, 1886-08-19
General Sherman.

HIS SPEECH AT TACOMA LAST SATURDAY
Comrades of the Grand ARMY
Reinforced, l think, by a goodly mum
Der of the citizens of Tacoma, iudg-
ing from your faces upturned here
There are more than a thousand peo
pie here and I don't think you hav,
more than hundred of the Crane
Army in the city of Tacoma, but tha
hundred is very precious to us; they
represent the principles of fraternity
to each other and brotherly love Join
ing each to the other and to theil
neighbors and friends old and young
Loyalty true as steel to that flag We
followed when danger confronted Us
Loyalty and charity; these are two
grand principles ot the Grand Army
of the Republic, the result of the wai
Now boys, who were once boys, nov
becoming old men, you know that
speak the truth when say that sold
iers do not love to kill, to main, tC
injure their fellows of any class Of
people. When we went to war it wa:
not as slayers of men or burners o.
houses or destroyers of property
No; we went to vlndicate a principle
to sustain a government which we
had inherited, which we had a right
to defend, yea, even to the death OF
every man opposed to us; but the
very moment resistance ceased, none
quicker to lay down the sword and
extend the olive branch than the ole
soldiers of the war We may turn tc
all history, back even to the time oi
the Romans or Grecians. and chal
lenge mankind for an example oi
patriotism. heroism, or fidelity, ol
magnanimity OF that grand army
which had put down all opposition
and only asked to go home and re-
turn to their occupations civil No
The world never saw the same faith
full example of heroism. And now
some of you have come away out here
on Puget Sound to start the same
principles, to show the same charity,
to exercise, if need be, the same hero
ism, to become as marks in the new
land, to stamp your character upon a
new generation to be preserved for
all time; that is your task. Cheers.
There is ever war in this world
though the skies are peaceful we
always nave the contest between good
and evil. Now these men are tried
in the fiery furnace You have buck
led on new uniform, but are none
the less soldiers, bedient and sub
ject to discipline, turning your atten-
ton out here to the virtues of patriot
ism and making the garden smile, the
rose bloom. On Puget Sound, only a
few years ago the home of the black
bear and l see you have one out here
we'll chained up-Ireferring to the
restless bruin at the north side of the
hotel. Well, where 1 don't believe a
bird could get through tine bushes,
so thick were they, one of the rough
est places on the surface of the earth.
L see today beautiful city; we stand
IN front of hotel that would be an
ornament to Philadelphia, to New
York, to Cincinnati, even to Cleve-
land, a hit at Governor Hoadley I
and L myself sometimes simply stand
amased at the energy and intelligence
OF the American people. Now, of
course. the soldiers do not claim TO
do all this; but here is youthful
people IN a new land with a nuble
ahead, and you can stamp
on them yOur own characteristics of
truth and fidelity; they are the at
tributes of the soldier ever since the
time of the old knights, and I con-
tend that the Grand Army are the
finest type of men created since the
creation of the world.