Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-10-02

q war for freedom and entity. II was
not waged for conquest, nor glory,
nor ambition. 1t was q war to pre-
serve, for all generations Of men, the
priceless heritage of self-government.
IL was war 10 vindicate the majesty
OF outraged law. 1t was war TO
maintain this republic as beacon
light for all the world. IL was war,
as the greatest of its martyrs said,
waged shat a government of the peo-
pie. by the people. for the people,
should not perish from the earth"
For the existence of the Grand
! Army, aud for the reunions in which
il delights 10 take part, no apology is,
therefore, necessary. They should be
kept up because they do pre-
serve the memories of the war; be-
cause they do perpetuate the sem
timrnts, the emotions, and even the
prejudices of that glorious struggle.
They were noble sentiments, pure
citations, honest and patriotic preju-
dies, those born of the country's
great peril and happy deliverance. and
no true soldier, no true American,
should be ashamed of them.
Let us, then, keep up the Grand
Army, and our camp-fires, our re-
unions, our social gatherings. They
typify a comradeship that should touch
aud warm every soldiers heart. In
all the years since the final muster-out,
there have been no snch friendships
formed as were those cemented in the
early mornings long ago, when the
bows fell 10 and answered "Here!' to
the ocderly's call; or during the dusty
and exhausting marches when the
white pixies stretched SO YEARLY long,
and the evening camp-fires were SO
near aud yet so far; or amid the sui
phurous smoke of battle, when they
''closed up on the colors" as the line
dwindled away before the hot and fu-
rious fire of the enemy. The comrade-
ship that springs from such associa-
tons and scenes as these, is worth
preserving.
This is the great Soldier state" of
the Union-the state which be-
gan the civil war six years before
any other state had enlisted a regi-
ment. Kansas sent more men TO swell
the ranks of the Union army, in pro-
portion to population, than any other
state. One-iwelfth of the present
total population served in the ranks of
the Union army. For Kansas was
not only the first cause of the war, but
the new home to which the veterans
turned thier footsteps when their
marches aud battles were over. Every
regiment that served in the army
of the republic has contributed its
quota to swell this magnificent popu-
lation, and there are men sitting
around quiet hearthstones in every
county of the state who can give per-
sonal recollections of every march,
every campaign, every battle of the
war, from Bull Run 10 Bentonville.
In this audience, L have no doubt, are
men who have been participants in
every great battle of the rebellion.
| Here in Kansas, too, is generation
of young men and women who have
in their veins the blood of heroes and
potriots. In this audience are
hundreds of young men and
women whose baby eyes witnessed sad
partings, when their fathers hurried
away TO join the company mastering
i'll the village square. Here are ma
IRONS who were young wives, sweet
hearts or sisters then. and who, busy
with household cares, heard the faint
throbbing of the far-away drum. and
days and weeks before a word was
spoken, read in the troubled but reso-
lutte eyes of husbands, lovers and
brothers the thought that was busy in
| their brains-the thought of a stricken
,,nal,..r
knew, these patient, loving women,
what was coming, and in the silence
of their rooms, in loneliness aud bitter
tears, they prayed that, if possible, the
shadow of this great grief might be
lifted FROM their home; and thai those
nearest and dearest to them might re-
main, to Tighten their cares and
brighten their daily life. But when al
last the word was spoken, race of
self-sacrificing and heroic women
stood side by side in patriotic devotion
with race of heroic men, and the
whole world learned, as the long pro
cession of weary months and years
went by, and the men and women of
'76 had worthy successors in the men
and women of 81 and rs.
The "bo,s" of twenty-three years
ago are men of mature age; the men
of that day are growing old. The
faded and tattered battIe-flags they
followed are preserved in the State
houses. The old sword or musket
hanging over the mantel is rusty with
age. Every year the ranks are thin
ming. Wounds and disease, the lega.
cy of battlefield, march and bivouac,
are doing their sure work. The glad
picture they saw, looking forward
through the lurid smoke and flame of
battle, as the reward of all their tolls
and sacrifices-thep picture of mighty
Nation, compact, prosperous, free and
respected by all the Nations of the
earth--has been fully realized. There
is no limit to the power, no measure
TO the wealth, of the redeemed and
enfranchised republic. Only the MEM
Dries of heroic struggle are left US.
But until the last survivors of the
Grand Army that marched and fought
with Lyon, Blunt, Mcclellan, Rose
Grams, Meade, Sheridan, Thomas, Sher-
man and Grant, are finally mustered
out, let them preserve their comrade-
ship, and keep forever fresh and fair
in their hearts the glorious recollec-
tions and still more glorious princi-
piles of the PARKWAY DAYS when they
were soldiers of the Republic.
Soldiers of the Union! again bid
you welcome. welcome you as citi-
zens of this great State, to its capital. |
| welcome you as patriot heroes, who,
during the darkest days the Republic
has ever known, gladly and proudly
periled health aud life to save it from |
destruction. [ welcome you as the
men whose strong arms and brave |
hearts gave freedom to the slave, and
made this land. in facts as well in name, |
a land of liberty And with my whole |
heart | salute you in fraterU- |
ty, charity and loyalty, and |
welcome you as comrades.