Year: 1866

Speech of General Logan


The following is an extract from the late
speech of General Logan at Salem GIL. J, de-
livered July 4th:


/ ask you, my countrymen, who are sitting
around in this group; you wao have sons
sleeping far away beneath the burning sands
of Georgia, whose faces you will see no more
on earth, whose graves, perhaps, you never
can visit; ask you, mothers who have hus-
bands and sons sleeping far away in Southern
graves, if you do not want the laws of the
land to say that while ira tors in the South
have their gatherings day after day and
strew garlands upon the graves of rebel sol.
diers, that they may live in their memories,
| ask you if, when some poor old decrepid
negro should come along with a basket of
flowers and strew them upon the grave of a
poor loyal soldier, you do not desire that he
should have the right to do it, and that no
man should gainsay it. These are the rights
that all ought to have, and that all ought to
be willing to give every human being in the
land, hope this is not treason, at least do
not believe it is. believe this is doing jus.
tice to those people and justice to ourselves,
and it is a Christian act on our part that if
we fail to perform, we certainly fail to per
form a duty that is incumbent upon US as
men who have saved the Government and
wrenched it from the hands of traitors. Ny
countrymen, these are questions which. when
come to consider, l feel their influence deep
ly. feel that we have many times failed to
perform duties that were incumbent upon us:
but these duties are SO plain that no man, it
seems to me, ought to err in the performance
Of them Whop Un Sknd tho
Why is it that you are so intent in giving
civil rights and the protection of the law to
every man in this country-why is it that
you are determined to make the loyal man at
least little higher than the traitor in this
land ?'' When you are asked this question
it is very easy to answer. You can ask your
and see these flags all tattered and torn with
shot and shell on the field of carnage. You
can say to him these are evidences that
loyal man can call to the attention of dis.
loyal man, and you can say to him, Sir, we
want no recurrence of these scenes we want
no tattered nor torn flags as emblems of our
loyalty in this country we want them full
grown, with all the stars and stripes uIon
them, and with each and every man beneath
their folds singing paans and putting their
iCCt uoNH bChNhy upOu tiCdoOh. hct uS, stS
we look over this wide expanse of country,
remember the heroes who are sleeping the
sleep that knows no waking. and repeat to
ourselves the words of the poet:


On Fame's grand camping ground,


Their silent tents spread,


While glory crowds with silence round


The bvouac of the dead"


Let that be what the patriot can say with
reference to the fallen heroes. Let the pro
lection of the law be given to all, and let the
rights and privileges that loyal men have
enjoyed be still allowed to them, and let the
rights and privileges that the leading traitors
of the land have enjoyed be taken from them
Let the others who were led into the conflict
by others, who were deceived and hoodwink-
ed into treason, let them be forgiven, and
when that is done the work of loyal men is
complete, with one exception. What is that
exception? 1t is this: When the rebellion
died the head should have died with it that
the breath should never again enter into the
body. Tremendous cheering. Whether
the head of the rebellion is more guilty than
others makes no difference. Cheers He
should have died. and until he does treason
still lives in the land-tor it has head


There ought to be an example made in
this land. for future generations. of JEFF. Da.
Wis and many others who were associated
with him in the organization of treason
They ought to be tried, convicted and hung.
Loud and prolonged cheering and cries of
Amen !" But, we are told. you cannot
hang him. because, they say. where will you
find jury to convict him?" Well that is
q very hard question to answer. if you are
going to try him in Southern State. sup
pose to try traitor by a jury of traitors
would be a farce. 1t seems to me so-but |
will tell you how l answer these gentlemen.
say after the close of the rebellion there
was, near the close of it, an association of
actuated by the spirit of treason,
set on bv jeff Davis and his co-conspirators.
TO assassinate one of the best men the world
has ever seen-Atraham Lincoln, the Presi-
1ent of the United States They assassinated
our President, thinking perhaps that our
would die This was part of
the machinery of treason-this was part of
the duty assigned to the conspirators against
this Government, and we'll did they perform
it. l ask you then to answer this way when
they ask you in reference to this trial-tell
them that the blood of the martyred Lincoln
asks that the men who committed this foul
deed, this heinous crime. this bloody offense
against law, against the nation and against
God-that they shall be a sacrifice for the
deeds that they have perpetrated against
law and humanity The authorities at
washington city assembled Military Com
mission and did hang certain persons be-
longing to this association, and they pub
i'shed to the world, over their own sigma
lures, that they had incontestible evidence
tn, that JEFF. Davis. Benjamin and Jake
thompson and other were in the consniracv
t. assassinate the lamented Lincoln And
tney offered 100000 reward for the capture
OF Jeff Davis and those other men. They
captured Davis and they tried others by
Military Commission and hung them. Then
l say to them-you either published to the
world that which is false. or else YOU have a
rlghs 10 hang JEFF, Davis and the rest, the
same as you did the others. | would saw
further, that it seemed to me, when thew tried
", m,rtz Tor cruelty to Union prisoners, they
aia not require a Jury or Court. They
tried him before Military Commission. he
was Captain in the army. and kept our
prisoners in such manner as caused them