The journal. (Caldwell, Ohio) 1934-1961, 1948-07-08

EIGSS III d 1IlGdSuIe oDetlloOilSo
| the Commander in Chief. Rude
| huts provided the only shelter.
The winter was long and dreary,
!, moaning and anguish were heard
| in the camp and the echo fell on
the soul of the commander. In
| spite of this the soldiers refused
to give up the struggle, and in all
the annals of war, there is none
| that reached such lofty heights
of patriotism as the revolutionary
soldiers, for love of country.
Their names shall be perpeuated
on the scroll of fame as an ever
/ lasting remembrance for the he
roic suffering they endured that
Eyou and | might be free.
/ John Grey was at the final
surrender of the British at York
| town, and was discharged from
the army at Richmond, Virginia.
The first days labor he per-
formed after the war was for
| George Washington on his plan
! tation. In, l795 Mr.. Grey left
Mt. Vernon, crossed the noun
tains, and settled at Grove Creek.
Il Here he remained until Ohio
was admitted to the Union. After
ward he moved to Noble county.
In disposition he was quite
!. kind and generous. He was a dis
tinguished Christian and was a
member of the Methodist church
, for rs years. He supported him
self by working as farm labor
| er. Loved by all the people in
, the community in which he liv-
ed, his later years were spent
with his dog which was great
source of comfort to him.
, When he became old and in
. firm, congress granted him a
pension of $50000 per annum,
This humble, kind hearted old
! pAtriot died when he was 104
years old in his one sstory log
cabin at Hiramsburg, Ohio, where
. he had lived the last 40 years OF
his life.
! His funeral services were held
! in grove with more than 6
thousand people present. He was
laid to rest in the family grave.
: yard, some $50 yards north o1
! the house in which he lived. He
! sleeps beside two relatives, one
. who fought with General Harri.
\ son at Fort Meigs in the war o1
1912, the other was killed in the
war of the rebellion. Thus the
heroes of three wars sleep side
by side. y
For a country that was in neec
of men with courage to endure
in whose heart the flame of lib
II erty burned strong, John Grey
was noble addition to the ranl
and file.
If there ever was time in tht
history of a nation when me1
fought and died for a worthy
cause so that a nation might live
it was during the revolutionar,
war.
Think of the perilous anxiety o
the soldiers as darkness settled
over the land and they saw anC
heard all through the night tn
rockets red glare and the bomb
bursting in air. What a patriot
feeling of joy it was to look III
at dawn and see Old Glory Wav
ing above the din of battle
1t is great privilege to live il
a land of free men and women
But we forget the cost Get OF
board the train of memory and il
flash we pass over the road O
time TO Valley Forge. There yo
= see in part the bitter sufferin
the soldiers endured, much Q
which is unWritten on the page
of history. That was the cost an
4. the value they placed on liberty
When Abraham Lincoln was
young man they had many dc
bates in the general store at NeN
Salem, Illinois. One evening h
characterized the revolutionar
soldier. He closed with thj
thrilling flourish.
There was a time when tn
surviving soldiers were livin
histories but these histories ar
gone.
They can be read no more
forever. They were a fortress {
strength but what the invadin
foemen never could do the siler
, artillery of time has leVeling {
its walls. They are gone.
They were a forest Of giar
oaks, but the all resistleSS hui
ricane has swept over them an
left here and there a lionel
trunk, despoiled of its verdur
shorn of its foliage, unshadin
and unshaded, to murmur in
few more gentle breezes, and
combat with its mutilated link
a few more rude storms, then
m. sink and be no. more.
John Grey was a worthy tyr
of the revolutionary soldier an
ou rnation as a debt of gratituo
I should dedicate the grave {
! John Grey as a national shrine
bring back the revolutionar
soldier to the fold of grateful n
menbrance.
All that is mortal of them liz
W buried in the free soil they love
: Every citizen of Noble count
I can feel justly proud to have Ell
4. tombed within the bounds
their country, patriot that col
tributed in such a large measul
to set a nation free.
May his soul rest in etern
peace.
John Grey died March 20, 1876
at the age of 104 years, tw
months and % days.
Beouty and Prote'
1N II