Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1877-06-01

of war" Never were armies assembled
more fearless in danger, more stubborn in
defeat, more determined for victory, than
were the Northern aud Southern armies.
When first the North and South met face
TO face al the opening battle, the Northern
soldiers learned 1t was no mere chld's
play, no sham affair, but found they must
meet q loeman worthy of tioir steel.
When from that first onset tho North So
bored to tho magnitude of her work, there
was persistent, steady, Unborn conquest.
With an army coming from The bench, the
anvil, the printing press, the store, the of.
flee, the plough, commanded 10y generals
and captains born of necessity and gradu-
ated in a day, was ii any wonder that there
were mistakes and lailures2 The wonder
is that there were not more and greater.
But from the days Of Antieiam there was
one steady, answering purpose of the
American army, summed up and truly put
in single sentence Of The great aud silent
man, so lately gone from our shOres-the
first among many others Of the war whom
the nation will never cease to love and
honor as a general and a sodier-a de-
termination ITO fight il out on this line" If
ii took ten summers for nothing but The
unconditional surrender" of the Southern
army would be in any way accepted. They
had shot at, riddled, hauled down and
traled in the dust the nations banner, and
never should cease the tramp of battalion.
u
long as was left pound OF POWDER u lead
en- ball, one Northern man to touch the
fuse, until again that banner should float
triumphantly from the capital at Rich
mond.
Where was Vermont? Did she live and
move aud breathe during the days of that
great struggle? When the roar of that first
| gun at Sumter touched these Green Noun
| tain peaks they trembled TO their very
roots. The old spirit of Ethan Allen, who
'in the name of the Great Jehovah and the
| Continental Congress demanded the sur
render of Ticonderoga, revived, and as it
| swept across these valleys and hills, they
| seut forth companies aud regiments as bees
| from Overcrowded hives; and as the
| streams and rivers take their course toward
| the sea, so they flowed southwark to the
| front. Had her boys any part in The figbtP
| AS long as Gettysburg is remem bered,
| Vermont boys snail not be forgotten. What
| mean these hngeress hands, these armless
| sleeves, these cork and wooden legs, these
battling, Scared men 2 They are silent but
eloquent reminders of the awful ravages Of
| war, of that great and triumphant struggle
for the steadying of Liberty on her pedes-
tai, for guarding unto The death the rights
and privileges OF this republic.
| We come to these graves, then, to-day,
| with our offerings of peace. We strew
| them on these mounds where lie the ashes
| Of the brave men who counted not their
1
| hour OF their cOuntrys need. How true
the words Of the poet,
1.-The paths Of glory lead but to the grave"
The name OF a union soldier shall ever lie
| revered, and his grave should never be
| neglected nor forgotten. Time Is making
| her inroads upon the remnant of that army:
| but other feet are lreadiug in their foot
| steps, other hearts are throbbing with the
| same patriotic blood, and shall prove as
| loyal and as true in the hour of their coun-
| try's call. There is still work 10 do. From
the purifying fires this nation shall rise as
| the tried gold. The Internal workings
must be purified. Her political and moral
life must he washed from filth, aud then
she marches onward gloriously. i profess
not TO be prophet or the son of prophet,
| but think the children are born who shall
live to do the courting, and be present at
| the marriage feast, when The stars and
stripes shall be united in peaceful wedlock
| with the union jack that now floats over
the Canadas when the land of the beaver
and maple leaf shall he one with that of the
star spangled banner; when from the wa
tiers of the Mexican gulf to the frozen seas
there shall be but one great, grand and
glorious nation.
Soldier, sleep peacefully on and may
your graves never lack for a memento of
respect as the 30th of May shall come, ia
the on-marching years. Sleep peacefully
| on, W0etner you Tell by land or sea, Wheth-
| or cut down by the leadeu ball or by dis
ease. Your hearts were loyal and true; and
as we pay our tribute of respect to your
memory, we gather inspiration from your
lives and deaths TO prove true TO our call
ing, our manhood, our country, and our
| God.
Perhaps we may well pause here, aud in
the presence of death ask ourselves the
| question, IAN / ready TO be mustered out
from the busy ranks of lhe? There are
men before me who marched many a wea-
| ~ mile and over many a rough hill and
mountain, who crowded their way through
woods and swamps, and over stone walls,
In the midst of storm of shot and shell,
| of roaring cannon. of clouds Of smoke,
OF clash of steel, of falling comrades. and
who looked the enemy in the eyes as
flashed the Rlit,eriug bayonet; and yet
they came forth from the midst of that aw-
ful carnage alive. But there is another en-
envy, and bis silent shaft is terribly busy.
All along the line is heard the cry, "Close
up the ranksr' God grant that at The great,
grand muster, we all may be ready, as the
obedient, well tried and faithful soldier, to
gladly respond at that last roll-call.