Dedication of the Memorial Bricks
at the Civil War Monument in Ada, Ohio,
on Memorial Day, May 28, 2018
Remarks
John Phillip Lomax
In his book, For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War, James McPherson delved deeply into the letters and daily journals of Civil War soldiers in search of the motives that led them to leave their homes and march into battle. He found them quite able to state their reasons for fighting.
After all, the Union Army was the most literate armed force in the history of warfare; nine out of ten of them could read and write. The Confederate Army was the second most literate, with eight out of ten. He also found them willing to put down on paper what was on their minds. They wrote incessantly. Most of them focused the day-to-day experiences of army life. They rarely described the actual experience of battle; in this they were like many combat veterans who are reluctant to share that particular experience with those who have never known the fight.
McPherson, however, found them free with their thoughts on why they fought. His analysis indicates a range of motives. These included the desire to get into the fight and the fear that their fellow soldiers would see them flinch in the face of battle. They expressed religious motives, both Christian and civic. They viewed themselves as a band of brothers who fought for one another, and fought to avenge the deaths of their fellow soldiers.
They fought in the cause of liberty. They fought to end slavery. They sacrificed themselves in what they explicitly called a Holy Cause. In typical nineteenth-century fashion, they were clear and unapologetic – even emotional – about their motives. We see them in the many letter collections and journals housed in archival collections as well as those kept and treasured by their descendants, some of whom live among us in Ada and Liberty Township.
It is difficult to settle on the number of soldiers who fought during the Civil War. The records are inconsistent, and the measures of service vary among those who have compiled figures. Ohio was careful and energetic in gathering data on those who served during the war – not surprisingly.
Something like 305,000 Ohioans served in the forces of the United States during the war. Although this was the third-highest contribution of ALL the states, after New York and Pennsylvania, a higher percentage of the population of Ohio served than any other state. The casualty rate among Ohio soldiers was 10%, higher than any other state on either side of the conflict and twice the rate during the Second World War.
An astonishing 60% of Ohio men between the ages of 18 and 45 served in the Union Army between 1861 and 1865. Among them were the 83 we honor today who made their home in Ada or Liberty Township, including Henry Solomon Lehr, the founder of Ohio Northern University. The name, rank, and unit of each veteran is inscribed on his brick.
Memorial Day is a federal holiday for remembering those who died while serving in the armed forces of the nation. It is a day to honor the dead, those who, as Abraham Lincoln put it at Gettysburg, “gave the last full measure of devotion.” We beg those brave men and women to permit us to share their day with those whom we today honor for their service.
With Lincoln, those who served the United States shared two great principles, which they stated clearly, repeatedly, and with unmistakable conviction. These principles were Union and Freedom, as vividly expressed in the favorite marching song of Ohio regiments:
The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!
Down with the traitors, and up with the star;
While we rally round the flag, boys, we rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
When efforts to reverse the verdict of the Civil War began to take shape in the 1890’s, the flag of the United States – THIS flag - once again became the focal point for the abiding patriotism of those who wore the Blue. Their unflagging commitment to the Republic under whose flag they fought called forth a pledge of loyalty to that “Indivisible” Republic, a Republic committed to “Liberty and Justice for All.”
We, too, share these noble and enduring purposes – purposes worth fighting and dying for – on this Memorial Day, 153 years after the guns of civil strife fell silent. Let us now proceed to the monument that the citizens of Ada erected in memory of those who took up the fight for Union and Freedom from 1861 to 1865.
As we dedicate these memorial bricks – our poor and surely incomplete attempt to complete a monument that has stood in our midst for 120 years – let us also dedicate ourselves, with Lincoln and the brave men who served, “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Thank you for joining us today. Enjoy the rest of your Memorial Day!
