The citizen., 1899-03-10
Frederick The
Home of Heroes" "
Full Text of the Response Of
Judge McSherry to the
Toast at the Schley
Banquet.

In response to the toast, erred:
erick the home of her0eS," Chief
Judge MrSherry, of the Maryland
Court Of Appeals, said:
"Geographiral location may
have a great deal to do with i'll
tellectnal development and with
determining the ultimate career
of an individual. 1t is altogether
possible that Admiral Schlcy
would have been a great man
wherever born. but he was bound
10 be great when born in Freder-
ick County. and in turn he has
reflected his greatness on the
place of his nativity. Applause.
There is something in the air one
breathcS, in the scenery that sur
rounds ones birthplace, in the
traditions. the history and the
customs which belong to it, that
somehow. imperceptably, but
surely, mouldS the temperament
and shapes, to some extent, the
physical and mental qualities.
From an ancestry stretching far
back to an early period-a period
( when frontier conflicts with the
Indian tribes that infested the
then western borders of the coun-
/ Is accustomed the settlers to the
perilS and the hardShipS Of war
from an ancestry dwelling in such
a region, Admiral Schley inherit
ed those traits and characteristics
which so conSpicuouSly mark him
as tenacious fighter. Applause.
"The county from which he
came has always been Il locality
where loyalty and patriotism pre-
dominated. Nearly eleven Years
. before the Declaration of indie
prndence dated a new epoch in
the history Of self government
the colonial Frederick County
Court committed its recalcitrant
clerk to Jail for obcling tie pro
visions of the obnoxious stamp
act, and for refusing to issue
writS without stamps. Later on
when the war cloud burst over
Lexington two companies of the
sturdy and patriotic citizens of
the county. under Captain CreS-
sap. marched to the assistance of
the patriots of Massachusetts
and they were the first troops
who crossed the borders of the
colony on the out tbreak of h0Stili-
ties. 1t was from the town of
Frederick, and after serving as a
subordinate in the office of the
clerk of the court, that Otto IIol
land Williams entered the mill
tary service of the colony as
lieutenant. He subsequently rose
to the rank of brigadicr- general
in the Maryland Line. His skill
and courage earned for him the
distinction of being one of the
most accomplished officers in the
Continental army.
''lt WAS the same county that
furnished more men 20 fill the
ranks of the famous Maryland
Line than any other county of
the infant commonwealth. There
was not conflict from Long Is
land to Yorktown, where Mary.
land troops were engaged, where
heroes of Frederick were not mum
hered among the dead and wound.
ed; and the early minute books of
the Orphans Court are practically
muster rolls of the disabled. No
troops in the Continental army
rendered better service, endured
more fatigue or won greater re
n0wn than the Maryland Line.
Applause. In proportion to
1 their number no body of men Suf-
fered more severely. They were
the first to use the bayonet
against the experienced regulars
of the enemy-and that, too, in
their earliest battleS-throughOut
the struggles Of the war they
were most often called on to lead
with that bloody weapon into the
ranks of the foe. They seldom
Shrank from the encounter. AT
Long Island mere fragment of
a battalion shook, with repeated
charges, a whole brigade OF Brit
iSh regulars. At White Plains
they held the advancing columns
at bay. AT Harlem Heights they
4 drove the enemy from the field.
At Germantown they swept
/ through the hostile camp with
their fixed bayonetS aud far in
advance of the rest of the army,
and at Cowpens and at Eutaw,
1 their serried ranks, with unloaded
muSketS. bore down all opposi-
ton. Though at Gulitord and
Camden victory did not settle ON
their banners, by their desperate
courage they excited the admira-
tiOn and surprise of their enemies.
These were the heroes who made
history, and the homes of many
Of them were amid the hills and
in the valleys, in the towns and
in the hamlets of Frederick
County. You may applaud the