“Progress” can make us forget our history and the people who made our country great. Around the beginning of the 20th century, author Willa Cather noted that industrialization suffocated much of the past when oil rigs and skyscrapers rose.
People submitted to the machinery of progress and soon forgot what really matters: the hope, fire, and conviction of life. However, to counter such submission and a lackadaisical life, one young man returned home and found his family.
Lyon Hartwell, one in a group of American artists living in France, is hosting his friends in his studio as they wait for the departure of another friend, Charley Bentley, who is packed and is waiting to depart for America.
While contemplating Charley’s leave-taking, everyone’s attention is drawn to Lyon’s clay sculpture, “The Color Sergeant.” This statue is of a “young soldier running, clutching the folds of a flag, the staff of which had been shot away.” The statue conveys a passion, conviction, and joy that inspires and challenges the viewers.
A Young Soldier’s Story
The young man in the sculpture, Lyon explains, was his Uncle Lyon, whom he was named after. Lyon tells his fellow artists the story of how he discovered the history of his uncle and, eventually, created his sculpture.
Lyon explains how he was called back home to Western Pennsylvania to take care of his aunt, who was his father’s and uncle’s sister. Pennsylvania was growing rapidly, and much of the state was covered with oil derricks, manufactories, gas wells, and coal shafts. Even most of his family’s homestead had been sold to make way for “progress.” Lyon learned about his uncle from his aunt, whose failing memory brought up bits and pieces of his uncle’s story.
When he was only 15, Lyon’s uncle enlisted to fight in the Civil War. In a battle, as Lyon’s uncle and his company charged the enemy, a shell exploded near them. The young soldier lost one of his arms, yet he did not seem to realize the loss he incurred. He picked up the flag with his other arm and kept running to the top of the embankment where a final shell killed him. He was only 16.
Upon discovering what happened to his uncle, Lyon felt empty. Though his life was cut short, Uncle Lyon still lived every day with joy and vigor, while Lyon lived a dull, lazy life. This realization pulled him out of his submissive stupor. His uncle, who lost his life so young fighting for a cause and a country he believed in, inspired Lyon to live with renewed purpose.
Lyon’s visit to his family’s homestead brought him to what is true, good, and beautiful. He reconnected with his home, family, and history. When he returned to France, he was determined to honor his lost uncle’s life by creating the bronze statue.
Through this story, Cather shows, as G.K. Chesterton says in his book “What’s Wrong With the World”: “The originality of Michael Angelo and Shakespeare began with the digging up of old vases and manuscripts.” Looking into the past revitalizes the present and reminds us of all the young boys and men who fought and died to give us the lives we have.
Whether or not the rest of the world tragically submits to living in a dead, lazy manner, we must remain open to the life, lessons, and traditions of those who have gone before us. We must return home to the people and memories that matter most, for these help us carve hope and life into the present and future.
