The record-union., 1899-04-26

" 1--we Will lndl OIL Tile sNOluiItCCl oA1AAS
as long as the Republic.
Having, then, this military system
at the outbreak of the great Civil war;
call from the General Government /
on California for troops met an lmme-
date response. California furn1sheo
during that momentous struggle ten
full regiments and two baftalions or
nearly 11,0OO men. She not only dld
this, but more. So anxious were they
to show their loyalty to the Federal
Government that several companies
volunteered their services to and were
mustered into the service of other
States. which States were given the
credit for these troops. The National
Guard at the outbreak of the Civil War
was not nearly so large nor as we'll
organized then as at present, and the
volunteer was drawn more from civil
life, but many of the volunteer COM
panies We're officered from its ranks,
and some of the ex-National Guards
men of California won imperishable
glory on the battlefields of the East
Long years of peace followed the close
Of this great struggle-years of prosper
ity and plenty. Years which are prone
to lull the military spirit of a nation to
sleep for the military spirit is an en-
ergy Infinitely fiuctuating which rises or
sinks, not only from victory or defeat,
but by activity or resD, when suddenly
the nation was startled by that awful
explosion in the fateful harbor off our
shores under the guns of Havana.
War was upon once more, and the
113 days it lasted showed that the Amer
lean military spirit was not dead nor
h.nl 1l,- i
immortal Perry sent his modest dis
patch after the victory of Lake Erie:
We have met the enemy and they are
ours."
On the first day of May, less than one
year ago, Dewey, in the harbor of Ma
Mia, struck a blow that echoed round
the world!
All honor to the American navy! You,
no doubt remember that long delayed
message from Dewey 1t reminds me
in reference to the part taken by him
self, in that great victory of the one
above mentioned sent by Perry eighty
five years before. Here it is:
Manila, May 1st.
Squadron arrived at Manila at day
break this morning. Immediately en-
gagged the enemy and destroyed the fol-
tilo de Uloa, Isle de Cuba, General Lezo,
Eleuero, Correo, Velasco, Mindano, one
transport and water battery at Cavite.
The squadron is uninjured and only
few men slightly wounded
DEWEY"
How different the dispatches Of Perry
and Dewey from that of julius Caesar,
who, after his great victory in the East,
sent his historic message to the Re-
man Senate: ''Veni, Vidi, Well" Il
came, saw, I conquered"
In their dispatches personality is
omitted. In Caesars though the mes
sage contained but six words, the pro-
noun 'I'' occurred three times
l would not detract one measure Of
praise from the man who fell in battle
on a foreign land or the magnificent
work Of the regulars at Santiago. We
| challenge the annals of war to produce
any greater exhibition of courage and
bravery than that shown by the regu-
lars in their charge up San Juan Hill.
The volunteer showed equal bravery in
| the charge upon the entertainments of
the Filipinos.
1t was the army Of 25O,OO0 men
| raised as they were in two months in
| the camps throughout the country, that
made the nations of the old world
pause, the interventionists hesitate, and
| the Czar of all the Russias to cry for
the disarmament of Europe
Let me read you what our able Pres
ident says of this army of volunteers
| When Major General Breckinridge, who
was commanding an army of 10000
volunteers at Chickamauga Park, sent
D,.o- I'D
| it camp on the eve of their muster-cut
of the United States service and while
the command was still intact In his
invitation to the President he said
MANY feef disappointed on leaving the
military service without a battle or a
campaign" The President replying on
August 11th, says:
THE highest tribute that can be paid
| to the soldier is to say that he per-
| formed his full duty. The field of duty
| is determined by his Government and
wherever that chances to be is the place
of honor. All have helped in the great
cause whether in camp or battle, and
when peace comes all alike are entitled
to the nations gratitude"
The Secretary of War, in a recent re-
port on the same subject, says: ITO the
| heroic men who served in distant lands
the country will ever offer a true need
of praise; but the mighty army in
camp ready and eager to take the field
| should also be given equal credit. It
was their presence, ready at an hours
| notice for any emergency. that over
awed the enemy and proved to him
that resistance would be vain"
ACHIEVEMENTS
To go into a hitsory of the achieve
ments of the California volunteers
would take up too much time on an
occasion of this kind.
Who of you whose gray heads 1 see
around this table do not remember the
struggles of the California Column
through the hot desert sands of Arizona
and New Mexico, or the deeds of that
little squadron of cavalry back yon-
der on the battlefields of Virginia ?
THE California 100' raised by a Ma
tional Guard officer, Captain j: Sewell
Reed, and who fell at the head of his
troops? OF this battalion of cavalry
Major Thompson says: ut was in more
than fifty engagements, over twenty
pitched battles from Harper's Ferry to
Appomattox, and when a fair and
square fight could be obtained were
never beaten
| In the Spanish-American War all of
our California volunteers, as l have
said, were not permitted to go to the
front, through no fault Of theirs. There
were, however, fourteen companies of
Californians who did go, and wherever
| the fight was thickest there was to be
| found the cool head and the rifle Of a