The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-07-14
OUR DEAD SOLDIERS.


casion of the decoration of soldiers
grayes in the Cemetery ats ST. Joseph,
Michs, bt the HON. Thomas w. Palmer
of Detroit:
FELLOW CITIZENS: 1 am never pres
ent on an occasion like this-I never attend
the obsequies of your dead boys-wfthout
the refrain of that old couplet passing
through my mind. 1t may seem trite 10
sofne, but to me it is ever new and like the
Lords prayer will never grow old:
whether an ths'scarela bigh or in the bat
The fittest place for man to die Is where he
dies for man."
II one man had laid down his life on this
spot in defense Of great principle, thou
sands would come here to bedew his grave
with their tears. II forty or fifty had in like
manner laid down their lives like Egmont
Horn or John OF Barneveldt this would have
been The M eeeli OF EhKstendom- what
these men dfd was great ter than that. A man
who ascends the scaffold to promote a noble
sentiment or grand idea is sure that History
will be tender of his memory. With one
short pang he wipes away the faults and
stains Of lifetime, and stands Mt once
laurel-crowned among the immortals. Such
a death accompanied by such occasions has
its inspirations. But these men had no such
stimulus. The most fortunate fell In battle
with their dying gaze fixed upon the old
flag; others less fortunate died of wounds or
J. fever stricken int he wares of the hospital !;
6thefs wounded. ended their lives IN tields
plowed by shot and cannon balls, or In the
wilderness burned to death when help, IL 1t
could haveJ'b1en had: would have saved
their liyes-and these were q part only of
800, 900 men who laid down their lives that
/ we might enjoy the blessings under the flag.
Thirty-thnee years ago six boys ran away
from the Michigan University and went TO
Span, ps e ~ 81 Sss tsty aiGne survives lam
On q Christmas morning many years ago
stood upon the deck Of a merchantman in
the harbor OF, Cadiz,. in Spain. The icathe-
:flrxI and cpnvent bells were ring ging out their
carols in commemoration of that event
whichy two Thousand years ago, brought the
tidings Of peace on earth and good will to
msHS and as Ileaned on the taffraiL. infused
with the glamour Of youth, enyeloped in tho
Indian summer haze OF. that delicious atmos-
phere, which predisposes the most stcid to
reverie, i gazed on the beautiful town that
rose like city of pearl from the sea and
i could hardly realize my own identity,
that !, boy born and reared on the margin
of the great lakes, was floating on the same
waters which had bornethe Phpnician fleets
three thousand years ago; that was looking
on a. city conteihp porary with Carthage, and
which was old before Home was born.
On the distant mountain side could see
the towers Of ROnda, where Julius Caesar
had fought5a pitched battle, of which he
said, that although he had fought many
times for victory, hehad fought but once for
his life, and here was the spot; and Hannibal
had here probably stopped when starting on
thai march which was To end only in Rome s
abssesIentoF her triumph.
II thought of the advent of Christianity,
and the idethronement of the idols OF Baal I;
OF Roderick, the last Of the Goths, and his
fateful love; of the coming of the Moors, and
of the emptret they reared; of the sorrows of
Boabdil, the man without a country-the
King. without a throne; and as these imag-
inipgs foated across my brain as Dinnaces
before soft south wind, strain Of music
-HnunmA H..
across the tremulous floor OF the sea, il
\, sounded w0ndrously familiar. IL was our
National hymn. turned, and there, thank
God, our flag was flying at the peak OF a
man-of-war. A great lump rose in my
throat, great drops rolled djwn my cheeks,
feached out my arms as IL to enfold IL.
What to me We're the historic scenes OF
Spain, and its fables, what its olive groves
and acacias, what was Xeres, Saguntum, the
Alhambra, or the GuadalquiverY
Yet, to one who knew not its significance,
1t was but piece of bunting, with hues
harmontoqsly blended; not hahso attractive
| as d painting or landscape; but no Murillo,
nor the gardens Of Atlantis, could have
awakened any such emotions in my breast.
What was II that endowed 1t with such
powerl Il was the emblem Of all held dear
on one eaTth home. COUNTY power, Prote,e-
tude, wealth n p0reyts From it as from a
camera Vert thrown dpof my heart visions
Of those 1losed, OF fhe- beeIitiful city where
i was DOfHs OF iHN cOtH HDAUlBHs N SIFeetS,
Of the Prime elal forests of my State, OF its
ensirohipg lakesi Of my country and It's hap
IL swSs not because it ioated above the
deck once trgd. bS Decatur that It had char
acter t9mes 1T was NOT because II repre-
seuted half A eontiIentH Itwas not because
it had ke6n ti1tlmphabt on land and sea, but
because from is rusiling folds, rs from the
unpent lpsss Ia phonographI came to me
yoicas offrlSnds n 4 fl,e old totyt, tho sneol-
ers on the Campus, the shouts of the hearers
in response, or applause, the traditions OF
our history, aud the assurance that p. .000, ,00C
Of people looked uptDft only TO bless it.
The shade. oftse nag Hnnihilaied space.
L lYears had passed. l'I was again at home
Men bought and sold in the market place;
narried and gave in marriage, The wealth
OF a Nation hoated past our portals; the flag
bright and debonnair still hoated at the peak.
Men glanced at il without analyzing its deep
significance, and returned to counting their
gains. u They accepted the blessings II rep
resented, as thanklessly as they accepted
Then sasre came, 4 time when the SKY was
overcast. Portentous mutterings were
/ heard along the h0fizen. We stopped fotl 5
moment fn- the msfket-pfase and looked
/ aloft. The flag still held its place, serenely
1 flying, and emblematic rs an angels wing.
What cause was there for fear? Under Its
/ cSlo We uslu Dcca uOIu. ItstTtu. ~
never gone forth but in joyful anticipation
It had never returned save in triumph. We
| had read Of its prowess:i ION the sea, of the
| United States and the Macedonian, Of the
Consultation and the Guerriere, Of Perry and
Lake Erie. Of McDonough and Lake Cham
plain; on the land. OF Plattsburg, of New
Orleans, OF Eundy's Lane and the River
| Thames. '.'it ltil1-l''1 - @i'-' ""' -t %
~ We repeated brakes apostrophe: .si
.when freedom from her mountain height
| Unfurled her standard to the air,
| and wondered with him y =
s"wseE sfeethss he fpsthststands bcfqrs
With Freedoms son beneath our feet
And Freedoms banner streaming DER us. -
But men at last began to appreciate the
flag. Its latent meaning In the heat Of ap-
proaching conflict came out in every fold, Sc
that he who ran might read the words,
liberty, security, repose, civilization, hu-
manity, and We, at least, understood its
@ThsbloS fell You all know the story.
| The flag went down, mid the smoke of bat
| tie. :, For aSmoment men stood stili fixed as
| In a11fmic tableau: the 1aDorer dropped hi.
pick, the preacher his manuscript, the
mechanic bis tools Iths lawyer his pen, the
| farmer the tail of his plow, the surgeon his
knife, the sailor his ,bawser,. and turned
SpeR-eyea; ;and with par ed Hips, expecting
| next some natural convulsion that should
blend us alt IN Que comnouI1Iin. y
| " Then You and and all of us fell down
| Twas but for a moment The call to arms
| broke the spell, and before the tornado ol
patriotism which followed, men q p S.is'. &
"Came as the winds come when forests are
Came as the WAVES come when navies are
stranded"
Let us, by observing this commemorative
| day, show that we are not unmindful Of the
sacrifice thefdead lhave made for us, and
show4o those who haEe.come back and re-
main, with as that thcy may claim, and thai
brave iHy - ,:.,f'isa 3
As d6rnelia, vsen asked fosshow her
jewels, called her children TO her as gems
far above al others IN value, spidoes Michi.
gan, wien called to produce hers, pass over
all her material wealth, her fruitful
fields, her boarded mines, her boundless
forests, her cities alive with the hum Oi
traffic AND the ,whirr Of machinery, hel
white-wihged ships, her, happy homes, and
points tothe Ae0,6O0 men who went forth e
do battle for the flag; for IL the spirit which
tad fh0a