The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1908-12-17
Civil War Stories
where Gen. Grant Died.

SO much 10 make this country glorious
among the nations of the world, there
/ cones a feeling Of awe and reverence
i as he stands amid the scenes made IA
4 nous by the deeds Of these heroes. He
instinctively raises his hat as he gaZes
/ on the places where they breathed their
/ last, or stands beside the mould which
covers their ashes
/ What man is not the better Ameri-
can for having visited the grave OF
Mary. the beloved mother of Washing
ton, on the outskirts Of Fredericks-
/ burg? Alone and with head barred
stood for an hour some years since
gazing on that neglected grave. and II
seemed as though the very solitude
+ cried out against the nation which had
forgotten the resting place of the wem-
an who had brought into the world the
greatest man of the eighteenth century
and made possible the freedom of mil
lions of people Thanks to band of
noble women. splendid shaft now
rears itself aloft above these sacred
ashes and tells its story to visiting
thousands.
Who is not the better patriot for hay-
ing made q visit to Mount Vernon,
+ Va the beautiful home of Washing
ton, the father of his country: AS one
wanders through the rooms Of the old
mansion, inspects the hundred objects
which were intimately associated with
our first President. studies the man
Ter Of his home life and views the
tomb In which rest his ashes. one is, as
( it were, brought face to face with
Washington as man and a patriot
/ and learns the lesson of human effort.
human sacrifice and human posslbili-
ties. as no study of biography will
teach them. I remember how the loud
laugh which speaks the vacant mind
of one tourist grated on my ears and
apparently shocked others as we stood
in the vacant pathway which winds
past the tomb of the man whose name
and deeds will live as long as liberty
survives. But even this idiot was not
quite so nearly unteachable as he must
have been before that visit
The Declaration Of Independence be-
came to me somehow more real. more
| palpable than ever before, as l sat in
the very room In the Monticello man.
sion I'm which Thomas jefferson sat
when he wrote the immortal document
which advanced the cause of human
/ liberty more than 1t had been for+ard-
as l stood in the shadow OF the simple
but noble shaft which marks Jeffer-
sons grave, 1 felt that / had taken a
lesson in American history more valu-
able than any which schools teach.
Such, or closely allied, must be the
I feelings Of any American who views
the tomb of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the
hero Of the Lost Cause, at Lexington
Va; the unmarked grave of John Ty-
Ter and the ornate tomb of James Mon
roe in Hollywood cemetery, Richmond
the old theater In Washington where
Lincoln fell at the hands of the asSas.
sin; the tablet set in the floor Of the
depot at the nations capital to mark
the spot where Garfield fell, the victim
of half-crazed Guiteau, or the thousand
and one other places of historic inter.
est with which our country is dotted
OF such places, each of which has It's
great lesson to impart, few are more
interesting than Mt. MacGregOr, Sara
toga county, New York 1t was there
In small and unpretentious cottage
that Gen. Ulysses s. Grant, the great
est soldier of modern times and twice
President of the United States
breathed his last.
The mountain, to the top of which
the dying heroswas taken on the after
noon of June %, 1885, i'm the vain hope
that there, amid the purest air anC
the pleasantest surroundings, he might
successfully battle with the only Foe
which ever conquered him-Death-
and where he succumbed to the inevi
table after the bravest Of bis many
battles, is about nine miles north OF
Saratoga and rears its head some 1.3O(
feet above tide-water. The view from
the summit is superb. The Adiron
dacks, the Green mountains of Yer
mont and the Fishkil mountains form
almost a complete circle on the hori
zon, while the valley intervening is en-
trancing in its beatty. Saratoga lake
glimmers in the distance. part of Sara
toga village is visible. and on a cleal
day one may see the monument a
Schuylerville, where the British gen
eral, Burgoyne. surrendered to til,
American forces In the war OF indie
pendence.
The cottage In which Grant breathet
his last was the property of Joseph w
Drexel, of New York, who had pur
chased 1t for summer residence
Learning that the generals physician.
desired 10 remove their distinguished
patient from the coast to the noun
tains, Mr.. Drexel offered his cottage
and the tender was accepted will
thanks. When the general came to thu
cottage every one knew that his dis
ease was fatal, but it was hoped, nj
most against hope. that his life nigh
be prolonged indefinitely. 1t was il
October of the year before that he frs
complained of q soreness in his throat
His family physician was consulte,
and he advised the calling In of
specialist. Then the awful truth wa.
learned. The general was sufferin:
with cancer. On the long months o.
excruciating agony which followed ant
ON his heroic efforts to finish his Ne
molrs and thus provide his widow Will
a competency. there is no need 4
dwell, for all the world is familiar
with them. Sufficient is 1t to say that
suffering as he was from a painful
malignant and fatal disease he neve
complained, but worked steadily on hi
book, facing death with the grim cour
age that had always distinguished hin
When he could no longer talk, he com