14 ORATION. banks of the Rappahannock, and witnessed the withdrawal of a brave, noble, baffled army. The dim stars looked down sadly upon our retiring troops, and the wind that swept through the valley seemed to be sighing for the defeat of a great cause, and the downfall of a great nation. But as I sat by the camp-fires of the bivouac,—better still, as I stood by the bedside of wounded soldiers in many a hospital, and heard men freshly borne from that lost battle at Fredericksburg, longing for health and strength that they might once more follow to the field the same commander, any commander, — always the same dear flag, — I felt that, in spite of all that we had lost, the triumph of the North was sure. One lesson more from Bunker Hill. It has been said, that when Pitcairn mounted the rampart of the redoubt, he fell pierced by a bullet from the musket of a colored volunteer. And do you ask, “ is the inevitable negro here also?” Yes, he is here. He stood on Bunker Hill, as afterwards he stood in the lines at Rhode Island, in the earthworks at Red Bank, as now he stands side by side with the bravest before the walls of Richmond, where the crimsoned ground gives token that he is indeed, “ of one blood ” with his * comrades. He is here, by no fault of his, by no choice of his, for our good or for evil; for good, if we frankly accept his proffered aid, with its honest, natural results; for evil, if now, when our rivers are turned
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