accomplish what no previous
committee had even attempted. The other committees had left the award
a blank, to be filled in by a puzzled and unwilling Congress, who
preferred to do nothing at all.

In England probably there would not have been the same insuperable
difficulty, a sovereign lady holding high military office as a matter
of course; but we have thrown aside some noble traditions, and America
never has a sovereign lady.

There was something noble and fitting in this recommendation of award
by General Bragg. Considering how great public services have been
formerly rewarded, it was certainly not extreme.

To go back to English history:

"The Duke of Marlborough, who commanded the allied armies of England,
Austria, and Germany, received the most flattering testimonials in all
forms. A principality was voted to him in Germany, while the English
Government settled upon him the manor of Woodstock, long a royal
residence, and erected thereon a magnificent palace as an expression
of a nation's gratitude. On the Duke of Wellington honors, offices,
and rewards were showered from every quarter. The crown exhausted its
stores of titles, and in addition to former grants the sum of L200,000
was voted in 1815 for the purchase of a mansion and estate, etc. The
rank of field marshal in four of the greatest armies in the world was
bestowed by the leading governments of Europe.

"In England it has for a long time been the custom to reward and honor
those illustrious in the realms of science and literature as well as
of military success. Though with less demonstration and expenditure of
wealth, our own country has not overlooked signal services in its
behalf. The government of Pennsylvania in the days of the Revolution
voted L2,500 for the political writings of Thomas Paine, and New York
a farm of 300 acres in a high state of cultivation, with elegant and
spacious buildings. Washington himself gave a woman a sergeant's
commission in the army, who stood at the gun by which her husband had
fallen, and on his recommendation she was placed on the pay-roll for
life.

"Congress, in pursuance of this feeling, has not been unmindful of
Anderson's heroic defense of Fort Sumter, of Farragut's capture of New
Orleans, of Rawlins, etc., of Stanton, and of Lincoln, in conferring
tokens of recognition for their services upon the families who
survived them. Many instances might be cited where public-spirited
women have been rewarded for