Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1890-02-25


ministered day after day to the suffering
and the dying. placed In hls charge while
desperate battles we're going on, and with
the distant boom Of cannon In his car,
while every day the awful debris OF the
battle came back to him, ami groaus aud
shrieks and maniac cries and death were
In the tainted air, knows something of
tho horrors Of war.
These things are nothing to speak Of,
least Of all to boast OF, but the man who
bsd them has earned at lea the right to
speak what he thiuks. ~ I do to- day.
1t 10 greatly TO bc feared, that BY all
the natural and kindly talk about for
our late enemies, there has been an oblt-
Grafton OF the everlasting distinction DO.
tween Tire men who fought to defend, aud
the men who fought TO destroy this gov.
eminent. But, my friends. the great
tru lis which were truths In those fnteiul
days between sixty aud sixty five, are as
true to-day ~ they were then. Some men
were riskiue all thar they held dear, CIV
ing life itself, to uphold and perpetuate
tbeir country; other men, with al tic
abilities, all the energies, all the res ources
that they could sum mon, were ondeavor.
ing to kill them and their cause. It was
Tact. and you cannot take fact out of
this universe.
Rebellion 10 tho same as II was on that
day when Reynolds lay dead In yonder
wood, where you. the old Ninetieth. were
helping to hold In check the gathering
army Of the foe; It Is tho same - on that
afternoon when Howell lay dead on these
church stepa. Time haa not changed the
fac, that the men whose praises are now
sung. were leading tNeir hosts, and that
those hosts were rushing forward In bat
tie. TO sweep you and your friends away
In death, because you were standing for
your country and government. while
thy were seeking, through your wounds
and death, to destroy both.
have heard tbs cry, whom hsve else
where spoken, the old familiar cry, "The
war is ovei." ] answer back, "Trulhs
are not over, principles are not gone"
They abide to-day ~ they were more
than . quarter Of . century ago. The
rebellion was . crime one OF the crimes
Of the ages-a crime In the way OF which
neither treasure or tears, widow's speech
less gaxo or orphans low call Of WOO
were permitted for . moment to stand.
No lofty qualities Of mind, NO sanity
character shall obscure from me the fact
that great powers were used 10 beat
down and blot from the earth my
countrymen who were defending 1t; I
will never honor tho memory of
such mon. No glamour Of martial
pomp, no soft smiling talk OF
fraternity. no aneers at what they call
Creeping mp the animosities OF the war;"
shall prevent my lifting up my voice in
condemnation OF the acts of men who
laid my friends and yours IN the grave,
nor shall prevent my teaching my chill
dren's children to abhor the work aud
mourn the memory Of leaders IN cabinet
and field who did 1t.
The crime OF the Rebellion has beea
excused because the men who were en-
gagged In 1t were conscientious, and did
what they believed to be right. But
some Of the greatest crimes Of history
deemed that they were right and WISE
"The time cometh, that whoeoever
kllieth you will think that he doeth
God SERVICE" said our divine Lord
mourLfully to His Disciples, ard his
word was fulfilled. But killing saints
and apostles was crime
Twenty-four years ago, on spring
morning, just after dawn, there lay dy-
ing oil a porch Of . country house In
Maryland, 4 young man, handsome in
form and feature, refined and cultured
He was the assassin of Lincoln. He hs d
been hunted as . wild beast and shot
while he stood at bay. As one OF his
captos bent over him, in uuavailing
sympathy, he was heard murmuring IN
the gasping Of a fading life. He lookcd
at bio hand, lying helpless by his side
paral, ze1 by the cruel bullet, and said
IAN uselessi" Then his thoughts, goinR
out to his dearest one, he whispered,
| tt1salI mn nh mt II
right"
Here was the effloresence, tile consum.
mate baleful flower of the great Ameri-
can Rebellion; an epitome and condensed
illustration of It ais fstsful act, vainly
but conscientiously done, followed by
Unreasonable disaster and eortow. Here
was an error, conscien lious, criminal,
useless.
walk in thought among the myriad
graves of Southern eoldiers, see the
desolsted honest the sob Of widows aud
the moan of orphans como to me out of
the mOurnful past. weep over the
slsin, and in my gricfI cry, "They are
my slain conntrymen! For what was all
this death? for what these tears? USE
lessl uselessi 1t need not, It ought not
to have been."
Iwould have the mourners decorate
those graves, l would have the borrowing
hallow them. weep the more bitter tears
because II was so wrong they died at all.
l mourn the half million dead, our dead
causelessly slain, but with the benedic-
lions o = saved nation forever singing
over their graves; their dead with mourn
full memories ever more, with no sweet
and blessed fruitage, the generations to
come signing, at meet not, 1t ought not
to have been."
30, to-day, on this field, sacred and to
live forever, In human history, whore
patriot men suffered and died-here, on
this spot where minister of the gospel
was shot down, In front OF the wounded
and the dying he was consoling-hers, as
we look one another 10 the face, we say
softly to each other, Brother, we were
not mistaken when we took our place In
those darkened days Of war;" We hold
rather the immeasurable consolation to
our hearts, that we then stood by Hsg
and country. There is no misgiving In
our souls, only solemn JOY that we did.
We wi 20 from this scene OF sorrow aud
memorial, thanking God for the living
and praising him for the dead.
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