The Indianapolis journal., 1895-08-05
A MEMORIAL SERVICE
SHERIDAN POST HoxoRs THE MEN,
DRY OF ITS IDEAL SOLDIER.
Impressive Services and Excellent
q, Addresses by Judge Black and
Meredith Nicholson.


of one of the great leaders of the war,
which was done by Sheridan Post in honor
OF the man I'm whose honor ii is named. is
a new thing in this city. This service was
held in Plymouth Church yesterday MORN
ing. Commander Calvin, OF Sheridan Post,
presided. The memorial service of the
Grand Army was read. Colonel j. b. Black
delivered an address in which he por-
trayed the deeds and set forth the char
acter OF Sheridan, with whom he served in
very able an interesting manner Judge
Blacks address is one with which audi
ences cannot fail to be pleased He very
naturally and very properly places General
Sheridan in the front rank of Union lead
ers and gives some personal descriptions
which are vivid
Mr.. Nicholson's address is novel in that it
is one of the first in which is given the
views of the son of a veteran concerning
the war for the Union. 1t is so thoughtful
and timely that it is given in full:
.As one of the generation that has
civil war 1 come with a message of grati-
tude. hope and good cheer. To those who
were born after the close Of the war it is
not easy, no matter how earnestly we
strive to learn and TO understand, to ap-
preciate the deep significance of the
bellion, or TO realize the terrors of that
ten or fifteen years ago found it as easy to
understand Thermopylae and Marathon as
Gettysburg, Shiloh and Cedar Creek. But
as we grew older and saw men who had
slept in camps and fought i'm battles, we
could comprehend more nearly what was
meant by war. believe that sons of sol
diers are better able thus TO understand
than those of less fortunate ancestry, for
the fact of Ii must have been kept promi-
nently before us in one way and another
during the most formative years of our
lives. In my own case, IL / may be a bit
personal, i have early recolections of a
sword and a musket as my piaythings; and
ice In many fields, and in whose threads
there lay deal that was and yet re-
mains mysterious and suggestive.
1T Is said sometimes that there is a
tendency on the part of the younger gen.
GRAFTON to forget or to regard carelessly
the lessons of patriotism taught by the war,
but I believe this Is unjust and untrue.
Every time you Of the Grand Army of the
Republic follow dead comrade to his
last bivouac a lesson Is taught TO on-look-
ers. even to careless. thoughtless observ-
ers. in loyalty and patriotism. Every Grand
Army badge that you wear helps some one
to remember; and here In Indiana we have
noble monument which speaks to the
world with dignity and pride of Indianas s
part in maintaining the permanency and
the Grand Army button worn by men on
whom the fates have not smiled, and some
times by others who have been the victims
of unfortunate habits; but of such 1t Is well
and just to remember that they were
brave when 1t meant something to be
on ra beidness ana 00 II IS we'll % to let the magia
tion play about such men, that We may see
and think of them only as hopeful, strong
Joy and hope of youth 10 fight for father
land. / do not believe that any son of a
soldier can view the long line of Grand
Army parade without a thrill of pride in
has country, and of love and admiration
for the great volunteer army which saved
the Nation. Now and in the. years to come
that naen dared their lives for the com,
mon good, and went to battle for great
cause In the old times before God said
I ara tired of kings. | suffer them no
for whim, or to advance some ignoDle
ambition. or because their horses needed
their homes in this nineteenth century.
aha ndon their profitable labor and go forth
to fight other. men unless impelled by
powerful and reasonable motives. When
the order came for s.ie Light Brigade 10
charge. Lord Cardigan said TO himself as
ne got into his saddle. Here goes the last last
the Indiana farmer boy, as he tigntened
his belt and made ready at Shiioh or
Chickamauga, or maybe waited behind the
Here goes the chance of life or health
for the sake of the stars and the Republic
A GOVERNMENT TO LIVE.
Even men of cnly average capacity, en-
lightenment or wisdom, do not like tenn
porary things. There is little pleasure in
performing work which is for the moment
only. At the end of the year there is satis-
faction in looking back over real ac-
complishment-it may be money in the bank.
or knowledge gained, or helpful experience
but there is pleasure in contemplating 1t.
SO 1T was with the fathers of the Republic
Franklin and Jefferson and Washington did
not risk their necks 70 build government
f1.a ot,o 1fo t,ofo q md Ire
feet. So they built with deliberation and
caution, broadly, so that, after all these
years. there is still room to build upward.
The Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution are still vital documents. We
may apply to them the statement made by
the Rev. Myron Reed as to the writings of
but his books still sell
"A nation is something like big family.
A good man believes ,, in his ,o own family: !,
honor. The loyal citizen feels the same
way toward his country. When he hears
mer, or forsakes the plow or drops his pen,
and goes TO look for recruiting office.
When he has finished the business of Tight
he Is sensible man. 10 the shop, or to
the field. or to the Office. and becomes a
private citizen again. We read to-day that
Russia has so many thousand available
Great Britain her great fleets and armies,
but here in the United States We have
we may safely depend upon it that every
man with legs and hands and eyes will
take up a musket in a time of need. We
don't have to keep up blur with a finger
at best II is difficult for those of us who
have come on since the war TO grasp fully
its nature. politically and strategically.
Scant justice Is done to the subject in the
schoolbooks. There has been in many
quarters strange timidity in this matter.
When IVwas attending the public schools
in indianapolis there was no attempt made
10 study the history of the civil war. We
stopped short at Lincoln's administration
So far as we. who were students at that
time. are concerned. nothing happened af-
ter Lincoln's advent. There was no Bull
Run and no Appomattox no Grant, no
Sheridan, no Thomas. The wise administra-
tors OF the indianapolis schools a. that
time would not permit the young minds
confi1ed to their care to know that war
had occurred in which our own fathers had
been participants. This has, believe,
been partially corrected. But within a few
months a committee of the Grand Army of
the Republic has been inspecting the his
tories now in Use in the public schools, and
has found them woefully inadequate. One
must be on guard constantly against in
accuraeies. In the Encyclopedia Britannica
under the head OF Atlanta. you will find it
stated, that after General Sherman had
rapidly to Chattanooga. The Britannca's s
body else in all the wide world but the
editor of the encyclopedia knows how and
why Sherman went TO Chattanooga instead
n ma rrbipQ N fba