The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-07-06
PATRIOTIC CELEBRATION
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 Let us remember, then, that the tab let We erect to-day, while it commemo- rates disaster, sacrifice, and the death of brave patriots, commentaries also one of the victories of the American revolution, showing, as the event proved, that the fire which devastated New Haven on the 5th of July, 1779, was a refner's fire, in which the true metal of Connecticut patriotism was tried, and from which it came out pur- CT, brighter and stronger than ever. Sons of the American Revolution, 1t Is with peculiar satisfaction that l am with you to-day. Coming, as have, from an elaborate celebration of our nations birthday In my native town of Norwich, which was inspired l am assured, by the spirit of patriot l ism which our order has disseminated in pursuance of its purposes, this sea | son of patriotic observances is partic- ularly impressed upon me as a result 1 of the spirit which animates our so- ciety. This occasion, most significant | to us of all the observanees of the time, marks another of the increasing steps of advance which we are mak- \ ing in the accomplishment of the pur- poses of our society, and forms new incentive for further work in the un- limited field before us. This tablet, the second of it's kind designed as a labor of love by an esteemed member of the David Humphreys Branch, these conn memorative exercises, under the aus I ,nin ne ho ol, -to oJ In, a nals of our society as one more trib- ute to the patriots of the American l Revolution. St
 have no thanks to offer you, no | lf-congratulations to recommend to you, for the spirit which has prompted and accomplished this work would be mocked by thanks and stultified by l self-congratulationS. Such work finds ! its reward in the simple consciousness | that we reverence our ancestors and love our country. The satisfaction which comes from it lies in the fact that it Is not for ourselves as an or ganization that the work is done; but | for every American citizen in the pres ent generation and in generations to l come. The heritage of American lib- erty is peculiarly ours by right of de- scent: but it Is a heritage so full and so large that unless it is shared by others it becomes little better than a useless, time-stained souvenir.
 Gentlemen of the park commission of New Haven. it is my privilege. in | behalf of the Connecticut Society of Sons of the American Revolution, to present to you this. memorial tablet. in full consciousness that, in your custody and in the custody of your successors, it will always stand for the purposes and principles for which it is designed Marking, as it does, on the part of our society, a filial reverence for patriots who served in the revolution, 1t marks also an event l in the history of this metropolis of | Connecticut which you will take pride in rescuing from the obscurity in which | it has too long remained. It is the hope and belief of our society that the knowledge of such events will in- spire the coming generation more fully | than it has inspired the present one; l it is our aim to commemorate such 1 events with this purpose in view We are much encouraged by the result of
 
 society's existence. It is not In a l boastful spirit, but with a feeling of | flial satisfaction, that we look upon the restoration of the Lebanon war l office, the observance of Flag day. the memorial tablet at Hartford and the prize essays on revolutionary subjects l by the school children of our state, as work peculiarly our own, and. as we believe, far-reaching in it's results, l And now it is our privilege to place i in your hands one more tribute to the memory of the men who fought that we might be free. May these letters of brass tell to our children and our children's children that this soil is hal lowed, and that the memory of patriots cannot perish from the earth.
 At this point Albert William Phelps son of Erastus Phelps, soldier in the Revolutionary war, unveiled the tablet The inscription on it is as follows:
 ON THIS SPOT A SIGNAL BEACON 1 WAS ESTABLISHED IN TITS,
 AND ABOUT THIS HILL l AMERICAN PATRIOTS
 BRAvELY RESISTED A LARGE FORGE
 OF INVADING BRITISH TROOPS JULY 5, 1779.
 TO HONOR THE DEEDS OF THE FATHERS
 l THE CONNECTICUT SOCIETY,
 SONS OF THE AMERICAN REvOLU
 TION,
 | PLACED THIS TABLET, 1895.
 Tn one corner is figure of a conti mental soldier, one hand grasping Z blow and in the other holding a mukset representing the farmer-soldier of tn, 1 Revolution.
 Mayor Albert c. Hendrick (ex-officio) president of the board of park commits sioners, then made the speech of ac ceptance, and was followed by the ora tion of the day by the Hon. Orville H Platt, United States senator. His ora ton was as follows:
 | SENATOR PLATES GRAFTON.
 Fellow Citizens:
 Moved by common impulse, ", come here to-day to mark a place ant commemorate an event One hundred and sixteen years have elapsed sine, the event occurred; the actors hay,