Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-05-27
{. / |! lHI6Ah SERVICE



The veterans Of the Grand Army of
the Republic assembled at their hall
last night and marched to the second
Presbyterian church, where they list
ened to the annual memorial
preached by the pastor, the Rev. Jo-
seph Speers. Considering the inclem-
ency OF the weather. the attendance of
old soldiers was large. A pleasing feat
ure of the service was the special music
which was rendered.
The preacher took his text from End
Timothy 2:3: .'Fhou therefore endure
h%ardships as a good soldier of Jesus
Christ" He said in substance:
The words Of the text were spoken
by a veteran Of the noble army Of the
Apostles" to a young soldier Of Jesus
Christ. They are spiritual in their
meaning, but it will not be out of place
to use them as a starting point tonight,
although they are used b. %young man
to veterans of ono OF the greatest wars
Of a history which began forty years
ago. Forty years is a long time in the
life Of an individual, yet it is forty
years since the first bugle blast stirred
this nation to it's very center, %announc-
ing that the flag OF our country had
been ~dishonored as it fioated over Fort
Humpter in Charleston harbor.
To you veterans and members of the
Grand Army
u the Republic, who answered the call
Of the noble and martyred President.
Abraham Lincoln, it has a distinct and
forceful remembrance, and it is with a
feeling of mingled pride and reverence
that / stand before you this evening to
preach to you the memorial sermon and
recall to you the brave men who gave
up their lives or many a h~ard-fought
battlefield. l see before me the repre-
sentatives of the strength of these
United States, which hold the foremost
place among the nations of the earth,
and l firmly believe that it is to the
Grand Army of the Republic we owe
this honor.
AS | look with reverence upon you
veterans, who though bowed by the
weight of years, l behold the same pa
triotic enthusiasm which characterized
those whom we hold III loving re-
membrane tonight; who, when Fort
Sumpter fell and the President called
for men to protect the integrity OF the
Union, you and your fallen comrades
offered yourselves, and showed your
selves willing to give your lives to pro-
tect the unity Of the nation and the
honor of the flag.
we VINO We're yet unborn, salute you,
we honor you, we thank you. we bless
you veterans of one of the most tre-
mendous wars of history-a war that
had such leaders as Grant, Sherman,
Hancock and Sheridan on the one side,
and Lee and Jackson and Longstreet
and johnson on the other-both sides
OF one blood and kindred and country.
1t is eminently fitting that u an
nual
Memorial Day
should be preceded by a special service
in Gods house, for, as the Grand Army
of the Republic moves before us each
year, in historic review and prophetic
outlook, we are reminded of the ulti-
mate relation which it should sustain to
the Christian religion and of the con-
tribution it can Bake % the progress
of the kingdom Of God in our land; and
well may we, young men, lift our voices
in tuneful salutatiOn and sing Onward,
Christian Soldier, Marching" as with
the cross of Jesus going OF before to
war.
AS we look upon the ~ever-thinning
ranks of the G. A. R., WE are prone to
forget that it was summoned into being
by moral and religious agencies and
that the history it has made is pre-
leminently moral history. Born amid
the gloom and dread of the spring of
of 81, the Grand Army of the Republic
eagerly and loyalty obeyed the call Of
the chief magistrate of the country.
From northern hill and western plain,
from eastern city and midland village,
there gathered an army of $4,000, which
eventually recorded on its muster roll,
enlistments numbering 2,S9S, 304. This
includes those who re-enlisted after
short term of service. Of this number,
the infant State of West Virginia fur
uished 80, 068 men. =
All, veterans of the G.. A. R., your
history is a noble one, but | venture to
say tonight, that it is found not so
much in yourselves as in the woman
hood of our beloved land. When call
ed from workshop and freside to de-
tend the union, and protect the Stars
and Stripes which float Der the land
OF the free and the home OF the brave
the
Unselhsh
of mothers, wives and sisters gave you
strength and courage, and kept you
steady. The thought of those loving
hearts watching and waiting with an
xious dread, helped you to endure the
privations and suffering which they
toiled to relieve, knitting and stitching
and praying for you, and we'll may we
turn to you members Of the Woman's
Relief Corps of the G. A. R. who, in
Gays of peace as we'll as in days OF war,
ever think OF the comforts of the old
soldiers.
1t is true we love to dwell upon the
heroic deeds of brave men, but to You
gentle-hearted women is due a large
l. yL,4I 49,