Ohio History Journal

SIGNIFICANCE OF MEMORIALS*

 

BY DR. W. O. THOMPSON

 

Mr. Chairman and Fellow Citizens:

The Guests

At the outset let me express the appreciation, in

which we all join, of the patriotic generosity on the

part of the General Assembly of the state of Ohio in

making an appropriation for the erection of the statue

which today we dedicate. I may also express our ap-

preciation of the presence on this occasion of His

Excellency, the Honorable A. V. Donahey, Governor

of Ohio; of former Governor, Honorable James E.

Campbell; and our gratitude that a kindly Providence

permits our esteemed citizen, the Honorable J. War-

ren Keifer, to grace this occasion with his presence.

We are not unmindful either of the fact that the leading

citizens of the city of Springfield throughout the years

have shown an abiding interest in this historic ground,

and of the evidence of pioneer days which were so

fruitful in determining the character of our present-day

civilization.

We are highly gratified and appreciative of the dis-

tinguished honor to the State of Ohio and to this oc-

casion as evidenced by the presence here of representa-

tives from the adjacent and nearby commonwealths.

These men represent in person the governors of the

 

* An address by W. O. Thompson at the dedication of the George

Rogers Clark memorial in Clark County, Ohio, Thursday, August 8, 1924.

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several commonwealths and are here today to join in

this ceremony as an evidence of the interest throughout

this great territory in the significance of the battle whose

anniversary we celebrate today. I recognize among

these the Honorable John Saunders, Attorney General

of Virginia, representing the Governor of Virginia; the

Honorable Ralph Duff, Commissioner of Public Utilities,

representing the Governor of Michigan; General James

M. Kehoe, Adjutant General of the Kentucky National

Guard, representing the Governor of Kentucky; Honor-

able Otto L. Smith, President of the Illinois State His-

torical Society, representing the Governor of Illinois;

Colonel H. J. Ferba, representing the Governor of

Minnesota. I recognize also General Bundy and others

representing the United States Army and the officers and

members of the Ohio National Guard.

The Occasion

Assembled, as we are today, in honor of the memory

of George Rogers Clark, and for the purpose of dedicat-

ing this statue to public uses, and for the stimulation of

public patriotic interest in our American history, I

have thought it worth while to introduce my remarks

with some reference to the Significance of Memorials.

From the very earliest recorded history there are

clear evidences of memorials set up by the generations

for one reason or another. Even among the earlier ex-

periences of the human race where history has not been

written, we find substantial evidence of the same quality

in the human mind, namely, its desire to set up a

memorial.

Among the early Jewish people we find this a very

common custom. In the modern hymnology of the

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church we have perpetuated the Ebenezer of old which

was the "Stone of help." We sing it

"Here I'll raise my Ebenezer,

Hither by Thy help I'm come."

There was thus a twofold significance: first, the rec-

ognition, with gratitude, of past achievement, and,

second, the religious element recognizing the help of

Almighty God in the progress of the human race. These

same people had every year their festivals which were,

in a way, the memorials of the people just as our Fourth

of July, our Thanksgiving, our Christmas time, and our

Washington's Birthday, have come to be annual events

filled with the spirit of patriotic gratitude.  In the

modern days every nation has built its memorials.

England has her Westminster Abbey. There you call

the roll of the distinguished men of history and walk

reverently and quietly among the tombs of those who

have profoundly influenced the life of that great people.

In this country we have erected the Washington Monu-

ment, a silent but dignified testimony to the sterling

character of the Father of his Country. Not far dis-

tant stands the Lincoln Memorial, a fitting tribute to

the great democratic citizenship which he represented

so faithfully, and to the character of the common people

of a great republic so dependable and so trustworthy as

to be the undergirding of the permanency of democracy.

The New England area has the earlier monuments of

our history in considerable number, but all over the

land, in practically every county, is to be found the sol-

diers' monument, or some other expression of the grati-

tude of the people for the services rendered in behalf of

the country and the civilization it strives to foster. There

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Significance of Memorials       481

is not time for the details about these monuments, but

it will occur to us at once that they were not only ex-

pressions of gratitude, but expressions of faith. Patri-

otism does not always look to history; quite as often it

turns its face to the future and expresses its faith in the

outcome of the forces that have kept steady and firm

the great onward movements in the development of a

new country, and a new type of government.

The day we celebrate, namely, the 8th of August,

1780, was only four years after the signing of the Dec-

laration of Independence. It came, therefore, after the

culmination of the earlier struggles in the establishment

of the colonies, the discussions with the mother country,

and the final break which led to our independence. It

was before the days of the constitutional convention, and

therefore, before the days when an orderly or established

constitutional government was inaugurated. There was

existing at this time a series of questions involving our

relations to England, and in fact, to all Europe, and the

very important issue as to our relation to what we now

think of as our own country. In that day we recall

that Spain, England, and France all had possessions

within the present boundaries of the United States of

America. The young struggling colonies and the newly

rising independent people were now at the very begin-

ning of an important era in the history, not of this

country alone, but of the world in an experiment of

democracy such as never had been seen. In the recent

joint-meetings of the British and American Bar As-

sociations in London, a British Speaker declared that

the American Declaration of Independence had been one

of the most important factors in forwarding liberty in

Vol. XXXIII -- 31.

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Great Britain. This great continent was to be conquered

from a state of pioneer simplicity to build our modern

highly developed civilization. Her rivers and plains,

her forests and her prairies were all to be brought under

the vigorous administration of a progressive people.

The villages of those days have, in some instances, be-

come the great cities of the Atlantic coast. The great

city centers of the middle west on to the Pacific coast

were then undreamed of. It would hardly be assumed

that anything like an intelligent vision of the great ex-

panse of territory here, and of its possibilities, was in

the minds of very many people. They were aware of the

fact that they were in a new country. They listened

with eagerness to the stories of wealth and of great

possibilities. They did not, however blind their vision

to the fact that the country must be transformed from

its pioneer condition to that of a modern home. The

fact that portions of the country were held by European

nations was itself serious. The further fact that these

nations could, when desired, make common cause with

the Indian, led to complications of the most serious

character. In all this history there grew up the hero,

the military chieftain, the hardy pioneer, the sturdy

character that made a stable society possible. It is

small wonder, therefore, that throughout our land the

pioneer has his memorial. The hero has his statuary;

the military chieftain, his monument. These memorials,

not only tell the story of appreciation and of service,

but are chiefly to be considered from the standpoint of

their personal tribute. Most memorials of significance

in the world are memorials to high character, to personal

efficiency, and to important achievements that have had

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Significance of Memorials       483

their place in the history of the country. It is this

feature of the memorial that brings this assembly to-

gether today. We are here to honor the memory of the

principal character in the battle of Piqua which oc-

curred in this immediate vicinity August 8, 1780, in

which the village of Piqua was entirely destroyed, never

to be rebuilt. George Rogers Clark is the man whose

memory will forever be associated with that eventful

occasion.

George Rogers Clark

The history of George Rogers Clark, so far as it is

known, is readily available to all those who care to

read the accounts hitherto written by competent men. It

is not necessary here to recite the bibliography, or even

to make reference to the men who have written pains-

takingly of this early history. One need not refrain,

however, from a word of appreciation of the services of

men whose names appear in this audience today; namely,

Keifer, McGrew, and Prince. The history of Clark

county to which many of the pioneers have contributed

their testimony bears evidence of an intelligent interest

in the historic evidences that mark the development of

this important center of Ohio civilization. A generation

has grown up since the centennial of the Battle of Piqua

was observed in this community in 1880. Some justi-

fication may therefore exist for presenting to the

younger generation the well-known facts already

familiar to those of us who belong to the passing genera-

tion.

George Rogers Clark was born near Monticello,

Albemarle County, Virginia, November 19, 1752, near

the site of the University of Virginia, founded by

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Thomas Jefferson, and in a community where patriotism

and devotion to democratic citizenship reached a very

high point. He was, therefore, a month short of being

twenty-eight years of age at the time of the Battle of

Piqua. Like a considerable number of ambitious young

men at this time, he became a land surveyor, and also

a military officer. He was in command of a company

in Dunmore's War in 1774, at the age of twenty-two.

The following year he was found in Kentucky in com-

mand of the settlers there.

As early as 1774 serious hostility on the part of the

Indians in Ohio aroused the fear of the pioneer settlers,

and justified them in measures of self protection, but

back of this was the fact that England still laid claim to

portions of the territory now in the boundaries of Ohio,

and that she was not altogether averse to a combination

with the Indians as against the interests of the United

States. It was quite evident that Virginia would be

drawn into this situation, and that a citizen born in

Virginia should take the lead in aggressive measures

against the Indians. It should not be forgotten that we

are in the period round about the Declaration of In-

dependence, and before the organization of the North-

west Territory. This explains why Thomas Jefferson,

and Patrick Henry when Governor of Virginia, should

each of them listen to the story of George Rogers Clark

and his desire to equip an expedition that should look

toward the settlement of the Indian controversies. A

little later Clark was found in Kentucky and as far

west as Kaskaskia, Illinois. Here he found letters from

English authorities stimulating the Indians to hostilities.

He succeeded in forming a friendly alliance with the

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Significance of Memorials       485

French at that time, and built a fort near the present

location of Louisville. Later, learning that General

Henry Hamilton, of Detroit, had captured Vincennes,

Clark, in February, 1779, re-captured it together with

a considerable quantity of goods that greatly strength-

ened his position in the new territory. A little later, that

is to say in June, 1780, a group of Indians with some

British made a raid into Kentucky, but were shortly

repulsed when Clark led an attack against the Shawnees

on the Great Miami, and defeated them. Doubtless this

experience led to the feeling that something must be

done in order to protect Kentucky and the Ohio River

region against the aggressive assaults of both the British

and the Indians. At all events Colonel Clark had shown

by his determined course at Vincennes in 1779 with

General Hamilton that he was an uncompromising sol-

dier when his back was toward his home and his face

toward the enemy.

Out of this grew the expedition against the village

of Piqua, resulting in the battle of August 8, 1780.

The outcome of history in a general way may justify

the early pioneer contests, but if one considers the situa-

tion as it was in 1780 it will not be difficult to find a

reasonable justification for such an attack as led to the

Battle of Piqua. Treaties were sometimes regarded as

"scraps of paper."   Treachery sometimes existed.

There was the human element of greed, while revenge

was often very distinctly in evidence. It is quite obvious,

for example, that Tecumseh, who at the time of the bat-

tle of Piqua, was probably twelve years of age, carried

in his mind for years and years the desire for revenge

in view of that battle. His service with the British

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against the citizens of the United States is evidence

that he did not regard the pioneer American settler

with as much favor as he did the foreign elements,

either English, French, or Spanish. Colonel Clark,

therefore, doubtless felt that by the only means then at

hand he was protecting the outposts of civilization

against the Indian on one side, and the English claimants

on the other. The long story of Indian outbreaks and

wars in which Indians were participants raises many

difficult issues, but in the main the general principle has

been justified that no people can long inhabit a country

who fail to properly utilize its resources and make the

country serve the interests involved in the development

of human happiness and comfort. We honor the hero,

therefore, for the courageous and effective service ren-

dered on that August day.

It may be worth while to invite the attention of the

younger generation to the actual conditions under which

this expedition won its victory. Cincinnati seems a near

door neighbor in these modern times. In that day it

was eighty miles -- eighty long miles distant. There

were no hard surfaced highways. There were no auto-

mobiles. There were no moving trucks. The country

was full of timber and of water. The roadway had to

be blazed in many a place. There were no villages or

communities that could be used as a base of supplies.

No connecting railroads made it possible to command

the fruits of other men's labors. The forests were

reasonably well filled with deer and other animals avail-

able for food. The streams were unpolluted by any

modern manufacturing establishments, and provided an

easy supply of wholesome food. Transportation was

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Significance of Memorials      487

no modern holiday excursion. The contrast between

the transportation and provisioning of a body of sol-

diers, as represented in the recent World War, and the

primitive conditions existing in the days of the Battle

of Piqua, is, perhaps, beyond the imagination. It is

doubtful whether the children born into modern civiliza-

tion such as we find about us today, can ever grow into

a keen appreciation of the conditions under which the

pioneers of this great Republic opened the way for us.

The story has been romantically told in many of our

histories, and a very great effort put forth to bring to

public attention the struggles undergone by the pioneer.

Nevertheless, a generation given to pressing the button

can, with great difficulty, realize the problems of the

pioneer who through weary years faced the darkness and

stood in fear and trembling lest his homely residence

should be attacked either in his absence, or in the dark-

ness, by viciously disposed enemies. This hint will sug-

gest why we recognize with great enthusiasm the heroic

service rendered by such men as George Rogers Clark.

Significance of the Battle.

The complete destruction of the village of Piqua,

together with the fact that it was never rebuilt, and that

no attempt was made by the Indians to rebuild it, bears

silent testimony to the fact that the Indian regarded the

victory as complete. This, however, was about all he

understood of the situation. To those of us who have

come after an entirely different significance may be

attached to this victory. As a matter of fact, it was the

beginning of the end for the aggression either of the

English or the Indian. This battle opened up the way

for other engagements and for subsequent treaties that

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forever cleared the territory now occupied by Ohio from

all claims of the English, and of organized warfare by

the Indian. It was, therefore, the beginning of a peace-

ful occupancy of this highly favored country. For this

we are indebted to Colonel Clark and the brave men who

struggled with him from the Ohio River to this locality,

and who, after a complete victory returned to their

homes. The subsequent years suggest the activity of

Tecumseh, the great Indian chief, the activity of Gen-

eral Harrison at Vincennes, and the Indian territory

surrendered by General Hamilton, and the Treaty of

Greenville in 1795.  This Treaty, together with the

Battle of Piqua, practically determined the quiet and

peaceful occupancy of northwestern Ohio.  In a very

real sense, therefore, this battle opened the gateway from

Cincinnati to Detroit, as well as across the present state

of Indiana and portions of Illinois.

His Place in History.

Colonel Clark, like many another important charac-

ter, suffered from the standpoint of appreciation at the

hands of his own generation. We are often so busy

with things that engross our attention that we fail to

appreciate the pioneer qualities among the men who

render our highest services. There is no disposition to

offer a harsh judgment upon the generation of which

Colonel Clark was a member, for not having given him

a higher place. The fact that he died in poverty and

obscurity should not be taken altogether as an evidence

of remissness on the part of a pioneer generation. The

legislature of Virginia voted him a sword in recogni-

tion of military service. It displeased the aged colonel

however. His feeling that he had not been adequately

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Significance of Memorials       489

appreciated or dealt with was cherished in his own mind

until it produced an unhappy attitude toward his day

and generation. The sword, when received, was plunged

into the ground and broken as a mark of his contempt

for the long delayed and inadequate expression from his

commonwealth.

At that time there was very little organized effort

to provide for old age, as is characteristic of the present

generation. Furthermore, men gave their lives and

freely spent their time in a spirit of devotion and of en-

thusiasm that was admired, no doubt, and accepted as

a part of the life of the leader. One could wish, there-

fore, that such a hero as Colonel Clark, whom we are

delighted to honor, might have seen a more peaceful and

bountiful career as his years advanced. There is a

supreme satisfaction to American people, I think, in the

fact that George Washington was able to close his

earthly career in circumstances of comfort and pros-

perity. We should be glad if it were possible for every

other leader of men to close his career with some con-

sciousness of reward from an appreciative people. We

could be happy if the circumstances, though not opulent,

were comfortable. This, however, does not seem to be

the fate of all men. It is appropriate, however, that in

directing attention to such careers we seize the oppor-

tunity to be just and generous in giving such men as

Colonel Clark an appropriate place in the history of our

country. This we urge, not for his sake, but for our

own sakes. It is important that every generation learn

the lesson of appreciation and show the spirit of grati-

tude toward those who have left a heritage so excellent

as we now enjoy. This spirit of appreciation lies at

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the basis of all high character. We, therefore, urge

upon the future citizens of this community in particular,

and of our commonwealth in general, that this statue,

a monument to the heroic services of one of the great

Indian fighters, shall also seal our continual gratitude

and appreciation. This is all that we can do, and per-

haps the least that we can do. Our own patriotic im-

pulses are stimulated by all such memorials. We are

now so far removed in time and in the progress of civili-

zation that a personal interest cannot be awakened.

Colonel Clark was never a resident of this community.

He reaped no benefits personally from all the public

services rendered in his career as a soldier. His only

reward lies in our minds rather than in his. It is

doubtful whether he ever had a clear vision of the funda-

mental importance to the future of the country of the

services he rendered. He died February 18, 1818.

This was before any great development of the Missis-

sippi valley had occurred. It was still the virgin prairie

and forest to a large extent. Ohio had been admitted to

the Union, to be sure, but much of the territory within

the commonwealth was still in a very primitive con-

dition. The transmission of the news about current

events and the local communities at that time was so

imperfect that the story of Ohio would not, in great

measure, cross the Ohio River or excite the minds of the

residents of Louisville.

The motives that employ such men in their service

are not easily determined. The love of country, the

love of adventure and military ambition, the pioneer

enterprise all, perhaps, enter into the career of many of

our pioneers. In this later generation it is not easy

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Significance of Memorials        491

to define what love of country then meant. It is no

easy to analyze military ambitions. There is danger,

therefore, that we accept without adequate consideration

the fruits of other men's labors. In this sense it is im-

portant for us to recognize that patriotism always has

a backward look. It always takes into consideration the

services and achievements of those who have gone be-

fore. It counts the sacrifices others have made in the

interests of human progress.  It does not, however,

stop at that point. Urged on by such an inheritance

patriotism has its face toward the future and urges men

to live worthy of their heritage, and to cultivate a

citizenship that shall perpetuate whatever is good and

supreme only in the past, and to keep the future glow-

ing with faith and hope.

We recognize that the days of Indian warfare are

past. Many other things have been settled as well, but

the patriotism of today faces the same essential prob-

lems of human ambition, human conduct, and human

achievement that have possessed other generations from

the beginning of time. There is no great enterprise open-

ing before the American people today that does not re-

quire the same qualities of character and of leadership

that were so successful in our ancestry. The wise

patriot of today reads his lesson of history to be in-

spired for nobler living, for higher achievement, and for

the spirit of that good will which the struggles of the

fathers sought to provide.

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