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Presentation of Civil War Flags
to the State, July 4, 1866
Excerpts from speeches at the presentation of the Civil War flags to
Governor Henry H. Crapo, July 4, 1866, on the Campus Martius, Detroit, Michigan. (From The
Flags of Michigan, Jno. Robertson (compiler). Lansing, MI: W. S. George & Co.,
State Printers and Binders, 1877, pp. 87-89.)
PRESENTATION ADDRESS OF GENERAL O. B. WILLCOX
"Of all these Flags there is scarcely one which has not waved in the thickest of
the fight; scarcely a color which has not seen its heroic bearers one after another struck
down in battle. Ah! yes, many a hand that vigorously grasped these Flagstaffs and led the
van, now lies crumbling in the grave; and not color-bearers alone, but nearly 15,000
others who fought beside them—the flower of Michigan—return not to receive your thanks
and the plaudits of their grateful countrymen. They walk the earth no more in the flesh,
but their fame survives, and their glorified forms bend above us, now, and with hands
unseen deck these colors with invisible garlands. While we have souls to remember, let
their memories be cherished. Let a monument be erected to them—at once worthy of their
deeds and worthy of the State; let their widows and orphans be cared for; and never let us
forget the cause for which they fell; a war not for ambition, not for a dynasty or a
party—no, let party spirit be hushed in their majestic presence—not to establish or
defend a throne, neither for spoils, oppression, nor any other unworthy object, but simply
for the Union, and as soon as may be let the ancient foundations of the Constitution be
restored with only the crumbling stone of slavery left out, and with liberty guaranteed to
all.
"I have seen the finger of Providence though the thick smoke of battle, and now
that the dark curtain is lifted, and the sun of victory breaks through in meridian
splendor, I have more confidence than ever in our destiny. We thank God that we have
returned to our homes victorious. If you, the Governor and people of Michigan, are
satisfied with the manner in which we have performed our part, we are grateful for your
applause. We have tried to do our duty, and we have done no more than that duty which
every citizen owes to a free and fraternal government, and in the peaceful walks of civil
life we shall endeavor to set an example of peace, moderation, and submission to the laws.
It only now remains for me, in the name of the Michigan soldiers, to surrender to the
State these Flags, tattered but not stained, emblems of a war that is past. We shall ever
retain our pride in their glorious associations, as well as our love for the old
Peninsular State."
RECEPTION SPEECH OF GOVERNOR HENRY H. CRAPO
"I receive, in behalf of the people of Michigan, these honorable memorials of your
valor and the nation's glory; and on their part, I once more thank you for the noble
services you have rendered in defending and preserving the life of the nation, at the
hazard of your own, and at the sacrifice of so many of your comrades. I may venture to
give you the assurance that you have the unbounded gratitude and love of your
fellow-citizens; and that between you and them the glory of these defaced old Flags will
ever be a subject of inspiration—a common bond of affection. To you they represent a
nationality which you have periled your lives to maintain; and are emblematic of a liberty
which your strong arms and stout hearts have helped to win. To us they are our fathers'
Flags—the ensigns of all the worthy dead—your comrades, our relatives and friends—who
for their preservation have given their blood to enrich the battle-fields, and their
agonies to hallow the prison-pens of a demoniac enemy. They are your Flags and ours. How
rich the treasure! They will not be forgotton [sic] and their history left
unwritten.
"Their stories will be as household words; and the minds of those who come after
us will dwell upon the thoughts of manly endeavor, of staunch endurance, of illustrious
achievement, which their silent eloquence will ever suggest. They will ever typify the
grand results accomplished by the loyal men of the nation in this great rebellion: and
should the flame of patriotism ever wane upon our altar-stone, the halo from these
mementos will kindle again the ancient fire that electrified the world.
"Let us, then, tenderly deposit them, as sacred relics, in the archives of our
State, there to stand forever, her proudest possession—a revered incentive to liberty and
patriotism, and a constant rebuke and terror to oppression and treason."
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