88 



^\)c /armer's illontl^li) lUsitov. 



But if family nssociations and the recollorlions 

 uf the \n\t-X, hi-inj; you liillier with firoater alacri- 

 tv, and niingU; uitli your ^'reeling much of local 

 •atlarliiiieiit, and jii-ivatc afl'ectioii, ^.'rectinj; also 

 he given, iVec and liearly sre*''i"e> ^" <'very 

 Ami?iican citizen, who treads this sacred soil, 

 with patriotic feelin!.', and rcs|]ires with pleasure, 

 in an atmosphere fragiant with the recollections 

 of l77o. This occasiim is respectahle — nay, it 

 is grand, it is suhlime, hy the nationality of its 

 sentiment. In the seventeen millions of happy 

 people who form the American community, there 

 is not one who has not an interest in this Monu- 

 ment, as there is not one, that has not a deep 

 and ahiding interest in that which it commemo- 

 rates. 



Woe betide the man, who hrini;s to this day's 

 worship feeling less than wliolly American! — 

 Woe betide the man, w ho can stand here with 

 the fires of local resentmentsbnrinng, or the pur- 

 pose of fomenting local jealousies, and the strifes 

 of local interests, festering and ranUling in his 

 heart. Union, foimded in justice, in patriotism, 

 and the most plain and obvious common inter- 

 est ; miion, founded on the same love of liberty, 

 cemented by blood shed in the same common 

 cause; union has been the somxe of all onr glo- 

 ry and greatness thus liir, and is the ground of 

 all onr highest hopes. This column stands on 

 Union. T know not that it might not keep its 

 position, if the American Union, in the mad con- 

 flict of human passions, and in the strife of par- 

 ties and factions, should bo broken np and de- 

 stroyed. I know not that it would totter ami full 

 to the earth, .-uid mingle its fragments with the 

 fragments of Liherty and the Constitution, when 

 State should be separated from State, and liiction 

 and dismemberment nlilitcrate forever all the 

 hopes of the founders of our Republic, and the 

 great inheritance of their children. It might 

 stand. But who, from beneath the weight of 

 mortification arnl shame, that would oppress him. 

 could look up to behold it? For my |)art, should 

 1 live to such a time, I shall avert my eyes fiotn 

 it forever. 



It is not as a mere military encounter of hos- 

 tile arinies, that the battle of Bunker Hill founds 

 its principal claim to altentifui. Yet, even as a 

 mere battle, there were circumstances atten<rmg 

 it, extraordinary in character and entitling it to 

 peculiar distinction. It was fought on this eir,i- 

 nence ; in the neighborhood of yonder city ; in 

 the presence of more spectators than there were 

 combatants in the conflict. Men, women and 

 children, from every commanding position, were 

 gazing at the battle and looking for its result 

 with all the eagerness natural to those w ho knew 

 that the issue was frani'ht with the deepest con- 

 sequences to them. Vet, on the sixteenth of 

 Jime, 1775, there was nothing around this hill 

 but verdure and culture. There was, indeed, the 

 note of awful preparation in Boston. There was 

 the provincial army at Cambridge with its right 

 flank resting on Dorchester, ami its left on Chel- 

 sea. But here all was peace. Tranquility reign- 

 ed around. 



On the seventeenth, every thing was changed. 

 On yonder height hud arisen, in the niyht, a re- 

 doubt in which I'rescntt comujanded. Perceived 

 by the enemy at dawn, it was iimnediately can- 

 nonaded from the floating batteries in the river, 

 and the opfiosite siiore. And then ensued the 

 hurry of preparation in Boston, and soon the 

 troops of Britain embarked in the attempt to dis- 

 lodge the I'oluuists. 



I suppose it would be dillicult. iti a military 

 point ol^ view, to ascribe to the leaders on either 

 side, any just motive for the conflict which fol- 

 lowed. On the one hand it could not have been 

 very important to the Americans to attempt to 

 hem the Britisli within the town by advancing 

 one single post a quarter of a mile; while on 

 the oilici- liauil, if the British found it essential 

 io dislodge the American troops, they had it in 

 their pow(M-, at no expense of life. By moving 

 . up their ships and batteries, they could have com- 

 pletely cnl olf all communication with the main 

 laml over the neck, and the forces in the redoubt 

 woidd have lieeii reduced to a stale of famine in 

 forty-eight hours. 



But that uns not the day for any such consid- 

 erations on either side ! Both parties were anx- 

 ious to try the strength of their arms. The pride 

 of England would not permit the rebels, as she 

 :eruied ihetn, to defy her to the teeth, and with- 



out for a moment calculating the cost, the lirilish 

 general determined to destroy the tort immedi- 

 ately. On the other side, Prescott and liis gal- 

 lant fiillowers longed and thirsted for a conflict. 

 They wished it, and wished it at once. And 



this is the true secret of the movements on this 

 hill. 



I will not attetnpt to describe the battle. The 

 catinonading — the landing of the British — their 

 advance — the coolness with which the charge 

 was met — the re[)ulse-^the .second attack — the 

 second repulse — t'le burning of Charlestown — 

 and finally the closing assault, and the slow re- 

 treat of the Americans — the history of all thcs(^ 

 is familiar. 



But the cousecpiences of the battle of Bunker 

 Hill are greater than those of any conflict be- 

 tween the hostile armies of Em-opean powers. 

 It was the first great battle of ttie Kc.'volution ; 

 and not only the first blow, but the blow which 

 determined the contest. It did tiot, indeed, put 

 an eiul to the war,, but in the then existing hos- 

 tile state of lijeling, the difficulties could only be 

 referred to the arbitration of the sword. And 

 one thing is certain ; that after the New England 

 troops had shown tlieuisehes able to fiice and 

 repulse the rcgidars, it was decided that peace 

 never coidd be estal)lished hut upon the basis of 

 the Independence of the colonies. When the 

 sun of that day went down, the event of inde- 

 pendence was certain ! When Washington heard 

 of the battle he inquired if the militia had stood 

 the lire of the regulais. And when told that 

 they had not only stood that fire, but reserved 

 their own till the eacmy was within eight rods, 

 and then poured it in with tremendous effect — 

 "then," exclaimed he, "the liberties of the coun- 

 try are safe !" 



The consequences of this battle were just of 

 the same importance as the Revolution itself. 



If there was nothing of value in the principles 

 of the American Revolution, then there is nothing 

 valuable in the battle of BmikerHill and its con- 

 sequences. But if the Revnhitinn was an era in 

 the history of man, favorable to human happi- 

 ness — if it was an event which marked the pro- 

 gress of man, all over the world, from despotism 

 to liberty — then this motinment is not raised 

 without cause. Then, the battle of Bimker Hill 

 is not un event undeserving ctlelirations, com- 

 memorations and rejoicing.''. 



What then is the true and iieciilitu- principle 

 of the American Revolution, and of the systems 

 of government which it h;is confirmed and es- 

 tablished ? Now the truth is, that the American 

 Revolution was not caused by the instantaneous 

 discovery of principles of government before 

 unheard of, or the practicable adoption of po- 

 litical ideas, such as had never before e'ltered 

 into the minds of men. It was but the full de- 

 velopement of principles of government, forms 

 of society, and political sentiments, the origin of 

 all which lay back two centuries in English and 

 .\meri<;au history. 



The discovery of America, its colonization by 

 the nations of Europe, the history and progress 

 of the colonies, from their establishment, to the 

 time when the principal of them threw off their 

 allegiance to the respective Slates which had 

 planted them, and fbmided govermnenls of their 

 own, constitule one of the tiiost interesting trains 

 of events in human annals. These events occu- 

 pied three hundred years; rluring which period 

 civilization and knowledge mtide steady progress 

 in the old world; so that Europe, at the com- 

 mencement of the nineteenth century, bad be- 

 come greatly changed from that Europe which 

 began the <'olonizalion of America M the com- 

 mencement of the fifteenth. And what is most 

 material to my present purpose is, that in the 

 progress of the first of these centuries, that is to 

 say, from the discovery of America to the settle- 

 ments of Virginia and iMassachusetts, political 

 and religious events took place, which most ma- 

 terially affected the state of society, and the sen- 

 timents of mankind, especially in England, and 

 in parts of Continental Eiu-one. After a few 

 feeble and unsuceessful efforts by England, un- 

 der Henry the Seventh, to plant colonies in 

 America, no designs of that kind were prosecu- 

 ted for a long period, either by the Eui;lish gov- 

 ernment, or any of its subjects. Withmit in- 

 quiring into the causes of this long delay, its 

 consequences are sufficiently clear and striking. 

 England in this lapse of a century, nnknovvn to 



herself but under the Providence of God, and 

 the influence of events, Wiis filling herself for 

 the work of colonizing North America, on such 

 principles, .-iiid by such men, tis should spread 

 the English iiatue and English blood, in time, 

 over a great |)ortion of the Western hemisphere. 

 The commercial spirit was greatly encouraged 

 by several law's passed in Henry the Seventh's 

 reign; and in the same reign encouragement was 

 given to arts and manufiiciures in the Eastern 

 countries, and some not unimportant mollifica- 

 tions of the Feinlal system, by allowijig the 

 breaking of entails. These, and other measures, 

 .•mil other occurrences, were making way for a 

 new class of society to emerge, and shov/ itself 

 in a military and lijudal age. ,\ middle class, 

 neither Barons nor great laud-holders on the one 

 side, nor the mere retainers of the Crown, nor 

 Barons nor mere agricultural laborers on the 

 other. With the rise and growth of this new 

 class of society, not only did commerce and the 

 arts increase, but better edmation, ii greater de- 

 gree of knowledge, jnstcr notions of the true 

 ends of govermnent, and sentiments favorable to 

 civil liherty, began to spread abroad, and become 

 more and more common. But the iilants spring- 

 ing from these seeds were of slow growth. The 

 character of English society had indeed begun 

 to undergo a change ; but changes of national 

 character are ordinarily the work of time. Op- 

 erative causes were, however, evidently in exist- 

 ence, and sure to produce, ultimately, their pro- 

 per eliii-t. From the accessiosi of Henry 7th, to 

 the breaking out of the civil wars, England en- 

 joyed nnich more exemtition fi'om war, foreign 

 and domestic, than lor a long period before, and 

 during the controversy between the houses of 

 Vork and Lancaster. These years of peace were 

 fiivorable to commerce and the arts. Commerce 

 and tlie arts augmented general and individual 

 knowledge; and knowledge is the only first 

 fountain, both of the love, and the principles of 

 hmnan liberty. Other powerful causes soon 

 came into aclive^play. The reformation of Lu- 

 ther broke out, kindling np the minds of men 

 afresh, leading to new habits of thought, and 

 awakening in inilividnals energies before un- 

 known, even to themselves. The religious con- 

 troversies of this period changed society as well 

 its religion; indeed, it would he easy to prove, 

 if this occasion were proper for it, that they 

 changed society to a considerable e.xient, where 

 they did not change the religion of the State. 

 The spirit of commercial and fiireign adventure, 

 therefore, on the one hand, which had gained so 

 much strength and influence, since the time of 

 the discovery of America, and, on the other, the 

 assertion and maintenance of religious liberty, 

 having theirsonrce indeed in theRef()rmalion, but 

 continued, diversified, anil continually strength- 

 ened by the subsequent divisions of sentiment 

 and opinion among the reformers themselves, 

 and this love of religions liberty drawitig after 

 them, or bringiiij along with them, as they al- 

 ways do, an ardent devotion to the principles of 

 civil liberty also, were the poweiful influences 

 under which character w.is formed, and men 

 trained lor the great work of introducing Eng- 

 lish civilization, English law, and what is more 

 than all, Anglo-Saxon blood, into the wilderness 

 of North America. Raleigh and his companions 

 ntay be considered as the creatiu'es, princifially. 

 of the first of these causes. High-spirited, full 

 of the love of personal adventure, excited too, in 

 some degree, by the hopes of sudden riches from 

 the discovery of tnines of the precious metaks 

 and not nnwilliui; to diversify the labors of set- 

 tling a colony with occasional cruising against 

 the Sptmiards in the West Indian seas, they 

 crossed and re-crossed the ocean, with a frequen- 

 cy which surprizes ns, when we consider the 

 state of navigation, and which evinces a most 

 daring spirit. The other cause peopled New 

 England. The Ubiy [■'lower sought oin- shores 

 under no high wrought spirit of commercial ad- 

 venture, no love of gold, no mixture of puri)0se, 

 warlike or hostile, to any human being. Like 

 the dove fiom the ark, she had put forth only to 

 find rest. Solemn prayers from the sliores of 

 the scii in Holl.ind, had invoked for her, at her 

 departure, the blessings of Providence. The 

 stars whicli ^niided her were the unobscured con- 

 stellations of civil and religions liberty. Her 

 deck was the altar of the living God. Fervent 

 prayers from bended knee.s, mingled, morning 



