Memorial Address on the Life and Character of Abraham Lincoln Part 2

Hon. Solomon Foot, Vt.

Hon. Richard Yates, Ill.

Hon. Benj. F. Wade, Ohio.

Hon. Wm. Pitt Fessenden, Me.

Hon. Henry Wilson, Ma.s.s.

Hon. James R. Doolittle, Wis.

Hon. Jas. H. Lane, Ka.

Hon. Ira Harris, N.Y.

Hon. Jas. W. Nesmith, Oregon.

Hon. Henry S. Lane, Ind.

Hon. Waitman T. Willey, W. Va.

Hon. Chas. R. Buckalew, Pa.

Hon. John B. Henderson, Mo.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Hon. Ellihu B. Washburne, Ill.

Hon. James G. Blaine, Me.

Hon. James W. Patterson, N. H.

Hon. Justin S. Morrill, Vt.

Hon. Nathaniel P. Banks, Ma.s.s.

Hon. Thomas A. Jenckes, R. I.

Hon. Henry C. Deming, Ct.

Hon. John A. Griswold, N.Y.

Hon. Edwin R. V. Wright, N.J.

Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, Pa.

Hon. John A. Nicholson, Del.

Hon. Francis Thomas, Md.

Hon. Robert C. Schenck, Ohio.

Hon. George S. Shanklin, Ky.

Hon. G.o.dlove S. Orth, Ind.

Hon. Joseph W. McClurg, Mo.

Hon. Fernando C. Beaman, Mich.

Hon. John A. Ka.s.son, Iowa.

Hon. Ithamar C. Sloan, Wis.

Hon. William Higby, Cal.

Hon. William Windom, Minn.

Hon. J. H. D. Henderson, Oregon.

Hon. Sidney Clarke, Kansas.

Hon. Kellian V. Whaley, W. Va.

That committee, by Hon. Mr. FOOT, made the following report, which was concurred in by both Houses _nem. con._

Whereas the melancholy event of the violent and tragic death of Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States, having occurred during the recess of Congress, and the two Houses sharing in the general grief and desiring to manifest their sensibility upon the occasion of the public bereavement: Therefore,

_Be it resolved by the Senate,_ (the House of Representatives concurring,) That the two Houses of Congress will a.s.semble in the Hall of the House of Representatives, on Monday, the 12th day of February next, that being his anniversary birthday, at the hour of twelve meridian, and that, in the presence of the two Houses there a.s.sembled, an address upon the life and character of Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States, be p.r.o.nounced by Hon. Edwin M. Stanton; and that the President of the Senate _pro tempore_ and the Speaker of the House of Representatives be requested to invite the President of the United States, the heads of the several Departments, the judges of the Supreme Court, the representatives of the foreign governments near this Government, and such officers of the army and navy as have received the thanks of Congress who may then be at the seat of Government, to be present on the occasion.

_And be it further resolved,_ That the President of the United States be requested to transmit a copy of these resolutions to Mrs. Lincoln, and to a.s.sure her of the profound sympathy of the two Houses of Congress for her deep personal affliction, and of their sincere condolence for the late national bereavement.

The Hon. GEORGE BANCROFT of New York, in response to an invitation from the joint committee, consented to deliver the address, (Mr. Stanton having previously declined.)

On the morning of the 12th of February, 1865, the Capitol was closed to all except the members of Congress. At ten o'clock the doors leading to the rotundo were opened to those to whom tickets of admission had been extended, and the s.p.a.cious galleries of the House of Representatives were soon crowded. The Speaker's desk was draped in mourning, and chairs were placed upon the floor for the invited guests.

At 12.30 p.m., the members of the Senate, following their President _pro tempore_ and their Secretary, and preceded by their Sergeant-at-Arms, entered the Hall of the House of Representatives and occupied the seats reserved for them on the right and left of the main aisle.

The President _pro tempore_ occupied the Speaker's chair, the Speaker of the House sitting at his left. The Chaplains of the Senate and of the House were seated on the right and left of the Presiding Officers of their respective Houses.

Shortly afterward the President of the United States, with the members of his Cabinet, entered the Hall and occupied seats, the President in front of the Speaker's table, and his Cabinet immediately on his right.

Immediately after the entrance of the President, the Chief Justice and the a.s.sociate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States entered the Hall and occupied seats next to the President, on the right of the Speaker's table.

The others present were seated as follows:

The Heads of Departments, with the Diplomatic Corps, next to the President, on the left of the Speaker's table;

Officers of the Army and Navy, who, by name, have received the thanks of Congress, next to the Supreme Court, on the right of the Speaker's table;

a.s.sistant Heads of Departments, Governors of States and Territories, and the Mayors of Washington and Georgetown, directly in the rear of the Heads of Departments;

The Chief Justice and Judges of the Court of Claims, and the Chief Justice and a.s.sociate Justices of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, directly in the rear of the Supreme Court;

The Heads of Bureaus in the Departments, directly in the rear of the officers of the Army and Navy;

Representatives on either side of the Hall, in the rear of those invited, four rows of seats on either side of the main aisles being reserved for Senators;

The Orator of the day, Hon. George Bancroft, at the table of the Clerk of the House;

The Chairmen of the Joint Committee of Arrangements, at the right and left of the orator, and next to them the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House;

The other officers of the Senate and of the House, on the floor at the right and the left of the Speaker's platform.

When order was restored, at twelve o'clock and twenty minutes p.m., the Marine band, stationed in the vestibule, played appropriate dirges.

Hon. LAFAYETE S. FOSTER, President _pro tempore_ of the Senate, called the two Houses of Congress to order at 12.30.

Rev. DR. BOYNTON, Chaplain of the House, offered the following prayer:

Almighty G.o.d, who dost inhabit eternity, while we appear but for a little moment and then vanish away, we adore The Eternal Name. Infinite in power and majesty, and greatly to be feared art Thou. All earthly distinctions disappear in Thy presence, and we come before Thy throne simply as men, fallen men, condemned alike by Thy law, and justly cut off through sin from communion with Thee. But through Thy infinite mercy, a new way of access has been opened through Thy Son, and consecrated by His blood. We come, in that all-worthy Name, and plead the promise of pardon and acceptance through Him. By the imposing solemnities of this scene we are carried back to the hour when the nation heard, and shuddered at the hearing, that Abraham Lincoln was dead--was murdered. We would bow ourselves submissively to Him by whom that awful hour was appointed. We bow to the stroke that fell on the country in the very hour of its triumph, and hushed all its shouts of victory to one voiceless sorrow. "The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." The shadow of that death has not yet pa.s.sed from the heart of the nation, as this national testimonial bears witness to-day. The gloom thrown from these surrounding emblems of death is fringed, we know, with the glory of a great triumph, and the light of a great and good man's memory. Still, O Lord, may this hour bring to us the proper warning! "Be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh." Any one of us may be called as suddenly as he whom we mourn.

We worship Thee as the G.o.d of our fathers. Thou didst trace for them a path over the trackless sea, and bring them to these sh.o.r.es, bearing with them the seed of a great dominion. We thank Thee that the life-power of the young nation they planted, received from Thee such energy, guidance, and protection, that it spread rapidly over the breadth of the continent, carrying with it Christian liberty, churches, schools, and all the blessings of a Christian civilization. We thank Thee that the progress of the true American life has been irresistible, because sustained by Thy eternal counsels and Thy almighty power, and because the might of G.o.d was in this national life. We have seen it sweeping all opposition away, grinding great systems and parties to powder, and breaking in pieces the devices of men; and Thou hast raised up for it heroic defenders in every hour of peril. We thank Thee, O Strong Defender! And when treason was hatching its plot and ma.s.sing its armies, then, O G.o.d of Israel, who didst bring David from the sheepfold, Thou gavest one reared in the humble cabin to become the hope and stay of this great people in their most perilous hour, to shield them in disaster and lead them to final victory.

We thank Thee that Thou gavest us an honest man, simple-hearted and loving as a child, but with a rugged strength that needed only culture and discipline. Thanks be to G.o.d that this discipline was granted him through stern public trial, domestic sorrow, and Thy solemn providences, till the mere politician was overshadowed by the n.o.bler growth of his moral and spiritual nature, till he came, as we believe, into sympathy with Christ, and saw that we could succeed only by doing justice. Then, inspired by Thee, he uttered those words of power which changed three millions of slaves into men--the great act which has rendered his name forever ill.u.s.trious and secured the triumph of our cause. We think of him almost as the prophet of his era. Thou didst make that honest, great-hearted man the central figure of his age, setting upon goodness, upon moral grandeur, the seal of Thine approval and the crown of victory. We bless Thee that he did not die until a.s.sured of victory, until he knew that his great work was done, and he had received all the honor that earth could bestow, and then we believe Thou didst give him a martyr's crown. We thank Thee that we have this hope for the ill.u.s.trious dead.

Great reason have we also to thank Thee that such was the enduring strength of our inst.i.tutions that they received no perceptible shock from the death of even such a man and in such an hour, and that Thou didst provide for that perilous moment one whose strength was sufficient to receive and bear the weight of government, and who, we trust, will work out the great problem of Christian freedom to its final solution, and by equal law and equal rights bind this great people into one inseparable whole.

We thank Thee that the representatives of the nation have come to sit to-day in the shadow of Abraham Lincoln's tomb, to express once more their now chastened sorrow. May they all reconsecrate themselves to those principles which made him worthy to be remembered thus, and then a redeemed and transfigured land will be a fitting monument for him and for them.