254 MAJOR JOHN F. LACEY 



"Whilst at Vicksburg, the scene of a great siege bears 

 in memory that companion victory in the west which, with 

 Helena and Port Hudson, proclaimed that the waters of 

 the mighty Mississippi should thenceforth flow unvexed 

 to the sea. 



And the great field at Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, 

 and Lookout Mountain show an unequaled panorama 

 where the contest furnished such a scenic spectacle as 

 has probably never been equaled on the planet. 



And, lastly, Appomattox marks the end of the struggle 

 and the beginning of the new order of things. The world 

 is a battlefield of accomplishment and endeavor, but the 

 places where great issues have been fought out are 

 worthy of special commemoration. 



As we gather inspiration while standing by the graves 

 of the world's heroic dead, so should we gather fresh en- 

 couragement by standing amid the scenes of the great 

 battles of the past. The importance of a battle is not 

 measured by its bloodshed. 



Only 192 Greeks fell at Marathon, and that victory was 

 a turning point in the history of civilization that is felt 

 even at this day. Only nineteen graves are at Appomat- 

 tox. The Union dead were taken to City Point, but one 

 was overlooked and so it happens that on the Confederate 

 Memorial day eighteen Confederates and one Union sol- 

 dier bivouac upon that historic battlefield and are all 

 alike covered with flowers by the tender hands of the 

 Southern women. 



Only one American soldier fell in Dewey's victory at 

 Manila Bay, but his death marked another of the turning 

 points in history. 



Comrades, on this historic field you did your duty well 

 a half century ago. Undiscouraged by defeat the lesson 

 was learned that a battle is not fought in one day ; that a 

 defeat may be turned into victory. We have learned 



