PLATTSMOUTH. NEBRASKA.
TfUJKSDAY, JULY 14, 1870.
DELIVERED BEPOEE THE
Nebraska Soldiers' Reunion,
AT I.ISIOL5, Jl'LT -I, 170,
GEN. E. R. LIVINGSTON.
Mr. President and Comrades:
Ycu have seen fit to confer on ine the
great honor of addressing you on this
niost intTestir.g occasion the finst re
union of Nebraska's citizen )ldiery since
we were mustered out of the service of
that country whoac life we contributed
to save whose natal day we now cele
brate. I cannot but feel most deeply and most
gratefully the high trust you have thus
bestowed on me: and were it not that
we know one another well, aud that the
camanulerie wh?ch for over four lonj
years of camp life cemented us, the one
to the other, and banded our hearts and
our hopes together as .on!y those who
have marched, fought and bivouacked
Mile by side can fully understand I
uiisht well shrink from the task you have
assigned me- I?ut I put my trust in
your generosity to-day. just as cheerfully
and just as unhesitatingly as we ail did
ia the (Jrcat (lod of Battles on many a
well contested field in days still fresh in
our memories-
Five long 3-Pars bare come and rone
since we turned our sabres into plow
shares ; five long years since abandoning
the pomp and circumstance of war,
we have each purucd the even tenor of
his way in the quiet avocations of civil
life. Five long years with their joys and
their sorrows, with all the bitter and all
the sweet, wiih all their multitudinous
changes. There is not one of us who
looking back from to-day to the time we
!arted, each wending his way to a chosen
louie there is not one of us I say, who,
looking throush those years, can lay his
hand upon hi heart aad say life is all
thorny or life is all rosy. Since we
uvsted friendship at our last parting,
we have, each of us, met with varied
fortunes, and some are not here ; some,
whose warm and gonerous hearts beat
responsive to fliend.-ship's holiest impul
ses have gone before us, they have heard
their last "Reveille." There is no re
union for them on earth ; but there is a
higher and holier re-union above, where
they have joined the army of heroes who
poured the crimson life tide out upon
the baitle fields of the nouth that Lib
erty might reign on earth. Such, com
rades, is life! arid yet I doubt not that
all this weary time, in your hearts as in
mine, there was a longing deirc that we
might meet again, as our follow soldiers
of other States met, to live o'er again
the scenes of the past, to take one an
other by the hand and pledge each other
anew that enduring friendship which had
ts birth, grew and strengthened in the
tinted field.
I rejoice in my inmost heart that at
last you thus assemble. It is meet and
proper you should, and I most sincerely
trust that, from this auspicious day for
ward, mail the last one of us answers to
the roll call of another world, we may
gather together once in everv vcar. keen
ing fresh in cur niemoiies the deeds of
the past, and handing down to our child
ren's children, unimpaired and untarn
ished, the same love of the dear old flag
which lias so often carried it in triumph
through the smoke and din of battle-
It rirht, it is good, that all of us
should thus come together 1 The gal
lant yeomanry of Nebraska was among
ihef.st to step to the frout in the hour
of danger, keeping tirue to the music of
tue Lmon. and I repeat it, it is emin
ently proper that to-day we should
gather from afar and near, on such an
occasion as this, and congratulate one an
other as we look abroad' upon the fruits
of the great woik which we took so active
a part in rendering triumphant. Yes,
comrades, even until there be but two
bent forms, with-silver locks, dimmed
eyes and balling steps, to meet and grasp
fcach other by the hand beneath yon tat
tered, war-worn flags, the last of all,
which, in some future years, may be left
of us. Still let us hope they will not
fail, though their years be many and
their comrades gone to rest ; Yea, until
all are'laid away. I hone we mav meet
annua'ly to commemorate the deeds of
the pa?t, ami drop a soldier's tsar over
thoe who answer not to the roll-call.
Comrades ! how pre-eminently proper
the day you have ehon. for a permanent
organization. Upon this day, nearly one
century ago, Tyranny received a blow
fVom which she never has, and with
God's help, she never will recover.
Trumpet-toned and reverberating in the
haaits of God's down trodden children
throughout the earth, the noble words so
eloquently given to you by our comrade.
Col. Savacre, aroused a feeling among the
luen of ail nations which caused the des
pots of all the world to tremble ; which
gave courage anew to the despairing and
simulating the divine edict which called
forth Light out of larknoss at the crea
1 'n. evoked the glory of man's destinv
here below.
1-roui mat hour Lis mission became
lii'her and holier, f r his rath wan illu
minated by the shimmer and sheen of
. ?"tv ailc t,,e 'onS? dried up fountains
of his soul were renewed and gushed
forth, let us hope in pereunial streams
of welfare to Ins kind.
That great Magna Charta consigned
despotism to the tender care of the fab
ulous son of Krebus and Nox. It placed
the wealthy and the )oor, the high and
the lowly, the King and the ea.ant,
upon the same eternal lilatfrtrm r.r ThVmal-
ity. The great and everlasting God of
..l.k.-.i i.i.ri-r uau uimic atl men
equal, and free, and our national declara
tion of ri'-lus but reasserted the divine
edict. Hence sprang into existence a
nation of freemen. With their faith in
Him who doeth a'l things well, they
seized their trusty blades and flung to
the breeze the firot banner of American
Freedom, and even as they endured all
the hardships and privations of army
life to t!i3 end that Liberty and
American nationality might prevail, so
we in the dark hours of her existence,
Hocked to the front, eager to repel all at
tempts upon the nation's life. To the
patriotism of the first truly American ar
my we owe the birth of this heaven-smiled-on
nation to ours comes the satis
faction of knowing and feeling that she
' lire Upon this day a nation was
born, the bells tolled
Rtnit out the M. rinj in the new."
lta? out the iuUe, iing in the true.
and to-day we, too, meet to re-afirm the
principles for which our fathers died,
y.nd the bells which ushered in the day,
jealed forth the same chimes which
stnrtied the tyra:U of earth in '70. To
day th Mine spirit is hovering over us
which carried the prayers of our fore
f -it hers to the throne of Eternal Justice.
The same spirit which guided the chil
tiVfci. v.i l.-.'ie! from oppression to Free
ui. wl-i.-l "fH-iicd in Ue pillar of fire
by night and f-'reed tie curtain of cloud
' -bbed in the heart of
th -. : ... vid, and tincr-
the Magna Cliarta frt m the tyiant Uniti
at ituauymode Iho sui.is' v, h
scribed upon the Puritan limiM'r
-4 I III'
'iLo-
siatance to tyrants is obedience to God ;"
which preached through Milton and sang
through Shakspcare ; the same which in
spired Alfred to drive the Danes from
the shores of Albion. It is the sa.ne
which guided the arrow of Tell safelyjta
the apple on his own boy's head and the
other for the tyrant Gesk-r. It hovered
o'er the helm and filled the sails of the
pilgrim fathers on the May Flower.
It is the same spirit which inspired the
pen of Jefferson to write for all mankind
the "Credo of Human Bights" in the
Declaration of Independence. It guided
Washington as '"the boon of Providence
to the human race." In the dark hours
of his worst reverses it fiilcd his soul
with courage and pointed ever onward
to the future. At Brandywine, Ger
mantown, Monmouth, Camden, Ticon
deroga, Saratoga, at Trenton and Prince
ton, where Washington triumphed and
Mercer fell, whether the glory of victory
flashed or the eclipse of disaster brooded
on our eagle?, the same spirit was there ;
and on the field of Yorktown, it counted
the arms which. the army of Coinwa'.lis
stacked, when Monarchy surrendered, as
it ever must surrender io the army of
Freedom. Ye-, comrades, it is
the same spirit convenes us here
to-day which baptized in flame the
tongues of Hancock and Adams and I'at
rick Henry, anJ clothed the sword of the
Father of his country with the lightning
flash even as the sword of the Lord and
of Gideon.
Born amid the sorrow and travail of
a seven years' most sanguinary struggle,
at last our nation stcpt upon the wo'.ld's
stage under the wings of this same spirit
of freedom. For nearly eighty years its
prosperity and progros 'were unparal
ellcd. But even they who wrote the
flaming words of the Declaration com
promised with themselves, and slavery
fastened itself upon the pillars of our
temple, mildewing and corroding the
body and soul which had its origin in the
ever memorable truism that "all men
are created equal ; that they are endowed
by their creator with certain unaiienaole
rights ; that among these are life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness." Under
this tra'iMii, inscribed upon all our btin
uers, the army of America had tri
uuiphed against the most poweiful na
tion of the age. But we sinned against
the God of nations and we blotted our
escutcheon with slaverr, forgei.ul in an
evil moment that we owed our victories
to Iliin who had inspired Jefferson with
the language of the Declaration; that
sin, like the blood of Abel, has cried to
the very Heavens, and at length, with n
our own day, we saw man armed with
the avenging sword of God's maiesty
and wrath, and the good ship Luion
staggered bke a drunken man upon the
tempest moved passions of the people.
In the earlier dnys of American his
tory we found our forefathers struggling
for Libert-. For this the endured ad
hardships and poured forth their blood
without stint that she might triumph.
When the mercenary soldiery under
Smith and Pictairn fired upon thecitiz.us
of Massachusetts,' eight Americans, born
to inherit freedom or die. fell a .-acrifice
to their love of libertj'. Betnonstrances
wiih the despots iu England had long
been tried in vain, at last forbearance
ceased to be a virtue ; blood, American
blood, the blood of Liberty's' chosen
children, had flowed beneath a dastardly
attack, and we, even at thi distant duy,
can almost see the hurrying to and fro of
the excited citizens the swift riders
bearing the startling news I'ronx village
to village the groups of eager li.-teticrs
with couipies-cd lips nnd knitted brow-
the has-ty examination of old guns,
11 1 1 r a
aua tuc drawing ot sabres troin rustv
scabbards the hearts of tho
people
were fired and burned wit'i indignation.
Dashing on through the village stieets,
fire flashing from beneath their heels,
their sides flecked with foam and their
nostrils dilated, the gallant steeds 1 uhcd
down the village lanes to the churches,
where a Chii-iian people were devoutly
praying the God of rations to avert the
te Ttb'e calamity of war and imbue- their
pei.-ccutors with a sense of justice and
mercy. We can almost see the riders as
they flung themselves from the raddle,
and, rushing into the house of God. pro
claim the electrifying news War Ims it
gun!!! The women cl.isp their little
ones closer, but the men spring to their
feet, shouting to arms, then ! "liberty or
death ! And how was it iu "Gl ? Why,
the citizens of Massachusetts again fell
martyrs to liberty before the distardiy
assault of traitors upon the streets ot
Baltimore. No need of swift horses
now. The lightning had been rendered
subservient to man, and with the tpeed
of its fia.-h. the country far ami near was
apprised of the fact that blood had again
been shed. Everywhere throughout t lie
land could be heard the spint-stirring
drum and the ear-piercing fife. Mcii
gathered from the hill-ton and the vaie.
The team was unhitched from the har
row and the plow, and the yeomanry of
the land hasteued from afar and near to
hear the uews. The spirit of our fore
fathers seemed to be renewed," and men
&wore the Union mu.ft and shall be preserved.-
"The war-dogs loosed from their lea.hej tvcic
hwlin.
The red cloudi of V"a o'er our homesteads were
iwrowliagr
Soft liio pread htr wins ani fled wet-pin;
away . "
The tread of armed men resounded
everywhere, the clang of muskets and
the flash of sabres could be heard and
seen in every hamlet in the north. Busi
ness men took from their means without
stint, and poured their wealth out upon
their country's altar. Tl e eyes of the
women grew more lustrous, "and brother
and son were given up for their country's
sake. Their delicate fingers wrought
unceasingly in preparing the emblem of
hberty and a thousand little comforts for
the ramp. Truly it might be said that
the long-roll was borne across the eoun
try, awakening patriotism in almost
every heart; and not since the days
wheu -Xerxes invaded Greece was ever
seen so grand an uprising of l;be .y-lov-ing
aian full' reso'ved to preserve the
integrity of this Union or die in the ef
fort. When the stars and stripes fell before
the ruthlcs hands of forsworn traitors
at Sumter, a million more were thrown
to the breeze in the north. Beverses
only seemed to add fuel to the patriotic
fires burning throughout the land, and I
doubt not that the sainted heroes of the
revolution, looking down upon their off
spring iu that trying period of our coun
try's history, grew joyful as they saw so
much of it decked and clothed with the
rainbow-tinted emblems of our liberties.
Then came the leave-taking ; the .si
lent grasp of little soft hands, the brush
ing away of tears, and the tramp, tramp,
tramp, to the stropgl.olds of rebellion.
Ah ! comrades, many a manly form that
left wife and babes behind failed to re
turn. Thrt-e hundred thousand heroes
sleep within the soil they helped to
wrest froui i-cbol rule; and tlio e of you
who were sent back sick, wound'.'d and
disabled, remember only too well that
terrible black, black, black, worn by al
most even- one you met upon the streets
of our citie?, sonowing and mourning
for the loss each household had sustaiued.
Hearts were heavy and loaded down
with grief. Widows and orphtns villi
bruised and bleeding hearts, Lent be
ts, a' lb" ' - '. 11 , P .frrc- :J .
r ttio
To
Wife-
lii"- H"i .
and th.!
o:iVi ins
!'; ol
;-ri't
- ur a
i:iii
:(.
j a iip
;i :j :
1 ,
I'
!;
vtrs
country s ni.-tury.
Great a were the sacrifices, there was
no he.-iiafiuii. It was suitieient for thi
people to feel that the national existence
was in peril, that the flag baptised in
and consecrated by the blood of our revo
lutionary ancestors, had been insulted by
traitors. The young, equally with the
ild. offered themselves ntron their coun
try's aliar. Nowhere in all the vista of
the past can we find so r;
ana, so sui. lime,
so soul-stirring a picture as was presented
to the world in those trying hours of our
national life. Dark indeed, and ma t
gloomy, giew the future of this Union.
Our army and our navy scattered, pur
posely, by the black hearted traitors,
who controlled them, could not be gath
ered in time to crush the viperous plots
which thickened and develojicd around
us dav by day. But the principles of
self-government stood the test, and the
gallant yeomanry of the land became the
army of the Union, while our merchant
marine gave us a navy.
The crowned despots of Europe ex
ulted over what they supposed would be
the rupture and dismemberment of this
free government ; but the adaptability
of our people to all exigencies, warmed
by a patriotism that finds no parallel in
history, soon undeceived them. No
where can be found more glorious achieve
ments than were won by the citizen
soldiery of the Union. And why was
this so? It was because the bulwarks of
American Freedom arc founded in the
hearts of the people. The wisdom of
those great and good men who afiixed
their names to the Declaration of Ameri
can Independence, has been proven an J
ar tested for all time to come upon the
battle fields of the rebellion. It is you
and I and all of us, fiuiu the Atlantic to
the shores of the western sea, from the
snowy north to the orange groves on the
gulf, who constitute this American Gov
ernment. Pre-emine ntly a people's gov
ernment as founded by the fathers, when
it was as. ailed, you and I and all of us
were threatened. We, the people, are the
government ; and we the pe pie wid ever
con-tiiute the army for its defence.
How t-ublinie the spectacle! What a
study for the philosophic mind ! Fory
millions of God's children, each fil ing
his appointed place in the magnificent
whole !
Truly said that era ml old hero, An
drew Jackson, "the Union must aud .shall
)fi preserved,'' No tione can be taken
from ;he temple . i' ecdom without en
danger" ng the who'.. Let there be no
mo.ss upon the fair fabric constructed by
the fatluis. Jet the sentinels upon the
watch-towers of liberty see to it that no
fungus crowch attaches on our temple
to blot, disfigure an 1 eventually disinte
grate this government of a free people.
Eternal vigilauce, we are told, is the
price of liberty. It therefore becomes
the duty of you aud I and all of us
throughout the land, comrades, to watch
our tour of duty with sleepies eyes.
Traitors stole into the sanctuary,
within our memories, aud but for the
titticly rally of the people we had been
nbbcd of this fair heritage. Tamper
never so little with treason ; but let our
watchword ever be fealty to the Union.
And now, comrades, pci mit me to cad
your attention to the causes which del
uged this fair land with the blood of it
bravest, aud drained our treasure well
nigh unto the last dollar. In days now
long since passed away, the imperious
government of Great Britaiu ;;nv lit to
look upon its American provinces 01
colou'e as a laeie means of pecuniary
gaai. it taxed thcio without their con
sent, a id wrought so many grievance
ujon them that the colonial heart grew
ict ana ia:nt Deneatn its oppressions.
i 'hueu wrongs have been ably recited to
you by our comrade, Col. Savage, and at
last, and almo.-t reluctantly, the colonies
determined to ever all connection with
the Crown of England, and thus, atone
blow, strike down their many wrongs.
ltus was done, and in the Declaration of
American Indepen dencc are found the
r . 1 1; 1
reasons 01 ine tamers ior so doing.
1 herein we read that they held these
TitL'TU.s to be selievidcnt "that all men
'are created equal; that they are en
"dowed, by their Creator, with cor
"tain unalienable rights; that amony
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness ; that to secure these
"rights governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just powor
" from the consent of the governed;
" that v.heneverany government Incomes
" destructive of these ends, it is the
right of the people to abolish it."
With these grand fundamental princi
ples the colonies sought to resist the gov
ernment of Groat Britain, which so far
as they were concerned, ignored theai all.
To-day the student of history feels as
tounded at the hardihood of the revolu
tionary fathers, in ateupiiug to make
headway against so powerful a nation a
that of England, w.iOse sails whitened
every sea and upon who-e flag it va
their pioud boast to asscit that the sum
uevei set. But, comrades, the battle i
not always to the strong. Those noble
words with which por fathj dee'areo
what were the rights of men became the
be at -on light of Ldierty, the watch word
of the army. Paul and Peter had u.
terud the ;aiuo doctrine by in-tiuelion of
Him who died upon the cross that yon
and I and all of us miht !e saved. Nn
wonder then that with these heaven
born utterances as the mottoes of our
eailiest battle flags, no wonder, I say,
that victo-y should finally perch unh
th.-ui they lbuht oppression b u e
they loved liberty. Yet.attl" saui-i;i:i-.
our ancestors were but wo. .' ig out the
Divine will, and testifying belore the
world that lie who first gave .ue.-x prin
ciples unto men, would be with them in
the hour of their need ; that He would
m..ke crooked things straiuhl, and da; '.
no ' j light before them, and not fo . '.e
ihern.
Our fathers madv; this for a free gov
ernment, one to which the persecuted
and the oppressed of the entire wo:M
might come to, as a secure asylum, and
with a.--su;-aiice of equal right. It w
mado by the people and for th; people
They announced boldly that all . were
bom equal and pos-es e l of certain un
alienable rights : life, lilerty and the
Pursuit of happiness. This declaration
had been maintained throughout the
great struggle which established this no
ble temple of liberty in the new world. Its
deejiest and broadest foundation was this
equality of rights, and on this was erected
the grandest and purest government that
the world had yet seen. But a la.- ir
human nuritv, there came a shadow over
the land, and even they who challenged
proud England to do battle, and who .-o
positively declared th-it an Omnipotent
God had endowed mankind with certain
unalicnaUcrigh' r.mong which was 'LIB
ERTY. ' Alas! I say, they eouij.o.tiisetl
with themselves when peace had
smoothed the rugged front of war; and
not being in the desperate straits which
broaght whole armies to their knees for
prayer un o him who ruleth over all,
Slavery was permitted to belie the glo
rious and almo-t I o!y word - of our Dec
laration of American Bjht-.
All of the original thirteen Staffs pe;
mit ted slavery iii.-ouje form oroth'-r, but
tit least ten of them allowed negross to
vote under their constitutions. The old
I articles of Confederation sanctioned it.
t It is true an attempt was made to eon- j
tiou uv
S i. )' l-V'. 1 .
t;-.v c-i..r-.-1
Ju l
V.'.'
ri;0 (
th;
M.4
!jLi-'f: ts. Nov.'
No" ll.-inip hi".'.
1 -k i
1
1
t.'uiiuc f.ciit. a;
D- Iaw:"-!-. Maryland a
.'"'. -) " v.
rih 'a. i;iia,
to vote ; but.
and Georgia
neruutteil the FSI'E
Hack-
touth Caro'ina, Yiigiaia
never granted the negroes thl inaliena
b'e ri'ht which the dfclnration vouch
safed to iin n as derived from their Crea
tor. In 1787, the great West was given
freedom in this re.-fect and at lea.-- four
of t ho old States never w-nt back on the
negro vote, to wit : ew ion;, uiione
Lland, Massachu-etts and New Hamp
shire. All the tcrnble contests to na
tionalize slavery failed iu these four
States. The other States vacillated be
tween justice an 1 oppression. Connect
icut permitted the Macks to vot, until
lsU2. Maryland allowed this right for
fifty-five years and then prohibited it.
Delaware the same. North Carolina al
lowed it for sixty one years and then fell
from grace. Pennsylvania put the word
"white" in her Constitution, after letting
her b'acks vote for sixty-two years ; and
New Jersey let them vote for sixty-four
rears, ami "then they were debarred from
this unalieitnUe right. It is strange to
so say to-dv, but it is nevertheless true
that the very delegates who framed our
Consiitution, were voted for by blacks.
Slavery bred an aristocracy in the repub
lic; manual labor was looked upon as de
grading, its chief aiders and abettors
grew insolent. When reason fai ed them
in th) deliberations of the people's rep
resentatives in Congress, the bowie knif",
the pistol and the bludgeon were resorted
to. Persistent efforts wrc made to na
tionalize the'ulc Jupon the whole peon e.
The nation seemed to have lost its faith
in the ovcr-rulinsr and omnipotent God
who permitted the armies of the revo'u
tion to conqu-r in His name. The say
ings of the."fithci " were trite, as nur
sery lines upon tlic lips of the people,
but in their hearts the canker of faith
lessness to their first pledges had turned
them to the dry dugs of Atheism.
Comrades! governments are but agg.e
gated individual, and the acts of gov
ernments reflect the people; if immoral
ity, deceit and foul corruption cort'- le
the soul of an individual, his works ave
evil and his efforts f.il. Just o will it
ever be with governments composed of
uch individuals. The causes given, the
results are inevitable. Our fai hers were
a God-fearing people, but their children
fell from g. .: e and wandered after phan
toms. They forgot that the Everlasting
and All-seeing G. d of Justice would hold
ns to a stem stewardship here below.
But at last itcame, and through appalling
discomfiture and terrible disappr-i
ment, we slowly learned that there kh
a God of Ju tice. At last the chastise
m -nt came. Insanely proud and arro
gant, even as he who was hurled tYotu the
battlements of Heaven, the slave power
refused to concur in the verdict of the
people. It forgot that this is a people's
govern ment, made by the people and for
the people. To insure the pe petuity of
slavery, and l'a-t:'i this foul ulcer upo 1
the whole people, it madly and treasona
bly seized the traitor's sword as a lastrr
biter. Oh ! unmade wh it a cause
for which to d "uge this beautiful coun
try wni. inc. oii o.vs and wo s of war!
"It wa the n ost damnable and godless
which everaio e or fell in hum;'n annals,
because it stiove to build a human .gov
ernment upon the enslavement and chat
leiizuion of the souls of God's poor;'1
and think of it, comrades, dwcilupon it,
and never forgot it ; it sought to do lh!s;
through tbs dismemberment and
throw of tho onUHW "cjuibiicon earth,
mgood ship, TT:;o; .cJvu. and stag
gered uetore the bufTeting waves, u; ;ed
c.i by th's terrii'c l.-mpet of unreason,
aud had well nigh pe ished, but that one
ca're as if couimission.-d from on Ijijb
who, placed at the hm by the pcop'e,
1 2 or faltered in his duty throughout the
terrible crisis, but ste o . J her finally in.o
a haven ot rest and seeuriiy. God for
ever bless the hero of his age, the mar
tyred emancipator, Abraham Lincoln.
Herein, comrades, I h:ive brciily en
deavmed to point out the ai.se of the
late rebellion; it was not beer-use sliue
ry was north or south, or east or west,
but becau-e our fathers had made their
compact with the Ruler of all nation.-,
setting out with the doetrioe that all men
were born free and equal, and ii ica be
cause ihey aud their children, as part of
the contracting parties, - iomiiiiously
sou slit to ignore this first giauu princi
ple of a free government. Had s!a co
existed in any other pi t of this Union,
and not in the south, the results would
have been precisely the same ; the antag
onism between slavery aud 1' ce loin, like
that between tire and water, is Cicruji.
they are not twins, nor even of the same
household one or the other had to
pcri-h; in our case, the same spirit which
hovered over the victorious eagles ot
Washington, hallowed and ft ictified the
cause of Emancipation. We triumphed,
but 1:1 that triumph, we were only the
instruments in the hands of the eternal
over-scoing power which doeth all things
well.
Our f -tiliers triumphed, because then
caue wa.-just, and their children con
quered 'or the Mime reason. There was
no difference in ihe courage uf the con
tending parties; our antagonist- were
tuliy
long
as brave as ourselves. In those
vears of bloody contention, we piti
the terrible penalty for havimr tampeied
with justice. We were justly punished
for h iving so long kept down tha self
accusing voice of guil y conscience - But
at l t-t it came upon us, the fierce and
bitter struggle, and e suffered 0:1 the
tield, in the ho-pifals, rnd in the prison
pens of the South. Neaily half a mill
ion souls were prematurely sent to their
Creator, as peace offerings from our ranks
before He who visits the sins of the fat li
fts upon the children, even unto the
third and fouith generations of them who
set bis divine law at defiance was ap
pea-ed. Grandly stood the emancipator
at his post thioughont that long and soul-di-nir;
ing period. When reversesdark-
n 'd the skies, tnd the rag of rebellion
liuttercd defiantly within sight of the
"Nat ona! Capital, his courage failed nor.
IW.ilee were the blunders made; whole
hecatombs attest the. folly of entrusting
armies to men who know not how to b iii
d.e them. Beverses followed swift upon
each other, and the national heart almost
qua dud licneath the burden of its woes,
un'il at last there came a man among
the contending ho t- who never took a
bi';kTas"d step. There was no . noiupo--ity,
uofuss. no feathers alout the war
h rn of rebellion, the tanner of Galen.".
With a heart devoted to his country, a.;.1
a m.itd en lowed by his Creator, with a
grasp and comprehension pre eminently
tiltled to control, he came, he saw, he
o verm me. We should not forget that in
war it is not only the weight of the bat
ta'iion that tends to viciory ; nr ihe
prudence that keeps its powder d v. nor
the couriire of tho ranks alone. Jhe.se !
may wi:i local victories, but in all great
war', the real contest, betwen the leaders
uf the hosrs. is a contest of brains.
Our lead 'r niver moved until his mind
had planned each step, every chance and
evt ry contingency was dwelt upon and
provided for. and when his bugles sang
forward, while we knew there was work
Iefore us, we teit sure of success. He
had : ot learned to fail, he had not.
taught us to fail, with the first
boom of a gun our eagles soared for vic
iory, and they never soared in vain.
G-.and. in his -impiicity, his very sib nee,
-.- . h -' c.J bis band and the
i.io II. i '.;'; u.:.i
Slid in '-id ti.O
tbroixghou; the
that land, our
-r ;;i-d pidowed
;i:;y, wuiic his
1.1 r'
s;i.i
-aJ.lilt!
l-j,oih
1,.,;', !.
an 1 bre.fith of
ive laid down to i
;'l; aga.jist etr,
tlicii"
bat tie iioui of victory was
riu.og in
their ears. When di.-a-ter threatened
ii ami the gallant llosecrans resumed the
offensive and failed at Chickamauga,
whe.e Thomas saved the army. Presi
dent Lincoln looked to Grant for help
and uobly did he respond to the confi
dence of that great and good man.
Wi.v. Sherman and Thomas and Hooker
gallant oid fighting Joe and a host of
equally noble hearts, behold bus blazing,
lerrib'e track into the en my's ranks,
climbing the blood-stained sides of Mis
sion Bidge and the f; owning rocks of
Ijookout .Mountain,- amid the thundering
roar of guns, the deafening rattle of in
cessant musketry and the plunging flash
of tho merciless bayonet, forward, ever
on. on to victory, never halting till the
stars and stripes float in triumph above
the very clouds, ami our guns respond
from the craggy peaks above the thun
ders of victory in the valley below,
crowning every man in that memorable
battle with imperishable fame. His, in
deed, comradas, was the one great mas
ter mind of the war. God forbid that I
should pluck one glint of glory from t he
brows of the noble leaders, whose heroic
deeds will go down to posterity until time
shall be no more. But to him particu
larly were all eyes turned at that time,
and to-day he stands foremost among the
galaxy of brave and true hearted gener
als, who stamped rebellion out of exist
ence, lis swept it from the west as with
a besom of fire and then like an eagle
he swooped down to the east, hurling it
back, back through the tangled woods of
the Wilderness, where the foot fairly slip
pod on thegorv sward, until finally at A-
tiaiuattox it collapsed, and '.he flag of our
Jnion once more float: I from every flag
staff and every houserop in the land.
A nation s grantade has placed him in
the seat of honor; hti stands to-day
where Wa.-hington and Lincoln stood be
fore, and like them his own good d eds
have cn-hrined him in the hearts of the
people forever. Like Washington, he
annihilated the armies of our enemies,
he fought his county's battle , and like
him his name will be revered in after
Hges when our chilben's children will
feel their greatest pride to be that their
fathers followed the victorious battle flag
of Grant and helped him put his foot
upon the hydra-headed and foul monster
trea-on.
We have, as it were, bur just emerged
from the terrible ordeal testing
our ability to govern ourselves. The
long roll and the blast of the bugle still
mingle in our dreams. We realize to
day that our fos were our brothers, and
we acknowledge that though their cause
was unholy, and merited its doom, they
fought their desperate fight risiht nobly,
but they are vanquished. They have
surrendered the sword they so insanely
appealed to, their camp fires have gone
out. their homes have been desolated, and
their wives, and si.-ters, and mothers,
darken the land with weeds of mourn
ing. We, too, have suffered fearfully,
our penalties have been great and our
trials terrible, but from this unparalleled
conflict we have emerged with a strength
and power of which we were ignoiant
before. Tho ordeal has been one of fire
and blood of death and tears; but it is
passed, and to-day all are once more
united. Our fathers 'JlTvW the
ytUOL across this broad continent
when they i-:ued their grand old decla
re ion of a people's rights they threw it
wide and far .-o that under its broad span
wo might ail live content, and all prosper
in the sight of Iliiu who watches over
(he sons of men. and uone be left out.
But thanks be rendered to the eternal
Jehovah ! their children put the cap
stone in that arch when the shackles fell
from four millions American slaves. To
day, counades. we can indeed say ail
men arc born fica and equal. To-day,
then, comrades, realizing that we are
fortv millions, an 1 not a slave in all the
lm.i gathered here from the liberty
loving men of all nations, with common
rights and common hopes with stout
and cheerful hearts let us do our duty.
A living belief in (rod has at last lifted
the nation out of a stupid sensuality,
and a sordid love of gold and personal
aggrandizement. The public conscience
begins to recognize questions of right
an 1 duty, and the single eye of honest
uncut begins to discern, not only the
purposes of God in all our past history,
but catches gleams of the growing light
o! His Providence which is opening up
our future. So long as this faith burn
in" the public heart so long as we recog
nize the presence of Him who ruleth
over ail throughout our past, so long will
the nation march with a firm, reliant step
.-long the high road of prosperity and
honor. Comrades, this nation cannot go
backwards, neither can she stand still if
she would, either in her heroic defense
of Li I ertv or in her grand en'erprises.
Her only way is forward and upward.
We h .ve suffered for principle, and
leaine 1 how good it is to make sacrifices
01 the line of duty. Let us stand fast
by he faith born of such experience!
remembering ever that we are the head
of the column in the march of civiliza
tion. Above us burns the star of em-
pire. Uur lathers irod suu encamps
with us. His providence like the pillar
of liht of old, still leads the way. Let
the L'epublic expand until she tills the
whole continent ! but ever let her sup
port and corner-stone be the common
love and common sacrifice of all her citi
zens, north and south, east and west,
native and adopted, white and black,
Americans al!, with equal rights, equal
voice and equal protection. Peace un
1 roken, white robed, with lustrous eyes,
and smiles th.it fill the soul with gladness,
wiil then reign in all the land ; and eter
rial blessings follow all our efforts for
sp rtual. material and commercial growth,
Let us one and all catch the quickening
spirit ot the new dispensation, and reso
lute! go forward to the material conquest
of this glorious oontiuent of ours. With
equality for our motto, the world wiil
fall into ranks sooner or later a greater
and grander victory is before us than any
we have yet achieved. Work on then.
early and late, and never falter till all
mankind like us to-day celebrte the birth
of Freedom.
-
We have cut the oration of General
V
Livingston down, merely giving the
leading features of it to gratify many of
his old comrades who wanted to possess
a copy. He was repeatedly interrupted
by cheers from those present. His allu
sions to the old flag, his definition of the
antagonism between Liberty and Slaveiy
his homage to the martyred Lincoln and
bis eloquent tribute to General Grant
were received with the wildest applau e.
Throughout the address there was a veiq
of abiding faith and trust in Him who
ruleth all nations, that was good' to hear
in these days of materialism. The whole
oration was well received and was pro
nounced by all present as splendid, not
only in the matter but in the delivery.
Ed. Herald.
A St Louis Census MarsLal reports
that one wonian told him to call again in
.. , tiv.. when bhe could ironu.ie
it:', C
t-.-r:--:
uttV 'a M i"k . i imf
FO
3 3 K W Try
9
The Burlington & Mo River
R. R. Co. in Nebraska
NOW OFFER
PRE-EMPTION RIGHTS
To their Lands in Rangea . 7. - - It,
IS,. IS and 14, East of .he tith Principal
Meridian, in Nebraska,
On Ten Years Credit!
Only fix per cent, interest on tho valuation is
required fur the firs, vfhi : the snme for the
second, and then, on and niicr ihe third year,
only one-ninth of the principal and tiecreasing
inteiei is payahleannnally.
TWENTY PER CENT WILL BE DEDUCTED
From our Ten Years Cidit price, at the option
ot the buyer, if he pays in i'ull. and ten percent,
interest within one rar froju dale of purchase
und h'n pre-eiuptioci -' vinent will be allowed in
BcuKmcnt.
On these Generous Terms
At low pvieesi, rangine from 84 to 85, 86, 87,
8S. k. IO 811, 8I . ire., averaging about
KI HT DOLLARS PER ACRE, as per quality
aud local advantages.
i11n11.1l productions will
pay Tor Lnnd. Mocking
it, and Ample Improve
ments Miich within
the limit of Hie Ten -Scars
Credit
Ottered.
Facts to be Considered.
Id) uce It. R. Lands at 7 cash, is
SS.7f.o il vaii credit at6 percent.,
anil vri1' oot. n easy annual pay-
w.. iliJ.ritl sum of.
S 1,822 40
And I liO o School Lands, at 37, 1
tlie lowcs. i- ice. (ami trequentiy
sold ai auci iou for IO and lli
dollars), on lU years, at 10 per cent,
interest, costs
2.240 00
Making a difference in favor of Rail 1 .17
.oad l..nd-, of. 5417 W
Bt-i -'bra '"'v comparison the average price at
. i -rli School Lands have been sold, should be
co'iiti.ued Kith the average price of our Kail
iod lands.
Take foi example the averape price of 10.53
pei ic e. at which the State School Lands have
oeeu oli'.. pci eport of Slate Auditoras Land
C'ouicnissiooe- of ihe Stale, for the fiscal year
euil' ii; .Nov. :0ib. LSti'J, and 100 acres costs at this
price iu .en vears at ten pel cent, interest the
.omi niu of. 60
Deduct oa.' tl; .heiotal cost of 100
ac es o" t. V. K. R. Lands, at our
aeia;,e 1 ,011 Ciedit price of ?IU.2o
pe: i-e.f. mi 0 years credit at 6 per
cciii.io.cie.-.. -- '. $2,230 if)
A I'd lie ciiQci em-. 011 a nraiter sec
iiou ia favoi Rail.oau Lands ig... $1,139 20
Th; com pa-'.-ou uot made io prove that the
School lu'iii1" iav oeen sold ioo Irish, but to
jrove "ip. , iie law o ' ihis Sinte has been ratified
oy ac uil alio nuiueious gale at auction, uver
hi .. '.u'..n'.' jtt ice t.W. viz: Seven dollars per
icve: :mii1 die average valuation of the U. & M.
R. K. L:tnds i- iiitified by the tame intelligent
m! practical ve tlict.
Ki'ilioi d L.'ih' have another advantage in
the faci. lii.', juye can choose out of eighteen
section io : 'ovnhi;. instead of being confined
to onlv ..wo School sections.
Uu- ijoos or Ten Years Credit prices range
from 4 .0 5. . 7, J. . IO.II and 12 dollars
general, and average SIO.-- per acre.
A pplica. ion (or land can be made to :
FULLER. VVILLSIE UARR. at Ashland. Xeb.
S. .1. tlOAVELL, at Weeping Waier, Ca3 Co.,
Xcbiaska.
V. ". I' l'LEV. at Xursery Hill. Otoe Co..Xeb.
COVELL. CALHOUN Je CROXXOX. at Ne
braska Lit v. Neb.
B. Si. M. R. B.CO.'S LAND OFFICE, at Lin
coln. Neb.
oraiR. R.LAXD OFFICE in Flattsmouth.
GEO. S. HARRIS.
Land Comrnissionor B. &
WARXER'S
lilc Itemed tj.
Warner's Pile remedy has never failed (not
?ven 111 one case' to cure the very worst cacs ot
Blind Itchinp or Bleading piles. Tbosewho are
tfflii-tcd shou'd immediate! call on then drugg
iri -ts and get War cr's l'ile Remedy. It is ex
prcssly foj the I'iles. and is not reccommended
to cure any other disease. It has cured ipany
rues of over thirty years standing, l'ricc One
Doll jr. roiFale by druggists everywhere.
Warner's Dyspepsia Tonic ii pi eparcd c
dresly lor Dyspeptics and those vu Serins with
Habitual Costivencss. It is a slight stimulating
onicanda splendid appetizer; 't strengthens
.he stoma h and restores the digestive organs
to their beali.if state. e:ik. nervous and dys
peptic persons 'lould use Warner" Dyspepsia
Ionic, tor si e by druggists. rice One Dollar.
Cougti Jo llorc.
Warner's Cough Balsam is healing, softening
nJ expectorating. 1 be extraordinary rawer it
possesses in immediately elciving. end evcnlu-
1 1 1 r cr 1 ng. 1 lie uiost obv 1 ma' c case- Ot Coiifciis
2o' - -Miie Throat. Uronchitis. tnflueiia. Ca-
an j io.iheiies.s. Asthma mid Consumption is
inio. edible. So pioui!i is the relief and
.cr Hin mi'iik . in al .lie above cases, or any
lieciior o' .be . iii-o.it ,tod lunzs. that thousands
pin i't'i.i r.e dj'ily ticscribins H. and one
iu.i.'': ili.it it 1 .Oe most healing and ex
ecio. 1 ius medicine Liiowti. One iose alw.-ys
itl'oii!" .eiie". and ir .10 cases one bo.tlecf
fec.s r cure. Sold by driiiiis,, i aie boilles.
fr're Uue Dollar, it is your own t. u It. ii you
still cuuh ani suffer. The ua'sam wilt cu e
Wine or Iirc.
The gie. t Blood Purifiei and Delicious Orink,
'iVaruei's Viouio V lire, or VViueo. Life, is tree
VouJ au. poisonous din.is 01 irn,ini i. . being
epiiiei. io. tliiii-e h ju ei e a -.1 niiulaui. li (
.'.iiemlid appeiiei- ano onic. aud the finest
liu- in the world 101 iiu i;yiu he blood. It is
ihe iiio-t iileasHui aud delicious e .'c-le evei of-
rcreJ to the pu-jiic. ;ar siuieiio' 10 biandy.
hi-ky, wine, btiteis. or any oihei tii iic-le. It is
aioie heullhy, nd cheaper. Uo.ii male anil ie-
:e v ung or old. cut? .ake (he Wioe o" Life
5 - iiiiat-l.it liie p'eserver, 'J'!io-e who wish
eiioy hood health and a ,iee n7 o- lively
. . ill uu well to take the Vi;ae o" Life.
- dirieie.ii i .01a anything ever uc oe in use,
'. is soli! -v druggists : also at all re:icc.ablesa-
oiii, ruce Uoe Dollar, in qi an bo-iies.
Emmcnayogne.
Warner's Emmenagogue is the only article
KnowD 10 cure the Whites, (i will cure in every
Kase.i Where is ihe iamilv in a ncn ibis 1111
po i.iui medicine is not wanted ? Mothers, this
1 .be -. eatest 'ilessinfi ever ottered you and you
ooult immediately pi-ocnieit. It is also a sure
cure o female Irregular' .ies. and may oe de
pentifd c pou in every cae where ihe monthly
now i een obstructed tnrouga eoiu or disease
Sold v uruggista. Price One Doliai . Oi ent by
mail 00 receipt of Doe Dollar and a Quarter
Office 619 State Street. Chicago. Illi.
J. M. 1Iin'hmax. Agent.
pr22wly2ftmdl7 I'lattstuouib, Xeb.
S30 LUMBER!
$30 LUMBER
Good (urfaced Boards sold for thirty dollar per
Uiousand at the
CHICAGO LUMBER YAF.D,
Aa4 everything else la'proportion.
Come and see Iiumber sold Cheap
O. W. LYMAN & CO.
msyTdfcwtf
. JOSl PI SCH LATER
CI ESTABLITHED. 1861.
WATCHES, CLOCKS
SILVER AND PLATED WARE,
GOLD PENS, SPECTACLES,
VIOLIN STRLNGS AND
FANCY GOODS.
Watches. Cloeknd Jewelry reraired neatly
nd with dispatch. . -T
K.KeiDovel to opposite Platte alley Iloug
MhiDPirv. DOT. lOwtf.
It
iwu, t.-.- TTT "
i. BLOOM &d GO.
DEALERS IX
Clothing, Genls' Purnisliing G o; ,
BOYS' AWD CHILDREN'S CLOT IPJC,
Hats 8c Caps, Boots & Shoes,
BLANKETS, RUBBER GOODS, TRUNKS, VALISES, ETC.
Main Street, Second Dwtr East of Court House
Plattsmouth, FJcb.
BRANCH HOUSE : Broadway, Council Bluffs, Iowa.
D SCHNASSE.
GREAT RUSH ! LARGE CJIOWDS ! !
Everybody, and more too, are rotor to
D. SCHNASSE 81 CO,
To buy their
a id 11x1 s encixSL Summer GOodta
AT TH
N EW YORK STORE-
The largest and most eompleta
STOCK OF DRES-5 GOODS
Are now on exhibition at the New York Store, at rreatly reduced pri?e3. Vie call particular
attention to our new stylet of
DRESS-GOODS. PRINTS,
DELAINS, GINGHAMS,
DROWN SHEETING,
BLEACHED COTTONS,
BALMORALS, CARPETS.
CLARK'S NEW THREAD.
COTTON YA S, BOOTS AND SHOES
of all kindj and prices to fait oar numerous customers. lar?o dock of
GROCKH1ES,
HARDWARE,
QLEENSWARE,
WOODEN-WARE,
GLASSWARE,
YANKEE NOTIONS,
HATS AND CAPS.
We have a lare stock of ihe celebra'ed OARDEW ClTY GLiPPl
PLOW, STUBBLE nd BREAKING PLOWS. r.d all !.r.d- f
CULTIVATORS, REAPERS. SEEDERS, HAY RAES. fiC-
Plattsmouth February, 10th, 1870. tf. 1. SCHNASSE & CO.
One door west of
PLATTSMOUTH,
HA
WH0X.ESJ&E
A LA HUE
Dry Goods, Groceries, OJothing,
FURNISHING GOODs,
-r -1- a t-r-it i ' a i it -i
and Provisions.
HIGHEST MARKET PRICE PAID
FOR ALL
Kinds of Country Produce.
Plattsmouth, Nebraska, August 5th,
TIK1E OLD
Heaviest Stock of Goods in the West!
No'Rents'.-and no Interest on Borrowed Capital
to be Made off Customers !
OLDEST ESTABLISHED HOUSE IN THE CITY.
ZE.gO-.. DO Y
North side of Main Street, between SeconJ and Third, take i.leaure in uonouncinic to
that b haa the largest and best selected btotk of
Bp Goods, .
NOTIONS &C, &C.a
erer bronght to tho city of Plat,t?iuouth.
TO TUB TRABE
II would ay that ho can fill orders as cheap as any hoir e west of Chic;so. He boys
Direct From Manufacturers,
and hos no middlemen profits to add to his goods. H does W-ilnes on OWN' CAPITAL
in hi own building, consequently he can give his customers the prices of rents aad mtere:
investment in the way of
ILa OWSP
CALL AHTZ3 SXilmirJK GOOES,
It will cost yon nothinsr to look at thorn, whether you buy or not. Ey examinin? the I.n'f'-" H,
"Olu R iiabl"you will bo able to tetl wiiea other parties endeavor to swindle you. jjodiz.
S. BtTTTXKT.
C. IUZESBT.
STABLES
y
BUTTERY LAZEXBT, props.
LIVERY SALE &. EXCHANGE.
SThe bestof Howes and Bugrftieson hand.'t"
Corner ine and iourtn streets.
Jan21diwif.
riattflinouth Nebraska.
r. d. LEHNnorr.
the IIf.uai.I) Office,
- NEBRASKA,
AT
MMB EETML
STOCK OP
"tt3 f ncz eTLn t 'CT
foil 11 ItTitzzxerali!.
1869.
REU
. Groccne
ar, t
t 0:1
ESS !
Chancery Jr'ale
James McNnrlan )
vs. -W
Iter 1. Green. ) r..rt
In tairxuance cf a decree of the l"f:,1r,,:1.c"r:
of the 2d Jii.ii. ini JJi.'trict. within md .r a
County. Nchra-ka. made in the above cus .. on
the 3i day ot Jfne. 1CU. I. the suriner b.in
appointed Special MafUx of, taid Coar.. wi.i
oiler at public auction, to the hmhest aa J..',r,
oiid. r, for cah. t ihe front do. r of thej U ' 1
Ilou.-e. in i'lattsniouth. -'a.-i G.unty. :
on WeWday. the 'th day ot Ju ly. -''-.
11 o'clock, A. M. of sai l day. the folio 1 K
ceribeil real estate, to-wit: The northe.-wtua r r
of section No. twenty-nine r.') in "; '!
cloven, north of range thktcen. ai;t of " j
1., in Cai-s County. Nebraska, -h
-iiiKularthehere.iitatni.n:s an t li,urteI'"r,v
thereunto belonping. to be Bold as the prol . -
or-said Defendant, to satisfy saia uccrJ,Jr ,m
s nountof which is 1.4'.'U0. with intere!" "
the date of said decree, at the rato ot iu p"
cent., with eots of fuit anl !ale. . .,,.,,,,.
J. W. JOHXSyN.Spe-ialMVrio
Mi 1 well Sc Chapman. .'ru0',jna5w
Ik W ft r-i 1 1 i.i. VI
, .14 Vt. ...f.