Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1878-06-12
GENERAL SHERNAN'S DECORATION
DAY ADDRESS.
A Sensible and Vigorous Talk About
The Right and Wrong Of the War,
and the Mission Of the Army.

The following extracts from General
Sherman's admirable address at the
Decoration Day services at. Booths
Theatre, New York, last week, are
very good reading. General Sherman
said: Mr.
The fragrance of these flowers, rising
to heaven from such affairs, cannot but
prove an acceptable peace-ofering at
the throne of Him who holds in His
hands the destiny of all people. The
silent prayers of the widows and Or
phans which have this day been regis
tered in heaven will touch the hearts of
the living, more especially OF those who
have sworn to maintain and defend the
Government Of the United States, and
to protect the lives and property of its
people against dangers from any and
every quarter. Fortunately, our posi-
ton on the earth's surface is so isolated,
and so distant from the other great civ
ilized states that we fear no invasion,
and can look with cOmposure and pro-
found regret at the wars and strife of
the other hemisphere, scarcely COM
pretending the causes which have led
them to marshal armies and navies of
gigantic strength in a contest Tor power
and influence which scarcely seems
justified by the civilization of the age.
Within, however, we are but human,
subject to all the contentious incident
to vigorous race Of men, struggling
for wealth, for power for influence and
all that man has ever labored for and
fought for.
Though new generation has grown
up since the events which we are now
assembled TO commemorate, there still
remain here, in this very presence, some
of the witnesses of fierce civil war
which left half million Of graves and
an untold amount of human pain and
anguish; million of widows and Or
phans left to struggle in cold world,
without the support Of the strong arms
On which they had right to lean. 1t
has long since been forgiven, and some
of the very men who caused this state
Of facts share in the counsels of our
government. and l would be the last
man to will it otherwise. Cheers
They are now Our equals in all the at
tributes of citizenship; share in the
common taxes and responsibilities, and
l am most happy to bear witness that
many of them manifest the most ar
dent desire to join with us in making
the future more safe and more glorious
than the past. (Cheers) We have
welcomed them back into the family
group, ss was the prodigal son of old,
and Il may seem to some of our old
Union comrades that it has gone too far
10 the prejudice OF the remainder of the
family who stood faithful all the time.
This is one of the great political ques-
tions now on trial, and for one I hope
and pray that our old antagonists Of the
south will have learned wisdom, and by
their acts prove to the world the sim
cerity Of their patriotic declarations.
RIGHT AND WRONG IN THE WAR.
There are such things rs abstract
right and abstract wrong, and when his
tory is written, human actions must
take their place in one or the other cate
CORY. We claim that, in the great civil
war, we OF the National Union Army
were right (cheers,) and our adversaries
wrong; and no special pleading, no ex-
cuses, no personal motives, however
pure and specious, can change this ver-
dict of war.
would not for the world revive the
angry passions of that period of time,
nor do question the personal motives
OF our then antagonists: but l do and
ever will contest the proposition that we
should tear from the history Of our
country the pages which record the
great events from 1860 to 1865, for they
should stand there forever as a warning
to those who come after us-who, from
passion, self-interest, or any human
cause or preteXt whatever, may under
take to destroy this government by vio-
lence. No! the deeds of our heroes
are already recorded in the great book
of Time, and marble and brass will
continue to record them long after we
are dead and gone. In the language of
our great leader, General Grant (pro-
lonEed cheers, we will never apologize
for the deeds done in 1S61-'65, but will
treasure up their memory, and on
every suitable occasion, rs long as life
lasts, will present them anew to the
youth of this country as noble examples
Of heroism and patriotism; for they
saved this nation from absolute annihi-
lation, or, ut the very least, from a long
period Of intestine war and anarchy.
(Cheers.)
The flippant manner in which some
Of our orators and newspaper critics
make use of warlike terms, warrant
me in warning them Of the danger Of
playing with edged tools. Political
parties are won't to speak of their
headquarters" their Zines of battle"
with ,,,,Lot, o,,j ,L;r,,,;, l,,r, >,,t IS