XII.

Address at the Dedication of the Monument to General Franz Sigel, New York City, October 19, 1907.

It is our privilege to assemble here in honor of a brave soldier who rendered distinguished service to his adopted country. In the dedication of this monument we pay a fitting tribute to his memory. But it is more than a memorial to courage or to military skill; it is more than a tribute to individual worth. It speaks not simply of the service of the accomplished officer whose name it bears, but is eloquent of the patriotic ardor which has characterized the sons of the Fatherland he so worthily represented, and of their important contribution to our National life.

General Franz Sigel was born in Baden in 1824; he received his military education at Carlsruhe and served with distinction in the Revolution in 1849. Leaving the land which he loved and for whose liberties he had fought, he came, an exile, to this country, and after a

few years settled in Missouri.

settled in Missouri. We should entirely miss the significance of this occasion if we did not emphasize the spirit which animated this newcomer on American soil. He came defeated but not disheartened; he was torn away from the fond associations of his youth, but he was not cynical or morose; he did not give himself over to discontent, nor was his vitality sapped by vain regrets; he came true to the cause of liberty, with generous heart, with vigor and zeal to give the best he could bestow to the country which henceforth, by virtue of his manhood's choice, was to be not a mere asylum, but a home. And at the outbreak of the Civil War, with no less zeal for his adopted land than he had shown on his native soil, he offered his services to the National cause, and in large degree through his vigor and efficiency Missouri was saved to the Union.

It is not my purpose to tell the story of his career, which may more fittingly be narrated by him who is about to address you. His military service was extensive and distinguished. He took part in many important engagements, and his courage, his military ability, and the value of his services to the Union cause not only won distinction in the

Army but have made his fame secure. Gladly we recognize his service, and by this just tribute we memorialize the kindliness, the courage, and the patriotism of a gallant commander.

It is gratifying that the passing of the years has not lessened our appreciation of the heroic service which preserved our National unity. The generation which since the Civil War has come upon the scene studies the history of that terrific conflict without bitterness, but with no lack of reverence for those to whose self-denying service we owe the blessing of our vigorous National life. The memory of the founders and of the saviors of the Republic will never fade. As time heals the wounds of strife, and as with the extension of our activities all parts of our land are more closely knit together, we rejoice, in North and South alike, with a common pride of country in the splendid qualities of manhood which on both sides of that struggle were so lavishly displayed. The beneficent influence of the heroic and sacrificing spirit permeates the Nation and is not limited by sectional lines.

Fortunate also is it that we are becoming more and more free from racial and provincial prejudices, and are able to make a truer esti

mate of the many sources from which we have derived our National strength and the virtues of our citizenship. It is a pleasant thought, which frequently has been expressed, that the ancestors of most of those who settled the country in Colonial days once lived in the German forests; and we witness here on a large scale, and after centuries of varied experience, what is virtually a reuniting of the descendants of a common stock. But however pleasing this may be to the historical imagination, our unity in fact is not racial and does not depend upon blood relationship, whether near or remote. It is the unity of a common National ideal; it is the unity of a common conception of the dignity of manhood; it is the unity of a common recognition of equal civil rights; it is unity in devotion to liberty expressed in institutions designed to give every man a fair opportunity for the exercise of his talents and to make the activities of each subordinate to the welfare of all. To the maintenance of this ideal and to the fulfilment of the purposes of our National organization, each race has made its contribution. And we are not truly Americans if we do not greatly rejoice in the fact that here is more than the work of any one people, and more

than the product of any one experience; that to the making and to the prosperity of this Commonwealth humanity has given of its best; and that its vigor and unprecedented strength are due in no small degree to the fusion of its diverse elements.

There is recalled to us to-day the notable influence that our citizens of German birth and extraction have had upon our growth and development. In Colonial times there was a great movement of German immigration, largely from the lower Palatinate, which resulted in settlements in North Carolina, in Maryland, in Virginia, in Pennsylvania, and in New York. In our own State the names of Herkimer and Palatine recall this early movement. These settlers were characterized by industry, piety, and thrift. Zealous were they in defence of the commonwealths to which they had joined their fortunes. Notable was the service of Germans in the War of the Revolution. The names of Steuben, Herkimer, De Kalb, Von Weissenfels, bring freshly to our minds our lasting obligation to the sons of the Fatherland who fought valiantly in defence of liberty. Steuben's regulations long remained the manual of the United States Army and its Militia. De Kalb falling at