Page images
PDF
EPUB

foundations of the republic were shaken and the union of the states was threatened, when age heaved a sigh and shook his hoary locks at coming events, in the supreme moment thou didst drop the drapery of thine invisibility and reveal the mighty arm of thy power to save freedom from exile and authority from rebellion. From out the obscurity thou didst call the saviors of our nation.

Accept our hearty thanks for the great heart, the wondrous brain, the beautiful life, the deathless patriotism, and the boundless philanthropy of our martyred Lincoln. And thee we praise for the illustrious soldiers who defended our rights, and for that grand army of the republic whose heroism made this day a glorious possibility. Command blessings upon the survivors of that dreadful struggle, and upon the widows and orphans of a nation's honored dead.

And we bless thee for him whose memory we recall to-day -for his great intellect, his wonderful personality, his genius to command armies and achieve victories, his wisdom in council and his prowess in war; for his all-embracing influence upon the nations of the earth and the renown he gave his native land among all people; for his self-abnegation, his changeless sincerity, his love of peace, and his magnanimity toward his conquered countrymen.

And on this day of his glory may the harmony that Grant sought prevail north and south, and may the fullness of the blessing of peace and prosperity rest in the largest measure upon the now reunited sections of our common country.

In the sweetness and tenderness of thy care remember the wife of his bosom and the children he so fondly loved. May the blessing that maketh rich and that addeth no sorrow be theirs for ever.

And thou, God of our fathers, do thou guide and sustain the chief magistrate of our nation, that as a people we may be, the light of the world to all who sigh for liberty and struggle to be free. And when all nations shall come to this goodly city to see our favored land and rejoice over the achievements of science and art, of charity and religion, may that great gathering of the people of the earth be the earnest of the universal recognition of the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Edward S. Taylor, Secretary of the Monument Association,

upon whom devolved the duty of presenting the monument, was introduced by Mr. Dreyer as follows:

I now take pleasure in introducing Mr. Edward S. Taylor, who, on behalf of the trustees of the Grant monument association, will present the statue of our hero to the board of Lincoln Park commissioners and the people of the city of Chicago.

Mr. Taylor spoke as follows:

In the midsummer of 1885 public attention was directed to the silent sufferer on McGregor's Height; in the early morn on the 23d of July in that year on that summit sunshine changed to shadow, and throughout the realm a sorrowing public bowed, uncovered, at the tidings of a nation's loss. When the announcement of the death of General Grant was received in Chicago, Mr. Palmer, Mr. Nickerson, and General Stockton, conferring together, suggested the propriety of placing in Lincoln Park a memorial to the illustrious dead. Associating with them Messrs. Adams, Dreyer, and Williams, and the late General William E. Strong (whose recent death has imposed this duty upon me), an organization was formed with General Strong as its president.

An immediate appeal was made to the public for contributions in furtherance of the project. The press of Chicago heartily and grandly co-operated with the trustees. The appeal was received with universal enthusiasm, artisans and operatives from forge, and factory, and mill, the employes in the counting-houses and mercantile establishments, the learned professions, public and private enterprises, wage-earners from every department of toil, the churches and schools, the old and young, the rich of their abundance, the poor to the full measure of their ability, each vying with the other, hastened to tender their tribute to the memory of one who has given an added luster to the American name. Nearly 100,000 persons aided in placing that statue there. So general, so generous, so prompt were the responses that before the entombment of the remains of General Grant, a sufficient fund had been provided to justify the trustees in proceeding with the work. After considering various locations, this commanding site overlooking the lake was selected as the one most fitting. A year later this granite foundation and pedestal, the design of F. M. Whitehouse, of Chicago, was put in place. After a careful study of all the requirements and fully considering various suggestions the trustees gave Louis T. Rebisso, of Cincinnati, a commission for a

bronze equestrian statue of General Grant. We shall soon how well that commission has been executed.

This imposing, almost unprecedented demonstration, this magnificent presence, where are congregated representatives from every section of our country, some of toil and votaries of trade, soldiers, statesmen, and scholars, is an added tribute of reverence for a great name; but neither the demonstration of to-day nor this grand assemblage, nor that statue, even though embellished by art, can add to the fame of Ulysses S. Grant. History has linked his name with immortality, and on its page so long as language is unforgotten that name will shine as certainly and as ceaselessly as the sun in yonder sky. That statue will be of value only as it may inoculate other generations with the same spirit of patriotism, valor, and devotion which gendered the events it commemorates: that so equipped, if in the future peril should menace the republic, they may be prompted and prepared to maintain the honor of the flag and assure the perpetuity of American institutions. That mute monument will ever illustrate an eventful era in our national history. It cometh unto you with a tale which holdeth children from play and old men from the chimney corner.”

Comrades of the great commander, those silent. lips will break into voice, inarticulate yet audible, to recite through all the years the sublime story of your toil and triumph, of your sacrifice and success. It will ever prompt childhood to nobler effort, as it discloses to their gaze the possibilities of a citizen under republican institutions. It will ever tell the simple, yet wondrous story of Grant's matchless career; how, when in 1861 the first gun "pronounced the unmistakable language of war," it was heard by a forgotten citizen in the remotest corner of our State. Responding with unsheathed sword he entered upon a triumphal march, not as an armed invader, but as a messenger of mercy on a mission of peace. Fort Donelson wrote his name above the horizon. The 4th of July, 1863, he knocked at the door of the seemingly impregnable fortress, and its reluctant portals opened obedient to the magic of his touch. That day Vicksburg placed his name among the stars" Where all nations may read it and all time may not efface it." It will ever remind us that with Appomattox, which closed his active military career, joy came to the nation on pinions of peace. It will tell that a grateful people twice honored him with its chiefest distinction and twice did he justify the

confidence thus bestowed; that then, circling the earth, he was everywhere the guest of dominion and power.

"Old Egypt and the Ind and the isles of the sea
Uncovered in homage to the land that is free;

Kings came from their thrones, waiving customs of state,
To greet the unsceptered who stood at their gate."

Everywhere among the nations of the earth was he made the recipient of costly tokens, tributes which monarchy paid to democracy, evidencing the regard which the incarnation of our national character, life, and laws involuntarily evoked from the various civilizations of the earth. Mr. President and gentlemen of the board of commissioners of Lincoln Park, the trustees of the Grant monument association have ended their labors and now transfer to your custody the completed statue, a gift from the people in trust for the people, to be by you and your successors forever maintained, an inspiration to patriotism, a perpetual reminder of the colossal character which Illinois gave to the nation and the nation gave to time.

Accept the trust.

As Mr. Taylor concluded his address he waved his hand to Miss Alice Strong, the daughter of the late General Wm. E. Strong, who was holding the rope that held the flag in place over the statue, and the flag was loosened and fell to the foot of the monument. A salute was fired by the battery from Fort Sheridan, and by the United States steamers Michigan, Andrew Johnson, and Fessenden.

To W. C. Goudy was assigned the duty of accepting the monument. He was introduced by Mr. Dreyer as follows:

The Hon. W. C. Goudy, President of the board of Lincoln Park commissioners, will now address you and accept the statue in the name of the board of the Lincoln Park commissioners, as its President.

Mr. Goudy's address:

MR. PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF THE GRANT MONUMENT ASSOCIATION:

The faithful discharge of your duties as trustees of patriotic citizens of Chicago in erecting this memorial of General Grant will always receive the praise it so much merits. The artist has

presented him as the soldier and General, the character in which he is best known and as he will appear most conspicuously in history. As a work of art alone this beautiful statue, perfect in proportion and every detail, will be admired by all who may have. the pleasure of looking upon it. But this figure will keep fresh the memory of one of the greatest men of the nineteenth century and of the qualities which advanced him from obscurity to the highest position military and civil, and be both an example and encouragement to the youth of future generations. In his autobiography he seems to disclose the rule which guided his conduct and enabled him to achieve renown. He says: One of my superstitions has always been when I started to go anywhere or to do anything not to turn back or stop until the thing intended was accomplished." And in the preface he declares “that there are but few important events in the affairs of men brought about by their own choice." He signified his faith in the idea "Man proposes but God disposes." Thus through life he persisted in every undertaking, did well the work before him, and with serene confidence that right results would be reached.

66

It is fit that this monument in honor of the great soldier should be placed in a park bearing the name of the illustrious president who chose him with wonderful sagacity as the leader of the union armies. It seems appropriate that statues of Lincoln and Grant should stand together on the shore of Lake Michigan and in the metropolis of the state which gave them to the republic in its struggle for life. On behalf of the commissioners of Lincoln Park I receive this monument and promise for them and their successors to care for and preserve it, so that the thousands who behold it, as they pass by land or water, may be reminded of the virtues, courage, patriotism, and sacrifices of the soldier-statesman.

Following Mr. Goudy came his Honor, the Mayor, who was introduced by Mr. Dreyer as follows:

I now take pleasure in introducing to you the mayor of our city, the Hon. Hempstead Washburne, who will address you in brief, and accept the monument for the people of the city of Chicago.

Mayor Washburn said:

« EelmineJätka »