Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-10-03

heroines of the war. The women Of tn,
north were true to our cause-devotedly so
They had no place in the field or camp, thes,
gentle women, but they lived in the hearts o.
the sons, husbands and sweethearts of "ir
the army and inspired them to gallant ant
| patriotic deeds. When the courage of the
soldier grew faint, the "grl he left behind
him" came to his rescue. The patriotic fires
which burned in her breast touched him with
kiDdling fame, and again the glorious folds
| OF the Old flag spoke to him the story OF
| human liberty, and shone with divine efful-
gence, inspiring him with courage to face a
| thousand foes. The "girls we left behind
us" prayed for us, they cheered US, they
worked for us, and without them the war
could not have been carried on. All honor
to the girls we left behind us"
And now, my comrades, a few more words
and am done. ! now thank you for your
kind attention. We come here tonight and
| TO this reunion with no political object in
view, to serve no personal ends or individual
interests, but as comrades and soldiers, who
have learned from the trials and hardships
of war and the dangers of battle to estimate
with proper appreciation the value OF firm
and lasting peace based upon the eternal
principles of human freedom and moral rec
tituie. We come to rejoice that peace has
been restored TO our beloved land and that
the fierce flame of rebellion has been
quenched. No one can 80 fully understand
and properly estimate the value of peace as
those who have borne the bruut of war and
have undergone its seventies and dangers.
Now, we hear and read a good deal these
days about the "bloody Shirt" and frequently
| have men say to me, "Why don't you
stop fighting, the war is overY
believe | have as much OF
of the milk Of human kindness in me as the
average man; | love every body-more or
less--some very much less. subscribe
cordially to the Bible injunction to "love thy
neighbor as thysell,' though my observation
is that but few people put this into practice.
do not know that exactly understand
what is meant by "waving the bloody shirt"
II to believe that the blue were right and the
gray were wrong; II to believe that the man
who fought for the Union was patriot and
the man who fought to destroy this govern
ment-the best the world has ever known
WAS traitor, is "waving the bloody shirt"
shall continue to wave it until die. If to
soy that Jefferson Davis is a traitor is "wav-
ing the bloody Shirt" am and shall fire.
quently be occupied in unfurling that
sanguirary garment to the breeze. do not
admit that the three hest vears of nv lite
given to tn. service Of NV coun,rv
were thrown swsv do M,
admit that the hundreds of thousands
of brave men in the Union army killed
in battle or who died in service, and the
thousands wounded and crippled for life, now
going up and down the land, suffered and
died in vain. If to say that am willing to
for ia "waylny the bloody sbirtr then I am
for waving it vigorously. We must not
forget that we were 6ohtioo for the union of
the United States and that we won the vic
torv When our southern brethren will
admit that they we're wrong. and that rbev
are sorry for what thew did and will keen
true step to the music of Yankee Doodle in
the vesrs IN come then am in favor of kill
inc the fa,ted calf will meet them NOR. than
half w,y and on NV tn.es will ioin them
in a solemn oath Of unqualified and ever
lasting f.,ltv m the o,or;nns old fac,
To me the msmorv of ,be nnion dead ia
sacred and will neyer--no p.ver-suyren-
der the cause for which thew 40 uloriouslv
fought. II is on record that Jefferson Davis
was teaching eternal hatred, eternal separation,
and everlasting dsmpatiop IN the nor,b and
the national cause. when at the same time
Abraham Lincoln was teachilp. no north, no
south. no east. no west. a pernetusl brother
hood with the rebel s,ates-s ,erpetusl and
indiyisible union--"with malice toward none,
with charity for ALL"
The government of the United States,
whose foundation stone is human liberty
human freedom in thought and speech. ia the
greatest blessing God has bestow cd upon the
world. 1t is SO recognized by every other
government. every other nation unop the
face of the globe. II ia right. il In brotberlv
il ia humane. il il divine IN forget and for.
give the hatred and bitter passions engendered
by the war: but if were ripbt in fighting IN
preserye and keen intact This uoyernment
The greatest boon of hesven--apd we we're
ripbt8it is our duty. our sacred duty. IN
maintain before all nations YEA. even before
the soutb. that the sacrifices made and the
blood shed we're for the right and for the good
of all men. The south fought not the
north. but the government Of the Uo,ted
States Had thew been successful thew would
have DESTROYED this government And the
beautiful stars and stripes, made doubly dear
to us. because one hundred wears AGO thew
led our prandtathers and great grand fathers
TO A victorious triumph against oppression
and tyranny-this grand emblem of liberty
would have been ,rsiled in the dust in dis
honor and disgrace, and no more be known
among nations. Let us, then, forgive and