Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-02-15
Sherman on Hancock.

General Sherman was attending a meeting
at Cincinnati of the Ohio Commandery, Mill
tary Order of the Loyal Legion when the
death of General Hancock occurred. At that
meeting he spoke of General Hancock as fol-
lows:
General Grant records on the front fly leaf
of his book that man proposes and God dis
poses. We feel that here tonight. Yester-
day we hoped to have jolly good time, and
yet the telegraph waited over the wire the
sad intelligence that that glorious man, your
former COMMUNICATIVE chief, one who proba-
bly, has done more to sustain the Loyal
Legion than any other man on earth lies to
day in his shroud and waits but a few hours
until he will be buried at his old home in
Pennsylv ania. 1t is right and fit, ladies and
gentlemen, that we should PAUSE and do this
glorious subject martial honor. Without
record and without notes | must speak, and |
will be as brief as possible. knew Hancock
well, for my memory goes back to the time
when he came to West Point a tall, slender
boy with fair hair and blue eyes, cheeks with
the down of a freshly ripened peach. | have
seen him from that time until a few months
ago. He made good name in the Mexican
war. When got to St. Louis, captain in
there developed in manly beauty, strength
ened in character, regimental quarterm As
ter, stll with the rank of first lieutenant. a
young groom of beautiful bride And here
permit me, ladies', to speak of that good
woman who is now a widow, for l knew her
| we'll She WAS the child herself of an Ohio
| lady. Her parents came from Evansville,
| Ohio, Russell by name. Russell and Ben
nett, two young men living in Zanesville as
boys, clerks in = store, found in two beautiful
creole grls-descendants from the old French
stock which came over here by reason of the
revolution Of 1899, and settled ut Marietta or
Gallpolis, or Belpre-fouud in them their
| wives. These two Young men took their
Young girl brides to St. Louis, and by labor
industry, and thrift rose to great eminence
as merchants. When | went there the houses
of Russell and Bennett, of which Mrs.
Hancock then was the ornament, the pride,
and Hancock the hands ONE, the elegant gen.
tleman, those two were all the envy, and that
house was the very abode of happiness, and
of hospitality such as | have never seen sur
passed, even if equalled.
From that time on Gen. Hancock rose
steadily in the estimation Of his fellows.
And when the war broke out there was no
hesitation there, not bit. He was a Union
man. Applause. He was a soldier There
was not one culver of the eyelid, not one
tremble of the hand Hancock was soldier,
a man, and very splendid man, too, as you
who have seen him can bear testimony He
went into the war with his whole heart and
soul, and carried with it the experience and
teachings of West Point. the teachings of
the army, the teachings of the field. He
knew a soldier from the heel up to the top of
his head, and he sympathized with soldier
and was himself a soldier in every walk of
life. Now, when the time came for battles
to be fought, here we had a man who was
qualified and capable, sustained by friends at
home, encouraged by sdmiring companions,
and when the battle of Gettysburg came Ham
cock was the impersonation of the defense.
| have stood upon that very spot behind the
very stone wall, not during the battle, but af-
terward, and there was pointed out to me the
place where Pckett's division came up and
where Hancock stood and fell; and if there
ever should be a monument erected on earth
to man there is the spot for Hancock's monu-
ment. But will go further and say that
and others who were with me- going I'D
through Virginia after the war was over. we
went out OF our wav and saw the spot where
Hancock's corps had charged across those
parapeis and saw the trees through which
these men charged with Hancock at their
| head and compelled Lee to retreat. Those
were the two points probably most historic
which marked him as q man in whom conf
dence could be had. He had the confidence
of Gen. Grant, of every man whoever had
| Hancock on his command, myself included
| He was the most loyal, the most obedient,
the most completely satisfactory; never
questioning an order. loyal to the back
bone. generous to fault, and willing to exc.
cute any order whether he approved it or not
will go further and say that l knew Ham
cock on the plains, where there was no
chance for glory, no hope of fame, no desire
to attract notice, nothing but abuse and hard
ships, the same conscientious man, anxious
to do right, anxious to fulfill the orders of his
government, anxious to complete q Job after
which he had been dispatched and generally
successful:
| Now Gen. Hancock is dead. The big.
strong, nervous man lies dead in his house
on Governors Island and We, his COM
panons, may we'll shed a tear here tonight
1t was sad piece of news which came to us
yesterday. Oh, my friends, when that woman
sat at the gates of Paradise disconsolate. and
appealed to the heavens what she should
bring to admit her into the gates, she went
back and forth aad finally returned with the
expired spirit of a soldier patriot, and the
gates of heaven were opened to her. II the
gates OF heaven were opened for the poor girl
how much more will they be for the manly
soldier The gates of heaven will remain
aJar and remain sjar until he enters them.