The Somerset reporter., 1895-06-06

sentiment out of the pages of written
and half-forgottcn history, a when we
Try to recall the heroism of the en-
bdttled farmers at Concord Bridge and
! Lexington and Bunker Hill. II is our
good fortune TO memorable a glorious
passage in the history of the world, Of
which we were ourselves a part. to re-
member in our own experience. how
history. as it tlashed across the page of
/ this Century. came to be. What them
+ ct u ask, do We memorable today:
Not sectional feeling. The Younger
generation of to-day cannot realize the
intensity OF sectional feeling that exist
+ ed before the var, especially the bitter
aess Of The south against The anti
/ slavery sentiment in the north. and the
| deep resentment Of the north against the
domneeriug spirit in southern polti-
cans and Shareholders. We have come
/ To see much better feeling. on both sides
and have no desire to revive the bitter.
hess Of the days before tire var.
Nor do We wish to memorialize the sad
/ estfangement enkindlcd by a war Of
/ brothers. Tie end of the struggle al
! AapomattoX made Us all brothers i'm 4
new and deeper sense than ever before.
/ When secession and slavery passed away
/ in the smoke Of battle, they lett the op.
+ posing ranks one in interests rs they had
! beeh one in blood and race; and Is the
years 70 by there have been and there
| will be fewer tannts at the Rebels and
! the Aanks aud more of sentimental re-
| collections on both sides, ent Winning the
/ blue and the gray in our memories and
/ in CTR speech and song. There is no
! thing 10 gain nov by reyiYing the old
! dead issues,
Neither do W. meet to memoir die the
Slrife of political parties their triumphs
and their defeats. The political issues
/ of to-day are quite different from those
Of a generation since, and re are not
concerned with them Just now.
| We rise above all these issues. new aud
old. tonight. aud endeavor to trace back
to is source the deep current of conyic-
! ton that swept Us out Of peaceful occu-
/ pations and quiet homes into the turbid
| torrent OF mammoth war. To hold up
before our minds, and the minds of a
new generation, the high resolve which
led thousands of young men in those
days to lay their life aud everything
dear on earth upon the altar of their
country, to cab back the swelling of
heart in many manly breast for
mother country in her peril, to feel
again that pure and holy love, even for
our enemies, which made IL willing 10
die for them. and by their own hlnds.
rather than permit them to destroy their
and our only hope Of national honor aud
greatness, to memOrialize such senti-
ments, to review such passage in our
lives Is our purpose on these memorial
days
Ella. H..
even then. that our hearts were fred
We gave them all the credit of thinking
thai they were lighting for their homes
a d their liberties. But it WIS against
the viciOu, prneipls of Sc ces.i3n chief
~ that our souls rose in Indignation.
Al. II we could only make Til genera
ton feel for one hour the anbearabe
thought Of Il divided country and of
triumphant slave empire on orr southern
border with the city Of Washington for
its capitol To think that we actually
faced that possibility, Comrades, you and
|, and that We have lived to see a day
When even our own children find it i'm
possible to conceive Of such "A thing
DO | seem to idcalize the character of
the volunteers of the civil war Little
do they know them or their spirit, who
think so. And this is one reason for
turning back to that bloody page in our
history. 1t il but poorly understood.
Men on both sides went into the war by
thousands with all the heroism of
martyrs, and were held to their terrible
task, not by the desire of pay or glory,
but by devotion to the higher interests
of mankind. They had not supposed
themselves capable of such spirit and
of such deeds. Indeed they did not
think of themselves as performing great
deeds.
do not say that every volunteer in
those years of our great struggle devot- !
ed himself to the great cause of freedom
and union with the same deliberate and
thoughtful purpose, but it was this
spirit that gave the prevailing tone to
our high endcayor, and drew along with |
it, as with the current of river, the |
great variety Of motives and reasons |
that supplied our armies with men. The |
selfish ambitions of some officers and the !
low lives of some of the men both before |
and since the war do not furnish the |
true criterion by which to Judge of the
qualities of the veterans.
But let Us call to mind another cfaract-
erstic of the soldiers of 1851 to %.
Next to their earnest purpose in taking
up arms for righteous cause WAS their
patience in holding on with tenacity
that never relaxed. And those were
days and years that sorely tried the pa
thence of men who were exposing their
lives to death for their country's sake.
| must not detain you longer tonight, !
though have made no allusion to the |
gentle and grateful ministry of those |
who suffered no less than the old soldiers |
and who gave up for their country's |
life what was dearer to them than their |
own lives, mean the mothers and wives, |
the sisters and sweeChearts of those days |
of cruel partings and terrible bereave-
ments. All. the dear mothers and |
wives at home They had the worst of
it after all,the long strain of suspense, !
heart-ache and agony of fear, while we
were seeing the country, enjoying some |
picturesque bivouac in 'old Nirgiucy,"
or steaming down the Chesapeake or up
the James and Pamunkev rivers, and
only at long intervals actually under
fire. We men had only our own expert
enee to worry through, perchanee to en-
Joy. but the dear souls at home had all
the terrorS of Imagination to endure,
often worse than the reality.
The world doesn't hear so much about
the veteran women Of 81 As it does about
-. Il