Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1904-06-03
MEMORIAL DAY.


profuse display of flags, and nearly al
the store windows were nicely decorated
Shortly after $50 the veterans, heade,
by the fife aud drum corps, aud escorte,
by the Sons of Veterans, left their hal
to go to the cemetery, where the grave:
Of departed comrades were decorated
with the customary exercises on suel
occasions. One extra grave this year
that of Frank Kimball. At the com
pletion of the service at the cemetery
all proceeded to the opera house where
the remainder of the days exercies were
carried out, consisting of the reading Of
the general orders, the salute to the
dead, etc. Prayer was offered by the
Rev. Thos. Hall, and there was some
excellent music by mixed quartette
Next followed the address, Commander
johnson introducing the speaker, the
Rev. VIM. Shaw, who gave a splendid
address, the underlying theme of which
was "The Flag" He said in part;
Commander of the Post, and members
of the q. A. R.-Because so many loyal
men tented and died on the "Old Camp
Ground" / am able to speak to citizens
of the UNITED States. You followed
the Flag, fought for it, bled for it, and
we meet to remember and honor those
of your comrades who died for it. We
know of your faithfulness and your de-
votion. 1t is illustrated by the soldier
who at the storming of Fort Donelson
was wounded on Saturday morning and
lay until Sunday night before help came,
and on being asked whether he did not
think his case ought to have been at
tended to earlier, replied, "No, they
couldn't, they had to take the Fort, and
when they took it cheered." We know
also of the sacrifice and devotion of the
women of the North, typified by that
mother watching her boy die at the
hospital of jefferson Barracks. 81 had
seven sons; they are all dead but him,
and the doctors tell ME he will die to-
night" To such men and women the
Flag means something-more than sent
iment-an ideal they were Willing to
suffer and die to attain and preserve.
The Flag means Liberty, and that
consists in the removal of obstacles. 1t
is flung to the breeze in the year of Ben
nington and Saratoga. The fathers are
working out and fighting for freedom,
and if after Bennington and Saratoga,
Valley Forge and Morristown follow and
everything seems dark for the cause,
Yorktown follows, for freedom is Gods
plan. Freedom is not yet attained, how
ever. In the South, under the Stars and
Stripes, the slave drivers whip is heard,
and felt, and in the nations capital
States Rights is advocated. 1t needed
no prophet to tell where the next stand
must be made and what the next obsta-
Gle to be removed. Great Christian
denominations are split, and then Fort
Sumpter is attacked, and war has COM
menced. At Antietam 10000 union
men lay down their lives, Gettysburg
$4,000 more. The loyal men of the
North Orally round the Flag" and
Freedom is won.
The Flag, through the door opened
in Cuba, extends the benefits of free.
dom to other people.
The Flag stands for Union. No
localization of interests that led to
iealousies and turmoil; '60-'64 settled
the difficulty. Stars may be added, but
not taken out. The United States is an
united nation and the bonds are growing
stronger.
The Flag stands for Justice, Equal
Rights, Supremacy of Law. No discrim-
ination on account of color, race, or con-
dition. Justice demands that our insti-
buttons be safeguarded, but law when
once made shall be applied impartially.
The Flag also means Christian civil
cation, meaning that American civiliza-
ton is founded on Christian principles.
What has the cost been? The soldier
knows something of it, but the full cost
can never be computed. Useless to speak
of war debts, material losses; dollars
and cents sink into insignificance beside
the lives of men. If we would have any
adequate idea of the cost we must go to
some of the bereaved homes-and we
could find them everywhere at the close
of the war-and when we have learned
of the greatness of the sacrifice there, 60
into the sick and convalescent camps.
From the Rappahannock to the Potomac
in the winter of '62-3 we shall find from
thirty to forty thousand union men, in
and around Washington we shall find
thirty thousand more. Visit the scene
of that series of battles called the Battles
of the Wilderness and you will find
sixty thousand union men killed and
wounded. No, we can't compute the
cost of the Flag with all that it means
L :, - L. Il s,..l &c l., tho futnra ar