154 BULLETIN 16 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



man, and sage, Benjamin Franklin, to the same leader of tlie armies of free- 

 dom in the revolutionary war, George Washington. 



That these precious relies are hereby accepted in the name of the nation ; 

 that they be deposited for safe-keeping in the Department of State of the United 

 States ; and that a copy of this resolution, signed by the President of the 

 Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, be transmitted to the said 

 Samuel T. Washington. 



Mr. A. then proceeded to address the Senate. 



Mr. President : The grounds of the proceedings of the other House, in ref- 

 erence to these invaluable relics, not being necessarily supposed to be known to 

 this body, it may not, perhaps, be considered improper or inappropriate, (com- 

 ing, as they do, from a citizen of that State which I have the honor in part to 

 represent,) that I should make some brief remarks before committing the 

 resolution to the disposal of this honorable body. 



Sir, it is known to all who have read the history of General Washington's 

 life, that he left to four nephews each a sword, one of which had had the signal 

 honor of being worn by him during the whole period of his military services, 

 from the time he entered the army in the service of his country, then in a 

 colonial condition, down to the memorable i>eriod when, having achieved his 

 country's independence, and coupled his name with immortality, he resigned 

 the high commission which he bore and retired to the enjoyment of domestic 

 tranquility. 



Sir, it was a mark of good taste on the part of one of the nephews of General 

 Washington to select, as a memorial of that illustrious man most worthy of 

 being presented to the Congress of the United States, this simple sword. It is 

 a relic of no ordinary value in the estimation of that gentleman, as I am sure 

 it will be in the estimation of the Senate and the country — having been the 

 battlesword of that hero, during the whole period of his immortal career. 



Sir, I ought, perhaps, to say that there is no question of its identity, plain 

 and simple as it is ; and if I desired evidence to show that it was really the 

 sword which General Washington had worn throughout his glorious career of 

 military service, I would find sufficient to convince myself, at least, in its very 

 plainness and simplicity. 



But I will not go into an argument to prove its identity, nor will I trace 

 its history; that has been already done in the other House, by an honorable 

 member of that body, a colleague of mine, who has added, by the manner in 

 which he executed that duty, another wreath to his own honor, and shown 

 how well he deserved to be made the instrument of conveying to Congress this 

 invaluable gift. 



Sir, there may be those who think it is unfitting the dignity of Senatorial 

 bodies to pay attention to the preservation of such simple relics as this ; but I 

 confess, if there be any such, I am not of the number.^ 



Sir, those who have been the precursors of our course in the great career of 

 liberty, have not been of the opinion that such mementoes were valueless. We 

 have no record of any country, in which freedom has triumphed, where 

 illustrious men, after they have passed from their mortal career, had not statues 

 erected to their memory, and relics and memorials, such as those now lying 

 upon your table, commemorative of their achievements, carefully preserved. 

 They are calculated, in an eminent degree, to produce the feelings and the 

 practice of virtue in successive generations. By associating the memorials of 

 great achievements with the names of those who performed them, and pre- 



* This paragraph and the following one constitute an exceedingly strong argument in 

 favor of the establishment and development of local and national historical museums. 



