Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-04-13

general Win Pheasant smile or WaV-
ing kerchief.
General Grant bowed in response to
the cheers, salutes, and greetings, as
the carriage in which he rode moved
along the highway. When not thus
engaged, he was noticed to converse
in an animated manner with the gem
tlemen who accompanied him. The
general met number of warriors who
served under him when the interstate
war ragged, and many, not having met
him since peace was made, were happy
to greet their old commander once
again.
Several who served on the opposite,
or southern side, and who had met
General Grant under flags of truce
and otherwise. also alluded to the
method of their last meeting as they
extended the compliments of the day
to the illustrious soldier.
%Upon reaching Court square, the
procession halted. The party then
proceeded to the stand erected for the
occasion. Previous to the formal
address of welcome several patri-
Otic airs were performed by the band,
after which Colonel Patterson arose
and said;
GENERAL GRANT, am delegated
by my fellow citizens to welcome you
to the city Of Memphis. The pres
ence of this vast assemblage gives an
emphasis to their hospitality. They
greet you as an illustrious citizen of
the American union. Ny fellow citi-
zens OF African descent greet you as
the champion of their emancipation.
My fellow citizens who shared your
fortunes during the war, greet you IS
the successful general of the unic n
armies. My fellow citizens who fol.
lowed the fortunes of the confederacy,
greet you as the generous soldier who
interposed the shield of his own honor
in defense of the unarmed veterans of
the south. Sir, in accepting the sur
render Of the confederate armies, it
was your happy fortune to have paused
midway between victory and oppres :
sion, and to inaugurate policy Of
magnanimity and justice which miti-
gated the passions ofwar, and trans
mitted its results a blessing to
posteritY; policy which exacted
nothing from the vanquished but
obedience to the laws of a common
country; policy which, before the
embers Of war were cool, disbanded a
million armed men and sent them
home TO engage in peaceful pursuits; a
policy which transferred the settle.
ment Of differences from the arbitra-
ment of the sword to the arbitrament
Of the ballot box; a policy which chal-
lenges the admiration of mankind and
constitutes the browning glory of your
eyentful life. If at this, the most
critical moment of American history
you had not interposed the influence
OF your great example to prevent men
who never felt the shock of battle
from turning loose upon defenseless
people the terrors Of the law and the
sword, the south would have been fol
generations yet to come the Poland Of
America; and to-day her sons would
be in open resistance, or PROSTATE be.
meath the tread of a standing army.
But, sir, we are under brighter
skies. You behold from where YOU
stood eighteen years ago amid the con.
test of arms, peaceful people congre.
gated from every state in the union,
each in the pursuit Of his own happi.
ness, and bent on the prosperity of all
Here, on this battle-scarred soil, mer
who then met in the shock of war
now meet in friendly intercourse, and
around their fresides recall the mem.
ories of the great conflict. The
heroes who wore the blue and the
heroes who wore the gray, are EN-.
balmed together lin song and story
and the flowers bloom as sweetly above
the graves of the one as they do above
the graves of the other. We are des.
tined o have a common history as well
as a common country. The historian
who records the chivalry of McPher-
son, will record the heroism of Jack.
son; and on the page in which ZAP.
pOmattox" is written, he will weave
into a chaplet of Immortality the
names of Ulysses S. Grant and
Robert E. Lee. Sir, you are in the
house of your friends. Traversing
the continent from the Pacific to the
Atlantic, descending south to the
everglades ofFlorida, and descending the
Mississippi from its mouth to the spot
where you are now standing, you have
been everywhere greeted with loyal
welcome by your countrymen. Surely
this is the fruition of your ambition.
No wonder, after circliug the globe
in your travels, you point with pride
to the land Of your birth. May your
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