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ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SURVEY

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MEMORIAL DAY

May Thirtieth
1916

CIRCULAR

COMPILED BY

H. T. SWIFT
Department of Publicity

UNDER DIRECTION OF

FRANCIS G. BLAIR
Superintendent of Public Instruction

[Printed by authority of the State of Illinois.]

Schnepp & Barnes, State Printers

Springfield, III.

1916.

394 3k>< : XI

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE.

Illinois Centennial 5

Preparation for the Centennial , 6

The Prairie State (poem) 7

Lincoln's Life as Written by Himself 8

Lincoln's Autobiography 9

The Humble Birth 12

His Photograph (poem) 18

As We Knew Him (poem) 19

The Perfect Tribute 21

Lincoln (poem) 22

"Fifty Years After, A Reverie" 24

Address on the Battlefield of Gettysburg 26

The South and Abraham Lincoln (poem) 26

Lincoln, the Man of the People 27

Nancy Hanks 28

Lincoln (poem) 29

Tribute to Lincoln 30

Letter from Robert T. Lincoln 31

Two Great Sons of Illinois 35

Stephen A. Douglas 37

Douglas and Lincoln 39

Douglas, the Patriot 42

Lincoln and Douglas in School Convention 43

Stephen A. Douglas 44

The True Ideals of Douglas 46

General Ulysses S. Grant's Chronology 48

Childhood of Ulysses S. Grant 49

A Hero of Peace and War 51

Reminiscences of Gen. U. S. Grant 52

Grant Takes Command of the Twenty-first Illinois 55

Grant's Account of the Meeting with Lincoln 56

Lincoln's Letter to Grant 57

A Letter From Gen. Grant's Daughter 59

Oration on U. S. Grant 61

Funeral Oration on General Grant 62

Tribute to General Grant 63

Some Sayings of General Grant 63

Tribute to General Grant 64

STATE CAPITOL.

ILLINOIS CENTENNIAL.

To Teachers and Pupils :

In 1918 Illinois will celebrate the hundredth anniversary of its
statehood. Every teacher and pupil in the schools of the State should
have a part in that celebration. Scholars and artists will use their
learning and powers to recreate the great events of our history. Brush
and canvas, chisel and stone will reembody for us some of the men
who wrought mightily to lay the foundations of this commonwealth.
Volumes will be written to revive the life and spirit of the pioneers.
Orators will breathe into the nostrils of a dead past the breath of a new
life. In great pageants and plays we shall see the glorious history of
Illinois pass before us.

All of which will be very right and proper as an expression of our
honor and respect for a State with such traditions and such achieve-
ments. But no scholar, no artist, no orator can make such worthwhile
and abiding contributions to this celebration as the teacher. It is hers
to write these precious records in thoughts of boys and girls. Only
her brush can touch the canvas of the child's imagination until it is
radiant with the dreams and visions of the past. Out of the quarries
of their hearts and minds she must dig and carve the imperishable forms
of the heroic men and measures of bygone days. Into the throbbing,
growing ideals of their lives she alone can breathe the spirit of the past,
the present and the future. Whether in the crowded buildings of our
great cities or in the little one-room school in the open country, the
teacher will erect the most fitting and most abiding memorials to the
greatness and worth of our past history.

To assist teachers in this great work the Memorial Day Annual
will, for three issues, carry matter and suggestions relating to the Cen-
tennial Celebration. This issue is given over to three great Illinoisans,
Lincoln, Douglas and Grant.

Superintendent.

PREPARATION FOR THE CENTENNIAL.

The General Assembly has created two commissions, whose work is to
prepare for the celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the
commonwealth.

The first of these commissions, called the Centennial Building Commis-
sions, consists of —

Governor Edward F. Dunne, (ex officio).

Secretary of State Lewis G. Stevenson, (ex officio).

Superintendent of Public Instruction, Francis G. Blair, (ex officio).

President State Historical Society, Dr. Otto L. Schmidt, (ex officio).

President Historical Library Board, Dr. E. B. Greene, (ex officio).

Hon. Arthur M. Fitzgerald, Springfield ) aDDointed bv the Governor

Hon. George Pasfield, Jr., Springfield J aPP°mtea °y ine governor.

Organization of the Commission:

Lewis G. Stevenson, President.

Arthur M. Fitzgerald, Secretary.

The object of this commission is to acquire land and erect a building
thereon which shall be occupied in time by the office of the Superintendent
of Public Instruction, the State Historical Library, the State Historical
Society, the State Library, Memorial Hall, the State Archives, and other
related matters.

It is not the intention that the entire building shall be erected at once.
The Legislature has appropriated $125,000 which added to $100,000 raised by
the citizens of Springfield and to the amount realized on the sale of houses
on the purchased land, will enable the commission to purchase the land and
to erect a portion of this educational building, which will be dedicated in
1918 as the Centennial building.

The act creating this commission designates the tract of ground which
shall be purchased and gives the commission power to condemn. The tract
described lies between South Second and Spring Streets and between Charles
and Edwards Streets. On this tract of land is the old Edwards home in which
Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd were married.

The second commission created by the Legislature is the Illinois Cen-
tennial Commission. Its duties are:

1st. To arrange for and conduct a celebration in honor of the Centennial
of the admission of the State of Illinois to the Federal Union.

2d. To compile and publish a commemorative history of the State.

3d. To report to the fiftieth General Assembly the arrangement for such
celebration.

This committee as appointed by the Governor and organized is as follows:

Dr. Otto L. Schmidt, Chairman, 38 South Dearborn Street, Chicago.

Mrs. Jessie Palmer Weber, Secretary, Statehouse, Springfield.

Hon. Hugh S. Magill, Jr., Leland Office Building, Springfield.

Prof. E. B. Greene, 315 Lincoln Hall, Urbana.

Judge Thomas F. Scully, County Building, Chicago.

Hon. John E. Traeger, County Building, Chicago.

Rev. Frederick Siedenburg, 617 Ashland Block, Chicago.

Hon. Oscar W. Eckland, 6410 Kenwood Avenue, Chicago.

Hon. Nicholas S. Duncan, LaSalle.

Hon. M. J. Daugherty, Galesburg.

Hon. John Schultz, Beardstown.

Hon. Peter A. Waller, Kewanee.

Rev. Royal W. Ennis, Hillsboro.

Dr. Edward Bowe, Jacksonville.

Dr. Charles H. Starkel, Belleville.

Further, the Legislature has authorized the State Art Commission to
erect on the Capitol grounds of Springfield, statues of Abraham Lincoln and
Stephen A. Douglas as one of the great features of the Centennial Celebration.
The Art Commission has secured the services of two eminent sculptors and
the work is going forward.

Every effort will be made by the various commissions to create a State
wide interest in this centennial anniversary. Much of the permanent good
which comes out of such a celebration must come through the work of our
schools and educational Institutions.

THE PRAIRIE STATE.

The prairies of the silent past

Have risen in their might,

And human hearts by millions here

Have met the world's delight !

In all the joy and moan of time

Our crested shield shall be,

The eagle's poised and burnished wings

And flag of liberty !

Refrain.

Awake, and sing the land we love,
And life's bright dream of joy,
The Prairie State of kindly fate,
Our dear old Illinois !

The native violet, still blooms

In glory of the spring,

Mid haunts where waking prairie larks

In notes of transport sing!

On happy breasts may it be worn,

And cheer each heart forlorn —

Blue violet of Illinois

In dew and beauty born !

Great Lincoln wrought for humankind

In early Illinois,

And reared a throne for humble worth

That time can not destroy ;

Age after age his Springfield home

Shall myriads revere,

And pilgrims bow uncovered heads

To dust that resteth here !

The noble lives that here went down *

Have left an afterglow,

And promise of to-morrow fair

The Prairie State shall know ;

With flowers of gratitude we'll deck

Each lone or shafted mound,

That watches toward thy eastern sky

With flush of morning crowned !

Long as Chicago towers in strength

And Michigan doth roar,

And Father of the Waters moves

Along thy glorious shore,

For thee, for thee eternally

Is love naught can destroy,

And true hearts be thy bulwarks strong,

Oh, dear old Illinois !

— John F. Howard, Silver Lake Assembly, New York.
(Copyright 1916 by John F. Howard.)

8

ETRTHPLACE OP ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

LINCOLN'S LIFE AS WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.

The compiler of the "Dictionary of Congress" states that while
preparing that work for publication in 1858, he sent to Mr. Lincoln the
usual request for a sketch of his life, and received the following reply:

"Born February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky.

"Education defective. Profession a lawyer. Have been a captain
of volunteers in Black Hawk War. Postmaster at a very small office.
Four times a member of the Illinois Legislature, and was a member of
the lower House of Congress.
"Yours, etc.,

"A. Lincoln."

LINCOLN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

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12
THE HUMBLE BIRTH.

[By Dennis Hanks in the Wanamaker Primer.]

Note — Dennie Hanks was a cousin of Nancy Hanks. He lived near the Lin-
colns in Kentucky and followed them to Indiana and then over into Illinois. He
spent his last days in the city of Charleston, Illinois. The language in which he
describes his experience is the language of the backwoods of Kentucky. Such men,
with bright and vigorous minds may seem ignorant to us because of their true
language. The fact that Abraham Lincoln springing from the same stock came to
write the pure strong English of the Gettysburg speech furnishes a striking and
interesting contrast.

"Tom an' Nancy (Lincoln's father and mother) lived on a farm
about two miles from us when Abe was born. I ricollect Tom comin'
over to our house one cold mornin' in Feb'uary an' sayin' kind o' slow :

" 'Nancy's got a baby boy.'

"Mother got flustered, an' hurried up her work to go over to look
after the little feller, but 1 didn't have nothin' to wait fur, so I cut an'
run the hull two mile to see my new cousin.

"You bet I was tickled to death! Babies wasn't as common as
blackberries in the woods of Kaintucky. Mother come over an' washed
him an' put a yaller flannen petticoat on him, an' cooked some dried
berries with wild honey fur Nancy, an' slicked things up an' went
home. An' that's all the nuss'n either of 'em got.

"Folks often ask me if Abe was a good-lookin' baby. Well, now,
he looked just like any other baby at fust — like red cherry pulp
squeezed dry. An' he didn't improve any as he growed older. Abe
never was much fur looks. 1 ricollect how Tom used to joke about
Abe's long legs when he was toddlin' 'round the cabin. He growed
out o' his clo'es faster'n Nancy could make 'em."

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"Abe never gave Nancy no trouble after he could walk, excep' to
keep him in clothes. Most o' the time we went bar' foot. Ever wear
a wet buckskin glove? Them moccasins wasn't no protection ag'inst
the wet; birch bark with hickory bark soles, strapped on over yarn
socks, beat buckskin all holler, fur snow. Abe n' me got purty handy
contrivin' things that way. An' Abe was right out in the woods, about
as soon's he was weaned, nshin' in the crik, settin' traps fur rabbits
an' muskrats, goin' on coon-hunts with Tom an' me an' the dogs,
follerin' up bees to find bee trees, an' drappin corn fur his pappy.
Mighty interestin' life fur a boy, but thar was a good many chances he
wouldn't live to grow up."

If. $ $ ♦ ♦ ♦ . ♦

[Article by Dennis Hanks in The American Magazine.]
"I reckon it was thinkin' o' Nancy," says Dennis Hanks, "an'
things she'd said to him that started Abe to studyin' that next winter.
He could read an' write, Nancy an' me'd l'arnt him that much an'
he'd gone to school a spell, but it was nine mile there an' back, an' a
pore make-out fur a school anyhow. Tom said it was a waste o' time,
an' I reckon he was right. But Nancy kep' urgin' Abe. 'Abe,' she'd
say, 'you l'arn all you kin, an' be some account,' an' she'd tell him
stories about George Washington, an' say that Abe had jist as good
Virginny blood in him as Washington. Maybe she stretched things
some, but it done Abe good.

13

"Well, me'n Abe spelled through Webster's spellin' book twict
before he got tired. Then he tuk to writin' on the puncheon floor, the
fence rails an' the wooden fire-shovel, with a bit o' charcoal. We got
some wrappin' paper over to Gentryville, an' I made ink out o' black-
berry-briar root an' copperas. It et the paper into holes. Got so I
could cut good pens out o' turkey buzzard quills. It pestered Tom a
heap to have Abe writin' all over everything, but Abe was jist wrapped
up in it.

" 'Denny,' he sez to me many a time, 'look at that, will you ? "Abra-
ham Lincoln." That stands fur me. Don't look a blamed bit like me.'
An' he'd stand an' study it a spell. 'Peared to mean a heap to Abe.
When Tom got mad at his markin' the house up, Abe tuk to markin'
trees Tom wanted to cut down, with his name, an' writin' it in the sand
at the deer lick.

"I reckon Abe'd a' got discouraged about l'arnin' after awhile
if it hadn't be'n fur his stepmother. We was all nigh about tickled
to death when Tom brung a new wife home. She'd be'n Sairy Bush,
an' Tom'd be'n in love with 'er before he met up with Nancy, but her
folks wouldn't let Tom have 'er, because he was shif'less. So she mar-
ried a man named Johnston an' he died. Then her an' Tom got mar-
ried. She had three children of 'er own an' a four hoss wagon load o'
goods ; feather pillers an' homespun blankets, an' patchwork quilts an'
a chist o' drawers, an' a flax wheel, an' a soap kettle, an' cookin' pots
an' pewter dishes.

"Yes, Aunt Sairy was a woman o' propputy an' could 'a' done
better, I reckon, but Tom had a kind o' way with the women, an' maybe
it was somethin' she tuk comfort in to have a man that didn't drink an'
cuss none. She made a heap more o' Tom, too, than poor Nancy did.
Before winter he'd put in a new floor, he'd whipsawed an' planed it
off so she could scour it ; made some good beds an' cheers, an' tinkered
at the roof so it couldn't snow in on us boys that slep' in the loft.
Purty soon we had the best house in the kentry. Thar was eight of us
then to do fur, but Aunt Sairy had faculty an' didn't 'pear to be hur-
ried or worried none.

"She wasn't thar very long before she found out how Abe hank-
ered after books. She heard him talkin' to me, I reckon. 'Denny,' he'd
say, 'the things I want to know is in books. My best frien's the man
who'll git me one.'

"Well, books wasn't as plenty as wild cats, but I got him one by
cuttin' cordwood. Abe'd lay on his stummick by the fire an' read out
loud to me an' Aunt Sairy, an' we'd laugh when he did, though I reckon
it went in at one ear an' out at the other with 'er, as it did with me.
Tom'd come in an' say : 'See here, Abe, your mother kain't work with
you a-botherin' her like that,' but Aunt Sairy always said it didn't
bother her none, an' she'd tell Abe to go on. I reckon that encouraged
Abe a heap.

" 'Abe,' sez I, many a time, 'them yarns is all lies.'
" 'Mighty darned good lies,' he'd say, an' go on readin' an' chuck-
lin' to hisself , till Tom'd kiver up the fire fur the night an' shoo him off
to bed.

14

MURAL PAINTING IN CAPITOL, BUILDING SHOWING LINCOLN ON FLAT-
BOAT ON SANGAMON RIVER NEAR NEW SALEM.

"This picture is crude and inaccurate. The flatboat built by Lin-
coln, and by him piloted to New Orleans, was larger than the one here
portrayed, and the structure over the dam belittles the real mill.
There was not only a gristmill, but also a sawmill. The mill was built in
1829. March -5, 1830, we find John Overstreet averring before the county
commissioners 'that John Cameron and James Rutledge have erected a
milldam on the Sangamon River which obstructs the navigation of said
river;' and Cameron and Rutledge are ordered to alter the dam so as to
restore 'safe navigation.' James M. Rutledge of Petersburg, a nephew
of the mill owner, helped build the mill, and says: 'The mill was a frame
structure, and was solidly built. They used to grind corn mostly, though
some flour was made. At times they would run day and night. The sawmill
had an old-fashioned upright saw, and stood on the bank.' For a time this
mill was operated by Denton Offutt, under the supervision of Lincoln. A
few stakes, a part of the old dam, still show at low water."

— From "The Early Life of Lincoln," by Ida M. Tarbell, assisted by J. McCan Davis.

15

MURAL PAINTING IN CAPITOL BUILDING SHOWING STREET IN NEW

SALEM.

"New Salem was founded by James Rutledge and John Cameron in 1829.
In that year they built a dam across the Sangamon River, and erected a
mill. Under date of October 23, 1829, Reuben Harrison, surveyor, certifies
that 'at the request of John Cameron, one of the proprietors, I did survey
the town of New Salem.' The town within two years contained a dozen or
fifteen houses, nearly all of them built of logs. New Salem's population
probably never exceeded a hundred persons. Its inhabitants, and those of
the surrounding country, were mostly Southerners — natives of Kentucky
and Tennessee — though there was an occasional Yankee among them. Soon
after Lincoln left the place, in the spring of 1837, it began to decline.
Petersburg had sprung up two miles down the river, and rapidly absorbed
its population and business. By 1840 New Salem was almost deserted. The
Rutledge tavern, the first house erected, was the last to succumb. It stood
for many years, but at last crumbled away. Salem hill is now only a green
cow pasture."

— From "The Early Life of Lincoln," by Ida M. Tarbell, assisted by J. McCan Davis.

16

"I reckon Abe read that book (Arabian Nights) a dozen times an'
knowed all the yarns by heart. He didn't have nothin much else to
read, excep' Aunt Sairy's Bible. He cut four cords o' wood onct
to git one stingy little slice of a book. It was a life o' Washington;
an he'd lay over the statoots (Statutes) o' Indiany half the night.

"We'd get hold o' a newspaper onct in a while, an' Abe l'arned
Henry Clay's speeches by heart. He liked the stories in the Bible, too,
an' he got a little book of fables some'ers. I reckon it was them
stories he read that give him so many yarns to tell. I asked him onct
after he'd gone to la win' an' could make a jury laugh or cry by firin'
a yarn at 'em.

" 'Abe,' sez I, 'whar did you git so blamed many lies?' An' he'd
always say, 'Denny, when a story l'arns you a good lesson, it ain't no
lie. God tells truth in parables. They're easier fur common folks
to understand an' ricollect.' His stories was like that.

"Seems to me now I never seen Abe after he was twelve 'at he
didn't have a book in his hand or in his pocket. He'd put a book inside
his shirt an' fill his pants pockets with corn dodgers an' go off to plow
or hoe. When noon come he'd set under a tree an' read an' eat. An'
when he come to the house at night, he'd tilt a cheer back by the chimb-
ley, put his feet on the rung, an' set on his back-bone an' read. Aunt
Sairy always put a candle on the mantel-tree piece fur him, if she had
one. An' as like as not Abe'd eat his supper thar, takin' anything she'd
give him that he could gnaw at an' read at the same time. I've seen
many a feller come in an' look at him, Abe not knowin' anybody was
'round, an' sneak out again like a cat, an' say: 'Well, I'll be darned.'
It didn't seem natural nohow, to see a feller read like that. Aunt
Sairy'd never let the children pester him. She always declared Abe
was goin' to be a great man some day, an' she wasn't goin' to have him
hendered.

"You bet he was too smart to think everything was in books.
Sometimes, a preacher 'r a circuit-ridin' judge 'r lyyer 'r a stump-
speakin' polytician 'r a school teacher'd come along. When one o'
them rode up, Tom'd go out an' say: 'Light, stranger,' like it was
polite to do. Then Abe'd come lopin' out on his long legs, throw one
over the top rail, an' begin firin' questions. Tom'd tell him to quit,
but it didn't do no good, so Tom'd have to bang him on the side of the
head with his hat. Abe'd go off a spell an' fire sticks at the snow-birds
an' whistle like he didn't keer.

" 'Pap thinks it ain't polite to ask folks so many questions.' he'd
say. 'I reckon I wasn't born to be polite. There's so many things I
want to know. An' how else am I going to git to know 'em ?' "

17

RESIDENCE OF NINIAN W. EDWARDS IN SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, IN
WHICH LINCOLN AND MARY TODD WERE MARRIED NOVEMBER 4,
1842. MRS. LINCOLN DIED THERE JULY 16, 1882.

18

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

HIS PHOTOGRAPH.

A blend of mirth and sadness, smiles and tears ;
A quaint knight errant of the pioneers;
A homely hero, born of star and sod ;
A Peasant Prince ; a masterpiece of God.

— Walter Malone.

19

AS WE KNEW HIM.

We claim him as our hero,

Now that the world has placed

High on the scroll of fame

His valiant deeds and honored name,

It was not always thus.

We could not understand

How homely face and awkward form

Would be immortalized in bronze

To mark through ages, the memory

Of one we loved.

But so it was, his loving heart

For those oppressed, contained

The spark which smouldered on

Until the Nation craved its warmth.

No wonder that we understood him not,

When e'en the wisest could not see

The need of such a man.

We met him oft upon our busy streets

His stalwart form and graceless walk

Claimed special notice because

He was distinct.

We did not recognize the man,

That Kings and Queens so soon would know,

In height he measured six feet four,

But that which makes the man

Cannot be told in inches and in feet.

His simple words that often

Reached our ears,

Seemed commonplace to us,

But when at Gettysburg,

He used words just as plain,

The same became a classic

To wise and learned men.

The mighty hand that we so fondly grasped

The one that wielded well the ax ;

The same hand was that penned the words

Of freedom to four million blacks.

— A. L. Converse, Springfield, Illinois, February 12, 1913.

20

OIL PAINTING OF LINCOLN IN HOUSE OF HEPRESENTATIVES,

SPRINGFIELD.

21

THE PERFECT TRIBUTE.

[Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews.]

On the morning of November 18, 1863, a special train drew out
from Washington, carrying a distinguished company. The presence
with them of the Marine Band from the Navy Yard spoke a public
occasion to come, and among the travelers there were those who might
be gathered only for an occasion of importance. There were judges
of the Supreme Court of the United States ; there were heads of depart-
ments ; the general-in-chief of the army and his staff ; members of the
cabinet. In their midst, as they stood about the car before settling
for the journey, towered a man sad, preoccupied, unassuming; a man
awkward and ill-dressed ; a man, as he leaned slouchingly against the
wall, of no grace of look or manner, in whose haggard face seemed
to be the suffering of the sins of the world. Abraham Lincoln, Presi-
dent of the United States, journeyed with his party to assist at the
consecration, the next day, of the national cemetery at Gettysburg.
The quiet November landscape slipped past the rattling train, and the
President's deep-set eyes stared out at it gravely, a bit listlessly. From
time to time he talked with those who were about him; from time to
time there were flashes of that quaint wit which is linked, as his great-
ness, with his name, but his mind was to-day dispirited, unhopeful. The
weight on his shoulders seemed pressing more heavily than he had
courage to press back against it, the responsibility of one almost a
dictator in a wide, war-torn country came near to crushing, at times,
the mere human soul and body. There was, moreover, a speech to be
made to-morrow to thousands who would expect their President to say
something to them worth the listening of a people who were making
history ; something brilliant, eloquent, strong. The melancholy gaze
glittered with a grim smile. He — Abraham Lincoln — the lad bred in
a cabin, tutored in rough schools here and there, fighting for, snatch-
ing at crumbs of learning that fell from rich tables, struggling to a
hard knowledge which well knew its own limitations — it was he of
whom this was expected. He glanced across the car. Edward Everett
sat there, the orator of the following day, the finished gentleman, the
careful student, the heir of traditions of learning and breeding, of
scholarly instincts and resources. The self-made President gazed at
him wistfully. From him the people might expect and would get a
balanced and polished oration. For that end he had been born, and
inheritance and opportunity and inclination had worked together for
that end's perfection. While Lincoln had wrested from a scanty
schooling a command of English clear and forcible always, but, he
feared, rough-hewn, lacking, he feared, in finish and in breadth — of
what use was it for such a one to try to fashion a speech fit to take a

22

LINCOLN MONUMENT AT SPRINGFIELD.

LINCOLN.

[By J. T. Trowbridge.]

Heroic soul, in homely garb half hid,

Sincere, sagacious, melancholy, quaint;

What he endured, no less than what he did,

Has reared his monument, and crowned him saint.

23

place by the side of Everett's silver sentences? He sighed. Yet the
people had a right to the best he could give, and he would give them his
best ; at least he could see to it that the words were real and were short ;
at least he would not, so, exhaust their patience. And the work might
as well be done now in the leisure of the journey. He put a hand, big,
powerful, labor-knotted, into first one sagging pocket and then another,
in search of a pencil, and drew out one broken across the end. He
glanced about inquiringly — there was nothing to write upon. Across
the car the Secretary of State had just opened a package of books and
their wrapping of brown paper lay on the floor, torn carelessly in a
zigzag. The President stretched a long arm.

"Mr. Seward, may I have this to do a little writing?" he asked,
and the Secretary protested, insisting on finding better material.

But Lincoln, with few words, had his way, and soon the untidy
stump of a pencil was at work and the great head, the deep-lined face,
bent over Seward's bit of brown paper, the whole man absorbed in his
task.

Earnestly, with that "capacity for taking infinite pains" which has

been defined as genius, he labored as the hours flew, building together

close-fitted word on word, sentence on sentence. As the sculptor must

dream the statue prisoned in the marble, as the artist must dream the

picture to come from the brilliant unmeaning of his palette, as the

musician dreams a song, so he who writes must have a vision of his

finished work before he touches, to begin it, a medium more elastic,

more vivid, more powerful than any other — words — prismatic bits

of humanity, old as the Pharaohs, new as the Arabs of the street,

broken, sparkling, alive, from the age-long life of the race. Abraham

Lincoln, with the clear thought in his mind of what he would say, found

the sentences that came to him colorless, wooden. A wonder flashed

over him once or twice of Everett's skill with the symbols which, it

seemed to him, were to the Bostonian a keyboard facile to make music,

to Lincoln tools to do his labor. Pie put the idea aside, for it hindered

him. As he found the sword fitted to his hand he must fight with it ;

it might be that he, as well as Everett, could say that which should

go straight from him to his people, to the nation who struggled at his

back towards a goal. At least each syllable he said should be chiseled

from the rock of his sincerity. So he cut here and there an adjective,

here and there a phrase, baring the heart of his thought, leaving no

ribbon or flower of rhetoric to flutter in the eyes of those with whom

he would be utterly honest. And when he had done he read the speech

and dropped it from his hand to the floor and stared again from the

window. It was the best he could do, and it was a failure. So, with

the pang of the workman who believes his work done wrong, he lifted

and folded the torn bit of paper and put it in his pocket, and put aside

the thought of it, as of a bad thing which he might not better, and

turned and talked cheerfully with liis friends.

* * * * * * *

24

'FIFTY YEARS AFTER, A REVERIE."

[From "Lincoln at Gettysburg" — Clark E. Carr.]

On a bright November afternoon of long ago when the autumn
leaves were tinged with a thousand hues of beauty, upon an eminence
in the midst of a great plain bounded by lofty mountains, I saw a vast
concourse of men and women. I saw among them illustrious warriors,
gifted poets, and profound statesmen. I saw ambassadors of mighty
empires, governors of great commonwealths, ministers of cabinets, men
of high position and power. I saw above their heads, upon even hand.
a starry banner, dropping under the weight of sombre drapery. 1 saw
men and women standing among new-made graves, overwhelmed with
grief which they vainly endeavored to conceal. I knew that I was in
the midst of a people bowing under great affliction, of a land stricken
with sorrow. I knew that the tide of destruction and death had not
ceased to ebb and flow, but that at that moment the fate of my country
was trembling in the balance, her only hope in the fortitude and valor
of her sons, who were baring their breasts to storms of shot and shell
only a few miles away.

I saw standing in the midst of that mighty assembly a man of
majestic yet benignant mien, of features worn and haggard, but beam-
ing with purity, with patriotism, and with hope. Every eye was di-
rected towards him, and, as men looked into his calm, sad, earnest
face, they recognized the great President, the foremost man of the
world, not only in position and power but in all the noblest attributes
of humanity.

When he essayed to speak, such solemn silence reigned as when,
within consecrated walls, men and women feel themselves in the pres-
ence of Deity. Each sentence, slowly and earnestly pronounced, as its
full import was apprehended, sank into every patriotic heart, gave a
strange lustre to every face, and nerved every arm. In those utterances,
the abstract, the condensation, the summing up of American patriotism,
were contained the hopes, the aspirations, the stern resolves, the conse-
cration upon the altar of humanity, of a great people.

From the hour of that solemn dedication the final triumph of the
loyal hosts was assured. As the Christian day by day voices the sacred
prayer given him by his Saviour so the American Patriot will continue
to cherish those sublime sentiments and inspired words. While the
Republic lives he will continue to repeat them, and while, realizing
all their solemn significance, he continues to repeat them, the Republic
will live.

25

MARBLE STATUE OF LINCOLN IN STATEHOUSE, SPRINGFIELD.

28
ADDRESS ON THE BATTLEFIELD OF GETTYSBURG.

[At the Dedication of the Cemetery. November 19, 1863.]

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this
continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great Civil War. testing whether that
nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedi-
cate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here
gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and
proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate
■ — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men. living and dead,
who struggled here, have consecrated it. far above our poor power to
add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we
say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the
living, rather, to be didicated here to the unfinished work which they
who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us
to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from
these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which
they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve
that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God,
shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people,
by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

THE SOUTH AND ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

[From "A Tribute from the South," by Hon. Joseph T. Robinson.

U. S. Senator from Arkansas.]

When the spirit of revenge has seized the souls of many then in
power; when the South lay at the feet of the Union armies; when the
multitudes were crying "Hang the Rebel- !" and "Little Tad," God
bless his memory, said "No, let's not hang them; let's hang on to them."
Mr. Lincoln declared "Tad is right ; let's hang on to them ; not hang
them." Thus was epitomized the policy pursued in the restoration of
the seceding states. Thus was exemplified the resolute mercy of him
whom the South had hated, but who. unresentfully. stood as a "pillar
of cloud by day and fire by night" between what remained of her
civilization and destruction. It is for this magnanimous service that
the South reverently joins the North in celebrating this occasion; com-
missions me to bring a white rose plucked by the daughter of a Con-
* federate soldier from a garden blooming in the heart of Dixie. If
Mr. Lincoln were now alive there is not a home in all the South that
would not give him joyous welcome. The surviving followers of the
dauntless Lee, untitled knights in grey, would combine with the scat-
tered fragments of Grant's legion to form his guard of honor.

27
LINCOLN, THE MAN OF THE PEOPLE.

[Edwin Markham.]

When the Norn-Mother saw the Whirlwind Hour,

Greatening and darkening as it hurried on,

She bent the strenuous heavens and came down

To make a man to meet the mortal need.

She took the tried clay of the common road —

Clay warm yet with the genial heat of Earth,

Dashed through it all a strain of prophecy ;

Then mixed a laughter with the serious stuff.

It was a stuff to wear for centuries,

A man that matched the mountains and compelled

The stars to look our way and honor us.

The color of the ground was in him, the red earth ;

The tang and odor of the primal things —

The rectitude and patience of the rocks ;

The gladness of the wind that shakes the corn ;

The courage of the bird that dares the sea;

The justice of the rain that loves all leaves;

The pity of the snow that hides all scars ;

The loving kindness of the wayside well;

The tolerance and equity of light that gives as freely to

The shrinking weed as to the great oak flaring to the wind-

The grave's low hill as to the Matterhorn

That shoulders out the sky.

And so he came.

From prairie cabin to the Capital,

One fair Ideal led our chieftain on.

Forevermore he burned to do his deed

With the fine stroke and gesture of a king,

He built the rail pile as he built the state,

Pouring his splendid strength through every blow,

The conscience of him testing every stroke,

To make his deed the measure of a man.

So came the captain with the mighty heart ;
And when the step of Earthquake shook the house,
Wrenching the rafters from their ancient hold,
He held the ridge pole up, and spiked again
The rafters of the Home. He held his place —
Held the long purpose like a growing tree —
Held on through blame and faltered not at praise.
And when he fell in Whirlwind, he went down
As when a kingly cedar green with boughs
Goes down with a great shout upon the hills,
And leaves a lonesome place against the sky.

28

NANCY HANKS LINCOLN, MOTHER OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Monument Erected to Nancy Hanks Lincoln at Her Grave Near Lincoln City,
Spencer Co., Indiana, Through the Generosity of Col, J. S. Culver, Springfield,
111., From the Old Stone of the Lincoln Monument at Springfield. Monument
Dedicated October 1, 1902.

NANCY HANKS.

[From "A Tribute From the South" — by Hon. Joseph T. Robinson,

U. S. Senator from Arkansas.]

Poor Nancy Hanks! For every joy life brought to you, there
came a thousand woes! For every day of calm and sun, a year of
storm and gloom ! Into your grave unspoken went the story of your
sorrow and sufferings. Yours was a life of obscurity. To your son
was transmitted a heritage of fellowship for common people, a capacity
for mighty duties, never one neglected or forgotten. The hardships of
humble birth, poverty and toil, gave a color to the life of Mr. Lincoln
which never faded, stored in his mind a knowledge of common things,
and a familiarity with the trivial achievements and weighty cares of
the humble.

29

LINCOLN.

[By Odillon B. Slane.]
From a cabin to the White House,

And from poverty to power,
Rose the nation's valiant chieftain

In that dark and trying hour ;
When the cry was — "Save the union,"

When the thunder drums of war
Filled the soldier heart with courage,

Rallying thousands from afar.

From a cabin to the White House,

All his genius could employ
The heritage that followed,

From the State of Illinois
Where he met the giant, Douglas,

On the platform in our state,
How they wrestled with each other,

These great masters of debate.

From a cabin to the White House,

In the early sixties — when
The battle cry of freedom

Had inspired the hearts of men ;
The chief of a mighty nation,

With a stroke of his mighty pen,
Wrote out the Emancipation,

Breathing liberty again.

From a cabin to the White House,

Half a century ago,
From Sumter to Appomattox

Waged the struggle to and fro ;
Now advancing — now retreating —

Now with Sherman to the sea,
The conflict only ended

When Grant met General Lee.

From a cabin to the White House,

And breasting the stars and bars,
Bearing high our nation's ensign,

The glorious stripes and stars,
Increasing true devotion.

In this land of Freedom's birth,
Where government of the people

Shall not perish from the earth.

30

THE LINCOLN HOME, SPRINGFIELD.

TRIBUTE TO LINCOLN.

A man of great ability, pure patriotism, unselfish nature, full of
forgiveness to his enemies, bearing malice toward none, he proved to be
the man above all others for the struggle through which the nation had
to pass to place itself among the greatest in the family of nations.
His fame will grow brighter as time passes and his great work is better
understood.

— U. S. Qrant.

31

My Dear Mr. Blair:

1775 N STREET,
WASHINGTON, D. C.

April 21, 1916.

Of course I heartily sympathize with the object of your Memorial
Day pamphlet, for the young people of to-day ought to be made to
know as much as possible of the great events in our history of fifty
years ago, and of the great moral forces by which they were brought
about. I am, however, going to ask you to excuse me from writing the
letter you suggest ; in the years gone by I have taken some part in
Memorial Day celebrations because I have thought it my duty as an
individual to do so, but always with some hesitation for on such an
occasion it is impossible that the part my father took in those events
should not be the matter of especial comment and I have always felt
more comfortable in leaving to others entirely, speech-making occa-
sions or letter-writing occasions in which the events of his life were apt
to be the subject of commendation. Instead of diminishing,' this feel-
ing has grown upon me.

Very sincerely yours,

(Signed) Robert T. Lincoln.

Hon. Francis G. Blair,

Superintendent of Public Instruction.

32

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MURAL DECORATION IN THE ROTUNDA OF THE CAPITOL BUILDING, SPR IN

AT SHE]

33

IELD, BY NICOLAI SHOWING THE DEBATE BETWEEN LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS
fVILLE.

34

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2^? ^t*"?z**f ■!*■££* *E> '^'iP^jH :"

STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS.

35

TWO GREAT SONS OF ILLINOIS.

[Hon. Edward F. Dunne Springfield, 111.]

One hundred years ago, in a little village in Vermont, there was
born a man, who, when he arrived at the years of manhood,' made his
home in the State of Illinois, and who, from the time when he came
to this State, until the time of his untimely death in 1861, was one of
the great intellectual leaders, not only of the State of Illinois, but of
the United States of America.

In the political struggles which attracted the attention not only
of this State, but of the whole United States, he became one of the
great moving figures, and in his intellectual combats with another
great Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, he riveted the attention of the
whole of the United States upon the issues of his day.

These two great sons of Illinois became so prominent in the politi-
cal life of the United States that they were both nominated for the
highest executive office in the gift of the people of the United States,
and after a most memorable struggle, Abraham Lincoln, his competitor,
was elected President of the United States.

At this juncture this nation was faced with a situation full of peril,
if not complete extinction, and upon that great occasion the man whose
name we now meet to commemorate, proved himself a patriot among
patriots, and next to Abraham Lincoln, himself, did more for the
preservation of the integrity of the United States than any other man
within its confines.

36

37

STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS.

[By Clark E. Carr.]

FIRST APPEARANCE IN ILLINOIS.

Slender of figure, only five feet four in height, and only twenty
years old, without a friend and with scarcely an acquaintance within
a thousand miles, with but a few cents in his pocket, Stephen A. Doug-
las, in the spring of 1833, walked into the town of Winchester in Scott
County, Illinois, with his coat on his arm, in the hope of being able to
find employment.

As he proceeded along the main street of the town he saw quite
a number of people assembled, and learned that there was to be an
auction of the goods and chattels and livestock of some citizen of the
county. The young man paused to ask a question, when he was asked
whether he could write and keep accounts ; to which he replied in the
affirmative. It was then proposed to him that he act as clerk of the
auction, and he engaged to do so at the wages of two dollars a day.
The auction continued for three days, and he was paid six dollars for
his services.

This was the first money he ever earned.

The young man soon found an opportunity for more permanent
employment by opening a private school. He got together forty schol-
ars for a term of three months, at three dollars a scholar, which gave
him enough for his immediate wants. He had studied the law in an
■ eastern state and, while thus teaching, he continued that study.

Within ten years after that friendless boy walked into that town,
he had been admitted to the bar, immediately becoming a successful
lawyer ; had been a member of the Illinois Legislature ; had been prose-
cuting attorney ; had been register of the land office at Springfield ; had
been Secretary of State of Illinois; had been a judge of the Supreme
Court of Illinois, presiding upon the bench; and was on his way to
•Washington to take his seat in the Lower House of Congress, to which
position he had been elected. When the congressional term expired he
was reelected and then reelected again, each time by increased majori-
ties. When about to enter upon his third term in the Lower House of
Congress he was elected to the United States Senate for six years.
When that term in the Senate expired he was reelected for another
term practically without opposition. Six years later he was confronted
by Abraham Lincoln in the great debates ; he was victorious, and was
reelected to a third term ; upon this he served but little more than two
years, when he died at forty-eight years of age.

38

TKPHEN A.D OUCLktX.

OIL PAINTING OF DOUGLAS IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SPRINGFIELD.

39
DOUGLAS AND LINCOLN.

[By U. S. Senator Lawrence Y. Sherman, taken from a speech

delivered at the centennial celebration of the birth of Stephen A.

Douglas in the House of Representatives Hall, Springfield, Illinois,

April 23, 1913.]

There are few who come here, who know the history of this
country, who do not, at the same time they pay a tribute to Lincoln,
remember his great colleague in that struggle, because in its finish he
was a colleague.

From this capital at one time there originated a forensic struggle
that was titanic in its elements and in its actors.

It is difficult, after more than half a century has elapsed, to study
the controversy and the men who conducted it. without a quickening
pulse, and a brightened eye.

Both of them developed their peculiar powers in the pioneer life
of Illinois. Both sprang from the people.

Both had the same inheritances of head, and heart and hand. One
was a woodman and a flatboatman. The other a cabinetmaker. One
was a surveyor. The other was an auctioneer's clerk. Both were law
students. Both were afterwards lawyers, both were members of the
Legislature. Both were stump speech debaters in the manner of that
time, that has endured unto the present hour. Both became the chief
of great political parties. Both became candidates for United States
Senator. Both were candidates for the Presidency, but always, wher-
ever they were, whether in the midst of the primeval forest, or cross-
ing the channels of the inland rivers, whether they were in court, or
in a campaign, they were always an inspiration and type for the youth
of the country to emulate, and the men of this republic to admire.

We owe, to-night, to Stephen A. Douglas, this tribute to his
memory and our respects for the one hundredth anniversary of his
birth.

It is altogether fit and proper that here and now we record our

devotion to his life and to his public services.

* * * * * * *

When the flag was lowered at Sumter, Douglas became the first
and the greatest of war Democrats.

He pledged his help to Lincoln to maintain the Union, and he
nobly redeemed his promise.

He saw armed rebellion lift its hand against a people's government.
The gathering squadrons of disunion hurried to the fields of the Civil
War ; but amid the confusion his voice always rang true. "There are
no neutrals in this country. There are none but patriots and traitors."
The words printed on your program are the words that, if any great
dome should be erected to the memory, in marble and bronze, ought to
be cut on its base — these words that are the words of one who believed
in this Union and believed it was worth saving, as it then was.

One June 3, 1861, he died, young in years, but fruitful in results.
His battle cry sounded from the grave. The spirit of Douglas rose,
above the storm of civil war, from Sumter to Appomattox.

40

The men who followed him in campaign, met treason on a hundred
fields. They gave proof of their devotion, as men who loved the
Union, by the sacrifice of their lives.

There was no party in the service that Douglas gave, in the last
remnants of his broken life. In the last supreme test his heroic figure,
in Illinois, must rise alongside of the memory of Lincoln. He was
rightfully called the "Little Giant."

Born in obscurity, and bred in poverty, with bead and band and
heart imbued with valor and devotion, be lived to see the time when
be was the leader of hundreds of thousands of men who trusted im-
plicitly bis judgment, bis honor, bis wisdom, bis courage.

To his great rival, in the day of defeat, be gave the full measure
of bis devotion. lie was great in life, but be was unspeakably greater
in bis death.

BATTLE OF FLAG OF FIFTEENTH ILLINOIS VOLUNTEERS.

With Names of Battles Through Which It Was Carried — Shiloh, Siege of Corinth
and Matamora. Col. A. H. Wheat, Co. F, 15th 111. Vol., Is Holding the
Flagstaff. Comrade W. H. Hodges, Custodian of State Memorial Museum,
Holds the Tattered Emblem.

41

MARBLE STATUE OF DOUGLAS IN STATEHOUSE, SPRINGFIELD.

42

DOUGLAS, THE PATRIOT.

[By U. S. Senator James Hamilton Lewis, taken from a speech
delivered at the centennial celebration of the birth of Stephen A.
Douglas in the House of Representatives Hall, Springfield, Illinois,
April 23, 1913.]

It is all well enough, my fellow Illinoisans, to take great pride in
these little temporary outbursts of enthusiasm that we experience
from time to time when someone attains to some feat that is known
in its hour as an achievement, when it is beheld in haste, but —

"The tumult and the shouting dies,
The captains and the kings depart ;

Still stands thine ancient sacrifice,
A humble and a contrite heart.

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet —
Lest we forget ; Lest we forget !"

We go in this hour for the restoration of America, back to the
wisdom of other days.

If America is to be preserved to her children as the inheritance
of freedom and justice, as transmitted from the fathers who founded
the republic of Washington, Jefferson, and Hamilton, we need to be
restored to the doctrines of Douglas and Lincoln, which followed the
sacred path of Washington, as he proclaimed, in his farewell message :

"Peace with all nations ;

Entangling alliances with none.

Here, upon this rock, we build our church!"

THE BATTLE FLAG OF THIRTY-FIRST ILLINOIS VOLUNTEERS.

A

43

The last thought which shall engage my attention in this casual
survey of this distinguished gentleman shall be that of "Patriot," and
that splendid loyalty which he bore to his country — as his country !

It may have been, gentlemen of Illinois, that he must forego the
hope of political elevation ; it may be that he bade good-bye to those
flattering huzzas that come from an admiring multitude ; it may be that
he kissed farewell to many ambitions and opportunities that his heart
cherished and his soul desired, for the good of his country, and his
sincerity as a patriot.

Here was a man big enough to realize that while there could be
personal defeat for him, through such defeat there could be victory for
that which was beyond and superior to him — his country !

His was the creed of the dictator of Tripoli : "My country ! May
she be right ; But, right or wrong, my country !"

Oh, how well he upheld the Constitution ! He saw the prospect
of war, and he realized what it meant to this Union. He did all he
could to avert it. Indoors and out, he spoke of its possibilities. In
public places and in private chambers, he inveighed against those who
sought to bring on disaster. With every expression of his life, he
cried for peace and justice, but when the hour came that was inevitable,
in his vision he saw two great things, the fleets mowed down, desolation
in the cities, the tramp of soldiery breaking upon the ear, mothers
hugging their babes to their bosoms, baptizing their faces to the falling
tears, as the first born had fallen upon the hills.

He realized it was war ! There was but one place for him, and
that was the Temple of the Republic. There he hastened, in great
anxiety for his country.

He was a citizen of Illinois ! He was the compatriot of Lincoln !
He was the devoted son of the Constitution, and it was in that hour
that the splendor of his character rose above every form of hostile
accusation.

Still we behold him, to-night, in the retrospect, sweet and gentle
with it all !

Gentlemen, I can possibly appreciate more fully the situation than
many of you who honor me with your audience.

I recognize that with these distinguished speakers who preceded
me, we accord to all men to-night that which they did, and that which
they said, came from the heart that beat within them, came from the
soul of duty, as it was defined by every impulse of patriotism !

I come from that borderland, where on a thousand hills a mother
kissed her two sons goodbye, and sent them off with her tears upon
their cheeks, one to die for his country, the other to fall for his home !

Blessed be he that speaketh from his heart ! To-night we pray
for all, in common, and pray they rest in heaven together. I therefore
speak of them as one who speaks of the common country preserved.
I delight to-night to feel that the sons of those who battled together
are once again reunited.

LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS IN SCHOOL CONVENTION.

A second convention was held at Vandalia, December 5 and 6,
1834, at which sixty delegates were present from over thirty counties

44

of the State — principally members of the General Assembly then in
session, — among whom were Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas,
and others whose names became afterward well known in the State.
Hon Cyrus Edwards was chosen president, and Stephen A. Douglas,
secretary.

— From Journal of Proceedings of the Illinois State Teachers Association 1S69.

STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS.

[Hon. Wm, L. Davidson, Lewistown, Illinois.]

Lincoln was carefully guarded from this city to the capitol at
Washington. When he got there, on that fateful day, when, on
the wide steps of the capitol, he was administered the oath of office
and delivered his inaugural address and threats had been made
everywhere that Lincoln would be assassinated, in that pregnant
hour when you would think the great leaders of that party would
be nearest to him to protect him, I will be hanged if the eminent
leaders were not behind the marble pillars or somewhere else, and
Stephen A. Douglas was beside Lincoln, holding the first shiny hat
that old Abe ever had in his life, during all of the time while Lin-
coln delivered the inaugural address and took the oath of office.

Don't you forget it! He was called that afternoon to the
White House. The lawn of the White House was covered with
politicians seeking office, and an army of New England preachers
who had come to tell old Abe how to run the Government, when
a magic thing occurred, similar to that which happened to the
children of Israel when Moses made the waters of the Red Sea part,
side by side, until the children of Israel should have passed through
unharmed.

Once again, the vast mass of people there in the White House
grounds, by some authority were divided in two. while Stephen A.
Douglas, the senior senator of Illinois, was admitted to the pres-
ence of the new President of the United States.

It is known that he was there in consultation with the Presi-
dent for over three hours, but nobody knows all that occurred.
The only thing we did know, even at the time, was that Douglas,
weak, infirm, and dying, was implored to come back to Chicago,
to come back to Springfield, to rally the democracy to the support
of the Union and the flag. You know what happened. * * *

Then and there he told them the story of the South plotting
to destroy this Union. There again he rallied as he had from early
youth, the democracy of Illinois to his support and that day in his
last great speech he cried out to them, "No longer in this crisis can
there be democrats and republicans. It is up to each man to
decide and he has got to be a patriot or a traitor."

On that pregnant day I want to tell you that the men who had
been unconsciously fighting the Union, were induced to take their
places, right-about-face, in the support of Abraham Lincoln, con-
stitutionally elected to the Presidency. They took up their loyalty
to the flag and to the Union, don't you forget it! Once again the

45

DOUGLAS MONUMENT.

46

miracle of the King of Galilee was performed upon the earth and
at that voice the unconscious waters of treason were changed into
the rich red wine of patriotism, to the flag of the Union, and it was
the voice of Douglas that did it.

O, how we loved him ! How all the people loved him ! Just
a few days after he died, strong men cried in every street and ham-
let of this country. In our own little city, I remember there was
a Union burial service for Judge Douglas. The distinguished men
of both parties tried in vain to acknowledge his patriotism, his
magnanimity, his loyalty. In vain they tried to tell it, but broke
down and could not tell the story.

There was our choir of the boys and girls, sweet girls trying
to sing for the dead Douglas the requiems only sung for the mighty
men of earth and they too, with tear-splashed faces and quivering
voices, failed and gave it up. They could not sing of the death
of that man.

Now I am asking you and I am here just this brief time, to
appeal to this great audience in the city of Springfield, the people
of the city so familiar with him, to join me in the general effort to
bring back the glowing Douglas to life once more, to rectify the
mistake that has been made, to fill your schools and homes with
loyalty to that other son of Illinois, so that when the second cen-
tennial of his death will come, a grateful people will have erected,
high up in the Nation's hall of fame, close by the name of the adored
and immortal Lincoln, erected high up there also the name of that
other darling son of Illinois, the name of Stephen Arnold Douglas.

THE TRUE IDEALS OF DOUGLAS.

[By Hon. Robert Dick Douglas, taken from a speech delivered at the
centennial celebration of the birth of Stephen A Douglas in the
House of Representatives Hall, Springfield, Illinois, April 23,
1913.]

His last days were his darkest because they were the darkest
for his beloved country ; but those days gave him an opportunity of
appearing in a new light to many of his countrymen who had there-
tofore viewed him from the standpoint of partisan opposition.

The gallant political army he had so long and so brilliantly led
to victory had at last been defeated and the National Government
put into the hands of his political opponents ; but when the echo of
the guns at Sumter told the country that at last civil war was a
dreadful reality, he did not hesitate, but promptly offered his serv-
ices to the Government in any capacity in which he could best be
used for the preservation of the Union, and immediately began his
efforts to hold loyal the great Middle West.

Here in your city of Springfield was made one of his last
speeches in which he pleaded, and pleaded not in vain, that all
should forget past differences and rally to the support of the Union.

47

How great was his love for the Union, how intimately it was inter-
woven even with his personal affection, is shown by the thoughts
that filled his mind in his dying moments.

In June, 1861, he lay upon his bed in Chicago, knowing that
his end had come. He was asked if he had any message to send
to his two young sons, then in the city of Washington. "Yes,"
said the dying man. And what was that message? "Tell them
to obey the laws and support the Constitution of the United States."

But the man himself had not changed. His ideals and aspira-
tions were the same that they had always been. His love for the
Union was no stronger in 1861 than it had been throughout all the
years during which he had been striving to preserve it. It was
simply that his former opponents were seeing the same man in a
new light.

I proudly think that Stephen A. Douglas would have been a
man among men in any country or amidst any surroundings ; but
I do not forget that you, the people of the great State of Illinois,
welcomed the unknown boy to your midst ; believed in him, trusted
him, loved him, and so, wherever their home or whatever their
fortunes or their destinies may be, so long as his name and blood
shall last, they will love you for it.

Whether you, looking backward in the light of subsequent
events, agree or disagree with the ultimate wisdom of each par-
ticular measure which he, looking into the unknown future, origi-
nated, or to which he gave his aid, is a matter of little moment.
But as one who through filial affection reveres his memory, as one
who through the accident of birth represents him here to-day, I would,
if I thought the occasion fitting, make one request of you — that you
give him credit for unselfish sincerity and unfaltering courage.

Before a hostile audience I would make this request, and only
this ; but standing here in your capitol at Springfield, before you,
the people of Illinois, knowing what you have done in the past,
seeing and hearing what you are doing to-day, I feel that such a
request coming from me would by implication be more than un-
just, it would be most ungracious.

More than half a century has passed since Stephen A. Douglas
ended his short and storm-tossed life and laid his head for his
last long sleep on the bosom of his adopted mother. Cities have
arisen where he knew only prairies ; a new generation has come to
take the places of his friends and associates ; almost all has
changed ; but Illinois is fast making real his fondest dreams of her
future greatness, and the nation that he loved has escaped the fate
he feared and set in the political heavens a rainbow of perpetual
Union.

My only regret is that he could not have lived to see the civic
tempest, which beclouded his dying hours, give place to the sunshine
of to-day.

48

I'.IKTHPLACE OF ULYSSES. S. GRANT.

GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT'S CHRONOLOGY.

1822-
1839-
1843-
1845-
1848-

1852-
1854-

1859-
1860-
1861-

1862-
1863-

1864—

1865-
1868-
1872-
1877-
1884-
1885-

Born, Point Pleasant, Ohio, April 27.

Entered West Point Military Academy.

Graduated from West Point.

Entered the Mexican war.

Married Miss Julia Dent, near St. Louis.

Was stationed at Detroit and at Sacket's Harbor, New York.

Sent to Pacific coast.

Resigned from army.

Began farming near St. Louis.

Entered real estate business in St. Louis.

Employed in a leather store at Galena, Illinois.

Enteied the army as colonel of the Twenty-first Illinois Regiment.

Promoted to Brigadier-General.

Stationed at Cairo, Illinois.

Seized Paducah, Kentucky.

Fought battle of Belmont, Missouri.

Captured Forts Henry and Donelson.

Won battle of Shiloh.

Captured Vicksburg.

Made commander of the Western Army.

Won the battle of Chattanooga.

Made commander in chief of all the armies.

Took up his headquarters with the Army of the East.

Captured Lee's army, which practically closed the war.

Elected President of the United States.

Was reelected.

Began a trip around the world.

Lost all his property by the rascality of a business partner.

Wrote his Personal Memoir.

Died at McGregor, New York, July 23.

49

CHILDHOOD OF ULYSSES S. GRANT.

[From "Grant, His Life and Character" — Hamlin Garland.]

Ulysses S. Grant was born in a cabin home standing in a little
village on the north bank of the Ohio river, at a point about twenty-
five miles east of Cincinnati. This cabin stood comparatively un-
changed up to the year 1885, when it was taken down and removed
to Columbus as a relic.

It was a one-story building of two very small rooms, with an out-
side chimney at one end, in the manner of southern cottages. In one
room the family lived in the daytime, cooking at the big fireplace, and
eating at a pine table. In the other room they slept.

It was almost as humble in appearance as the home in which
Abraham Lincoln first saw light. The village was called Point
Pleasant, and it was indeed a beautiful place. Below the door the
Ohio river curved away into the blue distance, and behind it rose hills
covered with tall woods of oak and walnut and ash. At that time the
river was the great highway, and over its steel-bright surface the stern-
wheel steamers "Daniel Boone" and "Simon Kenton" plied amid many
flatboats, like immense swans surrounded by awkward waterbugs.

Ulysses developed early into a self-reliant child, active and healthy.
He came at the age of seven to a share in the work about the house
and yard. He began to pick up chips and to carry in the wood for the
big fireplace, quite like the son of a farmer. He was called "Lys," or in
the soft drawl of the South, "Lyssus" ; his playmates had not yet begun
to find it worth while to tease him about his name. He had wonderful
love for horses, and as soon as he could toddle he delighted to go out
across the yard, where, at the hitching poles before the finishing room
of the tannery, several teams were almost always to be found on
pleasant days. He crawled about between the legs of the dozing
horses, and swung by their tails in perfect content, till some timid
mother near by rushed in to Mrs. Grant with excited outcry: "Mrs.
Grant, do you know where your boy is? He's out there swinging on
the tails of Loudon's horses !"

But Mrs. Grant never seemed to worry about Ulysses in the least.
She was not one of those mothers whose maternal love casts a cor-
respondingly deep shadow of agonizing fear. "When Ulysses was
sick she gave him a dose of castor oil, put him to bed, and went
calmly about her work, trusting in the Lord and the boy's constitution,"
one neighbor said.

Mrs. Grant saw that Ulysses understood horses, and that they
understood him, so she interfered very little in his play with the teams
across the way. She was too busy to have an eye on his restless
activity.

50

GEN. U. S. GRANT.

51

A HERO OF PEACE AND WAR.

[F. G. Blair, Springfield, Illinois.]

Not to glorify war nor the heroes of war was Memorial Day set
apart. It was rather to impress upon us and our children the terrible
price which our permanent peace has cost, and to keep constantly
before us the picture of havoc and sacrifice wrought by an appeal to
arms. But, while our dread and hatred of war should increase with
every telling of the story which the day recalls, its proper observance
should also increase our respect and devotion for these peace-loving
men and women who, with great reluctance, dared to choose the strife
of war rather than the repose of dishonor ; who hated war not less
than we and whose love for peace was none the less, but who hated
wrong and national disgrace more than they hated war, and who
loved right and national honor more than an unstable and dishonorable
peace. Therefore let no one think that these soldiers whose memory
we honor lusted for the blood of their fellow men or took comfort in
the plunder of homes and the destruction of cities. They, far more
vividly than we, saw the pity and the agony of it all, and, on battle-
field and camping ground, longed anxiously for the dawn of peace.

Thus, it is, that war may become its own worst enemy and its
great soldiers our best heralds of peace. It was Ulysses S. Grant, the
great soldier of the greatest war of all times, who wrote, "Let us have
peace." Was this a chance sentence that dropped from his pen? Did
the thought first occur to him after all opportunities for fighting were
over? No. It was his firm conviction, his heartfelt desire, born with
him into the world, deepened by the dread and anxiety of every battle,
burned into his soul by the fire of conflict and slaughter. We are,
therefore, most fortunate that in honoring him as a great soldier, we
are also honoring him as a great prophet of peace. And in thus show-
ing our respect for our great soldier and commander, we shall also
show our respect to all those brave men whose courage and devotion
made the name of Grant worthy of our honor.

52

REMINISCENCES OF GEN. U. S. GRANT.

[By General Fred D. Grant.]

(Read Before Illinois Commandery Loyal Legion of the United
States. Springfield, Illinois, January 27, 1910.)

Kind friends, companions of my father, I am indeed happy to
be with you again, appreciating gratefully your warm reception,
realizing, however, that it is not so much for me personally, all this
kindness, as it is in honor of the memory of a loved one gone before ;
your old commander and comrade in arms, General U. S. Grant.

I have written out a few reminiscences which I venture to read,
as requested to-night.

It was my great good fortune to be with my father, close at his
side, much of the time during the Civil War, when I had the oppor-
tunity of seeing and listening to many of the noble and distinguished
men, who were loyally serving their country during that great
struggle; thus I had the honor and happiness of seeing and meet-
ing our revered and martyred president, Abraham Lincoln.

In looking back to those dark days of the Civil War, I have
distinct personal recollections, of the first two meetings between
President Lincoln and my father, General U. S. Grant. These two
occasions seem, to my mind, the most momentous and memorable
in the history of our Nation, as these meetings marked the begin-
ning of the end of our great struggle for the existence of our
Nation.

The principal and determined efforts of President Lincoln's
administration were directed to the preservation of the Union,
which naturally, could not be accomplished without the success of
the Union armies in the field. Up to the spring of 1864 the progress
of the Civil War had not been satisfactory to the people of the
North, and little success had been accomplished, except in the
victories at Donelson, Vicksburg and Chattanooga.

After the Campaign of Chattanooga, the president and the
people of the United States turned impulsively to General Grant
as the leader of the Union armies, and a bill was introduced in
Congress, reviving for him the grade of lieutenant-general, which
grade had died with Washington (though Scott had held it by
brevet). The enthusiastic members of the House of Representa-
tives received the bill with applause. They made no concealment
of their wishes, and recommended Grant by name for the appoint-
ment of lieutenant-general. The bill passed the house by a two-
thirds majority, and the senate with only six dissenting votes.

President Lincoln seemed impatient to put Grant in this high
grade, and said he desired to do so to relieve himself from the responsi-

53

bilities of managing the military forces. He sent the nomination
to the senate, and General Grant, who was at Nashville, received
an order from the Secretary of War, to report in person at Wash-
ington. In compliance with this order, he left Chattanooga on
March 5, for Washington, taking with him some members of his
staff. My father also allowed me to accompany him there, I hav-
ing been with him during the Vicksburg campaign and at Donelson.
He reached Washington in the afternoon of March 7, and went
direct to the Willard's hotel.

»l* 2& ifc 2fc ^Z *lf «f*

Senator Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, ex-Secretary of War,
soon called at the Willard's hotel for my father, and accompanied
him, with his staff, to the White House, where President and Mrs.
Lincoln were holding a reception.

As my father entered the drawing-room door, at the White
House, the other visitors fell back in silence, and President Lincoln
received my father most cordially, taking both his hands, and
saying, "I am most delighted to see you, General." I myself, shall
never forget this first meeting of Lincoln and Grant. It was an
impressive affair, for there stood the executive of this great nation,
welcoming the commander of its armies. I see them now before
me, Lincoln, tall, thin and impressive, with deeply-lined face, and
his strong sad eyes; Grant, compact, of good size, but looking small
beside the president, with his broad, square head and compressed
lips — decisive and resolute. This was a thrilling moment, for in the
hands of these two men was the destiny of our country. Their
work was in cooperation, for the preservation of our great nation,
and for the liberty of man. They remained talking together for a
few moments, and then General Grant passed on into the East
room, with the crowd which surrounded and cheered him wildly,
and all present were eager to press his hand. The guests present
forced him to stand upon a sofa, insisting that he could be better
seen by all. I remember that my father, of whom they wished to
make a hero, blushed most modestly at these enthusiastic atten-
tions; all present joining in expressions of affection and applause.
Soon a messenger reached my father, calling him back to the side
of Mrs. Lincoln, and with her he made a tour of the reception
rooms followed by President Lincoln, whose noble, rugged face
beamed with pleasure and gratification.

When an opportunity presented itself for them to speak
privately, President Lincoln said to my father : "I . am to formally
present you your commission to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, and
knowing, General, your dread of speaking, I have written out what
I have to say, and will read it, and it will only be four or five sen-
tences. I would like you to say something in reply which will
soothe the feeling of jealously among the officers, and be encourag-
ing to the Nation." Thus spoke this great and noble peacemaker
to the General who so heartily coincided with him in sentiments

and work for union and peace.

*******

Father proceeded to the White House a few minutes before 10
o'clock the next morning, permitting me to accompany him. Upon

54

arriving there, General Grant and his staff were ushered into the
President's office, which I remember was the room immediately above
what is known now as the Green Room of the Executive mansion.
There, the President and his cabinet were assembled, and after a short
and informal greeting, all standing, the President faced General Grant,
and from a sheet of paper, read the following:

"General Grant : The Nation's appreciation of what you have
done, and its reliance upon you for what remains to be done in the
existing great struggle, are now presented, with this commission, con-
stituting you lieutenant-general in the Army of the United States.
With this high honor devolves upon you, also, a corresponding responsi-
bility. As the country herein trusts you, so, under God, it will sustain
you. I scarcely need to add, that with what I here speak, goes my
hearty concurrence."

My father taking from his pocket a sheet of paper containing the
words that he had written the night before, read quietly and modestly
to the President and his Cabinet :

"Mr. President, I accept the commission with gratitude for the
high honor conferred. With the aid of the noble armies that have
fought in so many fields for our common country, it will be my earnest
endeavor not to disappoint your expectations. I feel the full weight
of the responsibilities now devolving upon me, and I know that if
they are met, it will be due to those armies, and, above all, to the favor
of that Providence, which leads both nations and men."

President Lincoln seemed to be profoundly happy, and General
Grant deeply gratified. It was a supreme moment when these two
patriots shook hands in confirming the compact that was to finish our
terrible Civil War, and to save our united country, and to give us a
nation, without master and without slave.

From the time of these meetings, the friendship between the Presi-
dent and my father was most close and loyal. President Lincoln
seemed to have absolute confidence in General Grant and my father
always spoke of the President with the deepest admiration and affec-
tion. This affection and loyal confidence was maintained between
them until their lives ended.

*P *p *l* ^ *p T *p

I remember with utmost interest my life and all of the in-
cidents when with my father and his comrades during the Civil
War, and I recall with deepest affection the men whom I met in
the army. Much of my time was spent among the private soldiers,
who were never too tired or worn out to comfort and pet the boy
of thirteen — the son of the "Old Man." Young as I was then, my
camp life was of such nature — I saw so much of the hardships, the
self-denials, the sufferings and labors' of both privates and officers —
that my proudest moments are when I am associating with the old
warriors — the veteran comrades of my father.

55

GRANT TAKES COMMAND OF THE TWENTY-FIRST

ILLINOIS.

[From "Grant, His Life and Character" — Hamlin Garland.]

It was Logan who accompanied Colonel Grant to the camp, and on
the way out said :

"Colonel, the regiment is a little unruly. Do you think you can
manage them?"

"I think I can," was the quiet reply.

In the amphitheater of the State fair grounds, which formed
Camp Yates, they found the troops assembled like an audience, ready
to enjoy and applaud the speeches of the famous orators, and inci-
dentally to greet their new colonel.

McClernand spoke first. After a vigorous and florid speech teem-
ing with historical allusion, he concluded : "Having said this much,
allow me, Illinoisans, to present to you my friend and colleague in
Congress, the Hon. John A. Logan. He is gifted with eloquence and
will rouse you to feel as the Athenians felt under the eloquence of
Demosthenes. They asked to be immediately led against Philip."

Mr. Logan was greeted with cheers, and in the course of his ad-
dress spoke of the vile partisan assaults which had been made on him,
and urged that it was the private duty of every man to rally to the flag ;
and the loyalty of his audience rolled back in thunderous applause. He
urged the regiment, when the time came to exchange their short time
State service for enlistment in the National army, to move as one man.

"You can't fall out now," he said with a sudden change of tone.
"If you go home now to Mary, she will say, 'Why, Tom, are you home
from the war so soon ?' ' How far did you get ?' 'Mattoon.' "

The sarcasm in his slurring utterance of the word "Mattoon" was an-
swered by hearty laughter — laughter which turned many a holiday militia-
man into a resolute soldier. With a final appeal to their patriotism and valor,
he introduced and led forward the imperturbed colonel, who remained
in changeless attitude for nearly two hours at the back of the platform.

'.'Allow me to present to you your new commander, Colonel
U. S. Grant."

Many of the soldiers observed him for the first time. They
were astonished and disappointed. Logan towered majestically
erect, powerful, handsome, with coal-black hair and flashing eyes ;
by his side Grant in plain citizen's clothes, seemed poor and weak.
He looked like a grave and thoughtful doctor, who had been
weather beaten in storms and saddened by scenes of human suffer-
ing, and was entirely lacking in martial bearing. However, some
enthusiast raised a cheer, and there were loud calls for a speech.

"Grant! Grant!"

"Grant ! A speech."

He walked a step or two toward them, and the men became silent.
They were accustomed to speeches, to bombastic appeals, and were
eager to test his quality. At last he spoke, not loud, but clear and calm,
and with a peculiar quality and inflection which surprised and im-
pressed every officer and gave the whole regiment a new sensation :

"Men, go to your quarters."

The men sat dazed, astounded. It took time to grasp its entire
significance. In the clip of this man's lips, in the clear cut utter-
ance of his command, and in the subtle inflection of his voice was
made manifest the natural commander of men. The time for
oratory was past. The period of action had come.

56
GRANT'S ACCOUNT OF THE MEETING WITH LINCOLN.

[From "Campaigning With Grant" — Horace Porter.]

He then spoke of his experiences with Mr. Lincoln, and the
very favorable impression the President had made upon him. He said :
"In the first interview I had with the President, when no others
were present, and he could talk freely, he told me that he did not
pretend to know anything about the handling of the troops, and
it was with the greatest reluctance that he ever interfered with
the movements of army commanders ; but he had common sense
enough to know that celerity was absolutely necessary ; that while
armies were sitting down waiting for opportunities to turn up
which might, perhaps, be more favorable from a strictly military
point of view, the government was spending millions of dollars
every day ; that there was a limit to the sinews of war, and a time
might be reached when the spirits and resources of the people
would become exhausted. He had always contended that these
considerations should be taken into account, as well as purely mil-
itary questions, and that he adopted the plan of issuing his 'execu-
tive orders' principally for the purpose of hurrying the movements
of commanding generals ; but that he believed I knew the value of
minutes, and that he was not going to interfere with my operations.
He said further, that he did not want to know my plans ; that it
was, perhaps, better that he should not know them, for everybody
he met was trying to find out from him something about the con-
templated movements, and there was always a temptation 'to
leak.' I have not communicated my plans to him or to the Secre-
tary of War. The only suggestion the President made, and it was
merely a suggestion, not a definite plan, was entirely impracticable,
and it was not again referred to in our conversations. He told me
in our first private interview a most amusing anecdote regarding a
delegation of 'cross-roads wiseacres,' as he called them, who came
to see him one day to criticize my conduct in paroling Pemberton's
army after the surrender at VicksburQf, who insisted that the men
would violate their paroles, and in less than a month_ confront me
i.new in the field, and have to be whipped all over again. Said Mr.
Lincoln : 'T thought the best wav to get rid of them was to tell
them the story of Sykes's dog.' 'Have you ever heard of Sykes's
vellow dog?' said I to the spokesman of the delegation. He said
he hadn't. 'Well, T must tell you about him,' said I. 'Sykes had
a yellow dog he set great store by, but there were a lot of small
boys around the village, and that's alwavs a bad thing for dogs, you
know. These boys didn't share Sykes's views and they were not
disposed to let the dog have a fair show. Even Sykes had to admit
that the dog was getting unpopular : in fact, it was soon seen that
a prejudice was growing up against that dog that threatened to
wreck all his future prospects in life. The boys, after meditating
how they could get the best of him, finally fixed up a cartridge with
a long fuse, put the cartridge in a piece of meat, dropped the meat
in the road in front of Sykes's door, and then perched themselves
on a fence a good distance off, holding the end of the fuse in their
hands. Then they whistled for the dog. When he came out he
scented the bait, and bolted the meat, cartridge and all. The boys
touched off the fuse with a cigar, and in about a second a report
came from that dog that sounded like a clap of thunder. Sykes

57

came bouncing out of the house and yelled, 'What's up? Anything
busted?' There was no reply, except a snicker from the small boys
roosting on the fence, but as Sykes looked up he saw the whole
air filled with pieces of yellow dog. He picked up the biggest
piece he could find, a portion of the back with a part of the tail
hanging to it, and after turning it around and looking it all over,
he said, 'Well, I guess he'll never be much account again as a
dog.' And I guess Pemberton's forces will never be much account
again as an army.' The delegation began looking around for their
hats before I had quite got to the end of my story, but I was never
bothered any more after that about superseding the commander of
the Army of the Tennessee."

The general related this anecdote with more animation than
he usually displayed, and with the manifestation of a keen sense of
the humorous, and remarked afterward, "But no one who does not
possess the President's unequaled powers of mimicry can pretend to
convey an idea of the amusing manner in which he told the story."

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59

A LETTER FROM GENERAL GRANT'S DAUGHTER.

1130 Lake Shore Drive.

Chicago, April 20, 1916.

Honorable F. G. Blair, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Spring-
field, Illinois.

Dear Sir: You earnestly request me to write a letter about my
father, Ulysses S. Grant, to be printed in your Memorial Day pamphlet
for the use of the children in the public schools of Illinois.

I am so grateful for the many proofs of affectionate esteem in
which the people of Illinois remember my father that I am anxious
to comply with your request, difficult as it is for me to tell the school
children anything about my father which has not been told in the
many books published about him.

Doubtless, the school children think more frequently of him as
General Grant, and while I should want them to remember and honor
him for his services to our country as a soldier, I would not want them
to think of him only as a fighting man who loved war for war's sake,
but rather as one with a deep sense of duty to his country, fighting
to save and preserve it.

My father loved peace and hated war, but he loved this country
and was devoted to its high purposes, and believed it to be the duty of
every able-bodied citizen of the United States to give loyally and
promptly his services when this country is attacked and the life of this
Republic is threatened.

My father took great interest in our schools and was anxious his
children should apply themselves diligently to their studies. If we
were interested in some subject or he thought we should be and might
not understand it, he was never too busy with more important affairs
to patiently and clearly explain it to us.

My father would not tolerate in the family idle gossip and dis-
agreeable criticism of others. His rule was if one could not speak
kindly and favorably of another, to say nothing.

His sense of fairness in judging men and their acts was admir-
able— free from prejudice and bitterness. Even when one who had
unjustly criticised him was involved, he would calmly and free from
anger decide upon the merits of the case from the facts before him,
and this was his attitude of mind if the same were discussed in the
family circle where one usually speaks more freely and unreservedly.

These were some of the characterists of my father which made
a deep impression on me.

With all good wishes for the school children everywhere, I am,

Yours very truly,

(Signed) Nellie Grant Jones.

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61
ORATION ON U. S. GRANT.

[By John A. Logan.]

The silent chief, whose work is destined to influence posterity
to the latest syllable of recorded time, has gone to his couch, and
neither the call of his country nor the siren beckoning of earthly
glory will e'er break the soundness of his sleep upon this hither side
of eternity. The mortal remains of Ulysses S. Grant repose in peace
beneath the weeping vault of yonder tomb. The ravages of time will
reduce them to ashes, and the lapse of ages will transform those ashes
to other forms of matter; all that was earthly of that noble figure will
change its form of materiality, and at last the mere personality of
Grant will be extinguished and forever lost to human gaze.

But, my friends, the supreme work that our now sleeping hero
performed will endure until the wrecking of the human race shall leave
this planet a mere counterpoise of the other mighty worlds that pursue
their ceaseless roll around the blazing orb of light and day, waiting
their appointed time to cast themselves into their sire's arms.

Friends, this noble man's work needs no monument, no written scroll,
in order that it may be perpetuated. It is higher than the dome of St. Paul's,
loftier than St. Peter's ; it rears itself above the pyramids ; it soars beyond
the highest mountain tops, and it is written in letters of the sunbeam
across the blue arch that forever looks down upon the busy tribes of men.

It were a task of supererogation to repeat at such a time the fasci-
nating story of this great man's life, or with careful hand to trace his
career from the period when, taking command of the Twenty-first regi-
ment of Illinois volunteers as its colonel, that career began until as lieu-
tenant-general of the armies of the United States, he received the sword
that misguided men had placed against the breast of new-born Liberty.

It has been justly observed that no substantial success attended
the Union arms until the historic proclamation of emancipation
had been promulgated, and it may well be added that no compre-
hensive plan for the final crushing of the enemy was conceived
until the mighty chieftain to whose tomb we are this day sorrowing
pilgrims was placed in position by the immortal Lincoln to lead
the Union hosts to a certain and final triumph.

In the dark hours of 1861 a star arose in the heavens that, beginning
its flight from Belmont, took within its orbit Fort Henry and Fort Don-
elson, Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson,
Champion Hills, Black River and Vicksburg, where for a short time it
paused. Renewing its rapid course, it winged its way to Lookout Moun-
tain and to Mission Ridge, when it came to rest directly over the head of
the man whose name had been written in the book of Fate as the instru-
ment to snatch from destruction the offspring of all the preceding ages.

From the moment that Grant was invested with the supreme com-
mand, the triumph of the Union arms became a simple question of time.
An unlooked-for chance might postpone it ; but as well might it be at-
tempted to turn the avalanche in its overwhelming crash as to avert the
force of those irresistible hosts that, under the direction of an appointed
genius, were fatally enveloping the armies of resistance. From Chatta-
nooga to Atlanta, and from the Wilderness to Richmond, some of the
most brilliant military movements, and many of the most gallant battles
ever fought, adorned the Union generalship and arms.

Ja

62

THE HOUSE IN WHICH GEN. R. E. LEE SURRENDERED TO GEN. U. S.

GRANT.

FUNERAL ORATION ON GENERAL GRANT.

[By Frederick William Farrar, Delivered in Westminster Abbey,

London, August 4, 1885.]
When Abraham Lincoln sat, book in hand, day after day,
under the tree, moving round it as the shadow crossed, absorbed
in mastering his task ; when James Garfield rang the bell at Hiram
Institute on the very stroke of the hour, and swept the schoolroom
as faithfully as he mastered his Greek lesson ; when Ulysses Grant,
sent with his team to meet some men who came to load his cart
with logs, and, finding no men, loaded the cart with his own boy's
strength, they showed in the conscientious performance of duty the
qualities which were to raise them to become kings of men. When
John Adams was told that his son, John Quincy Adams, had been
elected President of the United States, he said : "He has always
been laborious, child and man, from infancy."

63
TRIBUTE TO GENERAL GRANT.

[Speech of Horace Porter at the banquet of the Army of the Ten-
nessee, upon the occasion of the inauguration of the Grant
Equestrian Statue in Chicago, October 8, 1891.]

Almost all the conspicuous characters in history have risen
to prominence by gradual steps, but Ulysses S. Grant seemed to
come before the people with a sudden bound. Almost the first
sight they caught of him was in the flashes of his guns, and the
blaze of his camp fires, those wintry days and nights in front of
Donelson. From that hour until the closing triumph at Appomat-
tox he was the leader whose name was the harbinger of victory.
From the final sheath of his sword until the tragedy on Mount
McGregor he was the chief citizen of the Republic and the great
central figure of the world. The story of his life savors more of
romance than reality. It is more like a fabled tale of ancient days
than the history of an American citizen of the nineteenth century.
As light and shade produce the most attractive effects in a picture
so the singular contrasts, the strange vicissitudes in his marvellous
career, surround him with an interest which attaches to few char-
acters in history. His rise from an obscure lieutenancy to the
command of the veteran armies of the Republic ; his transition from
a frontier post of the untrodden West to the executive mansion of
the Nation ; his sitting at one time in his little store in Galena, not
even known to the congressman from his own district ; at another
time striding through the palaces of the Old World, with the
descendants of a line of kings rising and standing uncovered in his
presence — these are some of the features of his extraordinary career
which appeal to the imagination, excite men's wonder, and fascinate
all who read the story of his life.

SOME SAYINGS OF GENERAL U. S. GRANT.

"If our country could be saved or ruined by the efforts of one
man, we should not have a country. What saved the Union was
the coming forward of the young men of the Nation. They came
from their homes and their fields as they did in the time of the
Revolution, giving everything to the country."

"Although a soldier by education and profession, I have never
felt any sort of fondness for war, and have never advocated it
except as a means of peace."

"The truth is, I am more of a farmer than a soldier; I take
little interest in military affairs; and although I entered the army
thirty-five years ago, and have been in two wars, I never went
into the army without regret, and never retired without pleasure."

64
TRIBUTE TO GENERAL GRANT.

[Speech of Horace Porter at the banquet of the Army of the Ten-
nessee, upon the occasion of the inauguration of the Grant
Equestrian Statue in Chicago, October 8, 1891.]

An indescribably touching incident happened which will ever
be memorable and which never can be effaced from the memory
of those who witnessed it. Even at this late date I can scarcely
trust my own feelings to recall it. It was on Decoration Day in the
city of New York, the last one he ever saw on earth. That morn-
ing the members of the Grand Army of the Republic, the veterans
in that vicinity, arose earlier than was their wont. They seemed
to spend more time that morning in unfurling the old battle flags,
in burnishing the medals of honor which decorated their breasts,
for on that day they had determined to march by the house of their
dying commander to give him a last marching salute. In the
streets the columns were forming; inside the house on the bed,
from which he was never to rise again, lay the stricken chief. The
hand which had seized the surrendered swords of countless thou-
sands could scarcely return the pressure of the friendly grasp. The
voice which had cheered on to triumphant victory the legions of
America's manhood, could no longer call for the cooling draught
which slaked the thirst of a fevered tongue ; and prostrate on that
bed of anguish lay the form which in the New World had ridden
at the head of the conquering column, which in the Old World
had been deemed worthy to stand with head covered and feet
sandaled in the presence of princes, kings, and emperors. Now
his ear caught the sound of martial music. Bands were playing
the same strains which had mingled with the echoes of his guns
at Vicksburg, the same quicksteps to which his men had sped in
hot haste in pursuit of Lee through Virginia. And then came the
heavy, measured steps of moving columns, a step which can be
acquired only by years of service in the field. He recognized it all
now. It was the tread of his old veterans. With his little remain-
ing strength he arose and dragged himself to the window. As he
gazed upon those battle flags dipping to him in salute, those
precious standards bullet-riddled, battle-stained, but remnants of
their former selves, with scarcely enough left of them on which to
print the names of the battles they had seen, his eyes once more
kindled with the flames which had lighted them at Shiloh, on the
heights of Chattanooga, amid the glories of Appomattox; and as
those war-scarred veterans looked with uncovered heads and up-
turned faces for the last time upon the pallid features of their old
chief, cheeks which had been bronzed by southern suns and be-
grimed with powder were bathed in the tears of a manly grief.
Soon they saw rising the hand which had so often pointed out to
them the path of victory. He raised it slowly and painfully to his
head in recognition of their salutations. The column had passed,
the hand fell heavily by his side. It was his last military salute.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA

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