The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1890-05-28
In Memory of Grant.

An memory OF GranJ.
The approaching dedication of mon
ument to General II. f. Lee at
Richmond, Va, has called general at
tention to the neglect of the North in
honoring General Grant in this way.
AS yet no fitting monument has been
erected TO the great soldier of the
Union, although General Lee has been
remembered at New Orleans by a mon
ument and Richmond is to have an inn
posing celebration on the occasion of
the dedication of the monument there.
This neglect of General Grant is not
due to a lack of appreciation of his
services and personal worth, for the
following, from the Brooklyn Eagle,
doubtless expresses the sentiment
of the North toward him: "Ulysses S.
Grant, had he survived till this spring
morning, would be sixty-eight years
old. Nearly five years have gone
since he joined the unnumbered host
beyond the river. The shock to the
nation from his untimely death has
died away. The splendid pageant
which bore his dust to the tomb seems
no more, in the activities of this busy
age, than a fitting memory. The gar
lands in his sepulcher are withered ,
the trappings of woe are laid aside,
even the projected chief monument to
his greatness is becoming a subject of
only casual allusion. But Grant has
not gone out of the national life
There is distinction higher and
grander than any conferred by stored
bronze or emblemalic marble. 1t is
the undying sentiment, born of splen-
did national spirit, which enshrines the
object of its affection in the hearts of a
patriotic people. Grant, century
hence, will not lack monuments. In
deed, tributes to his memory in monu-
mental form have already been pro-
vided in communities more responsive
than the vast aggregation of cosmopol.
itan elements which, in the hour of
funeral gloom, clamored for custody of
his honored dust. Whether a stately
pile is reared over his last resting place
in accordance with the original ambi-
tious plan, or more modest memorial
issues from the exertions of the monu-
ment committee, his fame will be per-
petuated in every quarter of the land.
In harmony with beautiful custom,
inaugurated since the civil war, almost
every village and crossroads hamlet
has its soldiers monument The ia
vorite figure portrays not the familiar
lineaments of the bold commander, but
the conventional image of the plain
boy in blue Every little statue
reared by reverential hands from the
esources of the common people swells
unconsciously, nevertheless, the volume
of Grants praise. From the begin.
rinc of hiS rlyn I,1a 30,
piring utterances in behalf of frater.
nifty, reconciliation and national unity
he was a man of the masses. From
actual truth nothing could be further
than the portrait of Grant as ruthless
conqueror or a selfish and domineerine
tyrant. There were, of course, in the
hour of his largest endeavors, hands
that did not hesitate to unsheath be-
hind his back the dirk of defamation
Panoplied in the respect and gratitude
of his countrymen, he withst0od alike
in war and peace the foulest assaults
Villilied as few have been, his fame
emerged from the clouds of detractior
as luminous and serene as the mornins
star. Every art, vituperative or mis-
representative, was exhausted in tn,
effort to separate him from the hear
of American citizenship. To-day h,
stands second only to the emar cipato
as the commanding figure of an epoct
forever famous in the annals of tn,
world The towering lion on the fell
of Waterloo speaks not more eloquent,
of fateful results than the lowly vaul
at Riverside. The one marks the fna
flight of the ravening eagle, the othe
the last retreat of one who
Bore without abuse
The grand old name of gentleman.
Both are symbols of enormous sig
niicance. With trumpet tongues the
tell the tale of liberty preserved. Blu
who shall say at this stage of humal
progress that the glory of Grant is no
the larger or the significance of hi
story of graver import in its bearing OF
the destinies of the race? With Wash
ington, the father, and Lincoln, tn
savior, must ever stand till time sha
be no more Grant, the preserver of tn
country. No higher eulogy to the her
of Donelson and Vicksburg, the Wi
derness and AppomatoX could be frame
than his enrolment in this matches
company or that embodied in tn
Characterization worthily bestowed 0
another in these memorable words
The statesman warrior, moderate, resolut
Whole in himself, common good,
Our greatest, yet with least pretense,
Great in council and great in war,
Foremost captain of his time
Rich in saving common sense,
And, as the greatest only are,
In his simplicity sublime"