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OEATION

DELIVEKED AT THE

CENTEMIAL CELEBRATIOI

OF THE

Evacuation of Fort Duquesne.

Hon. a. W. LOOMIS,

Pittsburgli, November 35, 1858.

PITTSBURGH:
PRINTED BT W. a. HAVEN, OOKNER MAEKBT AND SECOND SIS.
1859.

O E A T I O N.

We have assembled to celebrate a remote event in our
local history. We have selected as the appropriate the
atre of that celebration, the precise position of its occur
rence. The presence of unnumbered thousands denotes
the deep, pervading and universal interest of the occa
sion. In its presence, conflict of opinion and collision of
interest are forgotten. Discarding all considerations that
could alienate our sympathies or sever our efforts, with
one heart and one mind, with kindred feelings and iden
tical views, we cordially and sincerely unite in honor of
an event deeply affecting our common destiny.
Although that event occurred in a wilderness of the
Western Hemisphere, it vibrated through the heart of a
transatlantic empire. It was the precursor of defeat to
cherished hopes and gigantic schemes of extended do
minion. It was conspicuous in a series of causes involv
ing in clouds and darkness the cheering visions of
anticipated conquest, and arresting by impassable and
permanent barriers, the previously successful march of
triumphant encroachment. It was a medium through
which the intelligent statesman and sagacious warrior

of the Old World, could readily discern the ultimate
fate of his country's fortunes in the New,
The mingled influence of the sceptre and the cross,
had with ceaseless industry and persevering effort, amid
privation and sufferings, diffused the power and domin
ion of France over the regions of the North, and along
the vales and streams of the South, to the waters of the
Gulf, She had established a cordon of posts and mili
tary lodgments extending from the St. Lawrence to the
MississipjDi, excluding the authority, and defying the
power of England. She had seized and fortified this
interesting spot, previously selected by a youthful and
sagacious eye, and designated by an accurate and almost
unerring judgment, as an eligible position for the protec
tion of his country's interests. In this fortress, France
held the key which opened the way to the fertile regions
of the West, and devised and concentrated the means
of annoyance and destruction to approaching settlements
from the East. By her appliances, enlisted and cherished
here, she added to the terrors of civilized warfare the
horrors of savage ferocity and cruelty. Her rude forti
fication upon the banks of the Ohio, seemed as inaccessi
ble as the walls of Troy, Its repellant forces arrested
every hostile approach. Defeated and disgraced, her
enemies were repeatedly compelled to trace with reluct
ant steps their path across the solitary mountains. The
disgraceful surrender of Grrant had dishonored a beauti
ful elevation, now crowned by the lofty temples of justice
and religion. An inglorious defeat had rendered the blood

of Braddock a fruitless sacrifice, on the banks of the
Monongahela, No monument has been reared to mark
the spot or perpetuate the memory of the event. The
traveler, borne upon the fleeting train with a momentum
causing the ashes of the slain to tremble in their repose,
passes, without recognition, the memorable field, A
brilliant victory on the Plains of Abraham, consecrated
the blood of Wolfe, and rendered his name immortal.
As the stranger approaches the lofty citadel of Quebec,
his eyes rest upon a beautiful monument, erected to per
petuate the memory of Wolfe and Montcalm, Having
passed the walls of the city, when approaching the Plains
of Abraham, he beholds in the distance a slender column,
marking the spot where the illustrious warrior expired.
Having reached the interesting object, his eager eye is
fixed upon the sublime and appropriate inscription, still
legible, though corroded by time, and obscured by dep
redation, "Here he died, Wolfe, victorious," Such are
the results of success and failure, of triumph and defeat.
The reputation of England had been dishonored by
the fate of her enterprises and the defeat of her pur
poses. Her arms had ingloriously yielded to French
strategy and Indian atrocity. Her settlements had been
ravaged, her subjects plundered and slaughtered ; mis
fortune and dishonor rested upon her projects, her
efforts and her fame. Neither safety nor security dwelt
under the protection of her civil or military administra
tion ; the objects of government had failed; the results
of toil, subordination and suffering, had proved fruitless

and unavailing. Even lofty mountains and trackless
wastes had proved no protection against hostile encroach
ment. The torch, the scalping-knife and the blaze of
conflagration, were familiar objects of sight and terror,
east of the Alleghenies, To the English colonist. Fort
Duquesne appeared to be the fruitful source of unnum
bered woes and direful misfortunes, A long series of
calamities, alike unexpected and deplored, had humbled
his pride, and saddened his heart. No cheering ray
illumined his path or animated his hopes. The objects
around him were shrouded in the dark shades of antici
pated suffering ; his thoughts and feelings were tinged
with the melancholy hue of expected calamity.
But from the disastrous field of Braddock, moistened
by the blood of unfortunate heroes, sprang a fame and
renown, shedding a lustre over the sombre scenes and
disastrous events of our early history, A youthful war
rior appeared, whose daring deeds, determined courage
and conspicuous wisdom, justly awakened lofty and uni
versal admiration, A man of Grod, with prophetic tongue
and fervent hope, by prediction alike happy and truthful,
designated him as the elect of Providence, protected and
preserved through the clustering perils of the deadly
conflict, to be the future saviour of his country.
The long series of calamities and misfortunes, sicken
ing to hope, and paralyzing to effort, had reached its
termination. Brighter days and fairer prospects were
about to dawn upon these then desolate and cheerless

valleys. The light of new events, and the fruition of
more propitious hopes, were soon to cheer the heart of
the soldier and the pioneer. The pride of England was
awakened ; her energies and those of her colonies were
effectually aroused. Her military forces were organized
and approaching. They were sufficient in numbers and
adequate in courage to the accomplishment of her deter
mined purpose. Victory or death, was the theme of
ever}-- tongue, and the resolve of every heart. The
fixed design of dislodging at once and forever, from this
formidable and favorite entrenchment, the capacities of
French and Indian annoyance, nerved the arm and con
trolled the will of every soldier. The advance of the
army was regarded by the mother country with trem
bling anxiety, and by the colonies with fearful interest.
The resolute commander had been borne from the Dela
ware to the Monongahela upon a litter ; he was prostrated
by suffering, but resolved to execute the purposes and meet
the expectations of his country. When advised to retrace
his steps, giving vent to the invincible impulse of his
heroic spirit, he profanely but solemnly declared, that
"on the following night he would sleep in the fort or in
hell!" His troops were reposing on the banks of a
neighboring stream, preparatory to a final assault on the
morrow ; when, on the eventful night preceding the day
whose anniversary we celebrate, the reverberations of a
terrific explosion awoke them from their slumbers. The
enemy had departed ; and on the 25th of November, one
hundred years ago, the cross of St, George floated for
the first time over the deserted ramparts and desolate

8
walls of Fort Duquesne. French domination, passing
from the light of conflagration to the shades of returning
darkness, descended the beautiful river, never to return.
The foot of the foe had pressed for the last time the soil
on which we stand.
The lordly savage roaming upon the hill-tops, or glid-
ins' upon the unruffled surface of the quiet waters, beheld
with silent amazement or with stoic indifference, the
scenes which witnessed the approaching power of Eng
land and the departing dominion of France, The eye of
civilized man scarcely looked out upon the events of a
century ago. The rivers glided onward in their courses ;
the forests waved in token of sympathy; and nature
smiled upon the passing scene. Though the shout of
triumph may have resounded through the smoking ruins
of the deserted fort, though an autumnal sun may have
shone out upon a landscape of varied charms and tran
scendent beauty; though the gladdened heart may have
leaped for joy, and the delighted voice may have poured
forth the tribute of awakened gratitude and fervent de
votion ; cultivation, improvement and freedom, were not
there. Powers, elements and appliances, now yielding
their rich treasures to the dominion and happiness of our
race, then reposed among the undivulged mysteries of
nature. The wonders of steam and electricity had not
been developed upon the ocean or the land. Jefferson
had not penned that immortal record of liberty, the
Declaration of Independence ; the sword of Washington
had not been drawn in defense of liberty; Madison,

9
Hamilton and Jay, had not shed over the almost
perfect creations of political wisdom the matchless
light and resistless power of their transcendent intel
lects ; the fathers of the republic had not given to the
practical administration of the most perfect government
which the Avorld ever beheld, the benign and successful
influence of their pure morality, their • enlightened wis
dom and devoted patriotism.
Even after the conquest of Fort Duquesne, this pre
cious heritage of freedom was under the influence of royal
authority and foreign dominion. The throne, the crown
and the sceptre, were then revered as the just pride of
regal povver and the significant symbols of legitimate au
thority. That national emblem beneath whose gorgeous
folds the American soldier, regardless of danger and reck
less of life, will march wherever duty or honor may call,
had never floated over "the land of the free and the home
of the brave,"
But the results of the conquest cannot now be fully
appreciated. The concomitant and surrounding events
gave to success a charm, a fascination, an overpowering-
influence that cannot now be realized. In the dim and
hazy distance of departed years, the effect may be faintly
imagined, but it can never be truly felt. The honor of the
country was redeemed, and its authority vindicated ; its
flag floated over an undisputed and undisturbed sover
eignty, French authority had made its final retreat.
Savage atrocity was rebuked, disarmed and restrained.

10
It never again re-crossed the mountains, or exhibited its
horrors in the valleys of the East. It continued, for a
brief period, a struggle waning in energy and diminish
ing in success, until the effectual prostration of its strength
compelled a retirement to the wilds of the West. Re
lieved from the presence of hostile power and fatal dan
ger, these fertile and healthful valleys soon invited the
approach of the settler. They presented inducements
to emigration, and promised rewards to cultivation, which
soon secured the presence and the influence of the arts
and improvements of civilized life. In their train soon
followed the protection of government and the blessings
of civilization. Within ten years after the abandonment
of the fort, the government was enabled to open the
immense and fertile regions of the West to applications,
survey and settlement. And even now conclusive evi
dence of the route of the gallant Forbes exists upon the
original surveys reposing among our public records.
Surrounded by the same lofty hills that witnessed the
events we celebrate, beholding the same beautiful stream
that bore upon its placid surface the retiring power of
a hostile nation, we look back upon the wonders of a
departed century. But, thanks to Almighty God, the
proud flag of England no longer waves over our free
and happy soil. The throne, the crown and the sceptre
have yielded to the acknowledged and practical sover
eignty of the people. Subjection and obedience to des
potic power and foreign dominion, have been supplanted
by the genial influence and awakening impulse of equal

11
laws and liberal institutions. Free as the air which he
breathes, the American citizen walks abroad, in the dig
nity of his nature, to the fulfillment of his appropriate
destiny. A potential and essential element in the great
aggregate of state and national sovereignty, he performs
the functions of his position with an intelligent regard
to the fortunes, the prosperity and happiness of himself
and his descendants. The interests of his country, inter
woven with the integrity and security of all the safe
guards of freedom and protection, will ever challenge
and command his most faithful allegiance and devoted
efforts. Individual safety and security, so happily and
intimately blended with the political organization and
practical administration of our complex system of gov
ernment, will ever be operative and influential agencies
in the promotion of the general prosperity.
The theatre of this celebration is at the entrance of
one of the most extraordinary regions of the earth. Ge
nial in clime, fertile in soil, and fruitful in resources, the
great Valley of the Mississippi is the most noble, ex
panded and glorious heritage of freedom that ever be
nignant Heaven vouchsafed to man. In its capacious
bosom beats the heart of a mighty empire. Successively
the theatre of savage and despotic sway, it is now the
seat of disciplined and invincible power. The world in
arms could neither intimidate its heroic defenders, or
subvert its well established liberties. Its powers of
defense are adequate to any emergency ; its faculties of
resistance transcend the capacity of any encroachment.

12
Far removed from the combinations and the despotism
of the Old World, enthroned in the affections of her
children, the Goddess of Liberty may well delight to
dwell in this Paradise of freedom.
It is due to the place and the occasion, to the merits
of the present and preceding generations, to the truth of
history and the j)rogress of improvement, that we should
contrast the present with the past, the smoking ruins of
a deserted fort with the powers, capabilities, energies
and improvements of a populous and prosperous city ;
that we should note the growth and progress of the
political, physical and intellectual changes which a cen
tury has wrought ; that Ave should pay a sincere and
grateful tribute to the worthy and influential efforts of
the living and of the dead, in producing the rich results
of a century's suffering and experience; that we should
glance at the growth of our city, the progress of our
venerated commonwealth, and the prosperity of our
glorious Union,
A century ago, these beautiful hills, and vales, and
streams, passed from the rule of one foreign sovereignty
to that of another ; from the crown of France to that of
England, Fort Pitt arose, like a phoenix, from the
ashes of Fort Duquesne; and Pittsburgh, like a wild
flower in the wilderness, sprang up by its side.
The flag which floated over the ramparts of Fort Pitt,
was an emblem and symbol of monarchical power and

13
foreign domination. King, lords and commons, more
than three thousand miles distant, claimed and exercised
executive and legislative sovereignty over this colonial
dependency; the influence of the King and his parlia
ment was felt and acknowledged over regions now conse
crated to freedom, I once saw a venerable man ap
proach the book in yonder temj)le of justice, who in his
detail of ancient events, declared that even liere he had
been an apprentice to the King's baker. With what in
dignation and amazement would the sturdy freeman
nom listen to a proposal to apprentice his son to a minion
of royalty !
A century ago, primeval and almost unbroken forests
waved over the scenes which surround us ; the streams
glided onward in silence,"save when the frail bark of the
Indian rippled the surface of their quiet waters ; the
wonders of art and of science, the efforts of genius and
industry, had not shed their benign influence over the
scene ; no lofty spire pointed to heaven in token of
man's submission or devotion, of his hopes or his fears,
of his fall or his elevation. True, the voice of God was
heard in the distant thunder, his power was displayed
in the terrific lightning ; but the voice of his ministers
was not heard in the temple of worship. In this distant
region no government existed but that of the sword ;
ultimate sovereignty dwelt beyond the waters of the
ocean. The treasures of our hills and valleys reposed
in obscurity, unnoticed and almost unknown. Our for
ests appeared rather as the embellishments of a grace-

14

ful scene, than the sources of wealth and improvement.
Our mines, if known, were regarded as idle and useless
elements among the wonders of an incomprehensible
creation. Our rivers gratified the eye by their beauty,
but yielded no facilities to the burthens of commerce or
the delights of travel and adventure. Man lived and
moved and had his being, but was clothed with few of
the powers, faculties and advantages which now expand
his influence, elevate his position and multiply his en
joyments. We recognize, we appreciate, by observation and ex
perience, and by the countless evidences which are pre
sented to our attention, the condition of the present; but
no patriarch, made venerable by a life of centuries, lives
to tell us of the condition of the past. No eye which
beholds the scenes now before us, beheld the events of
seventeen hundred and fifty-eight. But though the pa
triarchal age is past, and longevity has, by the fiat of
Heaven, been curtailed of its fair proportions, he who
has attained to three-score years and ten has beheld more
progress and improvement than Adam during the nine
hundred and thirty, or Methusaleh during the nine hun
dred and sixty-nine years of his life.
It would be folly and presumption in me to attempt
to present to this enlightened audience the details of our
present condition. They are patent to every eye, the
theme of every tongue, the delight of every heart. The
wealth, the power, the resources, improvements and

15
achievements of this city, are intimately known and
correctly appreciated by the numerous intelligent and
enterprising citizens who have so long mingled and par
ticipated in the triumphs and conquests which have
given to skill and enterprise a capacity of production,
an extent of market, and a demand for consumption,
that have laid broad and deep the stable foundations of
capital, rewarded the active and patient efforts of toil,
given to persevering industry the just recompense of
comfort and abundance, covered our hills and valleys
with the abodes of manly independence, reared in our
midst the structures of art, the halls of learning, the
temples of religion and the mansions of wealth and re
finement. These honored citizens have, by their successful in
dustry and cautious enterprise, by their high and noble
career of honor, given to our city a rej^utation for safety,
security and stability, unsurpassed in the Union. During
the terrific monetary convulsion which so recently swept
like a tornado over the Old World and the New, scarce
a single citizen of Pittsburgh yielded to its pressure.
Credit, like the tall and sturdy oak, bowed for a time be
fore the fury of the blast ; but, sustained and strength
ened by the honorable efforts and faithful integrity of
these worthy citizens, it soon regained its former erect
and elevated position. The diffusion of intelligence
among the masses of our citizens ; the liberal encourage
ment of arts, science and invention ; the mighty agency
of steam in the abridgment of labor, the economy of

16
time, and the increase of production ; faithful and perse
vering industry ; frugality and economy in raiment, hab
itations, and enjoyments of life; are among the pro
ductive causes which have wrought the Avonderful
changes of a departed century — Avhich have planted
upon the site of a deserted fort and an almost unbroken
wilderness, a city Avhose Avealth and influence attest an
honorable present, and betoken a successful and trium
phant future.
Over all these delightful scenes are thrown the su
premacy of law and the majesty of justice. Around
them exists a military organization of citizen soldiers,
identified Avith the people in feeling and interest, Avhose
strong arms and heroic spirits Avill fearlessly mingle in
terrific encounter, Avhenever and wherever conflict may
come ; and Avho Avill ever stand Avatchful guardians and
faithful sentinels over the rights of property and the se
curity of liberty. We have the authority of Washington
himself, that in the disgraceful and disastrous defeat of
Braddock, the regular troops, the minions of royalty, fled
like sheep before hounds ; Avhile the native-born soldier,
Avho had a home and a country to protect, manfully stood
his ground, or gloriously fell, in the discharge of his
duty. Should the citizen soldiers Avhose presence has so
appropriately honored this occasion, ever be called to
the field, the remembrance of the past, the obligations of
the present, and the hopes of the future, Avill all conspire
to secure a faithful and heroic discharge of duty. The
citizen soldier Avill ever, in a republic, be found the sure

17
and certain guardian and protector of the laAv, Avhose
Avholesome restraints are so essential to the preservation
of liberty.
The historian has told us that when the treachery and
oppression of James the Second had driven him from his
throne and kingdom, and William of Orange was ap
proaching his deserted croAvn and sceptre, among the
distinguished men who met and welcomed him to Eng
land, Avas the veteran Maynard, who, at the age of ninety
years, retaining his faculties in their pristine vigor and
youthful energy, was confessedly the leader of the Bar
of that nation, William, beholding with astonishment
the extraordinary man and his Avonderful capacity,
remarked, " Mr, Sergeant, you must have survived all
the lawyers of your standing." " True," replied the
ready and courtlj'- advocate, " and had it not been for
your Highness, I should have survived the laAvs, too,"
All history has taught us, my friends, that he Avho has
survived the laws Avill soon learn that he has survived
also the liberties of his cou.ntry.
Even a cursory notice of the tribes of aborigines who
once dwelt upon this favored land, Avhose memories
have descended the broad stream of authentic history
or the cloAdous currents of doubtful tradition, Avould
transcend the legitimate limits of the present discourse.
That poAverful combination, the Six Nations of Indians,
once scattered over a large portion of the English colo
nies, is broken ; and the remnants of the tribes have

18
scarce an existence in the wilds of the West, They
have disappeared before the march of civilization. Not
an individual of the aboriginal race remains upon our
soil, Alliquippa, Shingiss, Gyasiitha, Pontiac — braves,
women, children, and their descendants — all, all have
departed ; and most of them have gone to the spirit-
land. The foAv who linger behind and are scattered
over the regions of the West, are the descendants of
those Avho in years long past and gone cast a lingering
glance upon the graves of their fathers, and dispirited
and hopeless wended their sad and solitary way to new
hunting-grounds in the regions of the setting sun.
Forgetting their vices and cruelties, and cherishing only
the remembrance of their manly virtues and generous
deeds, the pale-face may appropriately drop the tear of
sympathy and sorrow for their sad but inevitable fate.
Their presence, their power and their habits, would have
been insuperable barriers to the march of civilization.
The antagonist races could not dwell upon the same soil
or exist under the same government. Among the com
pensations of their departure, are the presence of refine
ment and the triumphs of religion, Avhere once Avere
heard only the shouts of revelry and the echoes of the
chase. All the virtues of civilized society may Avell
unite in grateful acknoAvledgments for their success and
triumphs in a land whose soil Avas once subject to the
sole dominion of the red man. With ardent sympathy
and generous remembrance,Ave express the fervent hope
that the blessings of civilization may alleviate tlieir future
condition, and that their final destiny may be happier

19
than a joyful return to the hunting-grounds of their
fathers. English dominion over the abandoned fort and desert
ed territory Avas of short duration. The privations and
sufferings Avhich marked the struggles between the con
tending powers of France and England soon inured
to the benefit of a rising Republic. Excluding and
repelling the authority of the Old World, that Republic
planted its victorious standard upon the ruins of all for
eign dominion. The fires Avhich slumbered in the ashes
of Fort Duquesne were scarcely extinguished before
the embers of the Revolution were kindled. The ani
mating, guiding and leading spirit of that Revolution, he
AA'hose name and deeds Avere destined to become the won
der and admiration of the Avorld, had already fleshed his
sword and signalized his valor upon the disastrous field
of Braddock, The same sagacious and youthful eye
which in 1753 beheld from yonder eminence, and dis
closed to his countrymen, the advantages of this spot as a
military position, saw at an early day the approaching
conflict with the mother country. Though a faithful
subject of the King, he was ready to peril his life in a
struggle for freedom. He had seen in the cool and des-
perate determination Avith Avhich his beloved regiment
had fought on the banks of the Monongahela, a sure
presage of the manly fortitude and courageous firmness
with Avhich his countrymen in after years struggled
against the tyranny of the sovereign for whose cause
and honor his devoted comrades fought and fell. He
saw in the honored and manly spirit of those AA'ho had

20
fallen in supporting the claims of royalty a sure
evidence of the determined spirit and fearless devotion
Avith Avhich their survivors afterward achieved the lib
erties of their country. When the fullness of time was
come ; Avhen tyranny and oppression became insuj^port-
able ; Avhen the public intelligence became enlightened,
and the public Avill fixed and determined ; Avhen ma
turely Aveighed and considered, the hopes, the proba
bilities and the blessings of freedom became in the esti
mation of the people a counterpoise to the blood and
carnage and suffering that must inevitably foUoAV a for
cible rupture of the existing relations of the colonies and
the mother country ; and when, at last, our courageous
and patriotic ancestors threw into the trembling scale
their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor, and boldly
resolved to strike for freedom ; the assembled represent
atives of the nation deliberately sundered the ties Avhich
had connected us Avith the British crown ; and Pennsyl
vania, doffing the habiliments of Colonial dependence,
became a free and sovereign State, appropriately termed
the Keystone of the Federal Arch, From that moment,
all dependence upon foreign authority ceased; from that
instant, this favored and happy region Avas relieved from
the burden and influence of all dominion save that of
our own country. The power of the Indian had ceased ;
French domination had departed, and British dominion
Avas subverted ; no foreign flag has since Avaved over
these hills and valleys ; and surely the strong arms and
heroic spirits of our citizens Avill never permit the
approach of a similar indignity.
In the establishment of a free and independent State,

21
we realized a natural and legitimate result of the event
Avhich we celebrate. The power of England had been
successfully applied to the extermination of the sover
eignty of France, and the preparation of a most inter
esting theatre for the enjoyment of freedom upon the
extinction of her oavu authority. When that happy
event arrived, well might the hardy pioneer rejoice in
the utter overthrow of both French and English domi
nation ; well might he look to both events as kindred,
connected and essential causes of the great results which
secured to him and his descendants the enjoyment of life,
liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. If he
beheld not the raging flames or mouldering- ruins of
Fort Duquesne, Avell might he regard the soil of
freedom as blessed and enriched by the diffusion of its
ashes. As the Israelite pointed his descendants to the
cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, to the
passage of the sea, the Avilderness and the Jordan,
as among the predetermined events AA'hich marked his
passage to the Promised Land ; so might the pioneer
Avho dwelt on these hills and valleys have pointed his
descendants to the defeat of Braddock, the surrender of
Grant, and the desertion of Fort Duquesne, as fore
ordained and essential events marking- his successful
advent to freedom and his happy deliverance from the
poAver of his enemies. We, the descendants and suc
cessors of the hardy and heroic men Avho have gone
before, may Avell regard the occasion which Ave celebrate
as a golden link in the lengthened chain of events that
connects our happy destiny Avith the dependence and
sufferings of the past.

22
When Pennsylvania became an independent State,
this favored region and its inhabitants became a portion
of her soil and sovereignty. Our fame and our fortunes
became identified Avith hers. Every bloAV aimed at her
prosperity and honor is leveled at us. Every cause
that augments her poAver and resources, elevates her
reputation, or extends her influ.ence, is felt in every
effort of our enterprise and every pulsation of our
hearts. Thus connected, united and identified, well may
Ave dAvell for a moment, on this occasion, upon her
history. In the revolutionary conflict, in the organiza
tion of government, in the protection of the lives, liberty
and security of her citizens, in the promotion of their in
terests and prosperity, her energies have been faithfully,
and in most instances successfully exerted. She has
been prompt and faithful in the discharge of her duties
to the Federal Union, in every department of government
and upon every theatre of action. In the judicial tribu
nals, in the halls of legislation, and in the conflicts of
war, her children have left proud memorials of their
Avisdom, their eloquence and valor. She has contributed
her share to the support of government and the roAvards
of enterprise. In the construction of the great system
of roads Avhich has connected the remote East Avith the
Avaters of the Mississippi, and is destined to reach the
shores of the Pacific, the energies of her citizens have
been nobly and successfully exerted. In her midst arose
lofty mountains which seemed to interpose an insupera
ble barrier to the accomplishment of the mighty project.
Well might the boldest heart and the strongest arm have
refrained from the attempt to accomplish this gigantic

23
enterprise. But the eye of her artists looked confidently
upAvard ; and the combined influence of skill and perse
verance carried the iron Avay up the rugged mountain
side until further ascent became impracticable. In this
emergency, at this critical juncture of the trembling
hopes and dubious fortunes of the daring enterprise, her
combined and concentrated energies smote the lofty
mountain, not as with the spear of Eolus to send forth
the struggling winds to vex the ocean and the land,
but for the noble and generous purpose of opening-
through the lofty elevation a grand highway from the
shores of the East to the fertile valleys of the West,
And now, through the perforated mountain, pours a liv
ing tide of travel and a ceaseless floAv of commerce, to
minister to the enjoyments of life and the success of en-
terj)rise through all coming generations. As the native
of the West journeys onward to behold for the first time
the Avonders of the East ; as the native of the East, Avho
has long dAvelt in the habitations of the West, returns to
visit the happy scenes of his youth, or to behold the
dAvellings or sepulchres of his fathers ; having reached
the highest practicable elevation of the noblest enterprise
of the continent ; having passed securely the dark re
cesses of the mountain ; as he emerges into the light of
day, his eye rests upon the most sublime and lovely
scenes, gilded by the melloAV and softened rays of the
setting sun. And as he glides onward to the distant
scenes of anticipated joys, or to objects halloAved by
reverence and affection, he contemplates Avith grateful
emotion aud admiring regard this achievement of our
venerated Commonwealth.

24

Among the congratulations of this interesting- occasion,
this successful enterprise, this noble contribution to na
tional power and public prosperity, may well be cherished
and commemorated as among her highest honors.
To the Union, Avhich watches over and protects our
national honor and interests, of whose being- and power
we are a component and essential part, a passing notice
is due. Her honor is identified with that of every citizen
of the Republic, Her interests are blended Avith those
of every portion of her soil. Her sovereignty, like that
of the State, is derived from the people. The object of
delegating that sovereignty Avas to protect and promote
interests that could not be protected and promoted by
State authority. It Avas to concentrate the poAvers, en
ergies and faculties of all in the protection of common
rights and the advancement of common interests. A
j)ortion of sovereignty, over enumerated objects, AA-as con.
ceded for specific purposes. The Avorld beheld for the
first time, in the confederation and the union, the com
bined and separate action of concurrent, harmonious and
independent powers, of distinct systems of government
derived from and governing the same people. The Union
sprang from a revolution ; its birth was preceded by the
throes and convulsions of an empire ; it Avas baptized in
blood, and cradled in carnage ; its youth Avas marked by
privation and suffering ; its groAvth was signalized by the
most heroic efforts and the most generous and self-deny
ing virtues; its ultimate triumphs gave joy and gladness,
stability and prosperity, to thirteen free and independent
sovereignties, I shall attempt no detail of that extraor-

25
dinary struggle ; its deeds and triumphs have been re
corded upon the page of authentic history. But the
value of its achievements Avas dependent upon the wis
dom of their improvement. Unconnected and independ
ent sovereignties, having diverse and discordant interests,
they were in danger of perpetual collisions and destruc
tive conflicts. The attainments of united action Avere in
danger of sacrifice to the interests of selfish ambition and
local supremacy. So obvious were these perils and dan
gers, so threatening to the existence and prosperity of
the States, that the wisdom and patriotism which had
survived the dangers of the field, united and combined
in the erection of one of the most Avonderful political
structures that the Avorld ever saw. The fruits of con
quest were consecrated, sanctified and (as Ave hope) made
immortal, in the sanctuary of a Avritten Constitution,
uniting in one system all poAvers, blending all interests,
and concentrating all the faculties essential to national
prosperity, State protection and individual security.
From that Constitution, equaled in its influence and re
sults by no other record since the Revelation of Patmos,
sprang the protection and security of that Union under
whose inspiring influence unnumbered blessings have
been diffused over our country. That Union is Avorthy
of a special remembrance on an occasion like the present,
bringing- to notice and commemoration a remote event
in our history. No government ever jDroduced results
affecting so deeply the destiny, and promoting so exten
sively and universally the Avell-being, of more than
twenty millions of freemen. The Union, having existed
4

26
more than eighty years, has become venerable; may it be
immortal. Its results have no parallel, its history no
counterpart ; antiquity knew not its resemblance, our
own times have not witnessed its equal. Whether we
regard its aims or tendencies, its efforts or consequences ;
whether we contemplate its object, its progress or its
growth ; we are filled Avith admiration. Discarding all
the surroundings of royalty, repudiating all the distinc
tions of caste, position and Avealth, scorning tyranny and
oj)pression, resisting- encroachment, cultivating peace and
harmony, cherishing virtue and morality, it spreads the
regis of its protection over all. No man is above the
reach of its justice, or beneath the influence of its power.
Beloved, revered and venerated; commanding the
homage of every heart, the acquiescence of every will,
the action of every energy ; its onward march has been
marked by a series of triumphs. From its agencies have
sprung the wonders of our history; from causes anoma
lous and singular, have flowed events most extraordinary
and unexpected. What Avonder that from such a source
should spring the events Avhich have signalized our
groAvth and prosperity ; that from chaos and confusion
should emanate order and system ; from discord and clan
ger, tranquility and security ; that on such a soil the tree
of liberty should have spread its branches and diffused
its fruits over a continent ; that from colonial weakness
should have sprung national power ; that from slender,
exhausted resources should have emanated a measure of
wealth securing unlimited credit and unbounded confi-

27
dence ; that from the barren rocks and sterile shores of
an impoverished coast should have sprung the will and
the means to send forth a national and commercial ma
rine that has exhibited our enterprise and displayed our
power in every port and upon every sea ; that under its
protecting influence the hand of toil and the spirit of en
terprise have spread over the length and breadth of our
land wealth without measure and power without stint.
To the nations of the earth, our national government
presents capacities, resources and determination that
command universal respect. In our batteries upon the
ocean, in our fortifications upon the land, in the armed
organization of a military poAver co-extensive with our
national sovereignty, and embracing three millions of
citizen soldiers, repose our safety and security.
In our judicial tribunals the citizen has received a
measure of protection, the laAv an accuracy of exposition,
and justice a certainty of dispensation, unsurpassed in
any age or country. In the supreme judicial tribunal of
the Union, the expositions of constitutional laAv and pri
vate right have shed a lustre over our national reputa
tion. In our own commonwealth, the great and worthy
men who have adorned the Bench, have dispensed public
justice and protected private right, injudicial expositions
which Avill live as long as Justice shall have a votary or
the law an admirer.
When the soldier beholds an open way to the highest

28
honors of rank; when the politician sees the most emi
nent distinction attained by the virtues and i>erseA^erance
of those vvho in early life enjoyed no advantages of pow
er, fortune or friends ; Avhen the student fixes his ambi
tious gaze upon the high places in the halls of learning
and the temples of justice, filled by those whose genius
and labor have triumphed over all the obstacles of pen
ury and obscurity ; when all the A'aried employments of
life behold the results of industry and the accumulations
of enterprise subservient to the power and obedient to
the Avill and wants of those by Avhose efforts they are
produced ; then will the energies of a free people develop
their influence in the production of such events as have
signalized the present generation.
Of all the nations of the earth, the citizens of this free
Republic enjoy a greater portion of liberty and a larger
share of happiness than any other. Cast your eyes on
the development of power, the means of accumulation,
and manifestations of happiness that shed abroad their
influence around you ; compare them Avith the period
when the pale and trembling mother, fleeing- from the
ajoproach of the ruthless saA'age, pressed her precious
offspring to her agitated bosom, as she passed the gates
of the rude fortification ; when the bold and cautious
father kept Avithin reach the unerring rifle to save him
from surprise of the subtle Indian, as he sought the pre
carious means of subsistence for his suffering Avife and
children ; Avhen conflict and carnage marked the strug
gle of the pale-face and the red man for dominion over

29
the country which we inhabit and the spot where we
stand; when only the frail bark of the Indian glided
upon the streams on Avhich the steamer uoav bears the
burthens of commerce or speeds the traveler to the dis
tant scenes of happiness or adventure ; when only the
footsteps of the savage penetrated the trackless Avilds,
where now the steam-car — foreshadoAved by the vision of
the prophet, in the chariots that raged in the streets and
ran like the lightning — bears the traveler onward in the
pursuits of business or enjoyment.
What object could be more suggestive of contrast, of
cultivation and improvement, than the theatre of this
celebration ? One hundred years ago, the smoking ruins
of a deserted fortress presented, upon this spot, a spec
tacle delightful to the eye and heart of the soldier Avho
had fortunately escaped the perils and carnage of an ex
pected encounter, and Avho saw in the scenes before him
the final fate of Fren'ch supremacy in these deserted re
gions. To-day, multitudes of happy and independent
freemen assemble here, in one of the most capacious
depots of the Avorld, erected to facilitate the exchanges of
commerce. From this point, at the head of the beautiful
Ohio, the exhaustless treasures of the East are Avafted
upon the noble stream, to supply the increasing demands
of the West. Here, at the termination of the great rail
way which has surmounted and perforated lofty moun
tains, the boundless productions of the fertile West are
placed upon their sure and speedy transit to the capacious
harbors and endless markets of the East. Stimulating

30
the faculties of production, and augmenting the accumu
lations of industry, may these expanding exchanges,
through all coming time, signalize the diffusion of pros
perity and multiply the means of enjoyment,
Eere, where a cultivated and enlightened civilization
prevails ; where stands the lofty temple, instinct with
prayer and vocal with praise, upon a theatre once dese
crated by Indian depredation and subtle treachery ; here,
on this interesting occasion, ought the influence and re
sults of the Union, signalized and consecrated by the
countless blessings which it has diffused around us, to
be acknowledged and revered by a happy and grateful
people. Here, on this first and last occasion permitted to those
who are now upon the theatre of action, let us, with one
heart and one mind, with sincere and fervent affection,
implore the choicest blessings of HeaA^en upon the de
clining years of the venerable men and women who have
participated in the interesting scenes which have marked
our history, and who in their passage to the grave still
linger in our midst.
The present of our history is full of hope and promise.
The eye delights to behold the joyful scenes, the tongue
to portray, and the heart to appreciate, the incidents con
nected with our position. Like the arch of promise, they
reflect the mingled glories of the genial shower and the
setting sun ; they grace the smiling landscape with the

31
luxuriant verdure of spring, the rich foliage of summer,
and the golden leaf of autumn.
The floAV of time is as ceaseless as that of the current
of the Father of Waters ; the moments which to-day be
long to the eternity of the future, will to-morroAV have
mingled Avith the eternity of the past, A hundred
years will have passed aAvay before the recurrence of a
similar anniversary, A new race Avill then be upon the
theatre of action ; new scenes will be presented to their
vision ; and the events of an added century will press
upon their contemplation. The eye which beholds exist
ing scenes, will then be closed in darkness ; the tongue
Avhich noAV discourses in joy and gladness, Avill then be
hushed in eternal silence ; the hopes and joys and sor
rows that now agitate the bosom, will then have passed
into oblivion. Having, in the course of nature and the
order of Providence, given place to succeeding genera
tions, the present will then repose in the mansions of the
dead. Of the multitudes now dAvelling upon our soil,
history or tradition may preserve a foAV scattered me
morials ; but the multiplied incidents which make up the
everyday life of man, will then be forgotten. We now
witness with delight this joyful anniversary; we shall
never witness another.
But imagination delights to roam in the future, to
people its airy creations with joyful hopes and cheering
anticipations, to beMd in the distance the blest abodes
of loved descendants. It delights to behold upon the
lofty mountain the illumination of a glorious sun ; in the

32
smiling valley, fruitful fields and perpetual verdure ; in
the dwellings of men, unceasing joys and boundless
felicity. Even to the devoted Christian, Avho looks to
the bliss of heaven as the great recompense for earthly
sorrows, the anticipation of a happy journey for himself
and his descendants to that abode, is a consolation and
delight. But when Avith the devotion of the Christian he
mingles the harmonious virtues of the patriot, looking be
yond the boundaries of the destiny of himself and of his
descendants, he contemplates the great aggregate of hopes
and fears, of joys and sorroAvs, of prosperity and adver
sity, that lie in the distant future of his country's history ;
if, casting his eyes upon the lofty elevation of an occasion
like the present, connecting past Avith future generations,
he could behold some venerable seer Avho could disclose
to mortal eye truthful visions of the future, Avith Avhat
trembling and anxiety Avould he implore a glimpse at
the future fortunes of his country. But no seer or pro
phetic eye graces the occasion ; the mysteries of succeed
ing ages are sealed, Avith the utterances of the thunders
Avhich the beloved of the Lord Avas not permitted to
Avrite, Still Ave are permitted to trace analogies. We
are justified in believing and predicting that like causes
Avill produce similar results. If, in the course of a de
parted century, the events Avhich Ave have described have
occurred, and the changes Avhieh Ave liaA^e enumerated
have been Avrought ; if, upon the theatre then controlled
by savage or foreign dominion, free governments and
liberal institutions have been planted ; if the rights, the
security and the happiness of men have been established
upon the ruins of despotism and oppression ; if the most

33
beautiful and perfect political structures Avhich the world
ever beheld, have been reared upon the foundations of
arbitrary power ; if, protected in the enjoyment of just
and equal rights, more than twenty millions of people
have consecrated and sanctified a devotion to free govern
ment that has never before existed, — have enlisted the
popular affections and the popular will in the protection
of the political elements and agencies that have produced
such astonishing results ; if all those elements and
agencies are noAV in harmonious and successful operation,
without a cloud or a shadow resting upon their cheering
future; well may we infer and justly anticipate that, at
the expiration of another century, this Republic, rich in
the treasures of her people, and richer in the memorials
of Avisdom, of eloquence and patriotism, which her chil
dren shall have contributed to their country's prosperity
and renown, will be found pursuing its onward career,
Avith more elevated distinction. And when that joyful
epoch shall arrive, Avell may the fervent imagination of
the enraptured patriot anticipate that, in the revolving-
years and succeeding ages of a glorious future, the insti
tutions of his country, adorned by more lofty virtues,
and sustained by more devoted patriotism, will live and
bloom and flourish, until all the purposes of creation
shall have been accomplished ; until, amid millennial
glories the final consummation shall approach, and — the
voice of the angel of the Apocalypse resounding over sea
and land — the immortal spirit of the last victim of Death,
purified and redeemed, shall enter the Paradise of God.
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