On a warm, sunny day, a handful of people gathered to watch as a wreath was laid at the grave of former U.S. President Grover Cleveland in the Princeton Cemetery.
The annual ceremony was held on what would have been Cleveland’s 183rd birthday on March 18. Cleveland is the only president to have served two non-consecutive terms. The Democrat served from 1884-88, and from 1892-96.
Cleveland settled in Princeton after he left the White House in 1897. He purchased Westland Mansion at 15 Hodge Road, and became involved in town matters. He became a trustee of Princeton University. He died in 1908 of a heart attack.
The wreath-laying ceremony, hosted by the U.S. Army Reserve’s 99th Readiness Division, is managed by the White House Military Office.
The White House Military Office is responsible for coordinating the annual placement of presidential wreaths at the tombs and resting places of former presidents and other famous Americans, and at certain memorials of historic significance.
Standing at attention, U.S. Army Cpl. David G. Barrette and U.S. Army Sgt. Guerrero Ambrocio flanked Cleveland’s headstone while U.S. Army Major Gen. Mark Palzer stood quietly for a moment in front of it.
Gen. Palzer saluted and knelt in front of the wreath that had been placed in front of the headstone. Then, Staff Sgt. Hugh Stuart of the 78th U.S. Army Band played “Taps.”
Gen. Palzer offered a brief biography of Cleveland, who was born in Caldwell in 1837. He was one of nine children of a Presbyterian minister. The family moved to upstate New York when he was 4 years old.
Cleveland was elected to become the sheriff of Erie County, launching his political career. He was later elected to be the mayor of Buffalo, and went on to become the governor of New York State. Then, in 1884, he was elected president.
Once in office, he vetoed 414 bills in his first few months in office – more than any other president except Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“It was good to see him assert himself,” Palzer said.
Cleveland vetoed many private pension bills for Civil War veterans whose claims were fraudulent. He also vetoed a Congressional bill that would have provided private pensions to Civil War veterans whose disabilities were not related to their prior military service.
Cleveland was also an advocate of appointing the most qualified applicant to a federal post, not the one who had the most connections. He kept many Republican Party appointees in office after he was sworn into office.
In 1887, Cleveland signed into law the Interstate Commerce Act, which regulated fees charged by the railroads. As monopolies, railroads charged a much as they wanted to charge.
Cleveland was not afraid to step in when striking railroad workers in Chicago violated an injunction. He sent in Federal troops to enforce it, stating that “if it takes the entire Army and Vavy of the United States to deliver a post card in Chicago, that card will be delivered.”
Wrapping up the brief ceremony, Palzer said, “What endures most for me are the final words President Cleveland spoke before his death here in Princeton on June 24, 1908: ‘I have tried so hard to do right.'”
“What more can we ask of anyone, including ourselves, than to try to always do what is right?” Palzer said.
