National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1879-11-20

into the ranks from which II came.
am sure reflect your views, my comrades,
When express the hope that the necessity may
never again arise for this people to rc-learn the
ways Of wor The graves Of hundreds OF thousands
81 our best and bTavest, the presence among us OF
thousands upon thousands more Of those upon tho
pension rolls Of the country and the mountain OF
dcbt pressing down upon the whole people, are
constant reminders ofthe horrors OF civil strife.
nso venture the opinion that express your
sentiments when assert that there was not then,
and mere Is not now, any feeling Of hatred to-
ward the men whom we had met face 10 lnce on
the battle field. The Union had been saved
saved NJ great cost Of blood and treasure; but the
soldier Of the Uniou generous as well as victorious
neither asked nor desired the personal humiliation
or Punishment ofthose who had fought to destroy
it, The rebel soldier surrendered his deadly rifle
and went his way without question or hindfance
The terms granted at AppbmOttox were as honor
able to the victor as they were humane and gem
crOus 10 the vanquiShCd; and the world looked on
IN amazcmcnt at the selccontrol and gulfpoise of n
people who were as ln0gnnilimous IN the hour Of
triumph oS they had been firm and unyicldng in
the hour OF disasvrl
My comrades, proud rs we were Of our cnnnec-
ton with the great army Of the Union we had a
which we especially belonged. | do not say-fOT
do not bolieve-that the Army Of the Cumberland
armies. Its roll Of honorcd dead is no larger per-
maps, than others, and possibly It's services were no
more mnP'rlant but n many RESPECTS !! seems 20
character than any other OF the great instruments
by which the unity Of the
REPUBLIC WAS PRESERVED.
Tho armies OF the East and those OF the West wrre
composed largely of troops from their respective
sections, but this great army OF the centre carried
on It's rolls names of regiments from almost every
State that remained true to the flag aud men from
states that seeded fought and died by the side Of
their comrades from the North and West White
and black, volunteer and regular are entitled 10
wear the badge formed by happy combination OF
the "star" the triangle" and the acorn - and
the marches and battles Of the Army Of the Cum
war, no more IN be separated from II than the
| from the heavens
| In the presence Of men whose fame ms great and
successful commanders is worldwide, | hesitate
about expressing opinions on purely military top
les but II II has always been the aim of organizers
10 create perfect military machine by attaining
the maximum Of discipline without destroying tho
individuality of the soldier then this army OF ours
may well challenge comparison with any other
created during the war
It received It's first impulse from the genius Of
Buell. and Rosecrans; but always and everywhere
the hand of its great master. Thomas was visible.
Solid. compact, steady and firm. like him, IL was
never cast down by defeat nor unduly elated by
victory and IN all Its actions II showed that sol
diery dash and vim were not incompatible with
endurance and tenacity of purpose. IN some i'm
porant respects many of lis battles cxerted con-
trolling effect upon the final triumph Of our arms.
The first successful bnyonet charge of the war, ut
mil Springs" eilecually destroyed the Illusion
that man to man and steel TO steel the Confederate
lin" aud NASHVILLE" moi, only destroyed
Hoods army, but with 1t tho hopes of tho
rebellion in the West, Under the most
mctlle and almost fsutcss discipline on tho
bloody fields OF" Shiloh" Perryvle mud stone
River" aud in the death wrese on the banks OF
the "Chcamagua' ii stood rs u rock against the
fiery charges OF gallant foe. Thrown back 10 the
Tennessee river, defeated but not disheartened, IL
stood sulcnly at bay, and an anxious Nation was
electrified and treasured by telegram OF Thomas.
that 1t would hold Chattanooga until 1t starved"
"Lookou! Mountain looked down approvingly
Oh It's deeds of heroiSrn and the Scared and bat
tered slopes of Rocky Face" and 'Kenesaw" can
attest how well 1t fought. Whether digging in tho
| trenches around Atlanta" siorming the enemies
works at 'Resaca" and "Jonesboro" resisting their
assaults at Peach Tree" or dcerminedly march
ing with sherman from Atlanta 70 the Sea. 1t
always did its whole duty mud proved itself worthy
Of the men who had fashioned and formed it.
",,Wauhatchic.' New Hope Church and the Bat
courage of Hooker and his men. and "Averys.
boro" and "Bentonviile' showed that change OF
name could not affect the lrm-rooted seadinstness
daring sweep from the Cumberland to the
Gulf its cavalry almost encirclod the rebel.
lion, and the curtain went down Oh the greatest
drama of ancient or modern times. by the surrcn-
der of the fugitive president of the Confcdcracy
to the iast'rdg and hard-hitting troopers of Will
In the terse and truthful words of Chaplain Van
Hoonc, IN his history of our army at fought un-
aided, Mill Springs Perryville, stone River, Chick
amauga, wanhatcho and Bentonyille 1t gave cs.
Sontia mid to the Army Of the Tennessee NJ Fort
Donclson and Pittsburgh Landing, III colnbina-
ton with that army II gained The decisive victories
of Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge II fur
nished more than half the forces for the Atlanta
campaign. At JOnesboo represented by the Four
tcenth corps II made tSo only successful assault in
force during the Atlanta campaign formed the lcit
wing of the army that marched from Atlanta TO
savannah, and swept through the Caronns 10
Richmond and Washington divided the glory ~
Franklin with the Army OF the Ohio aud that OF
Nashville with the Armies Of the Ohio and Iennes'
sec; and It's troopers rushed through Alabama.
Georgia. Tennessee, Florida aud North Carolina
In its unity y never gave but one field to the en-
envy; = but when 1t yielded the bloody
ground Of Chlcknmauga it had revealed under
conditions OF battle greatly unequal, its inyincibil-
lily within fair terms of conflict"
tl =
of the Army of the Cumberland. each of you doubt
less has recalled some old and loved faco and form
that stood or fell for the right once again you
are with them on the weary march, III me ureary
biyouac or amid the din and shock of mortal COM
bat, The rush the charge the stubborn retreat.
the grosns of the wounded and the Fill, rae faces
OF the dead come up before you from out OF tho
solemn past 1t was no child's play in which you
were cngaged-that We all know but the charac.
ter of the struggle is better shown by reference to
the same authority from which have quoted ,whero
published, who were killed in action or died of
wounds or disease. of these Maryland urn iShed
!, Connecticut o. minnesota ., Massachusetts, 6.
York 49, Tennessee 10, Michigan 40, Wisconsin CO,
Pennsylvania 81, Kentucky ISL Illinois 21S, ln-
the President there fell II of officers in command
Of coored troops there fell y while our little hut
gallant Regular Army furnished IL to This sad but
glorious record. No book however, of ordinary
dimensions would be large enough to contain the
names of the urrecorded dead, The gallant rank
and file of our army who went into action ms to
died without repniug,
Gathered together into
OUR NATIONAL CEMETERIES.
and sleeping their last long sleep the sunny hill
slopes or IN the smiling valleys Of the far OF sour,
tho real heroes of tine var ior The uE!oI rvst "a
peace Side y" s!dv with them, ~ enlcrly laid
away by loving hands in the quiet gravcyHrtls Of
their Northern homes, are the rnodcrug forms OF
many who, IL living would to-day hc found among
the distinguished Of our land. We can recall them
now as erect strong full OF life and hope rs with
the light OF battle on their faCcs they rushed into
the fray, and foremost fighting, fell" 1EOrc was
the steady Kirk the chiynlrous Lyle, the dnshiug
larker, the trained soldier, MihNlu2y, aud joshua
W. SIN, as gentle as Il woman, but "without fear
aud without reprOach." In speaking of the dead
Of the Army Of the Cumberland Will IL be uul of
place for mo 10 mention Robert and Daniel Me
Cook2 Who of YOU Cuu forget Scott AMI Pope
loyctt and Ecll, Webster and Foreman, Shale and
Mlikcn Carpenter and GHresche2 Who can for
get jackson and Terrill, who died ut tie head of
their troops on that terrible OCTOBER LAY Mt Perry
yillUf But the list is too long for g. even ghuce
at II represents youth and yHOr, education and
genius high hopes and noble aspiratuus--all cut
short on the threshold Of Lie, It represents. in
some degree, the precious blood aud costly sRCri-
fees that the people made in the peoples war that
the Union might 1.-Two, and AS such IL never can aud
II never should be forgotten by them or by US.
My comrades, very briefly, ana | fear worry inn
perfectly, have discharged the duty assigned me.
To-day, with appropriate ceremonies, we unveiled
the statue of our old commander By II We show
TO this and succeeding generations our reverence
for his memory our appreciation of his great and