Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1888-06-01

the sands Of the Wilderness There are
some who sleep along the shores Of the Po
tomac, some beside the waters Of the Rap
pahannock, aud others by the banks Of the
Mississippi We must seek for others among
the tangled roots in the swamps Of the
south land, and in the waters Of Hampton
Roads where their skeleton hands reach
out 10 us from the decks Of the Cumberland.
Others fill martyr graves at Anderson
vile, aud Bele Isle, aud Libby prison aud
Salisbury And. friends Of the Grand
Army, this is their memorial day Every
one Of them has part in the glory Of this
day hallowcd to the memory Of forever.
absent comrades. And wherever in the
land there is "A spot that is consecratcd rs
the resting place Of Union soldier there,
in spirit, If not in bodily presence, will the
line Of the comrades Of the Grand Army
he halted to lay the floral Offering which
evidences alike the comrades fidelity 10 his
memory aud his own devotion to his coun-
try. Aud rs the beautiful ceremony is oh
served. there will everywhere bc recalled
the memories Of those days Of strife and
toll, and the nation will be reminded again
Of the great principles for which the war
was waged. and the mighty results which
the vaior Of our soldiers achieved. These
principles are greater aud the results
I
sometimes think The victory won hv the
Union arms struck the shacklcs from the
limbs Of four million slaves aud made them
freemen 1t settled forever the question
whether the slave owners chains should
clank, or the taskmaster's lash br heard up
on these western shores II led to the
| emancipation Of the scrfs of Russia aud
the slaves Of Brazil 1t was the prelude
10 the un6cation of Italy and Germany.
and the foreruuner of the French rcpub
lie Aud ever since the victory the
genius Of freedom has taken mightier
strides toward the accomplishment Of her
magnificent destiny
The war Of the rebellion was a conflict be
tween two absolutely clashiug elements, the
world Of light aud the world Of darkness
hetWeen slavery aud freedom. IL was an
irIepressible conflict, toward which the war
riors and armies Of the world had been
constantly marching from the earliest re
corded struggles on the plains Of Shinar
1t had been growing and growing, display
ing itself first in one country. then in an
other until finally it eliminated ON our
own soil II was war. mot bctween state,
or armies, hut IN reality Il war bctwcru the
order Of things that was passing away and
the order Of things that wa. coming in 81
war in which all mankind had "A stake
And these soldiers. whose memory We honor
today, were th" ones who sprang To- the de
leuse ot the great priuclpl" Of liberty EN-
dangered hy this conflict Of DESTINY and
as they did 50. they showed To- the world
that chivHlry did not die with mailed knight
hood They showed to the Wurhl that sim
pie manhood. hpnstle,S Of ancient lineage
could achieve deeds Of valor unsurpassed in
any age. They fought not for private
| IL. &
that higher Thought which God has planted
deep in the breast of all men the thought
of liberty and country. And inspired bv
such motive our war was not fought for
conquest. but tp secure liberty aud peace
IL was this that chcrrcd uur men un their
long and weary marches 1t was this for
which our soldiers sighed and victory gave
them no cheer except as an earnest Of this
And we, today, rejoice IN that liberty aud
peace for which the soldier fought, aud Of
which lac dreamed And in the midst of
the peace aud prosperity and cnthrunememt
of liberty enjoyed 10y rs today it Is fitting.
soldiers Of the Grand Army, while recall
ing the scenes of thuse davs when You
stood shoulder t. shoulder with the men
who fell beside you. to remember that those
days have passed away The valleys aud
hills that were furrowed 10y shot aud shell
Q
| The vollcyS of muskctry have ceased, aud
no batteries of artillery awake today their
echoes.
Under the guns If the fort uu the ldl
Daisies are bluSsumng. buttrrcup~ n.
TIP the grey rtmptrt- the scaling vine filings
Iiigl. Us gr-u ladders, and faltrre and clings
ndtr tht guns.
Under the guns Of the fort ON the hill
"Uuirr the guns of tho fort ou the hilI.
once shook the earth with the Cinnuuadt's
thrill
once truI th,.,,. Imttrr,up, feet that now still.
Lie all AT resi- in thr trench tN the mill
Under the guns.
Under tn. guns ol the fort ON the hill 90
The sun rising in the east crowns those
quiet southern battle fields with the dew.
drops Of the morning aud makes green aud
beautiful the grass aud flowers on the un-
known soldiers grave. The veteran sol
drrs are now the peaceful citizens. but
upon them still devOlves the noble duty of
maintaining in their purity and strength
the great principle, for which our soldiers
batted For the discharge of this high
duty every veteran soldier should erase
from his heart all the bitterness Of the past.
burying its amtagunismS in hi, efforts to
build up the mighty fabric Of government
''of the people and for the people and 10y
the pcople'-a government that shall en-
durc tu challenge the admiration of the
world and in which no semhlancc of sec
tional hate or anlmusty shall find "A dwell
ing place. There was thrilling scene en-
acted not long ago in the city Of Cincinnati
that illustrates Just what | mean in this
connection. The great music hall of that
city was crowded with an immense audi
euce half of which were representatives
/ from the South anG the other half from the
| North. At one time during the evening
the great orchestra struck into that stirring
old air Of "DXie's Land with its soul
thrilling associations and memories. For
moment there was hush among the vast
crowd. The old soldiers of the North and
the old soldiers of the South looked nt each
other, and the vast throug was still But
| before the second bar was struck the emo
| tiuns of the gallant snutherners overcame
/ them, and almost simultaneously they sprang
| To their feet, more than "a thousand strong
and the old southern battle cry made the
/ lofty arches ring again. Side 10y side with
| them stood the northern hosts aud cheered
with them. Again and again the men of
/ the South broke forth, as the gay measures
woke their enthusiasm But just as that
old rebel yell was at its loudest, the orchcs
ira struck into that grandly patriotic air to
/ the stars aud stripes and rs they poured
/ forth the strains Of
The star spauglrd banner
on long may it way"
O'rr the land of the free
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