Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-06-02

quick woman's tenderness. over these,
| too. the flowers were sprinkled. Our
North was touched by the act and by its
spirit, and when three years after the
| saving of the Union, a German private.
whose name is lost, wrote to say that in
the fatherand his people were wont in
| the spring to visit the burying grounds
and place flowers on the graves of their
| friends and relatives, and that this might
be fitting way to do honor to the Union
dead that great citzen-solder. John A.
Logan. then commanderin-chief of the
Grand Army. promptly designated the
| first Decoration Day, expressing he hope
| that it would be kept up from year to
year. as long as one survivor of the war
remained to honor the memory of his de-
parted comrades. Sleep soft. gallant old
hero, and have no fear. Their country
and yours will never forget these slori
Gus dead"
Such is the story of Memorial Day,
as told to you eighteen years ago by
Orville Dewey Baker. That story now
has it's, sequel, for three years ago
your commander in chief, James
Tanner, with a fine inspiration, per-
formed an act worthy Of brave ana
generous men-a graceful, noble act,
sealing with your approval the de-
claration that today all sectional diff
ferences are obIiterated. In his an
nuaI address at Minneapolis he re-
ferred to it in this language:
when it became my duty to issue the
order for Memorial Day, | told my COM
rades of an incident that happened thirty
years ago. and said that | trusted wnen
we went out to laurel the graves of our
Union dead. our common American man
hood would prevent us passing by the
graves of our former opponents without
dropping thereon some floral remem-
brance. Not, | said, in honor Of their
conquered, but because we who met them
on the field of battle, knew that Drawer
men or better soldiers have not been
known since men were first marshaled in
battle array
| ask you again, veterans, whether
the Grand Army Of the Republic has
done its part in transferring from the
canvas at Washington in 1865 to the
hearts of the American people in 1909
the sentiment that the only national
debt we can never pay is the debt we
owe the victorious Union soldiers.
The record answers for you, and NJ
sincere and thoughtful man can
analyse the words Post No IS, De-
part,nent of Maine, of the Grand
Army of the Republic" and escape the
conviction that he is giving expression
| to ore title in three parts, every part
an honor, and the whol" glory,
| 1t has been said by very high mill
tary authority that there is no better
way of aScertaining where the points
of contact in battle really were: where
| the pressure was greatest; where thu
scenes of valor and hcroism occurred
than by noting the place in line holc
by the various regiments and As
certainng the loss OF life i'll each
Tried by this test, how stands th'
state of Maine? There were 20il
regiments in the Union armies, 81
which 300 were lighting regiments,
meaning those which lost over $50 il
killed or mortaliy wounded. OF tina
800. Maine furnished 13 The heavi
est loss in any regiment of the entir'
army occurred in the First Maine
Heavy Artillery. which out of a tota
Icnrollmcnt of zoo mon in ten month
of fighting lost in killed or mortal,
wounded f23 men and officers Mari
you, my figures are confined to killet
and mortaly wounded. for the totl
Of killed and wounded, mortally %
otherwise WAS 1888. In the two en-
gagements of Petersburg and F-redcr
/,
in killed and wounded 1903 men. II
the cavalry regiments. Maine agaii
heads the roll of honor, her loss il
killed and mortally wounded in tn
| First Maine Cavalry out of a total en-
rollment of 2S95 being ia. In tn
J light artillery, with its maximum
strength Of but $50 men to q battery
Maine stands sixth. The greatest log
in any battery was u. In the st
: Maine Battery, commanded by you
gallant comrdde and hero of Gettys
7 burg, Major Greeniief 7. Stevens, tn
! loss was IS. In the losses in parti
t cular engagements. Maine agai
heads the list. The First Main
Heavy Artillery took $50 officers an
men into the assault on Petersbur,
: The loss was 210. or, including tho-
, wounded but not mortaly. 632.
e There are. I believe, 80 living men
|, bers of your Post, representing var
t Gus branches of the service. inclut
: ing at least "a of the Maine infantr
: regiments, With the Third Maine Reg