The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-08-14

extraordinary judgment, of clear fore
sight, Of determined will, Of infexible
faithfulness, of wonderful resolution, of
an energy that never slept. In short,
he was clear in his great Office, and
these traits of his character were inoc-
ulated into The very veins of his entire
army. He did not fight because he
loved carnage, or because the glory of
the conflict would elevate him. He
fought for his country and for peace.
Grant was always quiet and self-pOs-
sessed, defeat did not appalD him, nor
did victory in the least turn his steady,
level head.
In victory and defeat he was the same
steady, silent, thoughtful man; never
elated or depressed, and ever moving on
ward to the contamination Of his grand
mission.
Grant was fighting for the unity of the
people Of America, anu this made him
charitable to his enemies.
So long rs the roar Of the cannon was
heard he was as inilexible rs a lion.
When the strife ceased, he was Chart
able and kind as woman.
Grants treatment Of Gen. Lee, at
Appomattix, developed in n striking de-
gree the true granduer Of his heroic
character. General Grant could eagerly
grasp the hand of the great chieftau
whom he had conquered, but he would
not take his sword. The dark frowning
face that had in the deadly strife borne
evidence of the great warriors deter.
minded will and lion heart, had now be-
come smoothe and placid, exhibiting
a great kindness of heart, and depth
Of magnanimity which was never ex
hibited by a great hero on the battle
field before.
In the turmoil of the conflict General
Grant had not lost sight Of the great
cause which called him into the service
of his country. He took up the SWORD
to maintain the unity of our republic
and the peace and good will Of the
American people; and when that al
most invincible army Of Lee laid dowr
their arms and our general met them, III
was looking m the faces, not Of enemies
then, but of friends and brothers. lie
had fought for the national life mot for
personal or sectional glory. He had lea,
our grand armies forth with iron viii
and mammoth power, not to crush ant
destroy, but to save, and To bring to thi
era, which should now end, peace ant
good will among our people.
And how did he succeed in his CRANE
mission? Let the tears of the people O
the north and the south which, to-da'
mingle together over his grave, attest.
A few days ago Democratic conven
ton i'm Mississippi, the home Of Jefferson
Davis, resolved that the fallen Genera
, u. :. Grant, Americas most illustriou
citizens, was rs magnanimous i'm peac
: rs he was great in war"
A leading newspaper Of the south say
of him: Gen. Grant has been accorde,
the rare privilege of being able to affor,
) to die. = The longer time Ia
spared him, the more It has burnside,
! him of false glitter and apparent stain
until he stands forth man i'm the from
rank Of men. Thus he may commi
himself to history, not rs a demi-god bu
a. n man."
Such are the words Of kindness uttere,
by those who were once his enemies
and who can say in the clear sunligh
r of today, that Gen. Grant did not mos
) nobly fulfill his mission by bringln
union, and peace, and good will, to thi
, land again.
read an extract from Londo
paper which, after speaking in terms G
, praise of Gen. Grant, added that "as
general he could not be compared B
, WeiiingtOn or NapoieOn." Our grea
, general could not be compared to Ma
poleon! Oh, how clear the contras
how deep the gulf between these tw
: great conquerors! The one fought wit
, terrible energy for the glory that was
! crown his brow, and bring honor an,
I power to himself and family. Tn
other moved onward with u more in
flexible purpose, but that purpose wa
to save the life of his country, and I
bind all the people in the bonds of ma
tional union, concord and peace.
1 Look ut Grant and Lee at Appomatti,
r and compare either Of them to NapC
[ leon at Waterloo.
, Victor Hugo said that after the rOu
of the French army, on that terrible ba,
bfoke ehd and am IA w war retreat French off
Ger i'm the rear who was trying to organ
; ize the struggling soldiers together an
, bring order out Of chaos TO the end tina
the retreat might be the more success
full, rs the enemy was advancing witt
terrible power upon them, came acros
{ a man alone, with his head bowed dow
, upon his breast, and hands behind hi
back, walking he knew not where, bu
directly toward the advancing enemy
, 1t was Ndp0ien. He had lost the bat
tie; he had lost his head, his heart, III
courage. His manhood gave way. HI
was then no longer the conqueror ant
scourge of Europe. lie was weake
in that hour than little child.
At his last great battle Grant was tn,
hero of the hour. Lee, his great enemy
was vanquished, but infinitely greater
than Napoleon in defeat was Lee on
that day. Lee fought for an idea wrong
rs it was) and for others, not to exal
himself He lost the battle and the cause
but he did not loose himself. He at leas
preserved his courage, his character, ant
his manhood. Napoleon lost them all
Oh, how true il is that he who exalt
himself shall be humbled; and he who
humbleth himself, in a just cause, shall
be exalted.
Again look Mt the death bed of these
two distinguished captains. The one
weak, petulent and complaining; the
other calm, quiet and heroic, he marched
out firm and with steady tread, to meet
the only enemy that he had not con.
quered, but manfully died as he had
lived, great physical and moral hero.
This address was followed by the
sacred overture "Crown of Victory" by
the band.
Hon. NJ. j. Severance was then intro
duced and spoke in his most forcible
and eloquent style, and we annex be-
low Il full text of his speech.
FELLOW CITIZENs:-Another lofty col
umn has fallen that helped To support
the dome Of this Republic-and to-day
this great people is gazing with unutter-
able sadness on the PROSTATE, broken
shaft, all over sculptured with deeds of
renown and achievements of imperish-
able glory.
A colossal hero has yielded up his
| life, and his country, fearful with graft
tude, IL carrying him i'm its arms to the
portal Of hls tomb, the last act i'm hist
DRY that will remain forever among the
brightest jewels in Americas flaming
diadem. lie il the Nations dead, for
the sturdy blows of his great right arm
gave it the power to live and the right to
mourn.
In the grand evolution of National life
il has at time in almost every age,
stood face Ia face with some appalling
disaster, apparently sufficient to over
whelm its hopes, ana stop the clock of
human progress. But more than once
at the supreme moment, giant has
emerged from the thickenng gloom, and