Bridgeton pioneer., 1886-06-03
COL. POTTER'S GRAFTON.

The following oration was delivered
by Colonel VIM E. Potter, of Bridge
ton, on the occasion of the Dedication
of the 18th New Jersey Regiment Monu-
ment, at Gettysburg, Pa, May 26, 1886 ]:
Comrades of the Twelfth Regiment
New Jersey Volunteers
sIn memory of the men of the
Twelfth Regiment New Jersey Volun-
teers who fell upon this field July 3
and 8, 1868. and who, elsewhere, died
under the flag, this monument is dedi-
Gated by their surviving comrades, as
an example to future generations.
Such is the inscription upon your
monument. 1t is intended to com
inemorate not alone those who fell in
the great battle fought upon this spot,
but all of the 261 of our number who
died in the service. To those who fell
here and in the tangled thickets of the
the Wilderness, by the Rapidan, at
Bristoe Station, at Spottsylvania, at
the North Anna, in the fierce assault
upon Cold Harbor, in the trenches of
Petersburg, at Reams Station, at the
Boydton Road at Hatchers Run, in
the pursuit of Lee and to those others
who died under the slow tortures of
Andersonville and Belle Isle, where
every breath was agony and every
pulse beat but added to a life whose
suffering was already uncomfortable, we
here dedicate at once tribute of affec-
tion and an enduring cenotaph. Such
is the meaning of the inscription.
The monument itself is before you.
1t is in its proper place. Here, where
your colors were planted and nobly
defended here, where the largest
body of the enemy's troops advanced !;
here, where was the greatest carriage ;
here, in the centre of the Union line,
the key of the position, it is fitting for
the monument of the Twelfth New
Jersey Volunteers to stand. Built of
granite, it is not firmer in texture than
were your unshaken lines. Plain,
massive and enduring, it justly sym
bolizes the character of your military
actions and career.
Its foundations are planted upon a
rock. Not the material rock beneath
our feet alone, but upon the rock of
of this mighty nation of freemen; upon
the rock Of the Union plucked from
the jaws of death by your valor; sealed
and firmly cemented by your blood
and that of your comrades poured
| forth upon many fields of battle. Here
| it may remain until these rooted hills
shall crumble until the heavens shall
be rolled together as a scroll, and all
material things. with time itself, shall
| end. So long as our English speech
| shall be known among men, nay,
| longer than that, so long as human
hearts shall beat responsive to the
touch of patriotism and valor, will
this plain shaft tell to succeeding gen
erations the story of your glorious
deeds. The Greek of Herodotus and
Thucydides is no longer living
tongue, but the lives and deaths of
those who fought and fell at Their
mopylae and Marathon, for many
centuries, among civilized peoples,
have served by their example to guard
and strengthen imperilled liberty. But
a more precious army than the COM
mingled mass Of citizens and slaves,
who died in the pass at Thermopylae
or fought upon the plains of Marathon
stood embattled upon these historic
heights a nobler cause was here put
to the test a result vastly wider and
more far reaching was here obtained.
Upon this ridge the latest and most
precious growth of civil liberty was
assailed; here the concentrated and
strongest power of the slave Confed-
eracy moved forward to crush 1t; here,
in firm array, the soldiers of the Re,
public. champions and defenders OF
| the outcome of the toll and suffering
and bloodshed of the people struggling
through all the ages towards liberty
guarded by law, in blood and carnage
indicated their cause here, when on
the Sd day of July, 1868, the sun went
down beyond the dark blue wall o1
wonder mountain range. when your
flags were advanced and your cheers
rang out above the grOans OF the
wounded and the roar of the battle
was won a triumph not for ourselves
only, bnt for all the world as far sur
passing those of Thermopylae anc
Marathon, in scope and splendor, a.
the imperial domain and popular con
stitutional government of this Chris
tian nation. surpass the meagre pop
ulation, narrow area and rude Democ
racy of pagan Greece.
1t was said by the Richmond Erdns
iner THAT on the heights of Gettys
burg, the Confederate States wer'
within stones throw of peace. Thi
remark, though not strictly true, con
tanned a measure of truth. In thi
battle were engaged the enemy's bes'
army, troops Injured to war by NOR
than two years active service. The.
were inspired by the great victory o
Charlottesville, and their leaders wer
urged forward by strong hopes OF for
eign aid to follow victory. The mill
tary strength of the Confederacy cul
minated here. 1t was never so strong
as at this battle; it was weaker alway
afterward. When the last shot wa
fired upon this field the cause OF th
Confederacy was potentially lost.
Many bitter days were yet before us
The thirsty sands of the WILDERNESS
were to be crimsoned with blood, tn
heights of Cold Harbor were yet to b.
ridged with graves; an army was We
to be buried in the trenches of Peters
burg Missionary Ridge was still to b.
crowned and Sherman had not as ye
bisected the Confederacy from Atlant;
to the coast, and from Savannah
northward but when Gettysburg wa
won and the twin victory of Nlcks