USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > History of the Cuyahoga County soldiers' and sailors' monument > Part 30
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44
O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and ever-
492
HISTORY OF THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY
lasting God, look down from thy throne and behold thy people assembled this day in thy presence. Most heartily we beseech thee to look upon us with thy gracious favor and to bless us.
We thank thee for thy goodness to us and to all men. We do most heartily confess and repent of all our sins, we are sorry that we have not lived to a better purpose, therefore blot out all our transgressions and remember them no more against us forever.
We thank thee for this day and its memories, we thank thee that thou hast been with this Nation from the beginning. Thou hast brought it through trial and trouble and guided its affairs with thy own loving hand. Continue to watch over it, and greatly bless and prosper it. Make this Nation a glorious Nation whose God is the Lord.
We thank thee for the occasion that brings us to- gether,-the dedication of this Memorial to the memory of brave men living and dead, who in the hour of need stood in the heat of battle for the country and the flag they loved.
Remember graciously the surviving veterans. Keep them in peace and prosperity; and may they be en- shrined in the hearts of a grateful people, and may the glorious deeds wrought by them inspire a spirit of patriotisın in all hearts.
Take the widow and orphan into thy own loving care, take away the tears from their eyes and the sorrow from their hearts.
Bless him who presides over this Nation, give him wisdom to rule in righteousness, and may he seek to know and do thy will.
Remember the Governor of our own State, give him wisdom and direct him in all things.
Let this day be one of joy and gladness, and let sorrow come to no heart.
493
SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT.
Guide in all things, and we will give thee all the glory through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour .- Amen.
"Our Bonnie Flag" was sung by the children. In singing the chorus, they beat the time of the music with flags. The thousands of flags moved in perfect ttnison, a great mass of the national colors, and the pretty effect was greeted with cheers and applause.
In presenting Governor Mckinley as the President of the day, Mayor Robert Blee, Chairman of the Com- mittee of Arrangements, said :
"Ladies and gentlemen and fellow citizens, in order that as many as possible may hear the speeches that are to be delivered on this occasion, it is necessary that quiet be preserved. I now have the great pleasure of introducing to you our own Governor, Hon. William Mckinley, as President of the day."
"Our own Governor" was a sentiment which caught the crowd, and they lost not a moment in manifesting their appreciation of it. Governor Mckinley, with his snit of somber black, his Prince Albert coat buttoned, advanced to the front of the stand, and the crowd greeted him with enthusiasm. Three cheers were given for him, and they were repeated before he had said a dozen words. In a calm and dignified address he spoke to the crowd of the significance of the day and the Memorial, and his patriotic sentiments found a ready response in the hearts of his hearers.
The Governor's appearance was greeted with enthu- siastic cheers and applause. After bowing his thanks, he said :
Soldiers and Sailors of Cuyahoga County, my Comrades and Fellow Citizens :
I wish the whole world might have witnessed the sight we have just seen and have heard the song we have just listened to from the school children of the
494
HISTORY OF THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY
City of Cleveland. With patriotism in our hearts and with the flag of our country in our hands, there is no danger of anarchy and there is no danger to the American Union. [Applause.]
The place, the day, and the occasion upon which we assemble, fill us with patriotic emotion. They are happily and appropriately united. This old Monu- mental Square is filled with hallowed memories. This day registers the birthday of the Declaration of Inde- pendence. And this Monument that we dedicate to-day attests that every promise of that declaration has been kept and performed. [Applause.] Standing in this presence, I am reminded that this Public Square has witnessed many interesting and memorable events. The first I recall was on the 10th day of September, 1860, when the monument to Commodore Perry was unveiled on this Square. It was a deeply interesting occasion. An immense crowd thronged this city as it throngs it to-day. Governor Sprague, of Rhode Island, with his staff and State officers, and the members of the Legislature of that State, and the Providence Light In- fantry, participated in the interesting ceremony. Gov- ernor Dennison, the first war Governor Ohio ever had, delivered the address of welcome. General J. W. Fitch, remembered by the older citizens of Cleveland, was the Grand Marshal of the day; and General Barnett, whose distinguished services in the war are yet fresh in the memory of the people [applause], and who now partici- pates in these ceremonies, was in command of the Cleveland Light Artillery Regiment. The great histor- ian, George Bancroft, delivered the principal address of the day. It was probably, my fellow citizens, the greatest celebration that Cuyahoga County had seen up to that time. It was on this ground, too, that the Sol- diers' and Sailors' Aid Society of Northern Ohio, aye, of the whole country, was organized, and some of the
GOVERNOR WILLIAM MCKINLEY, President of the Day.
497
SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT.
noble mothers who were at the birth of that organiza- tion are seated upon this platform to-day. [Applause. ] These noble women gave unselfish devotion to the country and money from all this section of the State poured into the coffers of that association for the relief of the men at the front, who were sustaining the flag. It was in this Square too that the remains of the mar- tyred Lincoln, the great emancipator, rested as they journeyed to his Western home. It was on this very spot, almost where we stand to-day, that the whole population of Northern Ohio viewed for the last time him who had been captain of all our armies under the Constitution, and whose death was a sacrifice to the great cause of freedom and the Union. [ Applause.]
Here, too, my fellow citizens, on this very spot, the remains of the immortal Garfield lay in state, attended by the Congress of the United States, by the supreme judiciary of the Nation, by the officers of the Ariny and the Navy of the United States, by the Governors and Legislators of all the surrounding States. The steady tread of a mourning State and Nation was uninterrupted through the entire night. It was here that the people looked upon his face for the last time forever.
Interesting, my fellow citizens, and patriotic, as the scenes witnessed in the past have been, I venture to say that none of them have stirred so many memories or quickened such patriotic feeling as the services we per- form to-day in the dedication of this beautiful structure to the memory of the loyal Soldiers and Sailors who contributed their lives to save the Government from dissolution. Cuyahoga County can well be proud of this great Memorial. It is a fitting tribute to the Sol- diers living and the Soldiers dead. Cuyahoga's sons were represented in nearly every branch of the military service. Almost every Ohio regiment received some contribution from Cuyahoga County, whether in the in-
498
HISTORY OF THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY
fantry, cavalry, artillery, on land or on sea. Whether among white troops or colored troops Cuyahoga Coun- ty's sons were to be found, they were always found at the post of greatest danger. [Applause.]
Nothing has so impressed me in the program to-day as the organization of the old Soldiers, carrying with them their tattered flags, which they bore a third of a century ago upon the fields of war. More than sixty of the old regimental flags will be carried by the survivors of their respective regiments, and the flag room at the capitol at Columbus could not supply the men of Cuya- hoga County all the flags which they are entitled to bear. Is it any wonder that these old Soldiers love to carry the flags under which they fought and for which their brave comrades gave up their lives ?
Is it any wonder that the old Soldier loves the flag under whose folds he fought and for which his comrades slied so much blood ? He loves it for what it is and for what it represents. It embodies the purposes and history of the Government itself. It records the achievements of its defenders upon land and sea. It heralds the heroism and sacrifices of our Revolutionary fathers who planted free government on this continent and dedicated it to liberty forever. Itattests the strug- gles of our army and the valor of our citizens in all the wars of the republic. It has been sanctified by the blood of our best and our bravest. It records thie achievements of Washington and the martyrdom of Lincoln. It has been bathed in the tears of a sorrow- ing people. It has been glorified in the hearts of a freedom loving people, not only at home but in every part of the world. Our flag expresses more than any other flag ; it means more than any other national ein- blem. It expresses the will of a free people and pro- claims that they are supreme and that they acknowl- edge no eartlily sovereign than themselves. It never
499
SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT.
was assaulted that thousands did not rise up to sinite the assailant. Glorious old banner !
When the stars and stripes were hauled down on Sumter, flags without number were raised above every fireside in the land and all the glorious achievements which that flag represented with all its hallowed mnem- ories glowed with burning fervor in the heart of every lover of liberty and the Union. The mad assault which was made upon the flag at that time aroused its defend- ers and kindled a patriotism which could not be quenched until it had extinguished the unholy cause which assaulted our holy banner.
What more beautiful conception than that which prompted Abra Kohn, of Chicago, in February, 1861, to send to Mr. Lincoln, on the eve of his starting to Washington to take the office of President, to which he had been elected, a flag of our country, bearing upon its silken folds these words from the fifth and ninth verses of the first chapter of Joshua: "Have I not commanded thee, be strong and of good courage? Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord, our God, is with thee, whithersoever thou goest. There shall no man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. As I was with Moses, so shall I be with thee. I will not fail thee nor forsake thee."
Could anything have given Mr. Lincoln more cheer or been better calculated to sustain his courage or strengthen his faith in the mighty work before him ? Thus commanded, thus assured, Mr. Lincoln journeyed to the capital, where he took the oath of office and reg- istered in heaven an oath to save the Union ; and " the Lord, our God," was with him and did not fail nor for- sake him until every obligation of oath and duty was sacredly kept and honored. Not any man was able to stand before him. Liberty was enthroned, the Union was saved and the flag which he carried floated in
500
HISTORY OF THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY
triumph and glory upon every flagstaff of the Re- public.
What does this Monument mean ? It means the immortal principle of patriotism. It means love of country. It means sacrifices for the country we love. It means not only love of country but love of liberty ! This alone could have inspired over 2,800,000 Union Soldiers to leave home and family and to offer to die if need be for our imperiled institutions. Love of country alone could have inspired 300,000 men to die for the Union. Nothing less sacred than this love of country could have sustained 175,000 brave inen, who suffered and starved and died in rebel prisons. Nor could any- thing else have given comfort to the 500,000 inaimed and diseased, who escaped immediate deatlı in siege and battle to end in torment the remainder of their patriot lives. It is a noble patriotisın and it impels you, my fellow countrymen, to erect this magnificent Monu- ment to their honor and memory. And similar love of country will inspire your remotest descendants to do homage to their valor and bravery forever.
This is what the Monument means. The lesson it conveys to the present and all future generations. It means that the cause in which they died was a righteous one, and it means that the cause which triumphed through their valor shall be perpetuated for all time.
Charles Sumner said that President Lincoln was put to death by the enemies of the Declaration of In- dependence, but, said Sumner, though dead, he would always continue to guard that title deed of the human race. So that it does seem to me that every time we erect a new monument to the memory of the Union Sol- diers and Sailors, we are cementing the very foundations of the Government itself. We are doing that which will strengthen our devotion to free institutions and in- sure their permanency for the remotest posterity. We
501
SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT.
are not only rendering immortal the fame of the men who participated in the War by these magnificent struct- 1tres, but we are doing better than that. We are mak- ing immortal the principles for which they contended and the union of free men for which they died. [Ap- plause.]
Their erection may be a matter of comparatively little importance or concern to the Union Soldiers who are still living, but no one can accurately foretell the value and importance of their influence upon the young men and the young women from whom the Republic must draw her future defenders. Every time we erect a monument, every time we do honor to the Soldiers of the Republic, we reaffirin our devotion to the country, to the glorious flag, to the immortal principles of liberty, equality, and justice, which have made the United States unrivaled among the Nations of the world. The union of these States imust be perpetual. That is what our brave boys died for. That is what this Monument must mean ; and such monuments as this are evidences that the people intend to take care that the great de- crees of the War shall be unquestioned and supreme. [ Applause.]
The unity of the Republic is secure so long as we continue to honor the memory of the men who died by the tens of thousands to preserve it. The dissolution of the Union is impossible so long as we continue to inculcate lessons of fraternity, unity, and patriotism, and erect monuments to perpetuate these sentiments.
Such monuments as these have another meaning, which is one dear to the hearts of many who stand by me. It is, as Mr. Lincoln said at Gettysburg, that the dead shall not have died in vain ; that the Nation's later birth of freedom and the people's gain of their own sovereignty shall not perish from the earth. That is what this Monument meaus. That is the lesson of true
502
HISTORY OF THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY
patriotism ; that what was won in war shall be worn in peace.
But we must not forget, my fellow countrymen, that the Union which these brave mnen preserved, and the liberties which they secured, places upon us, the living, the gravest responsibility. We are the freest Government on the face of the earth. Our strength rests in our patriotismn. Anarchy flees before patriotismn. Peace and order and security and liberty are safe so long as love of country burns in the hearts of the peo- ple. It should not be forgotten, however, that liberty does not inean lawlessness. Liberty to make our own laws does not give us license to break them. [Ap- plause.] Liberty to make our own laws commands a duty to observe them ourselves and enforce obedience among all others within their jurisdiction. Liberty, my fellow citizens, is responsibility, and responsibility is duty, and that duty is to preserve the exceptional liberty we enjoy within the law and for the law and by the law. [Great applause.]
The children were heard again in Zundel's " Ameri- can Flag Song." At the close of the swelling chorus, there was a great roar of applause from the crowd ; even over at the Monument. Spectators in the blocks cheerily waved handkerchiefs as a mark of their appre- ciation of the melody. Blended with the applause were three hearty cheers given by the children for the flag. Their clear, musical voices, sent forth with all the enthusiasm of youth, rang out in three lusty cheers. A little fellow in knickerbockers raised a laugh by pro- posing, in a piping voice, a "tigah " to supplement the cheers.
Virgil P. Kline had wisely been chosen to read the Declaration of Independence. He was dignified, as always. His reading of the immortal production of our forefathers was done with a fervor and eloquence
EX - GOVERNOR JOSEPH B. FORAKER,
Orator of the Day.
505
SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT.
that was inspiring. When he had concluded, there were shouts of approbation and exclamations of "good, good," on all sides, ending with cheers.
" The Red, White, and Blue" was sung by the children. They arose at a signal from the wand of Professor Stewart, and to the accompaniment of the band the strains of the patriotic song floated out on the air. A waving of flags attended the singing, and it aroused the unbounded delight of the audience. They did not alone applaud, but cheered enthusiastically as the orator of the day, Governor Mckinley, intro- duced ex-Governor Foraker. "The gentlemen of the committee having these exercises in charge," said Gov- ernor Mckinley, " have been successful in many things. In nothing have they been more successful than in the selection of the orator of the day. I take great pleas- ure in introducing to you Hon. Joseph B. Foraker, the orator of the day."
Ex-Governor Foraker advanced as his name was called and he was given a hearty reception. The sub- ject of his oration was, "The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument and the Lessons of Patriotism It Teaches." In an eloquent and forcible manner he reviewed the struggle for independence and the great Civil War. An occasional sally of wit provoked laughter and his re- marks on the present conditions in the country were received with great applause.
" Soldiers and Sailors of Cuyahoga County, Comrades and my Fellow Citizens," said the Governor in address- ing his hearers, "with patriotism in our hearts and with the flag of our country in the hands of our chil- dren, there is no danger fromn anarchy and there will be no danger to our Union." This extempore paragraph was elicited by the scene presented by the school chil- dren. Continuing, the Governor delivered his formal address as follows :
506
HISTORY OF THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY
EX-GOVERNOR FORAKER'S ORATION.
Fellow-Comrades and Fellow-Citisens :-
We meet on the Fourth of July to dedicate a Moll11- ment to the memory of the heroes of our last War. The day and the occasion unite to recall both the Revo- lution and the Rebellion. These struggles had a distinct relation to each other, and were strikingly similar in somne respects.
The last was but the complement of the first. It wrought for the black man what the first accomplished for the white.
Both began as rebellions. Bothi had relation to natural, governmental and human rights. There was 110 question of territory, balance of power or inter- national statecraft or diplomacy in either.
Both broadened as they proceeded, until the issues finally joined and determined were different, higher and better than those involved at the beginning.
It was not until after Concord, Lexington and Bunker Hill that the Colonists resolved to convert a struggle that was inaugurated only as an armed resistance to a tyrannical Ministry into a war against the Crown for national independence.
As late as the 6th day of July, 1775, the Continental Congress formally declared that they had not raised armies with the ambitious design of separating from Great Britain, and establishing independent States.
It was not until after Bull Run, Donelson and Sliiloli that the overruling purpose of a directing Providence was recognized, and a war for the suppression of rebell- ion was broadened into a war for the liberation of the slave.
The Colonists were not only subjects of Great Britain, but they were loyal subjects. They desired to remain such, but He who directs the destiny of all
507
SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT,
decreed otherwise. The time had come not only for the birth of a new Nation, but for a new kind of govern- ment. The feudal age had passed away, and the in- written constitution of England had been established, but the despotic powers of the old Barons had been assumed by the monarchy that followed, and the boasted rights of Englishmen, although defined by Magna Charta and protected by a representative Parliament, were, nevertheless, not such as to allow that independ- ence of thought and action essential to the highest in- tellectual and moral development.
It was necessary to give a broader recognition than had ever been accorded of the rights of man with respect to government, not only in England and her colonies, but throughout the world.
America was destined to light the torch of liberty and lead the fight for human freedom. It was not of her choice, but of God's ordering. She was the chosen agency, and it was through aggressions and exaspera- tions that ripened into controversy, bitterness and blood, with their irresistible teachings and demands, that our fathers were finally brought to see both their opportu- nity and their duty. Then it was that the Declaration of July 6, 1775, gave way to the Declaration of Inde- pendence of July 4, 1776.
This document was a state paper worthy of a great people. It lent importance and gave dignity and con- sequence to the cause of the Colonists. It excited the admiration of the whole world, and strengthened and encouraged the weak and hesitating. It put into the hearts of all aims and purposes that involved the highest interests of humanity. From that moment forward the fight was not for the redress of wrongs under the British Government, but for absolute independence, and a new and different government of their own making. What that government should be they did not then see or
508
HISTORY OF THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY
comprehend. After more than a century of successful experience, our form of government seems to us most natural, and as though it would be the first thought of, but it was not so with our fathers. They had no such light as we enjoy. When they determined to fight for independence, it was without any clear idea as to the kind of government they would adopt, except only that it should be of their own making and subject to their own control. They reached final results by slow stages in the school of experience.
British oppression had made them so distrustful of all authority superior to their own immediate colonial governments, that they were prejudiced against, and bitterly hostile to, all propositions that involved the establishment of any permanent controlling national authority or power.
The Continental Congress had scarcely more than the semblance of authority. There was no constitution, no judiciary, no executive, and no power of any kind lodged anywhere to compel anybody to do anything. But it was the first step toward a centralization that could represent the national name and force, and in the selection of a Commander-in-chief, the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, and by similar acts, resolutions and legislation, it familiarized the people with the idea of unity of country and interests, a com- mon flag and a common destiny.
The Articles of Confederation followed. They were intended to establish a common or National Govern- ment and define its powers. They were another step, but not a very long one, in the right direction. Ameri- cans had not yet accepted the idea of a permanent national authority. Therefore, while recognizing the necessity for union under a common government, based on a written, organic law, they were unwilling to act, except as independent States, and would not agree to
509
SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT.
any form of government unless the individual independ- ence or autonomy of each State was recognized and protected. They were so solicitous upon this point that but little else was successfully embodied in that document. The government it established had no executive, no judiciary, no revenue system, no machin- ery, functions or power. All legislative and executive action was vested in the Congress, in which the meill- bers voted and acted, not as representatives of the people, but as delegates of the States; and 110 proposed act of legislation could become a law without the votes and consent of a prescribed number of the States. The States were everything; the National Government was practically nothing. Its inadequacy was manifest front the beginning. Dissatisfaction followed and increased until all the common people, as well as the great men and statesmen of that time, were studying and dis- cussing theories of government. The result was a con- vention to revise the Articles of Confederation. This body was well prepared for its work. Its members had lived under and had studied the English constitution and common law. They had passed through all the exciting experiences of the struggle for independence. They had been witnesses to the weakness of the Con- tinental Congress and the inefficiency of the Confeder- ation. They had been educated by these trials to appreciate the fact that no government could be success- ful that was not invested with all the necessary powers of preservation. They understood that any government in111st prove a failure which was unable to not only legislate, but enforce legislation, to raise revenues, maintain armies, and do all other things essential to sovereignty in its broadest and highest sense. They had learned something more from these experiences. They had learned that no national government could ever be successfully established and maintained that was a
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.