FREEPORT LYCEUM r ON WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY, February 22nd, 1869. By Hon. H. C. BURCHARD. FREEPORT : JOURNAL STEAM PRINT. 1869. ( Correspondence.') Hon. H. C. Buechard : Sir : It is with pleasure I communicate to you the following resolution unanimously adopted by the members of the “Freeport Lyceum’ ’ at their meeting on the evening of the 22nd inst., and respectfully solicit a compliance with the request therein con- tained : “ Resolved , That the thanks of the 4 Freeport Lyceum ’ be tendered to the Hon. H. C. Burchard for the very able and eloquent address delivered this evening, and that a copy of the same be requested for publication. Bespectfully yours, Jas. S. Cochran, Pres. S. F. Aspinwall, Sec’y. Freeport, Ile. Feb. 25, 1869. Gentlemen : In response to your note of the 23d inst., and accompanying resolution, I take pleasure in forwarding to you a copy of my address delivered before your Lyceum on the late anniversary of Washington’s birth. With thanks to the Lyceum and to yourselves for the appreciative terms in which their request is communicated, I am truly yours, H. C. Burchard. To Messrs. Jas. S. Cochran, President, and S. F. Aspinwall, Secretary, Freeport Lyceum. qm -°t\ 1 n o o IDID3RESS. Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Freeport Lyceum : The occasion suggests the theme. We commemorate the birth of the great military leader in the Revolutionary War, the first Chief Magistrate of this Republic. One hundred and thirty-seven years ago, the hero was born, whose prudent generalship secured our national independence, and whose wise counsels helped to found the first permanent Republic on the Western Continent. In response to your invitation to address you on this anni- versary, it seems most appropriate that I should, to-night, review the life, character, and public services, of General George Wash- ington. But adequately to appreciate his exalted worth and * greatness, and comprehend the reverential love his name inspires, necessitates a brief reference to the prolonged and bitter struggle in which our fathers were engaged, and to the trials and hard- ships to which he was subjected. Rather than indulge in unmeaning and grandiloquent expres- sions of unmeasured eulogy, let us seek the truer estimate and more lasting impression that must result from the consideration of the leading events which preceded the final acknowledgment of American Independence by Great Britain. The contemplation of the devoted patriotism, heroic sacrifices, unmurmuring deprivations, and unyielding courage, displayed by him and our fathers in the unequal strife between the infant colonies and the mightiest empire on the face of the earth, can indeed but awaken in our breasts the warmest sympathy and deepest emotion of gratitude. The patient resistance to tyrannical usurpations w T hich pro- voked revolution, the noble and patriotic purpose which insti- gated and inspired the rebellion, the lofty principles and decla- ration of rights avowed as justifying an appeal to arms, have ever commanded the respect and admirationof the world. Let us therefore spend a few moments in a hurried review of the nature and magnitude of the contest between the Ameri- I ^ \ *0 5 4 can Colonies and England, and consider the causes and griev- ances which armed the peaceful loyal subjects of Great Britain to defy its power. The war between Great Britain and France, which commen- ced on this continent with the struggle in 1754 for possession of the extensive fertile region watered by the Ohio Elver and its tributaries, in which Washington acquired his early renown and taste for military life, in 1759 had wrested from France not only the Canadas, but possession of the territory north and west of Virginia. Four years later, when peace was formally concluded in 1763 between these European powers, the French monarch reluctantly relinquished the claim, as well as dream of glory and colonial empire, which had occasioned the war. But though distanced in the race of all European Monarchies for territotorial aggrandizement in the western world, it was with great satisfaction the French king beheld arising a cause of contention, which, if not a compensation, was a solace for his defeat. The large armies and fleets, the vast armaments and supplies provided by England to maintain her supremacy on the sea, and extend her colonial possessions, had entailed a corresponding increase of her public debt. The obligations of the colonies for expenses incurred in defending and protecting their own frontiers, and paying the provincial troops employed in colonial service, were pressing heavily on the people, and still unpaid. The colonial currency was irredeemable and at a discount, and cred- itors, then as now, as well as British merchants, complained loudly of the injustice and dishonesty of paying private debts with depreciated paper. The British ministry, charged with the duty of providing means to defray the ordinary expenditures of the government, including payment of interest on its accumulating public debt, in 1760, saw no alternative but to propose some plan to increase the revenue. Heavier taxation at home might excite opposition and critic- ism, and perhaps transfer the control of the government and its patronage to their ambitious and watchful political rivals. Long established precedent require the resignation of a British Ministry failing to command the support of a majority of the members of Parliament, and the formation of a] new Cabinet, whose public policy will accord with the sentiment of the country. To Lord Grenville, the then Premier, occurred the seeming happy expedient of imposing a tax upon the colonies. This would help replenish the exhausted treasury, and at the same 5 time in no way augment the burden of taxation upon the property or income of the stolid British elector, whose effective protest might shorten or endanger his term of office. The Cab- inet, and tory landlords, and borough members of Parliament, warmly seconded the proposition. Laws were passed to carry it into effect, imposing duties on imports, and requiring the use of stamps. Between the years 1760 and 1765, no less than thirty acts of this kind were passed by Parliament, including the famous Stamp Act. The legislation was somewhat similar to that of Congress in regulating Internal Revenue, and just about as agreeable. It resembled the late laws of Congress in regard to revenue from distilled spirits very closely in one par- ticular : it became from year to year more rigorous and string- ent, and at the same time more ineffectual. The people of the Colonies denounced such taxation as a violation of their rights as freemen. They claimed that, as British subjects, taxes could only be imposed by themselves, or their representatives . The disregard of this principle, scarcely a century previous, had justified the Revolution that subverted the British throne and brought Charles I, to the scaffold. But as yet, the colonial assemblies contented themselves with humble petitions and formal remonstrances, which were vainly forwarded year after year. At the instigation of the General Court of Massachusetts, a congress of delegates from the colonies was called to be held at New-York, in October, 1765. At the time appointed, delegates from nine of the thirteen colonies were in attendance, and pre- pared and forwarded an address to the King and petition to Par- liament, praying for redress. In March, 1766, the Stamp Act was repealed, as a means of pacification ; but taxation in other forms was continued, and further duties imposed on im- ports into the colonies. To oppose these measures, regarded as acts of tyranny, as- sociations were formed, and written agreements circulated and signed, containing a pledge not to import or use taxed commodi- ties. The merchants of England began to feel the effects of this persistent opposition. Trade suffered, and importations de- clined. In 1770, on the accession of Lord North to the Minis- try, among the first acts of his administration, these duties were repealed, except the tax on tea. This was retained, it is said, by direct command of George III, to maintain the right of taxation. The people of New England and other colonies signed a covenant not to use this favorite beverage. The ware- houses of the East India Company in England became glutted with the accumulating stores of tea, for which there was no demand in the Colonies. To remedy this, and induce the people of America to buy, in 1773 the Company was authorized to send their teas from England to the Colonies without paying an ex- port duty. This enabled the Company to offer the teas to the merchants of New York and Boston at a less rate than they could have imported them directly from the Indies, and at a lower price than the market in England, since the duty was only one-fourth as much, being three pence on the pound, while in England the duty was one shilling on the pound. Sev- eral cargoes were sent to Boston and to New York. But it was not the amount , but the right to tax, that was in dispute. These tempting advantages were not sufficient, the hope of gain was powerless, to create a demand for the tea. In New York, it remained unsold, and had to be thrown away as worthless. In Boston, before the cargoes were unloaded, the famous tea party assembled on board the ships, one evening, and consigned the chests to the waters of the Bay. Evidently, with the people, the day of petitions and re- monstrances, of covenants and paper warfare, was passing away. Armed resistance and open revolt were near at hand. The re- taliatory measure of the Ministry, closing the port of Boston, and other acts passed to enforce the obnoxious laws, aroused the spirit of the people in all the colonies. In May, 1774, about a month before the Boston Port Bill was to go into effect, it was recommended by the members of the Virginia and Massachusetts Assemblies that a general con- gress, representing all the colonies, should convene annually, to deliberate on matters that concerned their common interest. Committees were appointed to correspond and arrange the time and place for the first meeting. The proposition was seconded by the other colonies, and Monday, September 5th, 1774, desig- nated as the time, and Philadelphia agreed upon as the place, for such meeting. In accordance with this call, emanating from the colonial assemblies, a second general congress met at that time and place, composed of fifty-one delegates, and representing all the Col- onies but Georgia. George Washington and Patrick Henry, of Virginia ; John Hancock and the Adamses, of Massachusetts; John Jay, of New York ; and Peyton Butledge, of South Caro- lina, were some of the distinguished members who participated in and directed its deliberations. 1 After preparing a masterly declaration of rights and review of their infringement by the British ministry, they proceeded no farther than to adopt the same line of peaceable protest and mutual agreement previously pursued. They issued a petition to the King and memorial to the people of Great Britain, with a suitable and stirring address to the inhabitants of the Col- onies, and adjourned without further action. A second general congress assembled at Philadelphia, May 10, 1775. A second humble and dutiful petition was moved, but strongly opposed. It was evident that the long-dreaded crisis had arrived. Peace- ful opposition was of no avail. Dire war was a necessity. Mas- sachusetts had already an army in the field. A Federal Union was forthwith formed. To Congress, representing the United Colonies, was delegated certain enumerated powers necessary to carry on war, and incident to a limited sovereignty or con- federation. It was by this Congress that, on the 15th of June, 1775, the day preceding the battle of Bunker Hill, General George Washington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. It was not until a year later and at a succeeding session, that final separation from Great Britain was proposed and the Declaration of Independence issued. Thus far the Colonies only sought to maintain their rights as loyal British subjects, and to support their brothers already in arms, resisting the exactions of the British ministry. They would not tamely consent to an infringement of their rights. Submis- sion was cheaper than war, but incompatible with honor and future safety. Congress did not hesitate to preprare for imme- diate hostilities, or shrink from the consequences of an unsuc- cessful rebellion. Troops were raised, and the country put in a state of defence. Great Britain was at that time in the zenith of her power. The Canadas had been seized by her arms, and become a de- pendency of her empire. She was then, more than now, the work-shop of the world. Subjugated nations in the Eastern In- dies were tributary to her. Queen of the sea, her commerce extended to every region of the earth. Her armies were brave and disciplined, her officers experienced and skillful, her re- sources exhaustless, her credit unlimited. At peace with the world, how long could disaffected provinces withstand her might and oppose her veteran, native troops or foreign mer- cenaries ? The Colonies, on the other hand, were without credit or monied capital, unprovided with munitions of war or military stores. Each colony was an independent government, powerless 8 beyond its own boundaries, and claiming its existence by vir- tue of grants from the crown. Three millions of people in- habited a sparsely settled region, extending from the forests of New Hampshire to the everglades of Florida. A territory a thousand miles in length and scarce a hundred broad, was ex- posed on the sea coast to incursions from hostile fleets, and on its frontiers to lurking and unexpected attacks from treacherous, savage tribes. Success must be purchased at the cost of thous- ands of noble lives, and entail a vast burden of debt. If the hope which instigated the leaders of the late rebellion to array eight millions of people against the united power of scarcely double that number seems visionary, reckless and foolhardy, with what contempt must boastful Englishmen have regarded the revolt of three millions of people against a governments com- manding the resources of a hundred millions subject to her sway. But “thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just.” Their very weakness gave the colonists symyathy and strength. They based their cause upon the universal rights of man, and electrified the world by the assertion of the sovereignty of the people over kings, lords, and hereditary thrones. This brief synopsis of the principal events in the political history of the Colonies, occurring subsequent to the conquest of Canada, in 1760, and culminating in an open rupture with Great Britain, in 1775, has necessarily detailed much that is fa- miliar in your ears. In an intelligent American audience like this, few are ignorant of the causes that led to a final separation from England, or of the men who were concerned in bring- ing it about. But the historic page alone does not suffice to keep fresh in remembrance from generation to generation the events of the past. Celebrations like this are needful to awaken and keep alive a just national pride, and secure a true estimate and correct knowedge of the character and deeds of the found- ers of the Republic. We seek not, on this occasion, to glorify a causeless, but successful revolt. We deplore the loss of life, the sufferings and desolations of war. A Christian people can scarcely excuse or justify a resort to arms. Unprovoked rebellion and in- surrection against rightful authority deserve the severest repro- bation, and their instigators the direst punishment. Treason is and should ever be regarded as the most heinous of crimes. Nothing but tyrany and the grossest violation of natural rights can absolve the subject from allegiance to the government, under whose protection he lives. 9 ButJIiere are motives and circumstances which sanction and elevate war. History pronounces the Revolution justifiable. British Statesmen deploring the cause, and the results of the war. freely acknowledge the rebellion to have been praiseworthy. Our fathers were not mere adventurers, fighting like the foreign mercenaries opposed to them from love of personal glory, or the freedom and license of camp life. Nor were they mere patriot soldiers defending the cause and honor of their country. Their claim to sympathy and unmeasured praise rests upon higher and nobler ground. They went forth as the champions of uni- versal man. , They asserted his title to self government. As Christ taught in religion, that Jewish rites and observ- ances were made for man and less important than man’s wants, and necessities, so they proclaimed as a political truth, that laws, institutions, and governments, were made for men and subordi- nate to the national rights, and paramount authority of the people. Of the chief actor, the chosen leader of the armies of the new confederation, raised up by Providence to guide to final victory, all that pertains to his early life, education and personal charac- teristics, is eagerly heard and fondly cherished. As pioneer leader, later as civilian and legislator, the successful warrior, the wise statesman founding a permanent government, or the retired and beloved private citizen, in each station he added new lustre to his name, and gave fresh cause for love and veneration. It is not possible to night to attempt a review of his civil or military administration. I shall refresh your recollection by a reference to a few of the incidents of his life. Although born to be the leader of western democracy by ancestry and education as well as habits and association, Wash- ington was, if aristocrat is too harsh a term, a patrician of the most exclusive type. His family prided themselves in tracing their genealogy to names honored and renowned in early and mediaeval English history. His most intimate personal friends previous to the Revolution were English families, who kept up the manners and state, as far as their means would allow, of English gentlemen and land-owners. His brother had married the daughter of Sir Wm. Fairfax, and Lord Thomas Fairfax, uncle of the latter, who held title by grant from the crown to the unsettled regions between the Shenandoah River and Alleghany Mountains, became Washington’s special patron, ahd almost the founder of his fortunes. He delighted, with them, to indulge in the favorite amusements of English squires, and fox hunting, 2 10 with horses and hounds, was as common on the banks of the Potomac as at the country seats in England. Opulent Virginia families of those days loved to display rich services of plate, elegant equipages, and splendid carriage horses, all imported from England. Washington, after his marriage, had his chariot and four, with black postilions in livery, for the use of Mrs. Washington and her lady visitors. His stable was filled with thorough-bred saddle horses, and a kennel of the swiftest fox hounds was a regular part of nis establishment. His taste, as well as a love of adventure, had early inclined Washington not only to out-cloor sports, but to an active pioneer life. With the meager education that home tutorship and a short tuition in a neighboring school afforded, at sixteen years of age he was employed by Lord Fairfax to survey his extensive possessions in the western part of Virginia. Washington thus spent three years surveying in the wild and beautiful region between the Shenandoah and head waters of the Potomac Rivers. His limited education had been practical, rather than scientific or classical. He seems to have acquired a very thorough knowl- edge of accounts, and was unusually accurate and methodical in his books and mathematical calculations. Judged, however, by the standard of scholastic attainment of the present day, his education would be considered deficient. Not merely as to those wonderful improvements and inventions that have originated since that time, but in the sciences and studies of that period. Without any acquaintance with ancient or modern languages, or a superficial study of history, political economy, and the science of government, this young man was thrown upon the world to carve out his own fortune, and help to shape the destiny of the continent. Having completed his surveys, scarcely had Washington returned home, when his brother Lawrence secured for him, then but nineteen years old, the office of Adjutant General of one of the military districts of Virginia. Thus early was his attention called to military duties and a practical knowledge of the routine of military business, which was to be of great ser- vice to him in after years. At the age of twenty-one, he was reappointed to the same position, and detailed as a special com- missioner to meet the friendly Indians and deliver a remon- strance to the commandant of the French post at Venango, in the present famous oil regions of Western Pennsylvania. The manner in which he performed the duties of this delicate and hazardous mission, and accomplished the winter’s journey 11 through the wilderness, secured him the confidence of the peo- ple of Virginia and the approval of the Governor. In the unfortunate expedition fitted out the succeeding year to take possession of the head waters of the Ohio, Washington was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and made second in command. The disastrous termination of that cam- paign, though by no fault of his, threw a temporary cloud upon his rising fortunes ; and when Gen. Braddock undertook his famous march for the captureof the fort just established at the junction of the rivers forming the Ohio — the present site of .Pittsburg — Washington found himself without a command, and holding the position of voluntary aid on the General’s Staff. The overwhelming defeat of Gen. Braddock, and hurried retreat of the remnant of the British Army, left the duty of defending the frontier settlements of the colony upon the people of Vir- ginia. In obedience to the general wish, the command of all the troops of the colony was given to Washington, with the rank of Colonel. From 1755 to 1758, he held this position, and was much of the time engaged on the frontier, protecting the set- tlements from threatened attacks from French and savages. These campaigns ended with the capture of Fort Duquesne, November 25, 1758, and shortly after, Washington laid aside the sword and retired to private life. During the summer preceding this last campaign, he again surrendered, but under circumstances that are never considered dishoncrable to the chivalrous soldier. In the latter part of June, A. D. 1758, on his way to Williamsburg, accepting an invitation from a Virginia gentleman to halt for dinner, he met the blooming widow, Mrs. Martha Custis. Punctual to the or- ders, the faithful servant brought the horses to the door. Charmed with her society, the hours flew by, while the steeds impatiently waited. The descending sun furnished a ready ex- cuse to accept of the hospitable invitation to remain a guest till the following day. The White House, the residence of Mrs. Custis, was but a short distance from Williamsburg, and his brief sojourn at the Capital resulted in an engagement before his departure for the west. On his return from the field, on the 6th of January, 1759, their marriage took place, at the White House, in the good old style of Virginia hospitality. A few months after, they removed to Mount Vernon, where they con- tinued to reside, and where Washington found sufficient oc- cupation in the management of the numerous farms connected with the estate, up to the time of his acceptance of the com- mand of the Continental Army. The appointment of Washington to that responsible posit- ion, was justified not only by his subsequent success, but was due to his reputation and military experience. The army then in the field were, however, New Englanders. The pro- motion of Gen. Ward, who commanded the army investing Boston, was desired by his men and the people of the eastern States. Then occurred in Congress the first example in our history where sectional preferences yielded to the spirit of pat- riotism, A son of Massachusetts advocates a son of Virginia for this place. John Adams proposes George Washington for Com- mander-in-Chief. The common cause and the common danger raise the counselors of the nation above local jealousies and pride of faction. It is paralleled by a scene in the recent history of our country, when Logan fraternized with Lovejoy, and the lamented Douglas sank the partisan in the patriot ; when we beheld the chief of a mighty party, to save his country, warmly espouse the cause and defend the measures of his most successful political rival. I shall not attempt further to trace the history of Washing- ton through the vicissitudes, the alternate triumphs and defeats, successes and disasters, of the war. The results of its battles and sieges, every school-boy knows by heart. That our troops were worsted at Long Island, Germantown, and Brandywine Creek, we unwillingly acknowledge. That at Bunker Hill we somehow had the advantage, although driven from the ground, we have been taught to believe. And that Trenton, Bennington, Saratoga, and Yorktown, were glorious victories, and among the mighty battles that decided the world’s destiny, we shall at least on the Fourth of July, always boast. But our claim to greatness, to heroism, for Washington, is not merely that with an untrained peasant soldiery he kept at bay the best officered and disciplined troops of Great Britain. Measured by the standard of success, he towers to the height of the renowned generals of former ages. But this is not the true test of greatness or character. The truly great and heroic spirit, conscious of its own power, will keep an equal temper — neither greatly elated at unexpected good fortune, or cast down by adver- sity. Such was the usual frame of mind of the ever thoughtful, ever watchful Washington. In times of despondency and gloom, his shining qualities and unflinching courage appeared most re- splendent and steadfast. When driven before superior force, compelled to evacuate New-York, and inch by inch yield posses- sion of the Jerseys and eastern Pennsylvania ; when even Phila- delphia, the then capital of the confederation, was occupied by r 13 the foe, he did not despair of final success. In the cheerless win- ter quarters in which it became necessary to encamp his ill - clad and sometimes half- fed troops, Washington, though sorrowful at heart for their sufferings, was serene, hopeful, and uncom- plaining. At Valley Forge the soldiers learned, as a writer of that day truly said, that “ his was a character which never appeared to full advantage but in difficulties and in action, and a mind that could flourish upon care .’ 1 Another scene in his eventful life should ever be kept green in the memory, and held up as an example for the soldiers of the Republic in all coming time. Great Britain had reluctantly acknowledged the independ- ence of the Colonies. The mission of the army ended, the men are to be mustered out of service and return to their homes. But their pay is in arrear. When disbanded, will Congress respect its engagements and fulfill obligations assumed in times of urgent necessity, verging upon despair ? Will the depreciated currency in which they are to be paid be redeemed ? Will it not be repudi- ated and dishonored? In lieu of the uncertain retired half- pay promised them at the close of the war, the officers request an immediate and definite appropriation of its present value. As their petition lingers unnoticed, or unapproved, the officers and soldiers turn at once to Washington as their leader and friend. If he will but assume and exercise the absolute authority with which in times of emergency he has been clothed, Congress will yield to their wishes, or they can compel submission. A Bonaparte or a Cromwell would eagerly have seized the opportunity, as an ample excuse for overthrowing a weak and temporary authority like that of the confederation, and have sought to establish a strong and permanent hereditary govern- ment, with himself as the head and founder of a dynasty. But Washington was no vulgar hero, seeking a conqueror’s fame to appease an ambitious thirst for glory and power. No thought of selfish aggrandizement, no motive but the purest patriotism, har- bored in his breast. He had already indignantly rebuked the suggestion that a monarchy ought to be established in America, for its safety, and he become its king. He now entreats his com- patriots in arms not to sully their well-earned fame by insubordi- nation or resistance to the civil government. He portrays in earnest, eloquent words, to be remembered to all generations, the danger to liberty and the country if military power is not kept in strict subjection to the civil authority. His counsel and influ- ence calms their excitement, and saves the country from domestic disorders and the danger of a military despotism. The soldiers 14 consent to leave their claims to the magnanimity and sense of justice of Congress. They return quietly to their homes, and Washington, issuing a most touching and paternal address to the disbanded army, and tearfully bidding adieu to its officers, for eight years his companions and bosom friends, appears before Congress at Annapolis, surrenders to its President his commis- sion, and retires to private life. That scene has ever been the wonder of Europe. Their ora- tors in vain ransack the records of the past to find a parallel in modern history, where a military chieftain has voluntarily laid aside honors and rank, and become a humble, untitled, private citizen. But Washington was not permitted long to enjoy the repose and seclusion he had sought. The Colonies had become independ- ent, confederated States, but not a nation. After four years of trial from the close of the war, it became evident that a perma- nent union could not be maintained, based upon the limited powers conceded by the articles of confederation. Forty million dollars of indebtedness was to be provided for by the States, and no authority had been vested in Congress to compel any State in default to contribute its share. The general credit suffered, and State and Confederate obligations became greatly depreciated. Taxation excited commotion and discontent. In loyal Massachu- setts, the very cradle of the Revolution, there were mutterings of insurrection. Then, as now, according to the report of Gen. Knox, propositions were advocated to “annihilate all debts, public and private, by means of unfunded paper , which shall be a tender in all cases es whatever.” The late exploded scheme to pay off our national debts with greenbacks, is not original with the financial doctors of the present day. To remedy these and other evils, to form a more perfect union, and organize a firm and stable government, that not only could withstand foreign aggressions, but suppress domestic dis- order and violence, Washington urged that the States hould send delegates to meet in convention and remodel the Federal compact. Of that convention Washington was the presiding officer. It prepared and submitted for ratification the charter of a national government, to be granted by the people as the sovereign power. The Articles of Confederation, the swaddling clothes of an infant Republic, were laid aside, and the Constitution was adopted as the insignia and habiliments of a powerful commonwealth. Who but Washington was worthy to be the first Chief Magistrate of this mighty nation ? The unanimous voice of the electoral col- lege calls him to the executive chair, and at the close of his 15 term, accords him an endorsement of his wise measures, and a flattering re-electionto these highest honors of the state. After eight years public service, he again determines to retire and enjoy the privacy of domestic life at his beloved Mount Vernon. He declines a second re-election, and establishes a precedent that he considers necessary as a check upon the growing love of power and authority engendered by successive elections and long con- tinuance in offlee. Thus hastily and imperfectly have I narrated some of the leading incidents in the life of General Washington, in the succes- sive periods of his eventful career. You, Mr. President, know with what hesitancy I decided to accept your flattering invitation to address the Lyceum on this anniversary of Washington’s birth. An unusual pressure of private and professional business has of late robbed me of the time I promised myself to devote to the consideration of this subject ; and this must be my apology for so much as I shall have come short of your expectations. It is with diffidence I present this rough sketch, hardly daring to attempt an analysis of his character. For a century, the most gifted orators and polished writers and poets have vied with each other in lauding his name and extolling his virtues. It is useless to attempt to match what they have said and sung of his deeds. It is far better, as we commemorate the day, to hope, by a brief review of the striking traits of his character and the events of his life, to inspire a spirit of emulation in the minds of our youth, who, like him, must in a great measure be the architects of their own fortune. The objects of this gathering will be accomplished, if the contemplation of his career shall echo back from the minds of the young the words of the poet — “Lives of great men all remind ns, We can make our lives sublime.” Before closin'? this address I cannot, Mr. President, overlook the contrast our country presents to-day to the feeble nation over which Washington was elected to preside. The progress of the United States in wealth, population and all the elements of national power and greatness, as well as in science, art, literature and the higher eriterions of civilization and intellectual advance- ment is matter Qf pride and satisfaction. It is true that the world has steadily improved, advancing in the means of sub- stantial comfort and enjoyment as well as in knowledge and civilization. Many of the great sciences have been built up, the ir funda- 16 mental laws have been discovered and recognized since the time of Washington. The great improvements in the means of loco- motion and distant communication has been made within the present century. The railroad, the steamship and magnetic telegraph, which have changed the laws and methods of trade and business, and more than doubled the productive energies of civilized nations, were unknown to Washington. The great discoveries in practical science, the largest advances in economic art, the invention of the cotton gin and threshing, reaping and mowing machines, which have revolutionized the agriculture of the country, were made within the present century. But America has outrun the progress of the age. The first settlers, the Pilgrim fathers, Dutch Burghers and Virginia Plan- ters, were too much concerned how to provide secure and perma- nent homes in the wilderness for themselves and their children, to care about the laws of planetary motion or relish the study of the abstruse sciences. Such an age may produce an isolated Washington or Franklin, but statesmen, poets and profound scholars rarely appear until further and later developement. A new country is not the congenial home of the muses. They do not desert Arcadian fields for wild clearings, nor do philoso- phers mistake desolate forests for Academic groves. Yet such has been the effect of a system of universal education and the general diffusion of knowledge, our people, if not as profound, are more intelligent than any other on the face of the globe. It is needless here to mention the illustrious names who have contributed as statesmen, orators, poets, sculptors, painters, philosophers, jurists and historians and inventors to the world’s advancement and honored American genius and learning. The scientific world acknowledges our claim to equal rank, and the profoundest European scholars and thinkers find in our midst an appreciative home. Allusion has been made to the condition, the weakness and poverty, of the colonies when the war commenced against Great Britain. At its close we find a burden of debt amounting fo the seeming vast sum of forty millions of dollars loading down and almost disrupting the confederacy. How little did Washington dream of the wonderful growth in power, resources and territorial empire to which we have attained. How little could his sagacious Secretary of the Treas- ury, Alexander Hamilton, as he studied to preserve the national honor, and with an empty treasury redeem in full the national obligations, realize that in three fourths of a century the revenues of the nation for a single month would exceed the debt he 17 scarcely believed the people could pay. How the immense debt we have incurred, more than $2,000,000,000, would have astounded and appalled that astute and unequaled financier. But this increase of national indebtedness has not outrun our development in wealth and resources. Then 3,000,000 of people dwelt upon the borders of the At- lantic Ocean. The pioneer settlers had scarcely reached the crests of the Alleghanies or penetrated the heavy forests of Central New York and Western Pennsylvania, To-day an em- pire spans the continent. Forty millions of people throng the busy marts of trade or carry on the commerce and manufac- tures of the States in the east, fell the northern forests, gather the southern cotton, the wheat and corn of the Mississippi val- ley or the mineral wealth of its western States and Territories. Forests have disappeared, wide-spreading prairies, at first dotted with pioneer homes, have been enclosed and divided into thousands of farms. Villages starting up have grown to towns and expanded to mighty cities. Iioads and streets are thronged with loaded teams carrying to ready markets the products of the soil or of the labor of the skilled artisan. Tracks of iron belt the land, and, bridging the father of waters, stretch on through the wilderness, up and over to the western slope of the Bocky Mountains. Swift going steamers panting, glide and penetrate into every navigable river, and stem their swiftest currents. The telegraph flashes intelligence with the rapidity of thought itself, and outruns the earth in its diurnal revolution. While rendering this tribute to the departed heroes— the founders of the nation— before we dismiss the theme, let us pre- sent a parallel devotion, the mention of which your own thoughts have anticipated. We have just passed through a fiery trial al- most as severe as that to which our fathers were subjected. We have seen the threatened disruption of the Union assume the form of open revolt and armed rebellion. Seven states not only declare their right to withdraw, but formally secede and set up a hostile government. Other states are divided in senti- ment and sympathy, and luke-warm in loyalty, secretly fa- vor the new confederacy* A hastily summoned volunteer mi itia, at their first onward movement, sustain an inglorious defeat. Half of the territory of the Union is practically within the control of the insurgent force. With the recognition of belligerent rights and a c/e- facto government established and in operation, they confidently \ 18 expect, and at the first pretext for interference, will secure foreign succor and intervention. As the war draws on to the close of its third year, it finds a million of loyal men in the field or on the sea and still the rebellion defiant and its spirit unbroken. A vast and increas- ing debt, appalling in its magnitude, is fast sinking the national credit to the lowest bankruptcy. The rightful successor of Wash- ington, the noble Lincoln, imbued with the fortitude and reso- lute spirit which buoyed the patriots of the Revolution above the disasters of 1777 and 1778. calls upon the soldiers and the country to keep heart and courage and persevere in the strug- gle for the National Union. The nation as well as the army respond to his call. Taxes, such as our fathers never would or could have borne, are cheerfully paid. The people readily advance their means to the government and eagerly subscribe to the national loans. The depleted ranks are speedily filled. Irresolute and incom- petent commanders give place to the silent, determined and fearless General who is to become the foremost soldier in the war, and the great captain of the age. Under the leadership of Gen. Grant, the army steadily moves on, driving the rebellious foe from the mountains to the sea coast, from Savannah to Raleigh, from Alexandria to Richmond, and on to Appomattox Court House, to defeat and surrender. All honor to the noble martyr President who guided the na- tion through all the gloomy period and like the leader of Israel died on the threshold of promised peace ! All honor to him who soon shall be his worthy successor, who led the Union hosts to final victory. And honored be those both at home, in the field, or on the sea who did not despair of the Republic, or shrink from sacrifices and burdens to insure final success. And higher hon- ors and more substantial rewards shall ever be accorded to our brave soldiers, welcomed home to share with us the blessings of national unity which their prowess and patient courage aided to secure. May they long live in our midst, living witnesses to the gratitude and affection with which a mindful nation has ever regarded her sons who courted dangers and sacrifices for her glory and safety, and though their country should fail to recom- pense or cease to appreciate their heroic deeds, they still will enjoy the proud satisfaction of having been enrolled among her defenders in the time of her peril, and the consciousness of having nobly and successfully discharged the duties of patriot and soldier. But while their presence will keep fresh in fading memory ( 19 our obligations to the living let us not forget the silent dead who went forth with them in this holy cause, but shall return never more. It is not inappropriate on this occasion, that, in con- clusion, as requested by members of the association, I should speak a word for the voiceless soldiers who sleep their last sleep beneath the sod, in the valleys and forests, or on the moun- tain crests where they laid down to die on Southern soil ; who lie side by side in unmarked graves, where they starved in Southern prisons, or, perchance more fortunate, rest near their kindred in hallowed tombs, to which it was the mournful priv- ilege of many a weeping circle of disconsolate friends, tenderly and lovingly to consign the inanimate form of one who fell on the battle-field or reached a loved household but to linger and to die. How shall we compensate the soldier who gave his life for his country ? What honors can equal the measure of his des- erts? The places that once knew him in our midst now know him no more forever. Reminiscences, fading from memory as the years flow by, — a name, and perhaps a mourning widow and orphaned children, — are all that remain among us of the citizen soldier , that duty, and not glory, called to the battle-field. The heart-rending scenes of sorrow and grief, when bereaved sisters and brothers, or a childless father and stricken mother mourned the untimely death of the bravest and beet, are still vivid in our recollection. But shall we leave enshrined in mem- ory and engraven only upon her uncertain, fading tablets their honored names? Shall we suffer their hallowed remains to lie unnoticed and forgotten, no outward testimonial bearing witness to our love and reverence ? I rejoice to record that the people of our county have nobly undertaken to rear a becoming memorial to the memory of her brave sons who died in the service of their country in suppress- ing the rebellion. For this purpose we have been asked to con- tribuleof our means. We cannot give as freely as they have given. No wealth or worldly price can outweigh the value of human life. Lavishly they poured out their blood ; let us give with no grudging hand to do them honor. Let a monument rise in our midst, worthy of them and us, that shall stand as a tribute to their memory, and a testimonial that we appreciate and revere self-sacrificing devotion and lofty patriotism, ket it teach our youth that there is something above the vulgar pur- suit of wealth and worldly pleasures. Let it bear witness that greed of gain, lust for power and strife for honors and office, 20 that bountiful harvests and peace and plenty have not deadened' the higher and nobler aspirations of our nature. Let the rising shaft suggest to every beholder the height of our esteem. Let the towering column signify the greatness of their heroic deeds and the grandeur of their sacrifice. Let rich sculpture and costly marble measure the wealth of our affection. Let massive and enduring granite symbolize the eternity of the patriot soldiers’ fame.