President McKinley's Antietam Speech in 1900-- Part 4: "The Valor of Both Is the Common Heritage of Us All"

"The valor of the one or the other, the valor of both, is the common heritage of us all.  The achievements of that war, every one of them, are just as much the inheritance of those who failed as those who prevailed; and when we went to war two years ago (the Spanish-American War) the men of the South and the men of the North vied with each other in showing their devotion to the United States.

"The followers of the Confederate generals with the followers of Union of the Federal generals fought side by side in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and in the Philippines, and together in those far off islands are standing today fighting and dying for the flag that represents more than any other banner on the world the best hopes and aspirations for mankind."

President William McKinley

Again, Too Sad This Can't Be the Way Today.  --Old Secesh

President McKinley's Speech on Decoration Day 1900-- Part 1: Back When Confederates Were Considered Honorable

From the May 18, 2020, Tribune-Chronicle  "President McKinley gives the Antietam Address in 1900" by Mike Wilson.

President William McKinley was a resident of Niles, Ohio.  The Spanish-American War of 1898 had recently ended and many of the troops were back home with their families.  This was the first time that Northerners and Southerners had formed one military since the Civil War.

During the war, McKinley had appointed two supreme commanders of American forces, one was a former Union officer and the other a former Confederate officer.

With Decoration Day (now Memorial Day) fast approaching, McKinley wanted to bring the nation together even more to honor all of our military.  During past decoration Days, families of Union veterans and families of Confederate veterans had  decorated the graves of their fallen separately.

McKinley changed that in 1900 as he traveled to the Antietam Battlefield to give a speech.

There were two significant things about this particular battle:  one was that McKinley had fought there as a Union sergeant and been awarded for heroism, and, second, Maryland had recently  completed a large memorial at the site honoring the state veterans of both sides during the conflict.

--Old Secesh