existence, and which must assume the responsibility of this vast amount of misery, suffering, and death. May this baptism of blood be sanctified to our nation, and make it faithful to its high mission. As citizens of this great Republic, let us to-day renew our devotion to this government of our fathers. May this memorial which we are about to erect, be to each one of us a new pledge of our fealty and love of country, and the perpetuity of the Union of these States. Let our hearts flow with gratitude to Him who has preserved to us this rich inheritance. By this war of the Rebellion, the great moral battle of this century has been fought, the effect of which will be felt by the whole brotherhood of man. From this experience of the past, we ought to be reminded that other days of peril and war may come to us, and that we need these memorials to incite others to emulate the example of those whose names are here to be recorded. So long as war is to be the final arbiter, we must award the highest honors to those who are the brave defenders of the soil. No nation can long survive that neglects to pay this homage. Its true glory is that reflected by the unselfish sacrifice of its sons in the hour of danger, of all that humanity can offer, or manly courage perform. Honor, then, to all who shared these toils, both to the living and to the silent dead. A grateful people will defend your memories. Enshrined in the affections of the great and good, history will keep alive your deeds of valor, and you shall receive the highest honors earth can bestow, making your names immortal. At this point in Mayor SAUNDERS's Address, preparations were made to set the stone in position, after the box containing the documents and records had been placed in the cavity cut for its reception. President HENRY W. MUZZEY, of the Common Council, at the request of the Mayor, then read the "Brief History of Cambridge," which had been prepared by himself,1 together with a list of the entire contents of the box. This list was engraved on a copper plate, and, with the documents, deposited in the corner-stone. CONTENTS OF THE BOX. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, The City Council of Cambridge deem it proper to place among the records deposited in this box a brief history of Cambridge, and of the late civil war in the United States, together with an abstract of the proceedings by the municipal authorities for the erection of a monument in honor of those of her citizens who gave their lives to the defence of the Union. Under date of July 4, 1631, the first mention of the "New Town" is found in the records of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. May 2, 1638, it was ordered at a General Court held in the "New Town," that the place should thereafter be called "Cambridge." An act of the Legislature of Massachusetts establishing the city of Cambridge, was passed March 17, 1846, and adopted by the inhabitants of Cambridge, March 30, 1846. The city is divided into five wards. It now ranks as the second city in the Commonwealth, and contains a population of not far from forty thousand. The valuation of estates therein is nearly $38,000,000. It has about six thousand voters; fifty-five hundred dwellings; thirty churches; thirty-one public schools, taught by one hundred and thirty-four teachers, and attended by six thousand one hundred and sixty-seven pupils. The amount appropriated for municipal purposes the present year is $782,050. The city maintains a system of water works 1 This "Brief History," by President Muzzey, is numbered 3 in the catalogue of the contents of the box. for supplying the inhabitants with water, a fire department, an almshouse, and a cemetery. Other public institutions of the city are the Dowse Institute, which supports an annual course of public lectures; the Dana Library, containing three thousand eight hundred and forty-two volumes, for the use of the inhabitants; and the Sanders Temperance Fund, which sustains a missionary to inebriates. Harvard College, the oldest and chief educational institution in the United States, is located in Cambridge. Connected with the college are schools for instruction in theology, law, medicine, and science. A theological school of the Episcopal Church has also been recently established in Cambridge. In April, 1861, a rebellion against the Government broke out in the Southern States of the Union. The war thus inaugurated was continued, on land and sea, with great sacrifice of life and treasure, until May, 1865, when the rebel forces finally yielded to the Federal army, and peace was restored. First in defence of the Union were the volunteer troops of Massachusetts; and the earliest military organization anywhere gathered, in apprehension of the impending struggle, was formed in Cambridge, and commanded by James P. Richardson. During the war, Cambridge furnished to the army of the United States four thousand one hundred and thirty-five men, and to the navy four hundred and fifty-three men. Three hundred and sixty-nine of these three hundred and fifty-four in the army, and fifteen in the navy-died of wounds received in battle, or of disease contracted in the service. - The citizens of Cambridge, sensible of the great services of those who went forth from their midst to battle for the Union, and who " 'proved faithful unto death," determined that an enduring memorial should be built to their honor. In response to this sentiment, the Mayor, in his Inaugural Address at the beginning of the year, called the attention of the City Council to the subject; and, by the concurrent action of the Board of Aldermen and the Common Council, in the month of January, a Joint Special Committee was raised, with authority to procure plans for a Soldiers' Monument, and to recommend a suitable location for the same. After a Report from this Committee, in the month of April, the following Order passed both branches of the City Council: "Ordered, That the Joint Special Committee on the Soldiers' Monument be authorized to contract for the erection of a Soldiers' Monument on the large Common in the first ward, in accordance with the designs and specifications submitted by Messrs. C. & D. Cobb, — subject to such alterations and modifications as shall seem expedient to the Committee: provided, that bonds satisfactory to the Committee are given by the parties contracting for the work to secure the completion of the Monument, above the foundation, at a cost to the city not exceeding $25,000; the same to be charged to the Appropriation for a Soldiers' Monument. 66 Also, that the said Committee be authorized to employ a suitable architect to superintend the erection of the Monument, the expense of the same to be charged to the Appropriation for Incidental Expenses." It was subsequently ordered in concurrence, "That the City Clerk be instructed to cause a complete and accurate Roll of the Soldiers and Sailors who enlisted in the late war from Cambridge to be engrossed upon parchment, that it may be placed under the corner-stone of the Soldiers' Monument." And now, on this seventeenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-third, the cornerstone of this Monument is laid, by the city authorities of Cambridge, as a public duty, and with the hope that gratitude and reverence for the patriots whose names are borne on the roll herewith deposited, may fill the hearts of succeeding generations of our people in all time to come. LIST OF DOCUMENTS. 1. A list of the soldiers and sailors from Cambridge, who served in the civil war. 2. A list of the City Government, Monument Committee, and the names of the designers and sculptors, architect, and builders of the Monument. 3. A brief history of Cambridge, of the civil war, and of the action of the city as to the Monument. 4. Address of Hon. Charles H. Saunders, Mayor, at the laying of this corner-stone, June 17, 1869. 5. Roll of members of Cambridge Posts of Grand Army of the Republic. 6. Names of the President and Fellows of Harvard College. 7. List of officers of Lodges of Freemasons in Cambridge. [All the foregoing were engrossed upon parchment, and enclosed in hermetically sealed copper tubes.] 8. Order of Exercises at laying of Corner-stone. 9. Charter and Ordinances of the City of Cambridge. 10. Mayor's Address and Annual Report of City Officers, 1869. 11. Cambridge Directory for 1869. 12. Copies of "Cambridge Chronicle" and "Cambridge Press" of June 12, 1869, "Boston Daily Advertiser" and "Boston Post" of June 17. 13. Catalogue of Harvard College for the present year. When President Muzzey had concluded the reading, upon the suggestion of the Chief Marshal, Gen. Chamberlain, the widows, children, and friends of deceased soldiers and sailors were invited to pass around the stone, and witness the manner in which the box of record was to be enclosed.1 Upon the conclusion of this interesting incident in the ceremonies, the Mayor resumed his remarks: Having briefly alluded to the occasion that has brought us together, I now, in behalf of the City Council representing the people of Cambridge, and in behalf of the widows and orphans of those sacrificed in the war, and also of those soldiers and sailors, who, having served faithfully the Government, were permitted to survive the shock of battle, in behalf of the present and the future inhabitants of our city, I now proceed to lay this corner-stone. Let this structure rise speedily, bearing upon its tablets the names of those who laid down their lives for the salvation of their country in its hour of greatest need. We build 1 The box is made of copper, and measures eight inches square by fifteen long, being securely soldered. It was placed in the south-east corner of the foundation, under the main structure, in a cavity cut in the granite block or corner-stone, two feet square by five long, and was firmly wedged and cemented. |