Zachary Taylor our vic
tories iu Mexico and the extension OF the re-
public to the golden shores of California, with
al! the great results that already conc or are
10 come from these. There were greater bat
ties fought In Mexico, aud many beyond COM
parson greater 10 the number OF combattants
aud loss OF mcu 10 our civil war than Pao Al
to. Resaca de Ia Palma, Monterey and Buena
Vista, out these were the first, destroyed Sau-
Ia Auua' ; veterans, aud taught the MeXicaus
to expect defeat, aud our men TO be couldcut
ui victory 10 matter Luw much they outnum
urred u>; not that Taylor's men won greater
glory, but that being ty good fortune the hrSt
to win, they made 1t possible Tor their fellow
soldiers uuder Scott to wlu tqua! gory with
themselves. Tay lur was Que OF those men OF
4c;lou To whom the uatlvus always owe ther
grcalueSs, like Give, the saviour and almost
tnc creator of thc Anglo ludian empire, who
early displayed an aversion to studluus pur
suits like Marlborough, who, always vlcltorl-
Gus, never kuew the sensation caused by dc
feat; like Suwarotf, conqueror OF the Turkish
provinces and Poland. With lilte education,
but considerable rcadius, OF palu mauucrs
and simple habits, his will was lut1exlble ard
his resolution iudomiu!tablc. lie never hr>ltat-
I'd or doubted was uevcr dl>couragei! Or d,splrl-
ed He described himself faithfully when he
wrote to the Secretary OF War that ne asked
III favor and shruGk from no responsibility
| knew him well when he was "a colonel sta
toned on the frontier OF Arkansas, never
wearing anything that rcscmtlcd uuliurm;
iralk, cauild, friendly, a farmer-like man,
and prouder oil his fields OF corn behind
his quarters than Of his rank or troops,
aud yet II Was more to be Il lieutenant
cVohel then than IL Is to be a ma]or gen.
craI now. This plain soldier, Simple aud
Unaffected, like Sherman aud St0ncwail
jackson and Grant and Lee, bad, life them,
The art OF wluulng the confidence and aztec
ton Of his meo, who, seeing hu calm, cool
and ratquii on bis old white horse among bui
lets, never ouce suspected that defeat was pos
Sitlc. Fearless as Ney, ne was d tuan of the
largest truth aud honesty and most perfect hon
or He could not deceive, or taltcr or cauivo-
cate Clearly as he thought, he stammered in
MS speech, aud 40 man was more incapable of
vratury. But If he had been eloquent, that
which is so easy to many would have been m
POSSIBLE to him. tie could not have advocated
the cause that he knew TO be wrong, nor have
been Jealous to demonstrate that lie was
truth. Scott has his statues. Does not the
c,uhtry owe to Zachary Taylor? Worth aud
Qutman were with him at Monterey, and
Wool at Buena Vista, and he aud they are
dead. As We pause and recall the memories
Of those glorious days, of how many who were
known to Us there must the same sad word be
>.id BY that mysterious faculty, inc mpre
hcnsivc and wonderful, that enables Us TO see
ty some iuner sight not the lkeucsSeS or pic
lures Of dead faces, tu the very faces OF the
dead as we saw them when they Ilvrd, how
ulauy faces we behold Of those that there were
with US then, aGd are long since mouidcred in
to dust see the faces as plainly as | see
yours, of many, many tha, | knew, aud some
that dearly loved; of the brave, the frank,
the true, the good, the generous; OF Gross aud
Taylor, Wood and Quitman; of Lee, noble
gentleman, only captain thee; OF jovlal bcu.
beall of the Dragons; and Tell, of Arkansas;
shall: Of Liacoln, Mansfield, Churchill Garlic
ton. O Brien, Washington, Brcnt, Whiting,
Porter, Roaae Borland Cary, Fry and 0 llara;
May Hanson, Pierce. But"r, Garuett, BlsseIl,
Warren, Bliss, Chapman, Eustis, Tom Mar
SHALL Curtis oh how Che leaves have fallen
from the tree and left pe, withered by the
tro>ts of autumn, faded aud serc, aud waiting
my turn to ai We wander, comrades, sadly
and with slow step, along the shore OF the dun
ocean OF the past, and every wave, as II comes
out OF the far-otf darkness and glldcs up the
t"ach, brings with it the Image of some dead
face that we have loved and lost, aud with a
sad and solemn requiem lays 1t at our feet.