founded and defended by
Freedom's sons, to give to the world the noblest type of warrior; men in
whom martial renown went hand in hand with the noblest of virtues, men
who united in their own characters the highest military genius with the
loftiest patriotism, the most daring courage with the gentlest courtesy,
the most obstinate endurance with the utmost self-sacrifice, the genius
of a Caesar with the courage and purity of a Bayard.

Patriotism and love of liberty, the most ennobling motives that can fire
the heart of man, expanding and thriving in the atmosphere of free
America, added a refining touch to the martial enthusiasm of our
forefathers and elevated the character of the American soldier to a
standard never attained by fighting men of any other age or nation.

To recall their names and recount their deeds would lead me far beyond
the time and space allotted. Volumes would never do justice to the
valorous achievements of George Washington and his compeers, the boys of
'76--of the heroes of 1812 and of 1848; of the men in blue who fought
under Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Thomas, and Farragut; of the men in gray
who followed the lead of Johnston, Jackson, and Lee from 1861 to 1865;
of the intrepid band that sailed with Dewey into Manila Bay, or of the
small but heroic army of 1898 that fought at Las Guasimas, El Caney, and
San Juan, and left the Stars and Stripes floating in triumph over the
last stronghold of Spain in the New World.

But above the grand heroic names immortalized by historian and poet
shines with an undimmed lustre, all its own, the immortal name of Robert
Edmund Lee.--

"Ah, Muse! You dare not claim
A nobler man than he--
Nor nobler man hath less of blame,
Nor blameless man hath purer name,
Nor purer name hath grander fame,
Nor fame--another Lee."

The late Benjamin H. Hill, of Georgia, in an address delivered at the
time of General Lee's death, thus beautifully describes his character:
"He was a foe without hate; a friend without treachery; a soldier
without cruelty; a victor without oppression, and a victim without
murmuring. He was a public officer without vices; a private citizen
without wrong; a neighbor without reproach; a Christian without
hypocrisy, and a man without guile. He was Caesar without his ambition;
Frederick without his tyranny; Napoleon without his selfishness, and
Washington without his reward. He was as obedient to authority as a
servant, and royal