The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1879-06-12
THE NATIONS DEAD.
Honor to Their Memory,
And the Cause for which They Died.
GRAFTON OF GEN. S. H. HURST, OF
CHILLICOTHE,
Delivered at EillsboTo, O., on Dec
grafton Day, May so, 1879.


The simple yet beautiful and appropri
ate decoration ceremonies in which W,
! join to-day have in them very much o
sadness, and yet somewhat Of ioy. The
/ awaken the most sacred remembrance o
4 comradeship in battle and fellowship II
life, Indeed, they are pervaded and in
/ sPlred by these most endearing memorie
Of cOmradeship and kinship. All that i
! true and noble in the loyalty Of one hsroi,
1 soul to another, and all that Is sweet anC
/ tender in the devotion of loving hearts. il
stirred within us to-day, as we come Will
I these floral offerings to strew the greer
/ hillCcks where our heroes rest. These ev
| ergreens and flowers, so fresh and beauti
/ ful and fragrant, with which we wreatht
and garland the dust of our dead braves
are but the emblems Of the thought anC
feeling with which We come to pay th5
homage of our hearts to their heroic spir.
its and unselfish lives. Not with mere
| ceremonial, then, We come, but with Oui
warmest gratitude for a nation saved, and
with our best love for the men who fell be.
side us in the battle storm, or whose live;
were wasted in hospital or prison, that We
might have country, and liberty q
home. While with these feelings Of re.
gretful love, which bid Us linger in sad
ness and in sorrow at the graves Of
these whom life and duty made So
dear, there comes the grateful senti-
ment of pride, almost Of Joy, that in
the lists of men marshaled for duty in the
great army Of the right, we stood beside
them; that in our homes they were our
brothers and our sons, loving and being
loved in full return-and this our pride
and Joy that we were counted worthy such
cOmradeship; that in our cOuntry-aye,
within our homes-Were found souls OF
such unselfsh virtue that with the spirit
of the blessed Christ we're willing to lay
down their lives to save the country and
to bless their felloW-men. And how beft-
ting that with each returning spiing-time,
when all the earth wakes like a resurrec-
ton into life from the dead winter, and all
the fields and woods and gardens are in
stinct with life and beauty and perfume,
how BETTING that we should turn for a
day from the busy and engrossing cares Of
life, and with these emblems Of immortali-
ty waken into new life the memories and
friendships which bind US to those years Of
love and sacrifice. How befitting that We
should thus cultivate a deeper apprecia-
ton Of the courage and the nObleness of the
life and sacrifice Of these heroic comrades,
and teach our children and our children's
children to hoLor with the holiest reYer-
ence the memories Of these brave men. ]
count it worthy to be said, and in my
thought it should not be forgotten, that
these whose graves we decorate to-day
died in a holy cause, died Dobly for the
right, died to defend the life and maintain
the permanence of free government, and
that, dying thus, they won for themselves the
cbaplet Of immortal fame, which crowns
the brow Of every soldier in Gods grand
army of martyrs and heroes. know that
in these latter days there is vast 6ow oi
sentiment and gush, which finds expression
in glowing eulOgies Of peace and brother
hood, and blendings Of the "blue and
gray" a sentiment that teaches that in
that mighty struggle if a man died bravely
that was enough. He must perfofce be in
the heaven Of heroes, and laurel wreaths
and monument and eulOgy are counted
as his due, no matter on which side be
fought. In this new philosophy men are
taught to think that TreasOn and patriot
ism are much the same, and he whose sol
dier heart was warmed by a deep love Oi
country, of liberty and Justice, stands on
the same plane with him who died hating
and fighting his country and its flag. Thus
the new faith would say, "You Of the
South were half right, and We ofthe North
half wrong; let US forgive each other and
begin anew" "Let the stars and bars of the
Confederacy and the stars and stripes of the
Union be tWined and blended beautifully
into one "Let the Southern rattlesnakec coil
lovingly around the Northern eagle" "Let
us say the war was a lamented un-
pleasantness that settled nothing" Let
Us say there was no victory for liberty and
Justice and democratic government" Get
Us be magnanimOus, and give away the
fruits Of all this costly sacrifice"
This Is false teaching. Rather let treasOn's
ensign, all stained with patriot blood, be
hid away forever from our sight, and lei
the starry flag Of Liberty and Union float
on the breeze stainless and beautiful, OuI
glory and our pride forever. Let the
Southern rattlesnake hide his venomous
head and loaths0me form among the rocks
and let the eagle-free and strong of wing
be the proud emblem Of our nation,
life. Let US say the war was a great
struggle for the rights Of man and the unity
Of the Republic, in which the right was
triumphant and the nations life main
tanned. Let us be men. Let us be soldier,
still. Let us stand by the cause for which
we sacrificed so much, and for which Oul
noble comrades gave their lives. Was th'
war child's play, that we, to-day, shOulC
count il meaningless? Did we give 900,
D IN g.H Il
did we pour out our treasure by billions
for cause that was but half righ2 Ant
when that cause was won by the undyinG
courage and devotion of our army, is i
meet that we should give away the fruit!
of that great victory, and count this costly
sacrifice as all in vain? No mol Let US b,
true to the nations faith of freedom for al
and Justice for all, and in this way alOnt
we shall truly honor the men who gave
| their lives for the freedom and glory Of thu
! RepubIic. Let Us write the history of thu
nation 80 honestly ard truthfully that tn,
lessons Of that history shall not be lost up
/ on this generation, nor in the ages to come
/ Ii should be to us alike a duty and
pride to honor the dead patriot, while witt
charity we draw the vail of forgiveness an'
| forgetfHlness over the grave of his dead
/ foe. But we nttSt teach our children, aye
we must ourselves believe, there Is wild
| difference between patriotism and disloyal
| ty, else patriotism in this land VIII sOOl
| become a most unmeaning by-word
The great struggle through which on
country has recently passed was not simpl
a contest of arms, not an ordeal by battl
| alone. Back of the clash Of armo was Oh
al |tI
conflict between two civilizations-the ON
advancing, the other going backward, am
each claiming the American nation as II
field Of action. 1t was not conflict be
tween different races of men. twas no
Plymouth Rock against Janestown-nu
the Puritan Of New England against th
| Southern cavalier-fUr Puritan and caval
Ter had Joined hands in the early lif
struggles of the Republic, both united il
the defense of liberty, and later had jOine
hands in peopling the great NurthWes
with "a vast army Of sturdy freemen.
was simply life and death struggle be
tween two opposing civilizations-the civ
] ilizatiOn of caste and slavery pitted {
the death against the civilization Of free
dom and the recognition Of universal man
| hood
The founders of the American Colonies
and those who came during the infancy O
! those Colonies, were many Of them the ar
dent apostles Of civil and religious liberty
Especially was this true in the Colonie
of New England Prosecuted for thei
religious faith and practices in their ma
/ tive countries, they sought in America
home where they might worship God ac
cording to the dictates of their own con
sciences. This sentiment, this PervadInl
love OF liberty, though sometimes irregula
in its practical workings, acted as leaveI
in the new society Of the Colonies, and 90
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