The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1875-06-04
DECORATION. DA u:
THE l. ADDRESS-THE aRROCESsIOX@
j :DECORA rTNcJEHHE3 GR VEN-pOElEe

THE i 44DDRESS--THE lRROCESsIOX-
I DEC0RA THE Ora KEs-P0EACas
T. Saturday last; the day appointed for
the decoration Of soldiers graves, was
one of the finest,days Of the season, and:
tNere was a large representation fro n
the surrounding country. The people
assembled at Miller Hall at 4 O'Clock,
where, after music by the tEorthington
Band and the Choir, and prayer by Rev.
j. ". Lewis, the address was delivered
by j. A. Town. The following is =: :.>c7
THE ADDRESS, - f5-:* e.
We have come together upon this
beautiful spring day while ali around
us is teeming witl:life and beauty and
brightness. We have come with: love
in our hearts, bearing fresh flowers in
our hands to decorate the graves of our
nations heroes; to payA attribute of hon.
or to those noble men who loved their
country more than their lives. . =.
When traitors thought to ruin this
land of the free,' and raised their
foul hands to tear down our glorious
old flag from the proud position that it
had occupied for near All hundred years,
these men, forgetting the strifes of po-
lltlcal parties and casting aside the
pleasures and pursuits Of civil life, raj
lied around the old flag and resolved
that it should yet wave over land of
freedom and OF freamen. They rallied
from the east, from the north and ffom
! the West-tl'ey came from the work
shops of old New England; they came
from the farm and the mines of the
north; thew came from the boundless
plains of the west. Every State, every
county, every hamlet. was represented
in that grand army of patriots that re-
spondeu to the call of distress FROM our
country. From Il nation of peaceful
mechanics and farmers we were trans
formed into nation Of soldiers. OF
the hosts that went out to reap in the
harvest of war thousands Oh thousands
sheaves of victory. They lie sleeping
IN IN soldiers graves all through our land.
Their love Of country inspired them to
dare to do and die. by it they endured
the march through mud and storm and
heat. BY it they sickened and suffered
in camp and i'll hospital. by it they
starved and frenzied in prison pens. By
it they courted danger and death. BY
/
Young men in the prime of manhood,
to whom life was most dear, dying in the
camp far from home and loved ones: dy-
ing on the field amid the terrible earn
age of battle, with not even Il comrade
to'hold his dying head; dying III the
prison pens of starvation, maddened 10y
| torture, yet dying without a murmur
Of regret-dying that their country
mis- ht live.
Memory carries me back to the scenes
of twelve years ago. march over
again with my comrades the marches
we made. see them weary and worn,
sick and suffering, toiling beneath the
burning southern sun, parched with
thirst, fainting from hunger, standing
the lonely picket at night, yet. never
complaining but ever ready for duty
and anxious to meet the foe on the field,
with never q thought of giving up the
c;t,ise for which they struggled; heroes,
every one Of them. l see them on the
field of battle amid the roar of musket-
ny and the thunder of cannon. l see
them in the deadly charge where Amer
lean meets American, falling by nun
dreds, yet no thought save that of VIC
tory or death. Heroes, heroes, every
one of them I see them in the rebel
prison pens deprived of their liberty
starved to skeletons, tortured to mad
ness, weary of life and -bcgging for
death, yet never forsakihg the c,use
they served-never betrayiEg the land
they loved. Heroes! Heroes! HEROES :!
every one of them! Their actions will
furnish Il theme for orators; their deeds
inspiration for poets as long as history
shall last. And yet history cannot do
them full justice. The unwritten his
tory would make the larger book. Many
of their most heroic deeds are only re-
corded in the memories of their COM
rldcs who witnessed their doing.
In All humble soldiers grave upon
one of Mmnesota's brayest Eeroes. 4
enlisted. lie had served lis full term
of three years faithfully and honorab!y,
and was awaiting his discharge. On
tile eve before the battle, as I've sat
around the camp ii e Ii told IT'S t'at in
the coming battle he should fall. lie
gave us his last messages for his loved
ones at home. He uttered not word
of regret: onlya wavering in his voice
us he spoke of his mother q ID Dade us
care for her. On the morrow in the
thickest Of the fight he fell-killed
while waving our flag in defiance at the
charging foe. He was but one in Il
thousand:
Had the Grand Army of the Repub-
lie no other object in it's organization
save that Of Keeping fresh the memory
of our dead comrades by each year per-
forming the beautiful ceremony of dec
Grating their graves with flowers, it's
object would be Il noble. one. It re-
minds us Of the fearful cost Of the
blessings we enjoy. 1t leads us to
guard with more Jealous care the sa-
cred trusts they placed in our hands,
They did more by their. deaths for our
country than we by our lives can do
Oh! tell me not that they are dead-tllat
generous host-tl,at airy army of invis-
able heroes They hover as il cloud of
witnesses above this nation. Are they
dead that yet speak louder than we can
speak? They yet live.in their noble &C
tions-tl!ey live in the hearts Of our
people.
Comrades shall you and ever forget
our brothers who lie buried on every
southern field? Their memory is more
sacred to us than to others. It was our
privilege to share with them the tolls of
the weary march. 10 stand will, them
shoulder to shoulder in the
terrible battle where amid the scream
ing of shot and the shrieking of shell
they made the last and grand sacrifice
for their country. Ours were the hands
that laid them in their humble graves.
10 us they bequeathed the guardian
ship of their loved ones at home. Shall
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