F 74 .fl7 P3 Copy 1 Memorial Address Dedication of Monument TO THE MEMORY OF CAPT. SOLOMON PEIRCE A Soldier of the Revolution ARTHUR W. PEIRCE Old Cemetery, Arlington, Mass, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 1903 Memorial Address Dedication of Monument TO THE MEMORY OF CAPT. SOLOMON PEIRCE A Soldier of the Revolution BY ARTHUR W. PEIRCE Old Cemetery, Arlington, Mass. Wednesday, Sept. 2, 1903 R 4 HE TUFTS COLLEGE PRESS 1904 Gilt i^^a.'Jloaa H0\ 13190/ PREFACE This little pamphlet is printed at the request of the descend- ants of Capt. Solomon Peirce and is dedicated to them. It is an attempt to bring back from the fragmentary records of the past the story of the life of a patriot ancestor, and to tell of his part in the great deeds that were the foundation of the Ameri- can nation. Its preparation has been a source of great pleasure to the author. He owes thanks to many of the family for assistance that alone made it possible to prepare it. While the address was written for the occasion of the dedication of a monument to a Revolutionary ancestor, it will still better serve its purpose if it may quicken his descendants to a deeper inter- est in the historical past to which he belonged and to their civic duties as descendants of one who had an honored part in the first great struggle for American liberty. Worthy sons best honor patriot sires. ARTHUR W PEIRCE. Franklin, Mass., July, 1904. I MEMORIAL ADDRESS The heritage of a historic past of valor and honor was never more precious than in this land and in this dav. As our coun- try goes on from one degree of greatness to another ; as her people spread out and take possession, not only of our own broad land, but reach out with beneficent power to lands across the sea ; as prosperity increases and America becomes one of the great nations of the world, we are looking back ever more to the **days of the beginnings", when our sturdy ancestors fought their brave battles against oppression and, in the more peaceful walks of civic life, mapped out the working plans and models of a real and abiding democracy. Every. step forward in the Nation's progress makes us realize the more, for how great a future those stalwart men were building. We honor the fathers of our Republic for their splendid deeds ; we are grateful for the priceless heritage they left us. They were in- deed a noble ancestry, if ;/