Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Poetry and Incidents., Volume 2.
Frank Moore, Ed.

Boston, mass., July 13.--When the citizens of Boston were called upon to aid in the equipment of the soldiers, the pupils of the Latin School contributed liberally to that end; and Comp. D, (Capt. Shurtleff) of the Webster regiment, was adopted to be the recipient of their contributions, the captain being a graduate of the school. Since that time the pupils have decided to present that company with a standard as a symbol of its connection with the school. It was deemed proper that the standard should take the classical form of that of the Roman maniple, being surmounted by a gilt eagle, below which is a very perfect medallion of the great statesman whose honored name the regiment bears, below this the number of the regiment, and at the bottom the letter of the company, the whole supported upon a suitable staff, making a very striking and appropriate standard.

It was decided that the presentation should take place at Fort Warren, where the regiment is now stationed, and accordingly the pupils of the school and their friends visited the fort yesterday afternoon for that purpose. The steamer Argo was chartered for the occasion, and after a very pleasant excursion, enlivened by music from the Boston Brigade band, they were received at the wharf of the fort by Comp. D, and escorted to the parade ground, where, in behalf of the school, the standard was presented by S. H. Virgin, of the 2d class.

After an eloquent and stirring allusion to the causes of the war and the spontaneous uprising of the North, paying a just tribute to the zealous enthusiasm of the young men in this fearful crisis of our nation's history, when from the wilds of Maine to the plains of Texas, from the rockbound coasts of the East to the murmuring shores of the Pacific, there swells up to heaven the deafening chorus “Fiat justitia ruat coelum,” he continued as follows:--

As a school we have endeavored to express our sympathy with the Government and its defenders in a substantial way. You already know what we have done for you. Your noble, energetic, and gallant captain, being a former honored graduate of our school, we have felt a peculiar interest in this his command, and have endeavored to supply you with the necessities and comforts which might relieve, to some extent, the privations of a soldier's life. In addition to what has been done already by the school, we have now prepared this standard, which we wish to present to you, and we trust that wherever you may be, when your eyes rest upon this, you will remember that you have left friends behind you whose hearts are with you in every trial, and who will never cease to hope and pray for your ultimate success and safe return. Beneath the Roman eagle we have placed upon your standard the likeness of the noble defender of the Constitution, of him who ever stood by it on the floor of Congress, and who, were he alive to-day, would be ready to defend it with the last drop of his blood. Alas! he is no longer with us; but he has left behind him a representative, the noble colonel of your regiment, who is destined to prove also another brave defender of the Constitution. We say to you, go forth to maintain our glorious privileges, and for myself, in this public place, I beseech you, as you are clothed with the panoply which the State affords, be clothed with the panoply which the Lord of Hosts furnishes to all who go forth to battle in His name. We, and all the dear ones whom you leave behind you, call upon you to strike; strike for us all.

Strike till the last armed foe expires,
Strike for your altars and your fires,
Strike for the green graves of your sires,
God and your native land.

Capt. Shurtleff, on behalf of the company, responded as follows: I hardly know in what way best to return to you, my fellow-schoolmates, on behalf of the Latin School. Guard our sincere and heartfelt thanks. I thank you for your sympathy for me, and more especially my command. Our thanks for the standard which you have presented us, much as we shall prize it as an emblem of the esteem in which we are held by the members of the Latin School, are as nothing in comparison with the gratitude we feel towards you for the innumerable favors you have shown us in a way in which we are much more likely to be neglected. Presentations of banners and swords, where a grand display is to be made and speeches exchanged, are very pleasant things, while the more substantial favors, such as we have received from you, are too apt to be overlooked and neglected.

After referring to the causes of the delays which the regiment had suffered in getting into the field for active service, he continued, referring to the standard: But, sir, our eagle, upon which the sun smiles now so auspiciously, differs in one marked respect from the old Roman eagle. That was the signal for carnage. Wherever that eagle was seen to float, chains and slavery was sure to follow. Ours is our own noble American eagle, which raises its talons to strike those only who destroy the holy temple of freedom. Yes, we will “Strike till the last armed foe expires.” Our eagle will strike his beak into the brain of every man who shall be found with arms in his hands, lifted against the Constitution of the Country. But, unlike the Roman eagle, when victory has crowned our banners, when our flag waves proudly once more, then his thirst for blood will be satiated, his talons will sink into their place, and he will return to you no longer the fierce bird of war, but the emblem of the victory of truth and freedom, over error and oppression.

Although I can never hope to meet my school-mates again, with my ranks as full as they are to-day, for we are liable to the chances of war, and it may [47] be that I, who now address you, will lay my bones beneath some southern soil; it may be that these, my children, for whom I would lay down my life, not one of them will ever return; but, should that be our fate, it will be, at best, a glorious one. We ask only that, if it be our lot to fall in the cause of liberty and justice, it may be remembered by you all, that for liberty we fought and for liberty we fell; and that our eagle shall be returned to you, and that upon the walls of your beautiful hall, where many an ancient Roman relic hangs, you may place this eagle, and when some visitor shall look upon it all grimed with smoke and blood, not blood of Gaul or Allobrogian, but of our own citizens who fought and bled for freedom, and ask its history, some future master of the school may say, “In the year 1861 a son of the great expounder of the Constitution went forth to fight the battles of his country, and, under his command, went a company representing the Latin school. They fought, triumphed, and died, and that eagle is their standard.”

At the close of these speeches, which were loudly applauded, the pupils spent some time in viewing the fort and witnessing the dress parade, after which they returned to the wharf, escorted by their adopted company.

Through the kindness of the proprietors of the boat, whose gentlemanly and obliging manner during the whole excursion was beyond all praise, the pupils had an opportunity to stop a short time at Fort Independence, and reached home early in the evening, having, in this public manner, sealed their connection with what they are hereafter to know as the Latin School Company, commanded by a captain who took his early lessons in drilling, of the accomplished and efficient master of the school, Francis Gardner.--Boston Daily Advertiser, July 13.