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 WEST POINT CENTENNIAL. 
 
 HISTORIC ORATION, 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE DECORATION OF THE GRAVES OF THE IMMORTAL 
 
 HEROES WHO LIE IN THE NATIONAL CEMETERY AT THAT 
 
 MEMORABLE POST, ON DECORATION DAY, 
 
 MAY 30, 1878. 
 
 BY 
 
 MAJOR HENRY C. DANE, 
 
 OF BOSTON, MASS. 
 
 m;^ 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 
 G. W. Carletojt S^ Co., Publishers, 
 
 LONDON : S. LOW & CO. 
 1878. 
 
 9^ 
 
Copyright, 1878, 
 By H. C. DANE. 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 9 
 
 Trow's 
 
 Printing and Bookbinding Co., 
 
 205-213 East i2ih Si., 
 
 NSW YORK. 
 
To 
 
 9;i)e Immortal ^calfl 
 
 AND 
 
 ®l)c Jfllnstrions Cioing ! 
 
 WHO HAVE GONE OUT FROM OUR MILITARY ACADEMY 
 AT WEST POINT, 
 
 AND 
 
 BY THEIR STEADFAST LOYALTY ! • 
 
 UNSWERVING FIDELITY! 
 
 AND HEROIC SACRIFICES! 
 
 HAVE INSCRIBED THEIR NAMES 
 
 UPON THE HEARTS OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN ; 
 
 AS A FEEBLE TRIBUTE^ OF JUSTICE, 
 
 THIS ORATION 
 
DECORATIVE SERVICES 
 
 WEST POINT CEMETERY. 
 
 Early in the season, "George Washington Camp No. i, 
 United States War Veterans," a new organization, composed 
 of veterans of all our wars, considered the propriety of visiting 
 West Point and decorating the graves of the officers and sol- 
 diers who are buried in the National Cemetery at that Post — a 
 spot hitherto neglected. To apprise the Commandant of the 
 Post and obtain the proper permission, the following letter was 
 addressed to Major- General Schofield, commanding : 
 
 219 East Thirty-sixth Street, } 
 New York, March 18, 1878. \ 
 
 Major-General ]oiin M. Schofield, commanding United States Military 
 Academy, West Point, N. V. : 
 Sir — The Society of United Stales War Veterans has, by resolution, 
 delegated to me the pleasing duty of soliciting from you permission to 
 decorate with flowers, on Decoration Day, May 30th, the graves of Lieuten- 
 ant-General Winfield Scott and other gallant soldiers whose remains are 
 now deposited in the National Cemetery at West Point. By way of ex- 
 planation I would respectfully state, sir, that the society of which I have 
 the honor to be president is composed entirely of those who have been 
 regularly mustered into service and honorably discharged during some one 
 of the wars in which the government of the United States has been en- 
 gaged, treason against the government being the only bar to membership. 
 In the main, sir, our ranks are filled by veterans of the Mexican War and 
 the late rebellion. In the past, on Decoration Day, as members of other 
 societies, we have taken part in the solemn services observed in the imme- 
 diate vicinity of this metropolis. This year, with your kind permission, 
 in our new organization, we propose to charter a steamer and visit a 
 hitherto neglected, but most sacred spot, and there, by an oration and the 
 strewing of flowers, add our mite to the honoring of names that have been 
 
6 DECORATIVE SERVICES AT THE 
 
 rendered immortal in the history of our common country. . I need only 
 add, sir, that our proceedings will be conducted in such a manner as will 
 reflect no discredit upon the fair fame of those we wish to pay this tribute 
 to, or upon their surviving corhrades, which we have the high honor to be. 
 Awaiting your reply, sir, in behalf of my brother members, I have the 
 honor to subscribe myself your obedient servant, 
 
 JAMES M. TURNER, 
 President United States War Veterans. 
 
 To this communication the following prompt reply was 
 received : 
 
 Headquarters, Department of West Point, 
 United States Military Academy, 
 
 West Point, N. Y., March 19, 1878. 
 
 Colonel James M. Turner, No. 219 East Thirty-sixth Street, New York 
 City : 
 Sir — I have to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the iSth inst, asking 
 permission for your "Society of the United States War Veterans" to 
 visit West Point and decorate the graves of Generals Scott, Custer, and 
 others, buried in the West Point Cemetery, on " Decoration Day," the 
 30th of May next, and to inform you that your request is granted. Your 
 steamer will be permitted to land her passengers at the South dock. 
 Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
 
 • J. M. SCHOFIELD, 
 Major- General Commanding. 
 
 Upon the reception of General Schofield's letter, the Camp 
 passed a resolution instructing the president to procure an 
 orator for the occasion. Thereupon a letter was addressed to 
 Major H. C. Dane, of Boston, inviting him to fill that position, 
 and in due season his acceptance was received. To complete 
 the arrangements, the steamer " Sylvan Dell " was chartered, 
 a band engaged, and the relatives and friends of the dead 
 whose graves were to be decorated, with many distinguished 
 army officers and citizens, invited to be present. 
 
 On Decoration Day, notwithstanding a violent storm pre- 
 vailed, the Camp, with numerous invited guests, embarked on 
 their steamer and went to West Point, and decorated the graves 
 of all the officers and privates, who had served on battle-fields. 
 
 When the general decoration was over, the Camp formed in 
 front of General Scott's monument, and proceeded with their 
 special serviqes. The band played a djrge, then the Camp 
 Chaplain, Rev. W. R. Connelly, made an eloquent prayer, 
 
WEST POINT CEMETERY. 7 
 
 such as the time and place could not fail to inspire, after 
 which, four officers of the Camp, each having a basket of cut 
 flowers, stepped out from the ranks and to the grave, succes- 
 sively, and having repeated their respective parts of the beau- 
 tiful service, scattered the flowers over the sacred dust, "to 
 their immortal memory." 
 
 Then the entire Camp formed in single file, and, headed by 
 the Commander, marched around the grave, each one, stopping 
 in front of the monument, and dropped a bouquet, saying at 
 the same time: "This to our comrades; peace to their 
 ashes ! " This closed the services of the Camp, and as the rain 
 was falling in torrents, it was decided not to attempt to deliver 
 the oration at the graves. 
 
 The column then marched to the house of Major-General 
 Schofield, halted on the sidewalk and faced his door. The 
 General immediately appeared on his piazza, when Colonel 
 Turner, approaching him, explained the objects and purposes 
 of the Camp as an association, and, in the presence of the 
 comrades and friends, invested him with the Camp badge, 
 which was received with a few very spirited and patriotic 
 words. 
 
 The column then marched to the dock and re-embarked, 
 and proceeded down the river, having faithfully performed 
 their duty towards those who have won the deepest gratitude 
 of their nation — the lack of which is next to crime. 
 
 When under way, the company assembled on both decks, at 
 the after-part of the boat, and the orator of the day, standing 
 on the companion stairway, proceeded to deliver the following 
 oration : 
 
ORATION. 
 
 Mr. President, Officers of the United States Army, 
 Comrades, and Friends : 
 
 The occasion that brings us together at this time and place 
 is one of pecuHar interest and import. A nation mourns and 
 honors her noble dead ; a grateful people turn from their busy- 
 walks of life, to pay universal tribute to the memories of their 
 loved ones, who willingly sacrificed their lives for their coun- 
 try's safety and honor. 
 
 The custom of decorating the graves of heroes is no new 
 one ; it began far back in the annals of heroic deeds. The 
 use of flowers to note the honor due to those who gave their 
 lives in a noble cause is as old as fame. 
 
 The Greeks and Romans early conceived the propriety of 
 crowning those of their generals, who had been signally victo- 
 rious, with leaves and flowers, in the presence of their armies, 
 whose souls were aroused to higher devotion when they saw 
 the fragrant wreaths placed upon the heads of their proud 
 commanders. In this custom the Romans were particularly 
 generous, and they made marked distinction in their bestowal 
 of these rewards. 
 
 Whenever any of their cities had been besieged, and a 
 general, by his superior tactics and valor, had relieved the 
 beleaguered place, and released its citizens, they immediately 
 gathered the flowers, leaves, and even weeds of the captured 
 place, and, weaving them into a wreath or crown, in the pres- 
 ence of all the army and people, placed it upon the head of 
 the conqueror as a Corona GratnincB Obsidionalis, or " crown 
 of the herbs from the siege." 
 
 Any soldier who, by great personal courage, had succeeded 
 in saving the life of a comrade, at the risk of his own, was 
 presented with the Corona Civica, a wreath of oak leaves. 
 
 To the commanding general, who had won a great battle in 
 
10 DECORATIVE SERVICES AT THE 
 
 the open field, was awarded the Corona TriumpJialis, or 
 laurel wreath ; while at the same time tHe subordinate gen- 
 erals received the Corona Ovalis, or myrtle wreath ; and to 
 the officers of line and privates were given Coronce OliagincB, 
 or olive wreaths. 
 
 From this custom of rewarding the living with floral offer- 
 ings, they soon adopted the further and more sublime custom 
 of meeting at the graves of their dead heroes, on the anni- 
 versaries of their fall, and, after recounting their deeds of valor, 
 decking their urns with leaves and flowers. 
 
 In this custom the Greeks were very active. They extended 
 the offerings to their dead philosophers, poets, and warriors 
 alike. 
 
 The early Christians, when the great persecution and reign 
 of martyrdom transpired, between the years i6o and 200, 
 borrowed the beautiful custom even from their very enemies 
 and persecutors, and practised it with marked sublimity. 
 
 That they might the more effectually excite the survivors to 
 heroic deeds, to firmer fidelity, and to manly defence of their 
 faith and rights, they met at their martyrs' graves, on the 
 anniversaries of their death, which they called their " days 
 of nativity!" or "birth-days into heaven!" and, having 
 offered up their prayers, they read and expounded a portion of 
 Scripture, and then related the heroic deeds of their dead, and 
 sought by these means to excite their fellows to emulate the 
 courage and fortitude of the departed. They then scattered 
 flowers over the ashes of their saints, and, singing a psalm, 
 retired quietly, and often stealthily, to their homes and hiding- 
 places in the mountains and dark ravines. 
 
 "TAnd, my comrades and friends, we have met to continue the 
 custom founded so long ago by the Greeks and Romans, and 
 consecrated by the earliest Christians with the blood of their 
 martyrs, by scattering our floral offerings over the sacred dust 
 of our well-beloved heroes. 
 
 With us the custom has become the grandest spectacle the 
 world ever witnessed. It was left for the Republic of America 
 to gather all the customs of the past, and unite them in one 
 universal observance throughout all the land. 
 
 And to-day, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Lakes 
 to the Gulf, every American, loyal to his flag and country, has 
 laid aside all business, all cares, all other thoughts, to assemble 
 
WEST POINT CEMETERY. II 
 
 around the graves of the Nation's dead, there to recount their 
 heroic deeds, and to express their sorrowing remembrance, by- 
 scattering the emblems of peace, joy, and purity over the 
 ashes of those whose blood was poured out to establish, pro- 
 tect, and preserve this Union and Republic.^ 
 
 And to-day, as its first public act, George Washington Camp, 
 
 No. I, United States War Veterans, with its friends, comes to 
 
 this sacred spot, to decorate, for the first time, these precious 
 
 .graves, where some of the noblest of the land sleep in the 
 
 National heart. 
 
 What a time ! what a place ! is this on which we stand ! As 
 we look about, what memories come in upon the mind, over- 
 whelming it with unutterable emotions ! What a theatre has 
 this ground been ! 
 
 West Point ! — one of the most important points on the conti- 
 nent ; memorable for events and histories that must live while 
 mankind shall honor and respect heroic deeds and stern 
 patriotism ; hallowed by the footsteps of men whose names 
 stand out as the Fathers of the Republic ; the bulwark that 
 saved the colonists in their struggle for Liberty and National 
 existence ; the fountain from which has and will come the 
 skill, courage, and fidelity, to protect and. preserve intact the 
 Union and the Republic as the Fathers left them. 
 
 Standing here to-day, amid these scenes, and over the illus- 
 trious dead who fell in the wars of Independence, 1812, 
 Florida, Mexico, and the Rebellion, as well as those who gave 
 their lives in defence of our frontiers against the savages of the 
 forests, it seems fitting that we should pause for a moment, 
 and consider XkiQ place as well as the day. 
 
 Here Washington had his headquarters for a time, during 
 the darkest of those " days that tried men's souls ; " here the 
 knightly Kosciusko wrought out his plans, and left the im- 
 print of his patriotic genius; here Lafayette, Rochambeau, 
 Green, Knox, Gates, Putnam, Stirling, and a long list of those 
 who counted life cheap in defence of Liberty, counselled in 
 those days when doubts and fears seemed to whisper from 
 every branch and bush. 
 
 Fitly secluded for retirement and study, adorned by nature 
 with everything calculated to please the eye, elevate the soul, 
 and inspire it with patriotic emotion, it was properly selected 
 by the nation and consecrated to the severe training of her 
 
12 DECORATIVE SERVICES AT THE 
 
 sons in military science and patriotic devotion to her in all 
 perils. 
 
 The importance of the Highlands, in a military point of view, 
 very early attracted the attention of the colonists ; and on the 
 30th of May, 1775, the Provincial Congress of New York 
 passed an order appointing Colonel James Clinton and a Mr. 
 Tappan as a committee, with power to call in the assistance of 
 others, to go to the Highlands and select favorable points for 
 fortifications. In June that committee made a report, suggest- 
 ing the erection of a fort on the island opposite, and two others, 
 six miles below, on the west bank, at Pollopon's Creek. In 
 August the construction of those works was ordered, and, on 
 the 29th of that month, Fort Constitution was begun on the 
 island still bearing that name. In November, the same Con- 
 gress appointed Robert J. Livingston, Robert Treat Paine, 
 and J. Langdon a committee " to take an accurate view of 
 our fortifications on Hudson's River, and report regarding 
 their progress." In the same month the committee made 
 their report, in which they said : " The grounds on the West 
 Point are the best for fortifications, and we recommend that a 
 fort be erected thereon." That was the first official recommen- 
 dation to occupy West Point. 
 
 Early in 1776, Lord Stirling, Colonel Putnam, and Colonel 
 Knox were sent, at the request of Washington, to examine the 
 works, and in June, Lord Stirling made the report to Washing- 
 ton, in which he said: " The West Point ought to be forti- 
 fied." 
 
 Matters had now become very active. The works were pro- 
 gressing rapidly, and the Highlands were becoming of the 
 utmost importance to both armies. Early in July, immediately 
 after the Declaration of Independence, General George Clinton, 
 brother of the Colonel, occupied Fort Constitution, then in 
 progress, and garrisoned it. 
 
 All the works were pushed forward vigorously, until Forts 
 Constitution, Montgomery, Clinton, and Independence, just 
 below Anthony's Nose, and the works at Stony Point, with 
 minor batteries, were completed. 
 
 In October, 1777, the enemy attacked the works, capturing 
 Stony Point, and Forts Montgomery and Clinton, and forcing 
 the evacuation of Independence and Constitution. They im- 
 mediately demolished Forts Montgomery and Constitution, 
 
WEST POINT CEMETERY. 1 3 
 
 and began the repair of Fort Clinton, preparatory to fortifying 
 the Highlands on a new basis, as soon as their southern army 
 should make a connection with Burgoyne's on the north. But, 
 as Burgoyne surrendered his army twenty days later, they left 
 and sought safer quarters. 
 
 Soon after the disaster at Stony Point, Washington wrote to 
 General Putnam concerning the great importance of refortify- 
 ing the river at once. " Seize the present opportunity," he 
 said, ** and employ your whole force, _and all the means in 
 your power, for erecting and completing, as far as it shall be 
 possible, such works and obstructions as may be necessary to 
 defend and secure the river against any future attempts of the 
 enemy." 
 
 He also wrote to Governor Clinton particularly regarding 
 this subject, which he esteemed of the most vital importance ; 
 and in reply the Governor wrote, saying : "A strong fortress 
 should be erected on the West Point, opposite to Fort Con- 
 stitution." 
 
 This West Point stood out in the eyes of all as the one 
 important position. But so miich controversy arose as to 
 where and how the works should be rebuilt, that about the 
 beginning of January, 1778, the whole ground was examined 
 by General Putnam, Governor Clinton, General James Clinton, 
 and several other gentlemen, among whom was Colonel 
 Radiere, the French engineer, and they all, except Colonel 
 Radiere, united in the opinion that West Point was the most 
 eligible place to fortify. Radiere opposed the decision, and 
 drew up a report designed to show that the site of Fort Clin- 
 ton, six miles below, possessed much superior advantages. As 
 the engineer was a man of science, and had the confidence of 
 Congress and the Commander-in-chief, General Putnam deemed 
 it expedient to consult the Council and Assembly of New 
 York before he came to a final conclusion. 
 
 Another committee was appointed, which spent several 
 days in examining the banks of the river in the Highlands, 
 and then reported unanimously in favor of West Point as the 
 chief site. 
 
 In the meantime, the voice of Washington, from among his 
 suffering troops at Valley Forge, was appealing to General 
 Putnam to push the work on the Hudson. 
 
 In February, Putnam wrote to him that the work was pro- 
 
14 DECORATIVE SERVICES AT THE 
 
 ceeding with all speed, and that " the chain and anchors were 
 contracted for and would probably be ready by April ist." 
 He also spoke of a new fort that was in rapid progress, which 
 without doubt was the one where Fort Clinton now is. 
 
 Colonel Radiere, the engineer who began the work, not 
 being in sympathy with the selection of the site, failed to 
 enter into it with that energy and devotion the occasion 
 required, and was early removed — Kosciusko, the young 
 Pole who had come to cast his lot with the Colonists, being 
 appointed in his place in March. 
 
 From, that time the work of fortification went rapidly for- 
 ward. Fort Putnam, now a ruin on yonder hill-top, and the 
 fort on i^the point, were begun in January, and that on the 
 point completed in May, 1778, one hundred years digo, giving 
 us the distinguished honor of celebrating its ce7itennial by dec. 
 orating the monument of its engineer. 
 
 In July, 1779, Washington arrived here, and established his 
 headquarters in Moore's house, in the quiet valley below the 
 cemetery, which still bears his illustrious name. 
 
 West Point was then the centre of the army, with General 
 McDougall in immediate command — the rrght extending into 
 Connecticut, under command of General Putnam, and the left 
 in the Highlands under General Heath. 
 
 What a post ! and what an army ! The English had long 
 before denominated it the " Gibraltar of America ; " and here 
 mustered the Spartan band to defend it against the strongest 
 power on earth ! , 
 
 In 1780, still more important events transpired at this post. 
 A general in command, whose name had been honored by the 
 .first fort erected here, and who was known as one of the most 
 recklessly brave men in the army, smarting under what he 
 deemed an unjust sting, and overmastered by vanity and 
 wounded pride, attempted to engraft treason upon the sacred 
 walls of West Point ! The story is too well known to be re- 
 called. 
 
 Interesting as these points of history are, there are others 
 of far deeper interest and importance to us and the American 
 people, and those relate directly to the Military Academy es- 
 tablished here. And on this important occasion it seems highly 
 proper that we should give a few moments' special attention 
 to its history and relation to the Government and the people. 
 
WEST POINT CEMETERY. 1 5 
 
 The first official suggestion of establishing an academy for 
 military training at this post was due to Colonel Pickering, then 
 Quartermaster-General of the army, and was made as early as 
 April, 1783. The war was over, and the questions, as to what 
 should be done with the army, and how it should be estab- 
 lished on a peace basis, came prominently before Congress and 
 the people. 
 
 Washington and his coadjutors in the war of the Revolu- 
 tion had been forcibly impressed with the need and impor- 
 tance of thorough military instruction. The subject called 
 forth the opinions of many of the leading officers, and regard- 
 ing it Colonel Pickering said : '/ If anything like a military 
 academy in America be practicable at this time, it must be 
 grounded on the permanent military establishment for our 
 frontier posts and arsenafs, and the wants of the States, sepa- 
 rately, of officers to command defences on their sea-coasts. 
 On this principle it might be expedient to establish a military 
 school or academy at West Point." 
 
 The matter was discussed in and out of Congress for several 
 years, but with no results towards its establishment. 
 
 Early in January, 1790, General Knox, then Secretary of 
 War, at the request of Washington, drev^ up a detailed plan for 
 a peace army, in which he said : " If the United States possess 
 the vigor of mind to establish a military academy, it may be 
 reasonably expected to produce the most unequivocal advan- 
 tages. By it a glorious national spirit will be introduced, with 
 its extensive train of political consequences." 
 
 Washington laid the matter before Congress, urging its 
 adoption, but it was some years before that body took any 
 steps in this important matter. Both houses seemed to have 
 fears of such an institution. Still Congress saw the need of 
 some kind of an army, and in 1792 it passed an act establish- 
 ing an uniform militia throughout the United States, but 
 made no provisions for military instruction. 
 
 In his annual message of 1793, Washington suggested the 
 inquiry whether the act fully accomplished its objects, and 
 whether a material feature of the scheme of military defence 
 ought not to be, " to afford an opportunity for the study of 
 those branches of the art which can scarcely ever be attained 
 by practice alone." But Congress took no further action upon 
 the matter. 
 
l6 DECORATIVE SERVICES AT THE 
 
 In his last message, in 1796, Washington again presented the 
 subject to Congress, in more expHcit terms, in these signifi- 
 cant words : " The institution of a military academy is also 
 recommended by cogent reasons. However pacific the gene- 
 ral policy of a nation may be, it ought never to be without an 
 adequate stock of military knowledge for emergencies. The 
 first would impair the energy of its character, and both would 
 hazard its safety, or expose it to greater evils, when war 
 could not be avoided. Besides, that war might not depend 
 upon its own choice. In proportion as the observance of pa- 
 cific maxims might exempt a nation from the necessity of prac- 
 tising the rules of the military art, ought to be its care in pre- 
 serving and transmitting, by proper establishments, the knowl- 
 edge of that art. Whatever arguments may be drawn from 
 particular examples superficially reviewed, a thorough exami- 
 nation of the subject will evince that the art of war is both 
 comprehensive and complicated ; that it demands much pre- 
 vious study ; and that the possession of it, in its most im- 
 proved and perfect state, is always of great moment to the 
 security of a nation. This, therefore, ought to be a serious 
 care of every government ; and for this purpose, an academy, 
 where a regular course of instruction is given, is an obvious ex- 
 pedient, which different nations have successfully employed." 
 Prophetic words ! How fully they were illustrated when the 
 whirlwind of rebellion swept over our land ! 
 
 The discussion of the matter now became general and ear- 
 nest, and strong efforts were made to pass a bill to establish an 
 academy during 1800 and 1801, but the prejudice was still so 
 powerful they all failed. 
 
 At last, however, a bill was reported to Congress, and 
 passed March 16, 1802, fixing the military establishment of 
 the United States, and providing for the establishment of a 
 military academy, and locating it at West Point ; and on 
 yonder plain we behold the result. 
 
 On yonder plain ! The results of that act cover a much 
 broader field than that circumscribed by those towering hills 
 and that majestic river ! 
 
 Look on those monuments rising above the noble dust be- 
 neath ! Go traverse the plains of Mexico ; go thread the 
 swamps of Florida ; go stand on the shores of the Northern 
 lakes ; go follow the dark paths of the Western wilderness ; 
 
WEST POINT CEMETERY. 1/ 
 
 go gaze upon the fields of the South ; beneath all those blood- 
 stained sods lie the fruits of that act, in the mouldering forms 
 of the sons who have gone out from those halls, to serve their 
 country and die in her defence and for her glory ! 
 
 Those monuments attest the loyalty and devotion of West 
 Point to the flag ; and the hundreds of thousands of green 
 mounds on every hill-side, and in every valley, over which 
 sad hearts scatter flowers this day, testify to the readiness of 
 the people to gather around and follow West Point to victory 
 or to death in the defence of the Union and the Republic, as 
 they were, as they are, and as they shall remain ! 
 
 And whatever we say of West Point, we must with equal 
 justice say of our Naval Academy at Annapolis. 
 
 West Point has never been properly and fully appreciated by 
 the people. There has been, and still is, a strong prejudice 
 in the popular mind against this Academy, based more upon 
 ignorance than upon good reason. Nay, more : justice de- 
 mands it be said that it rests entirely upon ignorance, or a 
 want of true patriotism. 
 
 The country is much more indebted to the Military Academy 
 than is generally supposed. In the war of 1812 the influence 
 of this institution, then but ten years old, had much to do with 
 the decided results of that conflict. The young and gallant 
 officers, going out from the Academy, carried that " previous 
 study of those branches of the art of war which can scarcely 
 ever be attained by practice alone," which, added to the ex- 
 perience of older officers, aided materially in producing those 
 armies that drove England from these shores the second 
 time. 
 
 And of the sixty-five officers who went from West Point, nine 
 were killed on the field ; one-fourth were wounded, and one- 
 fifth received brevets for gallantry. 
 
 It is a conceded fact that, in all of our wars with the Indians, 
 the West Point graduates have always shown a skill and cour- 
 age unequalled by any other men. In the North, South, or 
 West, they have always met the red men to whip them or die 
 in the attempt. 
 
 In the Florida war this spirit was fully exemplified, where 
 
 ten of the West Point ofiicers fell, eight of them at the same 
 
 time and place ; and yonder silent marble, standing where all 
 
 who journey along that noble river may behold it — silent, yet 
 
 2 
 
1 8 DECORATIVE SERVICES AT THE 
 
 speaking v/ith sublime eloquence — tells in a word their story : 
 " Dade and his command ! " 
 
 On their way to relieve an endangered post, they were sur- 
 prised and slaughtered by an overwhelming band of savages. 
 And they were found, when months had passed, lying where 
 they had stood — dead in their tracks ! every man accounted for ! 
 And at their grave their comrades planted the only cannon 
 they had, where, it is to be hoped, it still stands — a fitting 
 monument for noble dead — forever silent as the hearts that 
 served it ! 
 
 In Mexico, West Point won a position in the military world 
 the nation may well be proud of. In the annals of warfare 
 those campaigns stand out unique and unequalled for hard- 
 fought battles and brilliant victories. In a malarious climate, 
 under a tropic sun in summer, in the intense cold of mountain 
 tops in winter, suffering incredible hardships and privations, 
 with an army of eighty thousand men, we fought a nation of 
 eight millions, having an army five times as large, well officered 
 and equipped, and in less than a year and a half won forty-eight 
 victories, captured forty thousand soldiers, took a thousand 
 cannon, and an immense amount of small arms and munitions 
 of war ; carried ten strongly fortified places, and the enemy's 
 capital, and extended our conquests over vast territories with- 
 out a single defeat ! 
 
 There was the " Army of the West " under General Stephen 
 W. Kearny, where a Corporal's guard raised the Stars and 
 Stripes over the richest country in the world — and then held 
 it! 
 
 There was the " Army of Occupation," under General Tay- 
 lor, which occupied everything it came to, and gave up noth- 
 ing. Its dazzling record was written at Palo Alto, Resaca de la 
 Palma, Monterey, and Buena Vista ! 
 
 And then there was " The Army " which might properly be 
 called "The Grand Army," under the great chieftain who sleeps 
 at our feet ! What a record was theirs, as they made that un- 
 equalled march through an almost unbroken and impenetrable 
 line of fortifications, defended by overwhelming numbers, of 
 which Santa Anna had said : " In every defile of these moun- 
 tains they will find a Thermopylae." 
 
 Scott threw his invincible army against the stronghold of 
 Vera Cruz, before whose steel it crumbled and fell, to the 
 
I 
 
 WEST POINT CEMETERY. I9 
 
 amazement of the enemy, and then on for the Capital. The 
 thrilHng story is told in the memorable'names : Cerro Gordo, 
 Contreras, Churubusco, MoHno del Rey, Chapultepec, and 
 Puebla ! Through all these the conquering hero cut his way, 
 to the Berlin gate and into the proud city, until, like Saul of 
 Israel, head and shoulders above all the people, he stood in 
 the midst of his triumphant armies, and for his great success, 
 thanked the God of Battles, in the halls of the Montezumas ! 
 Glorious spectacle ! Glorious day for America ! Glorious day 
 for her army, and West Point ! 
 
 The Commander-in-chief had fulfilled the prophecy of the 
 great Wellington, who had said when Scott started for his 
 campaign, Jhat if he would adopt the pFan he did, he would 
 become one of the greatest generals of the age. 
 
 The marvellous successes of our armies on those fields is ac- 
 counted for by the fact that the Military Academy had over 
 five Jiundred educated graduates in service, and nearly as many 
 more in civil life, ready to buckle on sword, when the war 
 broke out. 
 
 During the thirty years of lucrative peace after the war of 
 1812, the country had come to look upon our Military 
 Academy as an almost useless expense ; but in that war, the 
 fruits of thorough military education were most apparent. 
 
 Touching this point, the immortal Scott, the one man best 
 qualified to speak, when called before the United States Sen- 
 ate Committee in i860, to testify regarding West Point Acad- 
 emy, said : " I give it as my fixed opinion, that but for our 
 graduating cadets, the war between the United States and 
 Mexico, might, and probably would, have lasted some four or 
 five years, with, in its first half, more defeats than victories 
 falling to our share ; whereas, in less than two campaigns, we 
 conquered a great country and a peace, without the loss of a 
 single battle or a skirmish ! " 
 
 But with all our victories there were dark sides to those 
 campaigns. More than tzventy thousand of our brave men 
 sleep in Mexican soil, and besides scores of brave volunteer 
 officers, many of the noblest sons of West Point fell on those 
 plains. There were Cross and Lear, Burbour and Drum, Mills 
 and Brown, Thornton and Field, Williams and Ransom, Scott 
 and Ringgold, and many others, whose life and death added 
 lustre to these halls, which resounded to their manly footsteps, 
 
20 DECORATIVE SERVICES AT THE 
 
 in the days of their hopeful youth, and glory to the nation for 
 ■which they nobly died ! 
 
 And when the great trial came — the trial that tested every 
 nerve and sinew of the Republic — where stood West Point ? 
 What of the sons who went out from this Alma Mater ? The 
 day has come when the truth may be spoken without reserve. 
 And standing within this sacred enclosure, justice seems to de- 
 mand that it should be spoken, not only in behalf of the Mili- 
 tary Academy, but more especially in behalf of the people. 
 
 West Point has been stigmatized as having been a hot-bed 
 of treason, and opprobrious epithets have been hurled at it by 
 demagogues as being false to the flag and ungrateful to the 
 nation. By the ashes of her founders and her sons, let her 
 record speak for her, without fear or favor. 
 
 When the rebellion broke out, there were four hundred and 
 twenty-five graduates from the Academy, who had resigned and 
 engaged in civil pursuits. Of these, ninety-nine — all but one 
 being from the Southern States — joined the rebels, while two 
 hundred and eighty reva3.med loyal, d,nd forty -six were unac- 
 counted for. 
 
 There were at the same time eight hundred and tzventy 
 serving in the army ; of these, one hundred and eigJity-four 
 resigned, and joined the rebels, and ten which took neither 
 side, leaving six hundred and twenty-six, who stood firmly by 
 the flag and the Union. 
 
 Of the tJiree hundred and thirty graduates, born in, or ap- 
 pointed from Southern States, who were in the military ser- 
 vice when the war broke out, one hundred and sixty-tzvo re- 
 mained loyal, and one Jiundred and sixty-eight went with the 
 South, leaving nearly one-half standing by the stars and 
 stripes ; while sixteen from Northern States, turned their 
 backs to their flag and duty, dishonoring their Alma Mater, 
 and covering themselves with lasting shame. 
 
 Of the West Point graduates who served in the five hundred 
 battles of the Rebellion, one-fifth laid down their lives, and 
 nearly one-half were wounded in defence of the Union, and 
 the remainder have every reason to be proud of their records 
 of service. 
 
 The total number of cadets in the Academy, November i, 
 i860, was tzvo hundred and seventy-eight. Of these eighty-six 
 were appointed from Southern States, of which sixty-five were 
 
WEST POINT CEMETERY. 21 
 
 discharged, dismissed, or resigned from causes connected with 
 the rebellion ; leaving tzventy-one from Southern States to 
 prosecute their studies and graduate from the Academy. 
 
 What was the result of the training at Columbia, Princeton, 
 Union, Yale, and great Harvard, under the shadows of Bunker 
 Hill, or any other college in the land ? And what was the 
 record in the United States Senate and House of Representa- 
 tives ? The Southern sons, in and from those institutions, 
 espoused the cause of secession almost to a man ! while of 
 the tJirce hundred and thirty graduates, and eighty-six cadets, 
 into whose minds the doctrine of " State Allegiance had been 
 instilled for three generations," one hundred and sixty-tivo 
 graduates, and twenty-one cadets, trained under the influences 
 of West Point, battled bravely and firmly against secession, 
 and no less bravely and firmly against every appeal of relatives 
 and friends to swerve them from loyalty and duty. 
 
 Since its establishment, yfz'^ thousand eight Jiundred and sev- 
 enteen cadets have been admitted to the Academy ; of this num- 
 ber, /zc;^? thousand seven hundred and sixteen have graduated. 
 They have represented their Alma Mater in seven hicndrcd and 
 eigJity-four battles for the Union ; they have filled every 
 branch of the National service with talent, efficiency, and 
 integrity ; they have supplied the distinguished civil engineers, 
 who have covered the face of our country with a network of 
 railways, and furnished them with presidents, superintendents, 
 and chief engineers. They have filled every State and nation- 
 al oflice with honor ; they have represented our country at 
 foreign courts with distinction ; they have improved the me- 
 chanical and agricultural sciences ; they have greatly elevated 
 the scientific standard of most of the educational institutions, 
 throughout our country, and furnished them with noted presi- 
 dents, principals, and professors, and to-day twenty-eight 
 graduates are in different institutions on special duty as army 
 officers ; they have improved our rivers, lakes, and harbors, 
 constructed and armed our fortifications, surveyed and lighted 
 our sea-coast, defined our boundaries, explored the length and 
 breadth of our land, pioneered civilization into our new terri- 
 tories, and then protected it ; and they have given to our 
 militia and volunteers large numbers of valuable officers, and 
 led them to the victories that saved the Union. 
 
 Where should we have been in the rebellion but for West 
 
22 DECORATIVE SERVICES AT THE 
 
 Point ! What could our hundreds of thousands of loyal sons, 
 who flocked from every hillside and valley, have done, but for 
 the instruction West Point graduates were able and willing to 
 give, and the gallant leadership of her sons who became so 
 gloriously renowned as generals ? 
 
 I am able to state, on the highest military authority, that, 
 but for West Point and its influence, through standing so 
 loyally by the Union, secession would have been an easily 
 accomplished fact. Every rebel knows the truth of that. 
 Those graduates from West Point, who went with the South, 
 never expected to draw sabres ! 
 
 It was the great body of graduates, standing true to duty, 
 and leading and directing the hosts of the land, that saved the 
 Union in our dire distress. 
 
 And I venture to predict — and I am confident I utter the 
 opinion of the best minds of the land— that if this grand Re- 
 public ever goes to pieces, it will be because the people have 
 neglected and deserted our Military and Naval Academies. 
 
 It has been charged, and generally believed, that the Military 
 Academy is exclusive, and essentially aristocratic ; that only 
 the favored few could gain admittance, and that the appoint- 
 ments were kept largely within the families of the wealthy, and 
 of army officers. The official records show quite a different 
 fact. Of the five thousand eight hundred and seventeen 
 cadets admitted to the academy, four thousand seven hundred 
 and sixty were the sons of parents in moderate circumstances ; 
 five Jiundred and seventy of parents in reduced circumstances ; 
 seventy-two of indigent parents, and three Jiicndred and thirty- 
 six of independent parents. Nine hundred and four had no 
 fathers, and three hundred and thirty-one with neither parent. 
 Fourteeft hundred and three were the sons of farmers and 
 planters ; four hundred and twenty, of mechanics ; seven Jiun- 
 dred and eighty, of lawyers and judges ; seven hundred and 
 twenty-six of merchants ; three himdred and sixty-four of 
 physicians ; seventy-three, sons of hotel and boarding-house 
 keepers ; one hundred and thirty, of clergymen ; tzvo hundred 
 and seventy-tzvo, of Government officers ; six hundred and 
 twenty-three, of brokers, editors, etc. ; and five hundred and 
 nineteen, of army, navy, and volunteer officers ; and there are 
 several years of which I find no records. And when we con- 
 sider that much less than one-half of the cadets admitted ever 
 
WEST POINT CEMETERY. 23 
 
 graduate, it is easy to estimate the severity of the course of 
 training, and discover that it requires not only a good brain, 
 but also a sound, tough physique, to carry a cadet through. 
 For the duties he meets with here are many, constant, and 
 severe ; and only the very best he can do, all the time, will 
 serve him, that he may go forth bearing the seal of his country, 
 as his reward. 
 
 Those who have looked upon the West Point Academy 
 simply as a school for military science, have overlooked the 
 most important feature of its instruction. Military science is 
 necessary and proper, but that is not all this institution affords. 
 Here is taught that higher and better science : — " a glorious 
 National spirit — with its extensive train of political consequen- 
 ces," of which General Knox spoke. 
 
 Here it is taught that there is something higher and better 
 than fame — and that something is loyal duty. And it is 
 pleasant to state at this time and place, that of all the gradu- 
 ates who have gone forth from here less than half a dozen have 
 ever been known to violate their official trust, or honor, and 
 only one has been known to shrink in the hottest fight. 
 
 My friends, I have prolonged this imperfect review of the 
 history and spirit of our Military Academy, because transpir- 
 ing events seem to warrant it. This Academy was not estab- 
 lished simply for the benefit of its graduates, but more espe- 
 cially for the defence and preservation of the Union and repub- 
 lican institutions. 
 
 West Point was early called the " Gibraltar of America." 
 Has it not become more than that ? Is it not the very heart of 
 the nation, from which run the veins and arteries by which its 
 life-blood of patriotism is kept in circulation, and purified ? 
 From this Academy goes forth a class of gentlemen, trained 
 not only in the science peculiar to their profession, but also 
 schooled in all the elements of chivalrous manhood and that 
 stern loyalty to their country's flag which subordinates all 
 other considerations, wealth, friends, and life. And they are 
 trained to obey, as well as to command, thus qualifying them 
 in an eminent degree to instruct and lead the people at all 
 times in their own defence. 
 
 We may not need a large standing army, but we do need, 
 and must have, enough to protect us against all sudden dangers. 
 We need it not only in times of war, but also in times of peace, 
 
24 DECORATIVE SERVICES AT THE 
 
 when the civil power finds itself too feeble to protect life and 
 property, and is compelled to call to its assistance the stronger 
 and surer military arm ; and it will be well for the people to 
 study the spirit and intent of those who seek to cripple that 
 arm. 
 
 It is true that our small army can only supply an insignifi- 
 cant quota upon emergencies of great magnitude, but it serves 
 as a. grand centre upon which to form the rallying masses in 
 times of danger ; and hence the greater necessity for it, and 
 for the Military Academy, from which has and will come 
 " that adequate stock of military knowledge for emergencies " 
 of which Washington spoke so decidedly. 
 
 And here let the chosen sons of our land imbibe the spirit 
 of freedom these grounds distill ; here let them partake of the 
 patriotism their history inspires ; and let the hallowed memo- 
 ries of those whq founded that Academy, and those who sleep 
 beneath these sods, mould their minds and infuse them with 
 their stern loyalty, until, firm as those " rock-ribbed hills," 
 they shall stand upon the watch-towers, and cry : " We know 
 no North, we know no South, we know no East, we know no 
 West ; we only know our country, our country's safety, and 
 her honor ! " 
 
 And let the American people guard and protect this great 
 bulwark of the Republic with jealous care. Let them see to 
 it that it is kept intact and generously supported ; for, so long 
 as the people rally around their military and naval academies 
 with generous hearts and watchful care, they make strong and 
 secure the inner and outer walls of their defence. 
 
 And let them remember that the hand that strikes at West 
 Point, whether in or out of Congress, strikes at the heart of 
 the Republic, and is moved by the same spirit as that other 
 hand that struck at the same safeguard, on that September 
 day, 1 780 — Benedict Arnold' s ! 
 
 My friends, our armies have always been loyal and true to 
 the people. They have always borne the flag safely through 
 all conflicts, and brought it back untarnished. Ofiicers and 
 men have always fought it out where they were bid to fight ; 
 they have been butchered in the tracks where they have been 
 told to stand ; and they have stood together and died together, 
 without success. And this standing together, and dying to- 
 
WEST POINT CEMETERY. 25 
 
 gether for duty's sake, is the proof of the soldier's character ! 
 And the man who has stood firmly at his post of duty, and 
 done his best, though falling without success, and even with- 
 out a tear being shed over his grave, may still be the victor. 
 He may go down thinking he leaves his honor and his fame to 
 the uncertainties of an uncertain posterity ; but, having kept 
 his faith, finished his fight, and performed his duty well, sooner 
 or later a certain posterity will come to do his name full justice. 
 
 And that, my friends, brings us to the central thought of 
 this occasion. We are here, gentlemen of the army, for no hol- 
 iday purpose. We, the citizens of America, have come to 
 this hallowed ground to perform a most sacred duty, in paying 
 our feeble tribute of tender respect to the memories of those 
 whose ashes lie at our feet, and to those whose dust has min- 
 gled with Mother Earth elsewhere. We have come to honor 
 your noble dead — our noble dead. 
 
 Our services are not for a class, but for all. Our tribute cov- 
 ers the entire history of the Republic. We embrace as our 
 comrades all who have served our country faithfully in any 
 war for the Union and its security. 
 
 And, comrades, we honor ourselves far more than the he- 
 roes at whose graves we stand ! 
 
 Look about you ! Read the epitaphs that record the deeds 
 of those who rest in this beautiful camping-ground ! What a 
 company we are in ! Here are some of the founders of the 
 Military Academy ; here are those who shed their blood in 
 the war for independence ; and here are those who have fallen 
 in every war for the preservation and glory of the Union. 
 
 On the outer bastion of yonder fort stands the monument 
 erected by the Cadets of '39 to the memory of Kosciusko. 
 Fitting tribute on fitting ground, where he planted the first de- 
 fence of this eagle's nest, one hundred years ago. Noble, gen- 
 erous, true-hearted Kosciusko ! A lover of freedom, he left his 
 home and country, and coming here, bringing his military train- 
 ing and skill, with his young life, laid them all at the feet of 
 Washington. And to him, more than any other man, the 
 country was indebted for its defensive works, which withstood 
 the attacks of England and resulted in the Republic. 
 
 Washington, Kosciusko, and Lafayette — what names ! And 
 those three compatriots trod side by side over these conse- 
 crated sods. 
 
26 DECORATIVE SERVICES AT THE 
 
 On the Campus stands the hero of the Sixth Corps, still in 
 his harness, looking over the plain. Sedgwick was one of 
 those who rise above titles, and leave their names surrounded 
 only by a halo of glory. His illustrious name, and his com- 
 mand, which he led victoriously over every field, became as 
 one. To speak of one was to mention both. Beloved 
 and honored by the men who never failed to respond to his 
 rallying cry, until he fell in the terrible charges at Spottsyl- 
 vania, as a token of their love and esteem, they raised his 
 statue on the grounds which he honored by his life and his 
 death. 
 
 On the mound near by stands a column, in honor of one of 
 the first heroes of West Point — Colonel E. D. Wood. Any 
 words of mine would mar the tribute recorded on the stone by 
 the man who raised it — "A pupil of this Institution, he died 
 an honor to his country. He was killed while leading a charge 
 at the sortie of Fort Erie, September 17, 1814. He was 
 exemplary as a Christian, and distinguished as a soldier. This 
 monument was erected by his/riend and Commander, Major- 
 General Jacob Brown." And, let us add, stands a monument 
 of honor to both. 
 
 Scattered among the numerous inhabitants of this silent city, 
 are a goodly number who " faced to the front " on the coun- 
 try's battle-fields. There are John B. and Edward Holland, two 
 brothers, in the same grave ; Sergeant Cornelius O'Brien, and 
 Thomas Sexton, and Peter Albers, and George W. Hall, with 
 his signet, " For his Country," and John Maher, who fell at 
 Fort Pickering. And there stands an old moss-covered stone 
 that tells a remarkable story reaching back a century: " To 
 the memory of Ensign Dominic Trant, of the Ninth Massachu- 
 setts Regiment," mustered out of mortal service, November 
 7, 1782, aged eighteen ; and listen to what his comrades say 
 of him: '* He was a native of Cork, in Ireland, which place 
 he quitted from a thirst for military glory, and an ardent de- 
 sire to embrace the American cause. He died equally lamented, 
 as he was beloved whilst living, by all who knew him." Close 
 by, under a long granite stone, coffin in shape, are the ashes 
 of one of his comrades, Roger Alden, a Captain in the army 
 of the Revolution. Long indeed has been their sleep, and 
 now we come to wake afresh their memories. 
 
 And casting the sunset shadows across those graves, stands 
 
WEST POINT CEMETERY. 2/ 
 
 the monument of John Lilhe, of Boston, one of the founders of 
 our Military Academy. And just beyond sleeps Sergeant 
 Thomas Rose. Under the beautiful Scotch marble column, 
 lies Colonel J. L. Smith, son of the hero by that name, killed 
 at Molino del Rey ; — a gallant soldier, as he showed himself, 
 in the Shenandoah valley, at the capture of Island No. lO, and 
 at the siege of Corinth, where he repulsed a sortie of the 
 rebels, and a few days later, received his death-blow, while 
 " Charging front, forward." Near him is another veteran of 
 Florida, Lieutenant Edward D. Stockton. 
 
 And surrounding them are Major Wm. H. Shover, Captain 
 Joseph H. Whipple, Major Wm. S. Henry, Major Wm. P. 
 Bainbridge, Lieut Saml. J. Bransford, all of whom won the 
 right to sleep here, by their valor in Florida and Mexico ; and 
 Lieutenant S. P. Reed — who saw but the beginning of military 
 life — and Major Edward B. Hunt, second in his class, a true 
 soldier in the Rebellion, and a brilliant scholar, and bold 
 delver into the mysteries of hidden forces, who was killed at 
 Brooklyn while experimenting under water with his " Sea 
 miner." 
 
 And there lies Colonel Alexander R. Thompson, another 
 victim of the Florida savages. He served his country with 
 great merit during the war of 1812, and was renowned for his 
 indomitable courage, which showed itself in a thrilling degree 
 at his death. At the head of his regiment, in the battle of 
 Okee-cho-bee, after receiving two bullets, severely wounding 
 him, which he utterly disregarded, he still kept his post giving 
 his final order : " Keep steady, men ! Charge the hammock ! 
 Remember the Regiment to which you belong," and led them 
 to the desperate attack, when he received the third bullet, and 
 fell without another word. 
 
 " In that lone grave without a name," in front of General 
 Scott's monument, lies General Sylvanus Thayer ; one of 
 those great engineers, who planted forts along our coasts, 
 built strong walls to keep back the sea, and then hung out the 
 beacon lights to guide our commerce safely to port. Distin- 
 guished on the battle-fields of 1812, and no less as Superin- 
 tendent of. West Point from 1817 to 1833, he came to be 
 known as "The Father of the Academy," which he loved as 
 a beautiful daughter. He also had the honor to represent his 
 country in France on a special mission, while the allied armies 
 
28 DECORATIVE SERVICES AT THE 
 
 occupied it after the fall of the great Napoleon. And after a 
 long and useful life, he came home to rest, with his illustrious 
 sons about him. 
 
 And beyond is the long line of brilliant names, which adorn 
 the pages of American History. There is General Duncan, 
 whose name was a " battle-cry " in Florida and Mexico. 
 Wherever tough work was to be done, there was Duncan and 
 his battery, every, gun of which he loved, as a mother loves 
 her children. 
 
 And Captain O. H. P. Taylor, who served with distinction 
 in Mexico, and later in New Mexico, where he was brevetted 
 for gallantry, and finally killed in a battle with the Indians in 
 Utah. 
 
 And Lieutenant Gaston, killed in the same war by the In- 
 dians. 
 
 And Colonel Benjamin J. Davis, a royal son of Mississippi, 
 who stood faithfully by the flag, in the rebellion. He won his 
 brevet for saving his command at Harper's Ferry, by gallantly 
 cutting his way through the enemy's lines ; and was killed at 
 the head of the 8th New York Cavalry at Beverly Ford, in 
 1863. 
 
 And Colonel Alonzo H. Gushing, who went from the 
 Academy to the battle-fields, in 1861, and fell at Gettysburg, 
 gallantly holding an important position assigned him on that 
 bloody field, until the enemy reached the muzzles of his guns, 
 and struck him down at his post of honor. 
 
 And General John Buford, who was always in the thickest 
 of the fight on thirty fields, and fought his way to the highest 
 rank. 
 
 And General Wm. R. Terrill, a noble son of the Old Domin- 
 ion, who entered the lists at Shiloh and fell at Perryville in.'62. 
 
 And General Burton who, with the fragments of two com- 
 panies, withstood a siege of thirty days at La Paz ; and sub- 
 sequently, at San Antonio, put a large number of Mexicans 
 to flight, capturing their general. 
 
 And Major Silvery, and General T. S. Bowers, who entered 
 the volunteer army in 1861 as a private, and by his gallantry 
 rose to be a Brigadier- General in the Regular Army, and was 
 with General Grant through the entire war, a trusted and effi- 
 cient officer. 
 
 And Captains E. D. Phillips and Cornelius Hook, both of 
 
WEST POINT CEMETERY. 29 
 
 whom rendered great service at Corinth and Vicksburg, where 
 the hard and continued service wore out their young hves. 
 
 And Captain Alexander McRae, the dashing mounted 
 rifleman. A son of North Carohna, he paid dearly for his 
 steadfast loyalty during the Rebellion. Men of the North 
 know very little what loyalty meant for sons of the South. Im- 
 mediately upon the breaking out of hostilities, Captain Mc- 
 Rae's father wrote to him ordering him to resign and come 
 South, which the son promptly refused to do, saying his duty 
 was to stand by his country's flag. To this the father replied, 
 disowning him as a son, and in terms that must have nearly 
 crushed his noble heart. Months later the father wrote him 
 again, saying : " My son John was killed by the Yankees at 
 the battle of Manassas, and now I have no son ! " A bitter 
 message in such an hour ! Our noble hero hid his grief, and 
 kept sternly at his post of duty until he was killed in the bat- 
 tle of Valverde, 1862, and let Americans pay honor to his 
 loyal name. While a cadet in the Academy he was distin- 
 guished for his manly character, noblQ and commanding bear- 
 ing, and by his classmates was proudly styled "The Gen- 
 eral ; " and so universally was he beloved by them, that the 
 largest donors towards his monument were the Southern men 
 of his class, and all honor to them for it. 
 
 And there is General E. A. Hitchcock, worthy grandson 
 of brave old Ethan Allen, who was a true soldier, and gave us 
 the history of the burial of Dade and his command — honor 
 enough for any man. 
 
 And General Robert Anderson, a name that must live with 
 the Republic. A son of Kentucky, he gave his State lasting 
 honor, by standing firmly at his post to receive the first shock 
 of the RebelUon. 
 
 That silent march from Moultrie to Sumter, after which, 
 while the commander knelt in prayer, the devoted little band 
 raised the Stars and Stripes over the doomed fortress, under a 
 midnight sky, is one of the indelible pictures in our country's 
 history. And their standing there for two days, facing the 
 storm of fire that rocked the continent and woke the fierce 
 wrath of a mighty nation, will live forever as one of the most 
 gallant deeds on record. 
 
 General Anderson was not only a soldier, but a thorough 
 Christian and a scholar, and his works form an important fea- 
 
30 DECORATIVE SERVICES AT THE 
 
 ture in the instruction of this Academy and other like insti- 
 tutions. Born at the Soldiers' Retreat, in Kentucky, he was 
 brought to this Soldiers' Retreat, where he rests from his 
 labors, and his works do follow him. 
 
 And there lies Hartsuff, who shed his first blood in Florida, 
 and received his crushing blow on the slaughter fields of An- 
 tietam, which unfitted him for further active service, and cut 
 short a brilliant career. 
 
 And at the end, another ! the dashing, defiant, gloriously 
 heroic Custer, the beau-ideal of an American soldier. As we 
 speak that name, what a scene flashes before our minds ! To 
 tell his story would be to narrate his hundred fights of the 
 Rebellion. The emotions that spring up as we gaze upon that 
 little mound, we dare not attempt to utter ! A right loyal, 
 golden-haired knight was he, who never knew defeat ! He 
 could stand and be butchered, but he could not, he would not, 
 yield ! Of him we may say, as it was said of Bayard the 
 knight, he was " le chevalier sans peiir et sans reproche," for 
 he, too, " was the last as well as first in the fight," and he, 
 too, "died under the trees with his face set towards the 
 enemy ! " 
 
 And here in the centre, flanked by his officers, is the great 
 chieftain of them all, the conqueror of Mexico — Lieutenant- 
 General Winfield Scott. His record forms an important thread 
 in the history of our country, for he figured in the war of 1812, 
 the northern Indian wars, in Florida, in Mexico, and the Re- 
 bellion. And his grandest achievement is told in one line : 
 " From Vera Cruz to Mexico." 
 
 When the Rebellion came, his stalwart form was seen at the 
 front, where he did his best to stay the tide of woe, but in vain. 
 It was the inundation of an angry sea, and was bound to spend 
 its force ere it would recede. It was a terrible experience to 
 the great Captain, and nearly broke that mighty heart, when 
 some of his gallant officers, who had served with such distinc- 
 tion under him in Florida and Mexico, drew their sabres against 
 him, and, above all, against the old Flag, which he and they 
 had borne so gloriously through so many hot fights and into 
 the proud old Halls of the Montezumas ! 
 
 Too old and too feeble to take the field again, he gave way 
 to younger spirits, and, with a sad, sick heart, came to this re- 
 treat, the one place he loved best on earth, and calmly awaited 
 
WEST POINT CEMETERY. 3 1 
 
 the final "Tattoo," which soon followed, when, "with his 
 martial cloak around him," he went to his rest, with the mighty- 
 thunder of war for his funeral march ! 
 
 Sleep, mighty Chieftain ! 'neath this sod, 
 Where only patriots' feet have trod ; 
 Rest, where thy country's heroes rest, 
 Thou proudest of thy country's best ! 
 
 ^ Comrades, our work is done ! We have hung our wreaths 
 of oak, laurel, and even wild flowers and weeds, upon the 
 urns of our illustrious heroes ! We have scattered over 
 their ashes the emblems of peace, joy, and purity ; and we 
 have attempted in a feeble manner to recount some of their 
 glorious deeds, and noble virtues. And, as we leave, let us 
 take with us the spirit of this place ; let us catch the inspira- 
 tion flowing from the histories and associations that cluster 
 around this memorable spot, that we too may stand true to 
 duty, and be ready and able at all times to give the patriot's 
 cry : " My country, may she always be right! but, right or 
 wrong, still my country ! " 
 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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