The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-11-25
ADDRESS OF
PRESIDENT
ROOSEVELT
AT UnUeiling ofo
Monument to
Gen. Sheridan

WASHINGTON, D. c.. Nov. 25.-At
the unyelling OF monument to Gen.
eral Philip H. Sheridan here today
President Roosevelt delivered the fol.
Living address,:
1t is emtnentty fitting that the Ma.
tons lllustrous men, the men who
loom as heroes before tine eyes OF our
people, should be fittingly commem-
GRATED here at the National Capital
and am glad indeed to take part IN
the unvellIng of this statue to General
Sheridan. His name will always stand
iligh on the list of American wSrthies.
Not only was he great general but
he showed his greatness with that
touch OF originality which we call gen.
ius. Indeed this quality Of brllliance
has been in one sense a disadvantage
to his reputation, for 1t has tended to
overshadow his solid ability. We teni
to think Of him snly as tae dashing
cavalry leader, whereas he was in real
tty not cpiy that, but also a great COM
man1er. OF course, the fact In his
career most e2dlly recognized was
his mastery in the necessarily modern
art OF naniiing masses of modern cav
airy so to give them the fullest pos
sible effect, not only in the ordinary
operations OF cavalry which preced4
and follow a battle. but in the battI.,
itself, But In addition he showed ii
the civil war that he was a firstc1ase
army commander both as subordi.
nate Of Grant and when in independ-
ent command. His record in the Val
ley campaign. and again from Five
Forks to Appomattox, is one difficult
to parallel in military history. After
the close cf the great war, in field
waere there was seant glory 10 be
won by the general in chief, he req,
dered signal service which .las gone
almost pnnoticed; for in the tedious
weary Indian wars on the Great Plains
IT was be who developed in thorough
going fashion the system of campaign.
ing in winter which. at the cost of
bitter hardship and peril, finally brake
down the banded strength OF those
formidable warriors, the horse Indians.
His career was typically American.
for from plain beginnings he rose to
the highest military position In our
land, We honor his memory itself;
and moreover, as in the case Of the
other great commanders of his day, his
career symbolizes the careers of all
those men who in the years OF the ma.
tons dIrest need sprang to the front
to risk everything, including life It.
self, and to spend the days Of their
strongest young manhood In valorous
conflict for an ideal. Often we Amer.
leans Nre taunted with having only
material ideal. The empty folly of
the taunt is sufficiently shown by the
presence here today of you men of
the Grand Army, you the comrades
of the desd general, the men VINO serv.
ell with and under him. In all his.
tory we have no greater instance or
subordInation OF self, of the exalting
Of lGity IDEAL over merely material
well-being among the people OF a great
nation, than was shown by our own
people in the civil war.
Aud YOU, the men VINO wore the
blue, would be the first to say that
this sane lofty Indifference to tae
things Of the body, when compared IT,
the tnings of the soul, was shown by
your brothers who wore the gray.
Dreadful was the suffering, dreadful
the loss, of the civil war. Yet It
stands alone among wars in this, that.
now that the wounds are healed. the
memory OF the mighty deeds of valJr
performed on one side no less than on
the other has become the common her.
itage Of all our people in every quar-.
ter Of this country. The completeness
with which this is true is shown by
what Is occurring here to-day. We
meet together to raise monument
to great Union general, in the pres.
ence OF many OF the survivors of the
Union Army; and the Secretary of
War, the man at the mead OF the Army.
who. by virtue of his office, occupies
a special relation to the celebration.
is himself a man who fought in the
Confederate service. Few indeed aava
been The countries where such a con.
junction would have been possible. and
blessed indeed are We that in our own
beloved land It Is not only possible,
but seems so entirely natural as to
excite no comment whatever.