Author . t • o ■z. o Title •« **s Class . n» ^.llJEk^ Book...„t.5S. Imprint. .Sg85 1«— «7872-l *«•» ORATION OP ELOISr. O. p. MORTOI^, OF MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE G. MEADE, AND DEDICATION ODE, FOR THE NATIONAL CEMETERY AT GETTYSBURf!, .lULY 1, 1869, BY BAYARD Taylor, TOGETHER WITH THE OTHER EXERCISES AT THE DEDICATION OF THE MONUMENT^IN THE SOLDIERS' NATIONAL CEMETERY AT '&ETTYSBURG, JULY 1, 1869. PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION. TER, NORTH-EAST COR. OF WASHIJ 1870. ^ ^ J. K. WlBLE, PRINTER, NORTH-KAST COR. OF WASHINGTON A- R. R. STi. 1870. I ^S^ 6 0^^>^ ^'^^ -^0/ol.j^rS ^r-u^^-^'^ cJ^.^'>^.^-^.JL.^r^ y ORATION OF HOIST. O. I>. MORTOISr, 7 OF MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE G. MEADE, AND FOE3S/1: OF BAYARD TAYLOR, 7 TOGETHER WITH THE OTHER* EXERCISES AT THE DEDICA- TION OF THE MONUMENT IN THE SOLDIERS' NATIONAL CEMETERY AT GETTYSBURG, JULY IST, 1869. ^ ' PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION. J, S, WIBLE, PRINTER, NORTH-EAST COR. OF WASHINGTON k R. R. ST8, 1870. 6^75 c r PRAYER BY BEV. HENRY WARD BEECHER. ord God of our fathers, we thank Thee that Thou hast been God of this land ; that Thou hast inspired our citizens to frame wise laws and lay the foundation of intelligence and of virtue and of piety. We thank Thee that Thou hast or- dained among us institutions for the benefit of all, and in all the history of their formation, and amidst all the struggles through which they have passed, Thou hast been on the side of liberty and knowl- edge, and hast befriended the poor and needy. We thank Thee, O Lord our God, that when times of struggle came on ; when evil rushed in upon us like a flood. Thou didst at last raise up opposition, and didst call from all places those that should as- sert again the everlasting truths of human right and human liberty. And when aggression broke forth into battle, Thou, O Lord God of our fathers, didst PRAVER. call forth from all our fields, from towns, and from cities, multitudes innumerable, who stood heroically to defend this nation and maintain its integrity un- impaired, and here, within this eminence, where Thou didst lead Thy people unto victory, we are gathered again to renew associations and derive in- struction, and hand down to our posterity lessons of patriotism and heroic devotion which here were given. Grant, we beseech of Thee, Thy blessing to rest upon all who are gathered here to-day. O Lord, we cannot ask Thy blessing upon those that rest in sleep in death round about us, whom Thou hast blessed, for we humbly trust in Jesus Christ — in the immortality of another and better land. But, O Lord, remember that all our hearts yet bleed for them. Remember those whose home is poorer since they died. May they be cheered in recollect- ing that their whole land is richer. O Lord, bless those fathers whose sons lie buried here, and moth- ers into whose hearts the sword entered more deep- ly than into theirs who were slain thereby. Re- member the orphan children of those that are silent here ; and we beseech of Thee that wherever they are, and under whatsoever circumstances sur- rounded, they may feel not only the sympathy and good-will of their fellow-citizens, but, in an eminent degree, may Thy providence smile upon them. May the soldiers' children never prove unworthy PRAYER. of their fathers' name ; may they srow up into true heroism and love of their native land, and, as did their fathers, let them be willing to shed their blood, to lay down their lives, for the sake of their coun- try. Let Thy blessing-, O Lord, rest upon Thy servant who commanded here in time of great trial, and whose life mercifully has been spared through intervening years since, to be here again under circumstances so different. Long may his life be spared, and those of his household, and may Thy blessing make him instrumental for right; and for the good of the whole land, may it come back in measure upon him and his! Remember all who were here associated with him in command, not only so many as are now present, but those who are detained from this ground. Wherever any are, may the blessings of Almighty God rest upon them and theirs, and their families. Remember, O Lord, the soldiers who fought here and everywhere ; we pray for them and theirs, that God's blessing may attend them to the end of life ; save them from snares and temptations mightier than their virtue, and grant that in all their manifest and noble en- deavors, they may achieve yet more than is con- tained on the record of their past. We beseech Thee, Lord God, to grant Thy blessing upon this whole nation ; be pleased to unite together the hearts of this once divided but now united people ; 6 PRAYER. unite their hearts together, and with these new foundations of hberty, universal intelhgence, and virtue and piety, may this Union grow stronger than it was or could have been. And though we have been shaken with a mighty shaking; though with the ploughshare of war Thou hast passed through our fields, grant that hereafter the harvest may be more abundant than it could have been without this Thy culture. We beseech Thee, O God, to pour Thy blessing upon the President of the United States, and all that are associated with him in coun- cil and administration. May their lives and health be precious in Thy sight ; may discretion be given them from on high ; may a prosperous issue be given to all work of their hands undertaken in be- half of this land. Bless, O Lord, the army and navy of the United States ; in all their labors and eflbrts may they still uphold the banner of the coun- try ; not in a spirit of pride or of wanton aggression, but may they see in our flag" justice, order, and liberty for all, prosperity with virtue, until around and around the world, as every wind shall bear its folds, men may be told what liberty and true piety does for a nation. Strentrthen the weak with strength against the strong. Counsel with Thy counsel against the oppressor, although the earth overturn and overturn until the right is established. Grant Thy blessing to rest upon all that are here, PRAYER. 7 and upon the great body of citizens throughout all the United States, and upon the whole family of man. Grant that need of war shall cease and Gen- tile and Jew be gathered together in harmony, and the whole earth see Thy salvation. All of which we humbly ask in the adorable name of the Lord Jesus, our Saviour, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, we will give praise forever. Amen. ADDRESS MAJ. GEN. GEORGE G. MEADE. My Fellow Citizens^ Ladies and Gentlemen : Six years ago I stood upon this ground under cir- cumstances very different from those which now surround us. These beautiful hills and valleys, teeming with luxuriant crops, these happy faces around me, are widely different from the tumultuous roar of war and the terrible scenes enacted at that time. Four years ago I stood here, by invitation of some honorable gentlemen who have brought me here this time, and laid the corner-stone of the Monument which we are brought here to-day to dedicate ; and now, for the third time, I appear be- fore you at the request of the managers of the Monument Association to render my assistance, humble as it is, in paying respect to the memory of the brave men who fell here, by dedicating this Monument to them ; and at the request of these gentlemen I am about to make to you a few, a very few, remarks which are incident to this occasion ADDRESS. and suggested by it. When I look around and see, as I now see, so many brave men who were by my side in that memorable battle, among them his Ex- cellency the present Governor of Pennsylvania, Gen- eral Geary, and others who were with me at that time ; when 1 look back and think upon the noble spirits who then fought so well, and now sleep that sleep that knows no waking— gallant Reynolds, my bosom friend, as well as my right-hand officer; brave Vincent, and Zook, and Weed, and others, far more in number than I have time or words ta mention— my feelings are those of mingled sadpess and joy— sadness, my friends, to think that there ever was an occasion when such men should be ar- rayed in battle, as they were here ; that we should ever have been called upon, as we were upon this field, to defend the flag of our country and Govern- ment, which had been handed down to us from our forefathers. It is sad to think of the mourning and desolation which prostrated our whole land, North and South ; it is sad to contemplate the vast de- struction of life which we here wrought in obedience to our highest duty. I am filled with sadness to think of the host of mourning widows and orphans left throughout the land by that dreadful struggle. Such thoughts necessarily crowd upon us. At the same time I give thanks to the Almighty, who di- rected the event, and who selected me as an humble* % 10 ADDRESS. instrument, with those then around me upon this field, to obtain that decisive victory which turned the tide of that great war, and settled forever the trust in this country of the great principles of per- sonal liberty and constitutional freedom. I feel grateful, too, that our fellow countrymen have been moved to such respect and honor as we are now paying to the memory of those men who, in the dis- charge of their duty, laid down their lives, proving, by the highest sacrifice man can render, their devo- tion to the cause they were defending. Gratitude to those present to-day, who, by their presence, con- tribute to render the high honor justly due to the fallen brave. There is one subject, my friends^ which I will mention now and on this spot, while my attention is being called to it, and on which I trust my feeble voice will have some influence. When I contemplate this field, I see here and there the marks of hastily dug trenches in which repose the dead against whom we fought. They are the work of my brothers in arms the day after the battle. Above them a bit of plank indicates simply that these remains of the fallen were hurriedly laid there by soldiers who met them in battle. Why should we not collect them in some suitable place ? I dd not ask that a monument be erected over them ; I do not ask that we should in any way endorse their cause or their conduct, or entertain other than feel- ADDRESS. 11 ings of condemnation for their course ; but they are dead ! They have gone before their Maker to be judged. In all civilized countries it is the usage to bury the dead with decency and respect, and even to fallen enemies respectful burial is accorded in death. I earnestly hope that this suggestion may have some influence throughout our broad land, for this is only one of a hundred crowded battle-fields. Some persons may be designated by the Govern- ment to collect these neglected bones and bury them without commemorating monuments, simply indicating that below sleep misguided men who fell in battle for a cause over which we triumphed. I shall delay you no longer, for you are about to listen to one of the most eloquent men in this coun- try. My purpose was simply to comply with the kind invitation given me to speak meet words of praise for the dead heroes sleeping around, and to aid in the solemnities of this occasion. I thank you for your attention, and will now unveil the statue. ORATION GOVERNOR O. P. MORTON. When the Monument we are about to dedicate shall have crumbled into dust \ when the last ves- tige of this Cemetery shall have been obliterated by the tfe-hand of time; when there shall be nothing left of all that we see now but the hills, ihe valleys, the streams, and the distant mountains, the great battle which here took place, with its far-reaching consequences, will still live in history. Nations have their birth, youth, maturity, old age and death ; and ours, though we call it eternal, and our institu- tions immortal, will be no exception. But though nations must pass away, and all physical evidence of their existence be lost, yet may they live through all time in the brightness of their examples, in the glory of their deeds, and in the beneficence of their institutions. These are the inheritances they leave to the tar-coming centuries. When the pyramids of Egypt shall have sunk to the level of the Nile ; when the last remnant of ORATION. 13 Grecian architecture, the last inscribed block of marble, shall have perished, men will still read of Moses and the Pass of Thermopylae. Monuments, after all, are but for the present, and may only instruct a few generations. But a glorious deed is a joy forever. Six years ago, day after to-morrow, the Union army was stretched along these heights from Gulp's Hill to Round Top— a human breakwater, against which the great tidal wave of rebellion was to dash in vain, and be thrown back in bloody spray and broken billows. The rebel chieftain, flushed by his success at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsvillc, for- getting that his triumphs had arisen from the fact that he had fought upon his own soil, behind natural fastnesses, having the advantage of choice of posi- tion and knowledge of the country, had insolently crossed the Potomac and invaded the loyal State of Pennsylvania. But from this invasion he was hurled back in bloody defeat, and in disordered flight crossed the Potomac, never again to set foot upon the soil of a loyal State. On yonder high ground across the plain was drawn out in battle array the rebel host. It was an open field ; the terms were nearly equal; and steady Northern valor, animated by the love of country, was to meet the boasted chivalry of the South fighting for slavery, sweep it from the field, strip it of its mere 14 ORATION. tricious plumes, and give the Confederacy a fatal wound. It is the solid qualities of men and nations that win in the long run. The chivalry of false pride, the arrogance and vanity of a favored class, whose elevation is only seen by the depression of others, may, by spasmodic efforts for a time dazzle the eyes of the world, but cannot long maintain a successful contest with truth, justice, and the strength of free institutions. This was illustrated in the war of the rebellion, and m the battle of Gettysburg. This battle was not won by superior strategy or military genius, although managed with great courage and skill by General Meade and his subordinate com- manders, who left nothing undone that the occa- sion seemed to require, and who made the best use of the forces and opportunities at their command. It was a three days' battle, with varying fortunes the first and second days, in which the steadiness of Northern valor, animated by the convictions of a just cause, and the love and pride of a great and free country, finally wore out, bore down, and swept from the field the rebel masses, composed of men of equal physical courage, but whose moral powers were impaired by the absence of that strong convic- tion of the right which is a vast element of success. In yonder Cemetery, among the white tombstones. *'>ybere heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap'- ORATION. 15 Over the buried generations of the hahiet, Was planted the artillery whose fearful peals would have aroused the slumbering dead were it not ordained that they should awake only at the sound of the last trutnp. Just behind the cre'?t of the hill, in the old cemetery, stood the tent of our glorious com- mander, the imperturbable Meade, calmly dictating his orders, while the storm of shot and shell flew over and around him. From yonder steeple, south- west of the village, the rebel chieftain surveyed the field, directed his host, and from time to time saw his advancing columns reel and wither, and finally retreat in hopeless flight and confusion. The flower of the rebel army had been chosen for the assault, and were massed to bring overwhelming numbers to bear on the point of attack. The rebel chieftain brought together more than one hundred and fifty pieces of artillery, with which, foi* three hours, he poured a terrific fire upon that part of the Union lines he intended to assault. It was a grand and solemn sight, when line after line, with steady step and in perfect order, emerged from the smoke and swept across the field toward the Union army. It was a moment of vast peril and import, of which both parties were powerfully conscious. If the rebel assault was successful, and we lost the battle, Washington and Philadelphia were within their grasp. The North invaded, de- 16 RATI ON". feated, and demoralized would do — we know uoi what. Foreign nations would be encouraged to in- tervene, and the South, elated, 'would put forth MOkore desperate efforts than before. If the assault failed, and we gained the battle, the remnant of the rebel hosts must seek safety in flight, and a blow would be inflicted upon the Confederacy from which it could scarcely recover. These thoughts were present in the minds of all, and gave heroic courage to assault and to resist. But now the fire of our artillery was opened upon the advancing columns, and the shot and shell tore through their ranks, making great gaps, which were quickly filled up by those who came behind. But onward they came with desperate courage, until soon the fierce fire of musketry on both sides mingled with the horrid roar of artillery. Then, with terrific yells, they rushed upon our hues; but the impetus of their assault was suddenly checked. They were met with a courage- as desperate- as their own, and a fierce hand-to-hand conflict took place. The result was not long doubt- fiil. Their thinned and broken columns were flung back across the plain in headlong flight, leaving thousands of prisoners in our hands, the ground covered with dead and dying, and wet and muddy with blood. We had gained the day, though at fearful cost. The victory was great and mighty ii» its consequences. The prestige of the rebel army ORATION. 17 was broken, never to be recovered, and the wound inflicted upon the Confederacy was never staunched until it had bled to death. The next day was the 4th of July, and the most memorable since that of 1776. On another field it witnessed the surrender of another large rebel army to the great chieftain of the war, now our illustrious President. The capture of Vicksburg opened the navigation of the Mississippi river, and severed from the Confederacy all that part of its territory lying west of that river. The loss to the Confederacy was irreparable. It was cut oft' from its chief source of supplies. The limits of the war were greatly cir- cumscribed. The mass of the rebel population was demoralized, and began to despair. From that day it became manifest that the rebellion could not succeed, unless the Southern people exhibited that endurance, patience under adversity, and high devotion that will sacrifice everything for the cause, which, as it turned out, they did not possess. By our victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg the rebel- lion lost its prestige in Europe, and all hopes of foreign intervention. At the foot of the Monument sleep the heroes of the battle. H^re lies the father, the husband, the brother and the only son. In far off" homes, among the hills of New England, on the shores of the lakes and in the valleys and plains of the West, the 18 ORATION. widow, the orphan, and the aged parents are weepr- intr for these beloved dead. Many of the tombs are marked "unknown," but they will all be recognized on the morning of the Resurrection. The unknown dead left behind them kindred, friends, and breaking hearts. None die so humble but leave some one to mourn. "Perished at Gettysburg, in defense of their country," nine hundred and seventy-nine men of whose names, homes, or lineage there is no trace left on earth. Doubtless the Recording Angel has preserved the record, and when the books are opened on the last day their names will be found in letters of light on the immortal page of heroes who died that their country might live. Ill the fields before us are the graves of the rebel dead, now sunk to the level of the plain, "unmarked, unhonored, and unknown." They were our coun- trymen — of our blood, language, and history. They displayed a courage worthy of their country, and: of a better cause, and we may drop a tear to their memory. The news of this fatal field carried agony to thousands of Southern homes, and the wail of despair was heard in the everirlades and orange groves of the South. Would to God that these men had died for their country and not in fratricidal strife, for its destruction. Oh, who can describe the wickedness of rebellion, or paint the horrors of civil war ! ORATION. 19 The rebellion was madness. It was the insanity of States, the delirium of millions, brought on by the pernicious influence of human slavery. The people of the South were drunk with the spoils of the labor of four millions of slaves. They were educated in the belief that chivalry and glory were the inheritance only of slaveholders ; that free insti- tutions and free labor begat cowardice and servility; that Northern men were sordid and mercenary, in- tent only upon gain, and would not fight for their Government or principles. And thus educated, and thus believing, they raised their hands to strike the Government of their fathers and to establish a new constitution, the chief corner-stone of which was to be human slavery. The lust of power, the unholy greed of slavery, the mad ambition of disappointed statesmen im- pelled the people of the South to a fearful crime, which drenched the land with fraternal blood, that has been punished as few crimes have ever been in this world, but out of which, we are assured, that God, in his providence will bring forth the choicest blessings to our country and to the human race ; even as of the dead. Liberty universal, soon to be guaranteed and preserved by sufirage universal ; the keeping of a nation's freedom to be entrusted to all the people^ and not to a part only ; the national re- proach washed out in rivers of blood, it is true ; but 20 OKATION. the sins of the world were atoned by the blood of the Saviour, and the expiation of blood seems to be the grand economy of God founded in wisdom, to mortals inscrutable. Resurrection comes only from the grave. Death is the great progenitor of life. From the tomb of the rebellion a nation has been born again. The principles of liberty, so gloriously stated in the Declaration of Independence, had hitherto existed in theory. The Government had ever been a painful contradiction to the Declaration. While proclaiming to the world that liberty was the gift of God to every human beino^, four millions of the people were held in abject and brutalizing slave- ry, under the shadow of the national flag. In the presence of these slaves, professions of devotion to liberty were vain and hypocritical. The clanking of their chains ascended perpetually in contradiction to our professions, and the enemies of republicanism pointed contemptuously to our example. But all this is passed. Slavery lies buried in the tomb of the rebellion. The rebellion, the offspring of slavery, hath murdered its unnatural parent, and the perfect reign of liberty is at hand. With the ratification of the fifteenth article, pro- posed by Congress as an amendment to the Consti- tution of the United States, which we have every reason to \ielieve will soon be completed, impartial suffrage will be established throughout the land. ORATION. 21 The equal rights of men will be recognized, and the millennium in liberty and government will be real- ized, to which our fathers looked forward with hope- fulness and joy. The principles of liberty once planted in the earth, and ripened into their rich fruits, will be borne through all the ages, blessing mankind to the latest generation, even as the seeds first sown by the hand of God in Paradise, were blown by the winds from continent to continent, until the world was clothed with verdure, fruits, and flowers. The prospect for liberty throughout the world was never so bright as it is to-day. In all civilized lands the grand armies of freedom are on their march. And they are allied armies. Victory to one will give prestige and confidence to the others. "With some, progress will be slow ; they will encoun- ter disaster and defeat, but will again rally, and go forward to final victory. In the great campaign of freedom we count, not by months, but by decades and generations, in which there will be many a Bull Run, many a Gettysburg, and a final Appomattox. The lines of march will be marked by many a cem- etery like this, by the wrecks of fallen institutions and dynasties, and by the ruins of hereditary privi- lege and caste. Let us briefly review the advance of liberty since 1776. 22 ORATION. The principles of the Declaration of Independ- ence took early and deep root in France. The people of the empire had long suffered from the grossest misrule and oppression, and their minds were well prepared to comprehend and accept the new Gospel of Liberty. The French revolution first threw oft' the kingly government, then estab- lished complete democracy, but not knowing how to use liberty without abusing it, the people being gov- erned by their passions, and seeking to avenge upon parties and classes the wrongs they had suffered for generations, passed into anarchy, from which the transition back to monarchy and despotism was easy and rapid. But the return of monarchy was not characterized by the former oppression and mis- rule. The people had learned their rights and mon- archs had learned their power. Many of the old abuses which had been swept away by the revolu- tion were gone forever, and the new monarchy gov- erned with comparative justice, liberality, and hu- manity. The spirit of liberty had entered into the hearts of the people, and from time to time asserted itself in various ways, and in 1848 France returned again to a republic. This lasted but a short time, but the new monarch who overthrew it and established him- self upon its ruins was constrained to acknowledge the sovereignty of the people, and to profess to ac- ORATION. 23 cept his crown by the vote of the majority. While we cannot say much for the freedom of that elec- tion, nor beheve that the result was the will of the people, yet it was of vast significance that the usurp- ing government was compelled to claim its title from a pretended popular election. In many respects the government of Napoleon III has been excellent. He has recognized the freedom of religious opinion. He has protected the people in their persons and property. He has encouraged trade and industry, stimulated manufactures, and extended their com- merce. He has given them a constitution which creates a legislative body, and guarantees many rights and privileges. But the people are not satis- fied. They are denied liberty of speech and of the press on political questions. They are not allowed to assemble for the discussion of measures in which they are vitally interested. Their legislative body is so constructed and manao^ed as to be a mere re