A TRIBUTE 
 
 TO 
 
 (general William Tecumseh pherman, 
 
 BY 
 
 Rev. S. J. Niccolls, D. D., L. L. D., 
 
 ST. LOUIS. 
 
 \ 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE PUBLIC MEMORIAL SERVICE 
 
 OF RANSOM POST No. 131, DEPARTMENT 
 
 OF MISSOURI. G. A. R. 
 
 I1V EXPOSITION IBXJII^DIIVG, ST. I<OUIS. 
 
 MAY 30TH, 1891. 
 
A TRIBUTE 
 
 TO 
 
 qeneral William Tecumseh pherman 
 
 BY 
 
 Rev. S. J. Niccolls, D. D., L. L. D., 
 
 ST. LOUIS. 
 
 ■y 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE PUBLIC MEMORIAL SERVICE 
 
 OF RANSOM POST No. 131, DEPARTMENT 
 
 OF MISSOURI, G. A. R. 
 
 IN EXPOSITION BUILDING, »1\ LOUIS. 
 
 MAY 30TH, 1891. 
 

 p. 
 D. of St. 
 
 4F'03 
 
Rev. S. J. Niccolls, D. D., St. Louis, June 1st, 1891. 
 
 Dear Comrade : 
 
 Will you kindly furnish for publication, your oration on 
 General Sherman, delivered on last Saturday afternoon upon the occasion 
 of the public Memorial Service, held by Ransom Post in Entertainment 
 Hall. 
 
 In making this request, we second the desire expressed by many 
 who listened to your eloquent delineation of the life and services of that 
 illustrious soldier ; and we feel confident that a host of old soldiers and 
 their friends, who did not share with us the pleasure of listening to your 
 admirable address, will appreciate the privilege of reading it. 
 
 Very cordially, 
 
 Your Comrades, 
 
 JAS. G. BUTLER, JAS. O. CHURCHILL. 
 
 HENRY HITCHCOCK, O. L. WHITELAW, 
 
 L. B. RIPLEY. GEO. H. MORGAN. 
 
 CHAS. S. HILLS, W. D. WETLIERELL, 
 
 H. M. POLLARD, THOS. S. HAWLEY, 
 
 DELOS R. HAYNES, A. P. FORBES, 
 
 AUSTIN E. COOK, .1X0. SCHEXK, 
 
 JXO. B. BRANDT, S. C. BUCKINGHAM, 
 
 C. P. CHESEBRO, JAS. A. SUDBOROUGH. 
 
 T. D. KIMBALL, N. W. TAYLOR. 
 
 GEO. D. REYNOLDS, DWIGHT TREADWAY, 
 
 W. G. HILLS, F. WALTON, 
 
 W. B. DEAN, E. W. DUNCAN. 
 ADAM ROTH. 
 
 Messrs. Butler, Hitchcock, Ripley, Hills and Othei^ : 
 Dear Comrades : 
 
 In answer to your kind request, I send you for publication 
 the manuscript of my Address. I know that it poorly expresses what 
 is clue to General Sherman and our dead heroes, but your approval 
 makes me bold to contribute it to the honoring of their achievements. 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 c , T . T „ , SAM'L J. NICCOLLS. 
 
 St. Louis, June 3rd, 1891. 
 
Comrades and Fellow Citizens : 
 
 The just sentiment of a grateful people has set apart this clay in 
 remembrance of those who gave their lives for their country, in the day 
 of its extreme peril. Our laws confirm its observance. It is thus, in 
 part, that the Republic seeks to honor those who fought and fell in its 
 defense, and who, by their valor and self-sacrifice, secured its present 
 unparalleled greatness. To some here present, the observance of this day 
 is nothing more than a memorial of a time in the past, which has a 
 general but no personal interest for them. At best, they are curious 
 to learn of it from those who were eye witnesses of its scenes. But to 
 others, companions in arms of those who died, it is more than a 
 memorial. It is a day of sacred and tender memories, and it calls us to 
 the fulfillment of a duty which we owe to the dead. Others may forget 
 them, but we cannot, and be true to our better selves. We are carried 
 back to the time when we marched with them to the throb of the drum, 
 and waked with them at the bugle's call. Over us was the flag, red as 
 the wrath of a great people in the hour of their just anger, and the 
 thunderous sound of battle smote our ears. Again we see the faces of 
 our comrades bright with smiles, around the camp fire ; or shadowed with 
 pensive thought as they look far away over hill tops and valleys, to 
 the dear homes they had left behind ; or transfigured in the fierce light 
 of battle ; or pale in death, when the bloody strife was over. They 
 shared our trials, they cheered us on our way with their brave words, 
 they died that we might live. We caught their last whispered words of 
 love, and sent their last messages to those who were waiting in agony of 
 suspense, for tidings from the camp or battle field. They are the spent 
 ammunition of the war ; we, that which was carried back in caison and 
 cartridge box. 
 
How then can' we forget their graves, or cease to cherish their 
 memories ? Some tell us that it were better for present peace, that the 
 observance of this day should fall into disuse. But who demands it? 
 Certainly not those gallant men who with equal, though with erring 
 patriotism and valor, fought against us. They would be the last to ask 
 it. Certainly not those who -know from the teachings of history, how 
 much examples of patriotic devotion have to do with the greatness of the 
 State. When that profound instinct in humanity, which ever leads it to 
 honor the graves of its heroes, is stifled, one of its mightiest inspirations 
 to true greatness will be lost. It may be that coming generations, filled 
 with their own pleasures or enervated by luxury, shall no longer observe 
 this day ; but sure I am, that so long as one of the Grand Army of the 
 Republic shall survive, he will come, though bent with years and upheld 
 by his tottering staff, to lay his tribute of honor and affection on the 
 graves of his comrades. 
 
 It is no easy task to speak appropriately in the honor of the dead. 
 When Pericles, in obedience to a custom like that which calls us together 
 to-day, spoke in memory of those who sacrificed their lives for the safety 
 of their country, he began by saying that it was difficult to say neither 
 too little nor too much, and that even moderation was apt not to give the 
 impression of truthfulness. "The friend of the dead who knows the 
 facts is likely to think that the words of the speaker fall short of his 
 knowledge and wishes ; another who is not so well informed, when he 
 hears of anything that surpasses his own powers, will be envious and 
 suspect exaggeration. Men are tolerant of the praises of others so long 
 as each hearer thinks he can do as well himself ; but when the speaker 
 rises above him, jealousy is aroused and he begins to be incredulous." 
 So I cannot hope to speak in such a way as to please, or satisfy all. For 
 indeed what mind short of an omniscient one, could hold in view the 
 mighty number of the dead, or place in order their deeds, so as to 
 measure to each one his appropriate praise. Call up in memory a single 
 brave, self-sacrificing soldier of the Republic, and it is as though you 
 looked for the first star in the evening sky. Even while you look, 
 another, and another — and then a score stand revealed from the violet 
 
— 7 
 
 depths, until the whole heavens are ablaze with their splendor. So our 
 heroic dead appear in the sky of memory. They come singly from the 
 skirmish line where they fell, faithful unto death. They come in regi- 
 ments from battle fields encrimsoned with their blood, and in mighty 
 divisions from prisons and hospitals. They form galaxies and flaming 
 constellations. They stud the sky thick as .the stars in the Milky Way. 
 There let them shine forever together, great commanders and common 
 soldiers, leaders and followers, the men who issued commands and the 
 no less glorious men who dared to execute then!. Who would rob night 
 of its splendor by diminishing its glory to a single star ! 
 
 Even were I to attempt to speak the names of the dead associated 
 with this Post, from that of the heroic general whose name you bear, to 
 that of the brave and loyal hearted man whom you so recently followed 
 in sorrow and love to his tomb in a neighboring State, I should fail by 
 omission. But you, comrades, have in part relieved me by asking me 
 to speak of one with whom it was our privilege to be associated in 
 comradeship, and whose name will ever remain chief in honor, on the 
 roll of our post. I need not say that I refer to him, whose high 
 distinction it is, to be enrolled among the greatest military commanders 
 of the world, COMRADE SHERMAN. 
 
 It is not possible to reach a proper understanding of a character 
 such as his, or to explain his greatness, apart from his birth and education. 
 Great men are not made by opportunities, rather, they are prepared for 
 them. The chief matter is the making of the man, after that all he 
 accomplishes follows as a matter of course. Great souls have their roots 
 in the soil of the past. They have gathered from immediate and remote 
 ancestors, as well as from great minds that touched theirs, inspirations, 
 convictions, ideals and principles, that have been wrought together in 
 their moral and intellectual fiber. Their temperaments have slowly 
 ripened in secrecy like : 
 
 "Wines, that heaven knows where, 
 Have sucked the fire of some forgotten sun ; 
 And kept it through a hundred years of gloom. 
 Yet glowing in a heart of ruby." 
 
— 8 — 
 
 Great men are God's gift to his people. He raises tbem up and 
 calls them to the field of action, at the appointed hour. Usually too, he 
 calls them from obscurity, and not from high rank and king's palaces, 
 that the glory of what is done may be his, and not man's. It was so in 
 this case. 
 
 The quiet home in Lancaster, Ohio, in which William Sherman was 
 born, was that of a distinctively American family, of two generations ago. 
 Judge Sherman, his father, and Rev. John Sherman, his grandfather, 
 with their wives, were true representatives of that stalwart generation 
 that passed through the war for Independence. They were frugal livers, 
 strong in convictions, intense in their patriotism, and Puritan in the best 
 sense, in their ideas of honesty and honor. Such homes are unconsciously 
 breeding great men. They transmit and give inspirations which in due 
 time embody themselves in heroic deeds, and win the grandest victories 
 for liberty, law and humanity. 
 
 The death of Judge Sherman, when his illustrious son was only nine 
 years old, brought a sorrowful change for his family. The future general 
 was left a poor boy, depending upon his own exertions and the aid of 
 friendly neighbors. Necessity, rather than choice led him to accept the 
 appointment of cadet at West Point. 
 
 In the year 1846 he began his services in the army as lieutenant' in 
 the artillery. He was then twenty-six years old. But while trained for 
 the profession of arms, he had no love for it. His eager nature was 
 impatient under its restraints, and his tastes turned to civil, rather than 
 military pursuits. The impending war with Mexico seemed to promise 
 him a field for action, but he was not destined to take part in it, as his 
 orders transferred him to the newly acquired territory of California. No 
 one can read his own account of his experience, both as an army officer 
 and as a civilian, during his residence on the Pacific coast, without seeing 
 that that experience strengthened and ripened those qualities which 
 afterwards served him so well in his great campaigns. California at 
 that time was the land for adventurers of every class, eager to get wealth 
 at any price. Bold and often unscrupulous speculators were the men in 
 power. The mad thirst for gold had taken possession of the whole 
 
— 9 
 
 country. Men forgot honor and betrayed sacred trusts to secure gain for 
 themselves. Through all this trying period young Sherman passed 
 uncorrupted, and without a stain upon his honor. No one ever accused 
 him of using his official position to promote rascality, nor was he 
 associated with schemers and speculators whose actions could not bear 
 the light of day. In his respect for law, his wonderful foresight, his 
 prompt and vigorous action and his determination to overcome all 
 obstacles, we can see the budding of those powers which were displayed 
 so conspicuousl}' in the more stirring events of the great civil war. 
 
 This is not the time nor place to detail the events of his early life. 
 Enough now to say, that the opening of the civil war found him in 
 charge of a military academy, under the control of the State of Louisiana. 
 The social atmosphere in which he lived was full of the spirit of re- 
 bellion, and few were rugged enough in loj'alty to escape untouched. But 
 among them was the Superintendent of the State Militar}' Academy, who, 
 anticipating the secession of Louisiana, sent in his resignation, in which 
 were these memorable words : u On no earthly account will I do any act, 
 or think any thought hostile to, or in defiance of the old government of 
 the United States." No vow of love escaping from a chaste maiden's 
 lips, was ever more ardent and sincere than was this avowal of patriotism. 
 Mark it, for it explains all that follows. It is the very soul of his soul. 
 Presently it will break forth in fiery energy, and manifest itself in deeds 
 of devotion and sublime daring. It will subordinate his rare gifts and 
 high mental endowments to itself ; it will rise superior to reproach, to the 
 calls of ambition, to domestic sorrow, and to the love of gain. It will 
 sit enthroned in his imperial genius until at last, men shall see pure, 
 unselfish patriotism incarnate in one of the greatest of the world's 
 military commanders. 
 
 Shortly after this he is in Washington, disgusted with the condition 
 of affairs there. It seemed to him a veritable witches caldron, in which 
 "white spirits and black, red spirits and gray" were stewing together. 
 He had just come from the South, and in his view, the Government 
 was bewildered and did not comprehend the magnitude of the dangers 
 which threatened it. Sorrowing and despondent, this man of action comes 
 
-10- 
 
 to St. Louis, to be the superintendent of a street railway. Here he was a 
 deeply interested spectator in the stirring scenes and the fierce war of 
 words that marked the beginning of sectional strife. He was offered a 
 local command of importance but refused it. He wanted no ninety da}^s 
 work in a contest which he saw must last for years. At last he was 
 called to Washington as colonel of the Thirteenth Regular Infantry, and 
 with this appointment he began his eventful career. He commands a 
 brigade at ill-starred Bull Run. Subsequently he is ordered to the De- 
 partment of the Cumberland, to which he goes, stipulating with the 
 President, that in no event was he to be placed in a superior command. 
 This fledgling hero is diffident of his powers, and it is at this time that 
 he gives himself to the renewed study of the art of war, confident that a 
 long and hard contest is before the country. Contrary to his desire, he 
 was placed in superior command of his department. He was, however, 
 soon relieved, for a strange reason. He was " crazy," so it was said. 
 Seeing, as others did not, the magnitude of the struggle, he asked for 
 men and means proportionate to it, and for this reason, men in power 
 judged that his mind was disturbed. Wise above the rest, they there- 
 fore judged him a fool. Happy would it have been for the country, if a 
 like madness could have possessed all, instead of the infantile wisdom 
 that was predicting conquest and peace at the end of three months. It 
 is enough here to say, that in less than a year, the foresight and wisdom 
 of General Sherman, as expressed in his plans which had been so sharply 
 condemned, were more than justified by events. But the sting of the 
 foolish charge long rankled in the heart of the brave soldier. It is ever 
 the lot of great genius to be misunderstood, reviled and assailed. Ignor- 
 ance and stupidity will abuse it and pronounce its acts folly ; the hounds 
 of envy and malice will follow, baying at it, through all its course. In 
 short, it must have its baptism of suffering before it can wear its crown 
 of success. The future General of the army of his country, was ordered 
 to Jefferson Barracks to be a driller and organizer of raw recruits. 
 Accepting the humiliation with such patience as his fiery spirit could 
 command, he addressed himself to the execution of his new duties. He 
 was no sulking Achilles, refusing to do his part because due honor had 
 
— 11 
 
 not been shown him. And is it too much to say that this humbler service,, 
 by which he became more familiar with that part of war which has 
 reference to 'organization and supply, trained him into a larger efficiency 
 for the great work before him, to which he was called in the Providence 
 of God? 
 
 Again, Sherman is at the front, and on the bloody field of Shiloh 
 he displays those qualities of personal courage, promptness in action, cool 
 judgment in the heat of conflict, firmness in the midst of disaster, and 
 wisdom in command, which soon won him the unbounded confidence of 
 his soldiers, and which subsequently shone so conspicuously on many a 
 battle field. From this time to the close of the war, he stands in the 
 forefront of the conflict. Battle succeeds battle, campaign follows cam- 
 paign, in all of which he takes a conspicuous and successful part. The 
 names of Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Meridian, Knoxville, Kenesaw and 
 Atlanta indicate the line of his advancing course and are forever asso- 
 ciated with his fame. The fall of Atlanta marked the close of as well 
 conceived and executed campaign, as was ever recorded in the bloody 
 annals of war. That there were some mistakes in it, is but to say that 
 it was planned and executed by men. But were there nothing else 
 recorded in the history of our country to the honor of General Sherman, 
 than the story of that campaign, it alone would be sufficient evidence 
 of his surpassing genius as a military leader. Nor was that campaign 
 less glorious in its fruits than in its execution. There are thousands still, 
 living, who can remember the sense of relief which came, and the wave 
 of joy which swept over the land, when it was told that Sherman's boys 
 held Atlanta, and that the old flag waved in triumph over that strong- 
 hold of rebellion, second only in importance to Richmond itself. But 
 after this came another campaign, less bloody indeed in its events, but 
 far surpassing the former in boldness of design and brilliancy of execu- 
 tion. It was that of the famous " March to the Sea." Some have tried 
 to belittle it, because it was comparatively bloodless and unopposed ; 
 forgetting that the highest art of civilized war is to accomplish great 
 results without opposition and bloodshed. It is to do the unexpected. 
 It is to feign here and to strike there. It is to outmarch and outgeneral 
 
— 12 
 
 the foe. It is to command armies with such skill and energy that when 
 the decisive movement is begun, the foe is powerless to resist. It is to 
 secure victory without bloodshed, and that is vastly better than mere 
 slaughter. How much that ever-memorable march displays, in its details, 
 this highest skill of war, it would be presumption in me to decide ; others 
 competent for the task must judge it. But the humblest citizen knows 
 the result of the movement. Boldly cutting loose from all lines of sup- 
 plies, this great leader and his gallant army left Atlanta and marched 
 eastward. They disappear from the sight of friends, and rumor alone 
 could report their progress as they cut a broad swath of desolation across 
 half a continent. The enemy, perplexed and dismayed, cannot organize 
 to resist them. They take cities and towns, an easy pre}'. The sound 
 of their advance is heard mingling with the roar of the sea. They 
 appear for a short time to encircle and capture Savannah. They inarch 
 northward, sweeping all before them like a tropical tempest. They 
 compel the surrender of the last arm}' of the Confederacy. Still onward 
 they march, though no longer in battle array, until they enter the proud 
 capital of the nation the}' fought to save. Down the wide streets, 
 through lines of rejoicing citizens, eager to behold the conquering heroes, 
 on past the dignitaries of the nation, assembled to witness the last act in 
 the mighty drama, rode the man who had left Atlanta, and after him, 
 regiment following regiment, brigade upon brigade, corps after corps, 
 their, battle-rent flags uplifted and their arms glittering in the sunlight, 
 came his bronzed and scarred veterans, tramping on with the tread of 
 conquerers. The long march of 2,000 miles under Sherman's leadership 
 was ended. The work was done and triumphant war gave place to peace. 
 What I have said is only a brief and bare outline of the life and 
 achievements of General Sherman. It remains for the biographer and 
 historian to record- the whole story ; and when it is written, it will reveal, 
 more clearly than his contemporaries have been able to discern, the 
 greatness of his genius and the nobility of his character. We are too 
 close to the great men of our civil war to measure them rightly ; but 
 even now the verdict of the masses places the leader of the March to 
 the Sea, among the greatest of Americans. Whoever calls the roll of our 
 
 
13 — 
 
 dead heroes, whose achievments fill us with pride, and whose examples- 
 are worthy to be held in memory, will find among the names at the head 
 of the list, that of William T. Sherman. 
 
 It would be folly on my part, to undertake to pass judgment on 
 his military career. But those, who are masters in the art of war, have 
 already done so, and without hesitation rank him among the first of 
 military leaders of this, or any age. None has been more outspoken or 
 positive in his praise, than the great Commander, General Grant. Such 
 words as these from the "silent man" mean something: "I feel that you 
 have accomplished the most gigantic undertaking given to any General 
 in this war, and with a skill and ability that will be acknowledged in 
 history, as unsurpassed if not unequaled." In another letter, which was 
 private and confidential he says: "I do not propose to lay down for 
 you a plan of campaign, but simply to indicate the work which it is 
 advisable for you to have done, and leave you free to execute it in your 
 own way." Grant knew his man. He says in that same letter that he 
 had placed another in»a particular position with special orders, and as if 
 some thought of his old tanner life had come to him, he writes: "If he 
 cannot skin for himself, he can hold a leg while some one else skins." 
 He knew that Sherman left to himself, could take off the hide. 
 
 But there are some things which we all, however ignorant of military 
 affairs, can see in his character and course, worthy of dur profound 
 admiration. No one can fail to discern his unfaltering loyalty to his 
 country. He has no ambition which leads him to delight in war. He 
 accepts it sorrowfulby, as a means to an end, and that end was the 
 preservation of the Union. He believed with all his soul, that rebellion 
 was treason, and that war, relentless and vigorous, was the shortest road 
 to peace. His singleness of purpose gave him a clearness of vision with 
 reference to the prosecution of the war, which others did not possess, 
 His passionate loyalty and high sense of duty ever kept in restraint that 
 selfish ambition which is so often the evil genius of successful leaders. 
 He was singular!}- free from political ambition, nor did he ever use his 
 high position for personal advantage. England's greatest military genius, 
 the Duke of Marlborough, has a record of character that stains the pages 
 
14 
 
 of history; but it is with just pride that we point to the great American 
 soldier, and claim for him a character so transparent in honor and 
 integrity, that even his enemies could not find a pretext for an accusation 
 against him. 
 
 No one familiar with his career and the times in which he lived, can 
 fail to see that his greatness was not accidental. It was not happy fortune 
 that raised him on high, and left him crowned with honor which he had 
 not fairly won. Others had equal opportunities, and failed. In those 
 days of intense passion, when cool judgment was so often compelled 
 to yield to popular clamor and political policy, when envy, ambition, 
 jealousy and treachery sought to distract the counsels and defeat the plans 
 of the wisest and best, it required of one in command, almost super- 
 human powers of will, rare tact and judgment in dealing with men, 
 wide knowledge of facts, and especially a character that invited confidence, 
 in order to stand erect and conquer. The greatness of his generalship 
 also appears, when we recall the character of the army which he led. 
 Never before in all history, was so large a number of intelligent soldiers 
 massed together for battle, as in our civil war. They thought for 
 themselves, they had their own convictions, and knew, or fancied they 
 knew, as much as their officers, how battles should be fought and won. 
 
 They were ready to fight, but they refused to be misled. That such 
 
 i 
 men gave their implicit confidence to their General, and that he drew 
 
 forth from them a faith that made them invincible, is no small testimony 
 
 to Sherman's greatness. Indeed, I know not whether it is better to say, 
 
 that the commander was worthy of his soldiers, or that the soldiers were 
 
 worthy of their great commander. Each statement is equally true. 
 
 Certain it is, that no one of our great leaders had so large a share of 
 
 the affection of the army as he. One who was his companion in his 
 
 march, has well said: "What General Sherman was to his men, not 
 
 merely as the leader whom they would follow wherever he went, but as a 
 
 friend in whom they trusted, is part of the history of the war. Ready 
 
 to share their dangers, provident and careful of their needs to the utmost 
 
 of his power, exacting of them the obedience to duty which he exacted 
 
 still more rigorously from himself, he was always 'uucle Billy' to the rank 
 
 and file." 
 
— 15 — 
 
 More than an}' other of our great commanders, he represents that 
 might}- host of common soldiers who went forth in defense of the Union. 
 As the apex of the .pyramid, though complete in itself, is after all only 
 the topmost section of the mass underneath, and draws into itself all the 
 lines of the huge bulk that upholds it in his pre-eminent glory, so General 
 Sherman seems to gather and centre in himself, all that energy, patriotic 
 devotion and self-sacrifice of the common soldieis, which made his great 
 achievements possible. 
 
 Men who are crowned with the glory of great enterprises are 
 generally more admired than loved. They attract others by the splendor 
 of their genius ; but it is not so in this case. The great heart, the true 
 manhood of the bluff soldier won the love of his countrymen, as much as 
 his genius, their admiration. Sincere affection, as well as fame, made 
 his name familiar as a household word in countless homes. A great nation 
 mourned his death, not only as a public loss, but with a sense of personal 
 bereavement, so much did he seem to belong to us all. It was given to 
 him to enjoy, in the largest measure, the earthly reward of his services. 
 He lived to see the country he had so efficiently and devotedly served, 
 established in peace and unity, and advancing with unparalleled power 
 in its new career. He received that which was more to him than the 
 highest station or rank, the affection and gratitude of his countrymen. 
 He died as a patriot soldier might well wish to die, full of years and rich 
 in honor. His grave is with us, henceforth to be a shrine where pilgrims 
 shall come from afar, to do honor to his genius, and where patriotism 
 shall reverently stand to have its spirit purified and quickened. We do 
 well to build a monument to his memory. Less than that we could not do, 
 and be true to our trust. But he has built a monument for himself in 
 the hearts of his countrymen, which shall endure when bronze has become 
 rust, and granite dust. This great man of noble simplicity, of cunning 
 brain and great heart, of disinterested patriotism and unstained honor, 
 is no longer with us in the flesh ; but the grave has not entombed him. 
 He lives and will continue to live among his countrymen. His unique 
 figure will stand in striking majesty among our great historic characters, 
 not to dwarf us into littleness, but to show into what greatness men may 
 
16 
 
 grow, who are wise and unselfish in patriotism, and true to their convic- 
 tions of honor and duty. 
 
 But,- comrades, we do not come to-day, to lament over the graves of 
 our dead. Bather do we rejoice with a solemn joy, as we recall their 
 memories. They opened the door by which a great people passed 
 through to victory, to high enterprise and unparalleled prosperity. We 
 shall best honor them by keeping secure what they died to save. Shiloh, 
 Chattanooga and Atlanta are senseless wastes, the March to the Sea, 
 vainer than a dream, Gettysburg, useless slaughter, and the whole 
 struggle a hideous mistake, if our union of States shall not remain one 
 and indissoluble, and the rights of men be maintained by the free 
 government of the people. It was the high privilege of most here, to 
 take some part in the work of that most eventful period in the history 
 of our country. We cherish the memory of those days with honest pride ; 
 and well may we, for there never was a war like it, fought out on so vast 
 a scale, involving such tremendous cost and so many thousands of price- 
 less-lives, and in behalf of so high principles. We can say of all the 
 combatants, as did the Greek historian of those who engaged in the 
 civil war of that famous State, "There were no mean thoughts on either 
 side." It was a war of giants, and it has led to results in which all 
 acquiese and rejoice. 
 
 Comrades, year by year our ranks are depleted, and soon the Grand 
 Army of the Bepublie will be marshalled on the other side of the flood. 
 But while we live, let us not forget the mighty inspiration of the heroic 
 da} r s of the past, and let us strive by the victories of peace to keep in 
 purity, in honor and in integrity, and to raise to higher glory that " Gov- 
 ernment of the people, for the people and by the people " which we fought 
 to save. Then it may be, that grateful hearts will strew flowers of affec- 
 tion on our graves, and our children evoke inspiration from our examples, 
 as we do from our immortal dead. 
 
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