Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-05-31

lions of loving, loyal hearts. The vener-
able sires, too old for service in camp or
field, gave themselves to service at the
altar between their country and their
God. Venerable women knitted slowly
in the corner, commenting in holy faith
their country and their home to the
blessing of the King of kings. Wives
were wakeful at the thought of the pos
sibility of the necessity that might call
the father of their children to stand for
home and native land" Mothers easier
parted with their sons, sisters with
brothers, betrothed with their afiianced:
but those were days of tears, of deep
anxiety, of holy anguish for the flag we
loved. To men who could 90, there
was inspiration-to the women who
staid at home, there was only blood
chilling anxiety. For war meant fight
and fight meant kill, and those to be
killed were not the women, but woman's
own stronger self, as she was his own
holier self. By ones and tyyos men be-
gan to enlist. To-day the plow goes no
more to the field, tomorrow the black
smith locks his shop to learn to use
another and more deadly hammer; and
so on through the weary, weary years,
in which artillery daily tolled for the
destiny of the nation.
But there is another scene hundreds of
miles from home These men dressed
in blue are learning to plow human
hearts and garner 4 harvest Of human
life. Man meets man amid the shock
and roar and blaze and manning and
death of the sea of carnage The hus-
band dies, the fathers name is in the
list Of killed The old man lays down
his paper for John is missing and he
sleeps no more that night for anxious
thought Of death or prison pen for his
own dear boy. He is sorry for defeat,
but Charley did what he could: he stood
for victory or death and won the latter
rs only heroes do. Or if there was vic
tory, jim, kind-hearted jim, sleeps
somewhere. He only who took care Of
the body of Moses knows where. Eight
hundred Ike him on that day. two thou
sand on another-and so time rolls on.
The generals, less numerous but more
conspicuous, so down too, for bullets
respect not persons, so that all the homes
had their share Of grief and woe and
cruel anguish. Oh! those years Of q.
a %, p, p, years ago-the great heart
Of continent, whose pulsations shook
the whole world There is one fact both
good and i'll in itself; that we endure
the most terrible trials and then, moving
away from them, partially forget them,
or they lessen their sting,
One thing this people ought never to
forget: that this is day Of mourning,
while we rejoice that patriots aboundcd.
While every one of the vast army is en-
titled to honor for the sacrifice he made,
the very thought that such as these We're
called to die in youth. early manhood
and middle life, brings with it intensest
sorrow The good, the brave and the
noble we grieye to part with, when grim
Nature does its work and calls them
home But, oh how much more we
lament for those that they died not at
the behest Of God, but man
These men of whom | speak died vol
UNFAIRLY that the Republic might rot die;
they were torn that the flag should not
be torn; they were blotted out that not
a single star should be elaced
How many? few? No. no; a multi
tude that no one comprehends. The
world mourns for the brave police Of
Chicago, a score or SO. We honor the
Revolutionary dead-a few thousand.
But on battlefield and in hospitals the
regimental, the field and the general
about three hundred thousand men in
those four eventful years gave up their
lives for you and native land One
man in every eight bit the dust and con-
secrated with his life what the other sew
en- were willing to have done. But in
Grant County it was one man in every
three. What "a record Grant County
had! No other war record in the world
equals it. twenty-five hundred men Ell
listed from the county and one-third Of
/ their names are ON wonder monument ~