Soldiers' record, 1869-07-17

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ONE FLAG, ONE LAND, ONE EBAUT, ONE HAND, ONE NATION, EVERMORE!
yOL. 2. HAllTEOllD, OOXIS^., SATURDAY, JULY 17, 18G9. NO. 2.
l o u r s a t i o m e .
DEDICATION ODE.
FOB TUB NATIONAL CBMEL'BKY AT GETTYSBURG,
July 1, 1869.
I.
After the eyes that looked the lips tliat spake
Here, from the shadows of impending death,
Those word^ of solemn breath,
What voice may fitly break
The silence, doubly hallowed, left by bim 1
We can but bow the head, with eyes grown dim,
And, as a Nation's litany, repeat
The phrase his martyrdom hath made complete
Noble as then, but uow more sadly sweet;
"Lot us, the living, rather dedicate
Ourselves to the unfiuished work, which they
Thus far advanced so nobly on its way,
And save the perilled State !
Let us, upon this field where they, the brave,
Their last full measure of devotion gave,
Highly resolve they have not died in vain I
That, under God, the Nation's later birth
Of Freedom, and tlie people's gain
Of their own Sovereij^nty, shall never wane
And perish from the circle of the earth !"
From a perfect text, shall song aspire
To ligtit its faded fire,
And into wandering music turn
Its virtue, simple, sorrowful and stern 7
His voice all elegies anticipated ;
For whatsoe'er the strain.
We hear that one refrain:
"We consecrate ourselves to them, the Consecrated 1
II.
After the thunder-storm our heaven is blue;
Far off, along the borders of the aky,
In silver folds the clouds of battle lie,
With soft, consoling sunlight shining throngh ;
And round the sweeping circles of your hills
The crashing cannon thrills
Have faded from the memory of the air;
And Summer pours from unexhausted fountains
Her bliss on yonder mountains.
The camps are tenantless, the breastworks bare;
Earth keeps no stain where hero b.ood was poured ;
The hornets, humming on their wings of lead.
Have ceased to sting, their angry swarms are dead,
And, harmless in its scabbard rusts tlie sword !
III.
Oh, not till now—oh, now we dare, at last,
To give our heroes fitting consecration !
Not till the soreness ol the strife is past,
And peace hath comforted the weary nation
So long her sad, indignant spirit held
One keen regrst, one throb of pain, unquelled,
So long the land about her feet was waste.
The ashes of the burning lay upon her.
Wo stood beside their graves with brows abased.
Waiting the purer mood to do them honor!
They, through the flames of this dread holocaust,
Tbe patriot's wrath, the soldier's ardor,lost;
They sit above us and above our fashion
In the slow judgment of the creiiping years,
We saw the still reproof upon their taccs ;
We'heard them whisper fr<jm the shining spaces,\
"To-day ye grieve : come not to us witli sorrow!
Wait for the glad, tlie reconciled To-morrow!
Your grief but clouds the ether where we dwell;
Your anger keeps your souls and onrs apart;
But come with peace and pardon all is well;
And come with love, we touch you, heart to heart!"
Immortal Brothers we have heard 1
Our lips declare the reconciling word:
For battle taught, that set us face to face,
Tlie stubborn tempest of the race.
And both from fields no longer alien, come.
To grander action eiinally invited.
Marshaled by Learning's trump, by Labor's drum.
In strife that purifies and makes united I
We force to build, the powers that would destroy :
The uiiisclos, hardened by tlie sabre's grasp.
Now give our hands a firmer clasp ;
We bring not grief to you, but solemn joy 1
And feeling you so near,
Look forward with your eyes divinely clear,
To some sublimely i)erfect, sacred year.
When sons of fathers whom ye overcame
Forget in mutual pride the partial blame.
And join with us, to set the final crowu
Upon your dour renown.
The people's Union in heart aud name !
v.
And yet. ye dead I—and yet
Onr clouded natures cling to one regret;
Wo are not all resigned
To yield with even mind,
Our scarcely risen stars, that here untimely set.
Wo needs must think of history that wa'ts
For lines that live but in their proud beginning.
Arrested promises 4.nd eheateii fates,
Youth's boundless venture and its single winning.
We see the ghosts of deeds they might have done.
The phantom homes that beaconed their endeavor;
The seeds of countless lives in them begun.
That might have multiplied for us fm-ever!
Wo grudjic the better strain of men
That proved itself, and was extinguished then- •
The field with strength and hope so thickly sown,
Wherefrom no other harvest shall be mown:
For all the land, within its clasping seas,
Is poorer now in bravery and beauty,
Such wealth of manly loves and energies
Was given to leach us all the free man's sacred duty !
VI.
Again 'tis they, the Dead,
By whom our hearts are coinfortsd.
Deep as the land blown murmurs of the waves
The answer cometh from a thousand graves :
"Not so : wo are not orphaned of our fato !
Though life were warmest and though love wore
sweetest,
We still have portion in their best estate ;
Our fortune is the fairest and completest!
Our homes are everywhere ; our loves are set
In hearts of man and woman, sweet and vernal;
Courage and truth, the children we beget.
Unmixed of baser earth shall be eternal.
A finer spirit in the blood shall give
The token of the lines wherein we live.
Unselfish force, unconscious nobleness
That in the shocks of fortune stands unshaken,
The hopes that in their very being bless,
The aspiration that to deeds awaken 1
0, if superior virtue ye allow
To us, be sure it still is vital in yon.
That trust like ours shall ever lift the brow,
And strength like ours shall over steel the sinew!
Wo are the blossoms which the storm has cast
From the spring promise of our Freedom's tree,
P-ui-.ing its overgrowth, that so, at last.
Its bitei- fruit more bountiful shall be 1
Content, if, when the balm of time assuages
The branch's hurt some fragrance of our lives
In all the land survives.
And makes their memory sweet through still expand-nig
ages
Thus grandly, they we mourn themselves console us ;
And as their spirits conquer and control us.
We hear from some high realm that lies beyond,
The hero voices of the past respond.
From every State tha^reached a broader right
Throu<>-h fiery gates of battle; from the shock
Of oldlnvasions on the People's rock ;
From tribes that stiod, in King's and Priest's'despite,
From graves, forgotten in the Syrian said,
Or nameless barrows of the Northern strand.
Or gorges of the Alps and Pyrcnes,
Or the dark bowels of devouring seas,
Wherever man for man's sake died—wherever
Death stayed the march of upward climbing feet,
Leaving their present incomplete,
But through far futures crowning their endeavor,
Their ghostly voices to our ears are sent.
As when the'high note of a trumpet wrings
iEolian answers from the strings
Of many a mute unfingered instrument.
Platseaii cymbals thrill for us to day ;
The horns of Sempach in our echoes play,
And nearer yet, and sharper, and more stern.
The slogan rings that startled Bannockburn ;
Till from the field, made green with deed,
The shields are clashed in exultation
Above the dauntless Nation,
That for a continent has fought its Runnymede !
Yes, for a Continent! The heart that beats
With such rich blood of sacrifice
Shall, from the Tropics, drowned with languid heats.
To the blue ramparts of the Northern ice.
Make felt its pulses, all this young world over !
Shall thrill, and shake and sway
Each land that bourgeons in the Western day.
Whatever flag may float, whatever shield may covert!
With fuller iiiauhood every wind is rife.
In every soil are sown the seeds of valor,
Since out of death came forth such boundless life,
Such ruddy beauty out of anguished pallor !
And that war wasted arm
Put forth to lift a sister-liuul from harm,_
Ere the last blood upon the blade was dried,
Shall still be stictchcd to sluilter and to guide,
Boyon i her borders, answering the need
With counsel and with deed,
Along the Eastern and tho Western wave.
Still strong to smite, still beautiful to save !
IX.
Thus in her seat secure.
Where now no distant menaces can roach her,
At last in undivided freedom pure,
She sits, tho unwilling world's unconscious teacher ;
And, day by day, beneath serener skies.
The unshaken pillars of her palace rise.
The doric shaftn, that lightly upward press.
And hide in grace their giant massiveness.
What though the sword has hewn each corner-stone,
Auiul precious blood cements the deep foundation 1
Never by other force have empires grown ;
From other basis never rose a nation !
For strength is born of struggle, faith of doubt.
Of discord law, and freedom of op,jression :
Wo hail from Pisgab, with exultant shout.
The promised Land below us, bright with sin,
And deom its pastures won
Ere toil and blood have earned us their possession !
Kach aspiration of our human earth
liecomes an act through Jceenost pangs of birth ;
Each force to bless, musr joase to be a dream,
And coiHiuer life through agony supreme ;
Each inborn right must outwardly be tested
By stern material weapons ore it stand
In the enduring fabric of tho land,
Secureil for those who yielded it, aud those who
wrested!
This they have done for us who slunibor here,
Awake, alivo, though now so dumbly speaking;
Spreading the board, but tasting not its choer.
Sowing, but never reaping ;
Building, but never sitting in the shade
Of the strong mansion they have made ;
Speaking their word of life with mighty tongue,
But hearing not the echo, milliou voiced,
Of brothers who rejoiced,
From all our river vales and mountains flung !
So take them, Heroes of tho soughtful past.
Open your ranks, let every shining troop
Its |)haiuom banners droop,
To hail Earth's noblest ihartyrs, aud her last.
Take them, 0 Fatliorlaiid,
Wiio, dying conquered ni thy name;
And, with a g.ateful hand.
Inscribe their deed who took away thy blame.
Give for their grandest all, thine insuflicient fame!
Take them, O God ! our Bravo,
The glad fulfillers of Thy dread decree ;
Who grasped tho sword for Peace, and smote to save.
And dying here for Freedom, died for thee I
BAYAKD TAVLOU.
ARMY OP THE POTOMAC.
A meeting of the officers of the Army
of the Potomac was held last Monday
morning, at Steinway Hall, for the pur-pose
of cffectinga permanent organization.
The contest for the office of President ap-peared
to lie between Generals Sheridan
and McOlellan. After several ballots had
been taken, General Sheridan rose and
declined the honor of an election ; upon
which it was proposed to elect him im-animously,
and the motion was carried.
Vice-Presidents, representing each corps
of the army, were than elected; after
which the meeting adjourned.
At 8 P. M. the Society again met at
Steinway Hall. At the back of the plat-form
was exhibited Walker's fine painting
of the battle of Gettysburg, showing the
repulse of Longstreet's charge on the 3d
of June, 1863. Gen. Sheridan presided
at the meeting, and introduced as the ora-tor
of the evening General Joshua L.
Chamberlain, Governor of Maine. Gen-
.eral Chamberlain said that, tho Army of
the Potomac was a subject to which it was
impossible to do justice. The bravery it
had displayed,' the hardships it had un-dergone,
the battles it had fought, the
victories it had won, were themes to which
justice could never be done. He then re-ferred
to the reverses tho army had suffer-ed
in first taking the field. These were
due, he thought, to the fact that the army
had not only to face the foe in front, but
also to protect the city in its rear. He
then spoke of the strategists, to whose ac-count,
he said, many of the reverses suf-fered
by the army must be credited. He
next went on to speak of the victories of
the army. After a time, he said, our ar-my
had become disciplined, and then vic-tory
upon victory followed as certainly as
the sun rose at noon day. The speaker
paid a high compliment to General Grant,
the mention of whose name was loudly
cheered. Sheridan's, Sherman's, McClel-hin's,
Burnside's and Thomas' names also
met with warm applause. The orat ^r con-clu
ledby speaking of the importance of
the victories won by the army. Now, he
said, the oft-quoted phrase may be repeat-ed
with truth, "All quiet on the Potomac.'"
On the conclusion of the orator those
present adjourned to Delmonico's, while
a collation was partaken of. General
Sheridan presided, and among those pres-ent
were Generals McClellan, Meade,
Franklin, Burnside, Spinola, McQuade,
Webb, Chamberlain, Mott, Locke, Torbet,
[Liverill, < asey, Slocum, Upton, Newton,
Wright, Pleasanton, Ingalls, Wuinwright,
Oochriine, Fitz John Porter, Butterfield,
Tremain, Ilatlield, Hyde, Shaler, and Ad-miral
Farragut.
Abput 400 persons assembled in the
dining hall, and, afier the eatables had
been disposed of. General Sheridan an-nounced
that another meeting of tho Soci-ety
would l)e held iitlO o'clock this morn-ing,
to complete the organization of tho
Socioty.
The following toasts were then drank :
1. Our Country—United we stand
divided we fall. 2.' Tho President of the
United States—He led our armies to vic-tory
and tho country to peace. 3. The
Navy of the United States—We rcmomber
its eminent services with gratitude and
admiration. 4. The United States Army.
5. The Volunteer Armies of the United
Stales. 6. The Private Soldier. 7. Our
Fallen Comrades. 8 The Battles of the
Army of the Potomac. 9. Our Invited
Guebts. 10. Sweet hearts and Wives.
Tho first toast was biielly responded
to by Governor Fairchild, of Wiscojisin,
who said that we would be brothers to tlie
men of the South if they wnuld only let
us. No record of the war should be left if
we could have our own way.
The second toast was responded to by
General Chamberlain, who proiesstd his
inability to do justice to the theme, but
paid a most glowing and eloquent tribute
to the gallantry and statesmanship of Gen-eral
Grant.
Admiral Farragut briefly responded to
the third toast.
General Humphreys, General Biirnsidp,
'General Sharp, Chaplain L Gaylord, Gei.-
eral Meade, General Stannard and Gener-al
McCandless responded in brief terms
to the remaining toasts, after which the
company separated. The Society met a-giiin
on Tuesday, General Sheridan in the
chair, and completed the election of offi-cers
by choosing Gen. E. H. Davis treasu
rer. Gen. Sharp, recording secretary, and
Col. Church, of the A/vny and Navy Jour -
nal, corresponding secretary. 'J'he Society
voted that Philadelphia be the next place
of meeting. The time was fixed for April
9. A committee, consisting of Gens. Rico,
Butterfield, Shaler, and Col. Fairman was
appointed to select a place to deposit the
records of the Army of the Potomac.
Congratulatory letters were read from
Gen. S. P. Case, and United States Sena-tor
Cameron. A resolution was passed
authorizing the Executive Committee to
inquire into the expediency of incorpora-ting
the society. A vote of sympathy to
the widows and orphans of the soldiers of
the Army of the Potomac was unanimous-ly
passed, and the Society adjourned.
The officers of the gallant Sixth Corps
of the Army of Potomac met at 10 A. M.
on Monday al Steinway Hall, for the pur-pose
of effecting a temporary organization.
The meeting was called to order by Mrijor-
General William B. Franklin. On mo-tion
of Miijor-General Wright, General
Franklin was appointed Chairman. Bre-vet
Brigadier-General Joseph Jackscm was
appointed temporary Secretory.
On motion of Brigadier-General John
Cochrane, the following Committee of
seven was appointed to report on per-manent
organization: General John
Cochrane, (General Calvin E. Pratt, Gen-eral
Alexander Shaler, Colonel J. W.
Lubte, General George A. Stannard,
Colonel E Sparrow Purdy, and Colwnel
Daniel J. Nevins.
The followin g Executive Committee
was appointed on motion of General John
Cochrane : Major-Generals Wm. B.Frank-lin,
H. G. Wright and John Nowton.
The Chairman stated that all who at
any time were members of the Sixth Corps
are invited to join the organization.
The Executive Committee was empow-ered
to call the Association- together at
some future day for the purpose of ell'ect-ing
a permanent organization, and the
Association adjourned.
ARTILLERY COUPS, ARMY OF THE POTOMAC.
A meeting of the artillery officers, foi-merly
connected with the Army ol'tho
Potomac, was held at Steinway Hall ou
Monday, for the purpose of forming u per-manent
association. The meeting was
called to order by General C. S. Wain-wright,
who nominated General C- H.
Tompkins as temporary chairman, and
Lieutenant J. A. Millard, Jr., for Secr^.-
tary, which was carried.
General J. G. Hazard moved that a
Committee of seven be appointed by the
chair to draft a constitution and bv-laws.
The chairman appointed the following
officers: Major-Goneral H. J . llunt,C'hief
of Artillery, Army of the Potomac; Maj-or-
General Kyler, Brigadier-Generals (J.
S. Wainwnght, J. G. Hazard, J. A. Hall,
G. 11. Tompkins and Abbott.
The Committee was requested to report
at as early a period as practicable.
It was unanimously resolved, on motion
of Brigadier-General Hall, that the Com-mittee
on Organization be requested to
present the name of Major-General H. J.
Hunt for President of tho Association,
The meeting then adjourned until Tues-day.
Officers formerly connected with
tho Artillery Corps of the Army of the
Potomac are requested to send their full
names ; nd addresses to the Acting Secre-tary,
J. A. Millard, No 105 Pearl-street,
for em (. llment in the Association.