Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-05-30

were tApottu 10 publlC NleWt ana the citizens
strewed flowers, incense aud perfumes upon
them. These remains were then carried TO d
public place in the finest suburbs OF Athens.
where were buried, in all ages those who lost
their lives in the field, except the warriors of
Marathon, who, to immOrtalize their rare val
or, were buried on the spot where they fell
Earth was there thrown oyerthen, and then
some distinguished citizen, like Perlcies pru-
nounced their funeral Grafton. Not only were
these high honOrs paid to the memory of the
defenders vi their country, but their widows
and children were afterwards maintained AT
the public expense.
Animated by that profound reverence for
patriotism which prompted the Greeks more
than two thousand years ago to perform their
solemn rites, we have set apart dav for a
memorial OF those who laid their lives upon
the altar Of our countrys liberty, when we
strew their graves with flowers, recount their
deeds of yalor, express gratitude for the
achievements aud mourn the loss OF the loyal
men who sleep IN soldiers graves throughout
the land
On this occasion we ask ourselves whether
| this great sacrifice WAS required whether the
union of these states was worth the heavy
| price paid for It's preservation.
-Four hundred thousand men
The good, the brave, the true.
In tangled wood. IN mountain allen,
On battlefield, In prison pen,
Lie dead for me and you.
-Four hundred thousand " tue brave
Have made THIS ra9somed s1il their grave.
From western plain to ocean tide
Are stretched the graves Of those who died"
! The American people have brief bu, most
remarkable history. The early events that
led to the establishment of "A republic ON thi,
/ continent are OF dramatic interest
Rough are the steps, slow hewu in aintiest rock,
States climb to power by
For nearly century after the discoveries
! by Columbus and Cabot, the new world to the
English mind WAS but little more than the
fabric of dream. just three centuries ago
two ships sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh. un.
der pateut obtained by hun from the queen
TO explore and settle America, crossed the At
! lantic, sailed along the coast vi Florida. aud
came TO anchor OF what Is nov NORTH Caro-
lima. The explorers only touched the shore,
OF the new land, OF which old writer SAYS:
The bounds thereof on the east side are the
ocean on the south lieth Florida Oh th,
north Nova Francia, and Rs for the wcst there
/ Of the bounds are unknown" "lh. interior
was an untrayeled realm, where the fancy
might revel freely-A land OF fairer fruits and
flowers than the fruits and flowers Of Europe
of green shores, majestic forests, aud blu,
mountains filed viii gold ard jewels" On
the return of the ships to Eugland that au-
tumn, their commanders gave such glowing
accounts Of what they had seen that Eliza
beth called the country N!rginia-the virgin
land
The events Of the next third Of century
/ the attempt 10 found a colony at Roanoke
and the sad fortune and mysterious dlsap
pesrance Of the coonists the settlement of
jamestown, and its abandonment after terri
bic privatons and suffering by the settlers,
who finally re-embarked to return 10 Eng.
D vi cal no H,s
supply ships under Lord Baltimore the land
ing OF the Pilgrims at Plymouth the gran.
! OF representative government to Vlrginia
the sitting OF the FIRST American legislature In
that colony-these were small beginnings. but
they were hrst steps III the march of grand
events they were the shadows cast before
the coming Of the great republic" Little
bands OF Englishmen, struggling with the
wilderness and the savages, half starved, dis
| heartened, many times On the point Of return
| ing to their native land and leaving the new
world to its fate, in this inception Of a coup-
trys history scarcely attracted the attention
of the great powers Of Europe, then strong
IN their centuries OF existence controlled by
the hand of royalty, and engrossed in their
affairs OF state and endless civil war;.
Pass over period Of one and a half cen
turtles in the history Of the American colo
nists, during which they became imbued with
the spirit OF liberty and of opposition to roy.
atty, when was being implanted in their
| hearts the sentiment that the will of the peo-
pie IS the only sovereign power-R sentiment
which they subsequently formulated in their
Bill OF Rights and which led them to revolt
and revolution against the crown.-and behold
| three millions OF people declaring their right
to Independence and struggling through long
and unequal contest for national existence
which they finally achieved. William Pitt
characterized the declarations OF the Cont
mental Congress Of IVA as being unmatched
IN the whole realm of history for solidity of
reason, force of sagAcity, and wisdom of con
clusion, under q complication OF difficult cir
cumstances, and said that all attempts TO i'm
pose serVitude upon such a mighty continent
al nation must be vain.
At the outbreak of our civil war the growth
and prosperity OF our country had been 80
great that it possessed an area of territory
thirteen times that of Great Britain and
France combined, rich in varied productions.
traversed by majestic rivers that had been de.
veloped into highways for transportation,
with population OF thirty millions. govern
ed by their own constitution and their own
laws, well advanced in education. in the arts
and sciences and other rehnements of civil.
lied lite-in short, with the means TO acquire
and the capacity to enjoy more of the sub
stRntlRl blessings of life than any other peo-
pie under heaven "a state without king or
mobiles a church without a bishop; a people
governed by grave magistrates whom it had
selected and by equal laws which it had
framed. A great republic, proud of its
brief history and of its position among the
nations, full of prestige and power for fu-
ture Rchievements-a republic worth living
for, worth fighting for, worth dying for.
The colonists were a liberty loving people.
Men who could forsake their homes and ma
tive country. whether to escape oppression,
from love Of adventure or in search of for
tune IN new land, were almost sure to be of
courageous and independent spirits. How
ever separated they were from each other by
their local interests, by petty jealousies, or
by differences of faith, until drawn together
by their common cause against the mother
country they were alike pervaded by a love
of liberty and hatred of tyranny. The ex-
istence of slavery was as greatly deplored by
the southern as the northern colonies, and its
establishment among them was one of the
grounds of complaint against Great Britain
Virginia and the Carolinas were as Jealous
for freedom as were the colonies of New
England. Patrick Henry sounded the toesin
of war in the old House of Burgesses aud his
eloquence committed Virginia to resistance to
the crown.
And eehong back her Henry'a cry, came peAling on
OF northern winds, the thrilling sounds OF Liberty
or DEATH"
Jefferson drew the Declaration of Independ-
enoe. In June, 1875, Virginia, by Richard
Henry Lee, moved in Congress that the
United Colonies are and ought to be free and
independent states, and that all political con
nection between them and the state Of Great
Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved"
which motion was seconded by Massachusetts,
through the voice of John Adams In the
Constitutional convention in 1887 Governor
Randolph presented the Virginia plan, which
was TO form "a strong, consolidated union
In which the idea Of states should be almost
wholly done away with" The arguments
and eloquenoe Of Wm. Pinekney aided great
/ ly in reeoneiling differences of opinion and
IN the adoption of the federal constitution by
| South Carolina aud the other colonies.
These are mentioned as some of the evil
dences and illustrations of the great truths
that pervaded and controlled the oolonists-
truths which they considered self-evident,
! which carried them onward to independence.