COMRADES:
Thirty-three years ago, on this aniversary
of the Month of May, a strange and striking sight
was witnessed for the first time in every part of
the American Union: men, who, then, were yet in
the full development of their menhood, dressed
in military garb, were seen filing on through
streets and roadways, escorting chariots bedecked
with the national colors, and loaded with the
choicest and freshest flowers of spring.
Whither were they directing their steps?
To the stranger or the uninitiated, this
gorgeous pageant might have been mistaken for
a triumphal ovation prepared for the purpose
of doing honor to some conquering hero returning
from the field of Victory. Such, however, was not
the object of this pageant. A higher and nobler
purpose filled the minds of the men who had
gathered together upon that memorable occasion.
They were citizens who remembering that but a
few months previously they had been soldiers,
were bending their steps toward the silent
camping ground wherein reposed the bodies
of those among their comrades whom the dark
Angel of Death had smitten with his wings.
Their object was to decorate their tombs
with flowers and to remind their old friends
whose spirit was still hovering over those
graves, that they had not been forgotten.
There, by the side of those tombs, they spoke
together of days gone by. They talked of their
battles, of their sufferings and of their devotion
to their flag and to their country.
They spoke as if they had wished their
departed friends to hear their voices; as if
they had been in communion with them in their
toughts and their sentiments. They talked as
if all their dead companions had been restored
to life again, and as if they could yet share
in their sorrows or participate in their joys.
They talked as they were wont to do in old familiar
times, when they were pressing forward, with
flags unferled to meet the foe, or when be the
side of the bivouac fire, after a stirring
conflict, they recalled the various incidents
of the day's battle. They talked of that which
both the dead and the living had once done,
when together, in the dark and gloomy hours
of defeat or in the glowing and cheerful
enthusiasm of triumph. And, after sprinkling
the tombs of their dead comrades with flowers,
they returned to their homes, their breast
filled with that gratifying impression which
one experiences who has met an old departed friend.
COMRADES, it is now over thirty years since this
pious duty was performed for the first time. Every
year the number of the participants in the pageant
has become smaller. Every year, some of the old
friends have failed to answer to their name at
the roll call; but not once have the survivors
omitted to perform their duty of visiting the
last resting place of their departed comrades
and of scattering flowers over their graves.
You, Comrades of the Hancock Post, I know,
have never failed to it.
Many a change has taken place since the day
when we were here together for the first time.
The freshness of youth has long since departed
from our cheeks; the body once erect is now
slightly inclining towards the earth; the
soldierly bearing has lost some of its former
spriteness; the hair has grown gray under the
whithering breath of time, but our hearts are
still as warm as ever in their affection for
our dead companions and as devoted to the cause
which once brought us together under the same flag.
COMRADES, we have reached the mature epoch
of our lives when one's thoughts are divided
between contemplation of the past and the prospect
of the probable inheritance he has prepared for
his children in the future. Let us pause for a
moment to cast a look upon those past events.
Have we done our duty them? Have we contributed
our share, no matter how small, towards the
accomplishment of the designs of Providence?
Can it be said of us that we have been but a
swarming multitude composed of undisciplined
bands of destroyers of men, sowing death and
devastation in their path, gloating over the
agony of their fallen foes, the screaming
despair of women and the tears of children?
No Comrades, we were Christian soldiers
fighting for a holy cause and like the
Crusaders of old, who wielded their valiant
swords in their efforts to free their enslaved
brethren moaning under the foot of a ruthless
conqueror, we devoted all our courage, summoned
all our energy in the task of breaking to pieces
the shackles by which three millions of human
beings were kept in bondage. We fought for
liberty and for humanity. We fought also for
the preservation of that sacred compact by
which the founders of the Republic had pledged
themselves to the maintenance of a "government
of the people, by the people and for the people",
and had dedicated the fate of their country to
the proposition that "every man was born free".
Have we faithfully accomplished our task?
History which has recorded our labor and the
grateful thanks of the nation and of the whole
world has given to this question an answer far
more forcible and in a language far more eloquent
that I have in my command. I say "the whole world",
because not only has the American Republic
profited by our efforts, but the war in which
we took part has induced a long stride forward
in the onward march of civilization. Humanity
itself has been freed and the hideous chains of
slavery have been shattered for ever. The year
1863 will mark out one of the most momentous
events in the history of the world and of the
human race; and a thousand years hence, History
will repeat to the then rising generations that
in that year, the disgraceful monster which bore
the name of "slavery" was stifled out of existence,
and humanity freed from its polluting grasps for
ever.
We may therefore look into the past with
satisfaction and with the consciousness that
we have contributed something towards the
advancement of mankind and the happiness of
the generations that will live after us.
But if it be true to say that we have been
useful to humanity and civilization, in securing
the abolition of slavery, it may be safely
affirmed that we have not been less so, in
maintaining the union and the integrity of
the Republic, anb by the same effort, the
great democratic principle of the sovereignty
of the people which lies at its foundation
and is the basis upon which it rests. The
American Republic was the first one among all
the republics known to the world which was
founded upon the principle that every man
was born free and that the source of all
power and of all sovereignty lies in the people
and in the people only. In Athens the
government was in the hands of rival factions,
each of which employed all its power in
controlling the will of the people. Every
deliberation in matters of state was held in
popular assemblies, wherein the influence
of such orators as Demosthenes, Eschines,
Themistocles and Cimon very often carried
the day, and even so at times when their own
personal objects were in direct conflict
with the interest of the nation. The result
of such a system was that the Republic was
in perpetual quarrels with its neighbours
and when called upon to defend its territory,
it become an easy prey to the invader.
Rome exhibited more unity of purpose and
greater strength in action, but its government
was almost exclusively in the hands of a
priviledged class which was distinct from
the rest of the people and formed a real
aristocracy. Its Senate which was its only
deliberative body was composed exclusively
of that class. The mass of the people had but
the negative power of veto which lost its
authority when opposed by the more potent
influence of the Patricians.
The world owes to the genius of the founders
of the American Republic to have framed a system
of government based on the sovereignty of the
people and in which the people is called upon
to take their share in the government by means
of their President, their elective Senate, and
their House of Representatives. So perfect was
this form of Government found to be, that since
the date of its establishment in America, the
principles on which it is founded have
revolutionized the whole of the civilized
world; and to day, with the exception of Russia,
there is not a country in Europe wherein
responsible Government based on the sovereignty
of the people, has not been accepted and it not
actually put into active operation.
COMRADES, it is our pride to have contributed
to the defence of the constitution framed by the
founders of the American Republic and, by
maintaining the Union, we may confidently affirm
that we have saved those principles which are dear
to every lover of freedom from being cast aside,
and republican government based upon democracy,
from being swept away from the face of the earth.
This, Comrades, is the work we have accomplished.
It is by this work in the past that we have helped
the hand of Providence in preparing the happy
future which we desire our children to enjoy.
The war once over, the deadly strife once ended,
every member of this immense army from the highest
commander down to the drummer boy, every one
returned with joy to his former peaceful occupation,
happy and satisfied to have contributed his share
in the restoration of peace and the consolidation
of the Republic.
In our boyish days we were taught to look upon
Cincinnatus, Scipio and Cato as men worthy of our
admiration, because they consented to return to
their former peaceful occupations after they had
vanquished the enemies of their country; but
Comrades, what else did our leaders do but follow
the example set to them by those great Citizens
of Rome? And what say you of the magnanimity
and the patriotic devotion of Mead who but a
few months after he had won the greatest battle
of the war at the head of the army of the Potomac,
submitted to serve under Grant, who was, by
several years, is junior? What say you of Sherman
who would not consent to be appointed
Lieutenant-General, because he was in fear
that General Grant, his superior officer might
be displeased at finding him his equal in rank?
What say you of the same officer whose strategic
science had contributed more than anything else
in bringing the war to a successful issue,
refusing persistantly to accept for his services
any reward beyond his regulation pay? Instances
are numberless of self sacrifices and patriotism
on the part of both officers and men among those
who fought on our side during the war of secession.
But I again repeat: is this all which was done
by the armies of the Republic? We brought the war
to a sucessful issue; we saved the Union, and with
it, the principles of democratic Government; the
war over, we laid down our arms and resumed the
labours of peace: have we stop there? Was that
all we did? No, Comrades - We did more. - We formed
this mighty organization called "The Grand Army
of the Republic" based on fraternity and charity,
which has every where covered the land with its
good work and which is now perpetuating itself in
the children of the veteran soldiers. In our ranks
we have admitted that admirable association of women
known as "The Relief Corps," which has done so much
during the war for the assistance of the sick and
the wounded and whose benevolence has often reached
even to the very heart of those dreadful prisons
werein so many of us had to face sickness, starvation
and death. In the Sons of Veterans, the Government
has found ready material for its late war with Spain.
They found a whole new generation of young men bred
in the school of patriotism and eager to serve their
country as their fathers had done. In the Women's
Relief Corps, they found a fully equipped and
thoroughly organised association of women trained
to give assistance and relief to the sick and
wounded and ready to take the field if necessary.
Such Comrades, has been the work of the Grand
Army of the Republic. It has perpetuated and spread
throughout the country the same spirit of patriotism
and self sacrifice which has distinguished them
during the war. It has maintained its military
character, and through an organisation similar
to their own among the rising generation and more
particularly among children of veterans, they have
arose and fostered the same spirit with which they
themselves are animated.
While doing their duty to the living, they have
not forgotten the dead, and through the influence
of their organisation, the duty of visiting the
resting place of their dead comrades and of
decorating their tombs on this aniversary has
become so universally observed and so fondly
cherished by the whole population that it has
become a national holiday in the Republic.
COMRADES we, as members of the G. A. R. have
met to day to perform this pious duty of doing
honor to our dead Comrades. Let us on this day
sacred to their memory throw our minds back to
the days when they were our companions in the
ranks of the army both in the moments of sufferings
or in the hours of joy. Let us revive in our
recollections their deeds of bravery, their acts
of patriotism for their country and of kindness
and brotherly devotion to their Comrades.
Their race of life is now run, their last battle
has been fought. They have closed their eyes to sleep,
never to wake again. In that eternal sleep let them
rest in peace.
Comrades, whilst performing this sacred duty
towards our dead companions and while thus speaking
of what we have done in our young days in the
American Republic, let us not forget that we are
Canadians, and that we also are living in a
free country. Let us not forget that our first
and dearest affections are for those who are nearer
to our hearts, and that what we did elsewhere many
years ago for the defence of the liberties and the
right of others, we would be ready to do again for
the defence of our own flag and the protection of
our own country. Loyalty and fidelity are the two
cardinal virtues of a soldier, and nowhere should
those virtues be expected to find a more sacred
shrine than in the hearts of those who are called
upon to defend the soil upon which they were born.
But why speak of the defence of our soil? Who are
our ennemies? Are not England and America united
together to spread throughout the world the good
work of civilisation? Are they not actually extending
to one another the hand of friendship? Have we not
seen lately the banner of St. George and the Stars
and Stripes floating side by side or entwined
together? Oh! Canadians; my countrymen, let us
bless Providence that our home is in a land of
freedom under the fostering care of a kind but
mighty nation; but let us also thank Heaven that
we are living side by side of the great Republic
which has done so much for the liberty of mankind
and whose frienship is to us a garantee that for
many years to come our country will enjoy
prosperity and peace.
