Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-06-01

/ worth even the price oil Sucn lives y nun
dred years ago Patrick Henry said 81
am no longer Nirginian, | am an
American" 81, lay. We are not
Vermonters or New Workers; We are Ameri-
cans. Sectional feeling is sunk in patriot
ism. and party striie is hushtd, as with I'M
covered heads We deck with the sweetest
flowers of May the graves Of our heroes We
think OF them hY ramc of Hall and Head
and Duncan and French and Sraver and
| Tucker, and the long list ui comrades near
and dear to Us The list 81 ihns.; whose
graves We know Goy~ not r",.rr'... ia" roll.
Hundreds of thousands OF our hns- lie in
unknown graves in Southern >uil. Bat The
God who watches the sparrow ia;l, knows
their resting places and decaratcS their
graves with twining foliage and forest
towers-llis tribute to our dead.
Were here simply to pronounce tuner
al grafton, could do no better than to re-
peat one spoken by Capt. Mott, of Motifs
OF one of his command After the coffin had
been lowered. stepping to the head of the
grave Capt. Mott said !: "lle died as the
soldier shouldn't his post: doing his duty
Sleep in peace. martyr in the nobest cause
for which soldier ever fought That most
impressive speech might be fifty said over
a hundred thousand graves.
But our duty to-day not only to recall the
memory of the patriot lead. but to rccite
orce more the lesson OF the day to the liy-
ing.
The speaker then reviewed the causes of
the late war. 1t was a war for equal rights,
imperilled by "the wild and guilty phan-
tasy OF property in man." The South told
us boldly that the Declaration of Indeper
dence was but "gittering generalities.'
and that the chief corner stone of the repub
lie was the black marble block OF slavery.
A Republican President was elected. and to
maintain slavery and State rights, State al
ter State rushed into rebellion. The despots
of other lands rejoiccd at the coming end of
the great Republic. Even Gladstone. to his
shame made haste to declare that jefferson
Davis. had created a nation. Our Govern
ment seemed almost powerless to protect
itself. 1t had neither army nor navy, ard
men high in authority maintained that the
Government could not protect itself by force.
But the day came when the reins of the
Government dropped from the nervelcss fin
gers of Buchanan and were caught up by |
the strong hand of Lincoln. The people |
rose at his call. Said Massachusetts
Colonel to a Baltimore rebel, who asked |
how many more regiments Massachu |
sets was going TO send down to |
fight the South This is her fftieth. She |
will send fifty more if necessary to put down
this accursed rebellion and if that wont do,
she will come down herself" Massachusetts,
did 60 herself. Vermont went in the per
sons of her 30 600 sens, third of whom
days for the Republic, till in 1864, Presi
dent Lincoln called to the front the Tanner
of Galcna. Terry took Fort Fisher,
Thomas annihilated Hood, Sheridan swept
the Valley OF the Shenandoah, and swept
it clean. Sherman marched from Atlanta
to the sea. Grant fought it out on that
line all Summer and more, till at last he
ended the war. An army of two million
men had been raised the most powerful
navy that rode the sea had been created. six
hundred battles had been fought on sea and
land 300, 600 men had died and l00, 900
been wounded-but peace came at last,
and to a Union consecrated to Freedom.
So ended the struggle of 200 years between
the hostile systems, between the ideas that
capital should own labor; and that labor
should be free; between the doctrines OF
State sovereignty and National sovereignty.
Nicksburgh, Lookout Mountain, Gettys-
burg, Mobile. Appomattox had thundered
the answer This is not COnfederacy
but Natiou-ono country; one destiny
|
1t is for US, the survivors and the chill
dren of the heroes of the war for the
Union, to see to it that the Nation is kept
worthy of the sacrifices made for its pres
ervatiOn. Ii will never be ill with the Rep
ublic. as long as We cherish the names of the
Ellsworth. Winthrop, Baker,
Sedgwick - and the rest who fell of Stan
ton. the great war minister, and Of the sad
and silent man who sat four anxious years
in the White House. When some great
writer, at future day, writes the History
Of this country, he vii. begin with Wash
lngton; but above all other names, he will
place the name of the statesman-martyr,
Abraham Lincoln-and his great PROCLAIM
alton Of Emancipation of January LIST,
1863, will stand second to no other docu-
ment, unless it no to the Declaration of
independence.
A French marshal, on trial for treason,
pointed for his defence to the motto on tho
badge OF the Legion of Honor. on his
breast ." Honor and Country" Comrades,
We may assert as strongly our fidelity to
our motto Loyalty, Fraternity. Charity
Loyalty proved when death stared you on
the face on n hundred battle fields Fratcr
nifty in the service and the memories of the
war; but the greatest of all is Charity. Not P
till tho blue fades from the sky and the glory
from the setting sun, will we forget our
iuty to the widows and orphans and to the
manned veterans Of the war.
Let Us here pledge Ourselves anew to these
duties. Let us teach them to our children,
50 that if they should ever be called to de-
lend the flag, they may be found as ready
to shed their blood for their country. Let
us pledge ourselves never to omit TO cee-
hrQ 70 hot ba oil |
bring it in annual recurrence, soldiers and
citizens shall still be found to hold it in sa-
cred observance, and to make fragrant with
1oral offerings the graves and the memories
Of the fallen heroes, who died that the ma
lion might live.
Mr.. Ballard spoke without notes, and
with his customary earnest and effective
delivery. Ills address, of which the above
IS an imperfect abstract, abounded in pas
'ages OF much beauty and pathos, and rose
1t times to elOquence. 1t was listened to
with gratifcd attention by the concourse of
soldiers and citizens. The music for the
occasion was especially fine. The singing
was excellent, and VIC have never heard the
Queen City Band play better,-nor indeed
20 well and they are entitled to much
credit for their efficient services throughout
The day.
The exercises closed with the benedic.ion
~ Rev. T. A. Griffin. The procession then
and marched back to the square,
md the parade was dismissed May tho
lay always have an equally impressive and
celebration.