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E ULOG Y 
 
 LIFE AND CHARACTER 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES; 
 
 F>ELIVEKED BEFORE THE CITIZENS OF SAVANNAH, IN Till 
 INDEPENDENT PRESBYTEKIAN CHURCH, 
 
 WEDNESDAY, MAY 12th, 1841. 
 
 BY THE HON. JOHN MACPIIERSOX BERRIEN. 
 
 ^nbnniTcif) : 
 
 W. T. Wl I. I. I \ M S 
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SAVANNAH, May 18//,; 1841. 
 ' To the Hon. John Macimierson Berrien. 
 
 Dear Sir: — The undersigned Committee of Citizens of Savan- 
 nah, recently charged with the duty of selecting an Orator to 
 deliver a Eulogy on the Life and Character of General William 
 Henry Harrison, late President of the United States, request 
 you to submit to them a copy, for publication, of the very appro- 
 - priate, impressive, and eloquent Address, delivered by yon before 
 the people of this City, in the Independent Presbyterian Church. 
 on Wednesday, the 12th May, 1841. 
 
 We are, very respectfully, 
 
 Your Fellow Citizens, 
 
 
 JOSEFH W. JACKSON, 
 R. R. CUYLER, 
 G. B. CUMMLNG, 
 GEORGE J. BULLOCH, 
 J P. STUART, 
 GEORGE J. KOI. LOCK, 
 
 H. K. PRESTON, 
 M. H. m'aLLIHTER, 
 SOLOMON COHEN, 
 
 F. S. BARTOW, 
 H. SISTARE, 
 JAMES F. GRIFFIN, 
 
 WILLIAM II. DAVIS. 
 
 SAVANNAH, May Wt/,, 1841. 
 Gentlemen: — I have received your note, requesting me to 
 
 furnish, for publication, a copy of my Address on the Lite and 
 Character of General William Henry Harrison, delivered on 
 the 12th inst., and have, in reply, to say thai I do not feel at 
 liberty to withhold from the Citizens of Savannah, a paper which 
 was prepared in obedience to their wishes. The Address is 
 therefore at your disposal. 
 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 Your Fellow Citizen, 
 
 JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIEN 
 
 To Col. Jos. W. Jackson, Chairman, and the Committee o) Oiti 
 
 of Savanna//. 
 
EULOGY. 
 
 Ox this bright and vernal day, when Nature, all around us, is 
 robed in gladness — when the sun, in mild splendor, is careering 
 through the heavens, rejoicing in the brightness of his course, 
 and giving life and light and happiness to man — our eyes are 
 resting sorrowfully on the emblems of our mortality, and sounds 
 of sadness break upon our cars. The funeral drapery of this 
 sacred temple, the minute gun, the tolling bell, and this array 
 of mourning citizens, the silent sadness which pervades this 
 assembly, the hush of the passions, the stillness of all unkindly 
 feeling, the deep emotion of each patriot bosom; — all these, my 
 friends, are calculated to remind us of the nothingness of man, 
 of the vanity of life and all its too engrossing pursuits. They 
 tell us that God alone is great; and, as we ponder the melancholy 
 occasion of our assemblage, make us feel that HIS judgments 
 are abroad in the land. 
 
 A patriot statesman, a gallant soldier, a virtuous man, has fallen 
 among us. We meet together lo-day, to unite in expressing our 
 admiration of his virtues, our sorrow for his loss. A Christian 
 people, bending under affliction, have come to mingle their griefs, 
 seeking solace in the communion. Here, in this holy temple 
 consecrated to the sen ice of Almighty God, we meet to offer our 
 tribute of respect and gratitude to the memorj of the departed, 
 and if God will, to learn, from this awful dispensation of His 
 Providence, the monitory Lessons which it is calculated to impart. 
 
 The occasion is a solemn one. There is a sacredness in 
 sorrow, when even a solitary bosom throbs with its emotions, 
 however humble may have been the station, or limited th< 
 sphere of action, of him who awakens them. Bui our's is no 
 ordinary sorrow — no solitary anguish — no merely individual 
 grief. A NATION MOURNS. Throughout the wide extent 
 ot this great confederacy ''a voice has been heard, lamentation 
 
and weeping and great mourning," — millions of freemen, bewail- 
 ing the loss of their venerated chief. 
 
 How impotent is man! How unavailing his sorrow! The fiat 
 has gone forth — the fatal bolt has been sped — and he who but 
 yesterday, in the vigor of health, in the fulness of earthly honor, 
 commanded the love and reverence of millions, now sleeps in the 
 dust, the cold and lifeless tenant of the tomb. Startled by the 
 appalling event, we turn to each other, vainly seeking consolation. 
 Let us then seek it, in contemplating the virtues of our departed 
 friend and benefactor. . Let us seek and find it, in humble resig- 
 nation to the will of Heaven. Let us endeavor to fulfil the pur- 
 pose of our assemblage, by a rapid survey of the principal inci- 
 dents in the eventful life of Gen. Harrison, pausing occasionally 
 to note the formation, developement, and prominent points of his 
 character, and then contemplate as calmly as we may, as profitably 
 as we can, the afflictive dispensation of Providence which we 
 have assembled to deplore. 
 
 William Henry Harrison was a native of Virginia. He 
 could look back upon a line of ancestors who had been distin- 
 guished by their devotion to civil liberty; and the lengthened 
 chain was still bright in the person of his immediate progenitor. 
 In a country like our's, where, in theory at least, political as well 
 as private advancement is the result of personal merit, the boast 
 of ancestry is vain and frivolous. Nevertheless, it is true that 
 the desire to transmit, and the fear to degrade, an unspotted fame, 
 constitute a powerful stimulus of human action; one which is 
 associated with the highest and holiest feelings of the human 
 heart, and which is eminently subservient to the cause of virtue. 
 There is truth, as well as poetry, in this expression of the feelings 
 of a father, looking back with honest pride to the memory of his 
 grandsire, and forward with anxious hope to the welfare of his 
 child, 
 
 "He, dying, bequeath'd to his son a good name, 
 Which unsullied, descended to me; 
 For mj child I've preserv'd it unblemish'd by shame, 
 And it still from a spot shall go free." 
 
 Neither is it to be doubted, that striking incidents in the history 
 of our ancestors are calculated to develope, in our own bosoms, 
 feelings which are consentaneous with those which produced them. 
 
The lineal descendant of that gallant Englishman, who, in the 
 wars of the Commonwealth, poured out his blood in vindication 
 of his principles — enthusiastic and mistaken if you will, but still 
 honestly entertained and gallantly asserted, in many a hard-fought 
 field — who in the certain prospect of a painful and ignominious 
 death, boldly confronted his accusers with the declaration, "that 
 what he had done was from the immediate impulse of the spirit 
 of Ciod; that he would not, for any benefit to himself, hurt a hail 
 of the poorest man or woman upon earth; that duiing the usur- 
 pation of Cromwell, when all acknowledged his right, or bowed 
 down to his power, he had boldly confronted the usurper to his 
 face; and that all the tenors of imprisonment, and all the 
 allurements of ambition, had not been able to bend him to a com- 
 pliance with the will of that deceitful tyrant" — the descendant 
 of this gallant soldier who bowed his head on the fatal block, 
 amid the taunts and contumely of his executioners, with the same 
 indomitable courage which had so eminently characterized his 
 life — a young, ardent, enthusiastic American, the descendant of 
 such a man, it may at least be permitted to us to say, would 
 naturally have read with a peculiar and stirring interest this 
 melancholy page of England's blood-stained annals — while of the 
 feeling which it would awaken in his bosom, who will venture to 
 estimate the force 1 
 
 There is another consideration, powerful in its influence, prac- 
 tical in its operation, which cannot be disregarded in contempla- 
 ting the formation of character. It is the principle of imitation, 
 which is universally operative. We are formed in the image of our 
 Maker, physically distinguished from the mere animals which live 
 and move and have their being around us, in this, that our view is 
 upward, to the Heavens. Our aspirations are to the God and Fa- 
 ther of our being, seeking as it were to catch an emanation of his 
 spirit; and we are commanded to become more and more conform- 
 ed to the image of his Son. In the early mental developements of 
 a child, his views are limited to his earthly parents — and happy, 
 thrice happy, is he who finds in these authors of his being, objects 
 alike worthy of his love and imitation. 
 
 The immediate progenitor of our departed friend was distin. 
 guished in the circle of his Revolutionary associates by a sound 
 
and discriminating judgment, an ardent patriotism, and indomita- 
 ble courage. A member of Congress in 1775, as be bad been pre- 
 viously, he was placed by the equal vote of the House in compe- 
 tition with the illustrious Hancock for the Speaker's chair, and he 
 himself decided the controversy. Conducting his retiring oppo- 
 nent to the official seat, be declared his determination to make Mr. 
 Hancock President of Congress, for the purpose of showing to 
 Great Britain, what little regard was paid to her proclamation 
 which excluded him from pardon. Can we doubt that the coun- 
 sels of such a parent to the child of his affections would breathe 
 that spirit of noble disinterestedness, of lofty patriotism, by which 
 he was himself so eminently distinguished] He lived to impart 
 that spirit to his son, to impress these counsels on his mind, and 
 to illustrate them by along course of public service, which termi- 
 nated only with bis life. 
 
 In other respects, the younger Harrison was peculiarly favored 
 in his earlier yeais. He was carefully and classically educated 
 in the first collegiate institution of bis native state of Virginia; but 
 the times and his associations furnished a fund of instruction, which 
 no literary Alma Mater was competent to afford. He was fitting 
 himself for the part which be was destined to act on the theatre of 
 life, in the proud and palmy days of that ancient and renowned 
 Commonwealth. The story of her Revolutionary achievements 
 was yet fresh in the memory, and often on the lips of living actors 
 in the glorious struggle. The virtues which were begotten m 
 that perilous hour which "tried men's souls," aye, and refined them 
 too still lived in the bosoms of that heroic band. Associated with 
 the illustrious companions of his patriotic sire, he listened with all 
 the enthusiasm of his age and temperament, as they discoursed 
 of the past condition and future prospects of Ins country, and 
 treasured in his mind the lessons of wisdom which fell from then- 
 lips, and engraved on his heart the lofty principles of patriotism 
 which they inculcated and enforced. 
 
 At the termination of his collegiate course he repaired to Phil- 
 adelphia, and engaged in the study of medicine. The guardian o 
 his youth was the celebrated Robert Morris, the distinguished 
 financier of the Revolution; his medical instructor, the no less cel- 
 ebrated Benjamin Rush. Each of these bad taken an active part 
 

 
 In vindication of his country's rights, and both their names were in- 
 scribed on the recorded Declaration ofher Independence. Congress 
 too was there, consisting at that day, of men alike distinguished 
 by talents and patriotism and eminent public service; and there 
 too, was Washington crowning his own great work by an admin- 
 istration of the Federal Government, which commanded the grat- 
 itude of his countrymen, and the admiration of the world. Under 
 such auspices, amid such associations, the young and ardent mind 
 of Harrison was naturally diverted from the peaceful pursuits of 
 medical study. His ambition was awakened. The image ot the 
 tented field, with all the pomp and circumstance of glorious war, 
 had fired his imagination. He sought and obtained at the hand of 
 W ashington a commission in the army, and was soon traversing 
 the Western wilds in pursuit of his regiment. He joined it in time 
 to witness the confusion and dismay which followed the defeat of the 
 gallant, but unfortunate St. Clair, and to share in that desperate con- 
 flict, which under the guidance of Wayne, the Revolutionary Hero 
 of Stoney Point, gave peace to the North- Western Territory, 
 by the decisive victory of the Miami. In that battle, Lieut. Har- 
 rison made his first essay in arms, as the Aid-de-Camp of the com- 
 manding General, and was complimented in general orders "for 
 his zeal and activity, and by his conduct and bravery exciting the 
 troops to press for victory." Two distinguished field officers rep- 
 resent him, as having been " in the foremost front of the hottest 
 battle" — as having been " exposed from the commencement to 
 the close of the action" — as having" hastened wherever duty call- 
 ed, regardless df danger" — and having "by his efforts and example 
 contributed as much to secure the fortune of the day, as any officer 
 subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief." 
 
 He was now promoted to the command of a company, and Fort 
 Washington, the most important station on the Western from 
 was entrusted to his care. 13ut the army in time of peace had no 
 charms for his young and enterprising spirit. He had, moreover", 
 while in command of that post, united himself to her, who was 
 destined to be his partner through life, and in the anguish of the 
 heart's desolation to weep over his grave. He resigned his com- 
 mission, and retired to his farm. Soon, however, recalled to the 
 
 public service, he filled in succession the offices ,,r Secretary of 
 o 
 
10 
 
 the North- Western Territory, of delegate to Congress, that of 
 Governor of Indiana, and temporai-ily, of upper Louisiana. His 
 first appearance in Congress was marked by an act of considerate 
 benevolence. He proposed and effected in that body, a modifica- 
 tion of the land system, which opened the rich lands of the West 
 to the poor but enterprising settler; and by this single act of wis- 
 dom and humanity, which was eminently conducive to the hest in- 
 terests of the Government, secured the comforts of home to mul- 
 titudes of freemen, who hailed him as their benefactor, and many 
 of whom still live to bless his memory. 
 
 He held the government of Indiana, by original, or renewed 
 appointments of Mr. Adams, Mr. Jefferson, and Mr. Madison, 
 and connected with, or independently of it, was invested by spe- 
 cial commision, with larger powers than were perhaps ever grant- 
 ed to any other individual citizen. How he discharged his duties 
 may be inferred from these repeated appointments; may be seen 
 in the resolutions and memorials of the Legislative Council of the 
 Territory; may be felt, as we recollect the enthusiasm with which 
 the people of Indiana rallied to his support during the late Presi- 
 dential canvass. 
 
 The magnitude of the trust which was thus committed to him, 
 Was not greater than were the difficulties which attended its exe- 
 cution. Indiana, then of almost boundless extent, was sparsely 
 populated, consisting for the most part of three principal settle- 
 ments, which were distant from each other. The wilderness 
 which separated them was the haunt of savage tribes, thirsting to 
 revenge the humiliating defeat of Miami. In the dark recesses of 
 the forest, they brooded over their real or imaginary wrongs. 
 Their thoughts were of other days, of the deeds of their fathers, 
 of their recent, undisturbed possession of the land, now subjected 
 to the dominion of the white man. They called to remembrance 
 their own glorious triumphs over Harmar, and St. Clair, and mem- 
 ory brought before them, in all its bitteniess, the terrible retribu- 
 tion with which they had been visited by Wayne. While they 
 were yet goaded by these recollections, superstition was invoked 
 with all its maddening influences, to silence the fears of the timid, 
 to inflame the fury of" the brave. Two extraordinary personage? 
 vow appeared on this great Western theatre, the Shawanese pro- 
 
11 
 
 g>het, and his warrior brother, the gallant Tecumthe. T 
 history is written on the blood-stained pages of out aboriginal an 
 nals. Claiming to be entrusted with a message from on high, tb< 
 Prophet sought, by his magic incantations and mystic rites, to in- 
 spire the various tribes, with a superstitious reverence which would 
 subject them to his will. He called upon them to avenge their ac- 
 cumulated wrongs, announced the commands, and promised the 
 protection, of the Great Spirit. His gallant and more enlightened 
 brother, looked with unmingled contempt on the juggleries ol 
 him, whom he considered at once, as a dupe, and an impostor. 
 One feeling however united them, it was the thrist for revenge; 
 and they sought to satiate it in the blood of the white man. While 
 the Prophet raved under the guise of an affected, or the delusion 
 of an imagined inspiration, Tecumthe grasped the tomahawk, and 
 shouted the war-whoop. They traversed our Western border 
 from its northern to its southern limit, and their united influenct 
 was preparing the various tribes, for one great, simultaneous act 
 of savage vengeance. Yet the language of peace was on their 
 lips, and their intercourse with our Western brethren, was con- 
 tinued, under reiterated assurances of their determination to pre- 
 serve it. Secretly as these proceedings were conducted, thej 'lid 
 not escape the watchful eye of Harrison; he sought and ob- 
 tained an interview with Tecumthe, and upbraided him with 
 his duplicity, until the warrior spirit of the chief overcame his pru- 
 dence, and betrayed his feelings; he grasped his war-club, and 
 forty armed chiefs who were present at the conference clustered 
 around him; the steady firmness, and stern decision of Harrison, 
 alone prevented the council chamber from being deluged in blood. 
 But although he restrained, he could not subdue the revengeful 
 spirit of the savage chieftain. That spirit was soon again displayed 
 on the bloody Held of 'I ippecanoe, which added a new and 
 brighter wreath to the laurel crown that already graced the brow 
 of the young warrior of the Miami. The conduct ol" General 
 Harrison in that memorable battle, received the unqualified ap- 
 probation of those who shared his dangers; secured the devotion 
 of Indiana; obtained for him a resolution of thanks from the legis- 
 lature of Kentucky, whose gallant sons had freely shed their blood 
 in the conflict — from whose governor, he also received the unpre- 
 
12 
 
 cedented compliment of being appointed a Major-General I >y bit- 
 vet in the militia of that State; which was immediately followed by 
 his appointment to a brigade in the army of the United States, and 
 very speedily, to the chief command of the whole North-Western 
 army. 
 
 This accumulation of honors from so many distinct and en- 
 tirely independent sources, sustained as it was, by the enthusias- 
 tic devotion of the people more immediately exposed to the perils 
 which his skill and gallantry had averted, proclaims in language 
 which cannot be misunderstood, the high and commanding 
 character of the patriot soldier by whom they were nobly 
 won. We are standing, as it were, around the yet green 
 grave of the wairior chief. His immortal spirit has ascended to 
 the God who gave it. Our censure and our applause fall alike 
 unheeded on his cold and lifeless remains, and calumny's bitter 
 taunt, and friendship's cheering smile, would be equally unheard 
 and disregarded. But the homage which is due to truth, the du- 
 ty which we owe to ourselves, the claims of our common coun- 
 try, whose richest treasure is the inspiring example of her dis- 
 tinguished sons, all these unite to demand, this simple, passing 
 tribute to the Hero of Tippecanoe. I may not trust my personal 
 feelings to say more. I could not wrong the memory of a departed 
 friend by saying less. 
 
 General Harrison was now placed in chief command of the 
 North-Western Army. The district assigned to him was sparsely 
 populated, abounding with Military posts which he was compell- 
 ed to sustain, and scattered settlements which it devolved upon 
 him to protect. Hordes of savage tribes roamed through a wil- 
 derness of one hundred and fifty miles in extent, and an active en- 
 emy, with the aid of his Indian allies, was ready to strike at any 
 point which was exposed. He surmounted all these difficulties, 
 drove the enemy from the Territory, vanquished him on his 
 own ground, and gave peace to a harassed people. I may be 
 permitted to advert briefly, to two of the principal incidents of the 
 campaign of 1813. 
 
 At the foot of the rapids of the Miami, and on its south-eastern 
 side, General Harrison had established a station, afterwards called 
 fort Meigs, which was invested by the enemy. Such prepa- 
 
la 
 
 ibs i'ur its defence as his circumstances permitted, had been 
 made by him, and he instantly repaired to the post of danger. 
 I'hc force of the enemy was greatly superior to thai under his 
 
 command. They had already commenced the construction of 
 three powerful batteries on the north-western side of the river, 
 while on the other side, the fort was invested by their Indian al- 
 ies. Jusl as these were completed, and when the skill audi activi- 
 ty of the British Engineer seemed about to be rewarded, his plans 
 were frustrated. While the enemy were constructing their lot- 
 teries, General Harrison had, unseen by his adversary, comple- 
 ted a traverse through his camp, which afforded protection from 
 their fire. The exulting Briton was in the act of loading his 
 guns, and adjusting them on certain objects within the American 
 camp. At this moment, orders were given to remove the I 
 from the front to the rear of the traverse. A few minutes sufficed 
 Ebrjthe accomplishment of this movement, and when accomplished, 
 the army reposed in security behind the wall of earth which had 
 been constructed. The tents, which had served while in front to 
 conceal the progress of the work, were now in their turn protected 
 by the work which they had concealed, and the baffled foe stood 
 by his harmless batteries, foiled by the skill and activity of the pa- 
 triot chief. 
 
 I do not detain you by a description of the brilliant sortie, led 
 by the gallant Miller, under the immediate eye of his commander; 
 nor by a repetition of his heroic answer to the summons to surren- 
 der. Let us rather follow him in his pursuit of Proctor. The 
 discomfited Briton had now retired from our territory, and Gene- 
 ral Harrison, in his turn, carried the war into the enemy's coun- 
 try. He had surveyed our Canadian border with a military eye, 
 had early suggested to the Department of War, the necessity of 
 acquiring the command of Lake Brie, and had succeeded in incul- 
 cating the conviction of its necessity. The brilliant victory of 
 Petry had been won, and the star-spangled banner floated in tri- 
 umph over this inland sea. General Harbison was now to reap 
 the benefit of his own counsels, in the facilities which the com- 
 mand of the lake afforded to his army. Availing himself of these, 
 he advanced into I 'pper < 'anada. and urged his pursuit with a ra- 
 pidity which Boon brought him in sight of the retreating foe. 1 1> 
 
14 
 
 Sound him judiciously posted; bis right extending to and across n 
 swamp, where it united with a strong body of Indians under Te- 
 cumthe; his left upon the Thames, at a point at which it was not 
 fordable; his artillery on the road along the river, near the left of 
 the line. The plan of attack which this disposition of the enemy's 
 forces suggested to him. has been considered by men versed in 
 the art of war, as evincive of military genius, under the guidance 
 of a sound and discriminating judgment. Already at the head 
 of the front line he was about to command its execution, when 
 the order to advance was checked by the discovery of an error 
 which had been committed by his adversary. An officer 
 who had closely reconnoitered the hostile forces, ascertained, 
 and reported the fact to the commanding General, that the Brit- 
 ish regulars were drawn up in open order. So unmilitary a 
 formation could not have been anticipated, but the advantage 
 which it offered was immediately availed of. That prompt 
 change in the order ot battle, which commanded the admiration 
 of the gallant Perry, was instantly effected, and resulted in the 
 exhibition of a movement, as novel in the annals of war, as it was 
 decisive of the fate of the day. A regiment of mounted Infan- 
 try was brought up and formed in close column, its right a little 
 withdrawn from the road where the British Artillery was posted, 
 was ordered to advance at full speed upon the enemy, to force his 
 line and reform in his rear. Recall to your minds the position of 
 the contending parties, and contemplate in imagination, the event- 
 ful incidents which followed in rapid succession: on the right of 
 the front of the charging column are Gen. Harrison and his aids, 
 Gen. Cass, and the Hero of Lake Erie forming part of the cor- 
 tege. He has already given the order to advance, the charge is 
 sounded, and Kentucky's gallant sons are rushing to the conflict; 
 the right battalion has received the fire of the enemy which 
 tells upon the front of the column — the leading horses have recoil- 
 ed — another volley, and a momentary pause of the charging col- 
 umn — it is but the pause of a moment, again it is hurrying on- 
 wards — it has broken with irresistible force through the ranks of 
 the enemy, and instantly wheeling, has poured in its destructive 
 fire upon the disordered line — the infantry advances — the fate of the 
 day is decided — and the laurel of victory again encircles the brow 
 
16 
 
 ©f the patriot chief; of such a victory, as in the language oi South 
 Carolina's gifted son, "would have secured to a Roinan General, 
 in the hest days of the Republic, the honors of a triumph.'' It 
 was rewarded by a gold medal, by the thanks of Congress, by 
 the applauseof a grateful people. 
 
 Retiring from the army, Gen. Harrison was called to the na 
 tional councils as a Representative in Congress, and proved the 
 versatility of his talents, by the station which be held among his 
 distinguished associates, lfedid more, be gave signal evidence 
 of tiie purity of his patriotism, of his unyielding devotion to tin- 
 constitutional rights of his countrymen. The lust of power, assum- 
 ing the guise of charity, sought to deny to the South the equal 
 rights which are secured to us by our Federal charter. The cele- 
 brated Missouri question then agitated the legislative chambers, 
 and threatened to convulse the nation, lien Harrison was a na- 
 tive of a slave holding .Stale; reared under the influence of the 
 domestic institutions of Virginia; but he was the Representative 
 of a State where slavery was forbidden, where famatacism was 
 striving to exert its maddening sway; and no man had a higher 
 sense of the duty which a representative owes to his constituents. 
 It is easy to conceive the conflict of his feelings on this trying oc- 
 casion. Those to whom he was known, as readily understood the 
 controlling principle of his conduct. Leaving to others the dis- 
 cussion of the abstract question of slavery, be referred himself to 
 the spirit in which the constitution was framed — to the rights of 
 which it was the guarantee. To the conclusion to which this re- 
 ference led him, he yielded as prompt an obedience, as he would 
 have given to the mandate of a military superior on the battle field. 
 The rights of the South were guarantied by the constitution: 
 the spirit which originated this Magna C/tarta of American free- 
 men — that spirit, upon the preservation of which, in all its original 
 purity he believed the con; inuance of I union to depend — required 
 their assertion; and his recorded vote manifested the prompti- 
 tude, with which he asserted them. Admonished of the danger 
 which he incurred by this opposition to the will of his constituents, 
 he promptly answered, "I have often risked my life for my Coun- 
 try on the field of battle, 1 cai t hesitate to hazard my popularity 
 
 in defence of the Constitution." 
 
16 
 
 After the termination of his service in Congress, General Hak 
 tiisoN became a member of the Senate of Ohio, and subsequently 
 of the Senate of the United States; exhibiting always a matured 
 mind, extensive information, fluency in debate, and a lofty and 
 generous spirit, the absence of which would not have been com 
 pensatedby any other quality of the mind or heart. His service 
 in the latter body, afforded an occasion for a beautiful illustration 
 of that active benevolence which formed so prominent a part of 
 his character. Major General Brown, the hero of many a hard 
 fought field, had been promoted to the chief command of the 
 American army, and had his head quarters at Washington. He 
 still suffered from the wounds which he had received in the pub- 
 lic service, but the energy of his mind triumphed over his physi- 
 cal infirmity, and he continued in the discharge of his official du- 
 ties, almost to the moment of his death. The generosity of his 
 disposition had involved him in a pecuniary responsibility for 
 a friend, which loaded with incumbrances equal to its value, 
 everything Avhich he possessed. His official income furnished the 
 means of daily support while he lived, but these were withdrawn 
 by his death, and his large and helpless family was left in a state 
 of destitution. In the scene which followed, the honors which 
 were rendered to the dead, were presented in striking contrast 
 with the sufferings which awaited the living. On the day of the 
 funeral, you might have seen a lengthened procession, composed 
 of members of both Houses of Congress, of the mourning inhab- 
 itants of the District, and a long line of soldiery, attending his 
 remains to their final resting place. On the next, while the splen- 
 did pageant was yet fresh in your memory, if curiosity or some bet- 
 ter feeling, had conducted you to the spot from whence they were 
 borne, you would have found the cherished objects of his affection, 
 tenants at sufferance of the home which had hitherto sheltered 
 them, deriving from the forbearance of creditors, or the kindness 
 of friends, the privilege of enjoying the common comforts which 
 it afforded. It was a scene calculated to awaken sympathy, and it 
 operated in all its force on the benevolent mind of General Har- 
 rison. He originated a measure of relief for the family of his de- 
 ceased brother soldier, and sustained it by a persuasive and elo- 
 quent address to the Senate, in which he dwelt with kindred spin' 
 
17 
 
 on the chivalry of the departed chief, and awakened the liveliest 
 sympathy for the widow and the orphan. He reaped in full mea- 
 sure the reward of his efforts. The highest gratification of which 
 his generous nature was susceptible, was awarded to him, as he saw 
 this estimable lady and her orphan children depart to their distant 
 home, with a competence secured lo them by his benevolent ex* 
 ertions. 
 
 While a member of the Senate of the United States, Gen. Har- 
 rison was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of 
 Colombia. His residence there was short, having been recalled 
 by Gen. Jackson shortly after his accession to the Presidency, 
 but it was long enough to obtain for him a public expression of 
 the respect and esteem of the government to which he was accred- 
 ited, and to afford occasion for giving to the world his celebrated 
 letter to Bolivar. I do not occupy your time by a dissertation on 
 the merits of that paper; it has received the favorable award of 
 his cotemporaries, and may bo safely committed to the impartial 
 judgment of posterity. 
 
 After his return to the. United States, Gen. Harrison lived in 
 comparative retirement on his farm, the incumbent of an humble 
 office which contributed tohis support, in the exemplary discharge 
 of his duties as a citizen, in the habitual exercise of a liberal, but 
 nnostentatious hospitality. Occasionally called before the public, 
 in the different addresses with which recent events have made us 
 familiar, he continued to exhibit the fruits of a strong and cultiva- 
 ted, mind, capable of varied application and discriminating research. 
 One of the latest productions of his pen enriches the collections 
 of our Historical Society. of which he was an honorary member. 
 
 This very imperfect survey of the life of General Harrison, has 
 brought us to the moment, when, in obedience to the wishes of a 
 large portion of his countrymen, he was to exchange the repose 
 of North Bend, again to enter upon the busy arena of political 
 life. The incidents of that eventful contest, and its result, are 
 fresh in our recollection; but better, higher, holier feelings than 
 these reminiscences would furnish, belong to the occasion of our 
 issemblage. 
 
 Come then, for a moment to the contemplation of his character, 
 We may not hope to do justice toit, in ili<' little remnant of time 
 
[8 
 
 which is allotted to this address; but however imperfect the sni 
 vey, it will nevertheless be salutary. Our departed friend may 
 still speak to us from the tomb, of the beauty of virtue, and teach 
 us how pleasant are her ways. 
 
 As a soldier, Gen. Harrison maintained a generous and suc- 
 cessful rivalry, with cotempoty aspirants for military fame. The 
 pupil of Wayne, he was trained under his immediate eye, in the 
 field and on the battle field, when the principles of the art of 
 war, as they were inculcated in theory, found immediate illustra- 
 tion in the occurrences of the day. He was attached to the per- 
 son of his commander, enjoyed his confidence, shared his counsels, 
 and was himself engaged in their practical application. The dis- 
 tinguishing qualities of that experienced and gallant chieftain, 
 were therefore studied, admired, and engraved upon the mind of 
 the young and gifted soldier, whose novitiate in arms had been 
 cheered by his approbation. When in the fullness of time, Gen. 
 Wayne was called from the field of human strife to repose in the 
 tomb, and General Harrison succeeded to a like command on 
 the same great theatre, it seemed as if the spirit of the veteran 
 preceptor, had descended with his mantle, upon his favorite pupil. 
 He too exhihited the same vigilance and circumspection, the same 
 promptitude and decision; and by the combination of these qualities 
 reaped, like his illustrious predecessor, a rich harvest of renown. 
 If Gen. Harrison j^ractised the Fabian maxim, which leaves noth- 
 ing to the fortune of war that prudent circumspection can place 
 beyond its reach, the concurring testimony of his military associ- 
 ates, that he was found, when occasion required it, "in the foremost 
 front of the hottest battle," courting danger as his companion, gives 
 assurance that the spirit of Marcellus also dwelt in his bosom. 
 The prudent caution which he manifested, when that quality was 
 in requistion, was not greater than the daring energy which he ex- 
 hibited, when changing circumstances required the display of that 
 attribute of his character. He baffled the British invader and 
 drove him from our territory, by a cautious vigilance which never 
 slumbered. He vanquished him on his own ground, by a bold and 
 skilful movement, the united suggestion of his genius and his 
 courage. He possessed another quality, which is indispensable 
 t<~> the success of a military leader. Amid all the trials and pri 
 
I.' 
 
 us and complicated sei \ ice, lie commanded 
 mlimited confidence of his officers, and the devoted affection of 
 his men. This view of Gen. Harrison's qualifications for com- 
 mand, prepares us for the brief, but impressive summary of his 
 military characti r, given by his companion in arms, the late \ i< • 
 President of the United States, who embodied in a single sen 
 tence, theresull of all these high qualities — " Gen. Harrison," he 
 said, "hadfought more actions than any other General Officer, 
 and never lost a batik'." 
 
 It is said, that "an almost intuitive s i reat powerof com- 
 
 bination, prudence, caution, promptness and energy, together with 
 perfect self reliance and sell-control," are essential to constitute a 
 iuccessful commander: now it must be obvious, that these same 
 faculties, if directed to those objects which fall within the sphere 
 of the statesman would there also command success. According- 
 ly we find, that during his long administration of the Executive 
 office in Indiana, and his subsequent service in the Senate of 
 Ohio and of the Union, Gen. Harrison manifested a perfect fa- 
 miliarity with the duties which belong to the civil departments of 
 government. He had profoundly studied the constitution of his 
 country, was well versed in the history of the times in which it 
 originated, and knew, and had carefully considered, the various 
 interpretations to which it had been subjected. His Executive 
 communications, published addresses, and- legislative debates, are 
 the productions of a discriminating mind, possessing abundant 
 stores of useful knowledge, and habituated to reflection. But 
 the speech delivered at his inauguration, which by the inscrutable 
 dispensation of Providence, was also his farewell address, estab- 
 lishes his undoubted claim to the character of an American 
 Statesman. 
 
 The history of his life is the record of his patriotism. In eve- 
 ry situation in which he was placed, the animating principle of hie 
 conduct was an ardent love of country. lie cherished the na- 
 tional union as the palladium of our liberty ; but he asserted the 
 sovereignty of the states as the safe-guard of the union. He 
 knew that the Federal Constitution had been framed in the spirit 
 of mutual concession and guarantee. \\<- lilt, thai in very truth 
 'us was the vital principle of our Union. With him. therefore 
 
20 
 
 the preservation of that spirit, in all its original purity and \i_ 
 was the first duty of patriotism. He exhibited unyielding integ- 
 rity, and a noble disinterestedness in all his conduct. In his va- 
 rious official stations, very large amounts of public money wen 1 
 entrusted to his care, and many, perhaps unexceptionable, means 
 of amassing fortune, were afforded to him; but faithfully account- 
 ing to the government, whose confidence had been unlimited, 
 he returned, like Cincinnatus, to his plough, poor in purse, but rich 
 in the possession of that pearl beyond price, which wealth cannot 
 buy, and for the loss of which it cannot compensate a mind con- 
 scious of its own rectitude. 
 
 The distinguishing characteristic of General Harrison, was 
 active benevolence. This feeling never for an instant slumbered 
 in his bosom. It was part and parcel of his nature, the moral 
 atmosphere in which he lived, and moved, and had his being. 
 With him, it was Charity in its largest sense, a feeling of good will 
 to his fellow man, an ardent desire to promote his happiness. He 
 was not appalled by the magnitude, or detei'red by the insignifi- 
 cance of the object, which claimed its exercise. The sympathy 
 with a suffering people struggling for civil liberty, but deluded 
 in the pursuit, which dictated his letter to Bolivar, had its origin 
 in the same feeling, which would have prompted him, unseen, to 
 minister to the solitary beggar in his hour of anguish. His time, 
 his talents, his physical energies, his purse, light as it often was, 
 were at the service of those to whom he could minister relief. He 
 was brave — that was a quality which he shared with inferior na- 
 tures — but the spirit of benevolence which dwelt in his bosom, 
 was an emanation from on high. It was superiority to selfish 
 feeling. It was the capacity to find his own purest earthly enjoy- 
 ment, in ministering to the happiness of others. I would illustrate 
 this feeling ; I would give to it a distinctness of delineation, a viv- 
 idness of representation, which may find its way to your under- 
 standings and to your hearts, by awakening in your memory the 
 remembrance of one, whom it was your privilege to know. There 
 was — the time is not long past — one who was of you and among 
 you, a kindred spirit, in whose manly bosom dwelled in all its 
 living beauty, this same noble, generous feeling, of active, self- 
 sacrificing benevolence. He was your companion, your familiar 
 
21 
 
 friend, the welcome guest of your homes, the cherished object of 
 your affection. His short, but brilliant career, was closed among 
 you, in suffering and sorrow. He sleeps under his own ancestral 
 oaks, beneath the monumental stone raised by the respect and at' 
 fection of his companions in arms; but many a bosom in this as- 
 sembly beats high with emotion, as memory recalls the image of 
 the gallant, benevolent, lamented Tattnall. 
 
 Gen. Harrison was a pious man. Love to God, and good will 
 in man, were cherished feelings in his bosom. He lived under a 
 constant, and lively sense, of the superintending providence anil 
 care of the great Author of his being. I lis morning orisons daily 
 ascended in grateful homage to the throne of the Eternal; and 
 he retired to repose, under the soothing influences which he found 
 in communion with his God. He had long studied the scriptures 
 as matter of duty ; I use the substance of his own language, as he 
 drew near the close of his pilgrimage; then, he turned to them 
 with pleasure and delight — they had become precious to his heart. 
 The daily perusal of the sacred volume, was an occupation from 
 which no secular concerns could divert him. He was anxious to 
 make a public profession of his faith in the Redeemer; had a 
 few short weeks been added to his life, to restore to his mind the 
 calm which had been driven from it by the exciting events 
 through which he had passed, he would, by God's blessing, have 
 accomplished his purpose. A christian people would have beheld 
 their venerated chief magistrate, bending at the altar, in fervent, 
 humble acknowledgement of his faith in a crucified Saviour. He 
 had been grieved by the necessity which seemed to require, that 
 he should forbear for the time, this public expression of his feelings. 
 The prize for winch he had been contending, the necessarily prom- 
 inent position which he had been compelled to occupy, the ex- 
 cited state of public feeling, made him apprehend, that his motives 
 would be misrepresented. He would have bome the injustice to 
 himself, but he feared to bring reproach upon the church of his 
 affections. He has gone to a merciful God, who knows the in- 
 most thoughts of his heart, and will look with compassion on its 
 infirmities. And we, my friends! — lam all unworthy of the mon- 
 itorial office, but I may not repress the exclamation which rises 
 unbidden to my lips — what a lesson to the laggard in that race. 
 
of which the prize is eternal happiness, while never-ending misery 
 is the forfeit! 
 
 It is natural to believe that such a man as 1 have described, was 
 exemplary in the relations of domestic life; that the benevolence 
 of bis heart found full scope for its exercise, in the endearing 
 : Ions of a husband and a father. But may we, dare we, intrude 
 upon that circle of gloom and sadness which hovers around the 
 estic hearth.? O ! it were a delightful office, to soothe the sor- 
 i xws of orphanage, to pour the balm of consolation into her 
 wounded bosom, who was the idolized object of a hero's love, who 
 lives to weep in widowed anguish over his grave. But there is 
 a grief which is beyond the reach of human consolation, a desola- 
 tion of the heart, to which God alone can minister. Let our sym- 
 pathies find utterance, in the humble, fervent prayer, that he will 
 mercifully sustain and comfort them. 
 
 Such, my friends, is a crude and hasty sketch of the eventful 
 jif e — ;1 cold, imperfect portrait of the character — of William 
 Henry Harrison. I have designed to impart to it a spirit in har- 
 mony with the feeling which assembles us. I see around and before 
 me, the political friends and the political opponents of the venera- 
 ble patriot. An assembly of American freemen, throwing off the 
 habiliments of party, and purifying their hearts from its bitterness, 
 bave come to give expression to their own generous emotions, by 
 an act of voluntary homage to the virtuous dead. I would cher- 
 ish the feeling which prompts it: it is alike honorable to them, 
 and appropriate to its object. They will find their reward in the 
 approving judgment with which real magnanimity never fails to 
 cheer the bosoms of its votaries. The belief that his memory 
 would prove a legacy of peace and good will to his countrymen, 
 would have soothed the anguish of his dying hour. 
 
 He is gone. This venerable man, so formed to conciliate affec- 
 tion, so gifted with power, and animated by zeal, to promote the 
 best interest of his country, has been suddenly called away, in the 
 meridian splendor of his fame, and in the full tide of his useful- 
 ness; and we are left to commune with each other in unavailing 
 sorrow. 
 
 My friends ! Let us remember that resignation to the will of 
 He ven, i '' christian's duty; and blessed be God! the feeling 
 
which inspires it, its also thesouri 
 
 solation. Would that every smitten heart might r< pre- 
 
 cious truth. But wo art- only forbidden to sorrow as those with- 
 out hope — it is permitted 1 ir dej 
 '■(1 friends and benefactors; HE who w< pi over Jerusalem, 
 mingled his tears with those Rii ted Mar] . who took npon 
 himself our nature, and was touched with a feeling of our infirmi- 
 ty, will look with indulgt ace, on i lie tears which arc wrung fn i 
 our hearts on this melancholy occasion. 
 
 Yes — It is permitted to us to mourn. For since the mom 
 when tins great Republic was called to take rank among a itions; 
 when by the blessing of Heaven, our independence was achieved. 
 and civil liberty established on the sure basis of our constitutional 
 charter — since that eventful moment, when has calamity like thie 
 tefallen usl In the half century of our national existence, oui 
 country has indeed been called 
 
 To mourn the loss of many a patriot sage, 
 
 And oft her tears have flowed upon the bier 
 Of warriors fitted to adorn the age. 
 
 It is true we have wept the departure of Washington, emphat- 
 ically our political Father, wl sat and venerated name our 
 children's children shall be taught to lisp in accents of infant gral 
 itude; but he was summoned to receive the reward of his virtues 
 when lie had closed his earthly labors; when lull of years, and 
 lull of honor, he was yet lingering, as it were, on " the narrow 
 isthmus which separates Eternity and Time." He was spared to 
 us, until he had filled the measure of his glory, and finished the 
 brilliant career of his public service. From the retirement which 
 he loved, he was still permitted to survey the field of his f; 
 -till suffered to enjoy, as time rolled on its course, the grateful con- 
 templation of the blessings, which under Providence, he had .- 
 red to his countrymen; still allowed to receive the homag 
 sped and gratitude, with which we cheered his declining years; 
 till at last in the fullness of time, we wept over his bier, and en- 
 shrined the memory of his virtues in the inmosl recesses of oui 
 hearts. 
 
 How different was the fate of him whose loss we now deplcm , 
 He, too, had from early youth, devoted his life to his country. 11 . 
 
24 
 
 too had passed through a long, and brilliant career of public ser- 
 vice. He was pressing onward towards the goal which was open- 
 ing to his view. His talents, his patriotism, his pure unsullied vir- 
 tue, the warm and active benevolence of'his heart, had won the af- 
 fection of his countrymen. He had just been elevated to the 
 highest, station of earthly honor. 
 
 "The proudest meed that freemen may accord, 
 The unbougnt homage of the brave and free" 
 
 was his, his in the fullness of actual enjoyment; and apart from 
 the claims of friends and kindred, and the holier duties of religion, 
 the sole, strong aspiration of his patriot bosom, was to close a life 
 of usefulness, by such an administration of the high trust confi- 
 ded to him, as would give anew and enduring claim to the grati- 
 tude of his countrymen. 
 
 I saw him, as he stood in the presence of the countless thou- 
 sands who had assembled to greet his advent to the presidential 
 chair. The vigor of his arm was unabated, his bright eye beam- 
 ed with its Wonted brilliancy, his bosom heaved as if with youthful 
 emotion. His clear, strong, manly voice gave utterance to his 
 feeling. 1 ?, in tones which fell with inconceivable distinctness, on the 
 listening ear of him, who stood at the extremest verge of that vast 
 assemblage. I witnessed the pledge of his faith — the solemn 
 vow to preserve, protect, defend the Constitution — listened to his 
 earnest appeal to the God in whom he trusted — to that gracious 
 being, who had guarded, and guided his ascent to the lofty eleva- 
 tion, on which he stood — and heard, with thrilling emotion, the 
 shout of triumph which burst from that countless host. 
 
 The eye of him who beheld this sublime and imposing specta- 
 cle, rested upon serried ranks of freemen, gazing with reveren- 
 tial affection on their venerated chief; and he, the first, great ob- 
 ject of the august ceremonial, the depositary of their confidence, 
 the cynosure of their hopes, stood before them, on that eventful 
 day, full of life, and health, and mental vigor, strong in the affec- 
 tions of his countrymen, in his own high and lofty purposes, in 
 his firm, undoubting confidence, in the mercy of Heaven. 
 
 God of infinite goodness! How inscrutable is thy Providence! 
 This glorious day had just been numbered with the past, and its 
 stirring events still lived in our memory, in all their original fresh 
 
25 
 
 ness — the charm of actual enjoyment had scarce yielded to the 
 pleasure of remembrance — the brilliant scene had indeed passed 
 from before us, hut in the fulness of the emotion which it had 
 awakened, we still dwelt on its cheering recollections, still revel- 
 ed in the contemplation of the bright and glorious prospect 
 which it had opened to our view. In this moment of joy and 
 thankfulness to the author of all good, it hath pleased Him to dash 
 the cup of pleasure from our lips. Our venerated chief sleeps 
 with his fathers. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, this 
 mortal has put on immortality. How awful — how sudden the 
 transition! From life, to death — from Time, to Eternity — from 
 the summit of earthly honor, to the lowly grave — to that narrow 
 house, which is appointed unto all the living. 
 
 What a lesson to human vanity! What a rebuke to the vain 
 and empty pride of man! O, my friends! How sternly does it 
 reprove the bitterness of our political strife! One month — one 
 little month, marks, at once, the consummation of the fondest 
 wishes, and the destruction of the dearest hopes of millions. 
 Truly the language of the poet is scarcely figurative, in its appli- 
 cation to the events we are contemplating. Like him, in the an- 
 guish of despair, we are tempted to exclaim — " The night of 
 that day has descended in sorrow, and morning has returned in the 
 shadow of grief." 
 
 Let us awake to better thoughts! it is the God of our fathers^it 
 is our own God and father, who has inflicted the blow. Rever- 
 ence, and holy fear, are the feelings which become us. Let us 
 bow in humble resignation to the will of Him, whose very chas- 
 tenings bear the impress of his own infinite goodness. Let us 
 learn from this awful calamity, the instructive and salutary lest-on 
 which it is calculated and intended to convey. Here, in this sa- 
 cred temple, let us erect an altar to patriotism. Let us silence in 
 our bosoms every selfish, every grosser feeling:. Let the votive 
 offering of our hearts be peace and good will to man ; and as the 
 smoke of the sacrifice ascends to heaven, thither let our grateful 
 orisons also ascend, in humble thankful acknowledgement of 
 the mercies which are yet vouchsafed to our beloved country. 
 From this last act of voluntary In mage to the virtuou6 dead, with 
 feelings purified by the solemn service, let us turn with generous 
 
26 
 
 confidence to the living, and unitedly invoke the protection and 
 Guidance of Him in whose hands are the destines of men and of 
 nations, for the Patriot Chief, who now commands. 
 
 PUBLIC MEETING. 
 
 At a meeting of the citizens of Savannah, held at the Exchange. 
 April 7th, 1841, the Hon. James M Wayne presiding, and Maj. 
 Wm. P. White acting as Secretary, the following Preamble and 
 Resolutions were unanimously adopted : 
 
 "For the first time in the history of our country, the American 
 people are called to mourn the death of their Chief Magistrate, 
 while in the active performance of the du ies of his high office. 
 
 "The Citizens of Savannah, assembled without any reference to 
 party, impressed with the solemnity of the occassion, as one far 
 above all consideration of political differences, and feeling that the 
 death of the late honored President of the United States is a na- 
 tional calamity, do adopt the following resolutions: 
 
 '■'Resolved, That the Citizens of Savannah deeply lament the 
 death of William Henry Hakkison, late President of the United 
 States ol America, and cordially sjmpatljise with his afflicted 
 family. 
 
 "Resolved, That a committee, to consist of thirteen, be appoint- 
 ed by the Chair, to select a citizen to pronounce a Eulogy on the 
 life and character of the deceased, and to make the necessary ar- 
 rangements for the occasion. 
 
 "Resolved, That we will wear the usual badge of mourning for 
 thiriv days, as a token of respect to the memory of our late ven- 
 erable Chief Magistrate. 
 
 "Resolved, That the Chairman be requested to transmit a copy 
 of the foregoing resolutions to the family of ihe deceased, and to 
 furnish copies to our Senators and Hepiesentatives in Congress, 
 to be laid before their respective Houses at their, next meeting. 
 
 LEua'12