The times., 1899-05-31
HOMAGE PAID TO THE
DEPARTED PATRIOTS
Continued from Second Page.)

/ ernment of the United States.
This solemn, silent. and beautiful city
of the dead, peopled by thousands of gal
liant heroes, men who died In the very
morning of life, brave accomplishing,
marching steadily on, fighting great bat
| ties, giving up their lives by the tens of
| thousands, that this glorious country CT
ours might remain one and undivided.
! did you ever pause and think that il
| our dead and living comrades had failed
in doing their whole duty to this country.
and If the South had won, that this beauti-
ful spot, this silent city of sleepers, would
| have been, in all probability, the grim
fortress of another nation and the beautiful
! city of Washington a frontier post of the
North, and perhaps it would now be a
silent deserted, and crumhling capital,
with nothing left but moldering memories
of the past. memories of slavery, blood
shed, carnage, and destruction?
THE bravery of the Union soldiers and
sailors has given to the nation unity and
| good WILL and Washington our beautiful
| city. the capital of one of the greatest
powers OF the earth.
AT the present time, as never before,
our Government is held in high respect by
the nations of the world. Notwithstanding
| the old copperhead element still lives The
past year has wrought changes in the opin-
ions OF foreign nations, highly fiattering to
our people.
This has been accomplished by the
great and patriotic labor of the Admins
tration and our brave. gallant soldiers and
sailors The nations of the earth have
been taught a lesson which they will not
soon forget. All honor and glory 20 the
valorous sons of the North and South. We
will love and revere their memories, and
as long as life lasts we will strew the hal
lowed graves of their dead with the richest
of Gods beautiful flowers.
mo ties are SO strong as those that are
welded in the fire of battle. No fraternity
so holy. no fellowship SO brotherly, as
that which comes from the memory of our
mutual suffering endured for a cause Il at
was patriotic and sacred. Such memories
will remain ever part of our lives.
The services of the Union soldiers and
sailors were for humanity's sake, and were
given when this nation was gasping for
the very breath of life. 1t was a glorious
privilege of battle for the holy cause of
freedom. Freedom for all men living
under the folds of this flag.
ut is sad fact, brought home TO us
more often as the days glide by, that our
ranks are being rapidly depleted. The
years which pass so quickly are bearing
the remnant of the grand old Union Army
and Navy to that Land of Sunshine which
lies beyond the grave.
In few years taps will have sounded
for us, and the 'reveile' of a glorious
resurrection morning will summon US to
heavens roll call.
The Marine Band then rendered 'The
Holy City and the Rev. w. H. Honn, the
department chaplain, offered a fervent
invocation. Orders were read by Assist
ant Adjutant General Chase and after an
other rendition by the Marine Band Hon.
Webster Davis was introduced and spoke,
in part, as follows:
Address of webster Davis
Commander and Veterans: You were
called upon to take part in the most ter
rible war of the nineteenth century. There
have been wars of longer duration. but
none more terrible than that war of neigh
Dor against neighhor, brother against
brother, and father against son. For four
long years the echo of the picket's rifle did
not cease. The total number of men COM
prising the Union forces, in army snd
havy, during the Civil War, aggregated
almost three millions There were over
one hundred land battles in which one
side or the other lost more than five hun
dred men. AT Gettysburg. alone, more
than fifteen thousand Americans were lost
nearly half of them being defenders OF
the Union. On both sides which partici
pated in that conflict more than half a
million lives were lost before its end.
Counting those who received wounds not
considered mortal, but who have been dy
ing since from their effects, nearly sevel
hundred thousand soldiers who wore the
blue have died. How appalling this is
when you contemplate its magnitude. II
the graves of those Union soldiers were
placed side by side they would extend al
most distance of five hundred miles
Stepping from one to the other you might
walk from Washington to Philadelphia
thence to New York, thence to a point
twenty miles beyond Boston, and still be
on the grayes-a distance almost as great
as that from Washington to Cincinnati;
almost one-sixth of the distance across
the continent, from Washington to San
Francisco
These men, together with their com
rades sacrificed everything-the comforts
of home and happiness and hopes of the
future. They offered their services and
their lives for the service of their coun-
try. They turned their backs on for
tune. Some turned away from young
wives, with prattling babe at the breast;
some from the dear old mother, whose face
was wet with tears as she kissed her son
a last farewell And they made all this |
sacrifice for principle. These men were |
hardened and finely tempered like Damas- |
Gus steel by heroic labors and hardships |
for their country. The world has never |
seen grander, braver, or better men They |
marched, camped, fought, bled, and died |
together. Doubtless many of them, as |
they closed their eyes in death, gazed
down the vista of the future, and saw in |
part the realization of the hopes and |
dreams of their vanished youth, and were
content with the work assigned them
that of aiding in saving the imperishable |
soliditV and glory of the Union
And as | see their surviving comrades |
marching along the streets on Decoration |
Day. bearing the flowers of springtime to |
the cemetery TO place them on the graves
of their comrades who have gone before.
notice their tottering step their feeble |
forms, bending under the weight of years |
some on crutches, some with empty sleeves |
all nearing the end of lifes journey.
And / cannot help but wonder is II |
possible that this remnant of old crippled |
veterans is all that is left of that once
wonderful army-the greatest army in all |
the world And are these the strong. rug
ged young Americans who saved the Union !
more than a third OF century ago? Are |
these the curly-headed boys who left their |
places in the shops and factories of New |
England to endure the hardships of war? |
Are these the muscular miners who. in the |
mines of Pennsylvania, heard the call for |
volunteers? Are these the men whose |
eyes were as keen as the eagles as they |
emerged from the pine woods of Maine? |
Are these the young patriots whose step |
was light as that of the bounding deer |
on the granite hills of Vermont who has
tened away 10 defend their country? Are |
these swarthy men of the mountains, the |
sinewy farmers of the prairies, the wild |
riders of the plains who went away in the |
long ago to join the patriot thousands on |
That wondrous march to glory, filling the !
forest aisles with their battle cry. We |