SZ3 
 .5 
 
 ti^ 
 
 177 — 
 
 ■■! 
 
 : 
 
 

 ,0 0^ 
 
 ^'?-' 
 
 "k. .<^- 
 
 ..xV- 
 
 
 o 
 
 A'^ 
 
 -V C' 
 
 
 
■'J- V 
 
 -Jy^ 
 
 
 
 .'T- 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 OF 
 
 RICHARD MARVIlN^ STRONG, 
 
 MEMBER OF THE ALBANY BAR, 
 
 AND 
 
 Jibjtttant jof \\t rni\ Jvtjoitm^t, ^, |. Wwntms, 
 
 WHO 
 
 DIED AT BONNET CARRE, LA., 
 
 MAY 12, 1863. 
 
 PUBLISHED IN PURSUANCE OP A RESOLUTION OP THE BAR 
 OP THE CITY OF ALBANY. 
 
 ALBANY : 
 
 CHARLES VAN BENTHUYSEN 
 
 1863. 
 

MEMOIR. 
 
 It is due to community, to perpetuate the memory of 
 those who well perform their part, as an example to others 
 after them. The life of Adjutant Strong presents a rare 
 example of excellence and usefulness. 
 
 Richard Marvin Strong was the second son of Anthony 
 M. and Sarah M. Strong, He Avas born in the city of 
 Albany, June the 10th, 1835, and died in the military 
 service of the United States, at Bonnet Carre, La,, May 
 the 12th, 1863. 
 
 He received the elements of his education at the Albany 
 Academy, which he entered at an early age, while it was 
 yet under the supervision of the late Dr. T, Romeyn Beck, 
 and remaining there during the succeeding administration 
 of Dr. William H. Campbell, and for a short time under 
 Prof. G, H. Cook. 
 
 When in 1851 Dr. Campbell resigned his charge in 
 Albany, Richard had made most valuable progress in his 
 academic course, and was nearly fitted for college. Few 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 connected with the Academy at that time will fail to 
 remember the class of young men, well advanced in 
 study — the senior class of the school — which the Doctor 
 had gathered under his especial care, and particularly 
 instructed in the classics and belles lettres. Undoubtedly 
 the instruction thus received by those young men, who 
 daily went before their principal with unfeigned alacrity, 
 and with the esteem and affection of children towards a 
 father," exerted an important influence upon their moral, 
 as well as their intellectual characters. Certain it is 
 that there is not an instance in which the subsequent life 
 of any member of the class has put to the blush its moral 
 training. Its majority are still reaping the earthly bene- 
 fit of its admirable discipline, and delight to recall its 
 pleasant associations. As a member of that class, Rich- 
 ard's standing was second to none. The impressions he 
 then received, and the habits then formed, partially fur- 
 nish the explanation of his remarkably pure and upright 
 life, and of the accuracy, industry and thoroughness which 
 distinguished him in all his relations. 
 
 In 1851, he received from the Academy for his profi- 
 ciency in mathematics, the Caldwell gold medal, and at 
 the same time his friend and companion, Charles Boyd, 
 received the Van Rensselaer classical medal. These 
 rewards of scholarship, were presented by the principal 
 (Dr. Campbell) at the anniversary exhibition with evident 
 pride and satisfaction. " These young gentlemen," said 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 he, as they stood before him on the stage, " have never 
 given me a moment's uneasiness throughout all their 
 academic course." They both entered the junior class, at 
 the college of New Jersey at Princeton, in 1852, and as 
 they had graduated from the preparatory school with the 
 highest honors, so they took at once the rank of the first 
 scholars in their class. They became members of the 
 same literary society, were room-mates together, and in 
 1854 graduated together ; the one pronouncing the vale- 
 dictory, the other the mathematical oration, the first and 
 third honors of a large and intelligent class. Charles 
 Boyd had early become a professor of religion, and devoted 
 himself to the study of theology ; his assiduity in study, 
 and his constant attendance upon self-imposed labors of a 
 charitable and educational nature, exhausted a physical 
 constitution not naturally strong, and he died at the early 
 age of twenty-one years, not having completed his course 
 at the seminary. 
 
 As a student Mr. Strong endeared himself to his class- 
 mates by his companionable and social qualities, as well 
 as won their admiration by his ability as a scholar. Prof. 
 vStephen Alexander, of Princeton College, says of him, in 
 a recent letter : 
 
 " He greatly distinguished himself by his attainments 
 in scholarship while a member of this institution. The 
 college records exhibit his final standing (at his gradua- 
 tion) to have been third in his large class, and within the 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 veriest fraction of the second position. Those who knew 
 his previous history as an academy boy, will not be sur- 
 prised to learn that the honorary oration assigned to him 
 was the mathematical. Of his unexceptionable conduct 
 and his kind and genial manners, I have still a lively re- 
 collection." 
 
 During his senior vacation he was invited by Prof. Al- 
 exander, who was acting in connection Avith a large com- 
 mittee of the American Association for the Advancement 
 of Science, to accompany him to Ogdensburgh as an as- 
 sistant in an observation of the annular eclipse of the sun 
 in May, 1854, and accompanied him together with Mr. 
 William J. Gibson to assist in thoise important observa- 
 tions. Prof. Alexander in his report says : 
 
 " I was assisted in my observations by two of my former 
 pupils in the College of New Jersey, Messrs. William J. 
 Gibson and Richard M. Strong, both of Albany, N. Y. 
 Their presence with me, was not only a matter of sincere 
 personal gratification, but was important also, as Ave were 
 together enabled to note some phenomena which might 
 otherwise have escaped me, and they by their aid contri- 
 buted not a little to the accurate observation of those 
 which I might have noted if alone." 
 
 A single incident of the college life of Adj. Strong 
 will serve to illustrate the force and fearlessness of his 
 character even at that early age. He had been one of the 
 founders of the Kappa Alpha, a secret society in the col- 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 lege, and besides having a strong attachment for the society 
 itself, and for its individual members — an attachment 
 which lasted throughout his life — he had been an appli- 
 cant to existing chapters in other colleges for authority to 
 establish a branch at Princeton, and he felt in a measure 
 responsible for its success and prosperity. The faculty 
 had concluded to suppress the secret societies, and, among 
 others, Eichard Strong was summoned before the Presi- 
 dent to sign a pledge not to attend the meetings of any 
 such society, and to dissolve his connection therewith, so 
 long as he remained a member of the institution. He re- 
 plied substantially to the demand, that his obligations to 
 his society were contracted when there was nothing in the 
 college rules preventing him from assuming them, and that 
 the standing and reputation of its members were ample 
 proof of its harmlessness. He begged the President not 
 to insist upon that which he should be obliged to refuse, 
 and declared that greatly as he deprecated the conse- 
 quences, he should prefer rather to suffer them than com- 
 mit himself to such a pledge, A further interview was 
 appointed with him at an unspecified future time, and the 
 fact that he was not afterwards called upon to sever his 
 connection with the society, or to sign the pledge pro- 
 posed, shows the appreciation in which the worthy Presi- 
 dent of the college held the character of the young man 
 who preferred rather to suffer detriment to himself than 
 prove false to a trust confided to his care. 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 Though he had few superiors as a classical scholar, Mr. 
 Strong was naturally inclined to the study of mathematics, 
 and the natural sciences, and his early preferences were 
 towards those pursuits as a profession. At one time he 
 had determined to become a civil engineer, but though 
 his constitution could not be called feeble, he was led to 
 abandon this choice from a belief that it was not sufficiently 
 robust, to endure the hardships and exposures sometimes 
 attendant upon that mode of life. His next choice was the 
 law, and soon after leaving college he entered the office of 
 Reynolds, Cochrane & Reynolds in Albany, and became at 
 the same time a student of the law department of the Albany 
 University. He brought to the study a mind naturally 
 excellent, improved by careful training. He pursued his 
 studies with diligence, and the results were satisfactory to 
 himself and to his instructors, giving promise of useful- 
 ness and distinction in after life. His studies were inter- 
 rupted for several months which he passed in visiting 
 Europe, traveling in Great Britain and on the continent, 
 and resumed again on his return. In 1856 he was admitted 
 to the Bar. His connection through relatives with im- 
 portant mercantile interests in Albany, threw him at once 
 into practice, and his zeal and ability soon gained for him 
 an extensive business. About a year after his admission to 
 the Bar, he formed a partnership with Frederick Townsend, 
 now major of the 18th U. S. Infantry, and William A. 
 Jackson, afterwards colonel of the 18th regiment N. Y. 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 9 
 
 volunteers, now deceased, and upon the dissolution of the 
 firm by the withdrawal of those gentlemen to positions in 
 the service of the government, he became associated with 
 Mr. George L. Stedman, with whom he was connected in 
 business at the time of his decease. The firm of Stedman & 
 Strong having succeeded to the extensive business of the 
 firm of Shepard & Bancroft — Mr. Strong was enjoying 
 the emoluments of a handsome practice when he gave 
 his services to his country. His ability as a lawyer was 
 marked and decided. He was accurate in his conclusions, 
 and rapid in reaching them. He analyzed facts with tho- 
 roughness, and arranged them with method. His counsel 
 was clear and reliable. It was always the deliberate 
 conviction of his judgment after careful investigation 
 of the facts, and was often sought and followed in pre- 
 ference to that of others of longer standing in the profes- 
 sion. He presented an argument to the court with a 
 terseness, completeness and ingenuity which always 
 commanded attention. With the members of the Albany 
 Bar he was a general favorite, as he was among all who 
 knew him. Fond of social enjoyments, cultivated and inter- 
 esting in conversation, he was welcome everywhere, and 
 often gave himself to the social gatherings of the city. 
 As a companion and friend he was true and unselfish. 
 He was cordial with all, and where his affections were en- 
 listed, he was warm and enthusiastic. In countenance he 
 was genial and joyous, but there was an earnestness in 
 
10 MEMOIR. 
 
 his expression as in his manner which was the index of 
 his character. 
 
 Mr. .Strong's professional career was varied by attention 
 to other interests of a more public character. He possessed 
 an activity of mind, and a readiness of perception and 
 execution which enabled him to attend faithfully and suc- 
 cessfully to numerous diverse matters without neglecting 
 his professional duties. His industry was remarkable. 
 He wasted no time, and it was surprising to see one so 
 young, so zealous and so constantly employed. In the 
 truest sense of the term he was public-spirited, not from 
 ostentation, but from love of well doing and natural energy 
 of disposition. He was connected with many important 
 enterprises in his native city, and the assurance that he 
 was actively engaged in any project was almost a guaranty 
 of its success. 
 
 Not long after the commencement of his professional 
 life, he became a member of the First Presbyterian Church 
 of Albany, Rev. Dr. John N. Campbell's. He was a faith- 
 ful, earnest and exemplary Christian, ever mindful of the 
 obligations of his religious profession, and living the life 
 of one whose actions were prompted and guided by the 
 purest faith. When the project of erecting a new Pres- 
 byterian church on State street, in Albany, was canvassed 
 among the members of his denomination, he entered 
 warmly into it and became a leading spirit in its accom- 
 plishment. In November, 1859, he became one of a com- 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 11 
 
 mittee of fiftieen appointed from the different Presbyterian 
 Churches of the city to carry forward the enterprise, and 
 afterwards secretary of the committee. Under his legal 
 counsel and conduct the church Avas incorporated, the land 
 was purchased, the edifice erected and the pulpit supplied. 
 In each step he not only performed his part as a lawyer 
 but as an enthusiastic lover of the work, and with a re- 
 fined taste and excellent judgment gave valuable advice 
 in the manner and economy of construction, and rendered 
 efficient services in the accumulation and management of 
 the funds. He was made a trustee of the church and re- 
 mained one until the time of his death. He entered the 
 Sunday school, taking charge of an important class of ad- 
 vanced scholars, composed of two classes which he had 
 previously instructed, every Sunday, and which showed 
 its confidence in its instructor by volunteering unanimously 
 in his regiment and going with him to the war. The com- 
 mittee to whose management this church enterprise was 
 given, threw the legal responsibility of the proceedings en- 
 tirely upon his shoulders. With characteristic energy he 
 entered into the law of the subject and in a few weeks had 
 at his command not only the statute law applicable, but its 
 sources and history. It was afterwards suggested to him 
 that a volume on the subject would have both a historic and 
 practical interest, and ho was urged to undertake its com- 
 pilation and is supposed to have had it in contemplation. 
 The rebellion of 1861 made hurried calls upon the time 
 
12 MEMOIR. 
 
 and services of the efficient young men of the North. The 
 Albany Barracks were placed under the command of 
 Brigadier General John ¥. Rathbone. Mr, Strong was 
 then his aid-de-camp, and took an important part in orga- 
 nizing the regiments formed there. These barracks were 
 the rendezvous of thousands of volunteer recruits, Avho 
 came without discipline, without organization and utterly 
 unaccustomed to the rigor and restraints of camp life. 
 There were frequently at one time from four to five thou- 
 sand, and the position of aid was no sinecure. Mr. Strong 
 was not unequal to the task ; he had had military expe- 
 rience as a member of the Albany Burgesses Corps and 
 the Albany Zouave Cadets, and in those model organiza- 
 tions had become proficient in the drill of the company ;' — 
 he soon acquired the experience of a general officer. 
 When Gen. Rathbone was relieved of his command at the 
 barracks, Mr. Strong received the appointment on his staff" 
 of Judge Advocate of the 9th Brigade N. Y. National 
 Guard. His duties at the barracks ceased with the de- 
 parture of the troops for the field, and, the general govern- 
 ment having, as it was supposed, sufficient for its purposes, 
 he returned to the practice of his profession — impressed, 
 however, as he stated, with a sense of obligation to the 
 country, and a determination to give his services, should 
 the occasion seem to make a demand upon them. On the 
 organization of the 17 7th Regiment N. Y. Volunteers, 
 formerly the 10th Regiment National Guard of the State, 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 13 
 
 he accepted the laborious position of Adjutant, and turned 
 his attention, with his accustomed energy, to placing it 
 on a war footing. On the eve of departure, he addressed 
 the regiment, publicly congratulating the officers and men 
 upon their unwearied and at length successful efforts to 
 organize for the war. They left Albany in December, 1862, 
 with the " Banks expedition," landed at New Orleans, and 
 were thence sent to Bonnet Carre, La., an important post 
 on the Mississippi River, being one of the main defencies 
 of New Orleans. Large numbers of the unacclimated men 
 of the 17 7th were soon prostrated with diseases peculiar 
 to the country and to camp life ; and Adjutant Strong, 
 besides being the acknowledged friend of the individual 
 members of the regiment, became an unwearied attendant 
 upon the wants of the sick. His assistance was freely 
 bestowed on all sides, regardless of danger from infection 
 and the strain upon his strength. With a rare skill and a 
 joyous and genial manner peculiar to himself, he watched 
 with and assisted in the care of the sick, and administered 
 to the dying the consolations of that religion he had himself 
 experienced. His labors in this respect, while attending 
 punctiliously to the duties of his position, rendered him 
 liable through loss of strength to take the fever to which 
 he has fallen a victim. In a letter from Bonnet Carre, 
 written on the day after his death, full of tenderness and 
 affection, addressed to the fatlier of Adjutant Strong, Dr. 
 0. H, Young, assistant surgeon of the regiment, says: 
 
14 MEMOIR. 
 
 " The tenderness of his heart and his unresting desire for 
 usefulness prompted him to visit the hospital often, in the 
 hope of adding to the welfare of the sick soldier, and 
 many will remember the kind solicitude which made him 
 their constant visitor, and the cheerful words which in- 
 fused new hope into their drooping spirits. Indeed, the 
 frequency with which Richard made these visits had more 
 than once attracted our attention, and creating some soli- 
 citude for his health had made it incumbent on us as medi- 
 cal officers to advise him not to spend too much time 
 among the sick and dying. ****** 
 On Sunday, April 26, he and I sat together on a bench in 
 front of my tent, listening to divine service. * * 
 
 * * * Directly after these exercises he 
 
 complained of headache, and asked me for professional 
 advice, which was given, on condition that he immedi- 
 ately abandon all official duties Avhich rendered exposure 
 to the sun's heat necessary. 
 
 This headache spoken of by Dr. Young was the ap- 
 proach of the fever, which soon assumed a typhoid form, 
 and terminated his life. In speaking of his last sickness, 
 Dr. Young informed his parents that it was not attended 
 with physical pain. During his last moments his physical 
 prostration was too great to permit his articulating, but 
 his response to tlie question whether he desired to be re- 
 membered to his father and family at home, Avas audible 
 and intelligent. He answered, said Dr. Young, distinctly 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 15 
 
 
 "Yes," and a few moments after, with his brother's name 
 upon his lips, expired. His remains were encased in a 
 metallic coffin, and deposited in Greenwood Cemetery at 
 New Orleans, to await their conveyance to Albany. 
 
 Thus has another valuable life surrendered itself a vol- 
 untary offering to the institutions of our country, freely 
 given in the morning of usefulness, with bright promises 
 for the future unfulfilled. The misgivings as to his physi- 
 cal endurance, which in earlier years had swerved him from 
 the pursuits of the studies which he loved, had no power 
 to influence his action when he felt his services were valu- 
 able to the country, but he freely gave himself to the risks 
 of the field of battle, and the exposures of camp life, and 
 in doing so, none who knew him will say, he was other- 
 wise actuated, than by a sense of duty, and a desire to bo 
 of service to his country, in whose institutions he had an 
 unshaken faith. To that faith he has borne testimony with 
 the seal of his life — a life full of the brightest promise and 
 endeared to him by the tenderest family affections, and 
 throughout which, with all the opportunities and successes 
 which attended him, there is not one moment over which 
 his friends would desire to draw a veil. The memory of 
 his chaste and noble nature, like the lingering rays of the 
 setting sun, remains to soften the gloom his death has 
 caused, and is the assurance of a triumphant future. 
 Sweetly he sleeps the sleep of death among those, 
 "Qui fuerunt, sed nunc ad astra." 
 
lr0^t^tHttg^ 0f t\xt giUanjj §at 
 
 At a meeting of the Albany Bar, convened in the 
 Mayor's Court Room, in the City Hall of Albany, to take 
 action regarding the death of Adjutant Richard M. Strong, 
 on motion of Mr. C. M. Jenkins, Mr. J. I. Werner was 
 called to the chair. On motion of Mr. J. B. Sturtevant, 
 Mr. William Lansing was appointed secretary. 
 
 On motion, the chair appointed the following commit- 
 tee on resolutions : Messrs. William A. Young, John C. 
 McClure, Hamilton Harris, J. Howard King, and George 
 Wolford. 
 
 Hon. John H. Reynolds then addressed the meeting as 
 follows : 
 
 One by one, and in rapid succession, those who for a 
 time travel with us on the highway of life, drop down and 
 are seen no more. At short intervals of time, some, that 
 we have known and who have in some sort been our asso- 
 ciates, disappear, and we know them no longer. At a 
 little greater interval, those with whom we have been 
 more intimate, fall by the way side, and then we pause a 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 17 
 
 moment and perhaps shed a few tears, and pass on, intent 
 only upon reaching the end of our own travels and a season 
 of repose which never comes. We find but little time to 
 linger beside those who falter, and less, to stand around 
 the graves of the fallen. As we move onward, at intervals 
 which seem to grow less and less in duration, we are 
 compelled to pause, from time to time, for the reason that 
 our most intimate associates can no longer keep us com- 
 pany, but leave us to continue our progress as best we 
 may. It is then that we tarry a little longer, and feel it 
 a duty to give some expression to our regret and regard. 
 We have met to day, to perform this duty, in respect to one 
 of our professional brethren who, under circumstances of 
 painful interest, has, in the very morning of life, left us 
 forever. It is not long since, that under like circum- 
 stances, we were assembled to pay the last tribute of re- 
 spect to the memory of another of our brethren, who in 
 obedience to the call of his country, left home and friends, 
 and wore out his life, in defence of the flag, which an 
 army of traitors seek to trample in the dust. And now, 
 after a little while, we meet again, to pay a like tribute of 
 regard to one of gentle nature and of high promise, who 
 more recently gave up the pursuits of an honorable pro- 
 fession, and severed the tenderest ties that bind our com- 
 mon humanity, to brave all the privations and dangers 
 that attend the patriotic citizen and soldier, who takes up 
 arms in defence of the insulted flag of his country. It is 
 
18 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 fitting that this mournful event should not pass unnoticed 
 by those who were bound to him in the ties of professional 
 brotherhood, who knew him intimately, and loved him 
 well in life, and whose early death falls with crushing 
 weight upon so many hearts. 
 
 At the early age of twenty-eight, Richard M. Strong 
 died, far away from home and kindred. We knew but 
 little of his days of sickness and sufiering, or of the 
 last hours of his life, save that an unrelenting disease, in 
 an ungenial clime, wasted him away ; and in his last mo- 
 ments, his thoughts were turned to loved ones at home, 
 and his lips faintly murmured a brother's name ; and with 
 this last efi"ort of affection, his spirit passed to " God who 
 gave it." 
 
 The story of his life is brief and simple. It is not 
 marked by uncommon incidents, which will attract the 
 attention of the great world. He did not live long enough 
 to achieve the high honors of the profession to which his 
 life was to have been devoted, and which his talents, his 
 industry, his manly and modest deportment, his spotless 
 character, his love of truth and justice, entitled those who 
 knew him best to predict for his career. So much of 
 professional life as he was permitted to pursue, gave 
 assurance that all which would have followed, could not 
 have 
 
 " Unbeseemed the promise of his spring." 
 
 He began the study of the law in an office with which 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 19 
 
 I was connected ; and I shall always remember him with 
 affection as a devoted, industrious, intelligent and faithful 
 student; full of hope, and earnest in the pursuit of all 
 that learning which marks the progress of a true lawyer, 
 and gives dignity to a noble profession. He brought to 
 that pursuit a mind capable of reaching a high rank 
 among men, who never fail to appreciate learning, to 
 reverence intellect, and to love and cherish all the higher 
 qualities which adorn human nature. His early training, 
 where his superiority had always been acknowledged, 
 fitted him to commence his professional career under cir- 
 cumstances more favorable to success than is common to 
 most who enter upon a pursuit where real merit is seldom 
 unrewarded, and where few ever attain a permanent posi- 
 tion without severe labor and solid acquirements. His 
 practice at the bar, although not of long duration or 
 extensive in its character, illustrated the qualities of mind 
 and heart which commanded the respect and regard of all 
 his brethren, and which, step by step, would have led him 
 to high honors. 
 
 In early life he was frail and delicate, and he was nur- 
 tured with tenderest affection. At school he was patient, 
 and diligent ; and not only won the regard of his associ- 
 ates, but attained a position of acknowledged merit; and 
 when his schoolboy and college days were over, he left 
 behind him the marks of a superior mind, and the remem- 
 
20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 brance of an exemplary character. To this, all his early 
 friends bear willing testimony. He sought our profession 
 as best adapted to his tastes and talents, and entered upon 
 it with all the enthusiasm of youth, and with all the hope 
 and confidence which youth and conscious talents inspire. 
 Surrounded by every comfort which wealth and affection 
 can give, stimulated by every motive of honorable ambi- 
 tion, he saw the future bright before him, and, with just 
 reliance upon himself, looked forward to a useful and an 
 honorable career in the profession of his choice. But an 
 imperiled country called him to other duties. He was 
 among the first, when the sound of conflict reached us, to 
 lay down the profession of the law, and assume the pro- 
 fession of arms ; and he has followed it with fidelity to 
 the same end to which we are all hastening. With the 
 brave men who have gone to the field of strife he sought 
 danger as a duty; and, if opportunity had presented, he 
 would have proved himself as brave in battle as he was 
 patient and submissive when disease wasted his life away. 
 He was a Christian gentleman and a Christian soldier. 
 He followed, with unfaltering trust, the path of duty to 
 his God, to his country, to his kindred and his friends. 
 He leaves no enemy behind him. All who knew him 
 loved him ; for his nature was gentle and genial. He was 
 firm in honest purposes, quick to discern and defend the 
 right, and incapable of wrong. When such men die, 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 21 
 
 early or late in life, there is a melancholy pleasure in 
 bearing testimony to what they were ; and to do so is a 
 sacred duty to the living and the dead. 
 
 The circumstances under which our deceased brother 
 closed his brief but honorable career, are peculiarly painful 
 and impressive, although death now meets us in so many 
 startling forms that we scarcely notice it until it comes 
 very near. The stories of blood and battle, of suffering 
 and death, are daily brought to our view, and yet scarcely 
 arrest our attention. "We look with interest to scenes of 
 conflict and carnage, where brave men struggle and die 
 amid the roar of cannon and the shouts of victory, but 
 scarcely remember the unhappy patriots who, in a distant 
 clime, struggle Avith relentless disease, and who, upon 
 beds of suffering, turn once more to their early homes 
 and kindred in all the agony of loneliness and desolation. 
 They are far beyond all those consolations which attend 
 the dying when surrounded by the endearments of home. 
 Death is always a merciless visitor ; but to one suffering 
 amid strangers, in a strange land, becomes robed in his 
 most ghastly form — terrible to the victim, and agonizing 
 to those who are nearest and dearest to him. We cannot 
 turn aside the veil that hides the grief of the afflicted 
 household in which our lamented brother grew up to 
 manhood. The father's, the mother's, the brother's and 
 the sister's agony is all their own. We may sympathize, 
 but can not alleviate. We may speak a word of kindness, 
 
22 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 and drop a tear of sympathy, but we only add our sorrow 
 to theirs. God grant that this household, and the many 
 others that have, in these unhappy days, suffered a like 
 bereavement, may find consolation from the only source 
 that can give lasting comfort to the afflicted. 
 
 And let us who here grieve over the early dead, be ever 
 mindful of the admonitions which these mournful occa- 
 sions give us. Death meets us in all forms, in all condi- 
 tions of age and station, and on all occasions. 
 
 " Leaves have their time to fall, 
 And flowers to wither in the north wind's breath, 
 And stars to set; but all — 
 Thou hast all seasons for thine own, oh Death!" 
 
 Hon. Lyman Tremain spoke as follows : 
 
 I am well aware, Mr. Chairman, how feeble and inade- 
 quate our language is to give expression to the emotions 
 of warm sympathy, and profound grief, which pervade the 
 hearts of all those who had the honor to be ranked among 
 the friends of Richard M. Strong. Knowing him well, as 
 I did in life, I should have been lamentably deficient in 
 sagacity and discrimination, if I had failed to discover, 
 and to appreciate, his intrinsic merits and exalted worth. 
 And now that he is dead ; now that he has fallen in the 
 service of his country, I should prove false to the prompt- 
 ings of my heart, if I remained silent on this mournful 
 occasion. 
 
 It is natural and proper at such a time, to speak in 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 23 
 
 terms of praise of the departed. Sometimes, we know, 
 the language employed is exaggerated or undeserved. 
 On the present occasion, however, I speak the sentiments 
 of all who knew our lamented professional brother, when 
 I say, that no eulogium upon his probity, his truthfulness, 
 his generosity, and in short, upon all those noble and 
 manly traits of character that endear a man to his family 
 and his friends, can be pronounced, which shall seem ful- 
 some or overdrawn. 
 
 Mr. Strong belonged in the company of my junior pro- 
 fessional brethren. Although I never had the pleasure of 
 what may be called an intimate personal acquaintance 
 with him, yet I knew him very well, and upon my first 
 acquaintance with him, his bearing and deportment at- 
 tracted my attention. While it was no part of his ambi- 
 tion to win applause by the brilliancy of his efforts, yet he 
 always appeared to good advantage. He was entitled to, 
 and he received, the universal respect of the Court and of 
 his brethren at the Bar. Amiable in the highest degree, I 
 do not believe that he had an enemy on earth. If we had 
 been required to select by ballot, that young lawyer in the 
 city of Albany, who combined more than any other, the 
 virtues that make up the character of the cultivated Chris- 
 tian gentleman, I think I hazard little in saying that the 
 choice would have fallen, with great unanimity, upon 
 Richard M. Strong. 
 
 Our deceased brother was full of good humor and kind 
 
24 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 feeling. He had a keen relish for the society of his 
 friends, and for the social attractions by which he was 
 surrounded. But with all this, he retained the artless 
 simplicity of a child. His was one of those rare characters 
 which, instead of losing the freshness of youth, or becom- 
 ing contaminated as years roll on, would continue, if 
 possible, to grow brighter, purer and nobler, with the 
 progress of time. 
 
 The closing chapters in his young life were entirely 
 consonant with his previous history, and precisely what 
 we had a right to expect. What a glorious exhibition of 
 exalted and self-denying patriotism is furnished by his 
 conduct ! 
 
 How bright is his example ! Look at his career for a 
 moment. 
 
 He had graduated at Princeton College with as complete 
 an education as his country could furnish. He had gone 
 through with his preparatory studies, and been admitted 
 to the Bar. He had commenced the practice of the law 
 under most auspicious circumstances. He was surrounded 
 by troops of warm and devoted friends, but he felt con- 
 strained by a stern sense of duty to abandon all these pre- 
 cious privileges, and to respond to the call of his country. 
 He could not remain at home, while his country was appeal- 
 ing to her sons to come to the rescue. He saw his belov- 
 ed country struggling with a band of robbers for its life, 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 25 
 
 and like a true and faithful son, he said I am in duty 
 bound to assist in this contest. 
 
 With a constitution that had never been hardened by 
 exposure and toil, he did not shrink from encountering 
 the perils of a southern climate and the dangers of the 
 field. Volunteering with the 10th regiment, he became 
 its adjutant, accompanied it to Louisiana, and fell, a 
 victim to southern fever, and the exposures of camp life. 
 
 Jackson and Strong were but yesterday a promising 
 firm of young lawyers in our city. Both were talented, 
 cultivated and promising young men. Both have offered 
 up their lives upon the altar of their country. 
 
 The death of Richard M. Strong is a severe loss. It is 
 a great loss to his family, a loss to his friends, a loss to 
 the public, and a special loss to our profession. We can 
 illy afford to lose so bright an ornament from our number. 
 His place cannot be supplied. 
 
 But Ave can, and we will, honor and cherish his memory 
 in our inmost heart. His name will occupy one of the 
 brightest pages in the history of those noble martyrs who 
 have fallen in the war. We will remember him as one 
 wdio was willing to devote his time, his talents, his pro- 
 fessional prospects, and his life to the service of his coun- 
 try. 
 
 Let it be ours to vindicate his name and fame, respect 
 and honor his memory, imitate his virtue, and if need be 
 follow his example. 
 
26 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 Mr. Rufus W. Peckham, Jr., said : 
 
 Mr. Chairman : 
 
 A noble heart has ceased to beat. Called by a sum- 
 mons which we shall all obey, Richard M. Strong has 
 departed from the company of living men. I desire upon 
 this sad occasion to pay the heartfelt tribute of a friend 
 to the memory of him whose early death we this day 
 mourn. Growing up with the deceased in terms of inti- 
 mate friendship, I take a melancholy pleasure in bearing 
 testimony to his many virtues. I knew him well, and his 
 warm heart, his generous disposition, his noble character 
 won from me, as from all who knew him, unqualified admi- 
 ration and respect. Upright in all his acts, straightfor- 
 ward and manly in his bearing, his word when given, 
 might be implicitly relied upon. Genial and affable in 
 social intercourse, he was the life of that home which is 
 now made desolate by his death. 
 
 He graduated at Princeton College, where he left a 
 name beloved and respected by all who knew him. After 
 leaving college, he traveled for some time in Europe, 
 enlarging and enriching his mind from the varied stores 
 which the cities of the old world throw open to the intel- 
 ligent traveler. Returning to this city, he, in 1854, com- 
 menced the study of the law in the office of Mr. Reynolds, 
 and upon his admission to the bar, entered upon the active 
 practice of his profession. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 27 
 
 During the comparatively short period of his business 
 life among us, how much did he accomplish ! By the 
 purity of his life, his strict, unbending integrity, and the 
 modest and uniform courtesy of his manners, he merited 
 and received from the community where he resided, its 
 unmingled respect and its unlimited confidence, and we 
 who knew him wxll, recognized in him God's noblest work, 
 an honest man. 
 
 Possessing a mind far above the average, aided by 
 untiring energy and unremitting industry, there seemed 
 nothing to obstruct him in the attainment of a high and 
 honorable position in the ranks of his chosen profession. 
 It seemed but natural to suppose that a bright and glori- 
 ous noon would follow so promising a morning. But that 
 noon was never reached. The angel of death called him, 
 he obeyed the call, and he now " rests from his labors." 
 In his death, the younger members of this bar have lost a 
 cherished companion and a true friend, and his memory 
 will be endeared to them by the recollection of pleasant 
 hours passed in his company. Under these circumstances 
 it seems appropriate to meet here and testify, by this last 
 act of respect, how much we mourn his early decease. 
 When the rebellion broke out he was engaged in practice 
 with the late Col. William A. Jackson, and the firm of 
 Jackson & Strong has been dissolved by the death of both 
 its members in the cause of our country. 
 
 When the government first called for troops. General 
 
28 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 Rathbone was appointed to the command of the Albany 
 depot, and Strong, being a member of his staff, was called 
 upon to devote his whole time and energies to the work 
 of organizing the special department given him in charge, 
 and he soon succeeded in establishing order and regularity 
 therein. During this period, in his intercourse with the 
 numerous officers congregated here, he displayed the same 
 courtesy of demeanor, the same aptitude for business 
 which always characterized him, and many officers will 
 hear with pain and regret of the decease of one whom in 
 their short intercourse with him, they had learned to 
 admire and respect. 
 
 When the Albany depot had sent forward to the field 
 all the troops then asked for. Strong returned to his pro- 
 fession, ready at a moment's notice to obey any call his 
 country might make. When the 10th regiment was ac- 
 cepted, believing his duty called him to the field, he 
 sought for and obtained the post of Adjutant, and the 
 officers of the regiment will fully bear me out when I say, 
 that he devoted his Avhole energies to its proper and 
 speedy equipment for active service. Untiring in his 
 efforts to promote its strength and efficiency, ever mindful 
 of the welfare and comfort of his men, never shirking a 
 duty, quick and ready to comprehend military matters, 
 cool, collected and brave, he became the general favorite, 
 and showed himself an accomplished and gallant officer. 
 
 With a growing practice, surrounded by a large circle 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 29 
 
 of relations and warm personal friends, in the possession 
 of almost everything that renders life attractive and 
 beautiful, he has sacrificed all for his country. 
 
 No man ever went forth with purer motives, with less 
 of ambitious dreams animating his soul, than he who now 
 lies dead, covered with the earth of a distant land. It 
 was the genuine love of country which sent him to the 
 contest. No boyish ebullition of enthusiasm governed 
 him, no thirst for military glory prompted him, fancy held 
 up to his imagination no gorgeous and glorious scenes to 
 conceal the stern realities, which with the calm judgment 
 of a man he decided to brave. No ! he went forth strong 
 in the belief of the justice of the cause, firm in his deter- 
 mination to do all that should become a man, and with a 
 single reliance and pure faith in an overruling Providence 
 he calmly committed his life to its keeping. 
 
 Thus he went forth= We all remember how a few 
 months ago our streets echoed to the tread of armed men, 
 and there he was among them. Death has been busy with 
 them since. Although not as yet engaged in battle, the 
 ranks of the 10th are thinned, and many of its members 
 now sleep the sleep that knows no waking. 
 
 He of whom Ave speak, "has testified his love for his 
 country, his respect and reverence for her institutions, by 
 offering up his own young life, a willing sacrifice for their 
 preservation. " Greater love hath no man than this." 
 
 He has added another name bright and stainless, to the 
 
30 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 long roll of patriot heroes and martyrs whose life blood 
 has flowed for the cause of American unity, and his me- 
 mory will live in the grateful hearts of affectionate friends. 
 He died not as a soldier would prefer to die, on the 
 field of battle, amid the smoke and flashes of artillery, the 
 shouts of contending armies and the roar of musketry, 
 listening as death steals over him for the glorious shouts 
 of victory. No ! it was in the camp, stretched upon a bed 
 of sickness, with burning fever upon him, far away from 
 the land of his birth, from all the comforts and affection 
 of a home which he ornamented and brightened, sur- 
 rounded by the stern realities of war, that his manly spirit 
 passed away, and he fell asleep under the protecting 
 shadow of that flag which he loved so well. Calmly and 
 peacefully, amid such scenes, he died, 
 
 " Like one who wraps the 
 
 Drapery of his couch around him, 
 And lies down to pleasant dreams." 
 
 Early in life he received the sweet consolations of a 
 strong religious faith. Religion covered him as with a 
 mantle ; it pervaded the entire man, ennobling and eleva- 
 ting his every action. Pure was he in his life;, trustful, 
 with an abiding faith, at his death ; and, living and dying, 
 he exemplified and embodied all our conceptions of a 
 Christian gentleman. 
 
 We admired his mental qualities, we loved his generous 
 and warm heart ; and we now do reverence to the spotless 
 purity of his private character. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 31 
 
 111 the death of such a man, we do not feel as if we had 
 altogether lost him. His example will live, shining 
 brightly, as time in his onward march carries lis far from 
 the scenes of to-day ; and now, while listening sadly to 
 the decree — " Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, earth to earth," 
 in the firm belief that his sleep will be calm, and his 
 awakening glorious, we bow in humble submission before 
 the throne of Him who doeth all things well. 
 
 Mr. Young, from the committee on resolutions, reported 
 the following: 
 
 Another member of the Albany County Bar has died in 
 the military service of the country. Richard Marvin 
 Strong, a gentleman of much professional ability, of ami- 
 able manners and strict integrity, beloved by his compan- 
 ions in arms, and by all who were associated with him in 
 the pursuits of civil life, in the flower of his age, has gone 
 from among us forever. His worth as a citizen and a law- 
 yer, his valor and patriotism, have consecrated his name 
 and his memory in the hearts of his brothers of the Bar. 
 In view of this mournful dispensation. 
 
 Resolved, That while contemplating with admiration 
 and pride the example furnished by the deceased, of con- 
 scientious devotion to the Union and the supremacy of the 
 laws, we deeply lament the too early death of one whose 
 cultivated mind and pure character gave promise of so 
 much usefulness and distinction. His intercourse with 
 
32 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 his brethren of the Bar was marked, at all times, by kind- 
 ness and courtesy. Amonj^ his fellow-citizens, his daily 
 life was eminent for that uprightness and manly bearing 
 which are the outward manifestations of a heart imbued 
 with the principles of justice and right. His literary at- 
 tainments and scholarlike tastes were the graceful and fit- 
 ting ornaments of his virtues. Knowing the magnitude of 
 the sacrifices at which he entered upon the career of arms, 
 we venerate the heroism and constancy of one who was 
 capable, when his country demanded his services, of ex- 
 changing the delights of a home, where he had ever been 
 an object of the tenderest afiection, the charms of study 
 and the rewards of professional industry, for the hardships, 
 the perils and the sufferings of the camp and the field. 
 
 Resolved, That we tender to the parents and friends of 
 the deceased our hearfelt sympathies in the afiliction 
 which this melancholy event has brought upon them ; and 
 that we invoke in their behalf the consolations which ena- 
 bled our departed brother to meet death with Christian 
 fortitude and resignation. 
 
 Resolved, That these resolutions be published in the 
 newspapers of the city, and that a copy, signed by the 
 officers of this meeting, be presented to the family of the 
 deceased. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 33 
 
 Hon. Deodatus Wright said : 
 Mr. Chairman : 
 
 Before the vote is taken on the resolutions which have 
 just been read, I desire to express my hearty concurrence 
 in all that has been said by the speakers who have pre- 
 ceded me, and to whom we have listened with the deepest 
 interest, while they have uttered their feeling and eloquent 
 tributes of esteem and respect for him whose early loss we 
 have met to deplore, and whose manly and heroic qualities 
 we have assembled to commemorate. The deceased was 
 one of the younger members of the junior class of our Bar, 
 It was therefore eminently fit and proper, that the younger 
 and middle-aged members of our profession, should first 
 give expression to the emotions and sentiments which 
 the occasion could not fail to inspire. But Richard M. 
 Strong possessed qualities of too marked and manly a char- 
 acter, not to arrest the attention and secure the respect of 
 all his professional brethren, without regard to class or age. 
 In the language of one of the gentlemen who has spoken, 
 I too can say, that I was not intimately acquainted with 
 the deceased, and yet I knew him sufficiently well to 
 affirm, that I entertained for him a regard as high, and an 
 esteem as sincere, as I entertained for any professional 
 brother between whom and myself there existed so great 
 a disparity in years. And I can truly say, that no death 
 which has occurred in the ranks of those who have gone 
 forth from our own Bar, to serve their country in this try- 
 
34 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 ing hour, has produced in my mind, emotions of deeper 
 sadness, or more profound regret. It is therefore very gra- 
 tifying to me to see so large a number of his professional 
 brethren assembled here to-day, to honor his memory. 
 
 But a few short months have elapsed since he was 
 engaged in a professional career, surrounded by circum- 
 stances as flattering, and prospects as bright, as those 
 which attended any young lawyer in this city. While 
 thus engaged, he saw his country suddenly plunged from 
 a state of peace and prosperity, into one of the most 
 formidable and deadly civil conflicts the world has ever 
 witnessed. He saw that our free, glorious institutions, 
 hitherto the pride and boast of our own land, and the 
 hope of the lovers of freedom throughout the world, were 
 involved in the great issue. He fully appreciated the 
 magnitude of the contest, and knew that strong arms, and 
 loyal hearts, could alone avert the fearful calamities which 
 threatened his country. With these he was liberally 
 endowed, and these he dedicated to his country's service. 
 
 A career so bright, so full of promise in its commence- 
 ment, so unselfish and patriotic in its progress, has been 
 suddenly terminated by death. Although cut down in 
 the very morning and flower of life, just as he had entered 
 into early nuinhood, we can not mourn for him as for one 
 who has lived in vain. No man has lived a short life, 
 who has faithfully and heroically performed all the duties 
 which devolved on him while he lived. Measuring the 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 35 
 
 years of our deceased brother by this standard, it will be 
 found that his span of life exceeds that of many who have 
 lived longer, and exhibited fewer evidences of exalted 
 manhood. This war has made sad ravages among our 
 professional brethren. This is the third time that we 
 have been called upon to mourn the loss of a member of 
 our own Bar. Jackson, Hill, and Strong, all young 
 men, all in the flush of early manhood, all occupying high 
 social positions, and all enjoying a full measure of public 
 esteem, have offered up their lives upon their country's 
 altar, for their country's salvation. Many, very many 
 others in this city, from all occupations and all pursuits, 
 have done likewise. 
 
 Albany may well feel proud of the patriotic and heroic 
 band of martyrs who have yielded up their lives for their 
 country. I doubt whether any other city in the loyal 
 States, in proportion to its population, can present a longer 
 or brighter catalogue of brave and heroic spirits who have 
 perished in this conflict. This war has not only brought 
 death into many a family in this city ; every city, every 
 villaga, town and hamlet throughout our land, has been 
 sadly afflicted. Indeed but few dwellings have escaped 
 the desolation and woe which the deaths, caused by this 
 unnatural war, have brought to almost every household. 
 
 In view of these sad bereavements, these sore afilictions, 
 the reflection has forced itself upon my mind since I en- 
 tered this hall, how imj)ortant, how imperative it is, for 
 
36 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 every man under the solemn responsibilities which he 
 owes to his God, and to his fellow man, to be definitely, 
 and clearly persuaded in his own mind, whether the con- 
 flict in which we are engaged is, or is not, on our part, 
 holy and just. If it be not just, then we are bound by 
 the most weighty and sacred obligations that can address 
 themselves to a Christian and moral people, to use all 
 legitimate means within our power to arrest its further 
 progress, to put an end to this deadly, desolating strife. 
 If, on the other hand, we agree with those who believe 
 our quarrel just, and who, like him whom we have met 
 to-day to honor, have given their lives in testimony of the 
 deep sincerity of their convictions, we are under obliga- 
 tions equally weighty, and equally solemn, to do all within 
 our power to bring this unnatural contest to a speedy and 
 triumphant close. 
 
 Gen. John Meredith Read, Jr., said: 
 
 I should do great injustice to my feelings if I suffered 
 this occasion to pass without paying my tribute to the mem- 
 ory of a man for whom I entertained the highest respect. 
 
 My acquaintance with Lieut. Strong was slight. But 
 no one could meet him, even casually, without being im- 
 pressed by his activity of mind, his integrity of purpose. 
 
 It Avas my good fortune, in an official capacity, to witness 
 the zealous alacrity with which, at the commencement of 
 the war, he entered upon his duties as a member of Gen. 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 37 
 
 Rathbone's staff — and I hazard nothing in saying that his 
 energy, his perseverance, his executive ability, were felt 
 and acknoAvledged by all with whom he had official re- 
 lations. 
 
 The reputation which he then acquired for thorough 
 soldierly accomplishments, has never forsaken him. 
 
 It seems but a few short months since we were assem- 
 bled here to pay our last offices of affection and respect, as 
 a profession, to the friend and partner of our lamented 
 brother. Little did we think, when Ave uttered words of 
 sorrow for the departure of William A. Jackson, that we 
 should so soon be called to mourn the decease of Richard 
 M. Strong. Little did we imagine that he, who was then 
 in the full vigor of manhood, would be summoned at so 
 early a day, to lay doAvn his life as a sacrifice on the altar 
 of his country. 
 
 Relinquishing the luxuries of home, the endearments of 
 friends, our late associate went forth, in the flush of youth, 
 with lofty purpose and Christian fortitude, to do battle in 
 defence of our common country. 
 
 Like his comrade, he has fallen by the dread hand of 
 disease, but Avith his face to the foe — and another martyr 
 is added to the holy cause of liberty. 
 
38 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 Mr. Orlando Meads said : 
 Mr. Chairman : 
 
 If I may be allowed the privilege, I would add a few 
 words to those which have already been so well and fit- 
 tingly spoken in regard to our deceased young friend. It 
 so happened, that I saw a good deal of him at an early 
 period of his life. During his school days at the Albany 
 Academy, and subsequently during a part of his collegiate 
 course at Princeton College, he was an intimate friend and 
 companion of my own, now deceased son ; and in this 
 way, and also in the course of my duties as a trustee of 
 the Academy, I saw much of him, and came to know him 
 well. No boy had in a higher degree the confidence and 
 respect both of his teachers and his companions. He was 
 intelligent, exact and conscientious in the performance of 
 every duty, and most amiable, unselfish and faithful in 
 his intercourse with his friends. In a class of boys, than 
 which a better never passed through the Albany Academy 
 — and that I know is saying much — he was one of the 
 best scholars. He was an accurate and thorough classical 
 scholar ; but he especially distinguished himself in mathe- 
 matics, for his proficiency in which he received the 
 Caldwell medal, given always to the best mathematical 
 scholar. 
 
 As he was at school, so was lie also at college, where 
 he maintained the same high character lie had held at the 
 Academy. The same fine qualities marked him still, as 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 39 
 
 indeed they continued to mark him through life ; the 
 same good sense, the same high principle, the same regu- 
 larity and exactness in his habits, the same kind-hearted- 
 ness, steadfastness and truth. 
 
 On leaving college, he entered upon the study of the 
 law. He brought to it a sound, well balanced and well 
 disciplined mind, liberal attainments, good habits, and 
 high moral qualities. With these, he could not well fail 
 to succeed ; and we can all bear witness, that no young 
 man among us had in a higher degree the esteem and 
 confidence both of his professional brethren and of the 
 community in which he lived. 
 
 But the same conscientious sense of duty which had 
 marked him from his boyhood, led him to yield himself 
 to the call of his country in this its time of need and 
 peril. The fact that his friend and late partner, Col. "Wm. 
 A. Jackson, had recently fallen a victim to his labors and 
 exposures in the camp and in the field, so far from deter- 
 ring him from giving himself to the same cause, seemed to 
 him but an additional reason why he should do so. With 
 everything to make home attractive, he did not hesitate 
 to give himself to duties which he regarded as paramount 
 and imperative. How well and faithfully he fulfilled his 
 arduous duties as the Adjutant of his regiment, both here 
 and at its southern post of duty, we all know. In this 
 honorable and devoted course of service, far from his home 
 and friends, he, too, has yielded up his life. But it is for 
 
40 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY BAR. 
 
 ourselves and not for him that we should mourn. His 
 life, from the outset, has been an unbroken round of 
 duties well performed. It may seem short, but not incom- 
 plete ; for, in the words of the Book of Wisdom, " He 
 being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time." 
 "For honorable age — says the same book — is not that 
 which standeth in length of time, nor that is measured by 
 the number of years ; but wisdom is the gray hair unto 
 men, and an unspotted life is old age ! " 
 
 The resolutions were thereupon adopted. 
 
 On motion, the following committee was appointed b}^ 
 the Chair to prepare and publish a memorial of the de- 
 ceased : Abraham Lansing, G. L. Stedman, E. J. Miller, 
 J. C. Cook, J. J. Olcott, A. V. DeWitt, S. Wood, R. W. 
 Peckham, Jr., and S. Hand. 
 
 Adjourned. 
 
Pe^alttti0tt^ and f romiling^ ot f uMi^ 
 
 At a special meeting of the trustees of the State Street 
 Presbyterian Church of Albany, held June 3d, 1863, the 
 following memorial was ordered to be entered upon the 
 minutes : 
 
 "Died — May 12, 1863, at Camp Bonnet Carre, near New 
 Orleans, of typhoid fever, Richard M. Strong, Adjutant of 
 the 177th Regiment N. Y. S. Volunteers, in the 28th year 
 of his age." 
 
 The Board of Trustees of the State Street Presbyterian 
 Church, assembled in view of this sad event, desire to 
 place upon record their heartfelt sorrow at the death of 
 their associate. 
 
 1. Called away in the bloom of his manhood — with rare 
 powers of mind and heart devoted to the service of his 
 God and his country — with prospects of immediate and 
 future honorable usefulness clustering about him — with 
 the hopes of soldiers in the camp and friends at home 
 centering in him — with the love of kindred and friends 
 
 6 
 
42 PROCEEDINGS OF PUBLIC BODIES. 
 
 clinging to him ; — we can not refrain, because of the loss 
 to ourselves and others, from mourning for him. 
 
 2. Remembering all that he was, and all that he had 
 already done in his sliort life, that he was an accomplished 
 scholar, a sound and successful lawyer, an ornament of 
 social life, and efficient and idolized officer of his regiment, 
 a conscientious, noble and active Christian gentleman; 
 and especially remembering, as it becomes us to do, his 
 prudent and efficient agency in the organization and man- 
 agement of this Church, — we shall cherish his memory 
 with gratitude, pride and tender affection. 
 
 3. Remembering how in this war for our country's in- 
 tegrity, he was Avilling to sacrifice his interests at home — 
 and with no blind and thoughtless rashness, but with calm 
 and deliberate foresight, to put his life in peril — how 
 earnestly he labored, in the face of every discouragement, 
 for the organization and outfit of his regiment, how pa- 
 tiently and efficiently he has since devoted himself to its 
 care and management, and how he has been rewarded 
 with the affijctionate admiration and gratitude of his sol- 
 diers, — we hesitate not to name him among the honored 
 and lamented dead of this rebellion. 
 
 4. To his afflicted father and mother and other relatives 
 we tender our deepest sympathy. God have mercy upon 
 them, and comfort them in this bereavement. To them, 
 as to us, it will be sweet — it will be a consolation to re- 
 call his noble and upright character, his countless deeds 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF PUBLIC BODIES. 
 
 43 
 
 of kindness, his patriotic sacrifice, bis unspotted reputa- 
 tion as a citizen and a soldier, and his Christian life and 
 
 death. 
 
 ROBERT L. JOHNSON, President. 
 
 John C. McClure, Secretary. 
 
 At a special meeting of the Alpha Sigma Society held 
 June 3d, 1863, the following preamble and resolutions 
 were adopted : 
 
 Whereas, God in his infinite wisdom has taken from 
 this world, our brother Richard M. Strong, President of 
 this Society, and has pronounced his work finished, when 
 to us it seemed that his career of usefulness had but just 
 commenced ; and 
 
 Whereas, This Society has lost one of its most active 
 members, and each of us, as members, a most cherished 
 and loving friend ; therefore 
 
 Resolved, That while we deeply feel this heavy afilic- 
 tion, we the companions of his boyhood are rejoiced to 
 bear witness to his consistent life, his high moral purpose, 
 his virtue, honor and integrity ; to his untiring industry, 
 his great natural and acquired attainments ; to his un- 
 wearied perseverance which overcame all obstacles, and to 
 that nobleness of character and geniality of disposition 
 which caused his friends to love him and all to respect 
 him. 
 
 Resolved, That while we deplore his early death, we 
 are thankful for the example of his life ; a life filled with 
 
44 PROCEEDINGS OF PUBLIC BODIES. 
 
 the grandest purposes and animated with the highest mo- 
 tives; a life true to himself, his country and his God; the 
 noble record of which, even as we but partially know it, 
 shows that he has not lived in vain. 
 
 Resolved, That we tender to his family our most heart- 
 felt sympathies, praying that God, in his mercy, may 
 show them the silver lining to the dark cloud which now 
 overshadows them, and transfer their thoughts from their 
 loss to his everlasting gain. 
 
 ERNEST J. MILLER, Vice-President. 
 
 R. V. De Witt, Recording Secretary. 
 
 At a meeting of the Albany Zouave Cadets, held June 
 5th, 1863, the following preamble and resolutions were 
 adopted : 
 
 Whereas, We have heard, with the deepest sorrow, of the 
 death of Adjt. R. M. Strong, of the l77th Regiment, N. 
 Y. S. v., a member of our company, and one of our most 
 estimable citizens ; therefore. 
 
 Resolved, That while we bow submissively to the ordi- 
 nation of Providence, by which one of our most active and 
 efficient members has been taken from us, we desire to 
 bear testimony to the zeal and fidelity with which he ever 
 discharged his duties as a member of this company. 
 
 Resolved, That, although we mourn his death with un- 
 affected sorrow, and while we feel that the loss of one so 
 intimately identified with us in the organization of this 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF PUBLIC BODIES. 
 
 45 
 
 Company is irreparable, still we rejoice to know that he 
 fell at the post of duty in the cause of our beloved and 
 suffering country ; and that having thus freely yielded up 
 his life in the bloom and strength of manhood in a cause 
 80 holy, we shall ever cherish his memory with just pride 
 and gratification. 
 
 Resolved, That in the sacrifices he made in his relin- 
 quishment of business, and the comforts of a home in 
 which he was beloved, and of society in which he was 
 honored, in his willingness to accept the perils and hard- 
 ships incident to the life of a soldier, he has bequeathed to 
 us a bright example of lofty patriotism and unselfish devo- 
 tion to duty. 
 
 Resolved, That to his afflicted parents, to his sorrowing 
 friends, and to the l77th Regiment, in which he was uni- 
 versally beloved, we extend our warmest sympathy ; and 
 that a copy of these resolutions be sent to his parents, to 
 his regiment, and also that they be published in the papers 
 of this city. 
 
 A. C. JUDSON, Chairman. 
 
 D. S. Benton, Secretary. 
 
46 PROCEEDINGS OF PUBLIC BODIES. 
 
 The following Memorial was adopted at a meeting of 
 the officers of the l77th Regiment N. Y. S. Y., on the 
 return of the regiment to Albany, September, 1863 : 
 
 The Almighty Ruler of events saw fit to call from earth 
 our dear companion in arms, Lieutenant Richard M. Strong, 
 Adjutant of this regiment. An all-wiee Providence has 
 given rest to the noble labors, and termination to the 
 patriotic purposes, of one whose true hand and earnest 
 spirit were pledged to the sacred cause of his country's 
 integrity. Far from home, and in an unkindly clime, our 
 brother soldier looked for the last time upon that flag in 
 defence of which his eyes are now closed forever. 
 
 In the death of this young officer the loss to the regi- 
 ment has been irreparable. Gifted with a mind of no 
 ordinary capacity, and possessing an intellect eminently 
 fitted both to organize and to control, Lieutenant Strong 
 developed, in his brief military career, an aptness and 
 talent for the profession of arms rarely surpassed by those 
 who have spent long years in military study and service. 
 Prompt, energetic, reliable, he performed the duties of 
 his responsible position with an efficiency and thorough- 
 ness that were alike a cause of pride and honor to his 
 regiment, a theme of congratulation to his friends, and a 
 source of merited distinction to himself. 
 
 I 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF PUBLIC BODIES. 
 
 47 
 
 Nor was it as a tactician and disciplinarian that Lieut. 
 Strong displayed the briglitest elements of his character. 
 The Adjutant of the 177th regiment Avas a firm and 
 thoughtful believer in the precepts of Christianity. Supe- 
 rior to the many evil influences that beset the soldier's 
 path, the high example of his life, sincere and devoid of 
 ostentation, will long be remembered by the many who 
 saw and profited by it. The soldiers of his regiment 
 regarded him gratefully as their friend and benefactor ; 
 one who sympathized in and shared the hardships and 
 privations of their lives, and who, through act and pre- 
 cept, offered the highest encouragement to a proper per- 
 formance of their duties. In him the sick found a cheer- 
 ing friend and comforting visitor ; and, kneeling by the 
 bedside of the dying, his prayers besought the merciful 
 grace of Him, 
 
 " Who giveth liis beloved, sleep." 
 
 Courteous in manner, soldierly in bearing, gallant, 
 educated, accomplished. Lieutenant Richard M. Strong 
 won, unconsciously, the hearts and friendship of the offi- 
 cers and men who now mourn his loss. Prompted by 
 a noble desire to serve his country in the field, he left 
 business, friends, home, and all the dear associations 
 amidst' which his youth had been passed, and directed his 
 energies and talents towards organizing and perfecting 
 the regiment of which he was so bright an ornament. No 
 labor seemed too difficult, no time inopportune, no sacrifice 
 
48 PROCEEDINGS OF PUBLIC BODIES. 
 
 too great for him, wliile proving his devotion to the direct 
 course of a soldier's duty. It was while in the discharge 
 of the latter that he contracted the illness that terminated 
 only with his life. Had it been his lot to have fallen, 
 sword in hand, upon the field of battle, he could not have 
 lived more bravely, or died a nobler death. 
 
 In view, therefore, of all that we admiringly knew and 
 lovingly remember of our departed friend, it is 
 
 Bei^olved, That in the death of Lieut. Richard M. Strong, Adju- 
 tant of the nUh Reg-iment N. Y. S. Volunteers, the soldiers of 
 the regiment have lost a sincere friejid, the officers a companion 
 and comrade of surpassing worth, and our government an accom- 
 plislied, brave and most valuable supporter. 
 
 Resolved, That in his decease, an officer and a gcntleinan, — 
 a Christian officer and gentleman, — has laid down his life and 
 his sword in the high-toned, unswerving, self-sacrificing dis- 
 charge of duty to his God and his country. 
 
 Besolved, That we devoutly trust and believe that our departed 
 friend was prepared, through his life and faith, to meet the great 
 change from time to eternity ; and while we sympathize with 
 his afflicted friends, and with them mourn his absence here, we 
 find consolation in the thought that 
 
 " Our temporal loss is his eternal gain." 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of this expression of our feeling, as 
 individuals and as a regiment, be transmitted to the family of 
 the deceased ; and that a copy be also preserved with the 
 archives of the Htth Regiment N. Y. S. Volunteers. 
 
 CoL. IRA W. AINSWORTH, Chairman. 
 
 Capt. L. U. Lexnox, Secretary. 
 
®l(« iumpktd Christian ^xft. 
 
 SERMON 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE OF 
 
 ADJT. EICHARD M. STRONG, 
 
 177th REGT. N. Y. S. V. 
 WHO DIED AT BONNET CARRE. LA., 
 
 MAY 12, 1863. 
 
 PREACHED IN THE STATE STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 
 ALBANY, N. Y. 
 
 / 
 
 By Rev. A. S.' TWOMBLY, 
 
 JirN:E3 7, 1863. 
 
 ALBANY : 
 
 J. MUNSELL, 78 STATE STREET. 
 
 1863. 
 
SERMON. 
 
 Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so t/iat I 
 might finish my course with joy : ACTS xx, 24. 
 
 There is always, in the true Christian's heart, a 
 desire that his earthly life may continue, until its 
 complete work be done ; until the mortal stage of 
 the soul become a finished unity. 
 
 This was Paul's idea, as given in the text. His 
 mind had long ago passed by the bitterness of death. 
 He was ready to be offered, when his time should 
 come; but his whole nature, made to harmonize by 
 long culture with the completeness of God's plans, 
 clung to its wish for the full development of its 
 earthly career, whether that should be accomplished 
 by lengthening out his life in suffering, or closing it 
 by a speedy death. Paul counted dear both life and 
 death, only as by living or by dying, he might com- 
 plete his earthly course with joy. 
 
Thus did his exquisite appreciation of God's provi- 
 dential order, blend with a Christian willingness to 
 live or die at God's command. 
 
 And my Christian friends, there can be no truer 
 standard than this, by which to regulate our wishes 
 in regard to the duration of our own mortal life, and 
 the life of those we love. 
 
 When the true cycle of mortality is complete in all 
 its parts ; when there has come the rounding out of 
 the career on earth, then with the Apostle, we ought 
 not to be surprised or disappointed, if death takes us 
 or our friends, to a new sphere. Life would gain 
 nothing by delay. Death can deprive of nothing to 
 be won. The perfect operation of the soul upon the 
 world, and of the world upon the soul, has been ac- 
 complished, and there would be but a disturbance of 
 the balanced forces, were another period added to the 
 appointed time. 
 
 I. Nothing that exists is left to chance for the dura- 
 tion of its life, or for the length of any }}er'iod of its 
 life. As one has said, all periods of this descrijDtion 
 belong to the certainties of nature, but also, at the 
 same time, to the mysteries of Providence. 
 
 This is not Fate. It is God's wonderful adaptation 
 
of all beings and all things to His own purpose ; it is 
 Omnipotence controlling circumstances after His own 
 wise choice. Not a sparrow falleth to the ground 
 without His preordaining power. No human being 
 sinks into the grave, without His sovereign decree. 
 All lives, therefore, however shortened or prolonged, 
 come into harmony with the secret proportions of a 
 heavenly scale, by virtue of connection wdth the hid- 
 den movements of the purposes of God. 
 
 How to obtain a knowledge of this fixed duration 
 of our mortal life, we know not. Much relating to 
 this subject seems precarious, and even in opposition 
 to the theory of distinct and perfect miity in every 
 period of life ; but " mysterious indeed, and uncertain, 
 as regards our knowledge, it is fixed and rigorous cer- 
 tain in the secret counsels of Jehovah." 
 
 Death comes to one before the years begin to fill. 
 The flush young hope, just springing into joyous exer- 
 cise, is thrust down into darkness of the grave. Like 
 buds before they open, before their fragrance is ex- 
 haled upon a single breeze, Hves are snapped off and 
 wither into dust. Those who promise best, often go 
 most quickly. 
 
 The man who holds the most important threads of 
 
6 
 
 other lives — from whom go out in every direction in- 
 visible threads, connecting comitless agencies, to his 
 one toiling hand or working brain — seems sometimes 
 sought for first by the destroyer; and the threads 
 loosened from his grasp can not apparently be gathered 
 up by any other. No clue remains, by which another 
 mind can follow out his subtle trains of thought, or 
 finish the important measures he has undertaken ; and 
 yet he is cut oil ! The fingers that were tightened on 
 the world, its interests, its prospects and its welfare, 
 are relaxed forever ; and that separate life, on which 
 so many others seemed to hang, is gone ! Yet for all 
 that, God to be true unto Himself, must have im- 
 planted in that life the secret of its independent 
 duration ; and God must also have made its period 
 commensurate with all the parts which it was fitted 
 and intended to sustain in the great scheme of univer- 
 sal life. For since Jehovah can not set the bounds of 
 man's probationary existence from caprice, these bounds 
 must be determined in a way to make each mortal 
 period an organic whole; complete as such, within 
 itself, and in its relations to all other modes of being. 
 
 II. But secondly, we do not modify this general as- 
 sertion, as we find introduced into the Christian's 
 
earthly stage, elements which make it, in a far higher 
 sense, a finished whole. 
 
 Whether the true Christian lives a single hour or 
 a hundred years after his conversion, his life fills out 
 its perfect cycle in the truest of all senses. The child 
 of scarce unfolded piety, and the veteran Christian, 
 alike yield up to God in death a mortality mysteri- 
 ously compact; the work both had to do on earth 
 being as completely done, as if each had been assigned 
 the longest period known to man. 
 
 For each regenerated life represents the same essen- 
 tial principle ; each displays the same work of God's 
 spirit; each contains the germ of holiness, the seeds 
 of everlasting life, which can in any case be brought 
 to perfect fruit only by translation to the higher 
 sphere. There must be in God's mind some fixed ^ro- 
 portion between the influence which a Christian soul 
 shall have on earth and the duration of its earthly life. 
 But even this is not apportioned according to our 
 knowledge ; for we do not know but that some child 
 may leave a power for good behind it on the earth, 
 which will outvie the works of the most aged Christian. 
 God's measuring out of life unto his chosen, rests on 
 the ground of a most comprehensive plan, in which 
 each separate existence has a whole, distinct and per- 
 
feet place; the length of its duration not necessarily 
 determining its relative importance in the infinitely 
 varied plan. We know that some long lives seem less 
 productive than some briefer ones. Then why may 
 not the very briefest, in God's hand, be of the highest 
 value? But setting aside what it accomplishes, and 
 without regard to the length of its duration, we know 
 each Christian's life is always a completed life, in the 
 only sense that it can be finished in this probationary 
 state ; because in it has taken place that reconciliation 
 of corrupt humanity with God, and that regeneration 
 or renewal of the nature, for which alone existence 
 has been given to man since Adam fell. 
 
 Not that the process of a perfect sanctification is 
 effected ; it never is, in any soul upon the earth. It 
 is not in accordance with our observation, that a soul 
 shall be perfected in this sense upon the earth ; and it 
 is a secondary matter whether more or less achieve- 
 ment lingers after a man, and bears his name ; but in 
 this haTTiimiy, now instituted between his free-acting 
 soul and God, there is virtually accomplished the one 
 thing, for which Jehovah has allowed our race to live. 
 
 The probationary stage of any one, in whom this 
 act of reconciliation has not been accomplished, is in 
 this higher sense unfinished, since the design of a 
 
probation lias not been met in his career ; but if we 
 are saved by Faith in Christ alone, then, from the 
 moment of our reconciliation, the perfected act of 
 a change of heart is accomplished, and the soul made 
 ready for the new career above. 
 
 This is the oiily completed process through which 
 the soul can pass on earth. Intellectual perfec- 
 tion certainly is not found here ; and we have seen 
 already, that although sanctification is commenced in 
 this life after the soul's conversion, yet it is never 
 ended ; for however great a soul's attainments, it must 
 meet at death perfecting agencies, before it can be 
 ushered into heavenly purity and bliss. 
 
 III. Yet thirdly, there is a sense in which some 
 Christian lives seem providentially more complete than 
 others ; when, for example, circumstances give sym- 
 metry to the outward expression of the inward change ; 
 or when, in its development, the Christian character 
 aj)pears in large degree complete. 
 
 Christ, the Captain of our Salvation, is said to have 
 been " made perfect through sufiering ;" as if his life 
 gained outward unity by the trials it passed through. 
 
 And, in like manner, Paul sjoeaks of giving up his 
 lif ;, if by this means his course could be made the 
 more complete. 
 
In some lives, then, there are more perfect indica- 
 tions of the completed inward act; and in this sense 
 one life may seem to us more finished than another, 
 in the righteousness of Christ. As a man exhibits 
 more or less of finish in his conduct — in his actual 
 renunciation of the world, and in his willingness to 
 count all things but loss for God and duty — so must 
 we look on him with more or less assurance, that there 
 is in him the perfect work of God's regenerating grace. 
 
 Paul's affirmation, and the way he acted on it, leave 
 no doubt that his course was a finished one. 
 
 We must then, in all cases look to the record which 
 a Christian leaves behind him, if in the higher sense, 
 we are to judge his earthly life a finished whole. If, 
 in his course on earth, these evidences appear, then 
 whether long or short his life ; cut ofi" before maturity 
 of years, or after a long life of service, we have no 
 right to say he came to an untimely end. 
 
 God's time in taking every Christian home, is the 
 full harvest time in that soul's earthly course. As 
 the sickle to a shock of corn in ripeness^ so does death 
 come to Christians, whether young or old, whose lives 
 are given to God. 
 
 Nor need we question probabilities with shrewd 
 analysis, when we would be assured that a departed 
 
11 
 
 spirit has finished in this higher sense its probationary 
 course; for the Christian of perfected earthly life, 
 however he may doiiljt his own acceptance, seldom 
 leaves a doubtful record with the friends who weep 
 his death. 
 
 The light of one, in whom a pure and undefded 
 religion is implanted, is seldom hidden from the world. 
 
 The humblest of all Christians can not keep the 
 world from seeing his humility; and even where the 
 spark of Christian faith is dim, if it be there at all, 
 the world's sharp eye will catch its gleam. So intri- 
 cate are human friendship and associations; and so 
 surely does each man touch other men, in all the real 
 I and vital quahties of being, that seldom is a Christian 
 undiscerned. 
 
 Just as high nobleness of character will show itself, 
 in spite of that reserve by which true greatness loves 
 to cover up its deeds, so will affinity for God and truth 
 give an inevitable attestation to its own existence. 
 Where friends are doubtful in the matter, although 
 their affection takes the benefit of the doubt, and still 
 hopes on, the probability is, that the higher work of 
 life was left undone. 
 
 But setting these comparisons aside, how glad a 
 thino; it is to turn to such a record as is now before 
 
US, whereon God's providential hand has written the 
 assurance of a Hfe complete in all the parts relating 
 to this earthly stage. How it brings smiles of hope, 
 through tears of grief, to speak of a departed soul 
 whose earthly life is finished in the Lord, and of 
 whose preparation for a higher sphere abundant proofs 
 remain ! Not that we look for, or hope to find per- 
 fection of desires or deeds in any mortal life. Not 
 that the memory detects no blemish, or that loving 
 eulogy finds nothing it would fain conceal. Surely 
 every man might do more, suffer more for Christ, than 
 any one has ever done or suffered ! but justly recog- 
 nizing all defects ; without attempting to delineate a 
 perfect character, such record puts at least true marks 
 of Heaven upon the soul, and bears it upward in 
 triumphal joy to God. For in all qualities that mark 
 the Christian — in the strong traits by which God's 
 grace makes evident the beginning of the sanctifying 
 process — such a record is complete. 
 
 The man, the Ghristimi, the friend of Jesus stands 
 before us, as we view his life ; his manhood and his 
 faith prevailing in the picture, over all the imperfec- 
 tions that would bring him to the level of unchristian 
 men. And seldom do we turn, my friends, to a more 
 sure and satisfactory record of a finished earthly 
 
course than that to which the sad events of the last 
 month direct our thoughts. 
 
 As you have Hstened to this sermon, I am sure that 
 none of you have failed to trace an illustration of its 
 truth, in the career of one whose long continued ab- 
 sence, and whose recent death, create such tearful 
 interest to-day, in every word or thought concerning 
 him. 
 
 In the prime of manhood, God has taken him 
 away. With many earthly hopes yet unfulfilled — a 
 thousand manly aspirations all unmet — just as the 
 promise of his early culture ripens towards its fruit — 
 before life gives its best rewards — he dies! But who 
 will say that life in him, in any sense, was incom- 
 plete ? Who will say that death has broken from 
 the stem, a life whose summer time had not yet come? 
 This church, which owes much of its strength and 
 its success, to him whose name alone is left to it, 
 may seem all incomplete without him. We, his asso- 
 ciates and friends, among whom he appeared pre- 
 eminent for genial goodness, strength of judgment, 
 and simplicity of character, may be obliged to leave 
 unfinished, his share in the work which Ave together 
 had assumed. The sabbath school — his pride and 
 care — that class which he took with liim to the war. 
 
may never find a substitute for the place he occupied. 
 And in the private circle of his dearest friends, the 
 years he would have filled with happiness for them, 
 may seem all incomplete and vacant ; even as to all 
 whose lives and interests his peculiar qualities seemed 
 to sup2:)ly that which he only could sujDply, his career 
 may seem but the fragment of an earthly course. 
 And why God called this useful servant home so 
 soon, why all this ripening power for good should be 
 so soon dissolved in death, we can not tell ; but this 
 one thing we know, in him, when God's eye searched, 
 it found the full condition of a finished mortal 
 life ! 
 
 The earthly dates that limit his career between the 
 times of Ijirth and death, are not God's boundaries, 
 and the meanness of our human computations, God 
 makes manifest, in giving a far grander finish than 
 that of years or circumstances, to his life. 
 
 For although on all life's ordinary relationships his 
 memory sheds a fragrant beauty, yet our thoughts 
 invest him with fixr richer usefulness, and his name 
 will have far greater eloquence for good, because Reli- 
 gion lent her lustre to the fair graces which adorned 
 his life. That his life was rich in things that win 
 the hearts of friends and touch the finer springs of 
 
15 
 
 feeling, none who witness the universal lamentation at 
 his death can doubt. 
 
 The touching reminiscences preserved of him at 
 home ; the lonesome feeling there without him ; to- 
 gether with the last word on his dying lips (his bro- 
 ther's name), tell well enough of him as son and 
 brother. While for that trying relationship, existing 
 so seldom in perfection between a young church mem- 
 ber and his careless friends, let those to whom his 
 presence was an admonition, and at the same time a 
 delight, bear witness. Let the power of his life and 
 death on them, attest his genial, unobtrusive but con- 
 sistent character as a friend. 
 
 So too, the record of his business life, for thorough- 
 ness, fairness and ability, may challenge scrutiny. 
 This, the resolutions published by his associates of the 
 Bar, full well attest. And let our own church records 
 show the value of his professional advice. Let this 
 goodly edifice in which to-night we worship, speak, not 
 only from the accuracy of all its financial formula;, of 
 his legal skill, but also from its chaste adornments, of 
 his care and taste ; thus proving that while apt and 
 able in professional acquirements, he was likewise 
 talented and tasteful in all other branches of a liberal 
 culture. 
 
16 
 
 But above all signs like these, who to his record as 
 a Christian would wish to add more signs of full-orbed 
 life ? who most anxious for assurance, could desire 
 more signs of faith, humility and sacrifice by which 
 the Christian's earthly state is made complete ? Not 
 that all possible signs appear in him ; but that enough 
 appear, to show that by God's grace the germ of true 
 Christianity was in his soul, who that has heard him 
 pray, who that has watched his manly. Christian life ; 
 who that has heard of his pure motives in responding 
 to his country's call, can for a moment doubt? Are 
 not these outward indications of completeness, clustered 
 over and about his memory like flowers that tell of a 
 prolific soil ? And were all other indications wanting, 
 would not the last great witness of his life ; would not 
 the counting of his life a willing offering, be sufficient 
 testimony to the full completion of this trial-epoch of 
 his soul ? 
 
 His fellow soldiers send back loving messages of his 
 devotion to the sick and suffering in that dreary hos- 
 pital beneath the southern palm, thus telling us where 
 the seeds of his own fatal malady were sown. They 
 tell us how he sympathized with others in their sorrow ; 
 how in camp he talked and prayed with men (some 
 of them from his old Sabbath class), when to indite a 
 
17 
 
 prayer or sing a psalm, cost something more than time 
 or talent.* They tell us that the " Cross at any time 
 in his deportment could be seen ;" so that we needed 
 not to hear the tidings of his death, to know assuredly 
 that life was not accounted dear to him, if that he 
 might complete his course with joy. If therefore in 
 addition to the Christian impulse by which he was 
 hurried to the field; if anything above that sense of 
 Christian duty, for which he gave our land his life, 
 were wanting to attest the fullness and completeness 
 of his earthly course, these last days with the sick 
 and the disabled — his last words, all of which were 
 breathed, not for himself but for another, would 
 announce with unmistakable authority how truly he 
 had counted all things loss, that he might win the 
 crown. 
 
 When we think of him, let not our eyes be dim 
 with tears — but let our hearts rejoice that God has 
 
 * A touching incident occurred to-day, in connection with this 
 class. A pupil who had volunteered for two years in another regi- 
 ment, being at home on a short furlough, entered the school and 
 asked the Superintendent for his former teacher, not knowing that 
 the class had all enlisted, and that their teacher was no more. 
 What could more forcibly illustrate our beloved brother's influence 
 and power as a faithful teacher in the Sabbath School ? 
 
made him able, thus to finish his career with joy. 
 Let his memory seem to us, like some perfected crystal 
 formed from the agitated cooling of the ore ; each side 
 reflects its own peculiar lustre, while together all the 
 rays perfect a starlike form, whose gleams conceal all 
 imperfections ; and within whose heart a crystal germ 
 of purity waits but the master-hand to be made fit for 
 coronets of kings. 
 
 But yesterday our friend was like ourselves, imper- 
 fect, frail and liable to temptation ; upon his life the 
 finishing touch had not yet come. To-day, by Jesus's 
 handling, he is shining in perfection in the diadem of 
 God ! His mortal life was gladly given for this end ; 
 then why should we begrudge it ! Everything was 
 laid for this at Jesus's feet ; and why should we be 
 sorry for the sacrifice ! A joyous home, great hopes, 
 strong friendships, happy ties, — all counted loss, so 
 that he might end his course with joy ! These are 
 the signs of its completion, what can we ask for more ! 
 
 Not merely do the tears of all true patriots fall 
 upon his tomb ; not only does a star-lit and perfected 
 manhood shine from heaven upon us, to inspire with 
 hope ; but as a spirit, leaving in its flight sure signs 
 of its redemption, his memory sheds a glad assurance 
 down. With Paul, his strength on earth through 
 
19 
 
 Christ, was in the words, " I count not life dear unto 
 me, so that I finish my career with joy," and with the 
 Apostle, he has proved those words sincere ; therefore 
 to-day with all the ransomed hosts above, he finds 
 ecstatic pleasure in that Song of Songs, " The Lamb 
 was slain." 
 
 My fellow Christians of this church, he for whose 
 loss these tears of mingled grief and joy are falling, 
 was, as you know, one of the first enrolled among our 
 members. He is among the first to leave this mem- 
 bership for the Church Triumphant in the skies. He 
 who greeted me so cordially, one year ago when first I 
 came to live among you as your pastor, will extend to 
 me and you no further proofs of his affection : he can 
 offer now no further acts of love ; but may he not still 
 live about us, radiant upon us from that upper sphere ? 
 May not his death be like a cheerful light upon our 
 way, revealing to us what the Christian has to suffer 
 and to dare, and showing us the glorious crown he 
 hopes to wear ? May not this early gift of life to God, 
 nerve us as worthily to finish our career? Assisted 
 by him, to look beyond him to a greater sufferer, 
 may we not in holy emulation, also strive to leave 
 behind us equal proof that Jesus will present our souls 
 upon His bleeding heart, before the throne? Then 
 
20 
 
 shall the name of him who has departed become a 
 sacred memory within our souls : our loved and 
 honored dead will touch us from the jDast, and fill us 
 with an ever-present and inspiring joy! He was ours 
 once, in full companionship, he may be ours forever 
 more, in that far higher intimacy which death and 
 a divine communion can establish between kindred 
 souls. Although his worthiness makes our immediate 
 loss the heavier, yet for this very reason, is his gain 
 and ours the greater ! He has finished his career with 
 joy — we in that completion may find all we need ; 
 may find the very impulse that we lacked, for giving 
 up our life in true surrender unto God. Draw near 
 then ye that mourn and be ye comforted. We have 
 no cause for grief — and surely he whose requiem we 
 chant needs not our tears ! 
 
 In that resplendent lustre of perfected Souls, the 
 spirits of the just made perfect seem to listen as I speak ! 
 I seem to speak of one among them, as if he heard me 
 still ! His voice comes gently, like an echo from the 
 skies, entreating us to get our lives in readiness to 
 come. He tells us of the rest above ; he chants the 
 glory of his now perfected life ! 
 
 Thus would he hush our murmurs, quiet all our 
 fears, and draw us sweetly to the love of Him, whose 
 
life was freely given, that whosoever loseth life for 
 His sake on the earth, may find it unto everlasting 
 
 joy- 
 
 The following hymn (a favorite with Adjt, Strong, 
 among the songs of the Sabbath School), was sung by 
 request on the evening of the delivery of this dis- 
 course : 
 
 Come sing to me of heaven 
 When I'm about to die ; 
 Sing songs of holy ecstasy 
 To waft my soul on high. 
 
 When cold and sluggish drops 
 
 Roll off my marble brow, 
 Break forth in songs of joyfulness, 
 
 Let heaven begin below. 
 
 When the last moments come 
 
 Oh, watch my dying face 
 To catch the bright seraphic glow 
 
 Which in each feature plays. 
 
 Then to my raptured ear 
 
 Let one sweet song be given ; 
 Let music charm me last on earth 
 
 And greet me first in heaven. 
 
 Then close my sightless eyes 
 
 And lay me down to rest, 
 And clasp my cold and icy hands 
 
 Upon my lifeless breast. 
 
When round my senseless clay 
 Assemble those I love — 
 
 Then sing of heaven, delightful heaven, 
 My glorious home above. 
 
 Also the grand and appropriate hymn : 
 
 " Servant of God, well done, 
 
 Rest from thy loved employ : 
 The battle fought, the victory won, 
 Enter thy Master's joy." 
 
 The voice at midnight came; 
 
 He started up to hear ; 
 A mortal arrow pierced his frame, 
 
 He fell — but felt no fear. 
 
 His spirit with a bound, 
 Left its encumbering clay ; 
 
 His tent, at sunrise, on the ground, 
 A darkened ruin lay. 
 
 The pains of death are past. 
 
 Labor and sorrow cease ; 
 And, life's long warfare closed at last, 
 
 His soul is found in peace. 
 
 Soldier of Christ, well done ! 
 
 Praise be thy new employ, 
 And while eternal ages run. 
 
 Rest in the Saviour's joy. 
 
 •^ I 2 , 
 
 ^ 
 

 
 
 ^^ V^ 
 
 
 
 aV ./'. 
 
 V 
 
 ,/■ 
 
 
 ^0 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^^' 
 
 \ 
 
 
 >^ 
 
 
xN-' * r 
 
 ^^^ 'ci- 
 
 
 

 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 013 702 581 4 « 
 
 
 W 
 
 m 
 
 '\^mm