Year: 1864

serve our government from destruction; to
enforce its just power and laws; to main
tam our very existence as nation-these
were the causes which impcllcd us to draw
the sword.


Rebellion against a government like ours,
which contains the means of scleadust-
mcnt and pacific remedy for evils. sho' d
never be conioundod with a revolution
against dcspotic power, which refuses re-
dress OF wrongs. Such rebellion cannot
be justified upon ethical grounds, and the
only alternatives for our choice are its sup
preston, or the destruction of our nation
alty. At such time as this and in such
struggle, political partisanship should be
merged in, true and brave patriotism,
which thinks only Of the good of whole
country. 1t was. in this cause and with
these motives that so many of our com
radcs have given their lives, and to this we
are all personally pledged in all honor and
fidelity. Shall such devotion as that of our
dead comrades be of no avail? Shall it be
sad IN after ages that we lack the yigor TO
complete the work thus begun? That after
all these noble lives freely given, we hesita-
ted and failed to keep straight on until our
land was saved Forbid it heaven, and
give us firmer, truer hearts than that. Oh,
spirits Of the valiant dead, souls of our
slain heroes, lend Us your own indomitable
will, and if it be permitted you to commune
with those still chained by the trammels of
mortality, hover around us in the midst of
danger and trlbulation; cheer the firm and
strengthen the weak, that none may doubt
the salvation Of the republic and the tri-
umph OF our grand old flag.


! In the midst Of the storms which toss our
ship OF State, there is one grand beacon
| light, to which we can ever turn with con-
iidencc and hope. 1t cannot be that this
great nation has played its part in history;
1t cannot be that our sun which arose with
such bright promises for the future, has
already set forever 1t must be the inten-
ton Of the overriding Deity that this land.
so long the asylum Of the oppressed, the
refuge Of civil and religious liberty, shall
again stand forth in bright relief, united,
purified and chastened by our trials, as an
example and encouragement for those who
desire the progress Of the human race. 1t
Is not given to our weak intcllects to under
stand the steps of Providence as they oc-
cur; we comprehend them only as we look
back upon them in the far-distant past. So
It's now. We cannot lnravcl the seeming
ly tangled skein of the purposes of the
Creator. They are too high and far reach
ing for our limited minds. But all history
and His own revealed word teach us that
Ills ways, although inscrutable, are evel
righteous. Let us, then, honestly and
mantully play our part, seek to understand
and perform our whole duty, and trust un-
waverlngly in the bencfccnt God who led
our ancestors across the sea, and sustained
them aftcrward, amid dangers more appal-
ling even than those encountered by His
own chosen people in their great exodus
lie did not bring us here in vain, nor has
He supported us thus far for naught. II
we do our duty and trust in Him, lie will
not desert us in our need.


Firm in our faith that God will save oul
country, we now dedicate this site to the
memory of brave men, to loyalty, patriotism
,,l t,no,,