USA > Maryland > Fifth regiment, I., M.N.G. : a history of the regiment from its first organization to the present time > Part 8
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The summer of 1880 found the Fifth again at Cape May, this time in "Camp Hamilton," Colonel W. H. S. Burgwyn, who had recently been elected to that rank, being in command. He resigned the same year, being succeeded by Colonel Stewart Brown, now (1889)
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commanding all of the State militia. The regiment arrived at Cape May on July 17, the command numbering 381 men in all. The Fifth was an important factor in the Sesqui-Centennial Celebration of 1880, and its appearance elicited a great deal of hearty enthusiasm.
Yorktown, the scene of the final triumph of American arms during the war of the Revolution, was an attractive spot for all the citizen soldiers of the country in 1881. The centenary of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis to General Washington was the occasion of a celebration there, beginning on October 13 and con- tinuing one week. The annual encampment of the Fifth was held there. After participating in the Oriole celebration, which took place earlier in October, the Fifth left for Yorktown, under the com- mand of Colonel Stewart Brown. Another battalion of State militia accompanied the regiment, with General Herbert in command of both. The Maryland soldiers went to Yorktown on the steamer Mason L. Weems, and held there a worthy place among the 1000 regulars and 20,000 militia which participated in the celebration. The Fifth at Yorktown numbered 400 men, and represented Mary- land with conspicuous success.
The Grand Army of the Republic held its national convention in Baltimore in June, 1882, and the Fifth performed its full share of the duties of hospitality which devolved upon the city. The summer encampment of the regiment was again held at Cape May, and was called " Camp Patterson," as a compliment to the old soldier who had so often testified his friendship for the Fifth. The year 1883 was a quiet and uneventful one. -
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CHAPTER XVIII. AN OVATION IN THE SOUTH.
THE MOST ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION EVER GIVEN A VISITING REGIMENT. - THE TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS .- HOSPITALITY EVERY- WHERE .- LYNCHBURG, CHARLOTTE, ATLANTA, AND MONTGOMERY TURN OUT TO WELCOME THE MARYLAND MEN .- BANQUETS, PARADES, FIREWORKS, AND SPEECHES .- THE STAY IN THE CRESCENT CITY .- HONORS HEAPED UPON THE SOLDIERS .- A THOROUGH GOOD TIME .- EXCELLENT DISCIPLINE .- "I HAVE NEVER SEEN A HANDSOMER BODY OF MEN."-IT WAS A GRAND SUCCESS.
The Fifth had already captured the North ; its next conquest was in the South. That the Fifth did not visit New Orleans until 1884 is in some respects a matter of surprise. The welcome which surely awaited them there, and the pleasures of novel scenes to those who had never been there, were the most powerful of attractions close at hand ; but New 62. Orleans was far away, and the Jersey coast was within a few hours' ride of Baltimore. The trip to the Crescent City, when the regiment did make it, BRIG .- GEN. STEWART BROWN. was a period of delight with the men as long as it lasted. The Carnival season gave it additional attractions, and all along the route the regiment received flattering attentions, which could not easily have been more lavish or genuine.
The Fifth left Baltimore at midnight on February 21, and, after a ride of eight hours, the train arrived at Lynchburg, where Captain Ridgway Holt, with the Lynchburg Home Guard, awaited the regiment. Captain Holt made a speech of welcome, to which Colonel Brown responded, and then the entire command enjoyed the
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breakfast which had been prepared for them. The Baltimore men exchanged badges with the Lynchburg military, and both com- mands regretted the limited time allowed for the stay there. Samuel G. Egerton was introduced as the chaplain of the regiment, and the people of Lynchburg regarded him as a chaplain of the old school, with nothing straitlaced about him.
Danville was reached at noon, and at this point the cars were raised, the narrow trucks were taken out, and broad ones of the proper gauge for the Southern railroads were put in their place. The temperature had become noticeably milder, and thereafter the car windows were kept open. In North Carolina the route lay through a beautiful country. A pleasant demonstration awaited the regiment at Concord. The station was crowded with pretty girls, who presented each soldier with a branch of evergreen. They were very sociable and merry, and entertained the regiment so pleasantly in an unaffected way, that Concord, the place where cards and addresses were exchanged, became a station to be marked with a white stone.
At half-past six o'clock in the evening the train reached Charlotte. On arriving there, the command was met by Captain J. T. Anthony, commanding the Hornets' Nest Riflemen, and many other prominent citizens. The visitors proceeded in carriages to the Chamber of Com- merce, where supper was served. The band of the regiment at this place, as at others where the men stopped, entertained the inhabi- tants with music, a treat which was everywhere appreciated. Only one hour and a half was allowed for the stay at Charlotte.
On the second day out the progress of the regiment was a triumph. When it reached Atlanta, its reception was the occasion of an out- pouring of the people, and the cavalry and infantry organizations of Atlanta welcomed the visitors at the depot. A committee of promi- nent officers escorted the battalion to one of the principal hotels, while the Governor's Horse Guards and the Gate City Guards saluted as it passed. At breakfast a cordial address of welcome was made by Governor McDaniel, who told the visitors that "the gates of this Gate City, like those of heaven, are wide open for you." Captain John Millidge, an old Confederate cavalryman, also greeted the visitors. Colonel Brown responded in a bright, felicitous speech. There was a parade after breakfast, which was witnessed by nearly all of Atlanta's population. By order of the mayor, which had been published the day before, the route of the procession had been cleared
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of all obstructions. The Governor's Horse Guards led the way. They were followed by the Gate City Guards, commanded by Lieu- tenant W. C. Sparks, and the Fifth closed the procession. Every man, woman, and child along the route of the procession seemed anxious to extend a personal greeting to the visitors.
THE READING ROOM.
There was but one stop made between Atlanta and Montgomery, and that was when Lieutenant-Colonel Amerine, of the Second Ala- bama Regiment, and a committee of officers boarded the train. They had come more than one hundred miles to meet the regiment. At Opelika, Ala., the Lee Light Infantry and several hundred civilians were at the station to salute the regiment, but the train was behind time and the conductor refused to stop. At Auburn, the cadets of the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College were drawn up in line, but the train also passed them without stopping. Telegrams of regret and explanation were sent back to both places.
At Montgomery, the reception was on a more elaborate scale than any of its predecessors. A roar of artillery from Captain Inglehart's battery greeted the regiment as it disembarked. Commerce Street,
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one of the principal thoroughfares of Montgomery, extending from the depot to the center of the city, was thronged with people, while all of the public and many of the private buildings were gaily deco- rated. The exercises consisted of a battalion drill ; the Fifth, for the first time since leaving Baltimore, wearing its full dress uniform. The other companies participating were the Independent Rifles, com- manded by Colonel.H. C. Tompkins; the Montgomery Grays, Cap- tain Graham ; and the Montgomery True Blues, Captain Garland. After the drill, the regiment was escorted to the City Hall. There it was awaited by some of the principal men of Alabama. Among them were Hon. Edward A. O'Neill, Governor of Alabama, ex-Gov- ernor Thomas H. Watts, Hon. George W. Stone, Chief Justice of the Superior Court, Mayor Gaston, and other men of prominence. On behalf of the mayor, General John W. Sanford, one of Stonewall Jackson's old officers, and Attorney-General of Alabama, tendered the Fifth the freedom of the city, in an eloquent address of welcome, in which Maryland was warmly eulogized. After Colonel Brown's response there was an exchange of cheers, which rendered the city for a long distance a scene of enthusiasm. A delightful banquet was given the officers of the Fifth.
The greater part of the population of Montgomery. accompanied the Fifth to the depot, and the regiment left that city amid a blaze of fireworks. The last stage of the ride to New Orleans was traversed during the night, and when the men awoke, the train was moving through cypress swamps. A stop at Bay St. Louis for the morning meal, a short run, and the regiment was in the Crescent City at 10 A. M. on February 24. An escort, which in itself was a high com- pliment, awaited the Fifth at their destination. It consisted of the Continental Guards, the Detroit Light Infantry, a battalion of the Washington Artillery (whose glorious history has scarcely been excelled by that of the soldiers of any age), and Companies B and C of the Louisiana Field Artillery. Five bands furnished the music, and spectators by thousands furnished an enthusiastic welcome. Substantial entertainments awaited the regiment at the armory of the Continental Guards and at the headquarters of the Washington Artillery. Finally, the Fifth was escorted to the St. Louis Hotel, which became known to the men as "Beauregard Barracks."
The Fifth was practically off duty on Sunday, the second day of their stay in New Orleans, and those who had never been there before found that one day was a very short time to give to sight-
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seeing. On Monday, February 25, the regiment was appointed as the chief part of the escort to " Rex." Colonel Brown had been appointed Brevet Brigadier-General, and the command of the regi- ment fell upon Lieutenant-Colonel Lipscomb. It was the day when " Rex" was to make his royal entry into the city, and Canal Street, which extends directly to the levee, and which is the principal busi- ness thoroughfare of New Orleans, as well as one of the handsomest streets in America, was brilliant with decorations. Other streets followed its example.
The heavy guns of the United States flagship Tennessee. aided by the batteries on shore, announced the arrival of "Rex," a pageant dear to the heart of every native of New Orleans. In the scene which followed, the parade through the streets and the delivery of the keys of the city at the City Hall, the men of the Fifth took a prominent part. They were the most conspicuous battalion in the escort, and their solid company fronts in close order, their disciplined step, and their band and drum corps caused their presence to be the event of the day.
"The Mystic Crewe of Proteus," which held their procession on the night following, are among the chief people of the city. The Fifth attended the Proteus ball, which was held after the pageant, and which furnished another pageant longer to be remembered than the one of the streets. Hospitality and generous confidence were shown in the announcement which was made at supper by the order of " Rex," that the full uniform of the Fifth would be a passport to all of the festivities during the carnival. In fact, the members of the Fifth were cordially welcomed everywhere, and compliments without number from the people and the press were showered upon them. Among the entertainments was a trip down the Mississippi. A Baltimore editor who accompanied the regiment wrote the follow- ing account of the trip: "'It was a grand success,' said Colonel Stewart Brown as the Fifth Regiment's special train pulled into Union Station, from its southern trip, at seven o'clock yesterday morning. The commander echoed the unanimous sentiment of his troops. Not one out of the two hundred and thirty-five men in the command has been heard to speak adversely of the excursion. No journey could have resulted in more general gratification. From the time the regiment left Baltimore on Thursday night, February 21, until its return yesterday, it met nothing but kindness and hospitality. If it had accepted all the proffered favors and invitations it would not
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have reached Baltimore again before April. Never since the war has any body of soldiers created such a furore of enthusiasm in the South. The trip, in fact, was a continuous, spontaneous, rollicking ovation. Even at Alexandria, at two o'clock in the morning, several belated loungers learning that the train contained the Fifth Maryland Regiment, got up a little hurrah all by themselves in celebration of the event. At Lynchburg, where the first stop for breakfast was made, the local military turned out en masse, erected temporary refreshment tables, and dealt out substantials and liquids unlimitedly, to sharpen the visitors' appetite for the excellent breakfast that awaited them in the hotel. In this place the enthusiasm began, and it did not diminish for the next eight days. All along the route, at the various stations, crowds collected and cheered the train as it passed. At Danville, where the trucks were changed, nearly five hundred people were assembled. It was given out that, in view of the Dan- ville riot investigation, the troops had been sent down to restore peace and order. Many of the colored people swallowed the story and went to the station to see the soldiers arrive. They were con- siderably disappointed when the train started again and crossed the Dan river on its southern trip.
"Concord, a pleasant little village in North Carolina, was reached Friday afternoon. The platform of the station was thronged with young ladies, beautiful and radiant, with their hands full of ever- greens and flowers. As soon as the train stopped they began the distribution of these mementoes, while the officers returned the com- pliment by giving regiment badges to the fair ones. This pleasant incident completely enthused everybody, and when one of the pret- tiest and sweetest of the maidens, after giving Colonel Brown a souvenir, asked in tones heard by those around her, 'Is he married?' the applause broke into cheers and peals of laughter, which continued long after the train had started. The sequel to this incident will come in later ..
" It was after nightfall when the regiment arrived at Charlotte. This city is one of the Arcadias of the South. With its broad streets, its multitude of cottages, its white lawn and its forests of shade, it has a beauty which is rare, even in the home of beauty itself. The Mary- land visitors were given the hospitalities of the city. At the Chamber of Commerce there was a formal spread, with speeches, in which Baltimore and the visiting Baltimoreans were complimented and praised upon nearly everything that a city wishes to 'be eulogized
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upon. At the hotel the most excellent dinner was enhanced by the smiles of a number of ladies who stood around on the porches and in the doorways. As a parting remembrance, the citizens gave the officers each a bottle of wine, and the privates were not let off before sundry mementoes had been put into their hands.
"At Atlanta, the most important city of the Southern country, the arrival of the Fifth was a great event. The mayor had, the day before, promulgated an order to clear the streets to be traversed by the visiting regiment. The local military met the Marylanders at the station, and after a breakfast, at which Governor McDaniel and Captain Millidge, both old Confederate soldiers, delivered hearty speeches of welcome, there was an extensive parade, which thousands of people witnessed. After seeing the Maryland boys, Captain Mil- lidge turned to Colonel Brown and said, 'I have never seen a hand- somer body of men than yours, they march magnificently.' He further said that it was the best parade that ever went through the streets of Atlanta. Captain Millidge is not only among the leading military men of the South, but he is one of the richest and most prominent citizens of Atlanta as well. The applause that rang through the large iron dome of the station as the train pulled out was something immense. Thence to New Orleans invitations came from a number of towns for the regiment to stop and enjoy the people's hospitalities, but the schedule compelled all to be declined. At two stations-Opelika and Auburn-companies were drawn up to receive the men, but the train swept by without the slightest diminu- tion of speed. Montgomery was the great objective point, and the committee, which had met the Fifth a hundred miles away, urged the conductor to run the train faster, so as to reach the destination as soon as possible. No sooner had the train stopped than there was a tremendous report, which shook the Pullman car as if it had been a cradle. Dr. Crim jumped to his feet and exclaimed, 'Great heavens ! What's that?' It was nothing but a salvo of artillery which had been fired from the river bank. Very soon, however, another report succeeded the first. By that time the soldiers had disembarked and had arranged in line to march by the military com- panies drawn up to receive them. The air was balmy, and nearly all the twenty thousand of the population of the city were out to witness the exercises. The battalion drill which took place on the broad avenue, under the command of Colonel Brown, went off amid the enthusiastic demonstrations of this magnificent audience. In front of
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the City Hall, in the square in which Jefferson Davis was made provisional president, and where General Sanford delivered the address of welcome, to which Colonel Brown responded, the scene was one that will never be forgotten by those who witnessed it. For squares the windows were filled with ladies. Some waved their handkerchiefs in applause, some in a quiet flirtation with the boys, some in both, so great is female versatility. The banquet which fol- lowed the afternoon's exercises was a splendid affair, which included all the delicacies that the Southern market afforded. Around the table sat the most distinguished men in the State, Governor O'Neil at one end, and Colonel Jones, a noted lawyer, at the other. The tributes paid to Maryland were beautiful in every way, not only showing a knowledge of her history, but an acquaintance with her industries and commercial facilities. Few after-dinner speeches have ever been delivered that were more eloquent than Governor O'Neil's address upon the beauty, purity and charity of Maryland women. The whole reception at Montgomery was the soul of cordiality. It exceeded anything in the regiment's history. Its effect will be long felt. 'The visit to-day,' said Dr. Gaston, mayor of the city, 'will doubtless wield a strong influence in a commercial sense. We have seen you, and we like you, and our people will not forget Baltimore in their business as well as social relations.' Inquiry developed the fact that Baltimore already enjoys a large and constantly increasing trade with Montgomery.
" For the first time in three years, the rules against fireworks were suspended, and the skies at night were brilliant with rockets and Roman candles. The regiment's departure was amid more booming of artillery and the cheers of several thousand people. Never had enthusiasm been more generous, never hospitality more unstinted. On to New Orleans, the incidents of the trip were few. The run over the bayou region, with its palm leaves and cypress trees hung in Spanish moss, was full of interest, and under the bright sunlight of Sunday morning its appearance was one of tranquil beauty. In New Orleans the reception was cordial and elaborate. The speeches breathed the same broad hospitality which had made the trip so pleasant. The regiment's headquarters were at the St. Louis Hotel, christened ' Beauregard Barracks,' an immense building, formerly the capitol of the State, and a place where much of Louisiana history has been made. The parades of the regiment always attracted large crowds. Unceasing attentions were showered upon the visitors, and the result was that every one of them had a good time.
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"No praise can be too high for the admirable conduct of the regi- ment during its stay in New Orleans, and in fact during the whole trip. Their gentlemanly demeanor made them scores of friends. Colonel Rivers, proprietor of the St. Charles Hotel, which is the leading hotel of the city, and the place where the men got their meals, said, 'I never saw anything like it-never, sir, during my whole experience as a hotel man. Here two hundred and thirty-five men have been fed three times a day, and I have not seen or heard the smallest complaint of anything the least out of the way. It is wonderful.'
" Hundreds of others testified to the gentlemanly behavior of the men. It was one of the pleasantest features of the trip, and the soldiers were as healthy as they were well-behaved. Dr. William H. Crim and Dr. Frank West, surgeons of the regiment, expressed amazement at the blankness of the sick-list. . All their medical duties consisted of relieving one mild epileptic fit, and in scattering around quinine pills for bad colds The regiment in physique, by odds, overtopped any military organization met. The men were able- bodied. They averaged more evenly. They did not march with ragged lines, but they had the systematic arrangement of trained veterans. They were larger in size than the Southern troops and better drilled ; and they had with them the best band ever seen in the Southern cities-a valuable adjunct. The Baltimoreans who are residents in New Orleans did their best to insure the enjoyment of the boys, and several of them decorated their business places with devices of welcome.
"The purchases made by the men ranged from sea-beans and alligators to carnival medals and music-boxes. It is estimated that over one hundred alligators were brought to Baltimore. Every man of the drum corps purchased one of the animals, and one man, thinking he had a bargain, bought four. They were all well freezed by the cold weather which prevailed in the South as well as the North.
" The officers of the regiment, to whose excellent discipline a great part of the success is due, were as follows : Field and Staff-Colonel Stewart Brown, commanding; Lieutenant-Colonel, John D. Lips- comb; Major, W. S. Anderson; Adjutant, Captain W. K. Whiting ; Surgeon, Dr. William H. Crim ; Assistant Surgeon, Dr. Frank West ; Ordnance Officer, Lieutenant Richard Hamilton; I. R. P., Lieuten- ant John K. Randall. Captain Robert P. Brown commanded Com-
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pany C; Captain George C. Cole, Company D; Captain Louis Schneeberger, Company E; Lieutenant E. N. Spencer, Company F ; Captain Charles D. Gaither, Company G; Captain Charles F. Albers, Company H; Captain W. A. Boykin, Company K; Captain N. Lee Goldsborough, Company I. Of the non-commissioned staff L. O. Fuller was Quartermaster Sergeant; C. W. Walker, Commissary Sergeant, and Mr. Benzinger, Hospital Steward. Companies G and K, commanded respectively by Captain Charles D. Gaither and Captain W. A. Boykin, were the largest in the regiment.
" The men fared well during the whole trip. The meals were sur- prisingly good. Only one slip-up was made and that was on the return journey, at Atlanta. But the Atlanta regiments did their best, and set out a lunch on one hour's notice that was plentiful in quantity and good in quality. The return to Baltimore was made in high spirits and on schedule time. A dozen towns wanted to entertain the regiment, but time was lacking and the favors had to be refused. There was a general desire to stop at both Mobile and Savannah, and many regrets were expressed because it was impossible to do so. The arrangements, however, had been made, and a railroad schedule is just about as immutable as any human production can be. The train, therefore, kept on according to program. Before reaching Concord, everybody fixed up a new toilet to catch the fancy of the country belles, but when the station was reached the only females in sight were three aged women, evidently spinsters, awaiting the next train. Great was the disappointment! The run onwards to Balti- more showed no decrease of pleasure. General Passenger Agent Slaughter put the train through on time, and did everything that a railroad man could do to make the journey a success. When the train was behind time, engine No. 19, which took the prize at the Chicago Exposition, was attached, and a speed of a mile a minute was easily made. The arrival in Baltimore was attended with much joy, for the boys, after ten days of travel, entertainment and march- ing, were tired out and eager for the comforts of their Baltimore homes. The regiment was escorted to the armory by fifty ' stay-at- homes,' under Captain R. D. Selden. It was a cold march, and was quickly made. Colonel Brown made a short speech, congratulating the men on their excellent conduct and the success of the trip. Then they disbanded to go to their homes, and to talk of the pleasant journey which they had so thoroughly enjoyed."
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