Nash and Davidson monuments : full text of the debate between congressmen Cannon and Kitchin, showing Mr. Kitchin's faithful work on behalf of the bill and his expressed opinion that Guilford battle ground should have the monuments

ash and Davidson
Monuments

\ill Text of the Debate Between Congressmen
Cannon a?id Kitcbin.

Showing Mr. Kitchirfs Faithful Work on Behalf

of the Bill and his Expressed Opinion, that

Guilford Battle Ground Should Have

the Monuments.

MONUMENTS TO

GENERALS FRANCiS NASH AND WILLIAM LEE DAVIDSON.

Congressional Record, Fifty-Seventh Congress, First Session
Washington, D. C, July i, 1902.

Mr. William W. Kitchin. Mr. Speak-
er, I ask unanimous consent for the
present consideration of house joint
resolution No. 16. to carry into effect
two resolutions of the Continental
Congress directing monuments to be
erected to the memory of Generals
Francis Nash and William Lee David-
■:' North Carolina.

The joint resolution was read, as
follows:

Resolved by the Senate and House
of Representatives of the United States
in Congress assembled. That the sum
of .p. 000 be, and the same is hereby.
appropriated for the erection of a mon-
ument in honor of the memory of
Brigadier General Francis Nash, of
North Carolina, according to the re-
solution of congress passed on the 4th
day of November, 1777.

Sec. 2. That a like sum of $5,000 be.
and the same is hereby, appropriated
for the erection of a monument in hon-
or of the memory of Brigadier General
William Lee Davidson, of North Caro-
lina, in accordance with the resolution
of congress passed on the 20th day of
September. 1781

Sec. 3. That the Secretary of the
Treasury shall pay the sums appro-
priated to the order of the governor of
North Carolina whenever required for
the purposes aforesaid.

The following amendment recom-
mended by the committee was read:

Strike out section 3 of the bill and
substitute therefor the following:

Sec. 3. That the site for the location
of said monuments, the designs for the
same, the conduct of the work of erec-
tion, and the disbursement of the
money hereinafter appropriated shall
be under the direction of the secretary
of war. who shall, however, act joint-
ly with the Governor of the State of
North Carolina, as far as may be prac-
ticable, in the selection of a location
for said monuments."

The Speaker. Is there objection?

.Mr. Cannon. Mr. Speaker. I should
like to ask the gentleman, has this
been authorized by law or is this the
authorization?

Mr. Kitchin. This is the authoriza-
tion.

Mr. Cannon. Two monuments are to
be erected somewhere in North Caro-
lina to the memory of two Revolution-
ary soldiers''

Mr. William W. Kitchin. Two brig-
adier-generals who fell in the forefront
of a battle in the Revolutionary war.
These monuments were once authoriz-
ed by the Continental Congress.

Mr. Cannon. Why were they not
put up under that authorization?

Mr. William W. Kitchin. It may
have been on account of the disturbed
condition of the country, or on account
of the poverty of the Continental treas-
ury. In any event, the monument?
were not built, although they were
authorized by the Continental Con-
gress.

Mr. Cannon. Mr. Speaker, it is un-
gracious to object.

Mr. William W. Kitchin. I hope the
gentleman will not.

Mi. Cannon. But this thing of mon-
uments, seems to me. ought to be con-
fined, except in very rare instances—
and it seems to me the exceptions are
not wise — to the District of Columbia.

Mr. Richardson of Tennessee. They
are old acquaintances of my friend
from Illinois. 1 think he was born in
North Carolina about that time.
I Laughter.)

Mr. Cannon. They died just before
I can recollect; but I know my friend
from Tennessee had full acquaintance
with them. (Laughter.)

Mr. William W. Kitchin. Before the
gentleman from Illinois interposes an
objection. I would like to say this to
him: That one of these generals, Gen-
eral Nash, was the colonel of the First
North Carolina Regiment. He was af-
terwards promoted to brigadier-gen-
eral, and was ordered to join General
Washington in the North, where he
served under the eye of the great com-
mander with distinction, and at the
battle of Germantown, Pa., now in the
of Philadelphia, he was was mor-
tally wounded and died a few days af-
terwards. He is buried in the Men-
nonist burial ground in Kulpsville.
Montgomery County. Pa.

The Continental Congress thereaf-
ter, in a resolution mentioning his gal-
lantry and bravery, authorized the
ion of a monument to his memory.
General Davidson was born in Penn-
sylvania, but moved to North Carolina
when a child. He was first major and
finally brigadier-general. He fought
in the battles of Brandywine, Mon-
mouth, and at Germantown. where
General Nash fell. He was severely
wounded at the battle of Calsons Mill,
and was killed at the engagement of
Cowans 'Ford, on the Catawba River,
in North Carolina, resisting Cornwal-
1 is' march northward. Both of these
men fought for their country's liberty,
and they poured out their life's
blood in that behalf. I say to
the gentleman from Illinois that the
original resolutions in the Continental
Congress which recognized these two
brave soldiers directed the Governor
of North Carolina to build the monu-
ments, and left their location to the
discretion of the Governor of North
Carolina.

We have in North Carolina the
Guilford Battle Ground Association. It
has reclaimed this famous battle
ground at Guilford Court House, which
Mr. Benton, in his "Thirty Years in
the United States Senate," says led in-
evitably to Cornwallis' surrender at
Yorktown. This battle ground has
been reclaimed by the patriotic citi-
zens, who have also erected many
small monuments there, and on the
Fourth of July of each year thousands
of people from various parts of our
state pay tribute to the principles of
liberty, independence, and sacrifice
which actuated our revolutionary an-
cestors. I certainly hope that the gen-
tleman from Illinois, with this expla-
nation, will not object to the present
consideration of the resolution. I think
these monuments ought to be erected.

In

The location is left with the secretary
of war and the Governor ol North Car-
olina, so far as th< >r can aid
him In It and in my opinion Guilford
Battle Ground should be the spol fav-
iiroii with their location.

Mr. rami. mi Well, thi Be were two
gallant BOldiers, I have no doubt The
Continental Congress noted In word,
but not In deed. So far as those gal-
lant man are concerned, following the
of Swedenborg, they know
nothing of It.

Mr. Sulzer Are you a Swedenhor-
glan?

Mr. Cannon (continuing). No douM
there are other heroes in ihe celestial
heavens, wherein we all hope to attain
a position. Simply and purely from 'i
standpoint or public service although
it may si <':n to be, perhaps, not a
courteous thing to do — from sympa-
thy with everybody who performs his
duty well, having broken the record
as our friends will claim, and i
pretty near to it. as we will admit,
lot us leave something for the liber-
ality of Congress and the Treasury to
do at the next session. We will ab-
solutely have nothing to do to earn our
salary. I must now. with all due res-
poet to my friend, purely impersonally
object.

Mr. William W. Kitchin. Mr. Speak-
er. I regret that the gentleman ob-
jects, and move to suspend the rules
and pass the joint resolution No. 16.
with the amendment that the Commit-
tee on the Library recommends.

The Speaker. Does some one object
to unanimous consent?

Mr. Cannon. I think I object. Mr.
Speaker.

The Speaker. The gentleman ob-
jects. The gentleman from North Car-
olina moves to suspend the rules and
pass the joint resolution with the
amendment recommended by the com-
mittee.

Mr. Cannon. On that I demand a
second.

Mr. William W. Kitchin. Mr. Speak-
er. 1 ask that a second may be con-
sisdered as ordered.

The Speaker. Is there objection?
(After a pause.) The Chair hears
none. The Chair recognizes the gen-
tleman from North Carolina on the
one side and the gentleman from Illi-
nois on the other.

Mr. William W. Kitchin. I merely
wish to say. Mr. Speaker, in addition
to what I have said, that this bill, or
a similar resolution, has passed the
Senate for the last' three Congresses
and in thef orm in which it was in-
troduced into this Congress. The Com-
mittee on the Library offer an amend-
ment, striking out the third section
and inserting a new section, pertain-
ing to the location and design of this
monument. I will say to the gentle-
man from Illinois that we have al-
ready passed some monument bills
during this session, one carrying an
appropriation of $25,000 and one $50.-
000 and one of $100.000

The Speaker. The gentleman from
North Carolina will suspend. The
Committee on Naval Affairs desires to
present a conference report on the
naval appropriation bill.

JO

Mr. William W. Kitchin. Mr. Speal

er

The Speaker. The gentleman ironi
North Carolina has nineteen minutes
remaining.

Mr. William W. Kitchin. Mr. Speak-

ei . it I can have ih.- attention ot the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Cannon),

b to say thai t he 1 1 been

liberal with the monument b

II l.a

slon. Wo ha\ I :.ill a-ui b

Ing a monument to Qen. Hugh Met
also a Revolutionary bero, that ca
$25,000 ami directs that the n
shall ho built in the city of Pi i

burg. Va. That, it is a

striking i'1 :i of

i be ■• monument a in t he State of t<
Carolina if the Secretary ol W

it Ide, tor be will ha\
of that question, acting with the
ernor of North Carolina as far
ticable.

We have also pa-sod a bill for a hun-
dred thousand dollars to eommeni'
the martyrs of the British prison Bh
We have passed a bill appropriating
$26,000 to take the preliminary Btl i
ward a monument to President Lin-
coln. How can the gentleman from
Illinois Dnd it in his heart to op,
this little bill for $10,000? 1 ren
to say that it is the smallest bill of this
character and equal merit that this
House has ever been called upon to
consider. Substantially the same pro-
on had the support of the Conti-
nental Congress. This bill has passed
the Senate repeatedly, and it has been
favorably reported by the proper com-
mittee of this House three times, now.
to my knowledge, and I do not know
how many times before.

The gentleman says that building a
monument to these men will do them
no good. Is the gentleman going to
erect that great monument which he a
few days ago advocated for President
Lincoln's benefit? Not a bit of it. Does
Washington's monument stand down
there for the benefit of George Wash-
ington? Not a bit of it. Why. the
gentleman from Illinois knows that we
build monuments because of the purest
sentiments that come from the human
heart — in order to bless the living, in
order to encourage those great princi-
ples that guided the lives of the men
whom we honor by monuments. We
build monuments to patriots to -teach
men patriotism, to teach men that
when they act patriotically, their des-
cendants and other generations will
honor them. If monuments should be
built to any men. they should be built
to those who have died in the* cause of
human liberty, in the cause of national
independence, who died resisting the
oppressions of British rule and British
colonialism. How can you find a man
more fit to be honored by a monument
than General Nash, who fell at the bat-
tle of Germantown. or General David-
son, who fell resisting the march of
Cornwallis north through Carolina?

So I think if you want
to teach the people of North
Carolina patriotism, if you want
to tie them in closer bonds to this gov-
ernment, you should erect these monu-
ments there, paid for out of the feder-
al treasury. Erect them at this great \
gathering place (Guilford Battle \
Ground) where the patriotism of North
Carolina comes together on the Fourth J
of July. If the gentleman from Illi-
nois will help me in this he will do 3
great service to the people, because
when you encourage the spirit of pat-
riotism in any section of this great
country you are helping the grand total
of our people in that respect. (Ap-
plause).

I reserve the remainder of my time

Mr. Cannon. I ask the attention of
the House for a minute because in the
closing hours of the session, when
everybody is feeling good and hoping
to get home soon, everything is relax-
ed here and we do things all along the
line that we would not have done at
any other period in the session. I am
always very glad when the hammer
falls and final adjournment occurs, be-
cause on a day like this no one realizes
exactly the scope of what we do.

I was born in North Carolina. (Ap-
plause.) Somebody said once "You
could not help yourself." (Laughter).
But I am proud of being born there, in
a Quaker settlement of small land-
owners— humble. God-fearing people,
better than their descendants in that
respect, perhaps. A way back sixty
years ago we went over the moutains
to the wilderness of the West. Now.
my birthplace, while I have not been
there since that time, is dear to me.
My home where I have lived for sixty
years is dear to me. And I will say
again that perhaps it may seem un-
gracious to oppose a bill like this. I
am proud of the history of North Car-
olina, and of every State. I am proud
of the achievements of the Revolution-
ary fathers. I am proud of the achieve-
ments of the heroes of 1812, and of the
Mexican war, and of the civil war. and
of the late war. But, after all is said
and done. I sometimes grow a little
weary when the common patriotism
and common pride in the progress of
our race is made an excuse to do this,
that, and the other, that really no great
number of people desire to have done.
I had not much pride in what happened
yesterday touching two appropriations,
but that is past and gone. I am not
here to scold about it.

I doubt the propriety of making
appropriations from the National
Treasury to erect monuments any-
where outside of the District of
Columbia. Here we are supreme, the
capital of the nation. Here we gather
the revenues and make the expendi-
tures.. Here is where all the people
come. So that I have quite generally
voted for whatever memorials have
been proposed, if they came in due
shape with the emplacement thereof
here. I sometimes could wish that all
the great battlefields and everything
that would memorialize great events
of our history could be marked. Many
of them are.

Mr. William W. Kitchin. May I ask
the gentleman a question?

Mr. Cannon. Just a moment. I will
yield to you before I get through.
Many of them are. There is scarcely a
county throughout the northland bin
what you will find monuments to the
memory of the soldiers who fought for
the union in the late war. Constructed
how? By the people. The men and
the women and the children have tak-
eE up collections here and there and
accumulated them until, five, ten, or
twenty-five thousand dollars have beer,
collected, and each man, woman, and
child feel as if there had been sacrifice
made for the monuments that com-
memorate the achievements of the il-
lustrious dead. That which cost some-
thing we appreciate.

Sometimes I have felt that an ob-
jection to our higher school system is
that it has not cost much. That people

appreciate the common-school system
— the three R's are all right from the
standpoint of national good and nation-
al education, but we have got in the
habit of injecting hypodermically, il
seems to me, education which comesj
with trifling cost into people that
not want it. We appreciate, I
again, that which costs something, aj
that patriotism that causes people
the various localities to lay aside a d<|
lar here and there and gather it
gether and erect a monument is
right kind of action and the right kifl
of sentiment to foster.

I have sometimes wished, and i
inclined to think I would possibly vo|
for the erection of a monument at
national expense to commemorate
battle of Kings Mountain, where
mountaineers, reenforced under
lead of Gen. John Sevier by Tenne!
seans. after a long march through
ley and over mountain, fought
great battle. (Applause on the Den
cratic side.) But I would prefer not]
go beyond that. True, we voted
erect a monument to the memory
General Mercer down in Virginia,
think that was a mistake from tl
standpoint that I am speaking of, a\
I believe now that the best way is
stop the construction of monumen
to commemorate the character and sq
vices of illustrious men from the
ginning of our history outside of Wa
ington, so that I have demanded
second, and I feel as one that it is
duty to vote "no" upon this propc
tion. Now I yield to my friend.

Mr. William W. Kitchin. I ask
gentleman, after reminding him th
the patriotic citizens of North Carj
Una have contributed their money
built several monuments on Guilfol
Battle Ground, whether the gentlemj
— since the Continental Congress, co
posed of the contemporaries of the3
brave men. had authorized the gov^
ernor to erect monuments to them-
does not think that would except this
joint resolution from the ordinary
monument cases and justify him in
supporting monuments for these men
outside of the District of Columbia?

Mr. Cannon. I will say to my friend
it seems to me not. I recollect in my
service in the House that Congress did
make a small appropriation toward
the improvement of the battlefield of
Guilford Court-house, and that has
been expended with contributions made
by the patriotic citizens of the locality
and of North Carolina. But Congress
took good care after it made this dona-
tion to divorce itself from the main-
tenance. Now, this is upon a differ-
ent ground. That is all I have to say
about it.

The Speaker. The question is on sus-
pending the rules and passing the bill.

The Speaker proceeded to put the
question.

Mr. Cannon. I think I will take a
rising vote.

The house proceeded to divide.

Mr. Cannon (during the count). Mr.
Speaker, it is evidently the sense of the
House that the bill pass, and I with-
draw the demand for a division.

The Speaker. Two-thirds having
voted in favor thereof, the rules are
suspended and the joint resolution as
amended is passed.