Speeches of Benjamin Harrison, Twenty-third President of the United StatesHarrison, Benjamin
History
Speeches of Benjamin Harrison, Twenty-third President of the United States
Harrison, Benjamin
Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901; Speeches, addresses, etc., American; United States -- Politics and government
I remember your faithfulness during the time of the war. I remember
your faithful service to the army as we were advancing through an
unknown country. We could always depend upon the faithfulness of the
black man. [Cries of "Right you are!"] He might be mistaken, but he
was never false. Many a time in the darkness of night have those
faithful men crept to our lines and given us information of the
approach of the enemy. I shall never forget a scene that I saw when
Sherman's army marched through a portion of North Carolina, between
Raleigh and Richmond, where our troops had never before been. The
colored people had not seen our flag since the banner of treason had
been set up in its stead. As we were passing through a village the
colored people flocked out to see once more the starry banner of
freedom, the emblem, promise, and security of their emancipation. I
remember an aged woman, over whom nearly a century of slavery must
have passed, pressed forward to see the welcome banner that told her
that her soul would go over into the presence of her God. I remember
her exultation of spirit as she danced in the dusty road before our
moving column, and, like Miriam of old, called upon her soul to
rejoice in the deliverance which God had wrought by the coming of
those who stood for and made secure the Proclamation of Emancipation.
[Applause.]
I rejoice in all that you have accomplished since you have been
free. I recall no scene more pathetic than that which I have often
seen about our camp-fires. An aged man, a fugitive from slavery, had
found freedom in our camp. After a day of hard work, when taps had
sounded and the lights in the tents were out, I have seen him with the
spelling-book that the chaplain had given him, lying prone upon the
ground taxing his old eyes, and pointing with his hardened finger to
the letters of the alphabet, as he endeavored to open to his clouded
brain the avenues of information and light.
I am glad to know that that same desire to increase and enlarge
your information possesses the race to-day. It is the open way for
the race to that perfect emancipation which will remove remaining
prejudices and secure to you in all parts of the land an equal and
just participation in the government of this country. It cannot much
longer be withholden from you.
Again I thank you for your presence here to-night and will be glad
to take by the hand any of you who desire to see me. [Great applause.]
INDIANAPOLIS, JULY 4, 1888.
_The Notification._
The Indiana Republican State Committee, through its chairman, the Hon.
James N. Huston, designated as a committee to receive and escort the
committee on notification from the National Convention the following
gentlemen:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account