Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1880-07-21

81 thank the Commander Of thi
Post and the Committee Of invitation
for the opportunity they have givel
me to enjoy and take part in this pro
gramme, which has for its object tn,
raising OF funds for monument L
General Meade. The other great com
manders who have passed away hav,
been remembered, and you will SC,
their monuments in the beautiful park
Of the Nations Capitol. You will Sc,
tlere monument 10 that hero OF thre,
wars, General Winfield Scott. Zap
plause.1 You will SEQ there monu
ment TO that hero OF Chickamauga
General Thomas. tApplause.1 Yor
will see there monument TO that no
BILE soldier and native ofmy own coun
ty in Ohio, General Mcpherson. Zap
plause. But you do not see a monu
ment to General Meade, and this meet
ing here in Philadelphia. ! understand
is for that purpose. Meade command
ed at the critical period of the war al
the very crisis and at the time wher
General Grant and bis army were al
Vicksburg, but had not got in. He
commanded at that penod when those
who belonged to It and those who did
not belong to il loved 10 hear il spoken
of as the grand old army of the Poto
mac. [Applause.l Always equal tC
the highest place he ever held, always
adequate to his duties, always faithful
always conscientious, and at all times
one Of the most fortunate of men. II
sometimes happens TO The best of them,
through no fault OF tfeir own, they
fail and pass into obscurity. But Gen.
Meade was always fortunate in his
command of that grand old army,
Applause. Had he aot turned the
scale in that decisive battle at Gettysburg
the ERgiishman'S footsteps Dould haze
been heard on The debris Of a fallen Re-
public But now Meades memory,
without monument, is forever safe.
| [Applause,1 Meade and Gettysburg
are linked together in adamant that
will never crumble. Applause ] Then,
when we build ourmonument to Meade,
it needs no extended inscription. We
will simply write there, George G.
Meade, who commanded the forces at
Gettysburg" [Great applause,
He was then followed by Gen VIM.
i. Sherman, the chief Of all the armies
of the United States:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN When l
tell you that | have performed full
days work in taking part in your
splendid decorations .o.day, know
you will excuse me If my remarks are
brief, ! come before you to talk bust.
ness. Let us look at the erection Of
Meade's monument in business point
Of view Supposlng that Meade instead
Of defeating Lee at Gettysburg had
been defeated by hin. What could
hare been the consequence then TO Phild-
delphia ? Eren If you had oCed him the
one-hundredh part Of your city for his
uictOry at Gettysburg, you Dould owe
him millions nop. Meade is now at
rest he sleeps peacefully. He asks
nothing of you. His family admit that
they have received great kindness from
you. They ask nothing. 1t is duty
you owe to yourselves and your chill
dren that you may be able when you
drive in your beautiful Fairmount Park
TO point out his monument, and tell
how the brave man for whom it is
there to- commemorate SAVED your homes
and your freSides at Gettysburg. GGreat
applause.
Meade has gone TO his long home,
and only Hancock survives OF the three
great Pennsylvania chiefs in the terri.
Bile battle of Gettysburg. My own
words seventeen years ago, IN the
Press, come back to me an echo of that
Fourth of July week which opened in
despair and closed in gratitude of God
for the deliverence of our fair city
and what / said about Hancock was
surpassed by all the other papers.
Poets sang his praises Philadelphia
gave him an ovation in independence
Hall the Union League hung his por.
trait in its fine Hall New York and
other cities rivalled in grateful men
ton OF his name; and when he and
Meade appeared together it was like
the English welcoming Wellington and
Marlborough (if that could have been).
or the French receiving Napoleon and
the great Condo, il two such men could
have lived in one century. They were
both Pennsylvanians, though Meade
was born in Cadiz, Spain, in 1910, and
came here tolive after he had married
the daughter of the great lawyer, John
Sergeant wherever they moved they
excited universal enthusiasm,
The veterans Of his old army corps,
and Of the Pennsylvania Reserve,
Democrats and Republicans, officers
and men, regard Hancock with the ad.
mlration that the Old Guard felt for
Murat They were alike in personal
beauty and splendid horsomanship,
only Hancock was more cultivated,
polite and scholarly. How the great
er chiefs regarded him, let the Generals
of all the armies Of the Republic
answer. On Thursday June 24th, 1880,
General Sherman said to one Of the
newspaper reporters Of Washington
"D you Sit dozen and 5rite the best thing
that can be put IN language about Gen,
Hancock as an officer and a gentleman
1 tcH sign Il without hesitation"
General Hancock was one of the
favorites of General Lincoln. Even
the saturine and exacting Stanton
was his friend TO mo Hancock was
more than attractive. | had known
bis blood, his brothers, his associates,
his comrades in arms, and whenever
had q party at my rooms on Capitol
Hill, he was there il he was in Wash.
ington; he and such men as Sichles,
Rawlings, George IL. Thomas, Senator
Chase, Mr.. Seward, Judge Holt, Sum.
ner, Ben Wade, General Butler, Gen.
Meade, General Reynolds and the
whole galaxy of patriots. We did not
think OF politics in those days. We
were, to use the blazing watchword of
Douglas in 1861, eve were all patri.
OTIS !" and if Hancock was liked a lit
tie better than others, il was because
while he fought like lion for the old
flag, he never denied that he was a
Democrat. believe he aud Grant
have had difference in military mat.
ters but little incident of rather re-
cent occurrence will show how Han.
cock feels in regard to his old Com
mandor. We were acting as pall.bcarers
at the funeral of poor Scott Stuart,
who died in London in the Winter of
1873, and was buried in Philadelphia q
few weeks after As we were riding
to the grave one Of the company broke
4 af a. y -