Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-08-20
Address of Ex-Gov. Woodruff.

NtioHS StlugSle mat gave us the Hbpr-
u of the United States
Address of Elk Gov. Woodruff.
The historical address by Hon. Roll
I'm $ Woodruff, former governor Of
Connecticut was as follows:
When we stand here today. 137
Years after the transaction of an
event. we are compelled to exercise
our imaginaticnc.
Every detail associated with ths
story of the American Revolution Is i'm
portant, but there is no more impor-
tant fact in Our history than that
which YOU have come here to per
mahently establish today The deep
affection which New England he's fcI
the memory of the boys who mus
tered in this fight with Arnold. must
be perpetua1ed along through genera
tons of all those who love liberty.
The spirit of New England must not
die out, for that spirit is the very es-
sence of all our institutions. We must
make sure that the marvellous story
of the Governors Foot Guard of New
Haven. is made an emphatic lesson i'll
Our school books.
The dedication of this memorial
must not end with the simple an
nouneement of this tablet of bronze
The fact must be engraved upon the
minds of childhood, for the real monu-
ments of civilization are in the char
acter of the people. We have not
time. to review the history of this
Expedition. The men who composed
the force under Arnold were all volun-
teers. They We're all young men,
some of them mere boys. Their
equipment for the perils was imper-
feet. The strongest thing about
them was courage. No trail that
they could follow; no beaten path; no
competent guides-they blazed a path
through an unknown land and they
encountered difficulties and withstood
privations that we've often frightful.
Il was human courage measured
against nature and the chances We're
uneven. Yet they triumphed, for
nothing baffled them. They seem to
have disappeared like some lost tribes,
for their names are unknown. They
came from Virginia and Pennsylvania,
as we'll as from New England and III
that little army were the members Of
the Governors Foot Guard from New
Haven-one of the most famous and
most honorable military companies in
the world The Foot Guards have
sustained their reputation for courage
in war and for high toned civic char
acter in times of peace. The Foot
Guard sets an example of the true
type of the citizen soldier.
The real history of that famous ex-
petition has yet to be written and the
duty of seeing that it is done right
belongs to the members of this Guard.
What were the names of those who
left New Haven and joined the mill
tary campaign that started from this
spot in September 1775P What be-
came of them? now many ever
reached home out of that noble band
of volunteers that dared to fight
against the disciplined chivalry of an
English king? But more than the
courage to fight in pitched battle. was
the matchless heroism that faced
country through which no one had
dared to venture; unprecedented and
exceedingly wild. They unlocked the
gates of savage nature and cut their
way through a territory no accurate
map of which had ever been made.
sHothtti5 ItNtI oultltu ltAt iiitSN
Heroism never reached sublimer
heights than that which is compre-
hcnded in the story of those deter
mined volunteers.
Here we are now. the proud heirs of
the priceless legacy of liberty, paying
this small tribute to the members of
tke Governors Foot Guards, who took
part in the hand to hand conflict that
made possible this civilization. Shall
we not love the memories of those
great men? Shall we ever forget them
while time endures and men are true?
other deeds of herosm-not one
hundredth part as great-have been
brought out in glittering letters by
historians. but this campaign has been
neglected and almost forgotten by the
writer's of American history, II is
one of the great sorrows. lost in tho
wilds and passed by as insignificant.
Now ii must be made known. and the
men of New Haven must make it
Known by seeing that the school books
contain the complete and honorable
story. This brilliant achievement
stands out among the conflicts Of time
as a distinct part in the attainment Of
liberty.
From this spot, a strange, brave
man. and one Of the greatest soldiers
in the mighty conflict of the American
Revolution. began his brilliant career.
The impulse that inspired Benedict
Arnold was patriotism and back of
that patriotism was the brain of
genius of military strategy He might
have been second to Washington. He
knew what to do and he understood
the art of doing it. We must consider
the man of ITS. We must think to-
day of the virtues with which he was
endowed. His crime has obscured
the vision of the historian. The
of his terrible offense.
hlackens his career and we are in
clined to dismiss him from history
without crediting him for his sincere
abilities, before the deluge of hatred,
ambition and jealousy overwhelmed
his, moral character
The closing scenes of Benedict Ar
nold's career demonstrated that he
was a great man. and the sorrow OF
his end was the profound grief of re-
,aptapoa He did not glory in his