Year: 1873

A Speech from Gen. Sherman-Where.


In the American Army Differs from


European Armies.


AT the sixty-seventh annual dinner
OF the New England Society of New
York, at Delmonico's last week. Gen.
Sherman responded to the toast. 1.-THE
Army and Navy of the United States"
the entire company rising to their feet
as he was announced. He is reported
to have said:


Mr.. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN:
1t certainly is to me a great pleasure
to be here tonight among my friends
from New England, but I am little
taken abaek by this toast being taken
so early and not later in the evening,
when a briefer response would be
more appropriate. l know that thou
sands Of my fellow soldiers away from
here will be rejOiced when they learn
that the people Of New England have
remembered them this night, and that
you all feel toward them the same
kindly sentiment which ] have felt
on many occasions, for / believe them
to be worthy of it. will speak of my
own branch of the service, and I re-
gret that there is no naval officer here
to speak for his own more particular
branch. The army Is free from poll
tics, not mixed up with the questions
which disturb our peace of mind, and
which Mr.. Beeeher uas so elOquently
pictured. It is the institution upon
which all men may turn as a national
one simply. The men of the army
are sworn to obey the laws Of the eOun-
try, the constituted authorities. be
they whom they may. They have
kept that promise, and surely so far as
I can control them, they will keep it.
+ Applause Why do I see on your
crowded streets so much wealth these
ladies dressed as none other in the
world gentlemen replete with health;
carriages outvying almost regal pon1p2
Why is New York so wealthy? Be
cause there is a country behind you,


filed with an industrious population,
to whom the products of the world
pass through your gates, and whose
productions pass in return on their
way to foreign market, upon ali OF
which you make your profit. This
land is now at peace; and why is It
so? The army, mere handful OF
men, are kept ever moving step by
step, not enjoying the comforts you
enjoy, but living as your forefathers
did, exposed to storms, living on food
which you would reject from your own
kitchens. You do not see this, but l
hear from it every day. 1t has been
the case for the last fifty years, and
probably will be until the settlements
of the Atlantic and Pacific meet.


Therefore am I grateful that you re-
member them, because they surely are
entitled to a share of the luxuries
which you are enjoying tonight.
That is one Of the duties of the army,
but it is not all we now rank as one
of the first nations of the world, with
. population Of 40, 900, 900 we are sep
arated from other nations by 5000
miles Of ocean, but that ocean is tTav-
ersed by great lines of steamers, which
bring us into daily contact with Eu-
rope, Then we have neighbors on the
north, and thus it is right that we
should keep within US that knowledge
Of military affairs which will enable
US at a very short notice to cope with
any power that may come in contact
with US. We all know the pride Of
our people, and that they will not take
any insult, come from what quarter it
NAV. TApplause.J We must keep up
our army in all that belongs to an
army, The first thing is spirit OF
honor, and that 1 think we have
then there is the science of OrganiZa-
ton, the science By which men are
mode into organized wholes, so that
they can be made to execute properly
the order Of the President, and this
science requires study and thought.


Then our arms and equipments
must be made the best in the world,
and I believe that has been accom-
plished. TApplause.l have recent
ly seen the armies Of Europe, from
one end to the other, and l have come
to the conclusion that we cannot imi-
tate any other nation. We differ from
them in the character of our people
and in the objects to be accomplished;
so we must construct an army for our
own purposes, and we must engraft
upon it principles of military law
which are common to heWhOle world.
We did so in the late civil war, and
we can do so again only by and
through the knowledge which must
be. kept alive through the regular
army of the United States. This must
be kept as a school, so that We can be
prepared at any moment to infuse that
knowledge through our militia, so as
to make q whole out of q few. Dur
ing our late civil war we spent two
years in this process, and it is lesson
which we should heed; it cost US
many lives, and it should never be al
lowed to occur again. No one that
walks up and down Broadway and
sees the young men, strong, hale and
hearty, can doubt that give any Of US
the power to make them into an army,
and we Will make an army equal to
any in the world. [Applaase.l That
was the reason why the armies OF
Prussia were so fine, because the best
of the young men were selected for
them, and we can do the same with
our own army if we choose. Gentle
men, thank you; / feel I am in an
awkward position, following so soon
after Mr.. Beecher, but I thank You
for thus giving me your attention.
LGreat applause.