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 C I T Y U O C U M E N T 
 
 [No. 22. 
 
 DEDICATION 
 
 FliENCH MONUMENT 
 
 CITY OF PrxOVlDENCE, I!. 1. 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 HIE HISKilflCAl, KKCOKD, OUATION, ADDUKSSKS, I'KAVEHS, 01»E 
 AND 0I5DEU OF EXEUCISES, 
 
 JULY 4, 1882, 
 
 WITH PHOTOGRAPHIC AHEWS. 
 
 PROVIDENCE: 
 
 PKt>Vir)EX(K PRESS COMPANY, PRINTERS TO THE CITY. 
 
 1882. 
 

 
THE CITY OF P li O V I D E N C F . 
 
 Joint Resolutions by the City Council. 
 
 No. -'{54. Resolutions thanking the Rev. Frederic Denison for the Oration 
 delivered at the Dedication of the French Monument, July 4, 1882. 
 
 [Approved September 14, 1SS2.] 
 
 Resolved, That the city council hereby tender their thanks to the Rev. 
 Frederic Denison for the oration delivered by him at the dedication of the 
 F'rench Monument, on the Fourth of July, 18S2. 
 
 Resolved, That the committee of arrangements for the said Fourth of July 
 celebration, Messrs. Benjamin E. Kinsley, Chairman, John McWilliams, 
 John W. Briggs and Gilbert F. Robbing, are hereby instructed to request a 
 copy of said oration, and cause the same, together with the order of exercises 
 on that day, to be printed for the use of the city council, and that the exjiense 
 thereof be charged to the appropriation for i^rinting. 
 
 Witness: 
 
 HENRY V. A. JOSLIN, City Clerk. 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 City of Providence, ^ 
 
 City Clerk's Office, City Hall, \ 
 
 September 25, 1882. j 
 
 Rev. Frederic Denison: 
 
 De.ir Sir: — I am ilirectetl by the Joint Special Committee on the Fourth of 
 July celebration, to request that you will furnish me for publication a copy 
 of the very able oration delivered by you at- the dedication of the French 
 Monument. 
 
 As the city council have directed that the order of exercises be iiublished 
 together with the oration, I shall be pleased to see you personally in regard 
 to the matter, that I may avail myself of such suggestions as you may choose 
 to make. 
 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 HENRY V. A. JOSLIN, Crrv Clerk. 
 
 REPLY. 
 Henry V. A. Joslin, Esq., Clerk of the City of Providence, R. I.: 
 
 Dear Sir: — Having received, under your hand, the resolution of thanks 
 from the city council of Providence, R. I., for the oration delivered by me, at 
 their appointment, on the occasion of the dedication of the French Monu- 
 ment, July 4, 1882, followed by a request for a copy of the oration for publi- 
 cation; and also having received, in accordance with the resolution, a request, 
 under your hand, from the Joint Special Committee of the City Council on 
 the dedication referred to, for a copy of said oration ; I hereby gratefully 
 acknowledge the receipt of the two communications, and gladly comply with 
 the requests by furnishing the said oration, trusting that the publication of 
 the dedicatory exercises may further promote and perpetuate the priceless 
 international friendship that inspired the erection of the Monument, and that 
 will forever be dear to the hearts of the people of Rhode Island. 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 FREDERIC DENISON. 
 Providence, R. I., October 4, 1882. 
 
I. 
 
 HISTORICAL EECORD. 
 
 During the Revolution, the ti'oops of France sent to our 
 aid reached Rhode Island in the summer of 1780, and at the 
 close of the active operations of the war, left the State late 
 in 1782. During the ditferent visits and encampments of 
 these troops in Providence, about one hundred soldiers fell 
 by disease. The most of these were inhumed near the south 
 entrance of the North Burying Ground, then the only pub- 
 lic cemetery in the town. The spot containing these allies 
 became hallowed ground. 
 
 The movement to secure a memorial over the graves of 
 these French soldiers w^as l)egun Iw the Rev. Frederic Deni- 
 son, in August, 1881. After careful search, involving the 
 examination of records and the testimony of aged men who 
 knew well the 'actors in the Revolution, he was enabled to 
 fix upon the exact spot containing the graves of these allies, 
 hitherto unmarked by stones. On exhumation he found the 
 bones. One full skeleton was taken out, for a time, for 
 examination, to dispel all doubts, and for the inspection of 
 the French Delegation that visited our country on the occa- 
 sion of the Yorktown Centennial. 
 
 By request, the authorities of Providence laid out this 
 ground and caused it to be permanently graded. The pro- 
 
10 HISTOUICAL RECORD. 
 
 jector of the memorial then drew his plan — a unique one — 
 of a ledger moniunent of o-ranite, and solicited throULjh the 
 columns of the Providence Journal and by personal appeal, 
 the funds necessary to carrv out his desijjn. The founda- 
 tion of the monument was put in, and the broad base-stone 
 was laid when the French Delegation to the Yorktown Cen- 
 tennial, by invitation, visited Rhode Island, and with most 
 touching ceremonies of address, song, floral decoration and 
 prayer, recognized the begun work. The ceremony occurred 
 November 1, 1881. The French oflicers decorated the 
 stone with a floral cross made of bouquets taken from their 
 breasts. A full account of this service may be found in the 
 Providence Joiwiml for November 2,1881. A beautiful cut of 
 this tender scene was executed by ^Nlrs. Frank Leslie for her 
 illustrated paper. 
 
 The heroic ode pronounced on this deeply interesting, 
 international occasion by a French scholar. Prof. Jean E. 
 Guilbert, as it won much applause from the French Delega- 
 tion and all others, is worthy of preservation. 
 
 ODE. 
 
 BY PROF. JEAN E. GUILBERT. 
 
 AUX SOr>UATS, 
 FRAXfAIS IXHUMliS AU CIMETIKUE I)U NORM. 
 
 Quels sont les niorts airaes qu' uu pen de terre iiue 
 Seule couvrait, liier, dans ce sejoiir de paix ? 
 Pas iiu nom; pas un bois; mais chacun le.s salue. 
 Et dit; sous ce gazon, sont les soldats fran(;ais. 
 
 C'est que Ton se souvieiit que Ik furent des Ijraves; 
 C'est que I'a'ieul 1' a dit a ses petits neveux. 
 D'aussi grands souvenirs sontde nobles c'paves 
 Qu 'un peuplesait garder, sans monuments pompeux. 
 
 Soldat francaisi iei, ce mot est symbolique. 
 Au milieu des ccueils, par le temps respectc, 
 Ce mot, depuis cent ans, a ti-avers 1' Ame'rique 
 Veut dire dclivrance, amour et libertc. 
 
HISTORICAL REfcORD. 11 
 
 Le peiiple, au lendemain des sanglantes batailles, 
 Sur le sillon fauche profoadement gemit. 
 II n'y voit qu' uu signal de longues funerailles. 
 De larmes, de douleurs; il frissonne; il inaudit. 
 
 Mais, Tous, soldats venus des confins de la France, 
 Venus pour dclivrer, et non pour conqucrir, 
 Vous, dont les liras amis apiiortaient I'esperance, 
 II ne put, apres vous, qu 'admirer et beuir. 
 
 L' histoire dit la route, en ces grands jours, suivie 
 Par le peuple et par vous, comment, dans les combats, 
 Oil votre sang coula, se melant a sa vie, 
 Se virent affranchis les premiers treize etats. 
 
 Braves, mais plus heureux que tant de capitaines, 
 Vos coups, au lieu d' horreur, d' cpouvante et de deuil, 
 Rendaient un peuple a lui, faisient tomber des chaines. 
 Ce fut la votre gloire; et c' est la notre orgueil. 
 
 Au passant, qui, voyant cette pierre Scellce, 
 Voudra savoir, deniain, ou des noms ou des faits, 
 Montrant, avec respect, le simple mausole'e. 
 La, redira chacun, sont les soldats fran^ais. 
 
 Ces mots diront assez ; ces mots disent 1' histoire 
 Du splendide reveil d' un grand peuple naissant, 
 Reveil, inserit en or au temple de memoire, 
 Peuple, a la fois heureux, libre et reconnaissant. 
 
 Dormez en paix; soldats, sur cette terre amie, 
 Sur ce sol ou Ton put appeler un vainqueur, 
 Un soldoit conime vous; Pere de la patrie, 
 Oil le nom de soldat veut dire fondateur. 
 
 It will be suitable to add the hymn composed for the oc- 
 casion by the projector of the movement, and which was 
 rendered both in En<ylish and in French. 
 
 2 
 
12 
 
 HISTORICAL RECORD. 
 
 H Y M N . 
 
 BY REV. FREDERIC DENISON, A. M. 
 
 Father of men, and right, 
 
 Our thanks are unto Thee; 
 "Westand, with joy, in Thy great might, 
 
 And sing of liberty. 
 
 Above these graves we stand 
 
 In thankful memory 
 Of those who from an allied land 
 
 Died in tidelity. 
 
 From that loved sister-shore 
 
 We grateful hail to-day 
 The sons of noble sires of yore, 
 
 And deeds of tribute pay. 
 
 Preserve these lands, O God, 
 
 In ties of brotherhood, 
 As they were one, on fields once trod, 
 
 When freely poured their blood. 
 
 And bring the age of peace 
 To earth, by Thy full grace, 
 
 When human wrongs and strife shall 
 cease. 
 And love shall rule our race. 
 
 Pere du droit supreme, 
 Et de I'humanite', 
 Daigne accueillir, 6 Grace meme, 
 Nos chants de liberte. 
 
 Devant ce mausole'e, 
 Nous redisons merci 
 Aux fils de I'ancienne alliee. 
 Qui reposent ici. 
 
 ScBur a jamais cherie, 
 Nous jjayons, en ce jour, 
 A la noble chevalerie, 
 
 Notre tribut d'amour. 
 
 Fais, Dieu, que cette terre 
 Soit pour nous, en tout temps, 
 Comme aux sanglants jours de la 
 guerre, 
 EUe fut dans nos champs. 
 
 Dans ta puissante grace 
 Ouvre I'ere de paix, 
 Diffe'rents, torts, que tout s'efface, 
 Regne, amour, a jamais! 
 
 The memorial is of the best quality of Westerly granite, 
 and was executed by the Smith Granite Company, of AVest- 
 erly, through their agent, Mr. Frank F. Tingley, of Provi- 
 dence. It is a double-based ledger monument vveijrhino: about 
 eight tons. On its top is sculptured, in relief, a French 
 shield with the French national coat-of-arms. On the east- 
 ern side, in relief, is the legend : — 
 
 " LA GRATITUDE DE RHODE ISLAND." 
 On the western side, in like relief, is the legend : — 
 
 "OUR ALLIES IN THE REVOLUTION." 
 On the south is cut, full size, in relievo, a Revolutionary 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD. 13 
 
 cartridge-box inscribed with the date " 1782." This indi- 
 cates that the most of the soldiers were infantrymen. 
 
 On the north, in a raised and polished panel, are the fol- 
 lowing inscriptions : — 
 
 "TRIBUTE OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 DECORATED BY THE 
 
 FRENCH DELEGATION 
 
 NOV. 1, 1881. 
 
 DEDICATED BY THE 
 
 CITIZENS OF PROVIDENCE 
 
 JULY 4, 18»2." 
 
 The whole is a very finished piece of work and produces 
 a clear and pleasing effect. The projector of the monument 
 laid less stress upon magnitude than upon the expression of 
 ideas ; not quantity, but quality was his aim ; not momen- 
 tary effect, but suggestiveness and durability. 
 
 The mover, who had thus far acted wholly upon his own 
 promptings, though heartily seconded by the citizens, hav- 
 ing completed his work, assisted only by J\Ir. Henry R. 
 Davis, who served as Treasurer of the donated and expended 
 funds, now called together the donors and requested them 
 to make arrangements for the public dedication of the 
 monument. The donors appointed for this purpose a com- 
 mittee consisting of Gen. Horatio Rogers, Gen. Elisha H. 
 Rhodes, Rev. Frederic Denison, Mr. Sidney S. Rider, and 
 Mr. Florent A. Heller, to which was afterwards added Col. 
 Joseph H. Kendrick. This committee proceeded in their 
 task and arranged a general programme of exercises, and 
 fixed upon organizations, parties and persons to be invited 
 to render aid. This arrangement in main will be found in 
 the order of exercises that was executed. 
 
 At this stage of proceedings the authorities of the city of 
 Providence generously and patriotically came to the relief 
 of the committee of the donors and offered to bear the labor 
 and the expense of the dedicatory services. 
 
14 HISTORICAL RECORD. 
 
 The offer was gratefully received, and all the citizens were 
 highly pleased with the arrangement. The City Council 
 made an adequate appropriation for the object, and appointed 
 a joint special committee to co-operate with the committee of 
 the donors in completing and executing the necessary plans 
 for the dedication. The joint special committee consisted 
 of Aldermen John W. Briggs and Gilbert F. Robbins, and 
 Councilmen Henry J. Hall, Benjamin E. Kinsley and John 
 McWilliams, in consultation with His Honor, the Mayor, 
 William S. Hayward. In all these steps particularly efficient 
 service was rendered by Gen. Horatio Rogers. In obedience 
 to the general and earnest desire of the people choice was 
 made of July 4, 1882, as the day for the dedicatory services. 
 The organizations, parties and persons invited to participate 
 in the patriotic and international celebration promptly and 
 gladly responded. In due time and manner, the invited 
 organizations and persons of official rank, in full uniform and 
 insignia, in obedience to issued orders, appeared to aid in the 
 celebration, and all the city was alive with patriotic interest. 
 Man}" guests and friends came from neighboring cities and 
 States to witness the dedicatory ceremonies. The celebra- 
 tion felicitously expressed the gratitude and patriotism of our 
 whole country ; and its moral elements of international 
 brotherhood were deeply felt. The Gardes Lafayette, in- 
 vited from the city of New York, with the Consul-General 
 and other French guests, arrived by steamer in the morning 
 and were received by the First Light Infantry Regiment, 
 that acted as their escort for the day. All officials and 
 speakers for the day met at the City Hall, from which they 
 took carriages for the procession. 
 
11. 
 
 THE PROCESSIOI^. 
 
 The inaugurate feature of the celebration was the military 
 parade. At the appointed hour for the formation of the 
 procession the streets along the route of march were densely 
 lined with waiting people. Promptly with the striking of 
 the hour of nine, the Chief Marshal, Gen. ElishaH. Rhodes^ 
 gave the signal, and the column swung out gracefully from 
 South Water street, where it had formed, into Market 
 square and Westminster street, and took the ordered route 
 of march through Westminster, High, Stewart, Broad, Wey- 
 bosset. Market square. North Main, Waterman and Benefit 
 streets to the North Burying Ground, where stands the mon- 
 ument. The Gardes Lafayette, from New York, attracted 
 particular attention, as did also all French officers and visit- 
 ors. The order of procession was as follows : 
 
 Mounted Police, Capt. Jeremiah F. Costine. 
 
 Chief Marshal, Gen, Elisha H. Rhodes. 
 
 Aids: 
 
 Lt.-Col. Philip S. Chase, Major William J. Bradford, 
 
 Captain Thomas W. Manchester. 
 
 Orderlies. 
 
 Boston City Band, 25 pieces, J. B. Claus, Leader. 
 
 First Light Infantry Regiment, Lieut. -Col. J. H. Kendrick, commanding. 
 
 Staff : 
 
 Adjutant, Samuel T. Douglas; 
 
 Quartermaster, William H. Teel; 
 
 Paymaster, T. F. Fessenden; 
 
 Chaplain, S. H. Webb; 
 
16 THE PROCESSION. 
 
 Surgeon, George A. Brug; 
 
 Inspector, George W. Cady; 
 
 Ex-Surgeon, Dr. George W. Porter; 
 
 Capt. C. Henry Alexander, honorary. 
 
 Light Infantry Drum Corps, J. Dickerson, Drum Major. 
 
 Company D, Captain Edwin Draper. 
 
 Company C, Captain William H. Thornton. 
 
 Company B, Captain F. A. Peabody. 
 
 Company A, Cajitain Benjamin L. Hall. 
 
 Eighth Regiment, New York, Drum Corps, George W. Hill, Drum Major. 
 
 Daughter of the Regiment, Barrer. Leonie. 
 
 Gardes Lafayette, New York, Major Joseph Weill, commanding, 
 
 accompanied l)y the following guests: 
 
 Lieut. -Colonel Schilling, of the Eighth Regiment, New York; 
 
 M. C. Galliot, President of the Gardes Lafayette; 
 
 Alderman Levy, of New York; 
 
 Prof. Colin, of Columbia College, and correspondent of the Bepnbllque 
 
 Francaise ; 
 
 M. L. A. Risse, Supt. of Streets, of the Twenty-fourtji Ward, New York; 
 
 M. Le Bent, President of the Asile Francais; 
 
 M. Louis Mercier, of the Courier des Etats Unis ; 
 
 Sergeant Muret, of the Church Street Police Station, and Messrs. Bertrand, 
 
 Bourguard, Protin, Rautrowitz, Jacobs and Machefert. 
 
 First Lieutenant of Gardes Lafayette, Celestin Cossin. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, Leon Goden. 
 
 Surgeon, Dr. De Latour. 
 
 French Colony of Providence, 
 
 President, Charles S. Vigneron, 
 
 Secretary, Joseph Pichot; 
 
 President A. A. Cyr, of the St. Jean Baptiste Society. 
 
 First Light Infantry Veteran Association, 
 
 Col. William W. Brown, commanding. 
 
 Providence Brigade Band, 25 pieces, J. J. L. Smith, Leader; Drum Major, 
 
 William H. Goflfe. 
 
 Company D, Fifth Battalion of Infantry, Captain John McElroy. 
 
 Company B, Fifth Battalion of Infantry, Captain William McPherson. 
 
 Detachment F. L. I. Drum Corps. 
 
 Fourth Battalion of Infantry, Captain Thomas Brinn. 
 
 Company B, Lieut. James K. Polk. 
 
 Company A, Captain Wm. H. Beckett. 
 
 Fourth Battalion Cadets, Captain Cubit. 
 
 Battery A, Light Artillery, Captain Peck. 
 
 Company B, First Battalion of Cavalry, Capt. R. C. Brown, commanding. 
 
 Carriages containing the Committee of Arrangements of the City Council, 
 
 H. J. Hall, B. F. Kinsley, J. Mc Williams, J. W. Briggs, G. F. 
 
 Robbing, and D. F. Hayden, Secretary. 
 
 President of the Day, Hon. Thomas A. Doyle. 
 
 Orator, Rev. Frederic Denison. 
 
 Chaplain, Rt. Rev. Bishop Clark. 
 
 French Consul General, M. A. Le Faivre. 
 
 Vice Consul, Maurice Truy. 
 
THE PROCESSION. 17 
 
 Chancellor M. Valdejo, of the Consulate. 
 
 Committee of Donors to French Memorial. 
 
 His Honor the Mayor, W. S. Hayward. 
 
 President of the Board of Aldermen, H. R. Barker. 
 
 City Clerk, H. V. A. Joslin, and City Sergeant, E. S. Rhodes. 
 
 Members of the Board of Aldermen. 
 
 President of the Common Council, J. C. B. Woods. 
 
 Members of the Common Council. 
 
 OfiScers of the Rhode Island Historical Society, and officers of the United 
 
 States Army and Navy, including Capt. William Badger 
 
 and Col. Zenas R. Bliss, U. S. A. 
 
 Great delight was expressed by the citizens in the order 
 and beauty of the procession, the equal of which, in these 
 respects, had not before been seen, as it embraced the five 
 arms of the public service, and represented three nationali- 
 ties. Banners and mottoes, some in English and some in 
 French, were tastefully arranged along the line of march. 
 In a particular manner the entrance to the North Burying 
 Ground was decorated with flags and French mottoes by the 
 kindness of the French Colony of Providence. 
 
 The grounds were decorated by Mr. R. J. Payne. At the 
 north end of the monument was a century plant, indicating 
 the lapse of a hundred years since the burials took place 
 which it commemorated. A large American flag rested upon 
 the monument as a veil. On the risfht of the monument 
 stood a beautiful American standard flag, and on the left an 
 equally beautiful French flag of the same size. These flags 
 were given by the State of liliode Island, and will be placed 
 by the monument on every Fourth of July. About thirty 
 feet north of the monument was erected the grand stand, 
 upon Avhich the exercises were held, with floor about twenty 
 by thirty feet, roofed with canvas, and filled with settees for 
 the ofiicers, dignitaries and guests. The American and 
 French flags were intertwined in front of the speaker's plat- 
 form. A space of about half an acre surrounding this and 
 the monument was enclosed by ropes, which were surrounded 
 at an early hour by a goodly number of citizens inspecting 
 the preparations. 
 
 The great mass of citizen spectators came to the grounds 
 
18 THE PEOCESSION. 
 
 with the military procession, which arrived at the main 
 entrance about halt-past 10 o'clock. The line formed in 
 close column, by division, on the plat of greensward on the 
 south side of the monument. In front were the First Liffht 
 Infantry, Veteran Infantry, and other military bodies. The 
 cavalry formed on the left of the line, on Tomb avenue, on 
 the west side of the grounds, and the artillery on the same 
 avenue, farther to the north. On the greensward plat, at 
 the left of the monument, were stationed the City Band, of 
 Boston, who furnished the instrumental music. On the east 
 side of the monument the Gardes Lafayette, of New York 
 city, and the French Colony of Providence, took their posi- 
 tions. The former, of these organizations comprises what 
 remains of the Fifty-fifth New York regiment, made up of 
 Frenchmen who did splendid service in the Federal army 
 for the suppression of the rebellion. Their name at 
 that time was the Gardes Lafayette. Since the war, 
 when the State of New York reconstructed her militia laws, 
 this body, lacking the requisite number of men to keep up 
 its regimental standard, was merged in the Eighth regiment, 
 but allowed to retain its battalion organization. It is now 
 the First battalion of the Eighth regiment of New York mili- 
 tia. They are organized after the pattern of the Chasseurs 
 a pieds of the French army. On their standard is inscribed 
 the names of the battles in which Lafayette participated in 
 the American Revolution. They were accompanied by a 
 vivandlere, and by a certain number of orphans, belonging 
 to the regiment, for whose bringing up and education they 
 are responsible. The French delegation, or French Colony, 
 of Providence, is an organization of Frenchmen residing 
 here, who warmly participated in these exercises out of 
 affection for their fatherland. 
 
III. 
 
 THE DEDICATIOI^. 
 
 On coming to a halt, the military stacked arms and 
 assumed the attitude of listeners. The Chairman of the City 
 Council Committee of Arrangements then introduced 
 ex-Mayor Doyle as Acting President of the Day, the Presi- 
 dent, General Horatio Rogers, being coniincd at home by 
 sickness. President Doyle, then stepping forward, gave 
 the word, '^^ Let the monument J)e unveUed.''' As the flag 
 which had covered the structure was deftly withdrawn l)y 
 two men of the signal corps of the State militia, the band 
 played the Marseilles hymn, and at a signal given by the 
 Chief Marshal, a salute of twenty-one guns to the French 
 flag was fired by the battery. All those occupying the 
 ofrand stand remained standino; and uncovered durin": that 
 part of the ceremon3^ This national salute to the French 
 flag deeply moved all hearts. No eyes Avere dry. 
 
 The President then introduced the Rt. Rev. Bishop of the 
 Diocese of Rhode Island, and Chaplain of the Day. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 BY REV. THOMAS M. CLARK, D.D. 
 
 O God, who art the blessed and only Potentate, the Kino- 
 of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Almighty Ruler of Nations, 
 we adore and magnit^y Thy glorious name for all the great 
 things that Thou hast done for us. We render Thee thanks 
 for the goodly heritage which Thou hast given us ; for the 
 civil and religious privileges which we enjoy ; and for the 
 multiplied manifestations of Thy favor toward us. Grant 
 that we may show forth our thankfulness to Thee for these 
 Thy mercies by living in reverence for Thy Almighty power 
 
20 THE DEDICATIOX. 
 
 and dominion, in humble reliance upon Thy bounty and good- 
 ness, and in holy obedience to Thy righteous laws. Preserve 
 to our country the blessings of peace. Restore them to the 
 countries deprived of them, and secure them to all the nations 
 of the earth. May the Kingdom of the Prince of Peace 
 come, and reigning in the hearts and lives of men, unite them 
 in holy fellowship, that so their only strife may lie who shall 
 show forth with the most humble and holy fervor the praises 
 of Him who hath loved them and made them Kin^js and 
 Priests unto God. 
 
 We implore Thy blessing upon all in legislative, judicial 
 and executive authority, that they may have grace and wis- 
 dom so to discharge their duties as most effectually to pro- 
 mote Thy glory, the interests of true religion and virtue, 
 and the peace, good order and welfare of the State and 
 nation. 
 
 We would remember this day with devout gratitude the 
 aid which we received in our great struggle for independence 
 fvom our friends in foreign lands, and cherish with solemn 
 reverence the memory of those who died upon our shores, 
 and whose bodies rest in our soil. Be thou present with us, 
 O God of nations, in the commemorative services of this 
 occasion. Standing here, as we do, between the living and 
 the dead, surrounded by the remains of many of our own 
 countrymen who more recently fell in defending the integrity 
 of the republic, and also of those who a century ago passed 
 away from earth in a strange land, may we now resolve so 
 to fight the good fight of faith, and endurance, and self-con- 
 trol, as to secure to us whei,i we are summoned hence, the 
 crown of victory, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 
 
 The President then introduced the orator of the day. 
 
OEATIOK 
 
 BY KEV. FREDERIC DENISON, A. M. 
 
 Mr. President, Representatives of France, and Fellow- 
 countryjien : 
 
 To-day we commemorate great principles, great compacts, 
 great sacrifices, and great blessings from God. For a hun- 
 dred years the battle-flags of the Revolution have been 
 furled. But the actors in that great scene, like the deeds 
 which they performed, like the Declaration of truths pro- 
 nounced from Independence Hall, July 4, 1776, can never 
 die. Our fathers and their allies, animated by love for man's 
 inalienable rights, girded and guided by the Father of na- 
 tions, battled and triumphed for mankind. Their achieve- 
 ments we celebrate. Their graves are altars of freedom. 
 
 There is a continuity of life in the human family. No 
 man liveth to himself. The actions of men, particularly if 
 self-denying, are transmitted to all following time. Gideon 
 and Leonidas live in the patriot heart-throbs of to-day. Our 
 Kevolutionary sires, with their French coadjutors, by their 
 principles and their valor, inaugurated a new epoch in his- 
 tory, and shaped the life of our continent. We have en- 
 tered into a great inheritance that the}^ won for us. If the 
 dove of peace now expands her heavenly Avings over all 
 our wide land, it is because the commissioned eagle of bat- 
 
22 THE DEDICATION. 
 
 tie has vanquished our enemies. The eagle has a mission 
 no less than the dove. 
 
 On this national anniv^ersary, consecrated to great associa- 
 tions, to the high resolves, the struggles and heroisms of 
 our forefathers and their associates — the air yet pulsing in 
 our quickened ears with the old guns of Lexington, Rhode 
 Island, New York, Trenton, Cowpens and Yorktown — we 
 gratefully come to perform above these warrior-graves a 
 service of piety and patriotism, a service due to valor, to 
 international love and faith, to noble brotherhood, and to 
 convictions of duty that led to martyrdom. AVe stand on 
 sacred ground, and breathe a sacred air. Our country's 
 heroic age is recalled. The soldiers of the Revolution are 
 before us. 
 
 With peculiar satisfaction and pride of heart Rhode Island, 
 in behalf of our country, now takes upon her bosom, as a 
 prized gem, this memorial of the Revolution, and this sou- 
 venir of her personal fellowship with chivalrous France — a 
 new and peculiar monument in our country. But Rhode 
 Island, from the day when her What Cheer Rock w^as trod- 
 den by an exile, has been accustomed to new and peculiar 
 thinos. 
 
 This epic in granite — unique, symbolic, unaml)itious, sub- 
 stantial, suggestive — is, as we meant it to be, a rendering of 
 the sentiments both of our State and our nation, and a trib- 
 ute to our noble ally and her gallant army, that, in knightly 
 spirit, came to our country's aid in her hour of deep need, 
 and battled heroically under our immortal Washington, by 
 the side of our dauntless fathers, to rescue us from the grasp 
 of tyranny and to give us a name and a place among the na- 
 tions of the earth. It is devoted to the memory of about 
 
THE DEDICATION. 
 
 23 
 
 one hundred braves — equal to a company of the army — who, 
 in their war-blankets as winding sheets, sleep peacefully be- 
 neath and around it ; men marshalled under Rochambeau 
 and Layfayette, men who marched to gory fields through 
 the length of our embattled land, men who fought in the 
 last and crowning battle for our independence, men who, 
 after their weary return march from the field of victory, 
 Avhile encamped on yonder height — the dear old French 
 camp— and while sharing, with their honored oflicers, the 
 hospitality of Providence, and looking longingly toward thei 
 vine-clad hills of their native land, were cut down by fell 
 disease and here laid, l)y tearful comrades, in the soldier's 
 last bivouac — the grave. To them and to their country we 
 owe the record and the tribute we here thankfully, tenderly, 
 tearfully pay. 
 
 In any and every great struggle for freedom and right, 
 the men who oo out from kindred and home to fields of bat- 
 tie, ready to do and die for mankind, are worthy of honor 
 and perpetual remembrance. Such devotion, such martyr- 
 dom, shall be held sacred while the sacrifice of Calvary shall 
 touch human souls. Do any call this sentiment? Be it so. 
 Without sentiment, without gratitude, we are clods ; but 
 Avith these, we are allied to angels and to God; they are 
 badges of nobility and immortality. 
 
 No common bonds of amity and affection unite the bosoms 
 of France and Rhode Island. Here, in this colony, the first 
 to declare her independence of Great Britain, on the shores 
 of the Narrao-ansett, the lilies and the stars were first lifted 
 in alliance. We gave France strong " anchor " in our hearts, 
 and she gave us fresh " hope." In the unity of each flag 
 was found the same trinity of colors — red, white and blue — 
 
24 THE DEDICATION. 
 
 the trinity borrowed of heaven. In devoted fellowship 
 these banners waved, in march and battle, on mountain and 
 on main, till the foiled and beaten lion retreated to his trans- 
 Atlantic lair. 
 
 But for the magnanimous intervention of France, the day 
 of our independence had been seriously, if not fatally de- 
 layed. While the alliance was secured by the diplomacy of 
 Dean, Franklin and Lafayette, it was no less the heart-pulse 
 of the people of France — their homage to liberty, their 
 chivalrous endorsement of our claim to nationality. The 
 vow of succor was sealed with blood. The loss of France 
 in 1781, in the actions of the Capes and Yorktown, was 
 five hundred and three men, while the American loss was 
 just one hundred, and the British loss was eight hundred 
 and eighty-nine. 
 
 Would that time and the temper of a summer sky allowed 
 us here to recite in full the part taken by the French — the 
 moral and material support they rendered in the long and 
 exhausting Revolutionary conflict. That grateful task we 
 must leave to our historians, and especially to him (Stuart 
 F. Weld, A. B., Hyde Park, Mass.,) blessed with French 
 blood, who, having lately made the subject a special study, 
 has prepared a scholarly paper on the campaign of 1781, 
 which ought to be given to the public. It must suffice us, 
 in this service, to simply endeavor to express our hearts. 
 
 The blood of French Huo-uenots is in our veins. The 
 blood of French soldiers has moistened our land. Provi- 
 dence and Newport are redolent with the memories of French 
 soldiery. French officers and men fought gallantly under 
 the stars and stripes in our civil war. By an officer of the 
 Regular Army of France (Gen. Alfred N. Duffie), the 
 
THE DEDICATION. 
 
 25 
 
 sabre-armed sons of Rhode Island were splendidly led to 
 battle at Cedar Mountain, Kelly's Ford and Middleburg. 
 The Republic of France, not forgetting the spirit she caught 
 from our Revolution, has lately bestowed upon our republic 
 a lofty, inspiring statue of Liberty to stand forever as Free- 
 dom's Pharos, at the ocean gate of the entreport of Amer- 
 ica. Nor shall our country ever lack Gardes Lafayette like 
 the gallant battalion here before us to-day — a band thrice 
 welcome as a guard of honor on this patriotic international 
 occasion. 
 
 In preserving the memory of valiant men and benefactors, 
 men who have made sacrifices for lis — the shadow of whose 
 heroic lives fall upon our own — we not only discharge a 
 bounden duty, we also exalt and dignify ourselves and onr 
 kind. Never may we be insensible to the noble past, whose 
 children we are. The images of the worthy dead should 
 never be absent from us. Thank Heaven ! the generous, the 
 just, the true, the brave, the self-denying in human action 
 are immortal. By our diviner instincts they are shrined in 
 the sanctuaries of our hearts. 
 
 The liberties for which these soldiers fought, and in the 
 winning of which they died — liberties now the heritage and 
 boon of more than fitly millions of people — plead for the 
 memory of the martyrs. They put their lives into the 
 foundation of our temple of freedom — a temple that i§ and 
 ever shall be, a sanctuary and asylum for the oppressed of 
 all lands. By such graves as these our country is hallowed. 
 The feet of pilgrim-patriots, and all lovers of liberty, shall 
 devoutly visit this ground. 
 
 Memorials, statues and monuments of the defenders of 
 human rio^hts, ffreatlv augment both the intellectual and 
 
26 THE DEDICATION. 
 
 moral welfare of a people ; they are more than gold ; they 
 indicate our spiritual ornaments — wealth of thought, of 
 feeling, of motive, of aspiration, of manly ideals — the forces 
 that inspire and uplift our natures. Over them hover the an- 
 gels of humanity — letters, histor}', poetry, music, eloquence, 
 art and patriotism. They breathe into us holy emulations 
 and incite to sublime moral efforts. 
 
 " Blest be the art that can immortalize, 
 The art that baffles time's tyrannic claim." 
 
 Happy the land that has pure historic memorials and 
 quickening national celebrations. Without them, a people 
 is but a horde, like the nomadic pagans once wandering 
 these hills — the land a heath, a desert — no springs of water 
 in it, no luminaries in its intellectual sk}'. 
 
 A nation is a growth, like an oak on a hill, to battle with 
 storms and tempests. To have a strong constitutional trunk 
 and iirm-fibred branches, with sprays and twigs and foliage 
 and annual blooms and fruit, it must needs have its roots 
 great and small, many and strong. As in the tree, these 
 roots, reaching far out and deep down into the earth, grap- 
 pling around the rocks and feeding on stored richness of 
 soil, are all invisible, but supply sap, vitality and power to 
 the visible that breathes the air and drinks the sunlight ; so 
 in the nation, the invisible historic, conservative elements, 
 taking hold of a heroic and rich past, give strength, stabil- 
 ity and fruitfulness to the visible, the unseen being equal in 
 magnitude, as in vitality, to the visible. Expei-ience is our 
 storehouse of practical wisdom. 
 
 Our national roots reach back to " Mao;na Charta " and 
 the Gallic hills. Our liberties are the product of centu- 
 ries. Our nation has met the tempest blasts of kingcraft 
 
THE DEDICATION. 27 
 
 and oppression, and grandly survived them. Justly now 
 we have our national celebrations. Wisely now we are 
 building our monuments. Nationality and manhood are in- 
 spired hy Bunker Hill, Groton Heights, and Mount Vernon. 
 Rhode Island is reinspired by the statues of Williams and 
 Perry, and the monument of granite and bronze adorning 
 the heart of Providence, bearing warrior forms and martyr 
 rolls. Soon we hope to gaze on the ennobling image of 
 Burnside. These memorials enrich our little State, setting 
 her in the sacred gallery of history, holding her forth on a 
 background of noble deeds and throwing around her a halo 
 of inspirations. While souls look out of eyes, give us 
 monuments. 
 
 Divine Providence graciously ordained that these graves 
 of our allies should be in proximity to the training field of 
 our ancestors, the old Campus Martius of Providence ; also 
 in death's calm cantonment with yonder heroes of the Rev- 
 olution ; and nigh to yonder monument and graves where 
 rest our brothers who fell in our country's last desperate 
 struggle with oi^pression. The earlier and the later heroes 
 are here encamped in congenial and perpetual fame. The 
 nationality that France aided our fathers in achieving, has 
 been preserved and defended at whatever cost of treasure 
 and of blood. Let the martyrs have holy sepulture together. 
 
 The hand of fellowship, regretfully unclasped when the 
 French troops left our shores in 1782, is reclasped to-day 
 with tearful gratitude. To our sister Republic we now give 
 this fresh pledge, this "bond in stone," that she shall ever 
 be held dear in our memories and dear on the pages of our 
 history. In all our hearts, as on this memorial, shall be 
 read "La Gratitude De Rhode Island." Here the Lilies, 
 
28 THE DEDICATION. 
 
 sculptured in the choicest m-iterial that God has put into 
 the bosom of our State, shall evermore be watched over by 
 the stars of our banner by day, and the stars of heaven by 
 night. The land of Williams, Hopkins, Greene, Olney and 
 Perry here decrees and guarantees to the home of Lafayette, 
 D'Estaing, DeTernay, Eochambeau and DeGrasse that 
 brotherhood, valor, chivalry and martyrdom for freedom, 
 shall not pass unhonored and unsung. Till these compass- 
 ing hills shall perish, France and the United States, once 
 shoulder to shoulder in high achievements to adv^ance the 
 empire of freedom, shall continue to live in aft'ectionate his- 
 toric felloAvship. 
 
 Providentially, this memorial has a two-fold consecration. 
 Its wreathed foundation stone, sentineled then as now by 
 the flags of the two nations, was gracefully and devoutly 
 decorated with a floral cross from the breasts of the dis- 
 tinguished representatives of France, when, returning from 
 the Yorktown Centennial, they were the welcome guests of 
 our glad State. That characteristic manifestation of affec- 
 tion and noble sentiment, on their own and their country's 
 behalf, has already given the Memorial a sweet fragrance in 
 our patriot annals. 
 
 And now, while bells and cannon, over all our land, speak 
 our national jubilation, and all bosoms beat the music of our 
 joy ; on this historic day ; by the generous action of the 
 city of Providence and her oflicials ; by the elite military 
 forces of our city, and the officers and soldiers of our last 
 war; by the French Colony of Providence, and French offi- 
 cials in our land ; and by this vast concourse of patriotic 
 citizens ; — our hearts expressed in the salute of arms, the 
 rendering of national hymns, the twenty-one guns of salute 
 
THE DEDICATION. 29 
 
 to the French flag", and the voice of prayer, gratitude and 
 benediction ; — by all these, and more than can be expressed, 
 we pay our tender ritual and sacred service of tinal dedica- 
 tion ; thus honoring and celebrating the ties of ))rotherhood 
 and affection, born in Avar, but perfected in peace, that for 
 a hundred years have united the chivalrous nation of the 
 Gallic hills and the grateful republic of America. 
 
 In this spirit, with these sentiments, in this gladness, this 
 Memorial stands consecrated ; to the memory of the tmcient 
 alliance of France and the United States ; to the memory of 
 the valiant men who rest beneath and around it ; to the 
 deeds of the Revolution that shaped the destiny of America ; 
 to the recollections of our illustrious guests who decorated 
 its foundation ; to the priceless principles of nationality, and 
 of the brotherhood of nations, of which it speaks. 
 
 Finally, with thanks to God, we commit the Memorial to 
 the guardianship of the generations succeeding us in the 
 enjoyment of the li])erties for which our brave fathers and 
 their knightly allies gave their blood ; adding the hope that, 
 while our weak words may die, the voice of our twenty-one 
 guns to the French flag — as our nation's heart-throbs — may 
 be borne by benignant winds across the seas to the polite 
 and generous people whom we here tearfully remember ; 
 and that, in our own land, these guns of salute, may go 
 sounding down the line of coming years, to be repeated with 
 greater gratitude and emphasis by our children's children, in 
 the brighter year of Christian light and grace, 1982. 
 
 Ye braves of 1782, whose funeral drums are once more 
 heard, rest in peace and in honor. 
 
 Various passages of the oration elicited most hearty man- 
 ifestations of delig-ht. 
 
30 THE DEDICATION. 
 
 The band then played with effect, "Keller's American 
 Hymn," all bosoms beating the time. 
 
 Following this a select choir of men's voices, under the 
 direction of Prof. Eugene Henri, gcive a very touching mu- 
 sical rendering of the following Latin prayer for the two 
 republics of France and America, followed by the Gloria 
 Patri : 
 
 THE CHANTED PRAYER. 
 
 Domine, salvas fac Columbine et Galliaj Republicas, easque 
 redde securas et prosperas. 
 
 Gloria Patri, Gloria Filio, Gloria et Spiritui Saucto. 
 
 Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in stecula 
 sseculorum. Amen. 
 
 The presentation of the monument to the City of Provi- 
 dence, through His Honor Mayor W. S. Hayward, was then 
 made by the President of the Day, Hon. T. A. Doyle, on 
 behalf of the donors. 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 BY HON. THOMAS A. DOYLE. 
 
 Mr. Mayor : — A single duty remains in connection with 
 the ceremonies of this occasion, the performance of which 
 was entrusted to a citizen of distinguished ability (Gen. 
 Horatio Rogers), whose past services to the city, the state 
 and to the nation, and whose great interest in the work now 
 completed and in these services, pointed him out as emi- 
 nently qualified for the task ; but the condition of his health 
 would not permit his attendance here to-day, and it has, 
 therefore, devolved upon me to stand in his place, and in 
 behalf of the donors, and speaking in their name, to present 
 
THE DEDICATION. 31 
 
 to the city of Providence, through you, sir, its chosen rep- 
 resentative and head, this memorial, which has been erected 
 to the memory of the soldiers of France who died while the 
 French army was encamped in this vicinity during the war 
 of the Revolution, and whose remains were buried in this 
 
 ancient cemetery. 
 
 The work has been constructed by the contributions of 
 
 citizens of Rhode Island and beyond its borders, and it 
 therefore stands as the work of the people, and not of the 
 municipality, nor of the state nor the nation. In its sim- 
 plicity it is intended to symbolize the simplicity of the gov- 
 ernment which our fathers established, and in which they 
 were so ably assisted by the government of France. The 
 material of which it is composed is designed to represent the 
 enduring principles upon which the government was founded, 
 which, it is hoped, may ever remain as unchangeable as the 
 rock from which this granite was quarried. And in request- 
 ing the government of the municipality to dedicate this 
 memorial, the donors wished to signify that our government 
 is of the people, by the people and for the people. And 
 through you, we now ask that the government will accept 
 and care for and preserve this monument so long as the gov- 
 ernment itself shall endure. 
 
 Mr. Mayor : — In behalf of all the contributors, I now pre- 
 sent this monument to the city of Providence, in grateful 
 remembrance of the work done by the army of France in our 
 behalf. And let me express the hope that the alliance then 
 formed between the two nations, and which has remained 
 unbroken, may continue through the latest generations, and 
 the flags of the two Republics ever float side by side as lov- 
 ingly as they now float over this memorial. 
 
32 THE DEDICATION. 
 
 Mr. Mayor, the work assigned me is done. Bat I should 
 be unjust to this occasion if I did not here and now place on 
 record and bear testimony to the untiring devotion and inde- 
 fatigable zeal of the citizen to whom we are chiefly indebted 
 for the successful accomplishment of the memorial this day 
 dedicated, and in the name of all the contributors I thank 
 the Rev. Frederic Denison, orator of the day, for all the 
 labor he has so willingly and cheerfully performed. 
 
 The audience gave clear demonstration of their approval 
 of the address. 
 
 His Honor, the Mayor of Providence, accepted the memo- 
 rial in l)ehalf of the city, as follows : 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 BY HON. WILLIAM S. HAYWARD. 
 
 Mr. President and Fellow-Citizens : — It is with great 
 satisfaction that, as the representative of the city of Provi- 
 dence, I to-day accept this monument to the memory of 
 those whose sympathy, whose abilities and whose wealth 
 Avere proffered to our infant republic in its hour of greatest 
 need. 
 
 To-day we set the keystone to the arch of gratitude and 
 national friendship which, amid all the changes of time, will 
 render the name of France sacred to every patriotic Amer- 
 ican heart. ^ 
 
 The spot is well chosen. Here rest the ashes of many, 
 with wdiose lives and history the names and deeds of the 
 heroes, to whom this tribute is erected in the city of their 
 
THE DEDICATION. 33 
 
 f 
 
 children, are so closely connected. Their presence gave 
 added luster to the early history of our State. 
 
 I congratulate those citizens whose patriotism has thus 
 symbolized that aftection and true appreciation which for 
 more than a century the people of this State and of the 
 United States have ever cherished toward our sister republic, 
 and especially that gentleman, the orator of the day, whose 
 enthusiasm and patriotic admiration for our French allies 
 have, more than aught else, been instrumental in securing 
 and adorning this stone, Avhich, simple, but beautiful, modest 
 and unpretentious, may teach to those who, in future years, 
 will visit this spot a lesson of unselfish devotion, sympathy 
 for the oppressed, and an undying love of liberty. 
 
 Using the Avords of her distinguished Minister, who 
 recently visited this spot, let us " remember France was our 
 first, our oldest and our best friend." On this one hundred 
 and sixth anniversary of American independence, the achieve- 
 ment of which, without her assistance, would have long 
 been delayed, the city is to be congratulated that her citi- 
 zens can unite in paying a just tribute of love and respect to 
 the memory of the noble dead, who died that our nation 
 might be born, whose efforts opened to the world a land 
 where "liberty and equality" are the inheritance of all, and 
 established a " fraternity " of interest and mutual aftection, 
 which should never cease, between the two great republics of 
 the earth. 
 
 Let me pledge to the donors of this memorial its faithful 
 and perpetual care by the city, and express the thanks and 
 high appreciation felt by all true citizens for those who by 
 their wisdom and liberality adorn and embellish our city and 
 thus educate her inhabitants. 
 
34 THE DEDICATION. 
 
 The Maj'Or's address was received with demonstrations of 
 applause, after which the band played " The Star Spangled 
 Banner" in full spirit. 
 
 The President then introduced the Consul-General of the 
 French government at New York, who spoke with felicity 
 and deep feeling as follows ; 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 BY CONSUL-GENERAL MONSIEUR A, LE FAIVRE. 
 
 After a ceremony so touching, the feelings which vibrate 
 in our hearts do not need any expression. But I consider it 
 my duty, in my official capacity as a representative of 
 France, to thank you Americans for the honors you have 
 jast rendered to our countrymen, who, coming from France 
 with Kochambeau, died in the camp on a bed of agony instead 
 of the field of battle. These gallant men regretted, without 
 doubt, in breathing their last sigh, not being able to shed 
 their blood for the great cause whicli they longed to defend. 
 Is there for the soldier a more cruel deception than the 
 obscure death which takes from him the crown of glory, and 
 the exaltation of struggle, and the applause of nations? 
 
 Bat your gratitude sought them in this obscure burying- 
 ground, in order to restore to them a place in the pantheon 
 of history. It is a thought eminently noble and generous, 
 worthy of a nation who a short while ago invited the 
 descendants of Lafayette and Rochambeau to the Yorktown 
 centennial. 
 
 Here we find before us names less celebrated, notwith- 
 standing many of the soldiers who died at the camp in Prov- 
 idence had gloriously figured in our struggles in the eight- 
 
THE DEDICATION. 35 
 
 eenth century, for they were the elite of our hmd and naval 
 forces, whom France had ordered to give their assistance for 
 the emancipation of the new world. The most famous among 
 these veterans was the Knight d'Arsac de Ternay, the com- 
 mander of the fleet, and director of the ^maritime expedi- 
 tion. The Knight of Ternay had distinguished himself by 
 his glorious deeds in the naval war between France and 
 England. He conquered the island of Newfoundland in 
 1762, and had been Governor five years of the Isle de France 
 (Mauritius) and Bourbon Island, and from the beginning of 
 the war of the American colonies with Great Britain he had 
 manifested an extreme ardor in persuading the royal govern- 
 ment to declare itself in fiivor of the United States. Hav- 
 ing the command of the fleet, composed of eight men-of-war 
 and thirty transports, he avoided with great skill an en- 
 counter with the English forces, and landed safely the 
 French army in sight of Newport on the 8th of July, 1780. 
 This warrior had then contributed very largely to the suc- 
 cess of the expedition when death overtook him on the 1st 
 of December of the same year and deprived him of the glory 
 of taking part side by side with Count de Grasse, Rocham- 
 beau and Lafayette in the decisive success of Yorktown. 
 The honors which 3'ou render to him to-day restore to him 
 his legitimate place by the side of his glorious companions in 
 arms, and will gladden his manes beyond the tomb. 
 
 Gentlemen : — It is with a deep emotion that France will 
 receive the recital of this solemnity. xVlready, by the 
 centennial celebration of Yorktown, she can admire the 
 nobleness and grandeur which the United States has exhib- 
 ited in showing its gratitude ; and sympathetic greetings 
 
36 THE DEDICATION. 
 
 were answered from all parts of France to this fraternal 
 demonstration. 
 
 To-day tears of tenderness will flow amongst us on 
 account of this delicate and touching homage rendered to 
 these soldiers who here fell at the close of the war. Such 
 actions, emanating from popular inspiration, do more for the 
 alliance of nations than all the elforts of diplomacy and 
 official treaties. 
 
 Citizens of Providence, Rhode Island : — Your splendid 
 manifestations Avill tighten the bonds of friendship which have 
 for a century united the American and French nations, which 
 to-day have become the two most powerful Republics in the 
 world. On the tombstone, raised by your hands, these two 
 nations, these two sister Republics join hands to-day across 
 the Atlantic Ocean, 
 
 The speaker was often heartily cheered by the delighted 
 assembly. 
 
 The following was spoken on behalf of the French Colony 
 of Providence : 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 BY MONSIEUR LOUIS COUILLARD, JR. 
 
 Mr. President and Citizens or Rhode Island : — The 
 French Colony of Providence , deeply moved by the erection 
 of this Memorial and the touching exercises of this day, can- 
 not repress the utterance of the sentiments and feelings that 
 they know would be expressed by the republic and people 
 of France if could they here speak. We, in our name and 
 in the name of France, thank you Americans, you who 
 remember the alliance formed with their fathers in the s^reat 
 
THE DEDICATION. 37 
 
 straggle of the Revolution ; we thank yon that you remember 
 her great officers ; we thank you that you remember her 
 brave soldiers, and especially those who lie here among your 
 fathers and the martyrs of the rebellion. This memorial of 
 your regard will touch the sensibilities of France and revive 
 the days of old. We are happy and proud to say that the 
 French people are now practicing sentiments of patriotism, 
 of liberty and of nationality, for which your and our fore- 
 fathers fought together a hundred years ago. Those senti- 
 ments will be brilliantly and strongly expressed in a few 
 months by the statue of Lil^erty recently oftered by France 
 to America, to l)e placed in your greatest seaport to show the 
 light of freedom to all foreign nations. Now you have still 
 further brought France under a new obligation to cherish the 
 fellowship she has already felt for you. This monument is 
 now yours and hers. It is a pledge of unity of sentiment 
 and unity of heart. The people of Rhode Island will ever 
 be kindly remembered by France. 
 
 This address was warmly applauded, as it deserved. 
 The band then played " Hail Columbia." 
 The vast concourse was then highly pleased in listening to 
 an ode in the French tongue : 
 
 ODE. 
 
 BY PKOF. JEAN E. GUILBERT. 
 
 Bronze, a la voix tonnante, aux fouclroyants cciairs, 
 Cloches des teiuiiles saints, aiix sublimes volees, 
 Que chantent, aujourd'hui, vos-grandes voix mele'es, 
 Dont les eclios frappent les airs. 
 
 Peuple, en fonleacconru dans tes habits de fete, 
 
 Ediles, magistrats, soldats aux vaillants coeurs, 
 
 Pourquoi tout cet e'clat, a qui tous ces houneurs ? 
 
 Celebrez-vous quelque conquete ? 
 
38 
 
 THE DEDICATION. 
 
 Ministres des antels, clioeurs sacres, chants pieux, 
 Mele's aux tiers accents des fanfares giierrieres 
 Brise, donts"*les courants font fiotter les bannieres, 
 Quelle fete chauteut les cieux? 
 
 Ce sont de vrais amis, qui, d'un vieux peuple frere, 
 En peusant s'honorer, houorent les lie'ros 
 Et, pres du champ d'honneur, dans le champ du repos, 
 Ont fait, ijour eux, un sanctuaire. 
 
 C'est jour de souvenir, et de fraternite' 
 Jour a jamais sacre, jour de reconnaissance, 
 Sous les drapeau unis d'Ame'rique et de France, 
 On te ce'lebre, oh ! Liberte' ! 
 
 [translation.] 
 
 Thunderbolts of the roaring cannon, 
 Joj'ous bells of the holy churches. 
 What is the song of your mighty voices. 
 Whose echoes strike the air ? 
 
 People in crowds run in gala dress. 
 
 Officers, magistrates, soldiers with brave hearts, 
 
 Why all this show ? 
 To whom all these honors ? 
 Do you celebrate some conquest ? 
 
 Ministers of the altars, sacred choirs, holy songs 
 Mingle their proud notes 
 
 With the warlike triimpets ; 
 Gentle breezes fanning the floating banners. 
 What festival sings the heavens ? 
 
 These are true friends who, in thinking to honor themselves. 
 Honor the heroes of a brotherly nation; 
 
 And near the battle fields. 
 And the holy resting place, 
 Have made for them a sanctuary. 
 
 Day of memory and brotherly love ; 
 Day ever sacred : day of gratitude; 
 Under the united flags of America and France, 
 We celebrate thee, O Liberty ! 
 
 The dedicatory services at the cemetery closed with the 
 benediction by Bishop Clark. 
 
IV. 
 FIKAL EXEECISES. 
 
 With evidently deep feeling, all of the large assembly 
 studied the monument in its rich symbolism, and with one 
 voice expressed peculiar satisfaction in the memorial itself 
 and in the dedicatory utterances, as a just interpretation of 
 the heart of Rhode Island. 
 
 The military and civic procession was re-formed in line 
 and marched from the grounds through North ]\Iain street. 
 
 Mayor Hay ward appropriately and gracefully reviewed 
 the procession on Steeple street. 
 
 Great credit was awarded to Gen. Elisha H. Rhodes, Chief 
 Marshal, for the promptness, exactness and grace with 
 which everything pertaining to the procession and its move- 
 ments was carried out. 
 
 The procession, in main, was dismissed at Market Square, 
 when the Gardes Lafayette and the city's guests moved to 
 the First Light Infantry Armory on South Main street. 
 
 At the Armory, the Infantry, their guests from abroad, 
 and the Veteran Infantry Association, filed into the spacious 
 hall, the band playing an appropriate patriotic air, and pre- 
 pared to share the excellent collation furnished by order of 
 the city. At the proper moment, Lieut. -Col. Joseph H. 
 Kendrick, standing in the centre of the hall, which had 
 been elaborately and tastefully decorated by Mr. J. Harry 
 AYelch, called to order, and then turning to the command- 
 ant of the Gardes Lafayette and the other French guests, 
 spoke as follows : 
 
40 FINAL. EXERCISES. 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 BY LIEUT.-COL. JOSEPH H. KENDRICK. 
 
 Major Weill, Gentlemen of the Gardes Lafayette, and Rep- 
 resentatives OF THE French Republic : 
 
 It gives me great pleasure, in behalf of the First Light In- 
 fantry Ilegiment, to welcome you here upon this occasion 
 to participate with us in doing honor to the memory of the 
 valiant Frenchmen who gave their lives to a country having 
 no claim upon their services. We welcome you as the rep- 
 resentatives of France, who gave us her treasure and her 
 brave men in the hour of our greatest need, and who helped 
 our forefatheis to establish our right to become a nation. 
 Not until Ave forget the darkness which surrounded the 
 eight years' war of our lievolution ; not until we forget the 
 sacrifices of the heroic men and women of our country, 
 shall we cease to honor the name of Lafayette and the other 
 brave men from over the sea, who drew their swords in de- 
 fence of American liberty. The Republics of France and 
 America have shown to the world that the grandest, the 
 stronjjest and the best i>overnments are those which rest 
 upon the intelligence and patriotism of the people. 
 
 Major Weill happily responded hy expressing his gratifi- 
 cation, and that of his command, in the abounding hospitality 
 which had been received from Providence, and liis hearty 
 concurrence in the sentiments which had been uttered 
 throughout the day. 
 
 After the colhition had been shared, many of the guests 
 w^ere shown around the city and differently entertained. In 
 the morning they were entertained by the First Light In- 
 
FINAL EXERCISES. 41 
 
 t'antry at the order of the city. Finally they were escorted 
 to Fox Point to take steamer on their return to New York. 
 Here, mountini>- the hurricane deck of the boat, that was 
 beautifully trimmed with flags, they sang several stirring 
 songs. Adieus were at last spoken amid shouts of heartiest 
 cheer. 
 
 Visitors from abioad, with all the citizens of Rhode Island, 
 expressed peculiar satisfaction with the monument and with 
 the dedicatory services. 
 
 Photographic views of the monument, from two sides, 
 secured prior to the dedication, through the liberality of the 
 monumental artist, Mr. Frank F. Tingley, Avere given to 
 some of the distinguished visitors. 
 
 As a very pleasing and not unimportant part of the his- 
 tory of the monument, we here give a letter received by the 
 Kev. F. Denison in response to one sent by him to France : 
 
 LETTER OF GEN. BOULANGER. 
 
 MiNISTEKE UE LA GuERRE. 1 RE DIRECTION. (InFANTEKIE.) ^ 
 
 Cabinet du General Directeur. > 
 
 Paris, France, Jeiidi 7 Septembre. J 
 
 Cher Monsieur : Combieu j'ai regrette de n' avc^r pu 
 repondre immediatment a votre lettre, si bonne, si noble ! 
 Un assez long voyage hors de France et mes occupations in- 
 cessantes au ministere de la guerre m'en ont senles empeche. 
 
 Mais aujourd' Inii je remplis un devoir bien cher a mon 
 coeur en venant vousreraercierde vos deux belles photograph- 
 ies, cette representation si parfaite du monument eleve a la 
 France et a leternelle alliance des deux Republiques soeurs 
 m'a vivement touche. J'en ai eu les larunes aux yeux, et 
 certes, rien ne pouvait m'etre plus agreabhi et me rapeller 
 d'une fagon plus donee I'admirable sejour que j'ai fait 
 I'annee dernicre dans votre beau pays. 
 
 Ce que vous avez fait Monsieur, tout le monde francais 
 
42 FINAL EXERCISES. 
 
 ou americain doit vous en feliciter. Et c'est en semant des 
 idees comme les votres que nous arriverous a consolider, je 
 dirai plus, a cimenter d'une maniere indestructible I'amitie 
 qui doit exister entre deux peuples si bien faits pour s'enten- 
 dre et pour s'allier en vue de la civilisation. 
 
 Merei done Monsieur, en mon nom, au nom de I'armee 
 francaise, au nom de la France entiere. 
 
 Vous me dites que vous ne nous avez pas oublies ; quant 
 a nous, nions nous souviendrons toujours de I'accueil que 
 nous avous re§u dans tous les Etats-Unis, et en particulier 
 dans le Rhode Island, avec les sentiments de la reconnais- 
 sance la plus douce et la plus cordiale. 
 
 Veuillez, Monsieur, m'ecrire de nouveau et soyez assure 
 de ma bien devouee et bien aifectueuse consideration. 
 
 General Boulanger. 
 
 P. S. Mille bonnes amities a tous nos amis du Rhode 
 Island. 
 
 Mr. Frederic Denison, 28 South Court street, 
 
 Providence, Rhode Island. 
 
 United States of America. 
 
 [Translation.] 
 
 Defaktment of War, First Direction ; Infantry. ^ 
 
 Office of General Director, > 
 
 Paris, France, 7tli September, 1882. j 
 
 Dear Sir : How much I regret not to have answered 
 immediately your so good and noble letter ; but a quite long 
 voyage out of France and my incessant engagements in the 
 War Department, have been my only impediment. 
 
 To-day, however, I discharge the duty, dear to my heart, 
 of thanking you for the two handsome photographs that 
 represent so perfectly the monument erected to France and 
 the ceaseless alliance of the two sister republics, and that 
 touch my sensibilities. I have tears in my eyes ; and cer- 
 
FINAL EXERCISES. 43 
 
 tainly nothing could be more agreeable to me, or remind mc 
 in a more pleasing manner of my delightful visit last year 
 to your beautiful land. 
 
 For what you have done, sir, all the people, French and 
 American, will felicitate you. It is by disseminating such 
 ideas as yours that we shall consolidate — I will say more — 
 shall cement in an indestructible manner, the friendship 
 which must exist between two peoples so well constituted to 
 understand each other, and to be allied for the promotion of 
 civilization. 
 
 Thanks then, sir, in my name, inihe name of the French 
 army, and in the name of all France. 
 
 You tell me you have not forgotten us. On our part, 
 we will remember always the greeting we received through- 
 out the United States, and in particular in Rhode Island, 
 with sentiments the most sweet and the most cordial. 
 
 You will oblige me, sir, by writing to me again ; and I 
 pray you to be assured of my veiy devoted and very affec- 
 tionate consideration. 
 
 General Boulanger. 
 
 P. S. A thousand true amities to all our friends of Rhode 
 Island. 
 
 Mr. Frederic Denison, 28 South Court street. 
 
 Providence, Rhode Island. 
 
 United States of America. 
 
 Note. A full account of the origin of the French Memorial, with all the 
 steps taken in its construction, the decoration of its base by the French Del- 
 egation, in 1881, and its completion and dedication in 1882, with the names of 
 all the subscribers, their subscriptions, and the bills of cost, prepared by the 
 Rev. F. Denison, at the request of the donors, may be found in the keeping 
 of the Rhode Island Historical Society. For the full story of " Our French 
 Allies " in the Revolution we may mention that a thorough work, under that 
 title, prepared by the Rev. Edwin M. Stone, a well-known historical scholar, 
 of Providence, will soon l)e from the press in this city. With its invaluable 
 particulars, it contains important maps and illustrations. 
 6 
 
H 33 89 4