Huntsville gazette., 1891-05-02
HUNTSVILLE ALA, SATURDAY, MAY 2, 1891.

service in the field While possessing sensi.
tive nature and a singularly tender heart, he
never allowed his sensibilitIes to interfere
with the stern duties of soldier
While his achievements in actual battle
ecllpsed by their brilliancy the strategy and
grand tactics employed in his campaigns,
vet the extraordinary combinations effected
and the skill and boldness exhibited in NOV
| ing large armies into position, entities him
| to as much credit as the qualities he dis
played in the immediate presence of the
| enemy.
so brilliant was his career soldier that
we are too apt to overlook the successes he
achieved as statesman; but when we sum
| up the events of his presidential terms their
| magnitude is such that they challenge COM
| parison with those of any other chief magis-
trate since the formation of the government
| At the close of his eight years of honest
| earnest labor he left NJ unfinished work to
| turn over to his successor. There was peace
with all the world. and the name of America
| stood higher on the honor roll of nationE
| than it had ever stood before
| His unbounded generosity to friends, his
! magnanimity to foes will be remembered as
| long manly qualities are honored. II
| there be one word which describes better
than any other the predomnatiDg charac
| teristic of his nature, that word is "Ioyal-
| ty." He was loyal to his friends, loyal to
his family, loyal to his country and loyal to
his God. This trait naturally produced a re-
! ciprocal effect upon those who were brought
1 into relations with him and was one OF
the chief reason why men became so Loyalty
| attached to him. Perhaps no other man than
| Gen. Grant ever had SO many personal
| friends who loved him for his own sake
| whose affection only strengthened with
| time; whose attachment never varied in de-
votion, whether he was captain, general or
president, or simply private citizen.
He was created for great emergencies. It
was the very magnitude of the task that
| called forth the powers which mastered
| it, In ordinary matters he was an ordinary
man; in momentous affairs he lowered as
| giant. When performing the routine duties
| of company post there was no act to make
him conspicuous above his fellow officers;
| but when he welded corps and armies the
| great qualities of the commander flashed
| forth, and his master stroke of genius
| stamped him as the foremost soldier of his
| age. When he hauled wood from his little
| farm and sold it in st. Louis, his finan-
| ciering was hardly equal to that of the small
| farmers about him. but when message was
| to be sent by a president to congress that
| would puncture the fallacies of the
| inflationists and throttle by veto the at
| tempt of unwise legislators to cripple the
| finances of the nation, state paper was
| produced so profound in its reasoning that
| it has ever since commanded the wonder
| and admiration of every believer in a sound
| currency. He was made for great things,
| not for little He could collect sl5,OO900)
| from Great Britain in settlement of the Ala
bama claims he could not protect his own
| personal savings from the miScreants who
robbed him in Wall street. Even the yalor
/ of his martial deeds was surpassed by
| the superb heroism displayed when attacked
| by fell disease: when the hand which
\ hal ofz tIo flnr cd III thCn-
| sands was no longer able to return the pres
| sure of comrades grasp; when the voice
| which had cheered on to triumphant victory
| the lcgons of Americas manhood could
| scarcely call for the cooling draught which
| slaked the thirst of fevered tongue; when
PROSTATE bed of anguish lay
| the form which in the new world
| had ridden at the head of conquering
| columns and in the old world had
| been deemed worthy to stand with
| head covered and feet sandalcd in the pres
| ence of princes, kings and emperors. On
] McGregor's mountain top, as if already part
| way on his journey to the eternal throne, he
| met in death the only enemy to whom he
| ever surrendered. At last he was permitted
| to enjoy what he had pleaded for in behalf
| of others, for the Lord let him have peace
| His remains were borne to their resting
| place by the tender hands of his own
| veterans. AS the funeral train wended its
|
had never been lowered in his presence,
| dropped to half mast. as if conscious that
i his strong arm was longer there to
| hold it to the peak. The nation stood
| within the shadow of an overpower-
| ing grief, and sorrowing people wove
| their garlands of eternal farewell. Dis
| tant lands, uniting in our grief, hung out
| their emblems of mourning, and even his
| toric Westminster flung wide it's portals as
| if to let the spirits of Engiands illustrious
| dead listen to the distant funeral march of
a brother in greatness.
| No effort of human hands can add single
| laurel to his brow; all the honors earth
can give have been bestowed upon
| him. but the people whom he served have
resolved to fashion tomb worthy of his
| ashes and rear in monumental rock fitting
| tribute to his fame We have assembled to-
day on this selected site to take steps pre-
liminary to the work. The monumental
sepulchre here will be the shrine at which
/ American patriots will worship. Genera
tions yet to come will pause to read the in
scription on its portals and the voices of a
grateful people will ascend from this conse-
Grated spot as incense rises from holy places,
| invoking blessings on the memory of him
who had filled to the very full the largest
| measure of human greatness. and covered
the earth with his renown.
This was followed by the singing OF
America" by the chorus and audience.
The ceremonies ended with the laying
of the cornerstone of the monument
and the benediction of the chaplain.
The monument will be about 100 feet
square. 1t is intended first to build the
portion of the monument designed IN
the plans for the reception of the sar-
cophagus, and this will be completed as
if it were to be an independent struc-
ture, and without regard to the other
portion. before anything else is under
taken. The fund already in hand, about
$50, 900, is more than ample to meet
the cost of this part of the monument.
| Another Possible Jack the Ripper.
/ OF. Da4oafix-oc Con.