USA > Indiana > History of the Seventy-third Indiana Volunteers in the War of 1861-65 > Part 12
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The fourth annual meeting was held at Chesterton, Ind., September 4 and 5, 1889. Comrade John C. Coulter, of the Forty-eighth' Indiana, delivered the ad- dress of welcome, which is printed in the record, and was responded to by Major Kendall and Colonel Walker. Colonel DeMotte, of Valparaiso, also made an address, as did Curtis G. Hathaway, the son of Colonel Hathaway. Curtis G. Hathaway was elected an honorary member.
The fifth annual meeting was held at La Porte, Sep- tember 3 and 4, 1890. Edward Molloy, of the Eighty- seventh Indiana, delivered the address of welcome, and Sergeant Barnard, of Company K, responded in behalf of the regiment, both addresses being published in the journal. Curtis G. Hathaway, Colonel Walker, Lieu- tenant Williams, A. G. Webster, of Company K, and Major Kendall also responded. The regimental poet, Charles H. Doing, contributed the following poem, which was read by Sergeant Barnard, entitled :
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"SERGEANT JONES."
That's old man Jones across the street, Leaning against the lamp post there, With tattered coat and crippled feet, Bent form and grizzled hair.
Little he looks the hero now, Such tricks has time played poor old Jones; With meager locks upon his brow, And ague-tortured bones.
But eight and twenty years ago, Responding to the trump of war, Eager to meet his country's foe, Went Jones-a very Thor.
Fresh from the headlands of his fields ; Clad in the garb his mother wrought; Filled with an earnest patriot's zeal; Victory his only thought.
He was our Color-Bearer then, And straight as the staff that held the flag ; Always in front, he led the men, So proud of that "Striped Rag,"
Which was his pet name for that banner bright, By fair hands wrought in Northern homes,
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And ever dear to the soldier's sight, No matter where he roams.
He made a speech when they gave that flag, A gem in its way, if brevity counts- A soldier's speech who could not brag, And whose learning was told by the ounce.
"Ladies," he said, "I take this flag, And you bet I am proud of the trust." Then pausing (his words beginning to lag), "And I'll carry her through, or bust."
For three long years we followed that flag, Warmed by its presence when blood ran cold ; Through valley and over mountain crag, Where e'er the war tide rolled.
And when, at the midnight of the strife, That Christmas week of "Sixty-two," Both armies paused, with carnage rife, As they near Stone River drew ;
They paused to test the power of each, With saber's flash and cannon's roar ; To make and fill the deadly breach, And leaden hail outpour.
There, on that fateful Wednesday morn, The wiley foe our flank had turned ; Surprised our right before the dawn- A victory brief had earned.
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When double-quick we crossed the plain, To where this bold assault was made; Our pathway ghastly with the slain, For dead men filled the glade.
And there, 'mid storm of shot and shell, Like that on Balaclava's field ; With fire and smoke and "rebel yell," The long lines surged and reeled.
There, musket grasped in eager hand, Waiting for orders to advance, We lay in line and closely scanned The battle's wide expanse.
Our men in front, like Spartans sought, The ground to hold 'gainst fearful odds ; Outnumbered, still, like heroes fought, And perished there in squads.
O'erpowered at last, reluctant yield, Close pressed, they stagger through our lines, Shattered and bleeding from the field, Like chaff before the winds.
And that dread moment, where was he, Our Standard-Bearer, staunch and brave? In front, with his flag, as he swore he'd be, While flag there was to wave.
The Color-Guards around him lay, Wounded or dead upon the ground ;
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Amid the thunder of the fray, Their lips gave forth no sound.
And still no orders came to rise- We mutely gazed from left to right ;
So close the foe we saw their eyes, With triumph gleaming bright.
Then eagerly our faces turn To where the colors proudly wave;
The Sergeant's eyes, with purpose burn, His thoughts the day to save.
Without command the order gives, "Uprise !" His voice rings out like a bugle's call : "Forward, Seventy-third !" he cries, "Give 'em a dose of buck and ball !"
At that close range no line could stand Before that murder-dealing gun, As up each sprang at his command, Four missiles sped as one.
And thus the Hoosiers saved the day ; So much recorded history owns ; And that old wreck across the way Is Color-Sergeant Jones."
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The sixth annual meeting was held at Crown Point, September 2 and 3, 1891. Hon. J. W. Youche gave the address of welcome, which was responded to by Lieu-
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tenant Williams on behalf of the regiment. At the camp fire on the second day Mrs. Colonel Hathaway attended and responded to a call for a speech, in which she expressed her gratification at being able to meet with the members of her husband's old regiment, and spoke of the Colonel having referred with pride, in the daily messages sent home, to his boys of the Seventy- third.
The seventh annual meeting was held at Argos, In- diana, September 7 and 8, 1892, at which Dr. S. W. Gould made the address of welcome, and in the absence of E. A. Jernegan, who had been selected to reply, Sergeant Barnard made the response. Colonel Walker, Dan H. Hensley, Captain Phelps, and others, also made short addresses. C. H. Doing, the regimental poet, contributed another poem called "The Little Refugee."
The eighth annual meeting was held at Indianapolis, Ind., September 6, 1893, the National Encampment of the G. A. R. being held there also. At this meeting speeches were made by Comrade Pavey, of the Eightieth Illinois, and A. G. Webster, of Company K.
The ninth meeting was held at Valparaiso, Septem- ber 5 and 6, 1894. Colonel Suman, of the Ninth In- diana, delivered the address of welcome, which is printed in the Journal, and Colonel Walker responded for the regiment. Colonel Mark L. DeMotte also spoke. C. H. Doing contributed another poem, entitled, "Ike Simmons."
The tenth meeting was held at Lowell, September 4 and 5, 1895, at which Rev. E. P. Bennett made the address of welcome, which was responded to by Lieu- tenant John G. Greenawalt. Colonel Walker also
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spoke, as did Hon. Mr. Gregg, of Porter County, and Lieutenant Williams.
The eleventh meeting was held at Westville, Sep- tember 16 and 17, 1896. The address of welcome was given by Mr. E. T. Scott, and responded to by Lieu- tenant Williams. An address was also made by Cap- tain Asa Cobb, of the Forty-second Indiana.
The twelfth meeting was held in Michigan City, Sep- tember I and 2, 1897. Mayor Van Dusen welcomed the boys to the city, as also did Rev. P. J. Albright, Chaplain of Rawson Post. Colonel Walker, in res- ponse, made an eloquent address, which was much ap- plauded. Major Kendall, Captain Phelps, Major Wil- liams, and Judge Biddle, of the Eighty-seventh In- diana, also made brief addresses.
The thirteenth meeting was held at Plymouth, Sep- tember 14 and 15, 1898, when Mayor Jones delivered the address of welcome, which is printed in the Journal, and Colonel Walker and Major Kendall responde:1 thereto for the regiment. Captain Johnson, of the Ninth Indiana, Major Williams, Comrades Ferris, Gor- such, Teele, and Herrold, also made brief speeches. At this meeting the following letter was read from our venerable Chaplain, having been written four days be- fore his death :
"Soldiers' Home, Los Angeles, Cal., September 5, 1898.
"To the Annual Meeting of the Seventy-third In- diana Regiment :
"My Old Comrades : I am still in the land of the liv-
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ing, but in a bad condition ; blind in my right eye, and can see but little out of my left. Away 'long in my eighty-fourth year, and I expect this is the last time I will be able to write to you. Old Comrades, I never forget you. My wish and prayer is that we may all be mustered into the great army above without the loss of one. I am not able to write any more. My love to all the Seventy-third men.
"My dear Comrades, farewell.
J. A. FRAZIER,
Late Chaplain Seventy-third Indiana Regiment."
The fourteenth meeting was held on September 20 and 21, 1899, at Logansport. Mayor McKee delivered an address of welcome, which was responded to by Major Kendall and Colonel Walker for the regiment. Major Williams, Captain Swigart, of the Forty-sixth Indiana, and others, made brief speeches.
The fifteenth meeting was held at South Bend, Sep- tember 5 and 6, 1900, Wilbur E. Gorsuch, President, presiding. This meeting proved to be the largest of any of the annual meetings that have been held, and will not probably be equalled in the future. There were 121 members of the regiment present, besides the hon- orary members and visitors. Mayor Schuyler Colfax, son of Schuyler Colfax, who was a member of Congress from that District, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Vice-President of the United States afterwards, bade us welcome to South Bend in a brief but eloquent address, to which Judge Barnard responded, both addresses being published in the
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Journal. At this meeting addresses were also de- livered by Colonel Walker, William Bradford Dick- son, Major Williams, and Abraham Lincoln Brick. then member of Congress from South Bend. Judge Barnard read another poem from Charles H. Doing, entitled, "Reunion Poem," and Colonel Walker, Judge Power, of South Bend, John G. Greenawalt, and Judge A. G. Webster all made brief speeches. The poem, and Mr. Brick's address, are published in full in the Journal. At this meeting Mrs. Wade gave a reception to the members of the Association at her house, where she pinned on each of the survivors a tiny American flag as a souvenir of the occasion. Mrs. Hathaway was also present, and the occasion was one to be long remembered.
The sixteenth annual meeting was held at Chester- ton, September 18 and 19, 1901. There were few in attendance, probably owing to the recent death of Presi- dent Mckinley and the gloom cast by that tragedy over the old soldiers. Arthur J. Bowser, of the Ches- terton Tribune, made an address of welcome, which is published in the Journal, and Major Williams spoke in response for the regiment. John Fuller, the Presi- dent, presided at this meeting.
The seventeenth meeting was held at New Carlisle, September 17 and 18, 1902. This meeting was of un- usual interest, being just forty years after the regiment was at Lexington, and miscellaneous remarks were made by many of the comrades. Henry H. Deacon, of the One hundred and twenty-eighth Indiana, delivered the address of welcome, and Major Kendall responded.
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Major Williams also made a speech and read a poem by Comrade Doing, entitled "A Song of the Camp Fire," which is printed in the Journal.
The eighteenth meeting was held at Crown Point, September 16 and 17, 1903, at which Mr. Frank P. Pattee delivered the welcoming address, which is pub- lished in the Journal, and Major Williams responded for the regiment, also reading another poem by Mr. Doing, entitled, "Regimental Poem." This poem is so closely related to the members of the regiment that we will include it in this chapter, as follows :
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REGIMENTAL POEM.
When an old-time Union veteran Hears his regiment will meet For its annual encampment To give the boys a treat, He's apt to think some naughty thoughts Of Fortune, if it's so He can't be there to meet them, And figure in the show.
And that's the way this comrade, In his disappointment feels ; And he growls at fate relentless When it frowns at his appeals ; So he must forego the pleasure Of meeting with them there, For the state of his exchequer Won't stand for railroad fare.
But there's not another comrade In the good old Seventy-third, . Who would enjoy the picnic As he who sends this word ; Then accept this humble message As a grace before the fun, From a distant comrade's heart of hearts ; . "God bless you, every one."
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Aye, faith, 'twould give him pleasure To meet his comrades there ; For two whole days of leisure, Their intercourse to share; To grasp their honest hands, And greet them as they come ; Oh! it makes the old man homesick To have to stay at home.
Take the regiment by detail, From A, along to K, Ten glory shining letters That gleam like ocean spray ; From the Colonel to the Teamster, All heroes, staunch and true, With their colors waving o'er them, The old Red, White and Blue.
He wants to see Had Williams, G. Webster and Clark Bales; He'd rather spend a day with them Than be the Prince of Wales; Clate Goodwin and Jut Ferris, And the boys from Chesterton, And the journalistic comrade, His friend, Ed Jernegan.
He wants to hear the rub-a-dub Of Charlie Pratt's old drum, As he hammers "Yankee Doodle" From camp to kingdom come ;
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He wants to hear Dan Osborn sing, The songs he used to sing, And taste, just taste, the apple jack, John Shanley used to bring ;
And a taste would be a plenty, For if Shanley's ghost could speak, 'Twould tell you that a canteen full Would kill you for a week; But the poison had its uses, And Shanley, on its trail, Would find it though the finding Brought his shoulder to the rail.
He'd like to try the biscuits A certain comrade made, Whose fame for biscuit making, Of late is much decayed, Since he's become a poet, But we've heard it slyly said, That his biscuits beat his verses, And they were hard as lead.
Of course, there are some comrades, Nearer to him than the rest, Men who shared their blanket with him, Men with whom he marched and messed ; But they're all as dear as brothers, Every mother's hero son, And he begs to be remembered To each and every one.
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The nineteenth meeting was held at Argos, Septem- ber 21 and 22, 1904. Dr. Gould delivered the address of welcome, and Major Williams responded for the regiment. Captain James M. Beeber, President, pre- sided at his meeting.
The twentieth meeting was held at Knox, September 20 and 21, 1905, at which George W. Beeman delivered the welcoming address, and Major Williams made the response.
The twenty-first meeting was held at Valparaiso, September 19 and 20, 1906, at which Lieutenant Upti- grove, President, presided. Mayor Williams delivered the address of welcome, and a response on behalf of the regiment was made by Professor H. B. Brown, with addresses also by Hon. E. D. Crumpacker and Colonel DeMotte, of Valparaiso, and Comrades Caulfield and Herrold.
The twenty-second meeting was held at Westville, September 18 and 19, 1907, John Herrold, President. E. T. Scott made the address of welcome, responses being made by Professor Brown, of Valparaiso Uni- versity, Major Williams, A. G. Webster, and Lieu- tenant Reynolds.
The twenty-third meeting was held at Lowell, Sep- tember 16 and 17, 1908, Lieutenant Clark, President, presiding. T. S. Robinson gave the address of wel- come, and Major Williams responded for the regiment, and an address was also given by Professor Brown, of Valparaiso, and brief speeches by Comrades Caulfield, Herrold, and others. Major Williams also read an- other poem by Mr. Doing which we copy in this record, as follows :
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GREETING.
If I could be with you, my comrades, to greet you, And grasp with affection each warm, honest hand, It would gladden my heart thus kindly to meet you And prove to you all just how loyal I stand. I have met some good friends, one time and another, And I hope to retain them life's rugged march through,
But a war-welded friend is as dear as a brother,
And 'twas there, my old comrades, I mated with you.
How we all marched together, through all kinds of weather,
How foot-sore and weary we tramped to the front ; The world may forget it; we're willing to let it,
But while we are living, regret it we won't. We all did our best for the cause without flinching ; We saw every feature of grim-visaged war ; We stood by our guns when hunger was pinching,
And we followed the flag, like the Wise Men, the Star.
In fancy I see, with unerring precision, The gathering in of the few who remain, To taste once again the soldier's Elysian,
With the hope in each heart that we all meet again.
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And that's why I'm sorry I can't go to meet you, And help to rekindle our fast dying fires ;
But the bearer, my friend, in my name will greet you, And say for us both what your meeting requires.
Though fate, unpropitious, denies me the pleasure Of joining your revels with story and song ; I'll send you this message, to read at your leisure, Regretting the author cannot go along ;
So good-bye, my friends, let my blessing attend you, As long as I live I'll be loyal to you ;
Though we're most of us grand-dads, we're still jolly comrades,
And the once lusty rum-lads, who fought the war through.
At this meeting the following letter was received and read from our first Lieutenant-Colonel, Oliver H. P. Bailey :
Lathrop, Cal., September 7, 1908.
"Comrades : I enclose 50c. U. S. stamps to pay dues. Please do me this kindness. I also request you to ex- tend to the Comrades my best regards. Oh, how much I would like to shake the hand of the best boys that wore the blue-the Seventy-third. I am now 83. I served as a private in the First Indiana in the Mexican War, 1846; as Captain in the Twentieth Indiana, 1861 ; and Lieutenant-Colonel in the Seventy-third.
"With best wishes to you all,
"Yours, F. L. C., "O. H. P. BAILEY.
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The twenty-fourth annual meeting was held at Ches- terton, September 15 and 16, 1909, Guy Pratt, Presi- dent, and Charles A. Pratt, Secretary. The address of welcome was made by J. G. Graessle, and response by the President. Miss Rose Hathaway, daughter of the Colonel, made some interesting remarks.
These annual meetings have been of great interest to all those who have been in attendance, and the regi- ment is greatly indebted to Corporal Ezra K. Barnhill for his long and faithful services as secretary, and for his efforts to compile and secure for the regiment a history. He continued in the office of secretary until 1903, when his health failed and he was no longer able to discharge the duties.
It has been usual for the Association to elect as president some one residing at or near the place of meeting ; so while the president was often changed, the office of secretary remained unchanged, until 1903, when H. H. Williams was elected. He served until 1908, when Charles A. Pratt was elected, and he is still in office.
The objects of the Association, are well expressed in the first section of the constitution, as follows :
"The objects of this Association shall be to per- petuate friendships formed in the service during the late War of the Rebellion ; to cherish the heroism and memory of our comrades who have fallen in the great struggle; to aid those who have participated with us, their families and dependent ones ; and to encourage a love of country and the inseparable Union of the States."
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These objects have been in the main faithfully car- ried out at the annual meetings, by personal inter- course and friendly exercises, in which all the im- portant matters of interest known to each individual in attendance have been recalled and made known to the other comrades.
At the meeting held at LaPorte, in 1890, a paper was read by Sergeant Barnard, giving an account of a visit made the year previous to Huntsville, Triana, Cam- den, Decatur, and Nashville, in which many facts were recalled of the experiences of Company K, and other companies, while on duty at these various points.
Among the incidents recalled at these annual meet- ings, which would be of interest sufficient to be preserved in this permanent history, is the incident that occurred on the way from Indianapolis to New Albany, and which resulted in the first death in the regiment, namely, the fact of the men in Company B being knocked off the freight cars while riding on top, and striking against a low bridge. Several of the comrades were injured, but Hannibal Wells, a musician of Com- pany B, was so badly injured that he died at Louis- ville on the 26th of August, 1862. Many of the boys were on top of the cars at this time, and called in vain to those standing in front of them to look out for the bridge, but they did not hear or comprehend until they were struck.
Many stories have been related of the experiences of the regiment on the march and in camp; some of them recall very plainly the digging in the Cave Hill Ceme- tery at Louisville, in our effort to fortify the city, soon
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after our return from Lexington. Some related to the fact, which is to be regretted, that certain of the men in Companies G and H obtained possession of spurious money, known as "Northern Indiana," which, to some extent, they undertook to circulate, and which acts on their part gave great concern and annoyance to the Colonel, until they were stopped by his orders.
Personal incidents of foraging and hair-breadth es- capes have been recited, until it may be difficult for the comrades to tell who was the hero of the incident; and perhaps it does not matter so much, for they are all entitled to have a share in the results. Some will re- call how, at La Vergne, a certain comrade, who had a sense of humor, and whom every one loved, induced cer- tain recruits to carry up old iron and pile it in front of the Quartermaster's tent, and then to persist in asking him to pay therefor, until the matter became so trouble- some that the Quartermaster made complaint to Colonel Wade, and after investigation, he ordered the practical joker to carry the iron away on his own shoulders, as punishment for the joke ..
These personal reminiscences are interesting to every survivor, and yet they are but the common in- heritance to all volunteer soldiers of the old war, and cannot be distinguished in kind from those so fully collected and published already; and we, for that reason, and because we lack space, will not undertake to gather them up in the story of the Seventy-third Regiment at any great length. Many such stories are contained in Colonel Hinman's "Story of the Sherman Brigade," and he frequently mentions the Seventy- third, giving many anecdotes known to our boys.
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It will be interesting to note that in the report of the Adjutant General of Indiana, published in 1869, ap- pears the following statement relating to battle flags and trophies, which are on deposit in the State Library at Indianapolis, to wit :
"Colors of the Seventy-third Regiment of In- fantry.
"National flag ; silk; faded ; otherwise in pretty good order ; inscribed, '73d Regt. Indiana Vols.'
"Regimental flag, blue silk; nearly worn out; in- scribed, '73d Regt. Indiana Vols.,' 'Chaplin Hills, Ky.,' 'Blount's Farm,' 'Stone River,' 'Crooked Creek, Ala.,' 'Day's Gap, Ala.,' 'Athens,' 'Decatur;' rest torn off ; staff in pretty good condition.
Some of our comrades, who are reported on the rolls as deserters, were probably captured or lost on our first march from Lexington to Louisville, but in the main it may be assumed that the muster-out rolls, copies of which are included in this history, are correct. The total number of enlisted men when the regiment was formed was 973. The recruits afterwards received brought the whole number of the regiment up to 1, 169.
This regiment had service a portion of the time in all three branches of the army, the infantry, cavalry, and artillery, if their experience on the Streight raid could be called serving with the cavalry. They per- haps did not wear the yellow stripes that indicated the cavalry, although they were mounted, and performed cavalry duty ; yet while at Nashville in charge of the siege guns, a portion of the regiment wore the red stripes as artillerymen. At the battle of Perryville,
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Private Swinney, of Company K, was detailed to per- form artillery duty, and lost his life on that battle-field.
The memorial resolutions at each annual meeting contain a list, which is fairly accurate, of those who have died each year, and the list of the survivors, which is corrected from time to time, gives a fairly accurate account of those still living, and who are scattered over many states of this Union. Many of them have reached high places in business, professional, and official life, and afford ample proof of the character of the men who volunteered in the Seventy-third. Most of them enlisted from purely patriotic motives, because they recognized that their country called them to its defense. They had no ambition to continue to be soldiers any longer than the necessity existed for their service, and when the confederate army surrendered, and they received their discharges, they at once entered upon the pursuits of peace with alacrity, feeling that their work as soldiers had been well performed, and was ended with the war.
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