A National Outburst of Grief—The President's Message to Congress—The Senate's Memorial Resolutions—Senator Hawley's Eulogy—A Touching Tribute from a Southern Senator—Speeches by Senators who were also Soldiers—Eloquent Words from Lawrence Barrett—Judge Gresham Recalls Sherman's Prophetic Words—A Comparison Between Sherman and Lee—General Slocum's Reminiscences—Chauncey Depew on Sherman in Social Life.
During General Sherman's last illness the entire nation listened with anxious suspense to every word of news that came from his home, and millions of hearts hourly offered fervent prayers for his recovery. The announcement of his death was not unexpected, for it had been known for several days that recovery was impossible; but it was none the less a shock to the public. Everywhere expressions of grief were heard and emblems of mourning were seen. Flags were placed at half-mast and buildings draped in black; bells were tolled and memorial meetings held. Messages of sympathy and condolence came to his family by mail and telegraph from every part of the world. Only a few irreconcilable spirits here and there in the South spoke against him, and made his death an occasion for venting their spleen against the patriot who had subdued the rebellion.
When the news of Sherman's death reached Washington, the President, who had himself been an officer in Sherman's army in Georgia, sent a message announcing the fact to Congress, in which he said:
"The death of William Tecumseh Sherman is an event that will bring sorrow to the heart of every patriotic citizen. No living American was so loved and venerated as he. To look upon his face, to hear his name, was to have one's love of country intensified. He served his country, not for fame, not out of a sense of professional duty, but for love of the flag and of the beneficent civil institutions of which it was the emblem. He was an ideal soldier, and shared to the fullest the esprit de corps of the army; but he cherished the civil institutions organized under the Constitution, and was a soldier only that these might be perpetuated in undiminished usefulness and honor. He was in nothing an imitator.
"A profound student of military science and precedent, he drew from them principles and suggestions, and so adapted them to novel conditions that his campaigns will continue to be the profitable study of the military profession throughout the world. His general nature made him comrade to every soldier of the great Union Army. No presence was so welcome and inspiring at the camp-fire or commandery as his. His career was complete; his honors were full. He had received from the Government the highest rank known to our military establishment, and from the people unstinted gratitude and love. No word of mine can add to his fame. His death has followed in startling quickness that of the Admiral of the Navy; and it is a sad and notable incident that when the Department under which he served shall have put on the usual emblems of mourning, four of the eight Executive Departments will be simultaneously draped in black, and one other has but to-day removed the crape from its walls."
Senator Hawley, of Connecticut, at once offered the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted by the Senate:
"Resolved, That the Senate receive with profound sorrow the announcement of the death of William Tecumseh Sherman, late General of the armies of the United States.
"Resolved, That the Senate renews its acknowledgment of the inestimable services which he rendered to his country in the day of its extreme peril, laments the great loss which the country has sustained, and deeply sympathizes with his family in its bereavement.
"Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the family of the deceased."
Mr. Hawley said: "Mr. President, at this hour, the Senate, the Congress and the people of the United States are one family. What we have been daily expecting has happened; General Sherman has received and obeyed his last order. He was a great soldier by the judgment of the great soldiers of the world. In time of peace he had been a great citizen, glowing and abounding with love of country and of all humanity. His glorious soul appeared in every look, gesture and word. The history of our country is rich in soldiers who have set examples of simple soldierly obedience to the civil law and of self-abnegation. Washington, Grant, Sheridan and Sherman lead the list. Sherman was the last of the illustrious trio who were by universal consent the foremost figures in the armies of the Union in the late war. Among the precious traditions to pass into our history for the admiration of the old and the instruction of the young was their friendship, their most harmonious co-operation, without a shadow of ambition or pride. When General Grant was called to Washington to take command of the armies of the Union, his great heart did not forget the men who stood by him."