New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1909-10-27

for price to be put upon new road
OF prospective happiness. nor has it
offered bargain rates for incorpora-
tions, nor has it ever repudiated its
honest debts.
Now, that is Minnesota. We have,
[ think lesson to take home from
that transaction, and it is this that in
the very beginning, when perhaps the
temptations could attack US most
strongly, when justification, reason
able justification, was not lacking,
our good fathers decided to be hottest
and decided to put the State of Mime
sofa on good. strong, honest foun-
dalton. They built up this great state
then upon the rocks of honesty and
fidelity to their obligations. 1t be-
hooves us then in these days to be
true to the traditions of the past and
to see that our state, built upon this
foundation, shall never waver and
never totter, as one might if it were
built upon the loose sand and dirt.
think it was last evening, in a
house in this city, reference was made
to that decisive battle of the Civil
War, fought in Pennsylvania -
'Gettysburg'' That was a most i'm
portant time in the great struggle be-
tween the North and the South. The
days were somewhat gloomy here in
the North. The forces met at Gettys-
burg; it was on the natal day of the
Republic, when Old Glory ought to
swing from the highest point These
two forces met in that quiet little town
in western Pennsylvania, and there,
what many consider to be the decisive
battle of the war, was fought. For
sometime it was questionable where
the victory would fall. The pickets
were jubilant; one charge, one mighty
charge, all the force and strength and
glory and chivalry of the Southland
and the victory might be cried in the
streets of Richmond while those in
Washington would weep and mourn.
IL, 600 men under Pickett to go across
the fields and take the Little Round
Top, a superb commander, magnifi-
cent man - Grant called him the
greatest of his generals-Hancock,
rode along the line; he saw that move
ment, saw that mighty force advancing
and saw that it was directed at the
weak point in the Union army. There
was not force. enough there to stay
the charge, break thru those lines,
turn back the soldiers upon themselves
and magnificent army might become
a herd of fugitives. It was at that
critical moment that Hancock passed,
a mere handful of men. under the
command of a gallant soldier named
Colvill, the Colonel of the Regiment.
He said to him, What regiment is
this? and Col. Colvill replied, s'the
First of Minnesota. 1t was not ali
there; there were only few hundred
men. Many of them were not on the
field of Gettys burg but the few who
were there were commissioned to do a
deed of valor that will live just as
long as the impression of the pen and
the type will stay upon the page and
just 80 long as mems lips and tongues
can speak. That line must be checked,
and Hancock knew it. What matters
it at such time if a hundred or two
hundred men should lay down their
lives that the country might live, but,
gentlemen, it mattered little, but it
mattered much, the kind of men at
hand at such time, The right kind
OF men were there and they were Min
nesota men. Hancock said sscharge
that line'' and Colvill, soldier that he
was, knew that obedience to COM
mand was essential, and without hest
tation and without questioning, he
ordered his men to charge. and they
did, every man of them. Think of it.
few hundred men rushing headlong
upon 1870 trained soldiers flushed
with victory, but that is what happened
on Getty burg's field They checked
that line and held it long enough to
bring up the necessary reserves,
Pickett's charge was divided and per-
haps the battle of Getty sburg won be-
cause of the intrepid gallantry of
those few Minnesota soldiers. It is
said to have been the most terrible
charge in the annals of warfare. It is
said that nowhere was the percentage
of death so great as in that charge.
Tennyson has immortalized the charge
of the 600. It was gallant, it was
daring, but it was not so bloody, so
desperate, so noble a charge as that
the First of Minnesota made at Gettys-
burg.
| have taken this conspicuous
example of valor and courage dis
PLAYED by Minnesota men at time
when valOr and courage were needed,
to Indicate another of the foundation
stones OF this state of ours We may
never be called upon-I hope not for
such sacrifice as they were called
upon to offer, but let rs rot forget
what shey did. let rs not for.-- The
example they set and remember that
we, if we are worthy to live in the
house built upon this foundation,
nl'at at least f,T r fo1lnw them in
courage ana III s,lor at all times and
conr 1ge or r"e not always
displayed upon the battle field. There
are tines in every mans life when he
is called upon to DO right and at some
cost to l.ial. There is always an easy
path, there is always path of small
resistance. and weak, frail creatures
that we arv, ne s.ie sometimes inclined
to take, ai,hCE EaoW thai the other
path, thai has.sa- r che to travel, is the
one TAT, Is strai gntiorHard
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