USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > Falmouth > The celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, June 15, 1886 > Part 1
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Gc 974.402 F21f 1231500
M. L.
GENEALOG ESTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01095 5109
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I 686. FALMOUTH. 1 886.
FALMOUTH, MASS .: L. F. CLARKE, STEAM PRINTER, (THE LOCAL PRESS.) 1887.
"Upon the request of the inhabitants of Seipican, alias Rochester, to become a township and have the previledges of a town, the Court granted theire desires in yt respect, & the like granted to Suckannes- set inhabitants"
Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. VI June, 4, 1686.
(ii)
THE CELEBRATION
OF THE
TWO HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE INCORPORATION
OF THE
TOWN OF FALMOUTH,
MASSACHUSETTS,
JUNE 15, 1886.
FALMOUTH : PUBLISHED PER ORDER OF THE TOWN. 1887.
Prepared for publication under the supervision of the CHAIRMAN and SECRETARY of the BI-CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE.
1231500 CONTENTS.
PAGE.
TOWN RECORDS, .
7
Report of Committee Favoring the Celebration,
8
Bi-centennial Committee, .
10
Report of Committee rendered March 7, 1887, .
10
Action on Report, .
12
Officers of the Day,
13
Committee to Arrange Details,
13
Marshal's Aids,
16
Programme,
16
THE CELEBRATION,
17
Procession,
17
Exercises in the Tent,
19
Speech by George E. Clarke,
19
Speech by Dr. E. H. Jenkins,
21
Prayer by Rev. E. D. Hall, .
22
Singing,
25
Collation,
25
Oration by General John L. Swift, .
25
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(v)
Action of the Town,
9
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
SENTIMENTS AND RESPONSES.
Addresses by Governor Robinson, Lieutenant-Governor Ames,
Hon. Henry B. Pierce, General Swift, Hon. W. W. Crapo, Rev. J. P. Bodfish, . 57-84
Poem of Mrs. Frances E. Swift, . .
73
Poem written by Samuel C. Lawrence, .
85
SENTIMENTS AND RESPONSES OMITTED ON ACCOUNT OF LACK OF TIME :-
Addresses prepared by Colonel A. D. Hatch, Hon. Charles F. Swift, Rev. E. D. Hall, Captain Thomas H. Law- rence, Elijah Swift, Esq., Rev. H. K. Craig, . . 89-107
BI-CENTENNIAL MUSEUM, . 108-119
Scenes and Incidents, . · 120
Letter from Hon. C. F. Swift, . 122
Fahnonth fifty years ago, . 122
Letters from Weston Jenkins, Esq., Prof. Seth K. Gifford,
Francis H. Lincoln, Katharine Lee Bates, and Hon. R. C.
Davis, M. C., . 126-131
NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS :-
Extracts from Boston Globe, Boston Traveller, and Cape
Cod Item,
132-145
TOWN OFFICERS FOR 1886, 146
VOTING LIST FOR 1886, . ·
147
Preliminary Proceedings.
I N the warrant for the annual Town Meeting to be held March 8th 1886, appeared the following : --
ARTICLE 13.
" To see if the town will vote to raise a sum of money for the pur- pose of celebrating its Second Centennial Anniversary, and take such further action in relation to the same as may be thought necessary. "
Under the above article the records of the Town Clerk show that it was
VOTED : That a committee of three be appointed by the chair to take into consideration the celebration of the Town's Second Centen- nial Anniversary, and to report at the adjourned meeting."
George E. Clarke, Seba A. Holton, and Charles L. Hunt were appointed such committee.
This committee, at the adjourned meeting held April 6th, 1886, presented the following
8
TOWN OF FALMOUTH.
REPORT.
The committee to whom was referred the 13th Article in the warrant relative to celebrating the Second Centennial of the Incorporation of this Town, respectfully submit the following report.
Your committee have carefully considered the matter submitted to them, and are unanimous in their conclusion that it is very desir- able that the Two Hundredth Anniversary of this Municipality should be appropriately observed.
They believe that an observance of the day in a manner commensur- ate, to some extent, with the present wealth and prosperity of the town, will give great satisfaction, profit, and enjoyment to the present residents, and tend to quicken and intensify the love for their native town in the hearts of its many sons and daughters who have sought homes in other places throughout our widely extended country, and be a sufficient inducement to call many of them home again to witness our present prosperity and promise for the future. Your committee are aware that a proper celebration cannot be held without considerable expense to the town ; but they believe that the money thus expended will not wholly be like water spilled upon the ground that cannot be gathered up, but rather to some extent at least, like bread cast upon the waters-" For thou shalt find it after many days."
They believe that many who may be attracted to the town by such a celebration as is contemplated, will be so won by the beauty of its location and its many attractions, as to cast in their lot with us, and build or purchase residences here, and thus increase our prosperity.
9
250THI ANNIVERSARY.
Your committee regard certain features as almost essential to the proper celebration of the day. Among them are a salute of two hundred guns at sunrise ; a procession with martial music ; a his- torical address and a poem by natives of the town, if possible ; a collation, and addresses by returned citizens and invited guests.
They recommend an appropriation of one thousand dollars to defray the expenses of the celebration, not including the collation, and if a free collation is to be given, they recommend the appropria- tion of an additional thousand dollars.
They further recommend that this meeting appoint a committee of fifteen to have full charge of all arrangements with authority to fill vacancies in their own number and to appoint all the sub- committees necessary to carry out successfully a celebration which shall be an honor to this ancient town.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
GEO. E. CLARKE, - SEBA A. HOLTON, Committee. CHAS. L. HUNT.
VOTED : That it is the sense of the meeting that the town do cele- brate its Two hundredth Anniversary. VOTED : To accept the report, and adopt the recommendations of the Bi-centennial Committee, and to appropriate the amount of mon- ey recommended.
The number of the committee was increased from fifteen to nineteen.
IO
TOWN OF FALMOUTH.
The following Bi-centennial Committee was then chosen.
SILAS JONES, GEO. E. CLARKE,
SEBA A. HOLTON,
S. L. HAMLIN, W. H. HEWINS, CHARLES E. DAVIS,
A. F. CROWELL. GEO. W. FISH,
JAMES E. GIFFORD,
SILAS F. SWIFT, WARD ELDRED, SILAS HATCH,
GEO. H. DAVIS,
J. C. ROBINSON,
ASA P. TOBEY,
HENRY H. FAY. *E. PIERSON BEEBE, FRANCIS A. NYE,
REV. B. R. GIFFORD,
·Mr. Beebe having declined. Thos. II. Lawrence was chosen in his place.
Report of the Bi-Centennial Committee present- ed to the town March 7th, 1887.
The committee appointed to make arrangements for the Bi-Cen- tennial Celebration of the Incorporation of this Town immediately organized by the appointment of GEO. E. CLARKE, Chairman, [SILAS JONES, the first member named on the Committee having declined the appointment], and SEBA A. HOLTON, Secretary. E. PIERSON BEEBE having declined to serve on the Committee, THOS. H. LAW- RENCE was chosen in his place. Numerous Sub-committees were ap- pointed, to whom particular duties were assigned, as appear by the records of the Secretary, and they rendered most efficient service in promoting the success of the Celebration. An Executive Committee of five was also selected from the General Committee, to whom was entrusted many of the minor details of the arrangements. The Gen- eral Committee held eleven sessions, many of them prolonged till midnight, and the Executive Committee eight formal sessions, beside many consultations. The whole committee labored most assiduously
II
200TH ANNIVERSARY.
to make every possible arrangement for a celebration which should be an honor to the town : with what success we leave you who were present and participated to judge. The Preliminary Committee to whom the article in the warrant at the last annual meeting was re- ferred, in making this recommendation, supposed that provisions for entertaining two thousand people would be ample, and based their recommendation for an appropriation of two thousand dollars, on that number. But the interest manifested in all parts of the town, and by the natives and former residents of Falmouth now residing abroad, soon convinced your committee that a much larger number must be provided for, or the Celebration would prove a failure. To meet this emergency the committee (to use the language of another committee under similar circumstances,) assumed the responsibility of increased expenditures under the conviction that it would be far better for the committee to suffer the censure of the town, than that the town with its well-earned reputation for liberality and hospitality, should suffer the discredit of making inadequate preparations for en- tertaining its citizens and invited guests. The committee, therefore, assumed the responsibility of providing for over three thousand per- sons, and the result proved that this number was none to large. The total cost, as appears by the report of the Committee on Accounts, exceeded the appropriation by the sum of eight hundred and eighty- six dollars.
For the Committee, GEO. E. CLARKE, Chairman. S. A. HOLTON, Secretary.
12
TOWN OF FALMOUTH.
VOTED : "That the town reimburse the Bi-centennial committee for the amount expended by them in excess of the town's appropria- tion."
VOTED : "That the publishing of the doings of the Bi-centennial com- mittee be referred to the Executive Committee of the same, with in- structions to report at the adjourned meeting."
Report of the Executive Committee submitted at the adjourn- ed meeting, April 5th, 1887.
" The committee to whom was referred Article 20th of the Warrant, would respectfully recommend that the town publish seven hundred copies of the proceedings of the Bi-Centennial Celebration, and distribute, in pamphlet form, one copy to each family in town at the estimated expense of three hundred and twenty-five dollars. They further recommend that each person entitled to receive a copy, should this recommendation be adopted, may have the privilege of having it bound in cloth by giving notice seasonably in advance to the committee having the publication in charge, and paying twenty- five cents to cover the cost of binding."
For the committee, GEO. E. CLARKE.
VOTED. "That the Executive Committee of the Bi-Centennial Committee be authorized to print the proceedings agreeable to their . report."
Three hundred and twenty-five dollars were appropriated therefor.
The committee made the following appointments for the day of celebration :
13
200TH ANNIVERSARY.
PRESIDENT. EDWARD H. JENKINS, Ph. D., of New Haven, Conn. CHIEF MARSHAL. JAS. N. PARKER of New Bedford. CHAPLAIN. REV. E. D. HALL of Providence. [All natives of Falmouth.] POET. SAMUEL C. LAWRENCE. ORATOR. GEN. JOHN L. SWIFT. POETESS. MRS. FRANCES E. SWIFT.
They appointed the following committees to arrange details of the celebration, as follows :
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
Geo. E. Clarke, Joshua C. Robinson,
Seba A. Holton, S. L. Hamlin,
Wm. H. Hewins. SALUTE. Chas. E. Davis,
A. M. Goodspeed,
Asa P. Tobey. TENTS. A. F. Crowell,
Francis A. Nye, J. C. Robinson, Jas. E. Gifford,
A. F. Crowell, A. Phinney, Geo. E. Clarke,
Wm. H. Hewins, Silas Jones, I. Sargent, Thos. D. Fish,
Ward Eldred, Wm. C. Davis, Vinal N. Edwards,
G. W. Jones,
Joseph C. Fish, Jr., Lewis H. Lawrence,
B. C. Cahoon,
H. V. Lawrence,
Geo. H. Davis,
Chas. S. Newcomb,
Capt. H. C. Chester, Isaiah Spindel,
Frank J. C. Swift.
Francis A. Nye,
Silas F. Swift. INVITATIONS.
Silas Hatch. DECORATIONS.
14
TOWN OF FALMOUTH.
COLLATION.
J. C. Robinson, E. E. C. Swift, Geo. W. Fish,
Prince D. Swift,
B. C. Cahoon. MARTIAL MUSIC ..
Francis A. Nyc, Prince D. Swift, Chas. H. Nye. VOCAL MUSIC.
Chas. L. Hunt, Robinson C. Bodfish,
Thos. B. Landers. TOASTS.
Geo. E. Clarke,
Chas. N. Thayer,
Chas. L. Hunt, Wm F. Hayward,
Rev. H. K. Craig. MUSEUM.
Rev. B. R. Gifford,
Joseph D. Winslow,
Caleb O. Hamblin, S. L. Hamlin,
Miss Abbie L. Eldred,
N. P. Baker,
Chas. N. Thayer, Miss Lydia G. Robinson.
Mrs. H. A. Nye, Mrs. R. P. Gifford,
Mrs. Lydia P. Hinckley.
ENTERTAINMENT.
Silas Jones, Wm. F. Jones,
Jas. B. Wood,
Geo. W. Fish,
P. A. Roberts, Geo. E. Clarke,
W. H. Hewins, R. P. Gifford,
L. H. Lawrence,
Daniel Bowerman,
Walter O. Luscomb. S. L. Hamlin,
Wm. Nye,
H. C. Lewis,
T. H. Lawrence. TEAMS.
B. C. Cahoon,
E. E. C. Swift,
Geo. H. Davis.
R. R. TRANSPORTATION.
Francis A. Nye, Chas. H. Nye,
Geo. B. Young.
15
200TH ANNIVERSARY.
PRINTING.
Henry Jones, Lewis F. Clarke, Ward Eldred.
BADGES.
W. II. Hewins, J. C. Robinson,
Chas. E. Davis. FINANCES.
W. H. Hewins, Ward Eldred,
Geo. E. Clarke. EVENING ENTERTAINMENT.
W. H. Hewins,
A. F. Crowell,
J. C. Robinson,
Geo. W. Fish,
Walter O. Luscomb, Arthur Underwood.
LOCATION FOR TENT.
S. L. Hamlin, S. A. Holton,
W. H. Hewins, Lewis H. Lawrence,
Silas Jones. SEATS AND TABLES.
A. F. Crowell, S. F. Swift,
P. D. Swift,
Foster S. Shiverick,
B. B. King, J. M. Lumbert,
Hiram E. Small, W. W. Chadwick,
C. S. Newcomb, T. B. Landers,
T. Il. Lawrence.
FLORAL DECORATIONS.
HI. V. Lawrence, H. H. Fay,
Wm. C. Davis,
D. R. Wicks,
Geo. Look.
Frank H. Beche,
Mrs. J. B. Wood, Miss Mary A. Nye,
Miss Etta L. Davis, Miss Bessie D. Davis,
Miss Hattie B. Swift.
RECEPTION.
Silas Jones, Wm. Nyc,
Rev. B. R. Gifford,
Benj. HI. Hatch,
Joseph Wing,
Abishai Phinney,
Lorenzo Eldred. PROCESSION.
C. L. Hunt,
Geo. E. Clarke,
T. II. Lawrence.
16
TOWN OF FALMOUTH.
The Chief Marshal chose the following aids :
FREEMAN C. LUCE. Chief of Staff. Leander II. Swift, Vinal F. Hatch. Joseph C. Burgess, Andrew W. Davis,
J. G. Wright.
The date of the town's incorporation was June 4, 1686, O. S. ; hence, in changing to N. S., June 15th was selected as the date of Celebration. The following was the programme for the day :
I686. 1886.
FALMOUTH'S BI-CENTENNIAL.
TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 1886.
ORDER OF EXERCISES.
Bt-Centenmal Salute, Two Hundred Guns at Sunrise.
Procession formed on Main St. at 9:30 A. M., to move at 10, or on the arrival of Special Train from Boston. EXERCISES AT TENT.
Music. Address of Welcome. Prayer. Singiif; " America." Address. Music. Poem. Music. Collation.
Toasts and Responses, interspersed with Music. singing ' Home, Sweet Home."
Grand Re-union of Families, Old Friends and Acquaintances. Illumination, Fire-works and Band Concert on the Common in the evening.
I7
200TH ANNIVERSARY.
THE CELEBRATION.
At sunrise the citizens were aroused by a salute of two hundred guns by Battery A, Massachusetts Light Artillery, in command of Lieut. Chas. D. White. The first section was in charge of Serg't Frank Porter, and the second of Serg't Putnam, each section working a gun. At the same time the bells in various parts of the town did their part towards ushering in the gala-day.
The procession formed between 9 and 10 o'clock A. M. near the Green, and proceeded to the foot of Depot ave., where it awaited the arrival of the Governor and other invited guests. The procession was as follows :
FIRST DIVISION.
Platoon of district police, in command of Geo. F, Seaver of Taunton,
led by L. C. Swift, marshal's aid. Boston Cadet Band, J. T. Baldwin, leader ; Jas. N. Parker, marshal ; F. C. Luce, chief of staff, V. F. Hatch, A. W. Davis, J. C. Burgess and J. G. Wright. aids. New Bedford City Guards, Company E, Ist Regiment, 50 men ; Capt. Wm. Sanders.
President of the Day, Orator, Chaplain, and Poet. Gov. Robinson and Staff, Lieut .- Gov. Ames, and Secretary Henry B. Pierce, Rev. J. P. Bodfish, Hon. W. W. Crapo, Hon. Jonathan Bourne, Hon. C. S. Randall, Hon. Matthew Cushing, Hon. Francis H. Lincoln ; Col. A. D). Hatch, and other invited guests, in carriages. Aged citizens in carriages.
Town officers, Bi-centennial Committee and various sub-committees, in carriages.
TOWN OF FALMOUTH.
SECOND DIVISION.
Middleboro Cornet Band, J. M. Carter, leader. Chas. Chipman, Post No. 132. G. A. R., of Sandwich, 35 men ; Geo. W. Swift, S. V. C., commanding. The schools of the town, on foot and in carriages.
THIRD DIVISION.
Whale-boat, and crew composed of H. F. Gifford, officer ; Peleg Lawrence, harpoon ; Henry Howland, stroke ; A. T. Davis, tub ; N. A. Small, midship ; C. W. Fish, bow.
Section of Battery A, Mass. Light Artillery, 24 men, Licut. C. D. White, commanding ; citizens in carriages ; Citizens on foot.
The route of the procession was as follows : From the foot of Depot ave., southwest on Elm ave. to the Surf drive ; on this to the foot of Ocean ave. (formerly Shore st.) ; up Occan ave. to Main st. and west, past Falmouth National Bank, where the line was reviewed by Gov. Robinson ; around the Green, on Main st., to Ludlam's Plains, where a mammoth Yale tent, with accommodations for over three thousand people, had been erected.
Along the line of march the following buildings had been deco- rated, per order of the Bi-centennial Committee : Town House, Lawrence Academy, and Grammar School House. The residence of Mrs. Sarah Lawrence, in which was located the first post-office in the town, and the residences of Capt. Win. F. Jones, the late Capt. Silas Bourne, Isaac Bourne and Thos. Ellis, all of which received inju-
19
200TH ANNIVERSARY.
ries during the bombardment of the town by the British sloop-of-war " Nimrod," in 1814. Besides these, the citizens very generally deco- rated their own residences and places of business.
Upon the arrival of the procession at the tent, the guests imme- diately took their seats at the tables, upon which was placed a bountiful collation furnished by S. P. Richmond of New Bedford. Before each guest was a well-filled lunch-box, upon which was printed " 1686-Falmouth's Bi-centennial-1886," and a glass mug with same inscription ; the latter being taken away by the guests and citi- zens as souvenirs of the occasion. Ice-cream and coffee were served during the repast. The tables were well garnished with flowers, pro- vided by the Falmouth ladies.
EXERCISES AT THE TENT.
I. Selections by the Cadet Band of Boston.
2. Address of Welcome by Geo. E. Clarke, Chairman of Bi- centennial Committee, as follows :
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :
Your Excellency, invited guests, and sons and daughters of Old Falmouth : On this two hundredth anniversary of the municipal life of this town, in behalf of the committee appointed at the last annual meeting to arrange for this Celebration, we most heartily welcome . you to the festivities of this auspicious day.
While others will doubtless remind you of the scenes and events of long ago, let it be my pleasant duty to speak briefly of the Fal- mouth of to-day, so like and yet so changed from what it was even a
20
TOWN OF FALMOUTH.
generation ago. Upon these hills in the west, up which you were wont to climb in pursuit of wild game, fruits, and the beautiful trailing arbutus, and to gaze upon the delightful prospect spread out before you-the rural village nestling among the green foliage, the waters covered with the white sails of commerce, and the green islands in the distance-upon these hills have been erected almost palatial residences with their beautiful lawns and drives, yet with much of their natural wildness still remaining.
The plains on the south, once covered with unique structures familiarly called Salt Works, are now dotted with numerous beautiful summer houses, where the men of the cities are wont to come with their families to recuperate their exhausted strength.
On the east, the eminence, once known as Great Hill, the . favorite resort for picnics and clam-bakes, is now literally covered with cottages and hotels filled with summer residents, who are attracted thither by its cooling breezes and beautiful views.
The village, too, is not without its changes. The Green, where once stood the old yet revered meeting-house with its numerous little windows, reminding one of port-holes in an old line ship-of-war, is now surrounded by a substantial iron fence and covered with a beau- tiful carpet of green ; the old meeting-house, remodeled into a mod- ern church edifice, now overlooks its former site. The old Town House that once stood near by, without beauty or architectural pro- portions, has given place to a neat and convenient structure upon an eligible site in the very center of the village, which seems to have been providentially left unoccupied till wanted for its present purpose. But I need not remind you of the old alms-house, looking like a
21
200TH ANNIVERSARY.
· great and incommodious barn, now a modest and homelike building adorned with flowers ; our neat and commodious school-houses and numerous churches in different parts of the town, all of which speak of present enterprise and prosperity. I know you are anxious to hear other voices, and I will introduce to you, as the President of the day, a worthy son of worthy ancestors, who traces his descent on both sides from the first settlers of this town,-the Robinsons and the Jenkinses,-and who is still the proprietor of ancestral acres originally allotted in the first division of land, which have directly descended to him through seven generations,-Dr. Edward H. Jenkins of New Haven, Connecticut.
Dr. Jenkins spoke as follows :---
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :-
. self-government.
We have come together, some of us from a long distance, to attend a birthday celebration-the two hundredth birthday of our native town Falmouth, whose maiden name was Succanessett. We may say of her that her years rest lightly on her, her eye is not dimmed nor her natural force abated. A homely-homely in the best sense of that word-and a serene life she has led for two centu- ries, supported in the arms of the ocean. Her children are numbered by thousands, and we all rise up to-day and call her blessed. We bless her for her free church, for her free school, and for her local It is these three principles, recognized in our national government through the influence of New England men and New England townships, which are the surest guarantees of our sta- bility as a nation and are full of promise for the future of this democ-
22
TOWN OF FALMOUTH.
racy. We cannot prize too highly nor guard too jealously the rights given us by our town organization. It is a heritage of the New Eng- lander which no one else in this country or in any country enjoys to the same extent. The town meeting, with its somewhat prosy and often acrimonious debates on how herring shall be caught or what bounty shall be paid on woodchucks, is, when it is studied in its rela- tions to the general government, a wonderful institution, the bright consummate flower of our political institutions, for it is pre-eminently "The government of the people, by the people, and for the people."
It is, then, most fitting that we should celebrate this town birth- day.
The chaplain, Rev. E. D. Hall of Providence, R. I., then offered the following PRAYER :-
CENTENNIAL PRAYER BY REV. E. D. HALL JUNE 15, 1886.
O, Thou God of our fathers, on this memorable day we humbly bow in thy infinite presence, and thank Thee for the signal events of an historic past. Thou hast honored us with a noble heritage for which we are grateful and offer to Thee our acknowledgments. The spirit of our ancestors has animated us, their sons and daughters, to come to this our home altar and memorialize the natal year of this colonial town, and for a day we have left out inheritances in the land to celebrate the day our fathers took possession of these fields and laid the foundation for a permanent residence-two hundred years ago.
We their children come to this sacred altar to raise another cen-
·
.23
200TH ANNIVERSARY.
tennial stone of remembrance. At the honored shrine of a parent- age whose dust lays at our feet we worship Thee, from whom they received their wisdom and inspiration, whose breathings with other members of this royal commonwealth, gave birth to a nation of uni- versal fame, being associated with every high and lofty purpose, and with all that elevates, adorns, ennobles, and dignifies man. As we cast our eyes over the earth, and compare the benighted condition of uncivilized nations, and the agitated condition of civilized Europe, with our now happy land, we are led to exclaim, How great was thy wisdom, O, Lord, in sifting the old world to obtain the better seed with which to sow in this land the principles of a God-honoring nation, and we rejoice that among those noble spirits were some of the early settlers of this town, and we look with honest pride at the bright flag which now floats from staff and dome, under whose pro- tection we shall speak and meditate to-day ; for it is emblematical of a life of onward and upward progress, whose spirit animated our fathers, shedding its light and power over the land of the free and the home of the brave. A flag which now spreads its ample folds from sea to sea, under which our steamers plough the ocean, and our ships float on all seas, bearing commerce to all nations, although its folds have been shaken by the storms of war, and torn by hurling balls, yet our armies have triumphed in victory, wrenching the rod of oppression from the hand of despotic power, while the stars and stripes proudly wave over an empire of freedom, whose arts of peace are wonderfully advancing, becoming perfect and useful. Railroads have lengthened their serpentine tracks, having grappled with all obstacles, extending our facilities and cementing the bonds of our Union. Our
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