The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1897-07-23
Immediately after the Presentation


came next, escorted by Chairman w.
H. Harper of the Executive Commit
tee, and George r. Peck, the orator of
the day. SCULPTOR St. Gaudens fol-
lowed.
The Logan family, Mrs. John A Lo-
gan, Major and Mrs. VIM. F. Tucker,
Captain and Mrs, John A. Logan, were
almost the last to enter the stand.
The boom of cannon on board the
revenue cutters Gresham, Fessenden
and Calumet, anchored in the bay, an
nounced the hour of /.
The Rev. DR.. Arthur Edwards in an
eloquent prayer opened the ceremonies.
Henry w. Blodgett, Chairman of the
Presentation Committee, on behalf of
the Commissioners, presented the mon
ument to the State, and amidst the
rattle of artillery, Little Jack the
Third" tugged at the silken cord, the
wells fell from tae statue and the thou
sands applauded.
Again the artillery salute rent the
air as the United States Band struck
up the strong Battle Scenes of the
War"
Governor Tanner, in a short speech,
S'NSNpbCo l4IC IIiOIluilcUl Oh Dendll VI
Illinois, and gave way to the orator of
the day, George R. Peck Mr. Peck
paid an eloquent tribute to the soldier
statesman, with whom he served as a
comrade in arms
The speaker said in part: illinois is
proud and happy. Waiting patiently
for fitting time, she opens all her well
coming gates and bids the world take
note what breed of men she rears.
Here is the product of her soil, and
here she brings a mothers exultant
heart to be enshrined. This great city,
the lake, with all it's breadth of waters
the prairies stretching outward to the
West and the sky mingling light and
cloud in an ever changing picture, are
respondent witnesses of the scene. The
event, the hour and the men are his
torc
THE soldier in battle does not, con-
sciously, arrange dramatic situations.
When John A. Logan, summoned des-
tiny, rode, sabered and spurred, along
these bleeding lines, beautiful in the
deep sense that makes the heroic al
ways beautiful he little thought of the
banners that wave for him to-day.
Goethe declared that genius could al
ways be known by it's doing first the
duty that was nearest. The readiness
is ALI is Shakespeare way Of speak
ing the same great truth. The Greeks
believed that ships, steered by the gods
always came to port, but a truer knowl-
edge counts upon the practical skill of
the men at the helm.
THAT day at Atlanta had none of the
tip uhi orixr a,.ti-
fetal renown to battlefields No pyra-
mids, hiding the grim secrets of the
centuries, looked down upon them. 1t
was not Lodi, where a General could
dash across bridge to victory. There
were no narrow paths to glory 1t was
breast-to to- breast fighting, such as sell
dom comes in any war-a confused
mass struggling against an enemy that
was everywhere. And in the midst of
them was Logan, chief-not because of
his epaulets, but because the command
had fallen on one who knew what to do
and could not breathe until it was done
He is past all flattery. Shall we call
him brave? Others have worn that
crimson badge. Great men become
types. The people single them out, with
the ready common sense which belongs
to no man, but to all men. Logan is
Our Great Volunteer. So they have
named him, and so he will be known,
when we are forgotten. Whatever is
heroic they can make classic.
'Logan's place in the war is secure
The chroniclers of the future will write
of him as Froisart did of the knights
and heroes of medieval times. 1t is,
and will always be, a glorious story.
when the war was almost over and
the inevitable triumph was plainly Wis
ible. there came to him an opportunity
which would have been a trial and
temptation to most men. But it was
not to him. Grant sent him to relieve
Thomas, and in doing so, gave notice
to all the world that Logan was fit for
high command 1t was one of the most
picturesque situations of the war The
Army of the Potomac was holding the
Confederacy by the throat, while Sher-
man, marching to the sea, was cutting
all its veins and arteries. Meanwhile
Thomas, with beleaguered Nashville at
his back, was making ready, slowly but
surely, for the blow that should kill
Grant, the imperturbable, seeing the
whole field, was, for once. impatient
and could wait no longer. He called for
his Thunderbolt, and sent Logan, whom
no one had ever thought slow, to make
the fight. I could name men with stars
on their shoulders, who would have
seized that opportunity to humiliate the
man whose lineage ran from Mill
Spring through Corinth, Murfreesboro
and Chickamauga to Atlanta. He, like
Logan, had become type. He was the
synonym for that enduring courage
which stays forever in its place.
But Logan FASTENED to the field,
where Thomas and Hood were prepar-
ing for their last grapple, stopped at
Louisville; not because it seemed best
for his own fortunes. but because it was
right. He, who would have flown to
any place where danger lay, halted at
that supreme moment He ruled his
own soul; and his conduct shines with
a greater light when we read in Sher-
mans memoirs that after the battle of
Atlanta, Thomas-conscientio be-
yond any question demonstrated
warmly against giving the command
of the Army of the Tennessee to Logan
The day Logan halted on his way to
/ Nashville brought him the noblest re-
yenge that ever one brave man had
| over another. 1t reads like some old
! story of romance. In his pocket was
the order which gave him the right to
! supersede the general who had said he
must not command the Army of the
| Tennessee. Both now are gone. Their
armies viii never camp again, but the
nation loves and honors the two
men who were thus drawn together in
/ those last great days. The world will
never forget how Logan stopped at
/ Louisviile-as who else would ?-and left