Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-05-29
MEMORIAL DAY.
The True Heroes of the War.
'DecOration Day Thoughts" by Gen. NJ.
NJ, TrumbuII.


have not yet pointed out the exact spot
where the sublimest hcrOism of the war
was found 1t was i'm the patient suffer
ing, the serene hope, the spiritual strength,
the calm resignation, the consecrated self
devotion of the women of this land. What
was our bravery i'm comparison with theirs?
We fought under the stimulus of sulphur
Gus intoNication. We had the excitement
of noise, the shouting of our own side, the
yelling of the other side, the spiteful talk
of the minie-bullets, the scream Internal of
the shells, the musketry debate-lifty thou
sand speaking at once; we had the magnet
ic elbow touch of the man on our right,
and of the man on our left; we had the
cheer of the captain: "Steady, men, steady:
close up there; steadyr' What stimulus
had the women at home? Nothing but
their own love, and faith, and loyalty. In
the silence of the day, and the still more
awful stiffness of the night, they held their
hearts from breaking, during four long
years of anxiety for father, husband, broth
err, lover, son, fighting the battles of liberty
five hundred miles away. Many of them
went down to the field, that they might
nurse and cherish and comfort the sick
and wounded men. They walked the hos
pitfalls absolutely fearless of the fever and
the pcstlence. Those who staid at home
spent all the time they could in cOntriving
and preparing dclicacics and comforts for
the soldiers in the field. They used to
send MS hundreds of useful and of useless
things. some of which we got. | can ap-
preciatc the gratitude of the English sol
dicr who kissed the shadow of Florence
Nightingale as it fell upon his pillow, and
in that spirit thank these devoted women
for their healing shadows which for four
! years they cast upon our pillows of sorrow
and pain. Theirs was the courage that
sanctitied the war.
In my original company, raised at the be
/ ginning of the war. was a man of wealth
and influence, about forty-fiye years old.
| He was blessed with devoted wife and
eleven children. His eldest son enlisted
with him, and when we marched away we
passed by his plantation, and there at the
| gate were his wife and the other ten chill
| dren, each of them waving the flag, even
| the baby. In our first battle the young
man fell, shot through the body. TON,
said cOmrade, care you badly hurt?'
! yes he said; II am shot through the
body. Give my love to my mother As
| his gallant spirit fled, | could hear his
father cheering ON the men. lie was only
Il quartermaster-serge but he rallied
and checrel the boys like a general.
went up to him and told him his son was
| dead. The word struck him like bullet
| he fell forward on his horses neck, and a
| great sob burst from his heart. In few
moments he Strengthened himself in the
saddle, and exclaimed. Thank God he
/ died like brave man" and until the fight
was over, | could hear him encouraging the
men. After the battle. ! assisted him to
/ prepare the body of his son for burial, and
| together We laid the brave youth in his
| grave, not far from the spot where he fell.
That same evening wrote letter to the
| boys mother telling her rs tenderly as
| could how ltravely her son had died. The
news was terrible: but she bore it with
heroic resignation, and carried her dread
anxiety for her husband wherever she went.
through the duties of the day, and the 81
lent watches of the night In the course of
a year he had been made a lieutenant-colo-
mel, and one day came news of a great bat
tie in which his regiment had been engaged,
Eagerly she looked over the paper for the
name of herhusband, and there among thu
dead she found it. He had been killed at
! the front.
Mother" said the second son, 81 think
| ought to go;' and she said, 60" lie
went, and again she watched and waited
hearing the sound of battle in every brcez,
from the South. one day a man cam,
from the post-oflice with a newspaper in
his hand. \ great battle had been fought
Eagerly again she searched among tn,
names of the killed and wounded, Will,
her heart stood stillwith fearand there wa,
her boy among the dead killed at tn,
front Then the third son said, Mother
think ! ought to go;" and she said, "Go.
He went: and like his father ana his broth
ers he also fell braycly in the fight.
One day, Just after the war, had Occa
sion to travel from Waterloo, in Iowa, tC
Independence. As took my seat in tn,
ear, | noticed lady who was evidently ILL.,
They had made a sort of couch for hel
with cushions, and young lady was fan
ming her to keep her as cool as possible.
did not recognize the lady, but she recog
nized me; for saw her whisper to the girl
who Immediately came to me and said
MY mother wishes to see yOu." | wen
over, and at once recognized her as tn,
mother of the three boys. Taking me by
the hand she said, 81 want to thank YOU
for the kind letter you wrote me the da,
that Tom was killed. The war is over, tn,
country saved, and | am satisfied; hut IN,
heart is broken, and l am going to my ole
home in Ohio to de"-Ncp EngidH,
MdgdziHe.