Sandusky County, Ohio - Chapter 21: Military History - Memorials, 1909

Chapter 21: Military History - Memorials

The McPherson Monument at Clyde - The Soldiers' Monument at Fremont - The Reinterment of Remains of Major Croghan - A Look Forward - Extract From Mr. Dodge's

M Pherson Monument

On the 3d day of August, 1866, McPherson Monument Society of Clyde was organized. Its officers were Gen. R. P. Buckland of Fremont, president, and Capt. John M. Lemmon of Clyde, secretary. The whole cost of the monument was to be $11,000, and the Clyde society pledged itself to raisé $3,000 of the amount, which it raised by subscription. In addition, this society greatly beautified the cemetery wherein lie the honored remains of the fallen hero. It was through the efforts of General Buckland and Captain Lemmon that Congress was induced to appropriate four bronze cannon, 1,000 muskets and twenty-five cannonballs which have been placed in the cemetery, by the side of the monument. The Society of the Army of the Tennessee raised $3,956 toward the erection of the monument.

There were efforts made to have the Mc- Pherson Monument located at West Point instead of Clyde. Finally, however, a resolution was adopted by the Army of the Tennessee, as follows:

"That we the members of the Army of the Tennessee pledge ourselves to the erection of a monument to the memory of Major Gen. James B. McPherson to be placed over his remains at Clyde, Ohio."

The statute of Major Gen. James Birdseye McPherson, is pronounced a perfect piece of art. The pedestal is of granite, 9 feet in height, and 6% feet at the base. The figure, which is also 9 feet in height, and composed of bronze represents the commander in full military untform, with sword belt and hat. The left hand holds a field-glass, while the right hand and arm are extended as if pointing to where the battle rages fiercest. The piece is from the Cincinnati Art Foundry of Rebisso, Mundhenk & Co., who are also the designers and sculptors of the equestrian statue of McPherson, previously erected at Washington.

The statue occupies a knoll in beautiful Mc- Pherson Cemetery at Clyde, wherein the hero with father and mother and two brothers lie, and which once formed a portion of the homestead of the McPherson family, where the general was born.

The unveiling ceremonies took place July 22, 1881, attended by 15,000 people, a large number of military societies and _ distinguished military men. A _ procession more than a mile long was formed and marched to the cemetery where the assemblage was called to order by Gen. R. B. Hayes, president of the day. The statue was unveiled by Gen. W. T. Sherman; the dedicatory oration was delivered by Gen. M. F. Force. Formal addresses were delivered by Gen. W. E. Strong and Gen. W. T. Sherman, followed by short addresses by Generals Gibson, Hazen, Leggett, Belknap and Keifer. General Force in his oration said:

"In this place, in this presence, in sight of the home of his childhood, where he was born on the 14th of November, 1828, speaking to the playmates of his youth and the comrades of his career, there is little need of saying who James B. McPherson was. They are present who remember the sunny-faced boy, cheerful, generous, affectionate, sttidious, dilieent in every duty; his youthful toil helped to support

284 HISTORY OF a widowed mother. Entering West Point at the age of 19 he feared his limited education would weigh him down, but in a class which included Schofield, Terrell, Sill, Tyler, Hood and afterward Sheridan, he quickly rose to the head and kept his place there. The professor regarded him as one of the ablest men sent forth from the institution."

"Those whom the gods love die young. My memory in a somewhat eventful career of forty years, retains three conspicttous examples. Ss * * x * * *K * Ok * *

"My third youg hero lies buried in Clyde, Ohio, in the orchard where he played as a boy. He, too, died young, only 35 years old, and was of the kind i the gods love 'exceedingly well'. You, his neighbors, knew him as a boy and had a glimpse of him in manhood, and somehow I think a man may not be a prophet or a hero in his own home. You knew his genial, hearty nature, his attachment to his family and neighbors, but you could not see the man as | have seen him, in danger, in battle, when every muscle and every tissue was in full action, when the heroic qualities shone out as a star in the darkest night.

army commander, promotion as rapid as ever marked the progress of the mighty men, in the days of Napoleon, but like a brilliant meteor, 'Loved of the Gods,' his young life went out before we had achieved the full measure of the work demanded of us by the times. * * *x x * * * x * *

"A nation has adopted him as one of her heroes, and long after we are gone, and it may be forgotten, young men will gather about his equestrian statue in Washington and this one at Clyde. Ohio, and say to themselves: 'Behald the type of man who rescued us from anarchy ; who died that freedom might become universal: that America might attain her true place in the gallerv of nations, and whose virtues. heroism, and self-sacrifice we must imitate.' sought elsewhere for language fitted to the subject, but cannot find anything more appropriate than what I myself wrote the day after his death, when the sounds of battle still thundered in my hearing, when my heart was torn by the loss of a comrade and friend, one whom I loved, in whose keeping was the fate of one of our best armies, and whose heart's blood still stained the hand with which I wrote. I therefore beg to reproduce my own report of his death, made after I had consigned him to the care of loving aids to be brought here to Clyde, Ohio, for interment. "Headquarters Military Division of the Mississippi, "In the field near Atlanta, Ga., July 23rd, 1864. "General L. Thomas, Ms Adjutant- General, Umted States Army, "Washington, D. ( Ge

"General: It is my painful duty to report that Brigadier General James B. McPherson, United States Army, Major-General of Volunteers and Commander of the Army of the Tennessee, was kiiled about noon yesterday. At the time of the fatal shot, he was on horseback, placing his troops in position, near the city of Atlanta, and was passing a cross-road from a moving column toward the flank of troops that had already been established on the line. He had quitted me but a few moments before, and was on his way to see in person to the execution of my orders. About the time of the sad event, the enemy had rallied from his entrenchments of Atlanta, and by a circuit, got to the left and rear of this very line, and had begun an attack which resulted in a serious battle, so that General McPherson fell in battle. booted and spurred as the gallant and heroic gentleman should wish; not his loss alone, but the country's, and the army will mourn his death and cherish his memory as that of one who, though comparatively young, had risen by his merit and ability to the command of one of the best armies which the nation had called into existence, to vindicate her honor.

"History tells of but few who so blended the grace and gentleness of the friend with the dignity, courage, faith and manliness of the soldier. * * *

"In grateful recognition of the services and character of General McPherson, his surviving comrades of the Army of the Tennessee and lus friends and neighbors residing at and near his birthplace. Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio, have erected a portrait statue of heroic size in

And Representative Citizens

"His rank, his important command, his brilliant services, the cause for which he died, his talents, his culture, his grace and beauty and soldierly accomplishments, his noble and lovable nature, so affectionate, so gentle, and at the same time so brave and manly, and his heroic death in one of the battles of a decisive campaign, while he was yet in the bloom and promise of early manhood, taken altogether, has given to McPherson a place in the hearts of mankind, more tender and interesting than that which belongs to any other of the thousands of honored heroes whose death in battle his countrymen have been called to mourn. His name will be forever found on the shining roll of the world's best loved heroes." SOLDIERS' MONUMENT. Erected in 1885.

"Where dear Sandusky's waters glide, From storied falls, through meadows wide, By verdant hills on either side To seek Lake Erie's famous tide;

At the general October election held in Sandusky County in 1882, the proposition submitted to the voters by the county commissioners to levy a tax of not more than one-half mill on the dollar, to raise a fund wherewith to build a soldiers' monument, carried by a majority of 2,322 in a vote of 5,246. The proposition originated with Eugene A. Rawson Post G. A. R., of Fremont, which on May 19, 1882, appointed a committee consisting of R. B. Hayes, R. P. Buckland, W. E. Haynes, G. A. Gessner and S. A. J. Snyder, to promote the project. A Monumental Association was incorporated April 19, 1883, the incorporators being R. B. Hayes, R. P. Buckland, W. E. Haynes, J. H. Rhodes, J. M. Lemmon, M. E. Tyler and John B. Rice, of which R. P. Buckland was president, J. H. Rhodes, vice-president, W. E. Haynes, treasurer, and R. B. Hayes, secretary. Pursuant to an Act of the Legislature, passed April 27, 1884, the county commissioners turned over to the Association the funds realized from the taxes levied by them amounting to $7,653.19. The Associa- tion and Eugene A. Rawson Post acted jointly in the prosecution of the matter of the monument to be erected. Plans, specifications and designs for a monument were invited, and September 12, 1884, was designated to examine designs and let contracts for the construction of the monument.

The design of the New England Granite Works was accepted, and the contract awarded to that company, the monument to be of Quincy granite, and the statue Westerly granite. Of course no other site for its erection than Fort Stephenson Park was thought of. February 2, 1885, the Association met and fixed upon Saturday, August 1, 1885, as the day of unveiling, the anniversary of the defense of Fort Stephenson in 1885, falling on Sunday. The monument was completed Wednesday, July 29, 1885. The whole structure is 44 feet, 3 inches high. The platform is 18 feet square and on it rests three bases 514 feet high, the largest being 8 feet g inches square. The die is 4 feet square; on top of that is a cap over which rests the Corinthian column, 3 feet in diameter at the bottom, and 2 feet 6 inches at the top, 18 feet 6 inches in length and fluted. The cap surmounting the column is 4 feet 8 inches square, and 3 feet 6 inches thick. The statue of the soldier is 8 feet high including the base. The statue represents a soldier at parade rest and is a very life like representation. It faces north. The polished die on which the column stands bears the following inscriptions:

To him who hath Borne the Battle And to his Widow and his Orphans. Frected by the people of Sandusky County, 1885. On the east side: Liberty and Union forever, One and Inseparable. 1861 - 1865. On the south side: In Memory of the Victorious Defense of Fort Stephenson, On this spot By Major George Croghan and the Brave Men of his Command. August 2, 1813.

On the west side is the representation of a G. A. R. badge and this inscription: Vacant places at our camp-fires Mutely tell of comrades dead, Fallen in the time of duty, Where the needs of battle led.

The unveiling took place with appropriate ceremonies, military and civic, on the day designated, being the seventy-second anniversary of the defense of Fort Stephenson. Gen. Rutherford B. Hayes was president of the day; Gen. Jacob D. Cox, orator; Capt. John M. Lemmon, historian; Capt. Andrew C. Kemper, poet; Capt. John L. Greene, grand marshal; Rey. Lyman E. Prentiss, chaplain. Gen. Ralph P. Buckland delivered the unveiling address, and removed the flag which enveloped the statue. At the lowest estimate 15,000 people were present.

Among the distinguished guests present were, United States Senators Sherman and Payne, Ex-Governor Foster, Generals Cox, Beatty, Grosvenor, Lee, Leggett, Young, Kennedy, Sanderson, Casement, Sawyer, Fuller and Comly; Judges Foraker, Haynes, Wickham, Lang and Caldwell; Clark Waggoner, James Winans, D. R. Locke, I. F. Mack and W. W.

kins, Cochley and Harkness; Hons. W. D. Hill, Dudly Baldwin, Orrin Follett and R. G. Pennington.- Letters of regret were received from many distinguished persons to whom invitations had been extended, among which are the following: "Mt. McGregor, N. Y., July 14th.

"Gentlemen: General Grant directs me to acknowledge receipt of your kind invitation to be present at the unveiling of the Soldiers' Monument in Fremont on the 1st of August, and to convey to you his heartfelt

When this letter of regret was read by General Hayes, a man in the crowd cried: 'Three cheers for General Grant." A silence oppressive followed. General Hayes said: "If General Grant was living today the proposed three cheers would have found an instantaneous response from all. As it is, the present grief and sorrow in the hearts of the American people

"Dear General: Pardon me if in addressing you as General instead of President, I make a mistake, but I always do so to General Grant, and feel the former title the more familiar. I have received your most friendly note of July 13th and the other one equally kind and acceptable of Mrs. Hayes dated 'Spiegel Grove,' and regret extremely that I must answer both, that every day from this to September 10th, is so parcelled out and dove-tailed that I cannot possibly change a day without violating promises of long standing. * * * The defense of Fort Stephenson, by Croghan and his gallant little band was the necessary precursor to Perry's victory on the Lake, and of General Harrison's triumph and victory at the battle of the Thames. These assured to our immediate ancestors the mastery of the Great West, and from that day to this, the west has been the bulwark of this nation.

"The occasion is worthy a monument to the skies, and nothing could be more congenial to me, personally than to assist, but, as I hope I have demonstrated, it is impossible.

"Your note of the 13th enclosing invitation to be present at the unveiling of the Soldiers' Monument in Fremont, Ohio, Saturday, August 1st, has been received.

"Tt would afford me great pleasure to be present and participate in the unveiling ceremonies on that occasion, which occurring on the anniversary of Major George Croghan's gallant defense of Fort Stephenson, August 2, 1813, is of additional interest, but my official duties interfere with my absence from home, save for brief periods, and oblige me to decline.

"Gentlemen: It will be impossible for me to accept invitation to be present at Fort Stephenson on account of poor health. Will explain by letter.

"Committee Invitations: I sincerely regret that I cannot join in your tribute tomorrow, of grateful recollection to the early heroes of your state. The interest and pleasure which I should have had in being present would have been increased, by realizing on that historic ground, the honor conferred on me, in giving it my name. Your monument, rising from the dust of a century, and the funeral gloom which today covers the country, shows that this Republic is not ungrateful, but generously mindful of good service rendered.

"Headquarters Army of the United States, "Washington, D. C., August 4, 1885. "My Dear Sir: Returning on Saturday from duty in the Indian Territory, I found your very polite note requesting my attendance at the unveiling of the Soldiers' Monument at Fremont, Ohio, on the 1st of August. "T regret very much that I was so situated as to be unable to be present on that interesting occasion. "Yours very truly, "P. H. SHERIDAN, "Lieutenant General."

"Dear Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your courteous invitation to attend the unveiling of the Soldiers' Monument on the Ist of August. I regret that other engagements will render it impossible for me to avail myself of the invitation. With my cordial thanks for the compliment and my best wishes for the complete success of the meeting, I am, respectfully,

"Dear Sir: Being a confirmed invalid unable to leave my home, it is not possible for me to be present on the anniversary of the defense of Fort Stephenson, August 1, 1885. Your polite invitation brings in review a number of historical events connected with your city, that have occurred during the past century. The rapids of Lower Sandusky, where Fremont now is, put a stop to Colonel Bradstreet in October, 1864, on his way to join Colonel Boquet at the forks of the Muskingum.

"During the War of the Revolution many of the expeditions of the British and their Indian allies passed up the Sandusky River to attack the frontier settlements. In the fall of 1781 the Moravian Mission on the Tuscarawas under Zeisberger were forced away from their posts to the towns on the Sandusky and thence to Detroit. Indian and English war parties passed up the river to join in the battle against Colonel Crawford, near Upper Sandusky, in June, 1781. The first Protestant Mission among the Wyandots and the first United States Agency were located at the Lower Rapids in 1803 and 1808, their buildings forming part of the fort constructed in 1812. The first company drafted on the Reserve in April, 1812, under Capt. John Campbell, was ordered there, and assisted in completing the fort. But all these interesting events culminated in the unparalleled discomfiture of the British and Indians in August, 1813, by a young major of Kentucky acting against orders.

"Nothing can be more appropriate than the celebration of a defense so brilliant and complete and the erection of a durable monument to fix the spot forever.

ordinary power, were banded with the red nations of Indiana and the greater west to resist the further advance of the whites. The forts were only isolated out-posts in the midst of hostile territory built to protect the communications of the army with the more distant posts of Chicago and Detroit. For this purpose Fort Stephenson was built here at Lower Sandusky on the hostile side of the river, so that a crossing might always be in the power of our troops. Here was the promise of a frontier place of importance, both for trade with the Indians in time of peace, and a depot of supplies for interior settlements as they might be formed. In these days of railways, we forget the navigable connection with the lake which made the foot of the rapids the natural place of transhipment for the lake commerce, coming by the great watery highway of trade from east to west. Viewed from the standpoint of that time, Lower Sandusky was one of the most important posts and promised to be one of the most important business centers in northern Ohio. * * * It is only when we remember all this that we fully appreciate its military importance an dthe necessity of holding it with a firm and determined grasp."

"My personal acquaintance with them began in the winter of 1863-4, in east Tennessee. On New Year's Eve of 1864 a terrible cyclone of frosty wind swept down from the northwest over the whole valley of the Ohio and Tennessee, reaching and searching with its blasts the whole region to the base of the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. From a mild evening on the 31st of December the thermometer fell in a single hour to zero. It struck the little army in East Tennessee when they were in the worst possible condition to resist its influence. During the Siege of Knoxville they had been shut out from all communication with their base of supplies and when the siege was raised and Longstreet retreated, the winter had set in, and the long mountain roads across Tennessee and Kentucky to the Ohio River were impassable. Chattanooga also had been beleaguered, and no supplies could come by that route. Clothing was worn out, the commissariat was exhausted, and the troops had to live upon the scanty food that could be bought or got by foraging in the country. Their tents were in rags, and what was left of them had to be taken for clothing. The activity of the enemy forbade the building of cantonments and the men had to bivouac in the open air sheltered only by such booths as they could hastily make from the limbs of the trees.

"T found them huddling about the camp-fires in every stage of raggedness and destitution. Few had overcoats, some had no coats at all, many no shoes, and one poor fellow without pantaloons and with an old blanket pulled around him like a petticoat, was roasting a few grains of corn he had collected and washed from the dung where the mules stood. To my sympathetic greeting he answered: 'It's pretty rough General, but we'll see it through.' And that was the spirit that pervaded the whole camp."

Colonel Hayes found Sergeant Gaines at the Barnes Hospital in the Soldiers' Home in Washington. during his father's term as President, and clothed him in the full dress uniform as shown in the portrait, the stripes down the legs of his trousers being sewed on by Lucy Webb Hayes, then the Lady of the White House.

Fremont, Ohio

George Croghan was born at Locust Grove, Kentucky. November 15, 1791. His father, Wilham Croghan, was born in Treland in 1752, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and fought at Brandywine, Monmouth and Germantown. His mother was Lucy Clark, sister of the Conqueror of the Northwest from the British, in 1778. Gen. George Rogers

Clarke. At the age of 17 he entered William and Mary College, from which he graduated with the degree of bachelors of arts. It was his purpose to become a lawyer. But the uprising of the Indian tribes under the leadership of Tecumseh about this time, becoming formidable, Gen. William Henry Harrison, territorial governor of Indiana Territory, issued a call for volunteers to subdue the savages, if possible.

Young Croghan was among the first to respond, and joined the army as a private and was soon promoted to aide-de-camp to General Boyd. He was in the battle at Tippecanoe. When the War of 1812 was declared he again volunteered and was made Captain in the Seyenteenth U. S. Infantry. He was at the Siege of Fort Meigs, in 1813, and for meritorious conduct there was promoted to major. He was thereafter for some time stationed at Upper Sandusky, guarding military supplies from threatened depredations. From that place he was sent to Fort Stephenson, where the crowning achievement of his military career occurred August 2, 1812, the particulars of which, and results have already been related in this volume. That he was proud of the fighting blood inherited from his ancestors will appear from the following words of a letter written by him while in Fort Stephenson, just before the attack:

He resigned from the army in 1817 and moved to New Orleans and in 1824 was made postmaster there; but soon entered the regular army and was made inspector-general with the rank of colonel. He was in the Mexican War, and rendered conspicuous service in the assault upon Monterey. He died of cholera January &, 1849, at New Orleans, where it was generally supposed, that he was buried in one of the numerous cemeteries there, but this proved to be an error. Fremont's patriotic citizen, Col. Webb C. Hayes, several years ago began the search for the hero's remains that they might be re-deposited where he won his renown.

remains were discovered in the Croghan family burial plot at Locust Grove, Kentucky, on the Ohio River. The outer mahogany casket enclosing the remains was badly decomposed, but the leaden casket within was intact. The surviving members of Croghan's family assisted Colonel Hayes in the preparations for the removal of the remains to Fremont and gave free consent to the same.

"The remains arrived in Fremont, Monday evening, June II, 1906, and were conveyed to the city hall on the fort. The room had been beautifully decorated by the George Croghan Chapter, D. A. R., with flowers and evergreen, and myrtle from the Kentucky grave. A detail from Company K stood at the head and foot of the casket as the remains lay in state. On the afternoon of the 13th the flag-draped casket was lifted to the shoulders of six members of Company K, who were preceded by the company's trumpeter, and followed by the five local veterans of the Mexican War who had served in that campaign under Croghan. These veterans acted as honorary pall-bearers. The ladies of the D. A. R. and many citizens followed. The procession passed out in front of the Soldiers' Monument, where it was photographed, and then proceeded to Oakwood Cemetery, marching over the Harrison trail through Spiegel Grove. At Oakwood the remains were placed in the vault, a song was sung by the D. A. R., and the trumpeter sounded taps.

The Celebration

"Thursday, August 2, 1906, dawned auspiciously on the historic citv of Fremont. The Toledo battery, which had arrived the night before and was stationed at Fort Stephenson, aroused the people at sunrise with a salute of twenty-one guns, announcing that the events of the day had begun. Thousands of visitors from far and near, including many prominent offcials of State and Nation, made pilgrimage to the historic shrine of Fort Stephenson. The city was appropriately decorated and every hospitalitv and courtesy possible was extended bv the citizens to their guests.

"At 8 o'clock the casket of Major Croghan, which had been temporarily placed in the vault at Oakwood, was taken therefrom and borne to the city, with military honors of music and soldiery escort. The line of march was over the old Harrison trail, through Spiegel Grove, down Buckland and Birchard Avenues to Park Avenue and then to the high school building where, in the hallway, the casket, draped with flags, was placed. Guarded by a detachment of state troops the remains lay in state until the big parade of the day passed the schoolhouse, when the casket, borne on the shoulders of six stalwart members of the National Guard, was tenderly escorted to Fort Stephenson Park. The civic and military parade, which was the feature of the forenoon, was an imposing spectacle. It was headed by the city police force and fire department, followed by a provisional brigade of the Ohio National Guard commanded by Brig. Gen. W. V. McMaken, O. N. G., the local and visiting posts of the Grand Army of the Republic, Spanish War Veterans, Masons, Woodmen of the World and secret orders, German musical societies, commercial organizations and school children, waving the American emblem and_ singing patriotic songs.

'An interesting link in the procession brought the present event in close touch with the historic past. for in a spacious carryall were Fremont's five Mexican War veterans, Capt. Andrew Kline, his brother Louis Kline, Grant Forgerson, Martin Zeigler and Jacob Faller. They had all personally known Croghan. The parade passed in review before the handsomely decorated stand at Croghan Street and Park Avenue, on which stood Vice-President Fairbanks, Governor Harris, Mayor Tunnington, General Chance, Congressman Mouser, Hon. J. F. Laning and Hon. A. H. Jackson; behind them the governor's. staff, Colonel Kautzman, Colonel Weybrecht, Major Hall, Captain Williams, Captain Knox, Captain Garner, Captain Wood and Lieutenant Moulton. Vice-President Fairbanks stood up in his automobile almost the entire length of Front Street, and with his hat in hand acknowledged the cheers and applause of the crowds, while Governor Harris kept bowing to people on both sides of the street in response to the cheers with which he was greeted. At the high school the procession halted and the Croghan remains were escorted from their resting place at the base of the monument by the George Croghan Chapter of the D. A. R., the members of which had charge of the final interment. The children scattered flowers in the grave, a salute was fired, taps were sounded and the honored dust of the gallant George Croghan was consigned to its final resting-place on the spot and in the sacred soil he had so bravely and loyally defended ninety-three years before. The grave was covered with a large block of Quincy granite bearing this inscription: George Croghan. Major 17th U. S. Infaniry, Defender of Fort Stephenson August ist and 2d, 1813.

Exercises At Fort Stephenson Park

3. Address by Gen. Jesse C. Chance, president of the day. Prayer by W. E. Tressel. Patriotic song by school children. Historical address by Hon. Basil Meek. Music by Light Guard Band. Address by Hon. Samuel S. Dodge. . Patriotic song by school children.

Reception at Spiegel Grove, 6:30 p. m., to the Hon. Charles W. Fairbanks, Vice-President of the United States, and Gen. Andrew L. Harris, Governor of Ohio, and staff.

A Look Forward

In this and the preceding chapter attention has been directed mainly to war and the heroes of war - our own heroes of the past, whom we greatly delight to honor and by erecting monuments and in story and song, to commemorate their heroic deeds.

In the closing portion of the eloquent oration of Hon. S. S. Dodge, at the reinterment, are words which deserve special consideration as turning attention from war toward peace, and as prophetic of the hoped-for, good-timecoming, when all controversies between nations and people shall be settled by arbitration, and when peace shall prevail instead of war; the time when it may be truly said: "Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war," and the promoters of peace may, indeed, be honored as have been the heroes of war.

Hon. S. S. Dodge said: 'My Friends: Wars are cruel. They crush with bioody heel all justice, all happiness, all that is God-like in man. We have but to read the history of nations to discern the hideous slaughters which have marked their progress, and yet man is such a savage that until the present generation he has insisted that the only way to settle things is by the gage of battle. He has covered 100 battle fields with men and horses; with the groans of the wounded and the dying. He has covered the pages of our history with gore; and if history, such history as you have learned here on the banks of this gentle flowing river, that for half a century had been the scene of strife and battle, if such historv I say, cannot cultivate out of man the brutal spirit of war, teach him the wisdom of diplomacy and the need of arbitration, then has the lesson been lost and he has failed to taste the fruit or imbibe the philosophy of humaiity. It is for us to substitute law for war, reason for force, courts of reason for the settlement of controversies among nations following up the maintenance of the law with the vitalizing forces of civilization until all nations are molded into one international brotherhood, yielding to reason and conscience. Then can we draw the sword from its sheath and fling it into the sea rejoicing that it has gone forever. Let us recognize this truth, and today on this anniversary, we will lay a new stone in the temple of universal peace. This temple which shall rise to the very firmament and be as broad as the ends of the earth. May such occasions as this lead us away from an era of wars and battleships and new navies, and bring us to a time when patriotism and humanity can be compatible one with another and to a time When navies are forgotten And fleets are useless things, when the dove shall warm her bosom Beneath the eagle's wings.