^/'70 E 470 .3 .B92 ^ no. 1 ( Copy 1 ? \ \ \ r Gen. E. H. Rhodes, Vice President. CoRP'L G. W. Powers, Secretary. Col. C. D. Wright, I'resident. C. C. COIFIN, Treasurer Hon. B. F. Whittemi.kk Chaplain OFFICERS OF THE SHERIDAN'S VETERAN ASSOCIATION. YPE PRINTING CO- BOSTON. SHERIDAN'S VETERANS A SOUVENIR OF THEIR TWO CAMPAIGNS IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY. THE ONE, OF WAR, IN 1864, THE OTHER, OF PEACE, IN 1883. BEING THE RECORD OF THE EXCURSION TO THE BATTLE-FIELDS OF THE VALLEY OF VIRGINIA, September 15-24, 1883. BY ONE OF THE VETERANS. BOSTON, MASS. December, 1883. » r- // '£ '-: f ■■ '', 3 ST N W, r. BROWN iOOMP^N-', PRINTER ^ ry-^o r ^<^' CbcrtfibcU iflematp of tbe |)croic OcaU, from the ranks of the Sixth, Eighth, and Nineteenth Army Corps, WHO FELL ON THE FIELDS WE HAVE TRAVERSED IN WAR AND PEACE, FORMATION, Officers of the Association \Froiitisfiece\. PAGE Dedication, 3 Preface, 7 Preliminary, 9 A Novel Excursion, 12 Camping in the Valley, 15 Harpers Ferry \Illustration\, facing 16 Welcome at Winchester, 22 Camp Emory, 28 Excursion Staff \niustratioii\, facing 32 Comrade Powers' Poem, 34 Col. Wright's Oration, 38 Scenes in Harpers Ferry [Illustratioji], facing 48 A Remarkable Service 51 Capt. Hodgdon's Tribute, 63 Lieut. Hadley's Tribute, 54 Capt. Hall's Tribute, 57 The North and the South {inusti-ation\, .... facing 58 Sergt. Buffum's Tribute, 58 Chaplain Whittemore's Poem, 61 At the Virginia Monument, 63 Camp-Fire of the Fourteenth Regiment, 65 From Bolivar Heights \Illustration\, facing 72 On the Battle-Field, 79 vi FORMATION. Camp-Fire of the Thirty-Eighth Rk(;iment Md A Night in Camt, 8') Cedar Creek and Fishers Hill, yCi Gen. Birge and others [I/lusfrat/on] facing 8S Gen. Thomas' Courtesy, .ss Last Night in Camp, . . . 80 The Final Camp-Fire !)() Parting at Winchester, 95 A Beautiful Token, 102 On the Potomac, \Illustratio7i\, facing 104 Harrisonburg's Ovation, 10(5 Mr. Harnsberger's Welcome, 107 A Southern Dinner HI The Good-Bye at Winchester, 112 Parting Service on the "Pilgrim," 113 The Permanent Organization, 115 A Tribute to the Manager, 116 Shots from the Rear Guard, 117 The Closing Word, 120 The Executive Committee \inustration\ .... facing 120 Excursion Roster, 121 Advertisement \Second ccmerX. PREFATORY NOTE The excursion which we conniienioi'iite is its own sufficient monument. From its origin to its consummation it is an enter- prise of which all who have been connected with it may well be proud. It marks an era in the restoration of those frater- nal relations which were cruelly disrupted by the War of the Rebellion. It was the opportunity of a lifetime for the veter- ans who followed Sheridan to victory, to revisit the scenes of their triumphs, to contrast the dreadful past with the happy present, and experience the sincere and royal welcome which generous Southern hearts could extend to former foes. The veterans of the Shenandoah originated a new thing under the sun, and the character, the success, the welcome, and the unalloyed satisfaction of this unique excursion are generally conceded to be unsurpassed in the experience of those who were so fortunate as to participate in tlie exercises and enjoy- ments of the trip. In obedience to an universal desire this souvenir volume is issued. While the story of the trip has been extended beyond the original modest design, there has been considerable matter omitted. The manuscripts of some of the speeches which had been requested by the author were furnislied too late for insertion. For the unexpected delay in the issue of this souvenir the author is in no wise responsible. It has been caused by the failure of some of the portraits to arrive seasonably. In obedience to urgent requests the author arranged to insert such photographs as should be secured. Aside from the officers of the excursion and Association and members of the executive committee the contributions of the portraits have been voluntar}'. It was tlie desire of many members of the party that the portrait pages should be quite comprehensive. As it is, the groups presented are a decided gain to the volume. F. H. B. Boston, December 12, 1883. SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. PRELIMINARY. It was in November, 1882, that a member of tlie Fourteenth New Hampshire Volunteers' Veteran Association conceived the plan for an excursion of Sheridan's Veterans to the scenes of their marches, battles and triumphs. He carefully matured the project in all its details before mentioning it to any one. The president of the association was then waited upon. " Col. Wright, what do you say to the Fourteenth Regiment holding a re-union in the Valley on the twentieth anniversary of our campaign ? " " A capital idea. What is your plan ? " The whole scheme was then unfolded to Col. Wright, almost precisely as it was afterward carried out. " Do you just get out a patent on that thing without losing any time. Don't let any other organization get ahead of us. Write an article and print it in the Herald.''^ In accordance with this suggestion an outline of the pro- posed trip was at once published in the Boston Herald., and that paper continued to spread the details of the scheme be- fore the public at length, in a series of articles beginning with the first action of the committee last spring. When the first announcement had been made the matter was allowed to drop so far as the public was concerned, but the work of prepara- tion went right on, and it may be here intimated that the mass of the large party which so enjoyed the week in the Valley must have been unaware of the amount of preliminary work which was done in order to assure the success which was real- ized. 10 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. " Why wait until 188-4: before going to the Valley?" inquired Col. Wright. And so it was decided to make the trip in tlie fall of 1883. Early in the spring the comrades whose names duly appear in the roster were invited to act as an " Excursion Committee" of the regiment. A circular was issued, signed by this committee, and thus the enterprise took formal shape. The circular invited all veterans who served in the Valle}^ and all civilians who desired to do so to join the Fourteenth Regiment in the excursion, but it did not invite other organi- zations to participate in the direction of the exercises of the trip. The Excursion Committee, directly upon its organiza- tion, entered into a written contract with the Excursion man- ager, the latter agreeing to take the party on the round trip in accordance with the detailed plan submitted, for the sum named, per capita. At this stage of the preparations an amusing feature was introduced. About fifty veterans had each his own personal scion to graft upon the original idea. One wanted to " take in Gettysburg." Another was exceed- ingly anxious to go over Antietam ; one suggested Eastern Tennessee as a desirable part of the programme ; another inquired if the battle-fields of the Army of the Potomac were to be visited, wliile the most utterly comprehensive tourist of them all wanted to enjoy all that was proposed and then return home via Lyncliburg, Petersburg, Richmond, the James River, Norfolk and Fortress Monroe. All this for 136. There were some who seemed determined to have something a little different from the manager's plan, and a somewhat for- midable pile of correspondence accumulated in the endeavor to smooth all the crotcliets and satisfy those who wished to vary the plan, and who " did n't see why " their pet ideas could not be embodied in the programme. To the praise of the Excursion Committee it is to be recorded that it declined, finally, to alter in any particular the original plan, except to lengthen the space within which the tickets should be good. The original scheme contemplated a re-union of the Fourteenth Regiment on the battle-field of the Opequan. The regiment did not, as has been stated, take an}^ action in the premises. The tacit consent of the regiment to this mod- A NOTABLE DELEGATION. . 11 ification of their vote for the aiiiiiial re-uuion was presumed, being endorsed by the officers of the association. The idea of such an excursion was entirely novel, and at once commanded a widespread approval. Eager responses were received from a class of veterans which assured a party of the best character, . It was then thought best to broaden the scope of the enterprise. The plan for the excursion proper was fixed and the contract completed. But the pro- gramme for the exercises while camping in the Valley was quite undetermined and flexible. A consultation with the chairman of the Excursion Committee resulted in an invita- tion to representatives of the different regimental organiza- tions which served in the Valley to meet for the purpose of forwarding the common plan. A meeting was held June 14; an Executive Committee was appointed at that meeting, the final constitution of which appears in its proper place in the roster. The Executive Committee held meetings June 28, July 12, and August 9, and at these meetings the programme of exercises ultimately carried out was agreed upon. The interest and enthusiasm manifested by the members of the Executive Committee went far to assure the success of the excursion. All the members of this committee, as they appear in the roster, were untiring in their efforts to forward the enterprise. One member of the committee, Gen. Thomas, was unable to be present at the preliminary meetings, but it cannot be invidious to affirm that hardly a member of the committee was so active and successful in organizing a delega- tion and swelling the roster of the party. The Vermont con- tribution to the excursion was a notable one, and must be placed to the credit of Gen. Thomas's zeal for the trip. The final circular, as agreed upon by the committee, was sent out, and subsequently the excursion manager was flooded with a deluge of correspondence, in some cases parties who did not go, in the end, requiring half a dozen answers to their inquiries. The preparatory work for the new campaign to the Shenan- doah Valley went smoothly on. The excursion staff, as it ^appears in the roster, was appointed in July. 12 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. A NOVEL EXCURSION. OjST Saturday, September 15, the excursion started, the New Hampshire delegation proceeding by the way of Fitchburg to Fall River, where it was joined by the delegations from Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The Vermont and Con- necticut delegations joined the party at New York. Gen. Henry W. Birge, Commander of the First Brigade, Second Division, Nineteenth Army Corps, who was the guest of the Fourteenth New Hampshire, also joined tlie party at New York. The excursion manager and Quartermaster Howard, having preceded the party by nearly a week in order to com- plete the preparations for its reception, the party, until its arrival at Harpers Ferry, was in charge of Paymaster C. W. Hodgdon, whose ability and assiduity, from beginning to end, cannot be too highly commended. From New York to Wash- ington a special train of elegant cars was placed at the service of the veterans and their guests. The ride was a much pleas- anter one, in every respect, than the slow and tedious railroad processions which took the boys in blue over their first war route to the capital, when danger and not pleasure was the an- ticipation of the excursion. Quartered at the National Hotel, each delegation, regimental group, or individual, made its way speedily to the familiar spots in its war experience. The old Central Guard House was sought for, but could not be found. The old Capitol Prison, also, was no more, an elegant block standing in its place, and a garden parterre adorning that part of the grounds where Mrs. Surratt was hung, fn Gale's Woods the very tent lines and ground lloors of the Fourteenth Regi- ment in " Camp Adirondack " were plainly discerned, after a lapse of twenty years since the occupancy of the camp. The old barracks at the south end of Lono[' Bridoje were found almost the same as when vacated by the Fourteenth in Janu- ary, 186-1. Arlington Heights rose as majestically in the west- ern distance across the Potomac as when they formed a con- RAILROAD COURTESY. 13 spicuoiis landmark in the defenses of the Potomac. In some locahties it was the okl Washington of the South and of slavery. In others, and in all conspicuous localities, it was the new and magnificent Washington of the new and magnifi- cent nation. And here on the very threshold of the excursion programme the wonderful suggestions and the great contrasts between the war era and the present time began. The veteran had entered the borders of dreamland. He was within the domain of unrealities. His later life, the long era of peace, was fading from before his eye; the war was looming up again; the great conflict and its marvellous experiences were to stand forth the sole and grand realities for a week, at least. By a vote of the Executive Committee, Maj.-Gen. W. H. Emory, the venerable and venerated commander of the Nine- teenth Army Corps, had been made the guest of the excursion. Directly upon its arrival in Washington, a committee of the excursion, accompanied by Gen. Birge, waited upon Gen. Emory, and Chaplain B. F. Whittemore presented him with a beautiful excursion badge. This presentation and its marked effect upon the brave old commander of the Nineteenth Corps formed a peculiarly pleasant episode of the trip. Late Mon- day afternoon the special train moved out of Washington on its way to Harpers Ferry. From Baltimore the train had been in charge of a veteran comrade, Mr. C. E. Dudrow, an official of the B. & O. Railroad, and who accompanied the party through the entire trip. Mr. Dudrow endeared himself to the whole excursion, and he now wears an appropriately inscribed gold souvenir, a veteran's badge, as a testimonial of the esteem in which he is held by this .party. No words of praise will be an exaggeration of the courtesy of the B. & O. Railroad officials. The excursion manager was assured by Mr. Lord, the general passenger agent, that the special train should be run as he desired, and the promise was more than kept. Never was an excursion more hand- somely treated ; never could a greater spirit of accommodation be manifested. Aside from this continuous endeavor of the railroad officials to render the trip of the party as agreeable as possible, it is to be remarked that this route, traversed by 14 SHERIDAWS VETERANS. the Baltimore and Ohio Raih'oad, is one of the magnificent excursion lines of the country. For natural picturesqueness and a wonderful variety and amount of historical association of intensest interest, the line of this road, from Baltimore through Washington, up the Potomac on the main line, along the Monocacy on the old line, and through the rich and romantic regions traversed b}^ the Shenandoah branch — for all and singular, that is valuable and exhilarating to the tour- ist, the revelations and enchantments of the " Picturesque B. & O." are unsurpassed, if not unequalled in America, Such was the unanimous verdict of all whom the writer heard com- ment upon the region, the prospect, and the road. It is so common in the experiences of travelling, to find a railroad corporation . getting all it can and giving as little as possible, that this refreshing and notable exception merits a special recognition. Some of the picturesque bits of landscape on the line of this road and which have grown familiar to the Valle}^ veterans, are reproduced and made a permanent portion of this souvenir. DISGRUNTLED VETERANS. 15 CAMPING IN THE VALLEY. Haepees Ferry ! What an array of humiliations, disasters and contradictions must ever be associated with the name and the spot ! And why should the ex]3erience of Sheridan's Veterans on their advent here be an exception to the con.sjjic- uous rule ? It was not. When the party turned out of the cars in front of John Brown's fort and the dilapidated Govern- ment property, it was in good humor. Everything had started off well. In one half-hour from that landing a great, hungiy, houseless, bedrizzled crowd was in a humor that w^as not good. Some of the resident veterans had heartily welcomed the arrival of the visitors. . Salvos of artillery, a brilliant display of rockets and band-music had voiced the hospitality of the comrades in Harpers Ferry. But the first evening in camp was not auspicious. In the first place the company had to climb that hill which rises as an exasperating bulwark be- tween the lower village of Plarpers Ferry and Bolivar; and what regiment ever marched up that hill with an ever-vanish- ing summit that wasn't mad from Colonel to eighth cor})oral? This excursion imagined it was marching five miles to find a nebulous camp, and when it hustled itself, in the shrouding of a small, tormenting rain-storm, into that camp, it was in a mood which palace accommodations and an epicurean cuisine would no more than have satisfied. It didn't find either. It had a suspicion for a few minutes that a part, at least, of its uneasy and almost enraged self was to stand out in the wet indefinitely, and also that if there was any head to the concern it was not on very efficient shoulders. For a short time the entire party was in a very unpleasant situation, and the first assignment of tents was not swift nor satisfactory. It was the ripe opportunity for the croakers, and they began to clear their throats. There were some — a small some — in the party who went all the way down there and paid their share in order to see the scheme fail, or only half succeed. The first 16 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. evening at Harpers Ferry was almost their Yinclication. The truth is there was no brilliant show of organization or execu- tive ability in the disposing of the party when it arrived in " Camp Birge," on Bolivar, Monday evening, September 17. On the face of affairs there was good reason for complaint. It is true the ladies of the party were all well provided with rooms in adjacent houses. Nearly two hundred men, most of whom had forgotten that they ever nestled down at night, supine in Virginia mud, were standing around waiting to be told which tent they might occujiy, and waiting a good while for the coveted information. It was a good-natured crowd ; the grumbling was confined to the chronic cases, and they made no trouble. Supper was not ready; it was dark; it was wet; it was not what was paid for. Fortunately the acute cases found hacks, wagons, etc., and rode back in disgust to the village. The next morning they said they felt better. Before the end of the week they had entirely recovered. It was not a happy beginning of camp-life for a veteran excur- sion party. Yet consider. Was there not a singular appro- priateness in this beginning? This campaign of peace was similar in its first development in the Valley to all of the more sanguinary ones which made it possible. Each of Sheri- dan's great battles had an apparently bad beginning, and why should not Sheridan's Veterans begin their magnificent pleas- ure-tour of the Valley with a dubious episode? But a few words of explanation and vindication are just here in order. Wh}- was it that the preparations at Harpers Ferry were not comj^lete and perfect when the excursion-train arrived ? Why was it that the party was not at once provided with quarters and supper ? The question is of no consequence in itself, now, to any one. But there are one or two considerations which are of permanent importance. In the first place, on the first of September, when the tickets for the excursion were all supposed to have been sold, there were only ninetj'-six — less than one-half of the ultimate number — disposed of. It will be seen that any adequate preparation for the actual excursion was a matter of pure guesswork. If it Avas overdone a heavy loss must result; if insufficient, a general dissatisfaction and a ^ •<:; iiiippiipHSfai;ercies to-day remembered. The poet of the day, Comrade George W. Powers, is introduced and the following is his tribute : — ♦ Anniversary of the Battle of Opequan, Winchester, Va., Sept. 19, 1883. Proud mother State of all the laud, Have no apologies to make, Whose breezes first the red cross fanned; This justice to thy sons is due, — Where Saxon laws and Saxon force They fought for what they thought was true, Began their onward Western course; And fought a figlit so brave and grand, Mother of him whose glorious name Tliey won our soldier heart aud hand. Is greeted with world-wide acclaim, But here where, in their pride of youth, Forever set above the reach Our comrades fought for love of truth. Of Malice' hate or Envy's speech; Where manhood showed its noblest side, Whose fiery orator gave birth And not for self, but Freedom, died. To words that thrilled the brave of earth; We come, to feel the breath again Nurse of great statesmen, broad of miud. That swept across the battle-plain, Who planned for ages of mankind, — Within our hearts the glow renew Here in thy fairest valley's plains, That gives the strength to dare and do. Where still the trace of war remains, — War waged by us with ruthless baud, — On the rough bivouac's dewy ground, The remnant of that hostile band, With war's grim haruess all around, Beneath thy skies again we stand. Yet calm as when in early days. But not with warlike cries we come. Weary with boyhood's active plays. With vengeful trump and angiy drum, Beneath a father's watchful care, With cannon's roar, and ritle's flash. Blessed by a loving mother's prayer, With bayonets fixed, and furious dash In confidence the army sleeps: Of horsemen eager for the fight, The guard alone his vigil keeps. Their sabres gleaming in the light. Ay, let them sleep, and dream once more, Nor seek we discord to revive, . In fancy fight their battles o'er; And dying hate to keep alive; For ere September's nineteenth sun Nor to our sous a feud hand down, Has set behind the war-clouds dun. The land with misery fresh to crown. Shall many a lad in youth's springtime, Too well we know what victory cost. Shall many a veteran in his prime. How much brave blood the country lost Feel Death's cold breath across him sweep, To settle once, — ay, aud forever, — And enter on his dreamless sleep. The question that alone could sever This sisterhood of equal States A truce to sleep! 'tis time to wake, And banish all our strifes and hates. The camp-fires build, the coffee make; And while no backward step we take. For he who fills his place to-day THE POET'S TRIBUTE. 35 Mu^t fit him fully for the fray. Strong arras alone can match strong will, Firm heart the brain's demands fulfil. To peal of bugle, beat of drum. See how the mustering squadrons come,— Old Sixth Corps veterans, true and tried, Whose blood each battle-field has dyed Along Potomac's famous tide; And Emory's men, eager to try Their soldier pluck 'neath Phil's own eye Reddened and bronzed by far South skies. The light of battle in their eyes; While eager to wipe out the stains Of past defeats, of captured trains, Of aimless movements up and down And all around- Winchester town, The grim Eighth Corps now understand A soldier born is in command. And Wilson, Torbert, Averell, Custer, And all the brilliant cavalry cluster, Whose deeds of reckless daring long Shall furnish themes for warlike song, Their foaming steeds to fierce heat spurred, With hand on sabre wait the word. To charge the foe upon the flanks. And dash among his scattered ranks. The camp-fires glimmer in the rear, The rumbling trains fall on the ear; The creek of Opequau is crossed, The banners on the breeze are tossed; Tlie steady tramp of marching men, As troop on troop moves through the glen. Gives warning to the Southern host That Sheridan is at his post, And ere the sun sinks in the west Deeds will be done to put to test The Southern valor's fiery flood. The iron of the Northern blood. Wilson's bold charge had swept away The foe's advance at dawn of day. And now the sun of high noon shines Upon the Union battle-lines. The long mauceuvring is o'er: Puritan and Cavalier once more Meet face to face, the Gray and Blue, The old, old struggle to renew. Begun on England's moors and heights For equal laws and manhood's rights. New Hampshire stands upon the right: This hour will see their maiden fight. Sons of the firm old Granite State, If in the charge you hesitate, Ne'er dare again to lift your eyes. Where, towering in our Northern skies, Your mountain puaks in Freedom's air - Our noblest names forever bear; Ne'er let your lips, for very shame. Pronounce John Stark's heroic name. And you, Massachusetts men! Who fight with sword as well as pen, , Who trust in Him who rules on high, , But still who keep your ])owder dry, Remember that your faltering now Will gloom your great war governor's brow. Andrew! that name to patriots dear, Who, in the land's dismay and fear, With thrilling words warm from his heart Nerved us to act the manly part; Whose tender pity knew no bounds. Whose own heart bled at all our wounds; Whose active brain and tireless arm Put forth new strength at each alarm; In Freedom's front erect and proud. Neither to be beguiled nor cowed; And when the long dread war was o'er, When hostile threats were heard no more, Reached out his generous liand to those Who once had been his bitterest foes, Laid down his life, his duty done. New England's mighty-hearted son. And here, from East, and North , and West, Armed at the Union's stern behest, In one united phalanx stand The warlike spirits of the land. While, tutored in another school. Taught to believe the State should rule, To her their first allegiance due, « And to their own belief as true; Their homes the scene of war's rude track, Their smiling fields all waste and black; Elated with past victories won Ere Stonewall's star its course had run, — Stonewall, that Puritan so rare. Who seasoned battle with his prayer. More like some stern Cromwellian saint, Ready with Scripture sayings quaint, Than leader of gay Cavalier, Who little recked his prayers to hear, But who relied on that strong will Whose spirit led his veterans still, — No braver foe e'er stood at bay Than those closed ranks of Early's gray. 36 SHERTDAN'S VETERANS. One word alone is wanted now: 'T is written on each soldier's brow; 'Tis pulsing in each soldier's heart; From eye to eye its flashes dart. Forward ! cliarge ! the line moves on, All doubt, all hesitation, gone, "With slow and measured tread at first, Then like the storm-cloud's suddeu burst; And startling sounds the battle-cry That Grover's line sends to the sky. Strange frenzy burns within their veins, Furious they charge across the plains; The old Berserker rage of war, Come down from Odin and from Thor, Has melted all the frost away: The Northern ice is fire to-day. The forest echoes to the crash. The sabres gleam, the rifles flash, "While over all the war-cloud rolls Electric with dead heroes' souls. Before that charge the bravest flinch, And yield the ground, but iuch by inch. The opening work is fairly done: Now halt, and hold the vantage won. Halt ! with the foe in full retreat ! Halt ! with the blood at fever heat! . And Grover's line right onward sweeps. Leaving its dead behind in heaps. Evaus' brigade is scattered wide. In vain is Gordon's Georgia pride, In vain does Early curse and chide: Not Stonewall's self could stem that tide But war is war ; and when the foes Are matched in valor like to tliose Who on this field in deadly strife for an idea gave limb and life, 'T is rash to risk a headlong sally 'Gainst veterans who know how to rally. Unless supporting lines are near To hold the vantage won so dear. Now Braxton's guns belch forth their fires And Rodes and Gordon each aspires To cover quick the first retreat. And back the Union line to beat. That tliiu blue line is meltiug fast Before the deadly Southern blast ; And shattered, crashed, almost wiped out, The scattered fragments face about. With loud, triumphant shout aud yell, — That cry we all remember well, — The gray battalions onward come. Intent to drive their foemen home. Not yet the South has won the day, For Dwight's division bars the way : Port Hudson well their valor knows, Red River's plains hav^felt their blows. And still the contest hotter gi-ows, And still the blood on each side flows. But see ! the Greek cross flies in front, Aud Russell bears the battle's brunt. Now old Sixth Corps your mettle show ; And when to Grant again you go. Bear on your banners laurels new. Aud while to Sedgwick's memory true, Your loyalty to Wright still due, No blush need ever red your cheek, Nor need you stammer when you speak, Of that hot day when, in tlie van. You fought and won with Sheridau. While Victory fans them with her wings, A darker angel comes, and sings Another soug in Russell's ear. A sudden pallor, not of fear. And that brave spirit mounts on high Where souls like his can never die. But not alone ; for with him goes A spirit choice from 'mid his foes. And now, when Passion's hour has past, And North and South in frieudship fast Discuss, while reason cool presides. The deeds of heroes on both sides. Thy gallant Rodes, O Southern men ! Due tribute claims from Northern pen, His manly life aud death be sung With candid heart by Northern tongue. With steady nerve the old corps fight : The Southern tide has reached its height. And lo ! before its ebbing waves Prepare the ground for fresh-made graves, A lull broods o'er the stormy scene ; Through cannon smoke the sun is seen; Aud each side seeks to gather strength , The Gordiau knot to solve at length, If the rich valley's harvests wide Shall with the North, or South, abide. A fresh force soou appears in sight, The Eighth Corps marching to tlie right, — That old Eighth Corps whose brave ca- reer Virginia's loyal hearts hold dear. Alas ! that e'er the threads of fate Should pit the Union 'gainst the State ; That brothers bred at the same breast THE VICTORY WON. 37 Should nnders^o tho fearful test, — To choose tlie jiath where duty led, And their owu mother's blood to shed. The battle rages fierce ajrain. The Southern charge is made in vain : Hurled back before a vvitlicring fire. Their broken ranks once more retire. Duval aud Thorburn forward rush, And Gordon's Georgia vetei-ans pusli. One spirit animates the corps : Tliis brilliaut hour wipes out the score That memory bears of past defeat, Of battle lost, and sad retreat. Wilson far on the left makes way, — Wilson who won at dawn of day, — While charge on charge the troopers make, And prisoners, guns, and banners take. The Sixth and Nineteenth Corps press on, Through woods, o'er ditches, hedge and stone, No halting now, and no recall : 'Tis forward ! forward ! forward all ! The South still fights, but fights in vain. Ah ! never shall tliey see again Their banners fly o'er this fair town. Their dear loved valley's piide and crown. A panic spreads throughont their host : The die is cast, the day is lost. Oil for that Hebrew warrior's power, To bid the sun for one short hour Stand still in heaven above the plain, To end at once the whole campaign ! In vain the wish, for Nature's laws Move on without dqlay or pause. Man ! work your own salvation out, And right the wrongs you brought about. Aud he, the chief \vho won tlie fight. Whose name stands on our rolls so bright, No Hebrew myth, no ancient story, Is needed to enhance the glory That gathers round his magic name, That aureoles his well-earned fame, The generous and chivalric man, The brave and gallant Sheridan. And now the city's spires and towers Are gilded bv the setting sun: Hurrali ! Imrrah ! the day is ours, Aud Wineliest(!r u won, is won ! Let those wlio staid at home in ease Wiien battle-flags waved on the breeze ; Who carped aud whined in critic mood At what they little understood ; Wlu:) bought and sold, and bargains made. And of their country's woes made trade ; Who never felt the ]iatriot fire That Freedom's true-born sons inspire, Till life and deatli, aud hope and fear. And all that human souls hold dear, Pass like the morning mists away Before the growing blaze of day, And naught on earth is worth esteeming, Save that bright flag above them stream- ing- Let knights like those prate of brute force. Weep maudlin tears o'er war's rough course, ' Tune high the praise of peaceful work, And with pale heart man's duty shirk, Say, in these piping times of pe.ace, All memories of the war should cease. But we who mingled in the fray. Whether we wore the blue or gray, Will cherish^to our dying day The memory of those thrilling hours When life aud deatli alike were ours, When comrades dear fell by our side, And in defeat or victory died. With all the misery and woe. With all of passiou's fire and glow, With dire disease's wasting breath, And all the fearful forms of death, O civil war ! beneath thy tread How many souls rose from the dead, — The grave where sordid love of gain Man's noblest impulses had lain, — And throbbing witu a new-born life. Grew strong and true amid the strife. What though tliat strife was sharp and stern ; That each side felt defeat in turn ; That brother breast to breast met brother ! 'T was there we learned to know each other. And down aloug the coming ages Not all the wisdom of the sages Will keep our Union firm and true As memories of the Grav and Blue. 38 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. After another piece of well-rendered music, Col. Carroll D. Wright, the orator of the day, is introduced and speaks as follows : Col, Wright's Address. Comrades : — We live in three epochs at once : the past, the present, and the future ; that is, our mental existence consists in recollections or knowledge of the past, the activities of the present, and in anticipations or speculations as to the future. I am speaking of our earthly experience only. The recollec- tions of a particular period in our national history is the past for us to-day, but it demands of us a philosophical con- sideration of its relation to our national present and our national future. So we come to this consecrated ground in no spirit of glorification of the events which occurred here nineteen years ago, but in a broad catholic spirit, willing to discuss the events of the civil war as the}^ have influenced and will influence the prosperity and well-being of our whole country, and glad to recognize the victories won here as vic- tories of American valor ; for the battles of the civil war were triumphs of the valor of American soldiers, no matter which army won the individual victories. The stirring scenes enacted in this beautiful vjdley twenty years ago, the fatigu- ing and exciting marches and countermarches of alternately victorious and defeated armies, the disastrous and the suc- cessful campaigns, the brilliant personal experiences, the stories of the camp, — all these will be told and retold, by par- ticipants on both sides the great struggle, when the camp- fires shall be lighted at Winchester, at Fisher's Hill, at Cedar Creek, and the veteran shall live over and over again that one great luxury of his life, his share in one of the most gigantic military strifes of which history gives any record. At these camp-fires the foes of war will be the warm friends of the present, as ready now, as ever in the old days, to fraternize, and ready too to do honor to the valor which made the glorious battles of the Valley possible. Let every man then feel at liberty to sing the arms and the THE INFLUENCE OF WAR. 39 men of lils own Aviir life, bnt for this occasion my own promptings bid me take a wider view, and indnlge in a train of tlioiiglit which I have not been able to ignore. No party, no section of country, now claims the victory at Ilastin^'s as its victory. Hardly can any race or nation (;laini it, for it was a victory which gave to the world the grand spectacle of English civilization, which has produced indus- trial freedom and prosperity. It was but one step, however, in that magnificent onward march which began when the Aryan left the table-lands of Asia, and turned his face West- ward, crossing the borders of the Asiatic Continent, pausing here and there to found cities and nations, seeing Greek and Roman institutions grow under his touch ; meeting barbarian conquest, and sapping from its strength renewed vigor with which to push on to the land of the setting sun ; bringing France and Western Europe, the British Islands, and finally our own America under his progressive sway. All this on- pushing influence was accompanied by blood and strife ; war Avas the great agent which enabled the Aryan finally to look from the Pacific coast across to his own home in Central Asia, and it will enable him to complete the small arc of the circle wh^ch lies between his present outpost and his birth- place. The influence of war upon national existence, upon civiliza- tion, upon the growth of religion even, constitutes one of the most attractive studies to be found in the v/hole range of philosopliical liistory. IJeraclitus, a philosopher of Athens 450 years before the Christian Era, advanced the startling doctrine that war, — strife, was the father of all things. He of course spoke of war as embodying all strife. To-day we believe that the right to hold property is one which lies at the very founda- tion of civilization and all progress; but that right, as Dr. Hedge tells us, was established by force, as shown in the story of Cain. He calls the establishment of that right the first step in civilization, and says it was achieved by conflict, and that every succeeding step of deep and lasting import has been achieved in the same Avay. *■' It is the method of 40 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. history. If we cast but a glance along the tide of time we shall see that the one universal condition, if not the prime agent, of civil progress and civil liberty has been war. Not a step has society advanced which haS' not been contested with arms and purchased with blood. The civil and religious liberty we hold so dear, the right of private judgment, the right of self-government, the establishment of every important principle in civil legislation, — with what conflicts and fight- ings and bloodshed these blessings have been purchased." * Industrial and social freedom has been purchased with the same currency — the shedding of blood. "Periods of peace in the history of nations have been but armistices, brief tem- porary breathing spaces interposed in the stated, normal, sec- ular war which began with Cain, and has raged in our day with unabated violence. Society advances from conflict to conflict. So it has been hitherto, and so it will be till the animal in man lias been developed out of him and succumbs to the spiritual." * Events that have had a lasting influence upon the world were born in blood that they might be more thoroughly stamped upon after generations : but we see God in them all : we recognize, emphatically, the wisdom and power of the Supreme Law Giver, the design of the Great Designer, for we see that all along the path of liistory God seems to have trained up, or particularly favored a people, and then inspired them to push their conquests over and through ob- stacles to civilization, carr^dng advanced ideas with their arms. In all these conflicts, of any importance, the best computation shows that six billion men have been slain. This study shows us that war has been, and is, the great ploughshare that has subsoiled the hard-pan of nations, and hastened the growth of civilization ; and it will not cease to furrow deep till all the nations of the earth are brought to God ; and till then this great army, slain in battle since the world began, which is now camped on eternal fields and marshalled by sainted martyrs, will not be disbanded. Contemplate, if you can, that immense army Avhich was recruited first from the table-lands of Central Asia, in the * The Primeval World of Hebrew Traditions. — F. H. Hedge. DEGRADATION OF LABOR. 41 march for civilization, and constant!}' augmented in its West- ward course of conquest, so large iiow tluit if in solid column, regimental front, it would extend around the globe, — is steadily marching on, on to the music of advancing ages, its ranks ever and ever increased b}^ heroes, martyrs, who died for the benefit of others, and whose souls catch the step of progressing spirits. Contemplate this, my comrades, and do not question the inspiration martial array and combat have given the world, and the memories they have given its sol- diers. Congratulate yourselves, wherever you fought, that you lived through one such epoch, and one which meant more for the peace and welfare of the great mass of the peo- ple of this country than any preceding ; and congratulate 3'Ourselves, too, that you stood shoulder to shoulder with brave men in the supremest moments of their lives as they were swept through the agony of their glory ; — and more still, that the holiest grave on earth is where a slain hero lies, and still more, that by your deeds of valor, by their great sacrifice, the time has been hastened when war shall be no more, and peaceful modes of adjusting national and interna- tional difficulties shall be the rule among men. "With all this wealth of experience from the military records of history for our grand past, what signification, so far as the prosperity of our country is concerned, has our own immedi- ate past, the past brought to mind liy the events we com- memorate to-day ? The American civil war, like nearly every other, was organized for political purposes, but the philosophy of it teaches us that it was in realit}^ a great labor movement. Feudalism and American slavery meant the same thing, the degradation of labor. It is perfectly true that a vassal or a slave, with a St. Louis for the feudal lord or the master, was more completely sure of physical comfort Avhile in working condition, and care and comfort when old or disabled than are the free workers of the world, yet it has been the freedom of labor which has conquered the material obstacles which have constantly beset the way of industrial progress. Divested then of all political 42 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. significance, the war was one of economic forces, with good or ill results to the industrial elements of the nation and par- ticularly the South, for the South had existed under a form of labor entirely antagonistic to that existing at the North and in all other lands where material progress had marked the growth of peoples. The South had been waiting, as had the late Count Chambord of France, for the world to turn backwards, and to bring with such turn the wealth which comes from a development of natural resources. An abun- dance of these resources existed there. With rich deposits of iron and other ores, and the coal to work the ore ; with tim- ber, pasture, and arable lands without stint; with water powers that might induce mechanics from all lands to settle there ; with a climate to lure the dwellers from inclement zones ; with scenery as varied and as beautiful as can be found in all the states ; with all these advantages immigration sought the flat, cheerless, shadeless, malarial districts of the West. Why ? Simply because free labor will not put itself in com- petition Avith labor that does not own itself. So the politi- cians of the country, no matter Avhat their motives were, acted as all other agents of God, and accomplished by severe means the emancipation of the labor of the South, and with that emancipation has come industrial competition with the North and Europe. Tlig buzz of machinery is becoming familiar to Southern ears. The country at large is learning again the oft-repeated lesson that no country devoted to one industry can hope for much success, but that in a diversity of employments lies the welfare of a people. The cultivation of the soil, the most attractive branch, may be, of human industry, and honorable and independent in the highest degree, rarely if ever alone brings the national prosperity so essential to progress. Only Avhen agricvilture in all its variety is allied to the mechanic arts can the best industrial results be expected. These conditions are com- ing rapidly in the South, and with their coming comes the industrial difficulties of the present, not as the result of their coming alone, but contemporaneously. Yet with their coming comes an apparent complication, in this, that the POLITICAL DEMAGOGUES. 43 labor of the factories of the South is of a priniilive kind as yet and as such its wages are the miuimuni wages, while this labor competes with the older and better paid labor of the North. This variance in the wages paid in the two sections Avill not, however, have any lasting, and but little, if any, temporary influence upon wages at the North, but as the mechanic arts become more extensive in the South, then its labor will seek a corresponding elevation in rates, and so while now the South is free from what are called labor difficulties, the time will soon come when free labor will demand its reward. While slavery is the simplest form of labor as despotism is the simplest form of government, the moment freedom comes, individual rights become prominent and social and political government correspondingly complicated. Strikes, lock-outs, and all the apparent evils of the apparent struggle between lal)or and capital will l)ecome familiar in the South ag they have been and are in the North, and with them will come dreams of the peaceful days of slave labor, — but, com- rades of the South, you who fought for the principles under- lying 3^our philosophy of secession, remember that to you, as much as to au}^ class of men, if not more, is entrusted the industrial peace of the South, as to the veterans of the whole land is entrusted the same peace ; in this, that you and they know the penalt}" of war. You and they know the cost of political differences when brought to the arbitrament of arms. You must see that political demagogues do not seize upon labor strifes as a pretext to secure power. This is our pres- ent. No war is in our immediate liistory. No great political questions agitate our peoples as they do those of European countries. We have no vital questions before us which mean to us what the vital questions of European politics mean to the peoples of Europe. Our questions so far as magni- tude is concerned belong to the economic development of the resources of our country. Our future, the next quarter of a century, is to m}^ mind a continuance of the same con- tests with nature — till some great political necessity absorbs the minds of the people. We may have to take arms to con- 44 SHERIDAN' S VETERANS. vince Mexico that we can develop her natural riches faster and surer than she can herself. We may have to teach a few lessons here and there, for political reasons, but the great questions for us to meet grow out of industrial relations and interests, and although politicians will turn first to one side and then the other, of the economic forces of the country, the line of march will be quite independent of them after all, and will leave them standing on the border of the great high- way along which the industrial armies will move, wondering at their Own stupidity. With Southern development there will come, not a loss of industries in the North, but a change in their character, and through this change, with the development in the South, the permanent relations of the two sections upon a basis of mutual interest will be founded, for the welfare of one is the welfare of the other. But you say, may be, if there are to be labor difficulties in the South, where is the progress? Our own future will answer this, and this future we must meet. The industrial problems of this future may well excite the anxiety of conser- vative minds, for upon their treatment depends the peace of the country and may be, of the industrial world. No religious contest can claim your services. No purely class war can enlist them ; but your very best services must be called to the social and economic contests of our epoch. You may ask, (I am speaking to representatives of all sec- tions) Avhere are the statesmen to guide us ? You may say we have no statesmen. Well, Avhat do we want of states- men ? There is not an existing leading political issue in this country that involves the prosperity of the people at large. In Europe there is hardly one that does not affect the pros- perity of European peoples. We have no use just now for great political leaders. When we do need them they will come ; but we have men who have the minds to project and carry to success great industrial and commercial enterprises that would have staggered the great statesmen and generals even of the past. These men exhibit a capacity for the or- ganization of varied forces which commands our enthusiastic ARISTOCRACY OF BRAINS. 45 julniivation, for the i^-cnius tliev (lis|)l;iy finds no equal in past enterprises. To such men the business of government would l)e mere child's l)lay, for our government is run by public sen- timent, not by statesmen. There is hardly a county in the countiy that could not contribute a very good president and his wliole cabinet. So while at present we want fidelity and good ability in all government places, Ave hardly need great- ness, but we must have commanding genius in the Leaders of Industry. We never had a Nation till the war bronght lis to maturity, and now the leaders of industry are teaching the world that America holds the key to future supremacy among nations, so far, at least, as material development is concerned, and this material development is creating an aris- tocracy here in whose ranks the proudest may march, — the aristocracy of brains. It is this new aristocracy that is rapidly supplanting the old in England. In America this great development gives us occasionally the colossal wealth of a Vanderbilt ; but Vanderbilt's millions are mere dross without a moral community, for whose benefit they must really be invested. Fortunes belong to men, but the prin- ciples of their value are of God. There is no return for inactive capital, and mere money is nothing to its owner without activity. It is against the bad use of great fortunes men have a right to enter their j)rotest. When used in fos- tering the grand projects of peace, the establishment of institutions of learning, of carrying on the work of inter- communication, of opening new lines of industry, all such employments of wealth call for the very best genius of our land ; and in these lines of work are to be found the men who, under great national extremities, will step to the front as statesmen and generals. These men are gradually coming to the conviction that moral forces should be recognized in the conduct of industrial affairs, that property has no value except when surrounded by a moral and industrious people, and that a well-paid and reasonably contented workman is worth more, not only to industry, but to himself and his community, than one poorly paid ; and that the best paid labor IS the cheapest in every economic sense. The growth 46 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. of this sentiment, Avhich belongs to the present age more than to any preceding, will overcome the labor difficulties which harass the public, injure the workingmen, and damage capital. With this spirit finding a lodgment in old indus- trial communities, the newer ones must come under its influ- ence ; so the labor troubles of the South will have less of the antagonisms shown in those of the North. Take no stock in the cry of a labor war, but quietly exert all your influence as men who have a right to demand to be heard in the interest of all movements which tend not only to elevate labor but to teach the employers of labor the necessity of their recogniz- ing the utter worthlessness of capital, until intelligent labor vitalizes the machinery it sets in motion. The wage system of laljor is an infinite improvement upon the slave system which the war set aside, and our prosijerity must be secured under it for the present ; but if it must give way in order that the profits of production shall be more equally and justly shared between the two elements of all industry, labor and capital, I believe the aristocracy of brains, made up from the best minds of both elements, will solve the question when it must be solved ; but it cannot be solved now, for the very conditions which make the sj^stem of com- petition a necessity, will prevent such solution. I mean con- ditions of ignorance. The wage system, which now exists in all parts of our land, must hold sway till the leaders of in- dustry are ready to obey the golden rule. In every instance where this rule has been adopted in industrial establishments, and the instances are by no means rare either in this or in the old country, the solution has been met, and the moral, sani- tary, and intellectual conditions of the wage workers vastly improved. The results of the war are bringing all these questions more clearly to the minds of men, and as they be- come clearer, our material prosperity will be augmented. Do not allow it to be said that the veterans of the war do not recognize the part they can play in the contests of their present. These contests lead many to fear the advance of socialism and communism, and lead others to hope for socialistic revo- SOCIALISTIC KEVOIUTIONS. 4T liitions wliich sluill seek to remedy llu; social and iiulustiial troubles of the day by tearing' down the ohl slructures, to tlie very fouiuhition, and buikling anew, instead of utilizing; the existing structures in tlie work of progress. Here is an apparent contest for onr neaa* future. The men who believe in demolishing the present structures and laying new founda- tions tell us society is on the verge of destruction. Well, it always has been. Need we fear socialism, — have we been touched by it? Socialism is a growing power in the world. Not the icono- clastic socialism of the socialistic party, but the pure, Chris- tian socialism whicli is molded and guided by wisdom and experience. I say this is a growing power because it has won partially in every revolution which has been waged for the rights of man. Our own Revolution was a war out of wliich grew the most socialistic compact of modern times — the Constitution of the United States. It was one of those revo- lutions described by Emerson, which " are read with pas- sionate interest," and which "never lose their pathos by time." Revolutions, " when the cannon is aimed by ideas, when men with religious convictions are behind it, when men die for what they live for, and the mainspring that works, daily urges them to hazard all." In such revolutions "the cannon articulates its explosions with the voice of a man; tlie rifle seconds the cannon, and the fowling piece the rifle, and the women make the cartridges, and all shoot at one mark ; then gods join in the combat ; then poets are born, and the better code of laws at last records the victory." Every advance made by the country since that compact has been socialistic, and the next great step, government con- trol of our telegraph system, will prove to the u orld the truth and soundness of tliese statements. The civil war re- sulted in giving the suffrage to millions of bondmen, the most socialistic revolution the world ever saw, or socialists ever dreamed of; but all these movements have been in the interest of humanity, not to found a socialistic state ; not iconoclastic endeavors to rid the world of evils; but the natural outuiowth of increased wisdom. In the <'rowih of 48 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. such socialism there is no danger, and under our institu- tions there is no room for any other. The communistic dis- tributi(m of property would be retrogression to the infancy of tribes. This is an impossibility. The only communism needed is that which increases the opportunities for securing property, for in the idea of property is the fountain head of our civilization ; with and for its growth all our institutions of government have been framed ; the comity of nations, which is the welfare of the world, takes it for the basis of rule and action, and it is to its sacredness and to the inviola- bility of its rights Ave look for the further and continued pro- gress of mankind. Certainly this is true of the American States, for the constant influx of strangers who come from less favored lands to better their own condition would soon put us at a disadvantage here were it not for the facilities of- fered by our laws and customs for acquiring propertj^ in land. Ownership of a bit of land makes the owner a law-and-order man. Herein is our safety against iconoclastic socialism. It is this Avhich precludes the possibility here of an Irish ques- tion, of a land question, or even of a very important Chinese question. The Chinese question, to my mind, is one which will complicate the industrial contests of which I have spoken ; and that will come when the Chinese begin to run manufactories in their own country ; then the Chinese ques- tion Avill be the same as the American question, — how shall their country prosper in the highest sense of the word pros- perity, — morally, intellectually, industrially. Socialism offers no new remedy for existing evils. It easily arraigns society. It says insanity has increased ; so it has, because tlie competition of the age is that of mind Avith mind, and the feeble or overstrained minds break ; of old it Avas muscle against muscle. Again, the facts as to insanity are more fully collected, and we compare perfected Avith very crude statistics. But the socialist says Ave have more feeble people Avith us than of old. True, because under the civili- zation of this century the feeble can live, and in comfort, and even support themselves, if need be, while of old thej^ died ; only the most robust could survive and no others were seen. u^-m' f*fi x-'^^. ' 1 *..,/%, .1 A strp:kt in harpers ferry JOHN liRuwN's fort. INDUSTRIAL PROSPERITY. 49 Again he says pau})erisni grows ; so it does, but artiriciall}', for we take care, and take connt of onr poor now ; the suc- cessfnl in life feel an ol)liga,tion to the nnsnucessfnl. So I might take up many other features of the socialistic contest which we shall have to im>et. The one mistake the socialist makes is in not recognizing the progress the world is making ; in not seeing that the age of machinery is constantly lifting people from low to higher and better conditions ; in not per- ceiving that the borders of the class which is apparently doomed to stand at the bottom of society are growing nar- rower and narrower. There is no danger from socialism if American soldiers will continne to show to the world that a peace which is maintained by the very force of patience and of moral order is far better than any which can come from an examination of the point of a bayonet or the personal analysis of the con- tents of a thirteen-inch shell. My friends, there is more religion in the world than of old, but less talk about it ; more practice, and less theory ; more service to humanity and less selfishness. Under these con- ditions, again I sa}^, no socialism but the right kind can in- stitute a civil contest in this country, for industrial progress kills destructive socialism and aids and furthers constructive socialism. This national industrial prosperity is coming to us. The Atlanta Exposition and the present Exposition of Southern products at Boston could not have taken place prior to 1861. Now they can be held, and be the means, too, of bringing the reciprocal interests of all sections into prominent con- sideration. Such events, betokening the essential needs of tlie country, can have but one result, the growth of a national spirit in tlie truest and highest sense. You, soldiers of the North, and you, soldiers of the South, cm perform the lion's share of service in the great moral contests of the present and future which I have briefly out- lined. Rememl)er, you have liad tlie inestimable luxury of living as young meii through a great civil strife, and are still \oung 50 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. enough to see the great moral and industrial fruits of that strife. Two decades only have brought to this land what the most hopeful could not have expected in less than half a cen- tury. While you are passing middle life contemplate that past, and let your golden years witness the crowning of this nation's industrial supremacy. In the spirit of this meeting of friends on consecrated ground where once they were foes ; in the spirit of the reso- lutions of the government of this ancient town welcoming our New England soldiers ; in the spirit of the martyr who wished to govern with malice towards none, Avith charity to all ; in the spirit of that second martyr who fought over this sacred soil, and who closed his eyes upon earth on the anni- versary of Opequan ; in the spirit of this address, I call you all comrades, for in the contests of the future we shall stand shoulder to shoulder, and I urge you to fight the battles of our national future with all the valor you have shown be- longs to American arms. You, soldiers of the North, who have borne your victories with a becoming sense of patriotism and with no hatred of your foes ; you, soldiers of the South, who have shown the world as sublime an example of patience under, the trying experiences of reconstruction as history records, — you have an influence in shaping results which can be feeble or power- ful as you choose. Your mettle has been tried. We know what that influence will be. God grant the contests of the future may be moral ones only. Let this excursion and such as this, and all iuterchange of fraternal courtesies between the different sections of our country teach our children that men can fight for what to them is truth and, principle, and abide by the results, with religious submission, like men and like patriots. With such a spirit in our midst, and with such lessons to posterity, no Gibbon of the future can write the story of the decline and fall of the American Republic, and no page in history can record the failure of the grandest republican ex- periment of all time. We, makers of the history of our own times, can turn our A REMARKABLE SERVICE. 51 e_yes with confidence to the contemphilion of the future grandeur of our common country. Heroes are sleeping side by side in holy graves, and they sleep in peace. The nobler part of man may succumb to a temporary madness, but he is nevertheless a man, and when the cloud has rolled away he is restored to a man's rights and privileges ; so, o'er the grave foes have struck hands and proclaimed a truce forever. Over brothers' graves let brothers' quarrels die. Let there be peace between us, nay, more, let there be amity between us, that the arms we learned so well to use, if ever used again, may strike only at the common foe. God spare us the experience, but some of us may live to celebrate tlie valor of American arms after some day of glory, wlien the sons of rebels and the sons of federals shall have fallen side by side in some common cause of foreign war, as their sires fell side by side under the eye of the great rebel, who had no treason in him, the Virginian, Washing- ton. The remaining exercises of the occasion consisted of brief statements of the part which each regiment acted on this famous field. Ex-Congressman Whittemore, now Chaplain of this excur- sion, speaks for the Thirtieth Massachusetts; Gen. E. H. Rhodes, for the Second Rhode Island ; Capt. H. T. Hall, for the Thirty-fourth Massachusetts ; Capt. C. P. Hall, for the Fourteenth New Hampshire ; Maj. E. L. Noyes, for the Third Massachusetts Cavalry ; Lieut. W. A. Tarbell, for the Thirty- eighth iNlassachusetts. This concludes the formal celebration of the day. A REMARKABLE SERVICE. The annals of war, the polished phrasing of a world's liter- ature, the ardor and imagination of all the bright galax}" of ])oets, furnish no description or hint for our use in the en- deavor to delineate the scene Avhicli held spellbound the veterans of two fiercely contending armies and a great sur- rounding audience on that delicious Southern afternoon. It 52 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. was announced that the Fourteenth New Hampshire would decorate the monument and graves made sacred by its dead of the Opequan field. When the line Avas formed at three o'clock nearly the whole of the excursion fell in. It \yas not one regiment, it was the entire company which paid the exquisite tribute. The memorial service committee consisted of Capt. C. P. Hall, Sergt. F. H. Buffum, Lieut. E. D. Hadley, and Comrade C. S. Farr. The Color-Sergeant, who took the national standard of the Fourteenth through this battle, again donned the very sling worn nineteen years ago and on each side of him were members of his old color-guard in the fight. Pleaded by the Union Band the line marclied to the ceme- tery. This cemetery is in charge of Supt. A. B. Drum, a veteran of the Sixteenth Ohio Infantry and the Fifth Ohio Cavalry. The writer finds it difficult to express his apprecia- tion of Comrade Drum's service to this excursion. The tire- less patience, the tact, the zeal of this most efficient official deserve to be spread at length upon these pages. His labors were essential to the perfection of the arrangements of the Winchester camp. Mrs. Drum was equally enthusiastic, and in the preparation of flowers for the cemetery service she was a great help, coming to the camp and co-operating with the ladies of the excursion. The Fourteenth Regiment is under obligations to the following ladies of Winchester for flowers contributed: Mrs. Miller, Miss Kate Miller, Miss Ella Brown, Mrs. Cordelia Aulick, Mrs. Hoover, Mrs. Thatcher," Mrs. Geo. Thatcher, and also to Mr. Houck. As the line of veterans with the ladies and guests in car- riages approached the cemetery the band played a dirge, and to slow funereal time the strange procession filed in among the thousands of graves where sleep the brave of the Union forces in the Shenandoah. The line encircled the New Hampshire monument, veterans from every New England State standing shoulder to shoulder in the solemn presence. Amid a throng of thousands of witnesses the simple but wondrously beautiful service of the liour proceeded. The impressive notes of the band paved the way. Then Chaplain Whittemore offered a touching invocation. There Avere four comrades selected to pronounce the memorial tributes. CAPT. HODGDON'S TRIBUTE. 53 TkII'.UTE of CaI'T. C. \\ . IIODGDON. Comrades : — Standing here as we do, sun-oiinded by these voiceless mon- nments of patriotic devotion silence would be, to me, far more eloquent than speech. For what words can express the emo- tions of our hearts, as we read tlie names sculptured upon this granite, but more indeUbly stamped upon the memory of every comrade, as with tearful eyes we perform these sad memorial rites. And altliougli many years have elapsed since they were borne silently from yonder battle-field, the scene is as fresh to our minds as though but two days instead of twenty years had passed, since last we gazed upon their familiar faces. And, as I listen, there seems to come from those old heroes of the past, — of far-away Lexington and Concord, — borne by swift- winged messengers, words of kindly greeting to their brother heroes who lie buried here, and whose deeds will live when this monument, erected to their memory, shall have crundiled back to dust. Could their tongues, long silent, now respond if asked, "What deeds have you performed? What record have you left, that these comrades here assembled should have made so great a pilgrimage to place these floral tributes above your last resting place?" they would answer: "We were but humljle citizens surrounded by home, friends, everything that made life dear; but when our country's flag was assailed we left all and went forth to avenge the insult. AVe went forth, but we never returned. We died for the honor of our coun- try's flag ; we died to perpetuate those glorious institutions which our forefathers died to establish. We gave up our lives for every man, woman and child throughout this extended world Avho is to-day struggling for liberty and the right. And the record we have left is this : our names are inscribed on the soldiers" monument erected upon the battle-field at Win- chester. We gave our lives freely, that liberty might not per- ish from off the earth." Their threads of life were suddenly broken. l)ut not one tlu'ead was lost ; for that Eternal hand that guides this great loom is to-day gathering up every thread and fibre, and weav- ing them into beau.tiful desio-ns in the great web of lite. Those 54 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. designs, comrades, yon and I may not see to-day, but we can trust that Almighty hand, for we know He doeth all things well. As not one sparrow falls to the ground without its Maker's notice, of how much more value were these heroes, who fell bravely contending for the great God-given principles of human liberty. And, comrades, may we so do our duty to this " old flag " that these brave heroes whose remains lie slumbering beneath these sods, whose life-blood was mingled with the dust of this Valley, and whose lives were sacrificed upon the altar of their nation's libevty, may not have made that great sacrifice in vain. Tribute of Lieut. E. D. Hadley. Veteran Comrades : — What one of us can, after the lapse of nineteen years, re- visit these scenes of strife, and stand in these grounds devoted to the sepulture of our fallen comrades, without the deepest emotion. As I reflect that beneath these mementos of the dead was laid all that was mortal of soldier-companions : that for nine- teen long years has mouldered here the hand so often grasped in friendship : the ej^e that flashed back again the merry glance of goodfellowship ; the lineaments of faces once aglow with the light of intelligence and ever filled with the resolu- tion of an earnest purpose, a sadness that craves no expression in words comes over me. The thought forces itself upon me that no words, no form of speech is adequate to the occasion. These men who fell on yonder field of battle, or elsewhere met a soldier's fate, and whose death is commemorated here, were, among those dearly beloved hills and A^alleys of New England, our neighbors, our friends. They were our compan- ions of the camp, the mess, the tent ; our file-mates on the drill and parade ground; our co-sufferers on the march, our co-learners in the art of war. We had shared the same priva- tions, the same alarms, the same dangers, the same hopes, the same fears. A comradesliip of years had assimilated our dif- ferences and had welded our friendsliip. There had arisen a brotherhood of feeling, wliich none of the later associations LIEUT. HAD LEY'S TRLBUTE. 55 of life have sufficed to efface from the hearts of tlie living'. But amid the thunder of cannon, the bursting of shell, the shrieking of shot, the charging of squadrcjns, and the din and smoke of battle, the ties that united ns were mercilessly bro- ken. Our comrade brothers were borne here to their last home, their lifeless and mangled bodies mute but sure wit- nesses to the unfaltering courage with which they met the duty of the hour, and a fate no less sad because, alas ! so common. In the flush of youth, in the beautiful strength of early man- hood, they had gone forth, a voluntary offering at the shrine of duty and country, and here had the sacrifice been accom- plished. But no tongue can ever tell, nor shall the mind grasp, nor the heart of mortal conceive the extent of the sacrifice. They were no unwilling conscripts : no hireling soldiery were marshalled for battle beneath the folds of our regimental colors; no recuiting offices were opened in the areas and corri- dors of jails or prisons ; but the intelligent and independent hus- bandman unyoked the cattle from the plow : the teacher closed the school-house : the mechanic hung his apron beside his bench ; colleges and nurseries of science and the arts marched their classes into camp : all professions loosed their hold on their members ; and these uniting our regimental colors were loj'ally followed by a body of men embracing all the elements of the most enlightened commonwealth. Though the mysterious bond that united soul and body may have been mercifully snapped so suddenly as to pre- clude the idea of conscious suffering on the part of the heroic dead, yet, every bullet that performed its mission of deatli on the battle-field, opened agonizing wounds in the hearts of loving fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, wives, children and sweethearts around the distant firesides of stricken homes ; wounds that are sore, and still bleeding ; and their fond hopes, proud ambitions, and glowing anticipations of happy re- unions and a joyous future with the returning wanderers, were ruthlessly destroyed and served to augment the volume and the value of the sacrifice. But while survivinc^ love still nu)urns their fall and a OTate- fid nation guards their last resting place, can we suppose the 56 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. dead repine and tliat those brave hearts lament their own fate ? From the mysteries that lie in the great future I cannot pre- tend to lift the veil, but we know how thorouglily our soldier}^ had counted the cost and estimated tlie probabilities of falling in battle, and Avhat was so deliberately laid down we cannot believe they would desire to reclaim. . Though tlie heart is full of sadness ; though the tear unbid- den clouds the sight : though the choking sob wells up in the throat, as feelings of tenderness arise for the comrades so early and so suddenly launched into eternity, so prematurely cut off in youthful prime from all that could make this world en- joyable, we may take to our hearts the comforting reflection that the ills of earth no more enslaved or burdened them ; that they were thus set free from -the toil and turmoil and struggles of life. And I can easily conceive that among us, their companions in arms, to-day there stand elbow to elbow with us these disembodied souls rejoicing with us at the happy termination of that great conflict, and at the progress of an era of prosperity, unparalleled, that showers its blessings on one great and united people. Long have they slept the sleep that knows no earthly awa- kening. " After life's fitful fever they sleep well." The roll-call of that autumn morning nineteen years ago was their last on earth. In the ranks of the embattled hosts of Death alone are they now enlisted — mustered out of earthly service by an order which no commander-in-chief can countermand or evade. They never more charge the foe or resist the onset; never more pursue or retreat before the pursuer. Peaceful is their bivouac beneath these Southern skies. No Avatchful sentry keeps guard over the slumbers of the boys in blue, or challen- ges their whilom enemy in gray who so peacefully sleeps the last sleep of the brave in yonder cemetery. Side by side, foes no longer, sleep the blue and gray, leaving beliind them alike a rich legacy of bravery and devotion. " No stain upon their manhood, No memory of the Past, Except the common valor That made us one at last ! " i CAPT. HALLS TRIBUTE. 57 Beautiful, appropriate, and honorable as is the custom of erecting monuments of brass, or ircui, or marl)le, on which to engrave the record of the noble lives and heroic deaths of the fallen in honorable battle, there stands, rising higher, more massive, more resplendent than all such memorials, a monu- ment, which after brass and iron shall have been corroded and marble shall have crumbled into dust, shall ever stand in per- petual commemoration of the deeds of those who survived, as well as of those who went down to rise no more beneath the shock of battle, — one grand, masterful Nation, purified, uni- fied, and united. " Cover Them over with Flowers " was sung by a quartette consisting of Capt. C. P. Hall, Capt. J. W. Sturtevant, Lieut. J. W. Russell, and Comrade N. W. Mower. Followhig this beautiful hymn came the Tribute op Capt. C. P. Hall. The 19th of September, 1864, on this field, was a day never to be forgotten by those who participated in its exercises. The 19tli of September, 1883, will abide in our memories till time with us shall be no more. The former made the latter possible. Had it not been that brave men met brave men here nineteen years ago, there had befen no occasion for our standing here to-day with uncovered heads and swelling hearts to speak our tribute of words, and bring our tribute of flowers, for the dear comrades whose life went out 'mid the blood and carnage of that memorable day. We have stood, on Memorial Day, in the cemeteries of our home-land and done what we could to keep green the memory of those wlio gave their lives that the Nation might live. The service has been a hallowed one, and our hearts have been softened as year by year we have participated in it, but I think I speak the heart of all when I say there has been no service of memory to brave soldiers like this of to-day. We stand on Southern soil ; the bones of these dear ones moulder in the soil which their life-blood moistened ; we place upon their graves flowers plucked by fair Virginia hands be- 58 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. side those brought from the gardens of our New Hampshire homes. We are not the only ones interested in this service. The hearts of fathers and mothers, of sisters and widowed ones among the granite hills are with us in this Valley to-day, and they bleed afresh as they think of our doing what they gladly would have done — stand here with flowers in our hands and tears in our eyes because loved forms lie buried 'neath this turf. Comrades, I need not say to you that the names on this shaft are those of noble men and true soldiers, for side by side with them we enlisted, we marched, we ate, we slept, we guarded, we fought. Honored be their memory ! Comrades of tlie blue and of the gray, may the deep feelings stirred witliin us at this hour beget an earnest purpose in us all, that Memorial Day for brave soldiers shall be a sacred day from lake to gulf and from ocean to ocean ! Tribute of Sergt. F. H. Buffum. In the town of Saybrook, Conn., there stands a mansion whose front door has been boarded up for many a year. Since the body of the renowned hero. Commodore Perry, was carried out to its burial, no man has passed through that door. When our comrades here buried stepped from the ranks of the Four- teenth regiment, nineteen years ago to-day, they passed through a door which was then and here sealed up forever. For, how- ever much of achievement may remain to us, however grandly we may strive to live, or whatever of lustre may rest upon our last hours on earth — we cannot liope to die as they died. They stepped into immortality over a path more illustrious than any Avhich our feet may find. Their dying, on the line where the noblest fall, on this field where not one of them died in vain, where blood was a sacrifice that prevailed — set them select and separate from us. But what was the magic of these acres, where we stood, and marched, and fought together, and where they died — what was there in the terrible conflict of that September day, to so divide us ? Because they fell and we marched on, were we set in wide and irreversible separation ? In this sweet and Hon. W. L. Clark, Mayor of Winchester. Capt. L. Richmond, Fourth Mass. Cavalry. Maj. Gen. W. H. Emory, Commander 19th Corps. O. H. Qui N BY, First Me. Battery Maj. C. H. Packard, Thirty Eij^hth Mass. .i£LlOTyPE PRINTING 00., BOSTON FELLOWSHIPS RESTORED. 59 solemn presence, in tlie rush of tender memories bearing our thoughts back to those stalwart forms, now dust ])efore us, are not the ranks full again, as when we formed for the terrific charge on the plain yonder? May not the old fellowships be restored? Professor Tyndall, in experimenting with the res- onance of woods of different fibre, placed one end of the stick ui)on the piano and to the other he held his ear. When the keys of the piano were struck, the vibrations through the stick were faint and the result unsatisfactory. The experi- ment was a failure. A happy thought, and he placed a violin in contact with the other end of the stick ; then, when the keys were struck, the room was filled with sympathetic re- sponses from the stringed instrument. No civilian can catch the secret of this spot and hour ; but come you, my comrades, who touched elbows with these, our beloved, in the dread storm of battle and in the carnage of this field; let the keys of memory be struck, let the sweet harmonies from these gal- hmt lives be again evoked. The achievements and the vicis- situdes of the intervening years shall be the resonant conduc- tor. Bring our waiting souls to the touch ; yes, here and again their liv^es are potent, and ours respond. The martial and jDatriotic music which welled in them is our melody, and we are one in the great campaign. For myself I feel that I have been initiated into the mys- teries of this sacred ground. Three of those who lie here stood as close to me when shot as men can stand together ; two of them were of my own kin, and the other was my schoolmate and nearest neighbor. For this, and because of all the associations of this immortal battle-ground, ni}^ soul is thrilled as never before, with a throng of sacred and re- splendent memories ; resplendent because I remember more than the dying of these men. If we are again in sorrow for an almost incomparable loss, we are yet lifted up in an ecstasy of pride, for the mantle of their glory rests upon us. They fell in a day that was not lost ; they died on the victor's field, and they are remembered most tenderly. Something has been compared to '• a whiff of sombre smoke, dark and unreal as a memory of battle." We cannot adojDt the figure. Surely 60 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. there are few things more radiant, there is nothing more real than the memories of battle which we revive as we encircle this monument to-day. All the years that have passed since we fought on this field are the unrealities to my mind, in this hour. I cannot at this moment feel that the armor lias ever been thrown off. If ever I was moved ; if ever the depths of emotion were fathomed ; if ever I was thankful to that merciful Providence which has spared my poor life ; thankful that I did not go down in war's dread carnage — that time is now. As I look in the faces of my old commanders [Generals Emory and Birge] standing here by my side ; as I am conscious of the supreme felicity as well as sorrow of this occasion, I feel that if there is grace on earth for human helpfulness I must go home from here a better man. We see the names of our fallen comrades all grouped in one mass upon this monument, but their identity is not lost. Out of a solution containing many colors certain lilies will extract their own congenial tints. So it is that out of the smoke and lurid onsets of the field of the Opequan, each of our dead carried his own individuality, and in this victory each faithful follower of his God and his flag achieved his own peculiar immortality. How little they could have anticipated this tribute ! If, in the martial prescience of that war, these our brothers could have spanned two decades, and caught a vision from this era of peace ; could they have heard in prophecy this tearful requiem tramp, — I am sure that their onset would have been bolder, their eye clearer, their devotion grander, and their welcome of the hazards of the fraj still more eager than they were. It is related of the composer, Haydn, that when, in the ripeness of his years, he listened to the performance of his own oratorio, " The Creation," by the finest talent that could be gathered in Europe, he was so over- come by the marvellous rendition that he was carried out to die. Were our dead of the Fourteenth regiment alive again ; were they to stand in these ranks, and behold how heroic deeds and worthy comrades are commemorated — it seems to me that this celebration of their grand endeavor and supreme POETIC TRIBUTE. Gl sacrifice would make tlieiii glad to die and eager to depart, transported upon the strange emotions and holy aspirations of this hour, unmatched in all our living. The quartette again rendered an approjuiate selection, and Chaplain Whittemore contributed the following original Poetic Tribute. God bless our patriot soldiers, The living and the dead, Who fought the nation's battles, And for the nation bled. Who, when their country called them In Freedom's holy cause. Went forth, as Sparta's sons went, " Obedient to her laws." We glory in their triumphs In fiercest contests won, Their loyal consecrations. Their deeds of valor done. Guard well our fallen heroes ! Strew flowers o'er their graves ! And may the white-winged angels Watch o'er our sleeping braves. God keep our mem'ries vernal. Embalm our heroes there ; May diadems supernal. The war-scarred victors wear. May monuments and tablets To coming ages tell Who fought our nation's battles, Who in those battles fell. May all our days memorial Revive their mem'ries grand. And grateful pix^ans ring out All o'er this favored land. And when the last old liero Shall fill a hero's grave, God bless the land he fought for, The laud he foui-ht to save. 62 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. Lieut. Hadley then stei^ped into the arena and called the roll of the dead. As he finished, amid a tearful and oppres- sive silence, Col. Wright advanced and halted in front of Gen. Emory. The military salute was given and the familiar report rendered: " Gen. Emory, all present or accounted for." The old hero advanced from the line with trembling steps and in still more trembling tones responded : — " You need no words of mine to add to the beauty and solemnity of this occasion. There remains nothing but to lay your flowers upon these graves. The dead whom you honor are indeed and well ' accounted for.' They died as nobly as men can die, and I am proud to have commanded them and you." When "the veterans kneeled around their dead of twenty years, the full tide of thought and feeling inspired by the occasion swayed the assemblage and moved it as few influences can. " I was never so moved in all my life." " Never before was I so near heaven as in that cemetery." " I did not sup- pose myself capable of such feeling." These were the testi- monies to the strange power of the occasion. The order was given to rise. Col. Wright then acknowledged the receipt of a beautiful and costly bouquet, and announced a further service in the cemetery where lay the Southern dead. The people of Win- chester had received no intimation of the intention of the Union veterans to decorate the monuments in the Confederate burial-ground. The line was re-formed and the remarkable pro- cession marched through the streets of Winchester and entered the yard where reposes the dust of those who faced them on many a hard-fought field. As the line of veterans encircled the magnificent Virginia monument a great crowd of citizens hastily gathered. " They 're marching into our cemetery," was flashed through the town. "What does it mean?" It means that the veterans of this party recognize and applaud and honor the splendid valor of the Southern soldier. It is no concession to a " cause," it is no yielding of a princij^le, nor any approval of what was once condemned. History has set- tled all that and no one of us would mantle such history as decked out in grandeur the flag they sustained. But no man THE SOUTHERN BRAVE. 63 who fought such as sleep in the Southern cemetery at Win- chester but respects them and woukl pay grand homage to such soklierly qualities. Whatever they were they were Americans, and all America remembers their prowess. Again thfe dirge ; again the melting of hearts. The Chaplain's earnest prayer, and the moment is hallowed. Here, too, is an altar, and the sacrifice is ready ; the censer appears, and the incense of deep emotion fills the air with a marvellous per- fume. Col. Wright thus addresses the strange assemblage : — Comrades : — In the beautiful spirit of Him who came on earth more than eighteen hundred years ago, announced by the divine legend, " Peace on earth, good will to men," we come to this sacred spot. Here lie buried the unknown Confederate dead — the men we met on the field of Opequan — but they were brave men, and it is fitting and right that we should lay our floral tributes on their graves. We cannot come here with the same emotions which filled our souls to the brim as we stood over the graves of our own neighbors and comrades, but we can come with loyalty to noble lives, to brave and gallant soldiers, and with the prayer for peace on earth on our lips and in our hearts. If we cannot do this there is nothing in the religion of Christ which can attract us ; but we can do it, and do it gladly and proudly, and with our souls thrilled by the sentiments of this grand da}^ we can decorate the graves of the Confederate dead. No good deed, no right act, can have other results than evei'lasting good to the participant; so this assembling at this monument, this decoration of the graves of brave foes in bat- tle will make us better men, will send us back to our Northern homes with truer and nobler conceptions of duty, and with hearts quickened to a higher appreciation of the grand inspira- tion which comes from peace and forgiveness and love. If these words find an echo in your hearts, comrades, kneel ! Two comrades were detailed to decorate the Confederate monument, and then the other comrades advanced and laid their floral tributes upon the base of the Virginia monument. 64 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. The column then re-formed and the line of march was to the camp. The following is the comment of the Winchester Times : — " The beautiful tribute paid to the eight hundred Confed- erate dead that lie buried beneath the mound, by those New England men, will live in song and story for ages to come. The solemn words offered up in prayer by Chaplain Whitte- more of the Thirtieth Massachusetts, the responsive amen at its close that came from the lips of all, the eloquent words spoken by Col. Carroll D. Wright of the Fourteenth New Hampshire, in testimony of tlie valor of those who laid down their lives in defence of a principle that they thought was right, and then, when on bended knees around that mound- these two hundred brave men of New England fell with bowed and uncovered heads, was completed a scene that will never be forgotten by those who were present." And this from Carleton's vivid and characteristic pen : — " Reaching the cemeterj^ in advance of the veterans I found a man advanced in years, poorly clad, leaning against the mon- ument, who said : ' Some of your folks burned my house nine- teen years ago, and made me, my wife and children homeless, but I must say that I could not keep back the tears just now when I saw your folks kneel and lay their flowers on the graves.' ' The veterans are coming this way,' 1 replied, ' and are going to decorate this monument.' ' What ! ' ' They are ofoincr to decorate the monument to the unknown Confed- erate dead, and also the monument erected by the State of Virginia.' ' They are ? ' ' Yes, sir.' His hand went up quick to his eyes, there was a convulsive movement in hfe throat, a heaving of the heart. He turned away to hide his emotion. " The solemn music was coming nearer, accompanied by the measured steps of the veterans and by the irregular tramping of a large portion of those who had witnessed the ceremonies in the Union cemetery. I looked from the inner to the outer cii'cle, to read if possible the emotions that might be playing upon the faces of those who through the long years have A BRILLIANT CAMP-FIRE. 65 mourned fora cause irretrievably lost. Tliero were hard faces ; tliere were faces furrowed by time ; faces that had been set like a Hint against all reconciliation ; but at this moment they were dazed, Avondering, astonished faces. The hated Yankee of old decorating graves of Confederate dead ! Was it possible ? Were their eyes deceiving them ? Tears rolled down their cheeks. If I read aright, men and women who through the years have been nursing their pride, who have in their hearts refused to accept the results of the war, went out from that cemetery with new emotions. ' You have indeed conquered us,' was the remark of a Virginian this evening." A CAMP-FIRE. The contrasts of this trip were most effective. Another phase was needed in the exercises of the ever-memorable 19th of September. The evening brought it. The writer had the best of evidence that the artillery on the field of the Opequan was exceedingly effective nineteen years ago. He has some scraps of reasons for asserting that artillery service in the Val- ley has wonderfully deteriorated since peace put her tompions into now harmless muzzles. We were to have an imposing salute on the evening of the 19th. We did not have it. " It 's of no consequence,' yet we will explain. The First Massa- chusetts veteran battery, by its president, had agreed to lire the salute on the Union side. As a matter of fact we believe that not one member of that battery appears in the excursion roster. Another consideration may be recalled. The guns as furnished were unfit to use and the lifty cartridges were defec- tive. The salute was not iired — that night. Since the return of the excursion a rumor has been started that the Thirty- Eighth Massachusetts fooled over those guns the iiext night at their camp-fire, but no one is willing to vouch for the truth of the report — of the cannon. One man indeed declares that he stood some ten rods away from the guns and during the evening heard one of them go off. But this man is a near relative of Eli Perkins. The camp-lire committee of the Fourteenth consisted of Q6 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. F. H. Buffiim, Col. C. D. Wright, Maj. F. L. Tolman, Capt. C. W. Hodgdon and Capt. J. W. Sturtevant. Col. Wright was a sub-committee on the reception of visitors ; Maj. Tolman, on salute and the literal camp-fire ; Capt. Hodgdon on the py- rotechnic display and Capt. Sturtevant on illumination. Long- before dark the crowds thronged into camp. Nearly a hundred Japanese lanterns adorned the tents and diverged from the flag- staff like spokes from a hub. The robust Major had three full cords of highly imflammable wood all ready for the bonfire. The large covered rostrum was profusely decorated in excel- lent taste with a variety of buntings, flags, mottos, etc. At the top appeared on the different sides, in large lettering, the names " Sheridan," " Emory," " Grover," " Birge," while on the front of the railing, beautifully set in appropriate draping of flags, was a white banner with the one Avord " Peace " upon it. The exquisite decoration of the platform was much admired. This was designed by Dr. E. D. Stickney, who was one of the efficiently helpful members of the excursion, and who, with Lieut. E. D. Hadley, did nearly all of the platform adorning. As twilight settled into the deeper darkness the Union Band mounted the rostrum and gave a half-hour's concert. Hun- dreds of little flags fluttered through the crowd and thousands more were called for. The committee had not anticipated such a concourse. On one side of those flags was printed the programme of the evening. The following was the saluta- tion upon the programme : — "The Veterans of the Fourteenth Regiment tender these exercises to their comrades who wore the blue, and to their former foes who wore the gray, in the spirit of those who respect brave soldiers, whether as allies or opponents, and in recog- nition of the truth that those who met on this field nineteen years ago as enemies, to-night rally to one call and under one flag." The band was still playing; it was growing dark but the moon had entered the arena in "full" force ; the platform was the centre of attraction. Capt. Hodgdon got his pyrotechnic detail in order ; he adjusted his first rocket, while two or three inquisitive negroes thrust their noses under the fuse — they PYROTECHNIC DISPLAY. G7 had never seen a rocket, and in less than one half-niinvitc tliej never wanted to see another. Fiz-z-z — flash-r-r-r — hoom, and the splendid two-pound rocket was seven hundred feet above the gay, illuminated camp, and those darkeys had' got over an amazing distance in the same brief space. They were in the air and in the dirt, in jump, summersault and sprawl, mixed in wild gymnastic confusion. They will never smell of another fireworks fuse just as the match is being applied. From a dis- tance on each side of the camp two trails of variegated fire crept heavenward and crossed in the zenith, and then the fun began. The Captain was rousing enthusiasm by his brilliant pyrotechnic disphi}'', and for nearly three hours every part of the parade-ground was lit up by colored fires, while a constant fire of rockets and Roman candles encircled the camp. The wondering crowd -had never beheld such a demonstration. They were excellent. Not one missed. The generosity and skill of Prof. M. J. Blank should here receive recognition, for the success of the whole display, with the exception of the magnificent set-piece, was due to his faithful service in prepar- ing the large and costly collection of fireworks. Prof. Blank is a skilled analytical chemist and he is well known in this country and in Europe. He took a great interest in the excursion, and kindly consented to find time, in the midst of his pressing duties, to manufacture the pyrotechnics for this camp-fire. At eight o'clock the speaking began. The chairman of the committee, in opening this portion of the exercises, said : — " Again the Yank and the Johnny meet face to face. We 'uns are ready for a trade. On our side of the line there is a little of that pure chicory coffee left, and if you 'uns have a plug or two of the genuine Richmond tobacco in your haver- sacks you can toss it over. We met you with some spirit nineteen years ago; we meet you with equal zest and more of pleasure on this anniversary day. You gave us a warm recep- tion on this ver}' ground in 1864. From this very rod of ground where I now speak you fired into the Fourteenth regi- ment such volleys as sent us scattered to the other side of this battle-field. We greet 3-ou to-night in the midst of marvellous 68 SHERTDAN'S VETERANS. transformations. We speak together from the same platform. We need not tread daintily to-night ; we are not walking upon eggs. As soldiers who understand each other we can speak our minds without treading upon forbidden ground. I trust that in the speaking to-night no Union soldier will let down an iota from the standard of his principles, and I should, indeed, be ashamed of an}^ of our Southern friends who felt it necessary to stand upon this platform and apologize for sup- porting the Confederacy. This is not to be a campaign of gush and disingenuous compliments. The contending forces of this and nearly three thousand battle-fields of the great war performed a signal service for mankind. It is said that our forefathers builded better tlian they knew. I am sure that the Northern and the Southern soldiery accomplished results far nobler than any conception of duty or aspiration which entered into that heroism which the world concedes and admires to-day. I would sum it up by declaring that the armies of the Union and the Confederacy fought the country, now indissoluble forever, on to a higher plane, and well advanced the civilization of our age and of every race. Let us meet, then, and fraternize to-night as soldiers meet who have tested their opponents' mettle and have learned to respect men who will figlit with all their powers for convictions in front of which they put their lives." The chairman then introduced Lieut. E. D. Hadley, as one who had fallen, wounded, ahead of his line. Lieut. Hadley referred to the novel pleasures of the occasion, and brought up reminiscences of the past. Capt. J. W. Sturtevant was presented as the veteran who commanded the skirmish line of the regiment nineteen j^ears ago. Captain Sturtevant said : — Comrades^ Ladies and Gentlemen : — The introduction of your chairman will suggest to the com- rades the most important duty of men on the skirmish line — to keep out of sight and well covered. Had I consulted jny own wishes, I should have remained a listener rather than a speaker this evening. I am happy, however, for the occasion PLEASANT MEMORIES. 69 to say how much I am enjoying tliis excursion, and how grate- ful 1 am sure we all are for these unexpected sources of pleas- ure which have so largely increased our enjoyment. When this excursion Avas first suggested I welcomed it as an oppor- tunity to revisit the scenes of the campaign of 1864. To have looked again on the towns and cities through which we marched nineteen years ago, to have gazed again on the blue hills that enclose this beautiful Valley, to have visited again the old camps, picket-posts and battle-fields, and the graves of our dead comrades, would have been a pleasure never to have been forgotten ; but, added to all this, has been a reception and welcome by those who met us as foes nineteen years ago, so hearty and genuine that we find ourselves wondering, when we see so little change in the natural objects that surround us, if such a change is possible in the hearts of those who once met us with equal warmth, but in a far different spirit. I am sure I voice the sentiment of all when I say that we thank the citizens of this Valley for their cordial and generous reception, and rejoice in the opportunity for a better acquaint- ance with each other, believing that this visit will be a mutual benefit to us, and that the memories of this excursion will be among the pleasantest of our lives. Capt. C. P. Hall was introduced, and spoke as folloAvs : — " It has fallen to me to speak of the part taken by our regi- ment in the action which we commemorate to-day. The events of the early part of the day — the breaking camp, the liurried march, the excited crossing of the Opequan, the hastening up the pike past the newly-arranged hospital, where the knife of the surgeon was supplementing the work of the enemy's bul- lets, and the filing out to the right into position behind yonder belt of woods — we shared in common with tlie rest of our brigade. Our skirmish-line immediately deployed under Lieut. Sturtevant, pushed forward through the belt of woods and extended their right to Red Bud Run, a little behind the stone house yonder. After a waiting of about half-an-hour the whole line advanced and we passed on across the open s])ace, 70 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. now grown up to underbrush, to the narrow belt of wood just occupied b}' the enemy, through the Av^ood, where the stumps are to-day, and the ravine to the ridge now occupied by the cannon yonder. A section of Fitz Lee's battery stationed this side of the Hackwood barn, and another on the ridge bej^ond Red Bud, together with the sharpshooters on the barn had cut us up terribly. The order now came to fall back. My com- pany, C, was the color company, and as we turned I looked down the line to the left and found that there were no colors out of the wood except those of the Twenty-sixth Massachu- setts. I supposed that we were to re-form our line in the wood and said to the Color-Sergeant, Howard, "Plant your flag here." Some one said, " They are retreating. Captain," and I turned and found it true. I then said, " Boys, take care of yourselves.'' By this time the ground where the fence runs beyond the camp was gray with the Confederates, who were calling out " Halt, you Yanks, surrender ! " But we had heard of the Southern boarding-houses for Yankee soldiers, and kept on our retreat. As I came out of the next belt of woods I Avas met by a staff-officer, who told me to stop the men of the Fourteenth and re-form the regiment. After we had rallied about thirty-five men we were put with squads of other regiments to re-form our old brigade. We then moved out into a ravine for protection from the flying shells, where we waited till about three o'clock, when the line advanced a^ain. This time we moved across a little to the south of where we now are, and a few rods beyond met our color-guard with the colors. They were separated from us during the retreat and had been with the Eighth Vermont regiment. The fighting was now well nigh over and we soon, with the advanc- ing lines, passed Winchester and camped in the Valley half a mile to the southeast of the town. This battle was our bap- tism of fire, and it was a fearful one. Our loss in killed and m'ortally wounded was fifty-three ; our wounded ninety. Of the twenty officers who went into the action, only seven escaped unharmed. Because we had not earlier met the foe upon the field of battle we had been called the " Baby Regi- ment," but the events of that dav had shown us men, entitled VIRGINIA AND RHODE IS I AND. 71 to stand side by side with the bravest of those who wore the blue or the gray. 0;ir motlier State speaks her api)reciati()ii of the heroism of our boys through the mouument iu yonder cemetery. Having fought thus upon tliis lieUl nineteen sum- mers ago, we return in our manhood's maturity to have our love-feast here to-day with those who with us made that day's work victorious, and with warm hearts to welcoine those whose bravery made the victory worth the winning." Gen. H. W. Birge, the efficient and brave commander of the brigade in which the Fourteenth regiment served in the Valley, was next introduced, and made a most complimentary sjDcech, praising the troops he commanded and referring to the great pleasure he had experienced in renewing the friendships of the war. He referred to the Fourteenth as one of the best regiments he had known during his entire service. Gen. E. H. Rhodes, the commander of the Khode Island militia, and Colonel of the Second Rhode Island in the Rebel- lion, was the next speaker. Gen. Rhodes said : — Comrades : — On this anniversary night I am glad to be here to rejoice with you in a re-united country. I will not discuss the late war, or the questions that arose iroxn that terrible conflict, but with you will give thanks tliat despair has given place to hope, and that the angel of peace is hovering with outstretched hands over our land, scattering the blessings that only peace can bring. Allusion has been made to my native State as the " Little State." While we, its citizens, are not responsible for its limited area, we are proud of the energy and enterprise of its people, that have placed it in the front rank of our manufacturing communities. But great as are its industrial interests, greater still is it in the warm hearts that throb with a love for our common country and regard for the citizens of every State. Virginia and Rhode Island have an inseparable history. If Virginia gave a AVashington to lead the armies of our fathers to victory, Rhode Island claims the second place, and high on the roll of fame would write the namp of 72 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. Nathaniel Greene. And so to-night Rhode Island extends to A^irginia the cordial hand of fellowship. We come to you as Union soldiers, not to exult over victories won, but to view again in our maturer years the scenes that were so familiar in days gone by. And as I speak I would not forget that gallant organization that I have the good fortune to represent to-night, the old Sixth Corps. As the crusaders of old followed the banner with the cross, so our corps followed its emblem, the cross, and it ever proved to be an incentive to duty. The corps had waded through -seas of blood before entering this beautiful Valley, and had furnished army and corps command- ers of distinction. We boasted of our Sedgwick, Franklin, Slocum, Smith, Couch, Newton, and last but not least the gal- lant Wright. But, after all, no words of praise heard in the past have sounded so sweet to my ears as the kindly expres- sions made use of by the people of this Valley when speaking of the old corps whose flag was almost as well known to them as the sun itself. It was my fortune" to command a part of the garrison of Winchester immediately after the battle of September 19, and I have been extremely gratified to meet so many who remember my old regiment, the Second Rhode Island Infantr}^ with a kindly interest. We come to you, not forgetting the past, — and why should we ? Why should you and I blot from the tablets of our minds the memories of past trials, hardships and dangers ? Let us trust that these mem- ories will serve to strengthen our love of manl}^ deeds in peace as well as in war, that they will serve to bind more closely the ties that unite us as a Nation, and give us a renewed love of that liberty bequeathed by our fathers. Mark Twain tells this story : "Some adventurous miners climbed to the summit of Mount Davidson and to a tall mast nailed the American flag. On one summer afternoon in 1863 a sudden storm arose, and the dark clouds hovering over the mountain-top obscured the flag from view. Suddenly, in a rift in the clouds, the flag was seen as in a setting of gold, while the declining sun, gilding the hill-tops, threw a halo of light around its starry folds. The people gazed in awe upon the strange scene, and mau}^ predicted good news to come. That FROM BOLIVAR HEIGHTS. CAPT. WILLIAMS' SPEECH. 73 night the flashing wires carried to tlie far Pacific slope the news of Vicksburg's fall and Gettysburg won." Only one section of our country rejoiced in this scene, but to-night we of the North, the Scnitli, tlie East and the West can look up and see the old Hag far above the din and smoke of the battle, glorified and transfigured by the sun of peace ; and, with reverent hearts, we unite in thanks to the God of Nations that we have, now and forever, " One country and one flag." At the conclusion of Gen. Rhodes' speech there was an intermission in the speaking, and the entertainment was varied by the introduction of ten colored " artists," who roused the mirth of the audience by their old plantation oddities and " breakdown " performances. During the evening tlie Four- teenth entertained the invited guests with refreshments in the dining-tent. The fine and costly coftee reservoir presented to Sheridan's Veterans by the Gushing Process Company, of Boston, attracted much attention and was liberall}^ patronized. After further music by the band — " John Brown " and "Dixie" sounding well together — Col. Wright was intro- duced, who presented a representative of the Confederate soldiery, Capt. J. J. Williams, a lawyer of Winchester and a gentleman who became very popular with the party. Capt. Williams expressed his regret that from natural ina- bility and short notice he was not better able to represent Avorthily the Confederate soldiers, of whom he was an humble member, on this auspicious occasion ; one doing, and likely to do, so mucli for the welfare of our country. As to the past, he had no apologies to make nor to ask ; as to the present and future, he was ready and willing to strike hands and march, shoulder to shoulder, with any one having sincerely at heart the welfare of this country and its people. No good and great work was ever done in a day, but by process upon process, development upon development ; and the good done by this visit, and especially by its crowning incident, the chivalric act of the New England veterans, in decorating the graves of the Confederate dead, might not a])]>ear to-day, or to-morrow, or 74 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. next week, but was good seed sown that would yet bear har-^ vest to gladden the fields of earth with smiling plenty, and finally to be gathered into the garners of heaven. Col. Wright then presented Alderman Riley, of the Win- chester city government, an ex-Confederate. Whether or not he is a " reconstructed Rebel " we will not affirm, but he cer- tainly reconstructed the map of the United States in his witty and felicitous speech. Better than most of us he knew how many States there were in the present Union. The chairman next presented a gentleman who had been in forty battles of the great war, but had never been a soldier; a man whose pseudonym was a household word during the war. Charles Carleton Coffin spoke as follows : — " Upon what historic page is there to be found a record of such a scene as this? Nineteen years ago a great battle was fought upon this historic field. Tlie setting sun of the 19th of September, 1864, looked down upon a field drenched in blood. All over these fair lands were the wounded and d3'ing ; but to-night the men who then stood face to face in deadly conflict meet as brothers, as citizens of one country, with all bitter- ness of the past forgotten. When we turn to the great civil wars of other nations we find the bitterness outlasting genera- tions. In the struggle between the king and parliament in England, the hatred remained long after the second- Charles came to the throne. Even now, though two hundred and fifty years have rolled away, though England has become a govern- ment of the people, the aristocracy will not recognize the greatness of the man who led the parliamentary troops to vic- tory, and who made Great Britain a power among the nations. How difierent here ! To-night men who wore the blue, men who wore the gray, meet upon this spot where nineteen years ago the fight was most fierce, to talk over the scenes of the past, each recognizing the valor of his opponent, each glorying in the thought that he is still a citizen of Ameiica. "It is sometimes said that a wise diplomacy might have settled the questions between the Northern and Southern sections of the country, but I do not think it, for the struggle was a con- COL. PORTER'S SPEECH. 76 flict of ideas and institutions, — ideas wliicli liad their origin far back in the centuries, trans[)hinted to this country from beyond the Atlantic to take root and llourish in the soil of the Western world, to strengthen with the years. The men of the North and the men of the South were equally sincere ; both fought for what they believed to be right. Not for con- quest, not for fame, but for what they believed to be right, the soldiers of the different sections endured the hardships, — the weary march, the bivouac, the heats of summer, the cold of winter, sickness, absence from home and friends and all things dear, the turmoil, uproar and dangers of battle. " Recognizing this, we meet here to-night as brotliers. Nine- teen years ago, war with all its horrors ; to-night the beauty of peace ; all bitterness and hate forever buried in the graves where we have laid those who yielded their lives for the ideas which gave valor to their arms in the mighty struggle. It was fitting that you who won the victory, after the memorial ser- vice this afternoon upon the spot where your comrades sleep, should also lay your garlands upon the graves of the unknown Confederate dead, — thus manifesting your appreciation, not alone of their valor upon the field, but of their devotion to what they believed to be right. " It is fitting, then, to-night, that the camp-fire should blaze upon this historic spot, that rockets should cleave the air, that the night should be luminous with many-colored fires, that old-time stories should be told, old-time songs should be sung, that there should be the warm grasp of the hands after such kindly greetings and such generous hospitality as the people of Winchester have displayed, for henceforth one fiag is to float above us, we are brothers ever more, — citizens of the United States, solicitous only for its welfare, prosperity and peace." Again the darkeys mount the rostrum, and again the great crowd, especially the Northerners, are delighted with planta- tion antics. Next that stern old fighter, genial comrade, and champion story-teller. Col. T. W. Porter, is introduced. Amono- other things Col. Porter said : — T6 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. Mr. President, Comrades, and Fellow Citizens of the Shenan- doah : — When this excursion was announced by its projectors, I felt great interest in revisiting your Valley, to ascertain by obser- vation how it would actually compare, when viewed in calm and quiet, with what my memory of it as viewed in the stirring scenes of war had painted it. And I desire to state, without exaggeration or flattery, tliat on this revisiting, my most cher- ished recollections are more than realized ; and that when I consider the stately, varied and beautiful scenery, the fertility of the soil, the value of the timber and the splendor of its foliage, the delicious and bountiful supply of water, the desir- ability of the climate, and, lastly, the variety and perfection of your agricultviral productions, this historic Valley is, as I have always asserted since first knowing it, worthily entitled to be called the garden of America. Since my arrival here I have carefully gone over, again and again, this once sanguinary field, on which we are now so peace- fully encamped ; and I have traced with care, and I believe with accuracy, the various positions occupied by my own immediate command, and have identified many of the spots where well-remembered and brave comrades laid down the contest of life forever. And I have recalled, in all its aspects, that blood-red day of nineteen years ago. But in this mental review no hostile bitterness has mingled, for time assuages all strife, and we now meet as brothers, luiving a com- mon country, a common flag, and a common purpose ; and I know, from the reception which you have given us, as well as from my own emotions, that it is with mutual pleasure that we now mingle together in peace and good will. I have also visited the Union and Confederate cemeteries in the town of Winchester, and taken part in the memorial exercises Avhich we held therein, and in common with my comrades I most willingly bowed my knee in recognition of the bravery of your dead, who in the days of deadly conflict were our oppos- ing foes ; for it is ever becoming to bear due tribute to the heroism of a fallen foe, who gives liis life in defence of what he sincerely believes to be right. And I desire to say here, as A MODEL MONUMENT. 77 I have orteii said siiu'c the war, that while the standpoint of the Southern soklier was all wrong, yet 1 believe that he believed it to be all right. And why should lie not? for almost the entire South asserted their cause to be just and right for long years before the war, and until hostilities forced a final taking of sides upon the disturbing questions. A large part of the pulpit, the press, and the politicians of the North were actively engaged in defending just what the Southern soldier fought for. Further, I desire to congratulate you \^\^^n\ the soimd sense, good taste and excellent judgment that you have displayed in selecting the style of monument that stands above your mili- tary dead, for it truthfully represents, in the armed figure that surmounts it, a Confederate soldier, just as he appeared, and as we all saw him, knew him, and remember him in the days of armed conflict : one of those determined fighters, who, when occasion required, was ready and willing to turn out at two o'clock in the morning and fight the devil himself, if he opposed him. This true representation of your plain, un- adorned soldier is in striking contrast to all the attempted representations of a Union soldier, on so-called " soldiers' monuments," that I have ever seen in the North, and I have seen many ; for they are true to nothing that went to make up a Union soldier ; neither his uniform, his arms, e(|uipments, accoutrements, or position, all of which are false to the facts — and the future painter and sculptor who seeks a true repre- sentative of our mightv army will have to look elsewhere than in our monumental misrepresentations. And this unpleasant failure is, no doubt, due to the fact that these so-called mon- uments have been raised under the control of that ubiquitous committee who have no doubt of their ability being equal to the undertaking, because they have no practical knowledge whatever of the same. And now, in conclusion, I desire to state that in what I have said, and what I may state, I assume to represent no one but myself, for I am here as the sole representative of a regi- ment, which, at the close of its three years' service had, out of fifteen hundred men, but one hundred and sixty-live rilles in 78 SHERIDAN'S VETERAN'S. line for duty ; and I have to say that, as the hite Confederate States are now annihihxted by the valor of the Union arms, and it is our duty ahvays to care for those in need and want, therefore I am most heartily in favor of that sentiment recently enunciated at a re-union of a regiment of my native State, that the general government should provide good homes for the enfeebled and decrepit Confederate soldiers ; and 1 shall, at all possible times, give my voice and vote in favor of our government's assuming and caring for the burial-places of the Confederate dead, for they represent American valor as cer- tainly as if they had fought upon the right side, — and the grave of a brave and sincere, though mistaken man, should not suffer neglect ; and not long hence there will be none to care for these graves, unless the government shall, and, while honoring and guarding the graves of its own dead, who con- quered the bravest army that ever yet laid down its arms by surrender, it may and can most properly care for the graves of those who sleep peacefully by their side, and who displayed the bravery of their race." One of the enjoyable treats of the evening was the recita- tion of " The Dandy Fifth," by the accomplished elocutionist, Dr. E. D. Stickney. It was growing late. For nearly three hours the exercises had gone on with no intermission. The jDrogramme contem- plated two hours more, but, upon consultation, the committee decided to stop in the midst rather than at the end of success. Wliile the band was wonderfully mixing up Northern and Southern melodies, the grand finale appeared. With a brilliant flash, at the farther end of the parade-ground, in great letters of manj^-colored fires, the name of Sheridan burst forth, in the midst of a brilliant pyrotechnic shower. The whole was surrounded by a magnificent fiery wreath. With a shout and a rush the great throng surged toward the new attraction. It Avas, indeed, a fine specimen of the pyrotechnic art, manu- factured by Masten & Wells of Boston. Toward the procure- ment of this display. Col. Herbert E. Hill, a personal friend of General Sheridan, and enthusiastically interested in the excur- VARIOUS DIVERSIONS. 79 sion, made a liberal coiitrihntioii. " This is the finest (lis])lay of lireworks ever shown in the Valley," remarked a eitizen of Winchester. Tlie wood was piled high upon the fire; the colored fires were set about the camp, magic hues being reflected from tree and canvas; more candles with gleaming balls, more screech- ing rockets ; a satisfied, jolly crowd, loth to leave ; another hour of pleasant chat and widening fellowship; music that seemed to play "We won't go home till morning;" midnight and a vanishing throng — the camp-fire of the Fourteenth Kew Hampshire on the battle-field of the Opecj^uan was finished. By general consent the original programme was changed so as to omit the camping on the battle-fields of Cedar Creek and Fishers Hill. The immense labor and considerable discomfort attending frequent change of camp were recognized by every one of the company, and the excursion manager provided a spe- cial train to convey the party to Fishers Hill and Cedar Creek. Thursday had no programme, and afforded a pleasant relief, as the excursion broke up into little groups and companies which scattered in every direction, in saunterings, excursions, and the survey of the battle-field. The tracing of the course of the battle was done systematically by many of the comrades, carefully prepared charts of the field and compasses being used. Although the topography of the great field has greatly changed to the eye by the disappearance of the forests, most of the regiments were enabled to trace their positions and progress through the fight Avith considerable exactness. The relic- hunters were happ}-, and several acres of ploughed field were poked over and well harrow ed by Yankee toes in search of bullets. Some of the trips made will not sopn be forgotten. One of the enjoyable ones was the carriage and horseback ride over the Berryville pike, through the willows along the banks of Abraham's Creek, across the ford of the Opequan, past antiquated toll-gates, under the foliage of the tree where Moseby hung three Union officers in retaliation, through the village of Berryville, and away into the rifle-pits of Sheri- dan's position when Grant told him to "go in." The Major 80 SHERIBAN'S VETERANS. will tell 5^ou how he did n't dare to get on horseback during that ride, and the Captain can tell you of his exploit under the big willow, where he demonstrated how quickly and grace- fully a man can sprawl when the conditions are favorable. CAMP-FIRE OF THE THIRTY-EIGHTH MASSACHUSETTS. On the evening of the 20th, according to the programme, the Thirty-eighth Massachusetts gave a camp-fire. The com- mittee in charge consisted of G. W. Powers, C. F. Shaw, F. M. Flynn, A. M. Lunt, and J. P. DeLacy. The following account of this camp-fire is furnished by the chairman of the committee : — The brilliant success of the camp-fire of the Fourteenth New Hampshire somewhat dazed the committee of the Thirty- eighth, who had come prepared for no such display. But they soon rallied, and without making any attempt to compete with the Granite State veterans, resolved to do their best for the honor of the old regiment, and for the general success of the excursion. Not a rocket arose in the air, but in the centre of the camp five cords of wood and a barrel of tar, provided by Col. Austin C. Wellington, made a bonfire which illuminated the grounds, warmed up the hearts as well as the faces of the veterans in blue and gray, and afforded infinite delight to the colored folks who flocked to the camp. In addition to the names of the Union officers which decorated the stand, the names of prominent Confederates were added as a tribute to the manly welcome extended the party by the vete- rans of Lee and Stonewall Jackson. The Winchester Band was engaged to furnish music, and arrangements made to fire a salute from the surviving guns of an old battery, manned by Union and Confederate artillerists. " Camp Lynn " en- larged its borders by adding an additional tent, in which refreshing lemonade was dispensed by Comrade Frank M. Flynn of the committee, and refreshments of another kind by comrades whose early education had been unfortunately neg- lected. Both departments were liberally patronized by the THIRTY-EIGHTH CAMP-FIRE. 81 assembl}-, but wlih that chivaliy that always characterizes true sohliers, the "vets" of each of the old armies generousl}'' refrained from appropriating the beverage provided more especial!}' for the ladies and the citizens. With all the hilarity and good-fellowship, not an unpleasant incident resulted I'rom this side-scene. * After an opening piece from the band, and a modest salute from the cannon. President Tarbell, of the Thirty-eighth Asso- ciation, opened the exercises at the platform by welcoming, in a few appropriate words, the great crowd which had gathered, and introduced Comrade George W. Powers, chair- man of the camp-fire committee, as the presiding officer of the evening. The first speaker introduced was Major E. L. Noyes, of the Third Massachusetts Cavalry, who gave a graphic and inter- esting account of the part taken by his regiment in the Valley campaign. " The Third Cavalry," said the Major, " lost more men in proportion to the number in active service than any other Massachusetts Cavalry regiment, as can be proved by the official record, and it was one of the last regiments to be mustered out." The speaker then proceeded in more gen- eral terras to express the good will of the North to the South, and especially the fraternal feelings existing between the men who had backed up their opinions by taking arras to defend them, and concluded his speech by manly words in harmony with the general good feeling. The quartette, composed of Miss Anna V. Shaw, Mis. M. S. Bullock, Lieut. C. F. Shaw, of the Thirty-eighth, and Drum- Major R. S. Ripley, of the Thirtieth, then sung, to the tune of " Tenting on the Old Camp-Ground," the following song, written for the occasion by Comrade George W. Powers. We are tenting to-niglit on the old camp-ground, Which memory holds so clear, No anxious fears within our hearts For those we love so dear, cnouus. Many are the eyes that are reading to-night Tl)e words of right good cheer, 82 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. Many are the hearts rejoicing to-night Those tidings glad to hear. We are tenting to-night on the old camp-ground, No picket-lines thrown out, With perfect trust in Southern hearts That circle us about. We are tenting to-night on the old camp-ground, The mingling Gray and Blue, All bitter memories laid to rest In graves of comrades true. We are tenting to-night on the old camp-ground, One flag above us all, May that old starry banner bright The fathers' deeds recall. We are tenting to-night on the old camp-ground, One country now and ever ; No civil war, no foreign foe, Shall e'er our nation sever. The fine singing of tlie quartette was loudly applauded by the audience, and an encore demanded. Lieut. Geo. A. Reed, of the Twentj'^-sixth Massachusetts, next made a humorous speech, in which he complimented the South- ern ladies very prettily, and said that nothing but the fact that he was already as much married as the laws allow would pre- vent him from laying down his arms and unconditionally sur- rendering to some one of the fair daughters of the Valley; and being a railroad man, who travelled with his eyes open, the gallant lieutenant professed to know whereof he was speaking. After these Union sentiments the audience had the pleasure of listening to an eloquent and patriotic address from Major Robert W. Hunter of Winchester, who had been Adjutant- General on Gen. Gordon's staff. Major Hunter said he had visited the North several times since the war, and testified to the fraternal greetings which he had everywhere received from the old Union soldiers. The questions that had divided the sections had been settled forever by the decision of the SOUTHERN ELOQUENCE. 83 God of battles ; and while elainiing that the ineu in the Con- federate army had been actuated by an honest belief in the truth of their cause, and had maintained the contest till their resources were exhausted and all hope of success was over, they had accepted the decision of the sword, and were ani- mated with one purpose : to do their part towards making' the Union worthy of the devotion of all its sons, North and Scnith. He said tliat all that was needed to make the reconciliation complete was a better acquaintance with each other, and that such excursions as the present one Avould do more towards that end than all the words of politicians on both sides. The eloquent speech of the gallant major, of which this is but a brief abstract, was received with great enthusiasm, and the audience seemed unwilling to let the speaker retire. The members of the Winchester Band, having expressed a strong desire to hear Mrs. Joseph Willis of the excursion party (sister of Senior Vice-Commander J. D. Billings of the Massachusetts Department of the G. A. R.) sing " Marching through Georgia," that lady courteously complied with the request, and was warmly applauded. As an offset to this Northern tune, the band followed with " Dixie," to the grati- fication of all parties. Comrade Edward W. Thompson, of the Twelfth Maine, fol- lowed in a rattling speech, which kept the audience in good humor, and told some amusing stories which will no doubt be repeated at many a G. A. R. camp-fire. It was now the turn of the gray, and Capt. J. A. Nulton of the Winchester Guard, an old "Stonewall" veteran, aroused the enthusiasm to the highest pitch by his stirring words. The captain said there was one Union soldier that he had a greater respect for than for Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, or any of our other generals. He was on the picket-line ; it was " all quiet on the Potomac ; " across the river tlie Yanks cooked their coffee and ate their rations. His own rations consisted, for the most part, of the memory of what he had eaten before the war, and his mouth watered at tlie good things going into those blue stomachs. One day the aggravation reached its height; the Yankee picket had received a ''box" from home; 84 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. looking across the stream at the gaunt figure in gray, he said, " Johnny, if you '11 come half-way across on that old tree, I '11 give you one of these," holdhig up a box of sardines. " I '11 do it." Each picket, taking to the tree, met midway of the stream and the sweet morsel changed hands. "If I could meet that Yank," said the gallant captain, '■' I 'd show him what kind of a sardine I am." Like the speech of Major Hunter, Capt. Nulton's remarks had the ring of true, broad patriotism, and were received with great favor. Comrade Frank M. Flynn, of the Thirty-eiglith, made one of his unique speeches, in which wit and wisdom were mingled in equal proportions, not forgetting to say a good word for the temperance cause, in which he is so warmly interested. As so many of the veterans and G. A. R. boys know, it is impos- ^ sible to transfer to paper the inimitable fun and good humor of Comrade Flynn's speech. It is sufficient to say that he did himself and the old regiment justice. Gen. Birge, Commander of the First Brigade of the Second Division of the Nineteenth Corps, in the famous charge at the Opequan, was next introduced amid great applause, and expressed his pleasure at being present and witnessing and taking part in the joyous scenes of the occasion, and at the good which would result from it. He was glad to meet so many of his old command, whose sterling qualities as soldiers he had so often witnessed, and should ever cherish the memory of this pleasant excursion. Capt. Lawrence O'Brien, of the Ninth Connecticut, followed in a speech suited to the hour, and was listened to attentively. Col. Carroll D. Wright, though exhausted and hoarse from the arduous labors of the past three days, kindly acceded to the request of the committee, and spoke earnest words of pat- riotism and good counsel to the gathering. The exercises at the stand were closed by a rousing speech from the veteran Gen. Thomas, of the Eightli Vermont, who appealed to the patriotism of the South to let no politicians ever again mislead them into a distrust of the old LTnion, but to join heart and hand with their Northern fellow-citizens in promoting the glory and prosperity of a common country. A DECIDED I/IT. 85 Comrade Tavbcll thanked the audience for their attention, and pronounced the cani[)-lire closed. The bonfire still blazed brightly in the camp, the latch-string at Camp Ljam was still out, and the great crowd seemed reluc- tant to disperse. But finally, the last carriage had departed, the last tired" vet " hugged his straw bed, the fire burned low, and silence reigned in the camp. The Thirty-eighth boys ex- pressed themselves satisfied with their camp-hre. The com- mittee in charge of tlie camp-fire was ably assisted by Comrades Tarbell, Wellington, Ilowland, Rodman, Whitney, Byrnes and Chapman, the Thirty-eighth contingent. Comrade Powers is altogether too modest in his description of this camp-fire, and it deserves a far more extended notice than he has G^iven it. The committee manifested much Indus- try and decided originality. The new version of " Tenting to-night," and the rendering of the same by the improvised but admirable quartette, was the pre-eminent hit of the whole excursion. The boys of the Thirty-eighth may well be })roud of the entertainment they furnished to the veterans and the throng of visitors in Camp Emory. Another night in camp. The whole company is getting used to camp-life, and heartily enjoys it. Tattoo and/taps ? — why, we 've heard them every night all our lives. We are a permanent military organization. We have never been any- thing else. Yes, indeed ! this is getting to be the reality of life. We easily eliminate twenty }■ ears of peace. There is no gap between '64 and '83. Go pound your knuckles on a tent- pole. " Come in ! " It 's a deal better than a drawing-room on Fifth Avenue, or a swell party on Beacon Hill. Stand, squat or nestle in the straw, — its all the same; there 's noth- ing like it. You high-toned or rheumatic fellows who go to the hotels, you miss the zest of this thing. Send to the Quartermaster for another candle, and let the story-tellers "fire by file." The essence of this experience escapes us; it cannot be described; it can never be forgotten. 86 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. Friday, the 21st. Reveille by the Fourteenth New Hamp- shire drummer and Thirty-eighth Massachusetts bugler, sounds out early on the clear air of a beautiful morning. What a reminder of original Valley campaigning to see scores of half- dressed men emerging from the tents with soap and towels, taking a bee-line for a water-pail and tin basin. It is exhila- rating to see two hundred men scrubbing themselves at 6 A. m. Some of the "vets" are getting pretty high-toned, — it isn't enough to provide them with blacking facilities ; they must have a darkey to black their boots for them. There are more " gentlemen " in the Valley than there were nineteen 3"ears ago. The programme for Friday was an excursion to the battle- fields of Cedar Creek and Fishers Hill. Early in the fore- nyon the train backed down to a crossing nearest the camp, where most of the members of the party embarked. A few remained in camp during the day, and enjoyed it thoroughly, receiving many visitors froin the city. The special train made a run direct to Fishers Hill and landed the party upon the battle-field, just at the point where Croek came in upon Early's left in the celebrated Hank movement which decided the fortunes of the day. That was a memorable forenoon's stroll. Grouj^s of eager visitors at once thronged the positions held by Early on the afternoon of September 22, 1864. The rifle-pits and the bastions, the earthworks for artillery, and even the identical rails used in those defenses are still to be seen in ,good condition. It is probable that Early's outlook towards Strasburg was not especially inspiring, but whatever he did or did not see, Nature certainly spread before him a rare landscape. Standing there on the heights with Tumbling Run away down at your feet, the unrivalled sinuosities of the Shenandoah cut one of the finest meadows ever seen into curi- ous areas; Strasburg is deftly set in the middle distance, the signal heights of Massanutten rising in the extreme distance to the right ; to the left of the centre of this magnificent picture are curiously tumbled the heights and ridges over which manceuvred the Sixth' and Nineteenth Army Corps as they formed in line of battle under the fire of Early's cannon. The Little North Mountains form the left high wall of the horizon, CEDAR CREEK AND EISNERS HILL. 87 a portion of tlie landscape Avliich Avas not comprehended in Early's strategy. An hour was spent in reconnoitring tliis famous position. Then down the winding way through the ravine, by the mill, over the celebrated stone l)ridge, along the pike, under the brow of the bluff, — down whose crest Birge's brigade charged, — the excursion straggled on towards Stras- burg. A little imagination, and it was a regiment again march- ing along the familiar })ike, straggling as of yore when the hours grew long, hot and weary. Under the willows, on the broad stones, where the Shenandoah winds near to the pike in its peerless curves, — we rested, chatted, and drank in a spec- tacle, one of the pleasantest that eye can fall upon. It was getting warm. It grew hot. Strasburg always was a treach- erous point, and it kept receding. Once in the streets, every corner and stoop and sitting place was covered with tired excursionists. But the train met us there and whirled us swiftly back to' Cedar Creek. Belle Grove was again invaded. Sheridan's headquarters was again occupied by the Yankee invaders. Mr. James Smellie, the present j^roprietor, kindly opened his spacious rooms and ample grounds for the use of the visitors. Lunch had been brought from the camp in Win- chester, and the short work which that company made of hundreds of sandwiches and gallons of coffee was only par- alleled by the raid of Early's men on the Yankee sutler's stores in that very locality. The afternoon was spent in exploring the battle-field of Cedar Creek, in the midst of which Belle Grove mansion stands. The following is from the pen of Secretary of State, Addeman, of Rhode Island : — " Our excursionists, being largely representatives of each of the three corps engaged in the tight, the Sixth, the Eighth and the Nineteenth, scattered in various directions, to locate such spots as might have a special and j)^rsonal interest. The topography of the country has changed but little, and there w^as no difficulty in finding the sites of the old camps, the temporary breastworks thrown up in places, and also many souvenirs and relics of the fight. The country around is rather thinly settled, but we saw quite a number of the resi- dents, a few of them being Northern men. We had manv 88 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. interesting reminiscences of that battle-summer from some of the settlers. Though in the track of moving armies, they spoke quite well of the general conduct of the men. One of them gave us an amusing incident, which he said was really the most provoking thing that happened to his family during the war. Provisions had been ver}- scant, but the family had succeeded in getting a fine roasting-piece, and had invited two or three Yankee officers from a neighboring camp to dine with them. There was some delaj?" in the arrival of the guests, and the dinner was left in the oven to keep hot awaiting their arrival. Imagine their disgust, however, when the hour at last arrived, to find that some ' Yank ' had sljdy crept into the kitchen, and discovering the roast had carried it off in his haversack. The gentleman nonchalantly added that they had to go hungry some days after. He also related an incident which very much amused him at the time, as illustrating Yankee ' cuteness.' Two of our soldiers being closely pur- sued by the Rebels, lay down on the ground, and, wrapping themselves in their blankets, kej)t up a continual groaning and crying for help, till the Rebels had passed, by this ruse escaping capture and pillage.. Being apparently wounded they were let alone. If they had been supposed dead, they would probably have been stripped of blankets and clothing, and, if found uninjured, they would at least have been sent to the rear as prisoners. The day passed away altogether too soon, and we reluctantly returned to the train, and, after a pleasant ride, reached our old camp near Winches- ter." Here is an episode of the battle which Carleton gives: — " I rode over the ground with Gen. Thomas, Officer of the Day, October 19, who, when the attack began, was on the turnpike with *his pickets. Suddenly he was confronted by a squadron of Rebel cavalry. " ' Surrender, you Yankee ! ' was the demand. " ' It 's too early in the morning, and your demand is n't respectful,' was the reply as he wheeled his horse." A curious incident and a remarkable coincidence occurred during this trip. During the first charge on the 19th of Sep- Col. T. \V. Porter Fourteenth Maine. Maj. F. L. Tolman, Fourteenth New Hampshirt-. Gen. H. W. Birge, 1st Brig. 2d Div. 19th Corps. Capt. G. N. Cari'enier, Eighth Vermont, SERG'r. G. H. STOWELL, JR. Kourieenih New Hampshire. NTINQ 00., BOSTON LAST NIGHT IN CAMP. 89 tember, 1864, F. S. Berry of the Twenty-sixth Massachusetts Infantry, had his tin cup shot from his haversack. On the retreat from that disastrous cliarge, H. C. ]\Iace of the Four- teenth New Hampshire Infantry found the cup and kept it. He found the owner's name engraved, evidently with the point of a nail, on the bottom of the cup. Preserving it for nine- teen years, he brought it on the excursion. While sitting in the cars between Winchester and Cedar Creek, he mentioned the incident, when a stranger claimed the cup. It was indeed F. S. Berry, who had lost that cup nearly twenty years ago. It was already apparent that the time included within the limits of the excursion was altogether too short for anj' thorough exploration of the battle-fields, and it was generally conceded that another visit to the Valley must be made within a few years. The wonderful field of Cedar Creek was not satisfactorily traversed by the veterans. THE LAST NIGHT IN CAMP. It was with sincere regret that Sheridan's Veterans noted the approaching end of their week's camping. Another week on that same ground could have been profitably and delight- fully occupied. The camp was bright with candles, torches and bonfires. Prominent citizens of Winchester had been fre- quent visitors, and again on this last night the throngs poured in. " Tlie Rhode Island i^arty was favored that evening by an invitation to dine with Capt. C. W. Hollis, the Assessor of Winchester, and a fine specimen of a Virginian gentleman. lihej there met a number of ex-Confederate officers, and found them to be intelligent and courteous gentlemen. After the cloth was cleared, metaphorically, speeches were made by a number of the guests, this being a custom quite frequent at a private dinner in Virginia, but quite novel to the New Eng- land visitor." Early in the evening the Fourteenth New Hampshire held its annual business-meeting in the tent of the excursion man- ager. It was a suggestive gathering, -— tlie veterans of the 90 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. Fourteenth crowding that hirge tent, and renewing an organiza- tion for another year on the very ground where it had been so fearfully broken and so ineffably consecrated almost two decades ago. Never before since the line first formed on the colors in Camp Cheshire at Concord had the " boys " of the old Fourteenth felt so drawn together as when seated in that tent, pitched on the very acre where their first grand but dis- astrous charge had ended. A general camp-fire was on the programme. Chaplain B. F. Whittemore of the Thirtieth Massachusetts presided. As on previous nights, plenty of music and big bonfires. Gayety in the camp. Enthusiasm in the great crowd. Camp Lynn in full blast. Wash-tub after wash-tub of lemonade, Comrade Flynn being a guaranty that there was no "stick" in it. Chaplain Whittemore mounted the rostrum and said : — Comrades and Friends : — It has fallen to my lot to have the charge of this, our last camp-fire, and it furnishes me with the opportunity to speak some of the thoughts that have filled my mind since we came into this historic Valley. We are not obliged now to perform pilgrimages to other continents to stand on fields made sacred in memory or story by " deeds of noble men," for here, as well as elsewhere, within our own boundaries, we can assemble and repeat over the acts made famous by the courage and endur- ance, the wounds and scars, the heroism and death of the gallant soldiers of two mighty forces, which tested and estab- lished the valor of American arms. As I look back over the past, there are mingled feelings of sorrow and pride when I reflect upon the fact of our fratricidal strife. For, whatever may have been the causes which plunged our nation into the horrors and disasters of a hotly -contested warfare of four years' continu- ance, it was a conflict among our own brethren, — " a house divided against itself," and for this recollection my heart is sor- rowful ; but, when I remember, whichever way the fight weiit, from time to time, on field or flood, until the final surrender and close of hostilities, that every victory won was a triumph of my THE LAST CAMP-FIRE. 91 countrj'-men, and that no foreign hireling couhl glory over a single defeat, then my soul is filled with a pride that lifts me up to the full stature of a continental nobility, and I thank God that I am an American. There was no more fiercely contested field than tlie one on which we here have lingered to recall the scenes whicli have made immortal the days of September throughout this fair, classic Valley, and you historic town. Is not tliis an hour in which we can all exult ! — the differ- ences that arrayed us in hostile attitudes are all in " the dark sea of oblivion buried ; " the jealousies and suspicions that caused us to bivouac over against each other banished from mind and will, and we are assured, however hard we fought each other for ideas, theories or purposes in the past, that the grand future, so auspiciously begun right here and now, will find us inspired by the one thought, animated by the sole desire of making this Nation of ours what we have so often declared it to be in our seasons of boasting — the "grandest and best Nation under the sun." Now let me sa^^ one word of parting to the gallant Confed- erate soldiers — the good citizens of Winchester and this charming Valle}- of the Shenandoah, not forgetting the fair ladies whose presence has graced our camp-ground so often, and whose bright eyes have inspired our hearts with such con- fidence in the friendships we have formed, — we can never, nor would we ever, forget the cordial welcomes that attended our entrance to your town, the generous hospitalities extended us in every place, the words of sincere and honest trust in the purpose of our visit, the open, frank avowal of kindly feeling, the warm hands and hearts which have " bridged the bloody chasm " and brought us into an alliance which shall never again be severed or imperilled. God bless this millennial epoch and keep green these hours and moments so fnll of chivalric courtesies ; and may we, when the last good-bye shall have been said, all feel that it was " good for us to have been here." And in commemoration of our enjoyable visit among you let me call upon my generous muse to give her sentiment in poetic verse : — 92 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. War's fearful rage and carnage Have passed, but soldiers meet On fields where hosts embattled Hurled forth the murderous sleet. They meet not now as hostiles, But friends greet friends to-day ; God bless this peace evangel Between " the Blue and Gray," That fills the vale of Shenandoah, This bright September morn. God bless this happy league of peace Upon the Opequan. Henceforth when we are boasting Of deeds heroic, grand ! We '11 tell our children's children The soldiers of our land Have buried deadly hatreds. Forgot the wounds and scars ; The " Blue and Gray " fall in and march Beneath the Stripes and Stars. Then, if again perchance we hear War's fierce and dread alarms, One serried host we then shall be, — As one will rush to arms ; And for this grand Republic give Our lives, our fortunes too ; Our sacred honors, all we '11 pledge, — We'll pledge "the Gray and Blue." The new and popular version of the song " Tenting to-night " was called for, and rendered by the quartette, as on a previous occasion. Chaplain Whittemore then introduced Major E. L. Noyes of the Third Massachusetts Cavalry, who sjjoke aS follows : — MAJOR NO YES' SPEECH. 93 Mr. Chairman : — I thank you, and through you my comrades of your com- mittee, for the privilege of active particijjation in the ceremo- nies of this occasion. Ladies and comrades of tlie grand army of a re-united republic, I stand before you at this moment in an agitation of pleasure, pride, sorrow and regret. Pleased to be able to stand here as an individual representative of the campaign of nineteen years ago, — proud of the privilege accorded me by the partiality of my comrades of representing at this time the old Third Massachusetts Cavalry. With sorrow for the consciousness of m}'" poverty of speech on an occasion fraught with so many sad and pleasant mem- ories, it seems to me that lips before dumb might burst forth in eloquence of words stirring to hearts much less susceptible than ours ; regret for my want of ability to offer, at this time, a tribute to the valor of the soldiers of either of the contend- ing armies, or to urge in elegant rhetoric the desirability of cultivating in the future a warmer and stronger fraternal feel- ing between them, to the end that we may be " now and for- ever one and inseparable." Comrades, if I may be allowed at this time to offer an honest and well-considered conviction, I may say, while I have no apologies to offer, and no regrets for the active part I endeavored to take in the Union army, I am convinced that had I lived on this side the Potomac at the be- ginning of the war, I should have been equally as zealous on the other side. That the regiment which it is my privilege to represent at this time took no insignificant part in the struggle which the ceremonies of this occasion are designed to commemorate, is evinced by the fact that our gallant corps commander, Gen. Emory, took occasion at that time to commend their action in strong and earnest words. And it is to me one of tlie proud- est memories of this whole war that I was privileged to listen to that commendation. My friends of this Valley of Virginia, I have had many new and varied experiences since coming into your very beautiful Valley this second time, and have had an opportunity to con- sider and contemplate them as never before. How severely you must have suffered, and bravely you bore that suffering, 94 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. during the war, and how valiantly you are now struggling to obliterate all that is hateful in the past ! and, as with hearts lacerated and still bleeding from the sufferings and cruelties of the war, you greet us with kind words and open arms, who can doubt your sincerity ! Of the concluding portions of the evening's exercises the Winchester Times says : — " Gen. Thomas was then introduced, who made an address in which, among many other matters touched upon, he spoke of the late war being brought upon the country by the politicians having misled the people on both sides. He was in the Charleston Convention and had been an active politician himself. He cautioned those present of political demagogues, and advised them to vote for principles, not men. His whole address was well-timed, and throughout nothing but the kind- liest words were uttered in recognition of the fraternal feeling that had prevailed among our people for the last week. A member of the City Council of Boston then rendered a song in fine voice, after which Col. Carroll D. Wright stepped on the platform and in a few eloquent remarks acknowledged the reception of a beautiful basket of flowers (which he placed before him) from the ladies of Winchester, to be placed on the unknown dead in the National cemeter3\ This slight tribute was in recognition of the magnanimous act of Wed- nesday evening, the 19th. The evening's exercises in camp closed by the singing of " Deai*est May " and " My Country, 't is of Thee," by the select choir, and the chorus of the last verse was taken up by all present. The moon just at that moment appeared from behind a cloud, and certainly a weird scene was presented which baffles our descriptive powers. Camp-fires, the white tents brilliantly lighted from within, the large crowd of people everywhere in social converse, horses and carriages standing about, the band of music playing, the singing and the vociferous cheers that rent the air, which were just at this moment given at the instance of Chaplain Whittemore as he was leaving the stand, in honor of the good people who had so heartily welcomed them, the bright harvest-moon beaming down on all, went to make up a picture that will not be wit- nessed again for some time, if ever, by our country." GENERAL EMORY'S GOOD-BYE. 95 PARTING AT WINCHESTER. Breaking camp ! There is nothing like it. It was with sincere regret that the miniature tented cosmopolitan city known as " Camp Emory " was dissolved by a touch forever. It had become a very real, a very pleasant, and in thought, almost a permanent institution. Before the tents go down as by magic, and the camp finally disappears, there are some bits of incident to be gathered up. This from Capt. Addeman's correspondence : — " Close by our camp is the shell of what was once a fine resi- dence. The windows and floors are gone and ugly rents have been made in the roof. It is known as the Hackwood house, and is said to have been built by the wife of a gentleman who, many years ago, was a Congressman from this district. The special feature about the house is a place in the cellar, said by the colored people to have been a dungeon in which refractory slaves were shut up, and where one was left to starve to death. Another tradition of the place is that this woman tied up one of her 'niggers,' and with her own hand laid on the lashes which resulted in the death of the slave. As this was told us by an ex-Confederate, with an apparent belief in its truth, we may take it as an illustration of some of the diabolical fea- tures of the peculiar institution." It was an impressive spectacle, that early morning marshall- ing of the veterans of the Nineteenth Army Corps, as Gen. Emory stepped in front of the remnant of those troops which had followed him in the desperate conflicts of Mississippi, Louisiana and Virginia, and who now fell in to give him the farewell salute and receive his benediction. As a proud gen- eral and a tender father he addressed them. With a trembling voice he referred to the campaigns of twenty years ago, and in a few brief sentences sketched the brilliant record of his corps. He told them of his confidence and pride in them, of the satis- 96 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. faction with which he reviewed tlie battles in which he had led them, and depicted eloquently the gratification he had experi- enced in the exercises of this excursion. In closing he said : — " I want to say to you, my old soldiers, that I am as proud of you to-day as when I led you on this field nineteen years ago ; and I wish further to say that you have inaugurated an entirely new thing. You have furnished to the world a novel episode in the history of war. Nothing like this was ever witnessed on this planet before." Gen. Emory then stepped down the line, grasping every veteran by the hand and bidding him a cordial good-bye. As the beloved commander turned to go the attempt at a cheer was a failure. There was a choking in the throat, — the emo- tions of the moment could not be expressed in hurrahs. Throughout the existence of Camp Emory a beautiful silk banner stood in front of the commandant's tent. It was the flag of Col. Joseph Thoburn G. A. R. Post, of Harpers Ferry. It was carried by Comrade L. F. Upright, who was the chief gunner in the firing of the salutes in camp, being assisted by Comrades E. Tattersall and R. Bruner. Another banner, already alluded to, was the headquarters flag of the Second Brigade, Second Division, Sixth Corps, being that of the famous Grant's Vermont Brigade, one of the finest in the whole corps. The flag was in charge of Comrade R. E, Hathorn. One of the pleasing incidents in Camp Emory was the fol- lowing testimonial, which was presented to the excursion man- ager by President William A. Tarbell, of the Thirty-eighth Massachusetts Association, and signed by the twenty-eight ladies and gentlemen comprising tlie Thirty-eighth's quota of the excursion. '■'• Bear Sir : — We, the undersigned, members of the Thirty- eighth Massachusetts Regiment delegation of Sheridan's Vet- erans Excursion to the Shenandoah Valley, appreciating your uniform courtesy and untiring efforts, as manager of this excursion, to make our trip pleasant and profitable, do hereby tender you our sincere thanks." BREAKING CAMP. 97 There are generous acts and sjieeial kindnesses to be recog- nized in connection with this camp. Mr. C. B. Spangler, one of Stonewall Jackson's old soldiers, tendered the use of his grounds for the camp. Mr. W. H. Baker opened up his entire farm on the battle-ground to the use of the excursionists. The manager is indebted to Keating Brothers, of Winchester, for the use of camp implements without charge. Mr. Far- quharsonis one who should be referred to as most reasonable in his charges for things furnished to the camp. This is espe- cially referred to because of some contrasts ex|)erienced. There were those in Winchester who unmercifully "bled " the manager in their (jharges. Bills were rendered for things never furnished. The bills were paid — to prevent unpleasantness. Only one or two parties are involved in the charge, and the matter is referred to because in no instance was there an over- charge, nor anything but liberal and generous dealing, by a Confederate soldier or any genuine Southern man. . The " sick calls " in Camp Emory were the real thing, and reminders of old times. The aroma of quinine and that peculiar liquid in which it Avas dissolved followed Surgeon Perkins and Assistant-Surgeon Chase as they went from tent to tent to minister to the sick and wounded. It is said that one handsome and gay citizen-member of the company palmed himself off upon the Southern damsels as a bachelor, and went into action. He came out badly wounded, and the surgeons decided that nothing could be done short of am- putation. There is a hint in the air that this lively bachelor will get a mortal thrust if he ever tries that encounter over again. Early Saturday morning tents were struck, Camp Emory was no more, and there remained upon the field a flag-pole, a rostrum, and an amphitheatre of seats, stacks of folded tents, pyramids of valises, a houseless company of excursionists, a hoAvling crowd of darkey Jehus, a bigger crowd of urchins of all sexes, colors and attire, poking through heaps of deserted straw for valuables and relics. The Quartermaster was look- ing fifteen ways at once ; the Commissary was trying to get away without having more than half his utensils gobbled up ; 98 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. there was time to look around; everybody was happy, and the procession moved. The time had come for Sheridan's Veterans to reciprocate, so far as they might, the courtesies of Winchester. Again the court-house was filled ; North and South occupied the plat- form and filled the hall. There was no blue, no gray. Col. Wright called the assembly to order, and thus addressed Mayor Clark, who stood in front of him upon the platform : — • Mr. Mayor: — We could not leave your beautiful country without coming in a body to thank you and the people of your city for all the kindnesses that you and they have bestowed upon us during our stay, and to bid you good-bye. You have conquered us. To you, soldiers of the Confederate Army, we surrender our hearts, and may God prosper you and yours. With this sur- render, however, we pledge you our warm support in every step you make towards the prosperity of the South. We have been with you during the week. AVe have mingled freely in town and in camp, and no word or act has marred the perfect companionship which began when you so nobly welcomed us to Virginia. Your action has been manly in ever}^ respect. This has touched us deeply. You have had no apologies to make, nor have we, but with perfect manliness you have met and treated us. We return to our homes with all the pleasant memories you wished for us at our reception. We carry back more : we carry a message which shall be love, and borne with love ; we shall say that the people of the South are in earnest, that this Nation's greatness is assured, and that Virginia and New England bear the old relations which made them invincible in the councils of old. .We adopt the noble motto of your Confederate Veteran Association, and seek to perpetuate the memories but not the animosities of the war. You have won us in every way, and we regret the parting. You met us with the Rebel yell, as you did nineteen years ago, but somehow this time it touched us to the very heart- centre, for you could not have complimented us in a better THE RESOLUTIONS. 99 wa3% Yes, we have always been warmly received in tlie Valley, and we want to return your last warm reception in kind and on New England soil. You promised us a good old Virginia welcome, — we have tasted it, and testify that you have carried out the promise, and although the prohibitory laws of the North are not in force in the Valley, we feel that no harm has come to us, or to you, from the absence of stringent regulations. And now, Mr. Mayor, with a fervent God bless you, we must bid you farewell, and I know I speak the sentiments of every member of our party when I say that tliis act is the only unpleasant feature of our visit to Winchester. Good-bye. Col. Wright then called upon Chaplain Whittemore, who read the following resolutions as expressive of the sentiments of the party : — Whereas,, The late civil war brought men of the different sections of a common country into hostile array against each other ; and Whereas^ Four years of fearful strife and carnage, of sacrifice and endurance, of victories and defeat taught all who partici- pated in the rigors and resnlts of that war, that an honorable and valiant foe is worthy the admiration of every true hero ; and Whereas, Union and Confederate armies, led to the forefront of contest, on a thousand sanguinary fields, by trusted and able commanders, proved the valor and tested the bravery of American soldiers ; and Whereas, New England veteran organizations, after the lapse of nearly two decades, resolved to visit the battle-grounds of the Shenandoah Valley, made sacred by the blood of martyrs, where living impressions of the heroic fortitude and courage of " a foeman worthy of our steel " were burned into our hearts and memories ; and Whereas, The City Council of Winchester, learning of our contemplated excursion, did, by resolution in honorable Coun- cil assembled, tender us the freedom of their beautiful cit}^ and, on our arrival, overwhelm us with their cordial and 100 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. friendly hospitalities — which action was generously endorsed by the citizens at large — Therefore Resolved., That the unfeigned thanks of the Veterans of the Shenandoah, and their associate excursionists are due and are hereby tendered the Mayor and the Honorable Council of the city of Winchester, for their every expression of good will and kindly regard ; and, we assure them, such manifestations of chivalric esteem shall never be effaced from our memories. Resolved^ That we cannot too fervently and heartily make known our appreciation of the tender kindnesses of the fair ladies of Winchester in the preparations made for our comfort and refreshment, for the sweetly fragrant floral gifts their hands bestowed for the decoration of the graves of our fallen braves, and the many other womanly tributes of which we have been the recipients during our stay in this delightful Valley. Resolved., That, to the members of " the Confederate Veter- an Association," whose motto — "to perpetuate memories, not animosities" — we have adopted in our commemorative exer- cises, upon the fields we have both so hotly contested, we ex- tend the hand of perpetual friendship ; for, coming as we did, soldiers among soldiers, the blue among the gray, receiving such warm and hearty greetings, we acknowledge a willing and cheerful surrender to their magnanimous and valorous cour- tesies. Resolved., That we shall ever remember with pleasure and pride the martial bearing of the Winchester Light Infantry, under the efficient command of the gallant ex-Confederate officer, Capt. Jos. A. Nulton, which acted as our escort on our arrival, and to them we tender our most grateful considera- tions. Resolved, That " the concord of sweet sounds," the martial airs, the inspiriting and soul-stirring music of,the Union Cor- net Band, the Sarah Zane Cornet Band and the Friendship Cornet Band will go with us in our departure from the charm- ing and historical Valley of Shenandoah and remain with us as souvenirs of the millenial episode of the hour. ' Resolved., That for the numerous kind and considerate atten- tions we have received from all the people, while in their midst, MAYOR CLARK'S FAREWELL. 101 we are profoundly and sincerely thank lid ; and, as we go hence, Ave shall carry to our homes and hearthstones, and treasure in our hearts, the conviction that our i)il<;i-i)nag'e to theValley of the Shenandoah has resulted in the initial step of the onward march towards a more perfect and complete recognition of a grand future that awaits our glorious republic, made possible and sure by the valor of American arms, and the purj^oses of a reunited people. Mayor Clark responded as follows : — Col. Wi'ifjht, and Crentlemen of the New E^igland Vetera?!^ : — It gives me great pleasure to receive the kind acknowledg- ments which you have just made, and I beg that you will accept a grateful return for them, from the authorities and citizens of this connnunity. Your visit to our neighborhood has been a source of grati- fication to us, and we are happy to believe that it has pi-oved satisfactory to yourselves. We are somewhat taken aback, though. Colonel, in hearing you say that you have come into our city this morning to sur- render yourselves as prisoners into our hands ; for, to be frank with you, we had rather thought that we ourselves were the prisoners — captured by your generous and soldierly bearing. We accept, however, most cordially, the gallant surrender which you have made, and are happ3% sir, that we meet upon a field of hospitality and friendship, in which each side is wil- ling to be the prisoner of the other. We would be glad, gentlemen, to keep 3'ou longer in our midst, that the acquaintance which began on Tuesday last and which has developed so happily, might ripen into a still deeper feeling of mutual regard ; but I am aware that you are to be to-day the guests of the city of Harrisonburg, some distance off, and hence I will not detain you unreasonably here. Let me express the hope, in parting, that your further journe}' up our Valley may prove as agreeable to yourselves as I am sure it will be to our sister city, and, if you cannot delay longer with us, that your journey homeward may be aus[)icious in all its features. 102 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. A BEAUTIFUL TOKEN. The exercises, as above delineated, roused much enthusiasm and the emotions of the entire audience were deeply stirred. All felt that this final gathering was the fitting culmination of a series of remarkable courtesies and hospitalities, and that the })ermanent impression made upon the Nortliern and Southern heart was deeper than could be comjirehended at the moment. Amid the tumult of enthusiasm the band struck up an inspir- ing strain, and when silence had been restored Capt. J. J. Williams, chairman of the Reception Committee of the city of Winchester, stepped to the front of the platform holding in his hands a massive and magnificent bouquet. He said : — - Fellow Citizens of America : — The inferences drawn by our citizens from their own obser- vation, and confirmed by the concurrent testimony of the members of this excursion, have led us to believe that its con- ception has been due, in large part, to the assiduity and gen- erous and patriotic impulses of Capt. Francis H. Buffum, the manager of the excursion, as has its success been the result, in large part, of his zeal and energy. In recognition of this, a number of the ladies of Winchester have delegated to me the pleasing and honorable duty of presenting, on their behalf, to Capt. Buffum, this beautiful floral tribute. A tribute, sir, of our appreciation of the spirit and the temper in which you and 3'our comrades have visited the battle-fields in our midst; man- ifested as it has been in the noble sentiments of the address of your commander in response to the admirable welcome of His Honor, our Mayor; in the utterances of your poet and orators in all your ceremonies, and the bearing of your people while among us ; but most eloquently of all when you laid upon the graves of our own dead heroes the tribute of your presence, your flowers and your tears. Aye, my friends, you did then a good day's work for our common country ; you touched the chords of our people's hearts and thrilled them with feeling such as all true patriots must gladly discern. For the poet has well said ; — THE WOMEN OF WINCHESTER. 103 " You batiisli our auger forever AVlieu you laurel the graves of our dead." But I know tliiit your time is limited this morning, and I hasten, Capt. Buff'um, to discharge my pleasing duty of placing in your hands this beautiful bouquet. But I trust I may be excused in adding that these flowers, emblems of the Resur- rection, as they have been ever since the dawn of Christian- ity, springing as they do into life and beauty and the glory of sunshine from the damp, dark mould of earth, are lit symbols of the flowers of knightly courtesy, of soldier hearts, of tender sympathy, of patriotic devotion, which, planted by the kindly hands of yourself and your comrades, shall spring froiii " the sacred dust of graves," graves " of the Blue and the Gray," to stud with their pure beauty the fields of earth, their fragrance to climb the steeps of Heaven, and be welcojiie incense at the very throne of God. For, since the heavenly host sang in the skies of Bethlehem nearl}- nineteen hundred years ago, " peace on earth and good will towards men " has ever been coupled with " Glory to God in the Highest." The recipient of this beautiful testimonial replied: — " I must confess that of several things I am proud to-day. That I am a member of this excursion ; that I am one of Sheridan's Veterans ; that I was permitted to serve in the Fourteenth New Hampshire Volunteers; that I was able to be in every engagement with my regiment; that I could receive, on the field of battle yonder, the commendation of that brave commander. Gen. Thomas, for my conduct on that ever memo- rable day — of these things I am proud. And now another source of pleasure, one ever to be cherished, has been opened for me. I am placed under an obligation I can never requite. To be remembered by the noble ladies of Winchester in this delightful manner is something I could not have anticipated, and frankly I own that it is a recognition quite undeserved. And yet there is a fitness in affording me this opportunity of responding to the grand ovation we have received. You have listened to men who were prominent in the leadership of our 104 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. armies. It is fitting that. a voice from the ranks should be heard, for while I have a right to the title by which you, sir, have addressed me, in virtue of two commissions which I have since held, still the rank which I glory in is that of Color-Ser- geant of the Fourteenth regiment. In my boyish ambition it was a position which I greatly coveted and was very proud of when I got it. And now I wish to express through you, sir, the gratitude that is in my heart to the ladies of Winchester for this kindly remembrance. If I have been able to do any- thing to further the interest and contribute to the success of this event, or rather splendid series of events, then I am very thankful. The wonderful success of this project is due to the singular patience and hearty co-operation of this entire visiting company. It has moved me profoundly to see that blunders in management and defects at various points have been cheer- fully ignored. None have done more, none could do more than the ladies of this veteran excursion to contribute to its enjoy- ment. They have wrapped about all insufficiencies that mantle of charity which they so well know how to weave, and which can never be cast off nor forgotten. It is well that this fra- grant and peerlessly beautiful suggestion of noble women should mingle its aroma with the benedictions and happy fel- lowships of this parting hour. We greet you and we go ; but • our sincere regard, the earnest of a restored fraternity — we cannot take it with us, it must abide with you. And now, as these flowers have gathered from every source their many colors and mingling perfumes, so I would gather up from every shade of thought and feeling the mingling emotions of this occasion, and crystallize them in these warm parting words." At the conclusion of these remarks, by special request, the excursion quartette rendered the new popular version of " Tenting to-night." Then more band music, an impromptu final greeting, and the line was re-formed and the march was made to the station. Amid universal and hearty expressions of good will, the train started with a company which, even with a week's experience, had not become used to rolling up this famous Valley in magnificent railroad cars. Toilsome >&- "ALL QUIET ON THE POTOMAC." POINT OF ROCKS. THEN AND NO W. 105 were the marches, dangerous was every advance and disas- trous every retreat for the veterans, when hist the}'- traversed these shell-ploughed acres and tramped over these memorable pikes. The transformation, the contrasts ! It cannot be real- ized in one week's experience. One hundred miles up the Valley. Where are there other famous leagues of marching and fighting, outside the old Roman empire, in one narrow valley stretch, which can match these, which to-day wear the amazing contrasts of twenty years. Veterans of war and peace. We have trod the historic bridge of a marvellous experience. One abutment is the conflict era when we first deploj^ed on the banks of the Potomac and Shenandoah to meet in fiercest trial the bravest men, the best fighters of the Sunny South. The other end of the great span rests in flow- ers, in hallowed reminiscence, in cordial greeting, in restored fraternity, in manly and enduring fellowship. And 'tis less than twenty years long — that high arch which we have trod. Eager eyes scanned every mile and rod of the course up the Valley. We had learned the pike and the abutting fields by heart, and there was little in the topography to reconstruct. The Valley is little different from that Valley of Sheridan and Early, of Stonewall Jackson and Hunter, save that barns and stock are now plenty, and rich fields are glowing peacefully, unravaged by contending forces. The Valley of Virginia has put on its rich and beautiful garments of peace. 106 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. HARRISONBURG'S OVATION. The first move towards publicly receiving and banqueting Sheridan's Veterans was made by the authorities of Harrison- burg. Both of the enterprising newspapers of the town early published the programme of the trip, and urged liberal action toward a cordial reception. Col. D. H. Lee Martz, of the old and famous Tenth Virginia, issued a stirring appeal to his veterans to turn out and welcome the New England veterans. They were in the habit of being always on hand for a pretty warm welcome of the " Yanks " twenty years ago. And now let us look at this festive occasion thro^ugh Harrisonburg eyes, that is, those of the Old Commomvealtli. Here is its account: — " Saturday last, September 22d, was a red-letter day in the history of Harrisonburg. It was the occasion of the visit of the 'New England Veterans of the Shenandoah,' and their reception by the citizens of this place, assisted by the Harrison- burg Guards and the remnant of the gallant Tenth Virginia Infantry Regiment. "At earlj^ dawn on Saturday the Committee on Decorations, consisting of Messrs. Charles P. McQuaide and Warren A. Hel- phenstine, were busy as bees assisting the citizens along the proposed line of march to properly decorate their houses, and directing the proper decorating of the bridge over Black's Run at the north end of Main Street, and the stand and entrance gates at the court-house yard. The Avork of this committee at the bridge and court-house yard was tastefully done, and reflected credit upon the committee. The bridge was covered with bunting, and in the centre was a handsome wreath, across which were placed two reversed muskets, the word ' Wel- come,' in letters two feet long, being worked of evergreens. " The eight o'clock train carried away to Mt. Jackson the Train Reception Committee, consisting of Lt.-Col. O. B. Roller, of the Second Virginia Regiment, and Lieut. J. P. Kerr, MR. HARNSBERGER'S WELCOME. 107 of the Harrisonburg Guards, in full dress uniform, and Messrs. Foxhair A. Daingerfield, James Sullivan, J. C. Staples, J. W. Blair and Sanuiel J. Price. This conunittee met the visitors at Mt. Jackson, and after forming the acquaintance of Col. Carroll D. Wright, Chairman of the excursionists' General Committee, and Francis II. Buffum, executive olliccr of the excursionists, were introduced by them to nearly all of the party, which numbered two hundred and thirteen. They were travelling in six elegant special cars, and it was self-evident at first sight were hugely enjoying themselves. " Upon the arrival of the train at the depot, about one o'clock, the train committee were kept busy introducing the veterans to the members of the Harrisonburg Reception Committee, and securing seats for the ladies of the party, about'twenty in number, in carriages which were in waiting at the depot. The line of march from the depot to the court-house was quickly formed in the following order : Carriages containing the lady visitors ; Harrisonburg Guards, thirty-eight muskets, preceded by the Mill Creek Cornet Band ; Veterans of the Tenth Vir- ginia Infantry, fifty strong; 'New England Veterans of the Shenandoah,' marching by fours, one hundred and ninety-two strong, headed by the Winchester Union Cornet Band ; citi- zens. The line of march was down North Main Street from the depot to the court-house yard, entering the yard by the eastern gate. The gate was nicely decorated, the word ' Wel- come ' appearing in large golden letters. " After some little delay in getting the immense crowd of people properly arranged, Mr. Samuel J. Harnsberger, as Chairman of the Citizens' Reception Committee, delivered the following address of welcome : — '■'•'■ Ladies and Gentlemen of the Union Veteran Corpi< : — " 'In the absence of our Mayor, and in obedience to the re- quest of citizens who had learned of your coming, it becomes my pleasing duty to extend to you the hospitalities of our town and an " old Virginia welcome." (Applause.) We desire you to feel and realize that you are not " strangers in a strange land," but that you are, one and all, verily at home and in the house of your friends. (Applause.) 108 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. " ' Some nineteen years since the Federal and Confederate sol- diers in the Valley of Virginia met each other in deadly con- flict and received each other at the point of the ba3''onet — tliat was tear ; but to-day is the day of peace, for all well-meaning citizens and true Americans (applause), and as such we meet together in person, and we cheerfully extend to you and re- ceive from you the right hand of fellowship (applause) ; and as to all past differences we plead the statute of limitation (ap- plause) each upon the other, and as to all things else not thereby cured and provided for, we jointl}^ and severally in- voke, and rely upon the old common-law rule of repose and on presumption of satisfaction generally and specially. (Laughter. ) " ' The tr^ie soldiers of both contending armies, in April, 1865, at Appomattox, signed and sealed a compact of peace and good will, and that compact they., the true soldiers, have observed and faithfully kept, and ever since then there has been peace in the land (applause), except, and only except, in the minds of those men who are " men of war in time of peace, and men of peace in time of war " (great laughter) ; the fuss-and-feather brigade of both armies and sections. " ' There are here to-day to welcome you members of the Tenth Virginia Infantry, Fifth Virginia Infantry, Fifty-second Virginia Infantry, the Twelfth, Seventh and Fifth Virginia Cavalry, and probably of other regiments, and of the old Stonewall Brigade — men who followed the leader upon whose likeness j^ou now look.' [Pointing to Stonewall Jackson's picture.] (Uproarious api:»lause.) " [At tliis point one of the Union Veterans requested Mr. H. to hold the picture up so all could look upon it — Avhich he did. It was quite a scene. Cheer upon cheer was given, and the air was filled with the waving of hats of the veterans of both armies. It is questionable if ever Stonewall Jackson's memory had a grander tribute paid.] " ' We do not feel that you are strangers to us or we to you. "We think we have met each other before — and we hope to meet again — but God forbid that we shall ever meet again otherwise than as friends — (applause) some at Harpers Ferry, some at Winchester, some at Kernstown, some at Fishers Hill, some IV£ SURRENDER. 109 at Port Republic, twelve miles from here, and, it is sr//r/, some at Cedar Creek. (Cheers.) Ah! yes ; you well remember there is where we whipped i/oii in the morning and i/oii whipped us in the afternoon. (Great ap})lause from the Confederates.) It is the place where you lost your breakfast. But after all it has been said that he laughs best who laughs last. (Great ap- plause.) " ' My countrymen, " peace hath her victories no less re- nowned than war." The one is attended with civil commotion, the Hash of sabres, the rattle of musketry, the boom of can- non, and all the attendant scenes of strife and carnage ; the other bodes prosperity, good government, friendship, brotherly kindness and good will toward all men. '"Let us, as American citizens, be thankful to an overrul- ing Providence for the peace and prosperity we to-day enjoy. "'And now that you have been pleased to come among us as visitors we extend a cordial invitation to you, and through you to all men who are not bent on evil, who are not political pirates, who as citizens have the good of the whole country at heart, to come and make your homes in our midst, to help us build up the waste places, to help us cultivate and own the soil, to develop the rich mines, to utilize our varied resources and facilities for manufacturing purposes and enterprises, to enjoy with us, socially and politically, the blessings of civil liberty, and to aid us to perpetuate (and now mark it, Ave are as much in earnest about what we sai/ as we were about some other things we were endeavoring to (hj from 1861 to 1865) the government of our fathers, which, when rightly under- stood and honestly administered, is the best system of govern- ment the world ever saw.' (Great and prolonged applause.) " Col. Wright made the following response: — Mr. CJiairman : — It is with pleasure we accept your hearty welcome. We are beginning to understand and appreciate the motives and grand sentiments which actuated the Crusaders of old. We have made a pilgrimage which must have its influences upon 110 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. the hearts of the people of two great sections of our country. We have come among you with peace in our hearts ; we shall depart with love there for a people who can meet us with the manliness and nobility we have everywhere witnessed. We are proud to be the recipients of your generous hospitalities, for they speak the sentiment of the future, which shall place this country in the front rank of nations. I wish the scenes of this week could be re-enacted all over our country. I wish the men of the great contending armies of the Civil War could hold re-unions everywhere, for by such experiences the fact of the Rebellion would fade, awa}', and the impulse of the whole Nation woukl be towards the Nation's success. The soldiers who bravely met on the field have a right to make such scenes as this, have a right to fraternize, have a right to pledge themselves to lasting peace, and to pledge their common valor to the defence of a common country. Who shall deny this right ? The veterans of the two armies make a soldiery of which we may well be proud ; your generous bearing in extending to us such hearty welcome is testimony enough to your sincerity, to your brotherly feeling. Accept, sir, for yourself and the people you represent, the testimony of our own sincerity, of our own brotherly feeling, by our hearty participation in 3'our hospitalities, for in this interchange of knightly courtesies there can be no guile, no - insincerity. The sentiments we have expressed since coming into this Valley are those we have expressed every Decoration Day since 1867, and we feel we have the right to express them here . For my comrades and for myself I thank you most cordially. There were many features of the Harrisonburg reception which were peculiarly felicitous. The decorations were pro- fuse and in excellent taste ; the crowds were large enough to attest the heartiness of the welcome ; the remnant of the old Tenth Virginia in line to greet us with a yell that meant, not bayonets but brethren, was a unique incident in the pro- gramme ; there was a strange pleasantness in the entire affair, and the beautiful town of Harrisonburg furnished the culmi- HO IV YANKEES CAN EAT. Ill nation of the contrasts of a week full of all sorts of contradic- tions, placing the veteran at either end of the twenty years for his observations. In order to relieve the hotel and facilitate the feeding of the great company — for Yankee stomachs have an amazing capacity on Southern soil — quite a number of the party were dined at private houses. The author cannot speak for other tables, but he can out of a full stomach testify to the'delicious- ness of Postmaster Sullivan's spread. And such eating, such fried chicken, such inimitable ham, such rare and elegant table condiments, including the p^ar excellence apple butter. We remember Harrisonburg's apple butter of war times, and that we traded pretty much all our coftee for this delicacy. But now how these veterans do eat. Here is Gen. B. and Gen. D. (" wich is postmaster ") and Gen. T. and several others who never saw stars — on their shoulders — even the cultured and heroic war correspondent — how they do come to close quar- ters with a Southern dinner and annihilate all that can be set before them. It is a dinner to be digested and remembered. It was at the Revere House that the bulk of the party dined, and here Southern hospitality was exemplified. After dinner the company broke into groups and parties and " did " the town. There is much to see in Harrisonburg, including the famous well at the edge of the Court House Square. Several pleasant episodes diversified the visit. The gallant and genial " Major " shows his appreciation of the whole affair by taking several of his friends into a jewelry store and presenting them with costly souvenirs of Harrisonburg. At five o'clock Train-Master Du- drow had the transportation all ready and the escort did the honors handsomel}^ Harrisonburg was parted from with re- gret and the train shot towards the North. Not a furlough, not a flight, nor a retreat before the masterful tactics of Stone- wall Jackson ; not a change of base ; not a going into winter quarters ; no general orders, nor even a discharge. We are going home in all the freedom of an untrammelled peace. Down the Valley ! O, the weariness, the alarms of those by-gone marches, with yelling hordes of the ever alert enemy at our very heels ! The B. & O. R. R. is a great institution, and its 112 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. luxurious cars are not quite in keeping with shelter tents and pike-side bivouacs. If any one of the party imagined that there was anything conclusive in that Winchester parting, he was speedily unde- ceived. These Winchester people are as tenacious in their hospitalities as the}^ were aforetime in their hostilities. It was seven o'clock, it was dark, when the train halted at the Winchester station, homeward bound. An immense con- course greeted us and all the former enthusiasm was more than renewed. The splendid bouquet made by Mrs. McKim Dief- fenderfer was taken on board, so well boxed that it was pre- served in perfection for a fortnight. Again the marked liberal- ity of the Gushing Process Company was appreciated, as the great reservoir of hot coffee was taken on, to be drank dur- ing the all-night ride. The tents and camp equipage were shipped, and here we should not fail to recognize the generos- ity of Lieut. E. B. Howard, of the Fourteenth New Hampshire, now a merchant in New York, who furnished the tents for the camp at his own expense, involving an outlay of $100. The bustle of getting out of Winchester finally ; that evening spectacle at the station ; the God-speeds and regretful fare- wells ; the sincere fellowship so wonderfully created — it was in every way an incident exhilarating, delightful. A good-bye ; a shout ; a dancing of the lights ; Winchester was evacuated. Are we rushing into an ambuscade ? There are signal rock- ets rising from Loudon Heights ; a beacon fire flashes high and splendid from Bolivar and again the cannon booms in Harpers Ferry. Lieut. Graham is giving the excursionists a handsome send-off as they leave the Valley of the Shenandoah. It is dark and the spectacle is grand. Veteran comrades of Har- pers Ferry, you did the handsome thing by us. We will come again. Three sleeping cars had been ordered and but two were provided until Baltimore was reached. When it came to putting three car-loads of sleepy men and women into two cars it was ascertained that though the company was composed exclusively of angels there was a tinge of earth on some of the winfifs. It was an amusiu"' scramble wherein a trace of selfish- ness was visible. Capt. Hall can show the inside of an attempt SPEECHES ON THE '' PILGRIMr IL) to please evervl)o(ly at once. It was as dil'licult as it was to preserve aiiN- ol' those })rime hams of John 1*. S<|uire & Co., for the homeward bound lunch. All day Sunday was spent in New York, a large proportion of the party attending the i'a- nious churches in Mew York and Brooklyn. The night voyage on the masfnificent steamer " Pilgrim" was an event not soon to drop out of memory. A parting service was held in the grand saloon, at which Gen. E. H. Rhodes presided and made a felicitous speech, in which lie recognized the kind Providence which had so protected and prospered the excursion. He then called on the excursion manager, who said : — " 1 believe in sentiment as a wonderful incentive in human life. Sentiment is sometimes derided, but it is one of the practical impulses of the world. Sentiment develops the strongest and most beautiful qualities in a man. This excur- sion grew out of a sentiment. By its inspirations we have all been quickened. Our experiences for the past few days have been wonderful, but however sentimental, they are among the dearest and most valuable realities of our whole lives. We have been commemorating warlike deeds ; we have traversed the fields where, j^ears ago, great triumphs were won, not by others, but by ourselves. It is well. Often do we listen to the unthinking complaint that most of the annals of the world are filled W'ith the stories of carnage and bloodshed. The history of the race is a history of conflict because through the on- sets of great armies the world is^transformed ; the wrong goes down and the right comes to its supremacy. Conflict, for the present, is the condition of progress. It is not carnage which makes history what it is, on the whole, radiant and prophetic ; it is the story of the survival of the fittest in its noblest sense. I am glad we have had a share in the best sentiments and realizations of human warfare and it is because of our aim to perpetuate the happiest memories of the great struggle that I rejoice in this excursion. We should fortify ourselves for the conflicts of the coming years, but always fight for the attain- ment of that certain era, '" When the war drum throbs no longer, and tlic battle flags are furled, In the parliament of man, the federation of the world.'" 114 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. Gen. Rhodes then called upoii Mr. Charles Carleton Coffin, who made one of his stirring addresses. Governor Littlefield was called for and responded, speak- ing of the pleasure it had afforded him to have the privilege of joining "Sheridan's Veterg-ns " in their excursion to the battle-fields of the Shenandoah Valley ; the beauties of the delightful country' visited ; the warm receptions tendered by the Confederate veterans, and the generous hospitality of the people. He expressed the hope that the excursion would be the means of bringing about a warmer friendship between those who had met in deadly conflict, a score of years before, on the same fair fields where the song of peace had been sung and so many kind words spoken during the past week, and closed by thanking each member of the party for his courtesy, and es- pecially Capt. Buffum for his untiring and successful efforts to add to the enjoyment of each member of the party, and for his kindness to him personally. Capt. J. M. Addeman, Rhode Island's popular Secretary of State, was called out, and among other things said : — " It is remarkable that an excursion, embracing so large a party and involving so many details, should have been so suo- cessful in all respects. This success is in the highest degree complimentary to the skill of the committee who planned the outlines of the trip, and to the effective management of the executive ofiicer, (Comrade F. H. Buffum), whose unwearied zeal and untiring patience have been so conspicuous at every point. " To some of the party this has furnished their first o^^jior- tunity to visit this section of the South ; others have not revis- ited it since they saw it wasted with the ravages of war. To all it has been, therefore, a rare pleasure to see under so favor- able auspices the beautiful and historic Valley of Virginia, and in the prosperit}^ and happiness and good will, which were everywhere so evident, to find a fresh illustration, if any were needed, that ' peace hath her victories, no less renowned than war.' " We have journeyed to the Valley of the Shenandoah with THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 115 varied motives, but all as travellers, expecting only to leceive such courtesies as. res[)ectable and law abiding citizens are en- titled to. These we have indeed enjoyed, but liow much nmre I As we recall the generous welcomes from municipal authori- ties, from various organizations and communities, and the })leas- ant receptit)ns at h(ispital)l(! liresides, Ave iind words very in- adequate to do justice to the subject. But the grateful mem- ories of the trip will long abide with us, and till the sterner duties of life, to wliich we are now returning, with delightful fragrance." During the evening it was proposed to effect a permanent or- ganization and hold yearly re-unions at some convenient point in New England ; and the announcement was received with universal favor, that on or before the quarter-century anni- versar}^ of Sheridan's campaign in the Valle}^ this i)arty would make another excursion to the same localities. The following officers of the permanent organization of the Sheridan's Veteran Association were chosen. President, Col. C.D.Wright; Vice- President, Gen. E. H. Rhodes ; Secretary, Comrade G. W. Powers ; Treasurer, Mr. C. C. Coffin ; Chaplain, Hon. B. F. Whitteraore. A committee consisting of Comrade G. W. Powers, Mr. C. C. Coffin and Miss Anna V. Shaw, was chosen to draft resolutions to be presented to the excursion manager. One of the events of the evening was an admirable speech by an ex-Confederate, who roused much enthusiasm by his frater- nal utterances. The Paymaster, Capt. C. W. Hodgdon, closed the speaking by saying : — Mr. Chairman: — I think the eloquence of the Fourteenth New Hampshire has been sufficiently vindicated by Comrade Buffum without calling upon a quiet, inoffensive Paymaster to speak for it. This is the first time I ever knew that official to be called into action. Although at the front he was not the man who would suddenly be expected to inspire the hearts of a desponding soldiery, and change defeat into victory, he was one who Avas always Avelconied Avith open arms, and usually with — empty 116 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. pockets. I must say 1 was proud of this excursion, at the Na- tional Hotel at Washington, Avhen upon paying the bills, the landlord informed me that it was the most orderly party that ever stopped at his house. Allow me in closing to say if any one has any bills approved by Comrade Buffum, the projector of this excursion, please present them for settlement. Without a mishap, without an unpleasantness, the party reached home on Monday the 24th. Most of the Vermont members separated from the main company at New York, while a dozen or more tarried for a longer view of Washington scenes. Ever since the return of the excursion its members have felicitated themselves upon their rare good fortune, while the fifty or one hundred faint-hearts who didn't go have been straining their inventive powers in devising excuses. From a large proportion of the company come enthusiastic expressions of approbation. From Western Massachusetts comes this testi- mony : " It was the pleasantest trip of all my life, and I never expect to enjoy anything else like it." And this from Hins- dale, N, H., a town which did better than any other place in its quota for the excursion : " So far as I am able to learn, every one here counts the trip as tlie event of his life." Capt. J. W. Sturtevant, of the Fourteenth New Hampshire, secured slips from the willow standing near the State monument at Winchester, and accompanied by a handsomely printed note he has sent a slip to each bereaved friend of those deceased veterans sleeping in that cemetery. The following is self explanatory : — Boston, September 30, 18S3. To Sergeant Francis H. Buffum : — Dear Sir, — At a meeting of the Sheridan's Veterans Excur- sion Party, held on board steamer " Pilgrim," September 23, 1883, the undersigned, representing respectively the veterans, the citizens, and the ladies, were appointed a committee to express to you the sentiments entertained by the entire party for your efficient management of the excursion. In accordance SHOTS FROM THE REAR GUARD. 117 witli our instructions, we sincerely tender you tiie following resolutions : — licxohu'(^. That the \'eteraiis. Citizens, and Toadies C()m[)osing the party visiting the battle-lields of the Shenandoah Valley in September, 1888, desire to put on record their appreciation of the valuable services of Sergeant Francis H. Buftiun, of the Fourteenth New Hampshire Infantry, in carrying out the pur- poses of the trip. Hesolved, That to the untiring energy, unfailing patience, and inexhaustible fjood nature of Sergeant Buffum were largely due the harmony and general good feeling which pre- vailed during the entire journe}'. He-solved, That the ladies and gentlemen of the party will ever associate the name of Sergeant Buffura with one of the most pleasing experiences of their lives ; and they trust that the exercise of those manly qualities which made the excur- sion to the Shenandoah so succe;ssful will mark his future path with prosperity and happiness. In behalf of the Sheridan's Veterans Excursion Party, George W. Powers, Charles C. Coffin, Anna V. Shaw. SHOTS FROM THE REAR GUARD. The amenities of the excursion did not cease with the ter- mination of the trip. A handsome gold badge has been sent by the veterans to Comrade C. E. Dudrow, the eflicient Train- Master of the B. & O. R. R. The Executive Committee has taken steps toward procuring a handsomely engrossed and framed copy of the resolutions adopted at AVinchester, for the purpose of presenting the same to the city of Winchester. General Stephen Thomas's old regiment, the Eighth Ver- mont, will be the first to erect memorial shafts on the battle- fields of Winchester and Cedar Creek, to mark spots where the sons of Vermont were cut down, as before the mower's scythe. The monuments will be of handsome granite or marble, tlie gift of Col. Herbert E. Hill, who heard the lirst and the last gun fired in these important battles. Gen. Thomas will personally superintend the placing of the monunients. 'J"he shaft on the 118 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. battle-field of Winchester will stand on the spot where tlie regiment held the enemy in check for nearly an hour, losing heavily in killed and wounded, after which it fixed bayonets, and under the lead of Gen. Thomas, made a desperate bayonet charge, driving the enemy and holding every inch of ground gained. Greeley, in his history of tlie war, considered this bayonet charge of sufticient importance to give it an extended notice. At Cedar Creek, with Sheridan twenty miles away, the regiment again distinguished itself. A number of the regiment on picket captured the first rebel skirmisher as the enemy charged on to our lines. Tlie regiment was nearly surrounded by a rebel division, the colors shot down, and only when complete annihilation stared it in the face did it fall back. On this spot will stand the Cedar Creek shaft. It was upon the suggestion of Capt. W. H. Whitney that the series of nine views of the Opequan battle-field were taken by photographer J. B. Wortham, of Winchester, immediately after the veterans broke camp. The views are valuable to all who desire to preserve the associations of the sanguinary field. Eighteen years after the war closes the Chaplain plucks up courage to face the Winchester Cannon, and he coaxes from it, not a shell, but a shepherd dog. A fine fellow. His name is "Veteran." The Chaplain wants him entered upon the roster. We are a little afraid that some of his ancestors barked at the " Yanks " during the " late unpleasantness." That dog himself may not be thoroughly reconstructed. No, Chap- lain, it will not do. This and some other prime captures suggest that the Chap- lain was the prize forager of the excursion. One of the ladies whose other half didn't go has so occupied the breakfast hour with ceaseless praises of the trip that he sighs for some insurrection, revolution or foreign war, so that he may enlist and enjoy the privilege of his hard tack and salt pork in peace. He sees no other way to survive the next excursion but to go himself, so that his wife won't be able to give him so much information. It is a nice thing, this exchange of portraits, but what a TELLING TILE STORY. 110 blunder for one of the old maids to send out a picture of her- self at " sweet sixteen," revealing a costume wliich has n't been worn since the Seminole war. It is the very worst " give away " of the whole trip. Among those who touched a tender spot in the great excur- sion stomach by the excellence of their supplies were John P. Squire & Co. and Hon. Chas. E. Raymond of Thomas Dana & Co. The leading question is '•'' Can the ladies wait until 1889 ? " Some of them have declared in favor of an excursion every fall during life. "Little Phil"" wasn't with us, but every one of his veterans rejoices in the cause of his absence. He was getting ready to take cojumand of the army of the country he so conspicu- ousl}^ helped to make worth an army. He will be with us next time. The "Major" is convinced that he has become a brevet-hero, and has secured his rank in the Thirty-Eighth in a perfectl}^ legitimate manner. He says he has been over as many battle- fields in the Valley as the rest of the veterans, and has fully done his part in subjugating the best part of the population. One of the pleasant post prandial exercises has been the story of the trip told in many a post of the G. A. R., as well as in public addresses. Chaplain Whittemore so roused the en- thusiasm of several posts in Woburn that a series of resolu- tions were adopted and sent to the city of Winchester, Ya., expressive of the pleasure of Northern veterans in the reception which their comrades enjoyed among former foes. The mem- bers of Post 5 got Avord from " Camp Lynn," and Comrade Flynn made things lively until he was satisfied that " the boys " who stayed at home fully appreciated the excursion. Com- rade Powers delighted Post 15 with his admirable account of the "glorious affaii-," and from the pines of Aroostook, around through the Hocks of the Winooski, the spindles of the Blackstone, to the broom corn of the Mohawk — all who went have sounded the praises of "the best trip I ever took in my life." It has but just leaked out — the inuninent danger nf Camp 120 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. Emor}', and how the whole excursion was saved from the horrors of an indescribable night attack from the Johnnies. It was a carefully planned surprise. Early's Massanutten trick was a bagatelle in comparison. In the small hours of morning when the unsuspecting Yankee was serenely snoring, then the camp was to be surrounded and with a terrific rebel yell the on- slauo^ht was to be made. But didn't the gallant Officer of the Da}' — Colonel, M. V. M. — sit up all night in ineffable trepida- tion, getting a hint of the ex|)ected attack, and is n't it rumored that in order to save himself from an inglorious denoiiment, he bought the Johnnies off. Either the Colonel's vigilance or persuasiveness averted the calamity. No better evidence of the general satisfaction which prevails among the members of the excursion need to be sought for, than is found in the widespread and earnest desire for another encampment in the Valley ; a desire Avhich is being expressed to the writer nearly every day, and none are more enthusiastic in this direction than the patriotic and noble spirited women who so largel}^ contributed to the success already achieved. And now a closing word concerning this little souvenir of our most happ}' tour. Its only aim is to express and perpetuate the life and spirit, the fellowship, the pleasures of this excur- sion. This unpretentious volume is no anti-climax in one re- spect, certainly. It is with pleasure that the author announces the sale of every cojDy of the edition in advance of publica- tion. He is sincerely grateful to the members of the excursion who have made of this culminating venture of our enterprise so complete a success. The liberality of many individuals de- serves special recognition. Mr. Caleb H. Packard sends a copy to each member of the Union Cornet Band of Winchester, Va. The town of Claremont, N. H., is the banner town in subscrib- ing for this souvenir. Comrades H. C. Mace and H. P. Hun- ter having sold fifty copies. Mau}^ of the G. A. R. posts and most of the libraries about Boston have secured copies. Whatever its demerits it occupies a new field, and preserves, so far as words may, the memory of an experience which was delightful beyond the power of language to picture. Capt. Allen Baker, Jr First R. I. ("avalry Gen. Stephen Thomas, Eurhth Vt. Capt. H. T. Hall, Thirty Fourth Mass. Capt. \V. H. Cunningham, Third Mass. Cavalry. Lieut. Geo. A. Reed, Twenty Sixth Mass. Members of the Executive Committe. • •tlOTYHt PHINTIN'> 00.. BOSTON EXCURSION ROSTER. 121 EXCURSION ROSTER. COMMANDER. Col. CARROLL U. WRIGHT. EXCURSION MANAGER. Serg't FRANCIS H. BUFFUM. CHIEF OF STAFF. Maj. IRA BERRY, Jr. AIDS. Col. A. C. Wellington, T. C. Bond. EXCURSION COMMITTEE. Col. C. D. Wright, Maj. F. L. Tolman, Capt. C. W. Hodgdon, Capt. J. W. Sturtevant. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Col. C. D. Wright, Gen. Stephen Thomas, Capt. Allen Baker, Capt. W. H. Cunningham, Serg't F. H. Buffum, Lieut. G. A. Reed, Chaplain B. F. Whittemore, Capt. H. T. Hall, Serg't J. W. Chapman. EXCURSION STAFF. Adjutant, Capt. G. N. Carpenter. Chaplain Rev. B. F. Whittemore. Paymaster, Capt. C. W. Hodgdon. Surgeon, Marshall Perkins. Assistant-Surgeon, . . . E. A. Chase. Provost-Marshal, . . . Capt. W. H.Cunningham. Quartermaster, .... Lieut. C. G. Howard. Quartermaster Sergeant, . Serg't R. Huntoon. Commissary J. E. Ashley. Train-Master, . . . C. E. Dudrow. OFFICERS OF THE DAY. Major Ira Berry, Jr., Capt. H. T. Hall, Capt. C. P. Hall, Col. A. C. Wellington, Capt. W. H. Cunningham. MUSICIANS. Buglers: C. H. Giffin, E. J. Hadley; Drummer, Albert Cooper. 122 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. EXCURSION QUARTETTE. Miss Anna V. Shaw, Mrs. M. S. Bullock, Lieut. C. F. Shaw, Drum Maj. R. S. Ripley. GUESTS Of THE VETER.4.NS. William H. Emory, MajorGeneral U. S. Army, Commander of the 19th Army Corps, Washington, D. C. Henry W. Birge, Brigadier-General, Commander of the ist Brigade, 2d Division, 19th Corps, Boonton, N. J. LADIES. Mrs. Thomas C. Bond, .... Boston, Mass. Miss Annie E. L. Borden, . . New Bedford, Mass. Mrs. M. S. Bullock, .... New Bedford, Mass. Mrs. Edwin Burnham Boston, Mass. Miss L. A. Calef, Washington, Vt. Mrs. S. R. Coffin, Boston, Mass. Mrs. W. Irving Ellis, .... Melrose, Mass. Mrs. E. p. George West Fairlee, Vt. Miss H. E. Gillette, .... Cleveland, Ohio. Mrs. W. B. Gove, Washington, D. C. Mrs. M. E. Hadley, Luverne, Minn. Mrs. A. G. Hull, Taintor, Iowa. Mrs. N. R. Lewis, Fall River, Mass. Mrs. A. G. Newcomb, .... Washington, Vt. Mrs. C. J. NiLES, Thetford, Vt. Mrs. E. L. NoYES ■ . . Boston, Mass. Mrs. Oliver B. Quimby, .... Brockton, Mass. Miss Anna V. Shaw New Bedford, Mass. Mrs. Lizzie S. Stowell, .... Claremont. N. H. Mrs. Joseph Willis, Canton, Mass. FOURTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE. Staff : Marshall Perkins, Ass't Surgeon, physician, Marlow, N. H. Company A. GooDNOW, Edwin J., private, machinist, . . Westmoreland, N. H. Hall, Charles P., captain, teacher Hinsdale, N. H. Knowlton, Asa, private, farmer, Dublin, N. H. Latham, A. Henry, corporal, mechanic, . . • . Hinsdale, N. H. Mason, David, private, farmer, Dublin, N. H. Wardwell, George O., corporal, house-joiner, . . Keene, N. H. Company B. Gilbert, Chas. H., musician, dentist, .... Andover, Mass. Gowen, Charles R., private, hotel-keeper, . . . Springfield, Mass. Jennison, Charles H., sergeant, merchant, . . . Chicago, 111. Turner, Jonathan, corporal, furniture manufacturer, . Ayer, Mass. EXCURSION ROSTER. 123 Company D. Gove, Aldert, private, farmer, Hadley, Elbridge D., lieutenant, lawyer, HoDGDON, C. W., captain, dentist, . . Seabrook, N. H. . Luverne, Minn. 169 Court St., Boston, Mass. Company I. Comings, Charles B., sergeant, furniture, . . . Lebanon, N. H. Hunter, Harlan P., private, mechanic, . . . Claremont, N. H. HuNTOON, Ransom, sergeant, cloth-folder, . . . Newport, N. H. Mace, Henry C, private, teamster, .... Claremont, N. H. Santry, John, private, saloonkeeper, ..... Lynn, Mass. Stowell, George H., Jr., sergeant, manufacturer, . Claremont, N. H. Company C. Berry, Ira, Jr., brevet-major, merchant, .... Portland, Me. Coombs, Carroll L., private, mechanic, . . West Dummerston, Vt. Wright, Carroll D., colonel, chief of Massachusetts bureau of statistics, Boston, Mass. Company F. Baldwin, Henry E., corporal, sawyer, . . . Winchester, N. H. Bolton, James H., private, farmer, .... Ashuelot, N. H. BuFFUM, Francis H., color-sergeant, journalist. Herald Office, Boston, Mass. Day, George A., band leader, carpenter, . . . Hinsdale, N. H. Farr, Chauncey S., private, machinist, . . . Hinsdale, N. H. Howard, Charles G., lieutenant, gardener, . . . Springfield, Mass. Thompson, Daniel H., corporal, farmer, . . . Winchester, N. H. Company G. Cooper, Albert, musician, expressman Boston, Mass. Hatch, Herbert C, private, farmer, . . . Bellows Falls, Vt. Howard, Edward B., lieutenant, pork packer, . . . New York. Learned, Marion D., corporal, fruit grower, . . So. Vineland, N. J. Mower, N. W., musician, railroad agent, . . East Jaffrey, N. H. Pierce, Albert S., corporal, locomotive machinist, . Fitchburg, Mass. Poole, Joel H., private, summer hotel, .... Jaffrey, N. H. Russell, James W., lieutenant, merchant, .... Keene, N. H. Sturtevant, John W., captain, books and stationery, . Keene, N. H. ToLMAN, Flavel L., major, furniture manufacturer, . Leominster, Mass. Turner, Henry A., sergeant, livery keeper, . . . Gardner, Mass. THIRTY-FOURTH MASSACHUSETTS. Company A. Walker, Robert W., lieutenant, shirt cutter, . . Boston, Mass. Company B. Needham, James A., corporal, overseer, .... Clinton, Mass. Company X>. Walker, Melville E., captain, manufacturer, . . Providence, R. L 124 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. Company £. Bemis, Henry, corporal, boot cutter, Spencer, Mass. GiFFiN, Charles H., musician, mail carrier, . . Brookfiekl, Mass. Hall, Henry T., captain, treas. manf'g co., 179 Devonshire St., Boston, Mass. Company F. Lombard, Joseph H., private, foreman boot factory, N. Brookfield, Mass. Company H. Cheney, William H. H., musician, farmer, . . Southbridge, Mass. CoNGDON, George, sergeant, overseer, . . . Fall River, Mass. Corey, George W., corporal, ass't postmaster, . Southbridge, Mass. Houghton, Harlan P., lieutenant, carpenter, . . Providence, R. I. Morse, Andrew H., private, farmer, .... Southbridge, Mass. Company I. Bliss, George, private, provision dealer, . . . West Warren, Mass. Carey, Ephraim C, private, farmer, Warren, Mass. Gilbert, Lucien W., private, machinist, . . Warren, Mass. Wilson, Austin F., private, conductor O. C. R. R., . . Boston, Mass. THIRTY-KIGHTH 3IASHACHU8ETTS. Company A. Tarbell, William A., lieutenant, salesman, 110 North St., Boston, Mass. Company B. Chapman, James W., ist sergeant, commissioner of deeds, Boston, Mass. Company 1). Byrnes, Arthur S., ist sergeant, Plymouth, Mass. Howland, Charles C, captain, grocer, .... Boston, Mass. Company K. Flynn, Frank M , private, dyer, Lynn, Mass. Company F. LUNT, Alphonso M., sergeant, railway postal clerk, E. Cambridge, Mass. Powers, George W., corporal, proof-reader, . , . Boston, Mass. Wellington, Austin C, acting adjutant, now colonel ist reg't M. V. M., coal dealer, Boston, Ma^s. Company G. Whitney, William H., captain, civil engineer and surveyor, Boston, Mass. Company H. Rodman, Thomas R., captain, accountant, . . New Bedford, Mass. Shaw, Charles F., lieutenant, wholesale grocer, New Bedford, Mass. Company I. DeLacy, John P., private, soldier's messenger corps, . Boston, Mass. EXCURSION ROSTER. 125 THIKD MASSACHUSETTS CAVALKV. Armstrong, George, corporal, cabinet maker, . . . Everett, Mass. Cunningham, Wm. H., lieutenant, eng. fire dept , City Hall, Boston, Mass. Emery, Charles T., sergeant, clerk, .... Boston, Mass. Harris, Milan H., sergeant, watchman, . . . Leominster, Mass. Hervey, James W., captain, banker, . . . New Bedford, Mass. Lewis, Samuel W., lieutenant, newsdealer, . . . Danvers, Mass. NoYES, Edw. L., captain, provision dealer, 3 Wellington st., Boston, Mass. Pope, Henry D., lieutenant ; also ass't inspector gen., 3d brig. 2d div. 19th corps, paper dealer, 91 Federal St., . Boston, Mass. Thomas, J. Cushing, corporal, carriage builder, . . Boston, Mass. TWENTY-SIXTH MASSACHUSETTS. Berry, Frank S., private, clerk, Lowell, Mass. Bowman, Alonzo, private, chief of police, . . Brookline, Mass. Brady, James, Jr., captain, collector of customs, . Fall River, Mass. Hall, Delette H., com. sergt., woodenware manf'r, West Acton, Mass. Hosley, L., private, bookbinder, Fitchburg, Mass. Reed, George A., lieutenant, railroad conductor, . Saxonville, Mass. Stevens, Frank H., sergeant, farmer, . . . West Acton, Mass. Wheeler, Stephen W., corporal, farmer, . . New Ipswich, N. H. EI.EVENTH VEKMONT. Burnham, Edwin, corporal, clerk B. & A. R. R., . Boston, Mass. Campbell, E. R., private, also ist artillery, clerk, . . Brandon, Vt. Carpenter, G. N., capt. ; also, capt. C.S. U.S. Vols., insurance, Boston, Mass. Gibson, W. H., private, also ist artillery, shoemaker, Cambridge, N. Y. Hathorn, R. E., private, also ist artillery, harness dealer, Ludlow, Vt. Lamson, Lucien A., musician, druggist, . . . Hinsdale, N. H. Patch, Albert, lieutenant, clerk, . 160 Cambridge st., Boston, Mass. EIGHTH VEKMONT. Gillett, H. H., surgeon, physician and farmer, . . Post Mills, Vt. GiLMORE, W. H., quartermaster serg't, farmer, . . . Fairlee, Vt. Thomas, Stephen, colonel, farmer, Montpelier, Vt. Welch, James, lieutenant, farmer, .... Randolph, Vt. FIRST RHODE ISLAND CAVALRY. Baker, Allen, Jr., captain, escort head-quarters cavalry corps, merchant, Providence, R. I. Gardner, William, sergeant, police, .... Providence, R- L Manchester, Thomas W., captain, jeweler, . . Providence, R. L THIRTEENTH MASSACHUSETTS. Childs, John F., private, shoemaker, Natick, Mass. Fiske, David F., corporal, clerk, Natick, Mass. Twichell, Joseph H., private, government clerk, . Washington, D. C. 126 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. MAINE. Danforth, Isaac H., ist battery, granite worker, . Brunswick, Me. QuiMBY, Oliver B., private, ist battery, shoe manf'r, . Brockton, Mass. Johnson, S. L., sergeant, 5th infantry, clerk, . . Chelsea, Mass. Thompson, Edward W., lieut., 12th inf'y, solicitor of patents, Lowell, Mass. Porter, Thomas W., colonel, 14th infantry, attorney-atlaw, 33 School St., Boston, Mass. Alexander, James E., 15th infantry, provision dealer, . Brunswick, Me. Chase, E. A., private, 29th infantry, physician, . . Brockton, Mass. Goodwin, Sewall D., seaman, U. S. Monitor Nakant, tinsmith. Wells, Me. NKW HAMPSHIRE. Fish, William W., private, nth infantry, clerk. West Somerville, Mass. Hadley, Edgar J., bugler, ist cavalry, machinist, . . Athol, Mass. Taft, Albert H., corporal, 9th infantry, physician, Winchester, N. H. Ui'HAM, Lorenzo M., private, 9th infantry, wool sorter, Hinsdale, N. H. VERMONT. BlXBY, HiRAM P., private, 2d infantry, farmer, . . . Ludlow, Vt. Bond, Thomas C, private, loth infantry, cutter, . . Boston, Mass. Fuller, Austin W., lieutenant, loth inf'y, furniture dealer, St. Albans, Vt. MASSACHUSETTS. Alvord, Henry E., captain, 2d cavalry, prov. marshal, cavalry reserve brig. ; farmer and teacher, . . . Mountainville, N. Y. Richmond, Lucius, captain, 4th cavalry, paints and oils, Brockton, Mass. Griffin, Wm. C, serg't, i6th infantry, leather cutter, N. Brookfield, Mass. Winward, Walter, private, i6th infantry, clerk, . Somerville, Mass. Ripley, Royal S., drum major, 30th infantry, North Chelmsford, Mass. Whittemore, Benj. F., chaplain, 30th infantry, ex-congressman, publisher, ...... 32 Hawley St., Boston, Mas«. Abbott, William H., sergeant, 37th infantry, hotel keeper, Neponset, Mass. Ely, William A., private, 37th infantry, express agent, Johnstown, N. Y. Reed, Nathan, sergeant, 39th infantry, shoemaker, . Natick, Mass. Ashley, John E., private, 45th infantry, salesman, . Somerville, Mass. Morse, E. T., private, 45th infantn,', ag't Adams' exp. co., Southbridge, Mass. Currier, Samuel, sergeant, 59th infantry, leather sorter, Natick, Mass. RHODE ISLAND. Rhodes, Elisha H., colonel, 2d infantry, U. S. collector internal revenue, commander of the Rhode Island militia, . Providence, R. I. Addeman, Joshua M., captam 14th heavy artillery. Secretary of State, Providence, R. I. Worthington, Charles D., sergeant, battery B., engineer, Spencer, Mass. EXCURSION ROSTER. 127 CONNECTICUT. Briggs, Charles H., captain, ist cavalry, clerk, Harpers Ferry, West Va. Willis, J. D., sergeant, ist cavalry, express, . . Willimantic, Conn. O'Brien, Lawrence, captain, 9th infantry, builder, New Haven, Conn. Dickinson, Leonard A., captain, 12th infantry, ass't adjt. gen'l, 2d brig., 1st div., 19th corps, postmaster, . . . Hartford, Conn. Smith, James E., adj't and capt., 12th infantry, book-keeper, Hartford, Conn. NEW TORK. Martens, W. G., private, ii6th infantry, jeweler, . . Rochester, N. Y. Otis, Chas. G., colonel, 21st cavalry, 2d division cavalry corps, elevator manf'r, 92 Liberty St., New York. Yost, Charles H., sergeant, 140th infantry, auctioneer, Rochester, N. Y. Graham, George W., lieutenant, 144th infantry, lawyer, Harpers Ferry, West Va. PENNSYLVANIA. DuDROW, Charles E., chief saddler, 14th cavalry, travelling passenger agent B. & O. R. R., Harpers Ferry, West Va. MARYLAND. Reynolds, George H., private, ist infantry, calker. Harpers Ferry, W. Va. OHIO. Abbott, William H., corporal, 29th infantry, soap manf'r, Holyoke, Mass. WEST VIRGINIA. Bristor, J. H., major, 12th infantry, real e tate, Martinsburg, West Va. Hull, Albert G., sergeant, 12th infantry, farmer, . . Taintor, Iowa. REGULAR ARMY. Upright, L. F., bugler, battery L., ist artillery, butcher. Harpers Ferry, West Va. SONS OF VETERANS. HuNTOON, Charles, .... Newport, N. H. King, George B., Boston, Mass. Latham, Ernie, Hinsdale, N. H. Pope, Harry H., Boston, Mass. 128 SHERIDAN'S VETERANS. CIVILIANS. Amidon, W. O., Hinsdale, N. H. Briggs, W. S., . . . • . . . Keene, N. H. Bromwich, C. M., So. Boston, Mass. Cahill, M. S., Boston, Mass. Calef, Ira C, Washington, Vt. Coffin, Charles Carleton, . . . Boston, Mass. Clark, Fred. O., . . . . .' So. Boston, Mass. Clough, William R Marlow, N. H. CowLES, H., M. D., Saxonville, Mass. Currier, Frank S., Natick, Mass. Farnsworth, C. N., . . . N. Leominster, Mass. Fish, Albert F., . . . . . Cambridge, Mass. Fletcher, D. W., Hinsdale, N. H. Fretts, C. a., Leominster, Mass. Gee, Elbridge B., Marlow, N. H. George, E. P., West Fairlee, Vt. Gove, W. B., Washington, D. C. Hall, Geo. A., Roxbury, N. H. Holt, CD., W. Gardner, Mass. Leach, Martin S., Hinsdale, N. H. Leonard, Fred S Hinsdale, N. H. Lewis, N. R., Fall River, Mass. Littlefield, Hon. A. H., .... Pawtucket, R. I. Magoon, a., ...... Uanvers, Mass. Nichols, J. Carlton, ... So. Boston, Mass. Packard, Caleb H., . . . . Brockton, Mass. Phelps, W. E., N. Leominster, Mass. Piper, Cyrus, Keene, N. H. Raynor, Thomas, So. Boston, Mass. Richards, Artemus So. Boston, Mass. Riley, C. C, Washington, D. C. Skinner, A. B Keene, N. H. Stearns, F. C, Saxonville, Mass. Stickney, Edwin D., Boston, Mass. Stone, E. C, Lynn, Mass. Stowell, J. a., Leominster, Mass. Tufts, Washington Brookfield, Mass. Turner, J. Ashley, .... Willimantic, Mass. Walker, A. V., . . . . N. Leominster, Mass. Worden, N.\than M., .... Hinsdale, N. H. OFFICERS OF THE SHERIDAN'S VETERAN ASSOCIATION. President Col. Carroll D. Wright. Vice-President, . . . Gen. Elisha H. Rhodes. Secretary, George W. Powers. Treasurer, .... Charles Carleton Coffin. Chaplain, Rev. B. F. Whittemore. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS lllillllilllillll 013 701 271 6