The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1893-06-02
GEN. POPE'S ADDRESS.
The Glorious Part Taken by the
Minnesota Troops During
The War.
Reference Made to, the Flag Incident
at the German Catholic
Church.

to patriotism, and patriotism is some
thing else, something more than love
of country: to herOiSm, and herOiSm is
something else and something more
than courage: to liberty, to liberty es-
tabliShed and advanced. by love of
country, which was enObled and Sacri-
feed: and by courage, which was eX-
acted by devotion.
We all can read on yOnder panel,
"1S61-1o65" They who can read be-
tween the lines can see thereon an il
Illuminated chapter in the history of
the world. In the history of our cOun-
try page was in those years made
wet with the tears of her daughters,
crimsoned with the blood of her sons
and dried in the fires Of "a hundred
circling camps" Since then The
birds have nestled in the lannon's
mouth" But the colorS SO wet, and
laid, and dried, are unfading and I'M
changing. If | would, l could not
shade line, .or lay tint upon that
page of our history. would not if |
could. That history enlarges the
brotherhood of man and records us
citizens of the world And in this
world wherever floats our flag today,
on land or on sea, fraternity, charity,
and loyalty are gathered to pay tri-
butte to patriotism, to herOiSm. and
to liberty Blest be the tie that
binds.
But we are not gathered today to pay
tribute to abstract virtues. We are
not here tC celebrate the apOtheOSiS of
the herOism of other ages and other
lands, nor have we erected an altar to
an unknown God. My theme today is
the Grand Army of the Republic,
Dept. of Minnesota, and the Mime
sofa Soldiers In the War.
When | was notified of the part as
signed me in the exercises of today,
two reasons were urged why l might
accept: one was that the program was
quite full and not much would be re-
CURED or expected of me. When L
accepted the assignment, two reasons
influenced my decision One was the
thought that at this time and at this
place and to this audience, something
which it were well to say or Minnesota
and her sons, of their patriotism, he
rOism and sacrifice for liberty, might
well be said Dya cOmrade in arms who
could claim no part or lot in the
martial glory or achievements of
those of whom he spoke, and whose eX-
ample he called you 10 honor and en-
ulate.
No censure of the State or her sol
dierS can reflect diScredit upon me
and no degree OF ccmmendation can
minister to my conceit, and OF them
may speak the truth.
The then young State of Minnesota
furnished for the war over 90 per cent
of her military population; 24O2O men.
These were OganlZed into llreglmentS
and companies Of infantry, regl-
ments and battalliOns OF cavalry, |
regiment of heavy artillery, ) batter
les of light artillery. Aside from
these, there were enlisted IN the
State service, for home and frontier
defence, 81 companies or organlZa-
tions, of which were raised In Man
katO. One OF these companies, OF
which our JOwnSmen VIM. BlerDauer,
John f. Meagher, Henry Ruegg, Jas.
Shoemaker, Everett Z. Freeman, Dr.
w. w. McMahon (apd perhaps others
were commissioned or non commits
stoned officers, did gallant service at
New Ulm in Aug, 1862, and OF that
Company, n. E. HoughtOn and VIM.
Niculson gave their lives, and George
Andrews, Patrick Burns, John Fassat
and Adam Friendler shed their blood,
that the torch and the tomahaWk
might be kept from the homes OF this
fair valley.
OF The $4,000 soldiers of Minnesota
who were mustered into the SerViceof
the United States, IA per cent.dled In
service. The first tender OF troops
after the fall OF Fort Sumpter on Sat
urday. April ID, 1891, was made on
4 hu
lhe first enlistment for the war
was made on Monday, April 10, by a
Minnesota man in the Minnesota reg
iment.
The first three year regiment to
reach the seat of The war was Min
eSOJa regiment.
On the 2lst of July, 1861, Minnso-
TIA regiment sustained the greatest
regimenUal loss in killed and wounded
in the first great battle of the war, at
Bull Run Oh the Potamac.
On the 9th of April, 1865, five Min
nesota regiments fioated their cOlorS
in the smoke clouds of the last BATTLE
of the war. at Fort blakely on the
Gulf. Between Bull Run and Blake
ly, between the Patomac and the Gulf
are four long, long years and count
less battle-tieldS.
May | paraphrase sentence from
the historian Of the .peninsular
war, and say of Minnesota troops,
mo man died upon those fields with
more glory than they, yet many died,
and there was much glory"
Minnesota regiments stand in the
list of those who sustained the heavi-
est losses at Chickamagua, at TupelO,
at Murfrersboro and at Nashville.
NaShville where the last militant
rebel force in the West was dashed
against. and shattered by the Rock of
CnlcKamauga.
Yield me a moment for compari-
SOUS. The loss in killed and wounded
in the charge of the Light Brigade at
Balaklava was Sc ITO per cent. land
all the world wondered" The heavi-
est loss in the German army in the
bloody Franco Prussian war fell on
the 10th infantry at Mars LaIour, 49
III per cent. Next was the loss OF
the Garde SchutZen at Metz. As lilo
per cent. CD Union regiments lost
more han so per cent. of their num-
hes in single engagements during the
war. Is Union regiments lost more
than 80 per cent of their numbers at
Gettysburg. There were 1000 regi-
mrnls in the union service and the
poroaptana Of Loco 70 ~