The Worcester spy., 1898-10-21
His Medallion
Presented to
GRAND ARMY POST
Postmaster Greene's Speech
in Presenting Gift,


medallion, which was recently present.
ed to George H. Ward Post 10, G. A. r.,
by the members. of the 18th Massachu-
setts regiment, was unveiled, and the
formal acceptance of the gift was
made.
! The exercises were simple, yet very
! impressive, and there was in attend
ance large number of the boys in
blue and their friends. Previous to the
acceptance of the memorial, there was
a business meeting of the veterans,
which was afterward declared open.
| AT the open meeting, Commander
| Daniel e. Burbank presiding, there
was a very interesting program rem
dered, which included speeches by the
| old soldiers and selections of a vocal
and instrumental nature. At the OPEN
| ing Postmaster j. Evarts Greene in
| behalf of the 18th regiment, presented
| to the post the medallion of the brave
| soldier for whom the organization was
named, Col George H. Ward, and his
remarks regarding the life work Of Col
Ward were interesting.
He referred to the inspiring work of
the colonel, and said that his life was
one worthy of emulation by any one
| Then the speaker referred to the sub
1ect of the memorial, and in presenting
| 1t to the post said:
Mr.. Commander and Comrades of
Post 10: l am deputed by my com
rades OF the 10Th regiment to present to
| you medallion portrait in marble Of
our gallant former commander. whose
nonored name you have adopted as
that or your post, and in doing this
to say something of him who was to
the men who knew him, and who,
nope, Will be remembered for all time
as perhaps more truly than any of the
men OF his day, the representative eiti-
zen soldier of Worcester
My words will be few. but before I
say what l wish to say, let me give a
short account which is the occasion of
| our meeting. Twelve years ago. when
the commonwealth appropriated a large
sum to assist the several regiments
and other military bodies of the state
Whlcn had been engaged with the enc
| my at gettysburg, in placing on the
neld or that tremendous conflict the
| memorials of their service there the
loth regiment association undertook to
erect memorial to Col Ward on the
spot where he fell. This marble medal
| non portrait, executed by the Sculntor
oConnor, our fellow -townsman, was
set IN the face of the granite monu-
! n5eht' Where 1t remained for a period
I
! BUT 1t was not properly secured in
place Moisture penetrated and found
a lodgment behind the medallion and
| tfeezlng there, threw out the marble
| which fell to the ground. A commit
| Tee OF the association of which Capt
| DAVID M. Earle was the most active
member, found that the medallion could
not be securely replaced, and it was
then decided to reproduce the work in
bronze, using the sculptor's effort as a.
model This was done, and the monu-
ment now stands, bearing the portrait
| OF Col. Ward in bronze The regimen
tai association, many of whom are
members of your post, having no per-
manent abiding place, and no proper
custodian of this treasure voted to
present II TO your post, and I now, in
rnelr pehali. commit it to your charge
preserve it while your organization
endures. Provide for its permanent
and honorable custody after your post
mas ceased to be- for it is the portrait
OF one whom we respected and loved
as the soldier who formed, organized
and instructed our regiment and com
manded it in its greatest battle, dying
soldiers death on the field where his
work was done, the valiant soldier
whose eminent merit YOU have recoe-
nized by choosing his name.
| have styled Col. Ward the repre-
sentative citizen soldier of Worcester.
and may add that his was a represen-
tative regiment not meaning that
either was simply Of average quality.
but that each had notably, and in huge
measure, that character and those
qualities which distinguish the Ameri-
can citizen soldier and the American
volunteer regiment from the soldier and
the regiment of other nations
OF the regiment this was true. as all
who remember it know. It's men, en-
listed and commissioned alike, re-
ceived their education in the common
schools, in the shop, on the farm, or
in the counting-room. There were not
in this regiment men of wealth. or
those whose social prominence was OF
value to their military career, every
body stood on the same level Of Amer
lean citizenship, respectable, self-re-
specting, self-reliant, obeying the call
to arms not for any spirit of ambition,
love of glory, or want of occupation,
but because it was the call of patriotic
duty.
1t was their fortune to do some of the
boldest most savage and deadly fight
ing of the war. They did not spare
themselves. They fought gallantly,
and many of them died gloriously like
the valiant sons they were of Massa-
chusetts. OF such a regiment, Col.
Ward was a fit commander He stood
on the same social sphere as did his
comrades; his birth was like theirs:
with them he had been taught in the
common schools; like them, he gained
his living by honorable labor He had
not known the advantages and the
temptations of wealth. He did
not owe his position or advancement to
political and family influence He had
the same courage, self-resepct and self
reliance which pervaded the men Of all
ranks and made our volunteer soldiers
formidable. He was inspired by the
same sense of 4 duty to his country
which made the call to arms an inaper-
ative summons to all the young man
hood of MaSsa achusetts. and to the other
states as well. He was not ambitions
of military rank or renown; duty, not
the lust of glory, spurred him to the
field
In these elements of character he
was not distinguishable from hundreds
of others, the companions and friends
of his youth, and he was diligent in his
business, faithful to his family. faith
full in the performance of his civic du-
ties, and true to all his work
While l do not claim for him great
military genius, for he certainly did
not love fighting for its own sake, there
was something essentially militant in
his nature. Long before the cali to
arms, long before the first rumble or
the coming storm, he had seen with
exceptional foresight. that military
science might become a citizens duty,
and that preparation for it was there-
fore duty. Before this he had said,
There will be war between the nortn
and the south, and when we have war,
l shall be in ii"
His time came when the 18th regi-
ment was brought together, and he took
the command, as lieutenant colonel,
under Col. Devens. returned from his