Ohio History Journal

UNVEILING OF THE SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL TABLET

ON THE HAYES MEMORIAL BUILDING

AT SPIEGEL GROVE.

 

 

BY LUCY ELLIOT KEELER.

The Ninety-eighth Anniversary of the birth of Rutherford

B. Hayes, Nineteenth President of the United States, 1877-1881,

and at the time of his death, January 17, 1893, the honored

president of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical

Society, was celebrated with ceremonies of unusual interest on

October 4, 1920, at Spiegel Grove, Fremont, Ohio. The day was

cloudless and the people came by thousands. The exercises were

held under the auspices of the Society with its president, former

Governor James E. Campbell, presiding. It had been the original

intention to lay the corner stone of a stackroom addition to the

present Library and Museum Building, to be built in architectural

harmony with it and of a capacity sufficient to accommodate

150,000 volumes, and to double the capacity of the museum. An

interesting feature of the proposed plan was to incorporate a

reproduction of the library of Dr. Charles Richard Williams,

of Princeton, New Jersey, the biographer of President Hayes,

who has generously tendered to the Society his magnificent

library and historical papers. Incidentally it may be mentioned

Dr. Williams's library room thus to be reproduced was the room

in the house at Princeton occupied by President Woodrow Wil-

son after his resignation as president of Princeton University

and during his incumbency of the office of Governor of New

Jersey, prior to his inauguration as President of the United

States March 4, 1913.

It was also in contemplation to have the formal dedication

of the Soldiers' Memorial Parkway of Sandusky County, through

land originally presented by Colonel Hayes to the Society and by it

donated for a Parkway; as well as the dedication of the Soldiers'

Memorial Sunparlor addition to the Memorial Hospital of San-

dusky County; but the two latter projects were in an uncom-

pleted condition, and the exercises were limited to an inspection

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304      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

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Unveiling of Soldiers' Memorial Tablet.    305

of them and the dedication of a bronze memorial Tablet pre-

sented by Colonel Hayes in honor of his comrades of recent

wars.

The exercises were ushered in by a parade at one o'clock in

which the veterans of the World War and the War with Spain

marched with flags fluttering in the warm October sunlight, fol-

lowed by the Grand Army veterans in automobiles, the three

divisions headed by the United States Navy Recruiting Band

and the Light Guard and Woodmen's Bands of Fremont. The

procession was reviewed by the distinguished guests as it marched

past the still unfinished Soldiers' Memorial Sunparlor of the

Memorial Hospital of Sandusky County, and over the uncom-

pleted Soldiers' Memorial Parkway, after which the impressive

procession entered the Spiegel Grove State Park and formed in

front of the Hayes Memorial Library, on the northern face of

which was unveiled the artistically wrought Memorial Tablet

presented by Colonel Webb C. Hayes, M. H., in memory of his

eighty comrades of Sandusky county who died in the service

of their country in the War with Spain, the insurrection in the

Philippines, China, the Mexican Border and in the World War.

While the magnificent Navy Recruiting Band played the Star

Spangled Banner, Grand Marshal A. E. Slessman, chairman of

the Soldiers' Memorial Parkway Committee, presented Mrs.

Webb C. Hayes who was dressed in her costume of the Y. M. C.

A. in which she had served in France as Hostess and Librarian

at the American Soldiers Leave Areas at Aix-les-Bains and Nice.

Mrs. Hayes gracefully uncovered the beautiful bronze tablet

and turned it over to Commander W. H. Johnston, of

Edgar Thurston Post, American Legion, and Commander

Harry Price of Emerson Command, Spanish War Veterans.

After a careful inspection of the tablet by Governor Campbell,

Senator and Mrs. Harding, and the members of the Hayes

family who were on the platform, the soldiers of the World

War formed a lane extending from the Memorial Building

through to the speakers' stand under the McKinley Oaks of

1897; and through this lane walked Senator Harding with Mrs.

Hayes, preceded by President Campbell of the Archaeological

Vol. XXIX- 20.

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306      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

and Historical Society, attended by former Congressman Over-

myer, and followed by Colonel Hayes and Mrs. Harding and

other guests.

Music was provided by the U. S. Navy Recruiting Band

of the central division, and by the combined bands of the Fre-

mont Light Guard and Woodmen of the World. Mr. B. H.

Swift, Chairman of the Sandusky County War Work Committee,

called the meeting to order and presented Chaplain Ferguson of

the Ohio Soldiers' Home who delivered the invocation. In pre-

senting the members of the Board of County Commissioners of

Sandusky county and its efficient County Engineer to welcome

the assembly, Chairman Swift said:

"Sandusky County soldiers are indebted to the patriotic

members of the present and former Boards of County Commis-

sioners, and to one of her patriotic soldiers, Colonel Hayes, who

conceived and executed the plan, including the erection of the

bronze memorial tablet and Soldiers' Memorial Sunparlor, on

the beautiful Soldiers' Memorial Parkway of Sandusky County.

Sandusky county's plan of honoring her soldiers who died in the

service is soon to be realized in the form of this Soldiers'

Memorial Parkway, of about 100 feet in width with two paved

drives 14 feet in width along the border, between which are

planted, at a distance of 35 feet apart, two rows of buckeye trees,

the insignia of the 37th or Buckeye Division, to which are af-

fixed white enamel tree-labels, with four lines giving the name,

organization, place and date of death. It is hoped that the

Memorial Parkway plan of honoring the dead at the county seat

of each county in the State of Ohio and in the country, may be

adopted generally and that the remains of the honored dead who

fell in battle on the fields of France may be permitted to remain in

the beautiful American park cemeteries where they now lie and

where they will be visited for countless ages by their country-

men."

President Campbell's Address.

The Hon. James E. Campbell, President of the Ohio State

Archaeological and Historial Society, was then presented as the

president of the day. President Campbell delivered the following

address:

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Unveiling of Soldiers' Memorial Tablet.    307

Fellow Citizens:

The patriotic people of Sandusky County, remembering and

revering their heroic dead, have called us to join them in unveil-

ing a tablet that shall preserve forever, in enduring bronze, the

names of those gallant sons of the county who, in the war with

Spain and in that unparalleled cataclysm known as "The World

War," gave their lives to their country, to mankind and to hu-

manity. The war with Spain was a small war while the World

War was the worst known to men; but the memory of him who

died in the one is as precious and glorious as that of him who

died in the other. They were all heroes whom the people of

Sandusky county delight alike to honor.

These men carried our flag upon foreign soil-in the first

instance for the purpose of freeing two oppressed races from

semi-barbaric rule; in the second instance to destroy a military

autocracy which threatened to extirpate democracy and to make

all nations its abject slaves or dependents. From both of these

wars the Star Spangled Banner emerged with added and im-

perishable lustre. Especially is this true of the last war for

there, to quote these appropriate lines,-

"Serene and beautiful it waved,

The flag our fathers knew.

In the sunny air of France it laved

And gained a brighter hue.

Oh, may it ever the emblem be

Of all that makes this country free;

And may we cherish liberty

And to the flag be true."

To the eminent orators who are your honored guests, who

are much more capable of doing justice to these patriot dead

than I, and who are here for that purpose, I leave such further

eulogy as they may deem appropriate. I consider this a suitable

opportunity, however, on behalf _of the Ohio State Archaeological

and Historical Society, under whose auspices these ceremonies

are held, to state formally the development and consummation of

the project (born in the mind of Colonel Webb C. Hayes) of

making Spiegel Grove one of the most important monuments to

history and patriotism in the State of Ohio. It is the duty of this

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308       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. Society, and one to which it has faithfully adhered, to collect and disseminate information as to the history of this state as well as to collect, preserve and classify evidences of its occupation by prehistoric races.

No part of the work of this Society has been more important or more valuable to the historical collections of the state than the acquisition of Spiegel Grove with the precious personal property connected therewith.  Its history carries one back to a time

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long prior to the Revolutionary War, for it is located in the old

Indian Reservation or Free Territory, maintained at the lower

rapids of the Sandusky river, which was a point of interest long

before the white man entered Ohio. Israel Putnam was here

in 1764 and during the War of the Revolution over 2000 whites,

captured by the Indians, passed through the Sandusky Valley,

stopping at the Lower Falls, now Fremont, from whence they

were transportted by shipping to Detroit or on to Montreal. Zeis-

berger and Heckewelder, the Moravians, were prisoners here,

and also Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton. In 1782 the British

sent troops from Detroit as far as Lower Sandusky, en route to

repel the Crawford expedition, but they arrived too late, owing

to the capture and burning of Crawford on the Sandusky Plains.

During the war of 1812, through these very grounds the old

Harrison Trail - a military road which led from Fort Stephen-

son to Fort Seneca - passed and is preserved intact as its prin-

cipal driveway.

Added to this historic interest is the fact that it typifies an

American home of the latter part of the nineteenth century - a

home fraught with    historic memories of Rutherford    B.

Hayes, the nineteenth president of the United States, and his

wife, Lucy Webb Hayes.     Of all the homes of our presi-

dents, covering a period of one hundred and thirty years, there

have been preserved only those of Washington at Mt. Vernon,

Jefferson at Monticello, Madison at Montpelier, Jackson at The

Hermitage, and Lincoln's modest home in the city of Springfield.

But in all these instances, more or less time had elapsed before

the homes were acquired and put in a state of preservation; and

but few or no personal relics or memorials were secured. The

families of the presidents had in most cases parted with the

property, and their historic associations were generally dissipated.

It is gratifying to know that Spiegel Grove met no such impair-

ment. When received by the State it was in a perfect state of

preservation, and all of the valuable historic effects of President

Hayes were there intact. Few presidents of the United States

have left so large and so complete a collection of documents,

papers and books. To these should be added all the honorable

mementoes and historical objects that were intimately associated

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310      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

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Unveiling of Soldiers' Memorial Tablet.       311

 

with President Hayes during his career as a soldier in the Civil

War, as well as that of his administration as president; and many

personal belongings of his wife, Lucy Webb Hayes, during her

exalted life in the White House. President Hayes was a great

reader and a man of scholarly tastes and attainments. His library

of Americana was not excelled, in his time, by that of any other

private individual in the nation. He had the instinct of a col-

lector and preserved all papers and memoranda, both of his

public and private life, in an orderly and accessible form. His

letters and his diaries covering a continuous period of sixty years,

written in his own hand, are in this collection and are now being

prepared and compiled for publication by this society. They will

be a valuable contribution to American history. With the excep-

tion of Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt, no president

of the United States has left such a collection of individual mem-

oranda, literary remains and personal mementoes as did President

Hayes.

Spiegel Grove, with its contents, upon the death of Presi-

dent Hayes in 1893, was bequeathed to his children. After-

wards the entire Spiegel Grove property, with its library and

collections, became the property of Colonel Hayes by deed

in 1899 from the other heirs in the settlement of the estate.

Through the generous filial devotion and the patriotic spirit of

Colonel Hayes, this whole tract was offered, without cost, to the

state as a public park in memory of both of his parents, by deeds

dated March 30, 1909, and March 10, 191O. The conditions upon

which Colonel Hayes donated this property to the State of Ohio

simply require its maintenance as a state park, with the further

condition that: "The Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society

should secure the erection upon that part of Spiegel Grove here-

tofore conveyed to the state of Ohio for a state park, a suitable

fireproof building on the site reserved opposite the Jefferson St.

entrance, for the purpose of preserving and forever keeping

in Spiegel Grove all papers, books and manuscripts left by the

NOTE:-Mrs. Hayes was Librarian and Hostess at the American

Soldier Leave Areas at Aix-les-Bains and Nice, France. Sergeant Dalton

Hayes, a Princeton student aged twenty years, was the youngest of six

grand-sons of Rutherford B. Hayes in the World War. He served in the

165th U. S. Infantry (Old 69th New York), 42nd or Rainbow Division

A. E. F. He was severely wounded in the Argonne, October 14, 1918.

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312      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

said Rutherford B. Hayes * * * * which building shall be in

the form of a Branch Reference Library and Museum of the

Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, and the con-

struction and decoration of the said building shall be in the nature

of a memorial also to the soldiers, sailors, and pioneers of San-

dusky county; and suitable memorial tablets, busts and decora-

tions indicative of the historical events and patriotic citizenship

of Sandusky county shall be placed in and on said building, and

said building shall forever remain open to the public under

proper rules and regulations to be hereafter made by said

society."

Thus there was given to the nation and to the State a heritage

of which both can well be proud, and I take this occasion on be-

half of the society which I represent, and on behalf of the State

which is represented by the society, to express the fullest appre-

ciation and deepest sense of obligation. These expressions also

extend to the noble and generous wife of Colonel Hayes who has

joined him in making this spot one of historic beauty as well as

a patriotic monument.

In all the years since Colonel Hayes executed his first deed

to this property, the public has been left in ignorance of the

magnitude of his contributions; of his self-sacrifice; and of his

generous patriotism. He has arrived at the age (and so have I)

at which the truth can be told without suspicion of flattery or

adulation, and at which it, can be received without undue infla-

tion. Therefore I take it upon myself, as president of this so-

ciety, to relate publicly and in detail what Colonel Hayes has con-

tributed to this great patriotic monument, aside from the property

itself; and these facts are due historically not only to Colonel

Hayes, but to the society and to the people of Ohio.

Colonel Hayes spent large sums after the legal steps had

been taken to invest this property in the Ohio Archaeological

and Historical Society, in trust for the State of Ohio. The con-

struction of the Hayes Memorial building cost when completed

over $100,000, towards which the State paid $45,000 and also

paid $10,000 for the State's share of the paving of the streets

on the three sides of the Spiegel Grove State Park. Colonel

Hayes at various times, and in numerous ways, in order to

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Unveiling of Soldiers' Memorial Tablet.     313

complete the building and bring it to the point of perfection

which it has attained, expended $50,000 to that end, and to

further add to its usefulness and beauty as a monument, he has

provided for an addition to the building that will cost at least

$35,000, the funds for which are now in the hands of a trustee

appointed for that purpose.

Since Spiegel Grove has been dedicated by Colonel Hayes

he has placed in the hands of trustees for the benefit of the So-

ciety and the State of Ohio other lands contiguous to the grove

which, when sold, the trustees are to place the proceeds thereof

in a trust fund for the use and benefit of this institution. So far

lands to the value of $35,000 have been disposed of, and that

amount is in the hands of a trustee for the use and benefit of

Spiegel Grove, as held by this society. The land, exclusive of

Spiegel Grove, remaining unsold is worth at least $100,000, the

proceeds of which, upon sale, will be held in trust for the use

and maintenance of the Spiegel Grove park and residence with

any remainder for books for the Hayes Memorial Library.

On July 1st of last year Colonel Hayes placed $100,000 in

trust to be used in the maintenance and upbuilding of this

patriotic memorial. I am within a conservative estimate when I

state that Colonel Hayes has disposed, for the benefit of posterity,

in the form of the beautiful and attractive property which you see

before you, at least $500,000: $250,000 in cash and securities

for endowment funds, and $250,000 in real estate and personal

property including the library Americana and collections.

Greater and more far-reaching, than the vast funds which

he has so consecrated to others and to the memory of those loved

by him, is his magnificent spirit of unselfishness, of tender de-

votion to the memory of his father and mother, and of his

desire to leave to future generations historic evidence of the past.

Here the people of Ohio forever will come to view the evidences

of a period of American history that will be to them a continuing

lesson and an inspiring heritage. A visit to this place will stimu-

late the study of Ohio history; of her Indian tribes; of the wars

between between the British and French and their Indian allies;

followed by our war for Independence, when this was a British

post; and of her people's heroic defense of our country in the war

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314      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

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Unveiling of Soldiers' Memorial Tablet.    315

 

of 1812. They will see here many historical mementos of one

who laid down civil honor to go forth to fight for the Union.

They will see a collection of souvenirs of every president from

Washington to Wilson; manuscripts of great historic importance

and literature rarely found in Ohio libraries. They will view a

monument evidencing the unselfish devotion of private interests

to public good, and viewing this monument they will be inspired

to devote themselves anew to the service of our country and to

common humanity."

At the conclusion of his address there were many cheers

for Colonel Hayes. Governor Campbell called upon him for a

speech but the Colonel merely rose to his feet from his chair

several rows back of the presiding officer, bowed to the audience

and sat down. This was the occasion for renewed cheers and

finally Colonel Hayes rose to his feet and walked forward to

the front of the stand. When the crowd had quieted expecting

remarks he bowed and returned to his seat.

"Just as modest as he is good", said Chairman Campbell and

the crowd again applauded.

The Reverend Father F. S. Legowski, Overseas Chaplain in

the 32nd Division A. E. F., in the absence of Colonel F. W. Gal-

braith, national commander of the American Legion, gave an

extemporaneous address that was well received. We regret that

no stenographic report of it was made. It deserved a place in

this record of the occasion. Father Legowski praised the liber-

ality and patriotic spirit of Colonel Hayes and Mrs. Hayes, who

had preceded the boys overseas to perform their part in the

World War and minister to the soldiers who, far from home, on

a foreign soil, appreciated the tender and affectionate care so

freely bestowed upon them. In the name of the American Legion

he expressed appreciation for their patriotic service and the

splendid memorial they have provided, not only to the citizens

of the present day but to posterity. The speaker held the closest

attention of the vast audience as he described the touching

scenes in the Argonne with its forest of white crosses each

marking the grave of an American soldier who fell fighting to

save civilization. In his appeal he voiced the sentiment that none

will be unfaithful to the cause for which those heroes died.

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316      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. In speaking of the relics of the great World War and of all our wars Father Legowski declared that war is a terrible thing and that all the agencies of civilization should be used to prevent it; that the implements of war like itself are terrible to look upon when they suggest the carnage of battle. But when they recall the righteous cause for the triumph of which they were used they become sacred mementoes. As such they should be gathered to-

gether and preserved for the lesson that they teach to succeeding generations. Brigadier General W. V. McMaken, President of the 37th Division Association, expressed the thanks of his comrades of the war with Spain and of the World War to Colonel and Mrs. Hayes for the splendid recognition of the heroic dead who died while serving valiantly for their country. He pleaded with the young people present that they should not forget the ceremonies of the day and that they should carry on the work this day in- augurated. He appealed to them to keep faith in God and country and to hold aloft the flag in its exalted place.

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Unveiling of Soldiers' Memorial Tablet.     317

Captain Grant S. Taylor, chief of staff of the Commander-

in-chief of the Spanish War Veterans, spoke for his fellow

soldiers. He detailed our losses in the War with Spain and the

Philippine Insurrection and showed that they were relatively

high. Those who served their country in the southern camps and

in the tropical islands were face to face with conditions rarely

met by the soldiers of other wars. They suffered from the in-

roads of disease which thinned the ranks of the boys in blue.

Like the other speakers he voiced the highest appreciation for

what had been done at Spiegel Grove to stimulate patriotism and

keep green the memory of those who served their country in

the camp and on the field.

Commander S. B. Rathbun, of Eugene Rawson Post, re-

sponded for the Commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the

Republic, in a very effective way, by calling on all members of

the Grand Army of the Republic to rise and salute. The Presi-

dent of the society, Governor Campbell, and the president

emeritus of the society, the Rev. Dr. Wright, elicited increased

applause by rising and saluting with their comrades of the G. A.

R. The Hon. James M. Cox, Governor of Ohio, and a trustee of

the Society found himself unable to be present and Governor

Campbell, as presiding officer, then presented the Hon. Warren G.

Harding, United States Senator from Ohio and a life member

of the Society.

The speaker, before entering upon his prepared address,

made a few introductory remarks. He said that he was glad he

had kept his word with Colonel Hayes and had come to Fremont.

He had promised to do this before he had been nominated for

President of the United States. He regarded that promise in

the nature of a contract. "I believe in always keeping my con-

tract," said he, "and I kept my contract when I came to Fremont

today." Much trouble in the world and many calamities includ-

ing some of our serious wars, he declared, came through the

failure of men and states and nations to keep their contract.

Senator Harding's Address.

Senator Harding then spoke as follows:

My Countrymen: - It is a fine thing to gather at the shrines

of American patriotism. It is fine that we have such shrines.

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318      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. Without them we should have little soul, and less love of country. It is good to pause and note the sacrifices through which we came to nationality and then to eminence in the world. It is reassur- ing to dwell afresh in the atmosphere of colonial heroism, and to be reminded anew that the spirit which triumphed in the early making of the Republic is with us, after all the years of develop-

ing fulfillment to guarantee its perpetuity. It stirs our hearts to recall how hundreds fought in colonial days, it rivets our faith anew to know how millions fought and more millions were ready and still more millions available when our nationality and world civilization were threatened in the great World War. It is an exceptional shrine at which we are gathered today. A century and a half ago Israel Putnam came here in command

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Unveiling of Soldiers' Memorial Tablet.    319

of the Connecticut battallion, and with other Colonial troops

from New York and New Jersey in the British expedition of

1764, under Bradstreet, and revealed to the northwest territory

the mettle of the men of New England. It was here at old Fort

Stephenson, that Major George Croghan defended the new re-

public against the British and the Indians and won the only land

victory within the limits of the United States in the War of 1812.

Two companies from this county served with Croghan again

in the war with Mexico, From this hallowed spot came the

brave and gallant Major-General James B. McPherson, the officer

highest in rank and command killed during the war for the

Union. From Sandusky county came the first American killed

in the first war for humanity's sake in all the world - Seaman

George B. Meek. Aye, and from old Sandusky county there

went the full quota of American defenders in the World War.

Seventy of them made the supreme sacrifice, and in their mem-

ory, in the main, we are met in grateful, loving tribute today.

Still another glory illuminates this exceptional American

shrine. From this spot came citizen, soldier, patriot and presi-

dent, Rutherford B. Hayes. He served eminently in war and

patriotically in peace. I like to recall the helpful, reassuring ad-

ministration of this fine, firm, unpretentious American, whose

official service to America was both healing and heroic, and left

a sense of satisfying security as a heritage to America.

Today we are at the shrine of American manhood, to re-

avow that love of country which fills every American breast, and

hold sacrifice a ready offering to our common country. Youth

holds the safety of the republic its especial obligation. It is no

figure of speech, signifying comradeship, to refer to "the boys"

of our armies. The soldiers of the revolution, the War of 1812,

the Mexican War, the War for the Union, the Spanish-American

War, and the great World War, were almost identical in type,

typical specimens of the flower of American young manhood.

Regal in their confidence, robust in their strength and regnant in

their hopes, American youths have more than responded to the

nation's need-American youths have rushed to the country's

salvation.

When the Baroness Riedesel wrote of the surrender of the

British under Burgoyne at Saratoga, of which she was a witness,

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320      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. she remarked the "handsome lads of the age of about seventeen," and we know ourselves now that but for these lads the war of the American Revolution could not have been won. The same type of striplings wrought the American victory under Croghan, and carried the flag in triumph to the City of

Mexico and unfurled it from the heights of Chapultepec. I saw them go forth for the war to liberate Cuba, and I know the story of youth's defense of union and nationality in the Civil War. There were nearly 900,000 boys in the northern armies alone, boys of the age of McKinley and Foraker. A half million youths fought for the confederate cause, from Bull Run to Appomattox. At Gettysburg, where the high tide of the rebellion ebbed from

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Unveiling of Soldiers' Memorial Tablet.   321

its crimsoned flood, the average age of the veteran armies of that

famed battle was but 20 years. McKinley enlisted at 17, For-

aker was a captain before he was 21, and Miles commanded the

second army corps before he was 26.

Only a few days ago 20,000 of the American Legion marched

in splendid lines at Cleveland, and there was the same youth, the

same undaunted spirit, the same virile young American manhood

which has characterized American soldiery in all our wars and

written again and again our admonition to have faith in the

Republic.

Early after our entry into the World War a young American

of 18 called at my office in Washington to ask my assistance in

getting a passport to France. I was surprised and I asked, "Why

not fight under our own flag?" He said he wanted to be an

aviator and he was too young for acceptance in the naval air

service.. "Then why not the army?" I asked. "Five thousand

awaiting enrollment now, and I can't wait." Then I learned that

he had visited the French Embassy, had seen the military at-

tache, passed an informal examination and was assured of ac-

ceptance if he could only reach France. I liked his ardor and en-

thusiasm, but I knew him to be an only son, I knew he had come

to me from college, and I thought I ought to have his parents'

approval. So I said, "What will your mother say?" In a flash

he produced a telegram from her. It read, "I do hope Senator

Harding can help you to France. God bless you. I am glad to

have you go." And he went, and ultimately I hope he found his

place under the Stars and Stripes. I am sure he did his part,

wherever he fought, just as did all the sons of the Republic from

north and south, from east and west, from factory, office and

farm. I do not say we won the World War, but we helped to win

it, and our American forces wrought new glories for the Republic

from the Marne to the Argonne, and gave to America new rever-

ence and new admiration throughout the world. Our boys were

the worthy sons of worthy sires, worthy defenders of a worthy

republic. They never turned back. Alas! they, too rarely halted,

because they could not tolerate the patient methods of the more

seasoned veterans.

Vol. XXIX -21.

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322      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. Retreat is honorable, often necessary, but the youth from America could not understand it, or they could not harmonize it with their purpose. It is said our missing dead in the World War is relatively the smallest in the records of warfare. The explanation is that no American battle line moved rearward over our glorious dead.

I have heard the stories of heroism and achievement which stir our emotions and magnify our pride, but I have yet to meet a hero who was conscious of his heroism, or realized that he was engaged in an act to rivet the gaze of all the world. It is not difficult to understand, after all. The men of the army and navy were committed to a duty, and the performance of that duty

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Unveiling of Soldiers' Memorial Tablet.     323

 

was a simple matter of course. They were upon the supreme

stage of world heroism, but were simply performing the duties

of national defenders, unmindful of plaudits or wondering gaze.

Knowledge of duty well done, of devotion bravely proven, of

service fittingly rendered -- these were their inspiration then, but

we utter today and memorialize for all time the honors they won

for themselves, their kind, their land, their people.

I voice today a tribute to the steadfastness, the resolution,

the undaunted courage, the irresistible determination of the

American expeditionary forces. They wrought less in brilliancy,

but more in glory. They were less trained, but profited more

from Europe's costly experience. They were delayed in reaching

the battle front, but they speeded in meeting the enemy. They

made few trenches, but they took many. They had few objec-

tives, but they reached the one big one, and did their full part to

save world civilization. They came home with as little parade as

they went. America never saw the spectacle of their might and

majesty, but America has sensed the bigness of our expeditionary

army and those in camp ready for call, and somehow there is a

feeling of renewed security throughout the Republic.

This is not alone for what you have done under arms. It is

because of what America knows you will do in peace. You

World War veterans are the new leaven in the patriotic citizen-

ship of the Republic; the mightiest influence in American life

for half a century to come. It was your Republic before, but

there is a new intimacy now.

"Let us do more even than is symbolized in memorial tablets

and monuments. Let us pay our sorrowing tribute to the dead,

our grateful tribute to the living, and be resolved all of us, to

meet our duties as they met theirs, undeterred and unafraid, and

hand on to our sons and daughters the legacy of liberty and the

temple of security, our own United States of America."

The Hon. Atlee Pomerene, United States Senator from

Ohio, was unable to be present owing to the serious illness of his

wife. President Campbell then introduced the Hon. James T.

Begg, Congressman of the 13th Ohio District, who delivered

a very patriotic address. The benediction was then pronounced

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324       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

by the Rev. Dr. George Frederick Wright president-emeritus Ohio

Archaeological and Historical Society.

 

Other Celebrations at Spiegel Grove.

Spiegel Grove has been the scene of many celebrations. The

first of record, now nearly seventy years ago, was the Fourth of

July celebration of 1852, which was of great interest to this

community as marking the national holiday as well as the cele-

bration in honor of the return of the old gun, Betsy Croghan,

to the scene of her great victory of nearly forty years before.

Betsy Croghan, the iron six-pound gun, is of French manufacture

and was supposed to have been captured from the French by the

British in one of the battles of the old French war of 1756-1763.

It is not definitely known when the future Old Betsy was brought

to the Lower Falls of the Sandusky to help defend the old

Indian Factor's house in the center of the two-mile square reser-

vation first ceded to the United States by the Indians in the

Treaty of 1785. In 1812 the old Factor's house was enlarged

and stockaded so as to include almost double the original terri-

tory, with six blockhouses instead of four, owing to its enlarge-

ment. It was then christened "Fort Stephenson," after Colonel

Stephenson the officer in charge. Its sole means of defense was

Old Betsy and the 160 soldiers under the gallant Major Croghan

of whose victory in the defense of Fort Stephenson General

Sherman said:

 

"The defence of Fort Stephenson, by Croghan and his

gallant little band, was the necessary precursor to Perry's vic-

tory on the Lake, and of General Harrison's triumphant victory

at the battle of the Thames. These assured to our immediate

ancestors the mastery of the Great West, and from that day to

this the west has been the bulwark of this nation."

Old Betsy was taken with General Harrison's army down

to the site of Old Fort Sandoski of 1745 and transported across

the lake into Canada where she is supposed to have taken part in

General Harrison's victorious Battle of the Thames, Oct. 5, 1813.

For a score or more of years, she was lost sight of, but

having been presented by Congress to grace the scene of her

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Unveiling of Soldiers' Memorial Tablet.   325

victory which in military parlance was known as the Battle of

Sandusky, she was, after identification, shipped from the arsenal

at Pittsburgh, and the last stage of her journey being on the

water, she was landed at Sandusky City, which had recently taken

that name though at the time of the battle in 1813 it was known

only as Ogontz Point and later Portland.

The authorities of Sandusky City, which had so recently

changed its name from Portland, promptly seized the old cannon

and buried her in the sand until such time as it might be safe

to proclaim the old gun as the victor in the defense of Fort San-

dusky "near this spot." This was prevented by the vigilant and

patriotic mayor of Fremont, which also had recently felt the

necessity of changing its name from Lower Sandusky owing

to the multiplicity of towns named Sandusky which with the as-

sumption of that name by the old town of Portland at the mouth

of the Sandusky River made five towns bearing the name San-

dusky on the less than 100 miles of the historic old Sandusky

River, viz.: Sandusky City at its mouth, Lower Sandusky, Up-

per Sandusky, Little Sandusky, Big Sandusky.

In 1840 mail was sent by water from Cleveland to the

recently re-christened town of Sandusky City where the mail

was held to suit the convenience of the citizens of that town but

much to the annoyance of the citizens and merchants of the old

historic Indian towns, of Lower Sandusky and Upper Sandusky,

until finally the citizens of Lower Sandusky petitioned the court

to change the name so that they might promptly thereafter re-

ceive their mail. Among other names mentioned those of the

gallant Major George Croghan, then properly pronounced as

though spelled Kraun, and the military explorer, Colonel John C.

Fremont were most prominently mentioned. The petition was re-

ferred to Rutherford B. Hayes, Esquire, who began the practice

of law at Lower Sandusky after his graduation from the Har-

vard Law School in 1845, as a commissioner to report to the

court on the desirability of a change. Mr. Hayes, on his last

appearance as a member of the Sandusky County Bar prior to his

removal to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1849, reported in favor of adopt-

ing the name of Fremont, who in addition to his successful ex-

plorations in opening a pathway through the Rocky Mountains

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326      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

to the Pacific, had recently enlisted the enthusiastic interest of

the Democratic citizens of Lower Sandusky by eloping with the

favorite daughter, Jessie, of the great Democratic Senator

Thomas H. Benton and marrying her in spite of pronounced

parental objections.  There was but one protest against the

change of name by a local poet whose final stanza was: "Change

the people not the name of my old home Sandusky."

Mayor Bartlett, of Fremont, on learning through private

detectives of the spot where old Betsy had been buried, organized

an expedition and marched to the shore of the lake, disinterred

old Betsy, and amid jeering cries at the discomfited citizens of

Sandusky City, escorted her in honor to the site of Fort

Stephenson where she has since remained an object of great

veneration to all visitors to the Fort.

Hence the 4th of July celebration of 1852 largely partook

of a glorification over the final return of Old Betsy to the fort

which she had made famous as the scene of the one American

land victory on American soil during the War of 1812.

The selection of Spiegel Grove as the scene of many famous

gatherings addressed by our foremost statesmen, soldiers and

sailors, began when its owner, Rutherford B. Hayes, for whom

it was purchased in 1845, became president of the United States.

The first of these celebrations was on September 14, 1877, in

honor of the famous 23rd Regiment Ohio Volunteers, the regi-

ment noted for its gallant record in war, and famous for the

number of its members who afterward distinguished themselves

in public life. Major Generals William S. Rosecrans and E. P.

Scammon, both graduates of West Point, and Rutherford B.

Hayes and James M. Comly were its four colonels; Associate Jus-

tice Stanley Matthews, and Russell Hastings were Lieutenant

Colonels, and its Surgeon Major, Joseph T. Webb, was brevetted

Lieutenant-Colonel William  McKinley, Captain and brevet-

major; while Robert P. Kennedy and William S. Lyon became

Lieutenant-Governors of Ohio.

The members of the regiment dined at a long table under

what were then christened and have since been known as the

"Reunion Oaks", enormous white oaks "General Sheridan",

"General Rosecrans", "General Scammon", "General Comly",

• 24
 

Unveiling of Soldiers' Memorial Tablet.      327

and "Associate Justice Stanley Matthews". Other oak trees were

christened after Chief Justice Waite and General George Crook,

the famous Indian fighter, who were also present at the reunion.

During the annual visits of President Hayes to Spiegel

Grove, he was accompanied by many distinguished men who were

likewise honored by having trees named after them. The most

beautiful and stately elm was named after General Sherman who

was a frequent visitor, and a beautiful red maple was named

after President Garfield.

On the occasion of the funeral of President Hayes, in Jan-

uary, 1893, Grover Cleveland, a strong personal friend, after

their joint service on the Peabody Education Fund and other

public philanthropies, although then the only ex-President, as

well as the president-elect of the United States, made the long

journey in the middle of winter to pay his last measure of respect

to one whom he personally esteemed, saying, "He would have

come to my funeral had the situation been reversed." As he

entered the Hayes presidential carriage which with its horses

was still preserved, the keen air of mid-winter and the crowds

of men in uniform caused the horses to plunge forward and for a

moment it was feared that President Cleveland would be thrown

to the ground. He recovered himself promptly by the aid of a

mammoth shell-bark hickory against which he leaned and

since that time the tree has been known as the Grover Cleveland

Hickory of 1893 in honor of the great Democrat.

On the first of September, 1897, the 23rd Ohio Regiment

was again the guest at a reunion in Spiegel Grove. President

William McKinley, Secretary of War Alger, Senator Hanna of

Ohio, and others prominent in public life, spoke from beneath a

group of white oaks around which a stand had been erected,

while Mrs. McKinley and the ladies of the party were seated

on the porch of the Hayes residence. The group of white oaks

was promptly named the McKinley Oaks of 1897.

In 1904, another reunion of the 23rd Regiment was held,

owing to inclement weather, on the 80-foot porch of the Hayes

residence. The guest of the Regiment and chief speaker was

Rear-Admiral Charles E. Clark, U. S. N., the captain of the

battleship Oregon, which made the famous run from San Fran-

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328      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

cisco Bay through the Straits of Magellen. Dodging the Spanish

fleet in the West Indies, she safely joined the American fleet at

Key West, and without a moment's delay proceeded with the

fleet to bottle up Admiral Cevera's Spanish fleet in the harbor of

Santiago de Cuba, from which when the Spaniards attempted to

escape, on the third of July, 1898, the battleship Oregon opened

fire on each Spanish ship as she emerged from the harbor "and

left not one of them until after it had hoisted signals of surren-

der or been driven ashore." The Admiral Clark white oak was

christened during the exercises.

In 1908, in the early days of the presidential campaign, Judge

William H. Taft was a guest of Colonel Hayes, and on being ad-

vised of the custom of naming trees after presidents, distin-

guished soldiers and sailors, and having been invited to select

his tree, promptly chose one of the largest white oaks in the

Grove, immediately in front of the residence, and with the re-

mark, "That is about my size", placed his hand on it and

christened it the William H. Taft oak of 1908.

On May 30, 1916, after the completion of the Hayes

Memorial Library and Museum building with funds provided by

the State of Ohio and Colonel Hayes, in almost equal parts, the

exercises of dedication were held from a stand erected directly

in front of the house. Dr. Charles Richard Williams, of Prince-

ton, New Jersey, the biographer of President Hayes, delivered

a scholarly address after which the Honorable Newton D. Baker,

Secretary of War, as the representative of President Wilson;

United States Senator Atlee Pomerene; and Congressman A. W.

Overmyer who had come from Washington for the purpose,

delivered appropriate addresses; as did also Representatives of

the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of which President Hayes

was Commander-in-Chief at the time of his death; the Grand

Army of the Republic, by the commander of his old post, The

Eugene Rawson Post G. A. R., and the President of the 23rd

Regiment O. V. V. I. Association.

It was deemed peculiarly appropriate in arranging for the

exercises of Oct. 4, 1920, the 98th anniversary of the birth of

Rutherford B. Hayes, to again erect the speaker's stand under the

famous McKinley Oaks of 1897.

• 26
 

Unveiling of Soldiers' Memorial Tablet.     329 The exercises of the day were arranged by the following efficient committees: Spiegel Grove Committee of the Ohio Archaeological Society -Webb C. Hayes, Fremont, Chairman; I. T. Fangboner, Fre- mont, Vice Chairman; W. J. Sherman, Toledo, D. J. Ryan, Columbus; F. W. Treadway, Cleveland. Soldiers Memorial Parkway Committee-A. E. Slessman, Chairman; Kent H. Dillon, Secretary. Edgar Thurston Post, American Legion -W. H. Johnston, Commander; Carl Stroup, Adjutant. Emerson Command, Spanish War Veterans-Harry Price, Commander; George Grob, Adjutant. Eugene Rawson Post, G. A. R.-S. B. Rathbun, Com- mander; B. F. Evans, Adjutant. George Croghan Chapter Daughters American Revolution -- Mrs. E. K. Sarnes, Regent; Mrs. F. P. Timmons, Secretary. Fremont Chamber of Commerce - D. H. Beckett, Presi- dent; Carl Pressler, Secretary-Manager. Celebration Committee Fremont Chamber of Commerce-- V. D. Butman, Chairman; P. A. Lins, A. E. Slessman, D. H. Beckett, Carl Pressler. Special Hospital Committee Exchange Club--Chas. L. Sherwood, Chairman; Harry P. Gottron, V. D. Butman, Jas. H. Goodwin, Jas. G. Younkman. Special Committee Fremont City Council-G. H. Brinker- noff, Chairman; Edward Deemer, John L. Reineck.

• 27