Monument to James Laird Unveiled
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CKMB At Tim DEDICATION OF THE MONUMENT TO JAMES LAIRD AT HASTINGS, Neb., ON MEMORIAL. DAT, MAT 30, X90i.
M
kEMORIAIi day ftt Hastings, Neb..
wu mad memorable thla year by
the dedication of a monument to
the memory of Jamea Laird, one
of the most distinguished men of
Adams county In the affairs of Nebraska
suid the nation. James Laird was. a sol
dier, a cltlscn, a lawyer and a member of
congress, and In all these capacities he had
the support and confidence of his fellow
ciUsens. His monument Is a huge boulder,
brought from the mountains, and a cannon.
The ceremony of the dedication was partici
pated In by the Grand Army and Its affil
iated bodies and the cltlsens generally. Ad
dresses were made by Senator Dietrich and
other residents oC Hastings and by Charles
JT. areene of Omaha, who delivered the
principal oration of the day. Mr. Qreene
aid:
James. Lelrd was bore m Livingston
county, In the state of New York, on the
ftOth day of June, IMS. He died In this
city on the 17th of August, 1889. He lived
Just M years, 1 month and 14 days, and be
cause be was what he was his neighbors
nd comrades have erected thla monument'
fa mark the place where be sleeps.
It would have been a fine thing to bestow
this tribute to bis worth at the time he
died, but It is a finer thing to bestow it
Bow. No rarer praise than this that after
a lapse of fifteen years constituents and
companions still linger under the match
less spell of bis brave and generous deeds.
Xt Is surely a double tribute. It blesses
tbem that give and him that takes.
There are few churchyards that bold the
ashes of a truer and braver man than
Jams Laird, and the spot that contains
his treasured dust Is worthy to be a olasslo
Shrine at which to rekindle our devotion
to our country and our love for liberty and
Justice.
Do we Idealise our deadt Do we remem
ber only the good men have doneT If It be
, CO, thank Ood for It. What matters the
faults of those we loved, admired and
followed after they have passed. If In the
stern oonfllots of time, they gave heroically
their best In the pursuit of lofty Ideals T
Let me In my dreams sit at the board with '
the glorious company of spirits made per
fect, regardful only that each In his '
earthly task poured all bis powers and at-
,talned the life be lived.
The metal la cast Into the melting pot
nd the dross vanishes and only tha pure '
gold Is left.. One may do as one may.
Only that . which he does worthily shall
survive tbe crucible death and continue to
move men to higher things. . .
Surely the marshaling of our armies was
the apotheosis of the American youth.
These youth were the dower and chivalry
of our. land. They obeyed the call to duty
and took their places In the ranks of war
Inspired with the sublime faith and herola
spirit of a great cause. They did not de
liberate as to whether their country was
right or wrong, nor were they conscious
of an act of renunciation. They were
youth in whose veins the hot blood ran
quick and strong.' They bad been nourished
In an age and grounded In a faith In which
, liberty and union were cardinal truths and
loyalty to country the supreme test of man
hood. I
'These youth were wise In their day find
generation. Their knowledge and, impres
sions had been distilled Into th'ctr folns.
They were wise with the wisdom ofj little
Children. Their faith was anchored In .the
Instinctive feeling o( the soul. Men reason
only when In doubt and Impressions once
filtered Into tbe blood are seldom dls
trusted. Tbe antl-alsvery crusade with Its
philosophy of human rights and Its passion,
ate appeals for Just laws had wrought 1U
pell and every young heart that beat In the
breasts of the multitude flamed Into passion
at the call of an Imperiled country. The
tragic muse had swept the chords of pas
sion and they, gave forth the wild music,
of war. It was the flood time of loyalty
and In Its resistless sweep these glorious
youth, with the hearts of their mothers,
wives and sisters, were carried, down into
the bloody vortex which held the fate of
the nation.
James Laird was one of these youth. He
was one of the 800. Indeed he was the
youngest of the SCO, for on the day he en
listed he was Just 11 years, 1 month and
4 days old. He was enrolled with Company
K, Sixteenth regiment, Michigan Infantry,
on the 34th day of August, 1861. He re
enllsted as a veteran on the 21st day of
December, 18C3. On the day be re-enllsted
as a veteran he was Just 14 years, 6 months
and 1 day old. He was muntered out nt the
conclusion of the war on the 15th day of
May, 18G5. On the day he was mustered
out he was Just 16 years, 10 months and 23
days old. A veteran of four years' service
In the mighty war of the rebellion and only
past IS years of age. .
The world Is enamored of Its youth and It
cherishes with peculiar , tenderness the
memory of Its young heroes.-: Had James
Laird done nothing else he would have de
served richly the monument you have
placed above his herolq dust. But the
story of his career Is perhaps unmatched
In the annals of warfare. "No boy sit
ting in the twilight and peopling the
Shadows with the creations of fancy ever
conceived for blmself a more stirring ro
mance or one half so heroic." ,
What boy could have dreamed of such
a war, perhaps the most extraordinary of
any age? Four millions of men marshaled
along lines between 1,000 and 2,000 miles,
and guarding coast lines of equal extent
for four years, fighting more then 2,000
battles 2.261 of record, counting every con
flict a battle In which more than 600
union soldiers were engaged. Oreat bat
tles that for numbers fighting and losses
will rank with the great battles of
the world. The government records show
that In 1862 the losses by death, wounded
and missing on both sides. In seven battles
alone, exceeded 174,S0t In 1SS these lostes
In four battles exceeded 131,093. In 1S6I
these losses In five battles exceeded 196,844.
Half a million men In sixteen battles.
Into this sulphurous storm our young
hero marched resolute and daring. He was
the type of boy of the northern home in
which the virtues of loyally, courage and
honor had been Instilled as the essentials
of manhood. The spirit and qualities of
the American youth were Intensified In
him, for the gods had been generous In
bestowing their rarer gifts. He was orig
inal. Indomitable, . spirited, courageous,
chivalrous and wayward. He knew the
heroes of the world and could recite their
vital by the genius of the poets and the
deeds made deathless In berolo verse. For
him the past held great memories made
orators. He llvtd In glorious dreams and
communed with his ideals which neither
the temptations' nor the riot of the csmp
could subdue. He loved hla flag with pas
sionate ardor. It was more than a sym
bol. It was a living, sentient being, elo
quent with Immortul memories snd rudlmt
with glorious prophecies. In Its folds the
past and the future blended In sublime
vision from which Issued voices that made
muslo in his soul.
And o be stood shoulder to shouldsr with
his comrades and with them eulnily faoed
tbe desperate task that lay before them.
At the beginning of Its career the Six
teenth regiment, with which young Laird
was identified, was united with the Fifth
army corps, the Integrity of which wag
maintained until the close of the war.
This corps was conspicuous for Its bravery
and endurance, even among that valiant
host which constituted the Army of the
Potomnc. In the Peninsula campaign, nt
Fredericksburg, Antietam, Manassas, Get
tysburg, and In the hideous .slaughter
through the Wilderness up to the final
surrender at Appomattox, the Army of the
Potomac fought with desperate valor and
endurance, sometimes with a leader and
sometimes without one, against 'the flower
of the confederate armies, . led by their
knightly chieftain and his most brilliant
and daring lieutenants.
Its bloody footprints Seven Pines and
Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Bull Run, An
tietam, Fredericksburg. Chanccllorsvllle,
Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvanla, Cold
Harbor and Petersburg. How preciouB tbe
soil of the Old Dominion, to have drunk
up all this berolo blood enough to make
every league of It sacred ground.
In May, 1862, young Laird received his
baptism of Are on the bloody field of Han
over Court House; At the battle of Gaines'
Mill bo wus struck with a musket ball In
his breast, which pierced htm through and
through. He was left for dead upon the
field, was taken prisoner and confined In
Libby prison during the month of July.
His cxtrcmo youth and severe wounds se
cured his parole and be was removed to
the hospital at Annapolis, and rejoined his
command in November, 1862, even" lbefore
he was fully recovered.
He was conspicuous for bis bravery In
a score of battles. He fought at Manassas,
at Fredericksburg,' at Chancelloravllle, and
was one of the braveBt of the ' brave who
resisted the confederate onslaught on the
field of Gettysburg, where the nation's
fate hung wavering In the balance. He
was smote In battle Ave times, four times
by bullets and once by sabre.
He was five times promoted and once
breveted for meritorious services and for
gallantry In battle. July, 1863, he was
appointed corporal; September 1, 1863,
he was appointed sergeant; January
14, 1864, he was appointed first sergeant:
October 8, 1864. be was mustered as second
lieutenant; October 31. 1864. he was mus-
tered as first lieutenant; May 15. 1863, he
was mustered as captain; June 30, 1866, he
was mustered out with the rank of brevet
major.
The triumph of our arms at Appomattox
decreed the fate of the rebellion. The most
solemn and momentous Issues affecting the
fate of liberty and free government ever
submitted to the arbitrament of war was
there decided. Thereafter the battleflags
were furled and the battling hosts dissolved.
Peace came with the bloom of the spring
time, bringing In ber radiant 'hands the
choicest gifts ever bestowed upon a people
purified by suffering and sacrifice. The lad
who In 1861 entered the army at 12 years
of age In 1866 returned home, less than 16
years of age, a scarred and battered vet
eran, wearing the titlo of brevet major of
United States volunteers.
James Laird was a heroic spirit cast In
heroio mold; both were ancestral gifts, and
the trngio scenes in which we recast our
government and Institutions were their na
tive element.' It was as natural for him to
lead men and storm citadels as It was for
Other boys to play at mlmio war.
A regular army officer of high rank and a
major general of volunteers during the
war has said of . htm: "He was a lrave,
generous, chivalrous, truthful,., tender
hearted, brt'Mnnt man. one who never
turned bis, bac!s to a foe or deserted a
friend or a cause."
In an eloquent tribute to Laird delivered
by Senator Mandersoa la tfca United States
senate be tells of his conspicuous bravery
at Dabney Mills. He was acting as regi
mental adjutant and at a critical-moment
the enemy turned the federal flank. The
regiment began to retreat and before a new
alignment could be made a stampede was
Imminent. The conduct Of Laird Is de
scribed In a letter by a captain of the regi
ment received and read by Senator Man
dcreon as a part of his tribute: "Under a
galling Are Laird rode along the line, en
couraging the wavering and cursing the
cowardly.- His long hair fluttering and eye
lit with enthusiasm he appeared the per
sonification of war's Aery madnoss. Tbe
enthusiasm of the boy .awoke a steady de
termination in the men. The impending
stampede stopped and under his inspiring
leadership the regiment took a new position
with unbroken ranks."
In the some tribute the eulogist says: "I
could read by the hour letters from the as
sociates of Laird In the army who loved
blm for his open manliness, pure patriotism
and heroic endeavor, and who, after a sep
aration of a quarter of a century, had not
forgotten the youthful hero who won their
hearts and have sent me their tributes to
bis memory. One says: 'Laird's military
career was an epitome of young heroism
seldom equalled and never excelled. He
never allowd the most daring to outdo him.
He had a magnetic patriotism so exalted
tt-at It kept the wavering steady and lent
enthusiasm to the strong. He was the peer
of the bravest.' " . - '
The qualities which made James Laird
conspicuous among his army comrades and
upon the battlefields of bis country also
marked his subsequent career as a man, a
cltlsen, a lawyer and a legislator.. They
were elemental. His strength . was the
strength there is In the oak, and in the
storm, and his gentleness was the fragrance
there is in the flower. Both bis strength
and his gentleness were natural and spon
taneous. It- Is not -easy for one richly en
dowed with native energy and lofty ambi
tions to always measure his words and to
rule his conduct by purely conventional
standards. Such men sense keenly and
resent even violently, whatever seems to
transgress the principles of Justice and
honor.. They are generous and give freely
of their means and of their sympathy
where distress calls for help or consols
tlon. They, are quick to anger and swift
to forgive where the offense Is unmixed
with meanness
Loyalty to a cause means to fight for it
even unto the bitter end It means the
- whirlwind charge the relentless defense
against overwhelming odds the desperate
struggle in the last ditch the death, but
not the defeat. . ,
After hla return home Laird devoted him
self to the pursuits of peace with the spirit,
energy snd inflexible purpose that had
made his career as a soldier.
At Adraln and later at Ann Arbor ha
equipped himself for the contest In which
he was to achieve distinction and honor In
his chosen profession.
He tried his law suits as he had fought
his battles. He threw his whole soul Into
his clent's cause and. having mastered It,
he met his adversary In the open, scorning
the arts of diplomacy and all the devices
of ambush and cunning. He was indeed a
warrior, bold, aggressive, Indomitable and
cRlvalrous. There was about blm a mar
tial air the waving of plumes, the flasb
ing of sabres and the whirlwind.
His was not the sword of Saladln, but
the battle axe of Coeur de Leon,
He was a powerful advocate, and when
tbe lion in blm was aroused his eloquence)
was Ute turbulence of the mountain torrent
. (Continued on Page KlevenJ JJ