USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Albany bi-centennial. Historical memoirs > Part 26
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121, Commander Daniel Gleason, John S. Chandel, Henry Baker and W. H. Shants, of Post No. 121; John Nott, of Post No. 305 ; A. R. Johnson, of Post No. 5 ; E. V. Reckmyer, of Post No. 215 of Sauger- ties, and Angevine Himes, of Post No. 34 of Troy. When the first division swept down Broadway and up State in splendid form, all the veterans dipped their colors and came to a present arms with their rattan canes. There were about nine hundred and fifty in line.
THE THIRD DIVISION.
Although smaller numerically than the other divis- ions, the third composed, with a single exception, of companies outside of the national guard, presented a fine display and was greatly admired. The division was under command of Marshal Thomas W. Cantwell and the following efficient aids : Chief of staff, Thomas C. Walsh; aids, Joseph B. Zeiser, John J. Mulderry, John J. Cassidy, Jeremiah J. Maher, Frank S. Niver, James C. Farrell, James Brennan, Henry J. Kearney, jr., Joseph A. Wisely, John J. Creagan and George E. Latham.
The crowds at the foot of State street were very large. The Athletic band of twenty-two pieces of Philadelphia, led the division. They accompanied the Rose Guard of Philadelphia, who appeared as the guests of the Jackson Corps. They were under the command of Captain James P. Holt, First Lieutenant Harry Hilbourn, Second Lieutenant Harry Cole. They had thirty rifles and three line officers. They appeared in dark blue uniforms, with cap of same color bearing the inscription, "Guard 94." The
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guard is connected with post ninety-four, G. A. R., of Philadelphia, a delegation of which accompanied them as guests. The following composed the delega- tion : Commander Fred. J. Cotton, senior vice-com- mander, Alfred O. Kurtz; junior vice-commander, William Tinsley and five comrades. The guard were entertained afterwards at the armory of the Jackson corps, where they made their headquarters while in the city.
The Schenectady Washington Continentals, Captain George W. Marlette commanding, preceded by their own drum corps of eleven men, followed. The com- pany paraded sixty rifles and three line officers, and attracted applause all along the line; appeared in an independent uniform, consisting of red coat, light blue trowsers and bearskin shakos.
The Severance Cadets, under command of Captain William Addington, and with two line officers and twenty-seven men followed the Continentals. They appeared in new uniform pants of dark blue with white stripe. The Johnstown band of twenty pieces followed, and preceded the famous Keck Zouaves, accompanied by fifty well-known citizens of Johns- town, who are honorary members of the company. They were commanded by Captain P. F. Case and had three line officers and forty men in the procession. The uniforms worn by the command consisting of red and white fez, light-blue blouse, dark-blue jacket, red pants and white leggins, presented a handsome ap- pearance.
The following disabled veterans of the Albany Re- publican Artillery appeared in carriages, following the
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zouaves : J. S. Graves, John Fredenrich, C. V. Gibson, Jacob Fredenrich, J. W. Baker, John Guardineer, Peter Hilton, John S. Clarke, Edmund Nesbitt, John Niblock, A. S. Richard, S. P. Winne, A. Austin, John Morrison, John L. Coon, John Travers, J. W. Upjohn, S. L. Bridgeford.
Captain Philip Guardineer was in command of the latter. Frederick Townsend Post, No. I, Sons of Vet- erans, preceded by their drum corps of twenty-two men, had the left of the line. The post turned out three line officers and sixty men under the command of Commander James F. McCabe.
The fourth division, occupying the left of the col- umn, though the smallest, held the position of guard of honor to the President, Governor, poet, orator and officers of the municipality. It was under command of Col. Edward D. Ronan, and comprised of the most celebrated military organizations of New York and the New England States. It formed on Eagle street, right resting on State. At the head of the division rode Col. Ronan, with staff as follows: Col. Wm. H. Terrell, chief of staff. Aids, Col. Joseph P. Eustace, Col. E. J. Bennett, Capt. S. Y. Southard, Capt. Wm. Todd, Capt. George W. Hobbs, Capt. S. S. Mitchell, Capt. David Teller, Sergt. A. Sliter, Wm. J. Nellis, Fred. E. Wadhams, Solan Slade, Frank Lodewick, Thomas Bishop, Robert Webster.
The staff, in semi-military dress and finely mounted, appeared to advantage at the head of this distin- guished division. Following was the staff of the Burgesses Corps, with an honorary staff of delegates from the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company
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of Boston, Boston Light Infantry Veteran Corps, Charlestown Cadets Veteran Association, Worcester Continentals, Governor's Foot Guard of Hartford ; Sixth battery, Fourth division, N. G. S. N. Y .; Sec- ond battery, First division, N. G. S. N. Y .; Hart- ford City Guard, veterans; Twenty-third regiment, N. G. S. N. Y .; veterans, Twenty-second regiment, N. G. S. N. Y .; Old Guard, New York; Utica Citi- zens' Corps; Providence Light Infantry : Capt. Oscar Smith, acting adjutant. The honorary staff numbers fifty-four, and was conspicuous for the richness of its uniforms, and was headed by the Germania band of Pittsfield, twenty-three pieces. The Burgesses them- selves were close behind their visitors, and made a splendid showing at every point, in scarlet and gold uniforms and bearskin shakos. Their strength was six staff, three line and fifty-six muskets. The Old Guard veterans' battalion of the Seventh regiment, two hundred strong, commanded by Col. Locke W. Winchester, and headed by Cappa's Seventh regiment band, whose music was a continuous delight, held the extreme left of the military column. At the head of the carriages rode City Marshal Thomas H. Craven.
THE PRESIDENT.
In the third carriage, seated beside Mayor Thacher, was President Cleveland, who was saluted with cheers as he passed. William H. McElroy, poet of the day, and President McCann of the com- mon council, followed, and in the fifth carriage was Governor Hill and Gen. James W. Husted, while behind it rode the Governor's staff in gorgeous uni-
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form. Last of all were the members of the common council and Bi-centennial committee in carriages. President Cleveland kept his head uncovered through- out the line of march, and acknowledged the cheers and other demonstrations with which he was greeted almost continuously.
EXERCISES AT THE RINK.
About 1: 30 in the afternoon Mayor Thacher, accompanied by the President, Secretaries Bayard and Whitney, Governor Hill and Bishop Doane entered the rink and took their places on the stage. Several aids escorted them. The Schubert club and Troy vocal society were seated on the stage, behind many invited guests, among whom were: Lieutenant-Gov- ernor Jones, Secretary of State Cook, Attorney-Gen- eral O'Brien, Judge Alton B. Parker, Insurance Superintendent Maxwell, Judge Muller and other State officers and their families were given seats on the platform, and Mrs. John Boyd Thacher was the centre of a group of Albany ladies.
About two P. M. the legislative members arrived, two hundred in number, and took seats which had been reserved for them in the centre of the audito- rium. The crowd was now dense; there was a black mass of people throughout the house, a perfect sea of faces.
Conductor Greig immediately lifted his baton and the overture from " William Tell " commenced.
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THE BISHOP'S PRAYER.
Bishop Doane then offered the following prayer :
" O God, the protector of all that trust in Thee, without Whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy," Who hast given us the inheritance of our fathers, that we may dwell in this city, which they founded in Thy fear, "increase and multiply upon us Thy mercy." Establish and make sure the firm foundations of civil and religious liberty, on which they began to build ; and while Thou keepest us secure in all our rights, make us faithful to all our duties, and careful of all our trusts. Bless the magistrates and all whom we entrust with the authority of governance. Behold with Thy favor and replenish with Thy grace, Thy servants, the President of the United States, the Governor of this State, and the Mayor of this city. Strengthen and uphold their hands for the maintenance of order, the furtherance of morality, the advancement of true religion, and the preservation of peace. Prosper all works undertaken to Thy honor and glory, for the promotion of sound learning, the healing of the sick, the relief of the poor, and the care of the aged, the widowed and the fatherless. Send Thy blessing with power upon every effort to build up and extend the Kingdom of Thy dear Son in our city, and throughout our land ; in the hearts of our citizens, and of all mankind. Hallow and make happy the peoples' homes. Prosper our industries. Guide and enlarge and give the increase to enterprise and labor. Teach us to love things that are true, and honest, and just, and pure, and lovely, and of good report. Make us of one mind as citizens, in all that concerns the welfare of the city, and give us grace to dwell together in unity. Help us who honor the names, to maintain the virtues of our fathers, and hand down our heritage unharmed and increased to " the children of the generations to come, that they may know the mighty and wonderful works which Thou hast done." Keep us under the protection of Thy good Providence, strong and steadfast in Thy faith and fear; that loving our city and our country, we may live as men who " desire a better Country, that is, an heavenly," and who look for the " City which hath foundations, whose builder and maker" Thou art. And give us grace "so to pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal," through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
34I
THE MAYOR'S FELICITOUS ADDRESS.
Mayor Thacher then delivered the following felici- tous address :
CITIZENS : Back of Albany to-day lie two hundred years of municipal history. Behind these two hundred are two and seventy other years of recorded and authentic events. Back of these two and seventy years, enshrouded in mist and cloud, are the uncertain forms and shadowy shapes of the years which belong to the beginning of our ancient town. We lay our hands upon our first charter and we touch one of the oldest municipal documents in America.
It shall be the task of the student of chronology to establish the date when the first men of Europe occupied this site. We can with confidence claim an older history than the Puritan colony. Jamestown died intestate and there is now no place to dispute our title until we reach on the southern coast what was once the Spanish possessions.
This river of ours, which seemed to flow from out the mouth of the great north, allured the early navigators up its course with the hope that it was an easy road to Asia. It was no siren song, and though the navigator failed to inter- pret it correctly, it sang to him of a beautiful country, of a rich land, of beaver skin and trade. His report brought to this hillside men honest and industrious, who kept a simple faith and wrought a determined work.
It was for a home somewhere here that the Puritans in February, 1620, made bargain with the Prince of Orange. The patent, for some reason, was not granted and the less hospitable New England shore received them some months later. We lost the Puritans but we gained the Dutchmen, and while in some respects our history may not be as stirring or eventful as theirs, our records make no mention of Salem burnings or Quaker scourgings. If witches were among us they walked the earth or rode the air unmolested and the Quaker, unreviled, went about his peaceful way.
If ancientness of days was all our claim for distinction and honor, we should merit no great memorial. Our war- rant for renown is based on the good report those days have borne to the judgment place of the world. The philosopher has observed that history is made up of distinct and advanc- ing moves like those in a game of chess. In the making of American history Albany has been an important piece upon
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the board, and has been the castle which more than once has checked the course of kings. Our Dutch city stood like a mighty fortress against the French, shielding and protecting the English in New York and in New England. When the Dutch gave in their allegiance to English rule, they trans- ferred with it the friendship of the Five Nations and effected new and lasting treaties. Whoever reads American history must observe the great importance of this alliance with the Iroquois. They acted as guards, as scouts, as skirmishers. Again and again these friendly relations were strained and nearly sundered by indiscreet and selfish men and the inhabi- tants of Albany were frequent but always successful peace- makers. There never was a year from the first settlement until the middle of the eighteeth century in which a war with the Iroquois would not have meant French ascendency and a changed destiny for America. Albany was the key to the situation in the great game of war.
It is given to others this day to speak of our city's worth and to tell her glories. I would add to the chaplet to be laid upon her brow a single tribute.
Here in the year 1754 was assembled the first colonial congress. Province and colony sent their delegates to consider a confederation of eleven of the States. That was a memorable gathering. In this city, and in no other place, American liberty was born! In this city, and in no other place, the American Union was born ! In this city, and in no other place, was born that two-fold principle made up of liberty and union, one and inseparable ; that principle which shall ever live and never die; that principle which is broad like the continents, deep like the seas, and which for per- petuity is like the stars fixed against the skies.
Mayor Thacher then announced the poet of the day, William H. McElroy.
THE POEM. I.
One fateful day, a people dear to God, Strong in his strength the house of bondage fleeing, Between the parted waves in triumph trod,
The sea herself their valiant ally being;
The free-born sea rose up on either hand
And made a pathway to the Promised Land.
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. But when along that wond'rous, wave-walled path The tyrant pressed, the fugitives pursuing, The free-born sea was moved to righteous wrath, And fiercely charging for the wrong's undoing The whelmed Egyptians agonized in vain - The longed-for further shore they might not gain. And so time's flood to stem, this lustrous hour, Behold what troops of memories are striving- O, may its waters wield the Red Sea's power, Thus what is precious in our past surviving, All vanished ills, the ages' cumbering dross, Like Pharaoh's host - they shall not get across !
II.
As the minstrel bends over his lyre And strikes it with fingers that falter, Aflame with the filial desire That the song shall be worthy the altar, When the jubilee's ended that still Some note that his anthem discloses
Shall linger o'er valley and hill,
Like the scent of the Bendemeer roses,-
Lo, a voice-lo! a shape in the air,- What ghost with a taste for the merry, In the joy of this pageant to share Comes back o'er the Stygian ferry ? What phantom, the lyre to thrill, Has left the Delectable mountain,
Where the Muses the nectar distil
That is hoarded in Helicon's fountain ?
There's a sword at the side of the ghost, At its wrists is a flourish of laces, Of a wonderful wig it can boast, Its waistcoat much broidery graces ; The hat it removes from its head Has too many corners for fashion, While its coat is so vividly red It would do for the genius of passion !
With a bow that is gracious and low, With smiles and the kindliest glances, With a step that is stately and slow, The mystical figure advances ; And the minstrel, though startled the while, Finds naught in the presence unnerving, For its face is as kind as the smile That plays on the pages of Irving !
" I am here," said the radiant ghost, " Pressing back through eternity's portal From the distant, unspeakable coast That never was trodden by mortal ;-
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It is love that the ages outwears, Its kingdom survives every other, So Schuyler, the first of the mayors, Comes back to revisit his mother !
" Uncovered each child of hers stands As round her we ardently rally, Her hills clap their verdure-clad hands, Joy's cup runneth o'er in the valley ; The river that hails her as queen, Is freighted with tender emotion, And sings of the beautiful scene Far down to the gate of the ocean.
" And now as you reach for your lyre, And strike it with fingers that falter, Aflame with the filial desire That the song shall be worthy the altar, I charge you to Freedom be true If the strain's to be worthy our mother, And O, let the Dutch have their due, And their glory not go to another !
" When the knights of humanity shine In the light of her final reviewing, You shall see - at the right of the line - Who most for her cause have been doing; You shall see in that glorified host The Hollander, ne'er a pretender, Whom the Pilgrim could ever outboast, Named Liberty's stanchest defender !
" Turn not on the Pilgrim with jeers- He thought he was serving his Maker When he cut from the Baptist his ears And strangled the decorous Quaker - His witchcraft you're not to unhood, Nor tell of the saints that he banished, For we know his intentions were good, And his bigotry long ago vanished.
" But fervent for justice I plead As you ponder the tomes of the ages ; Look well to the record, take heed To the light that illumines their pages ;- There - that is my mission - adieu - If your tribute's to honor our mother, Let the Dutch, let the Dutch have their due, And their glory not go to another."
III.
Good Peter Schuyler, there was little need To leave this mandate in the minstrel's ear ; Unwarned of thee he still had taken heed, The Dutch had had their due, Oh, never fear :-
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Or else the spirit of this grateful year Has lit in vain the torch of recollection, Whose searching light as sun-kissed dew is clear, And placed it in the hands of fond affection, As the dead centuries have resurrection !
Two humble little barques forever more Outrank the stateliest vessels of the line, And truc hearts give them hail from every shore Whereon the blessed beams of Freedom shine: Lo, there the MAY FLOWER, like the ark divine, New England guards with passionate devotion ; With kindling eyes she claims that in its sign Right wins its way from ocean unto ocean - And e'en the universe retains its motion !
But while our brethren on the eastern coast Extol the Pilgrim barque with grand acclaim, Clan Hudson voices pledge a different toast - The Dutch HALF MOON with swelling pride they name, Whose light on history's page shall never wane! Roll back, ye ages, to that morn afar When the Grande River kissed its anchor chain And Freedom cried, her western gates ajar, Behold a Half Moon is my Morning Star !
Then burst the sunlight on the Hudson's shores,- The precious torch that Heaven's pathway lights, The precious key of learning's priceless stores, The precious legacy to equal rights, The precious chart to Freedom's bracing heights, The golden rule, the Lord's supreme command, That every plant of bigotry but blights, - These were the boons that dropped from Holland's hand When the Half Moon had spied our goodly land !
And long as floats the Union's ship of State, So long these pilot barques shall lead the way On to that blissful anchorage of fate Where hope to full fruition yields her sway, 'Neath that supernal light that floods the perfect day : Till cold the heart and motionless the lip, Our souls shall magnify those days of yore, We'll not forget - we'll not give up the ship, Nor love the May Flower less, but love the Half Moon more !
O, Mayor the First, that in these scenes would mix For justice to thine own to fervent sue, Return in peace to realms beyond the Styx, We also to the pioneers are true, O, fond and faithful heart, we give the Dutch their due !
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IV.
But, Schuyler, as we hold the ship, we pray thee, tell us true - When last this jubilee was kept, had then the Dutch their due ? That first Centennial of the town, who is it knows its story, From age to age where gleams the page o'er which it trails its glory ?
The Press was very modest then and left a thing or two Beneath the rose - the bashful rose that shuns the public view ; So when the Charter feast occurred, the scanty record teaches, No paper even tried to print the after-dinner speeches !
We know the grand procession formed the City Hall before, That bells were rung and banners hung and anthems sung galore, We know the spirit of the day, we know - and more's the pity - That sundry spirits of the day were summoned by the city !
We know that ere the shadows fell the jocund fathers dined, But further annals of the feast we vainly seek to find ;- Who was the chaplain at the board, and did it boast a bard, And what the gastronomnic gems that graced the menu card ?
Who made the most alluring speech and who the saddest pun, What local chaff provoked a laugh and what the gossip spun ? - Ah, bootless is the tempting quest; the children may not know How 'twas the fathers kept the Day, one hundred years ago.
But Fancy, kindling at the thought, would fain the scene portray, Would place upon the present's shrine that reminiscence gay ; Across the chasm of the past would stretch her magic wire And catch the echoes, faint and far, that never quite expire !
The banquet hall was plainly dressed - they did not dine in state - Mayhap a Haarlem tulip lay beside each feaster's plate, And, serving as a centre-piece, a ship in sugar done, With Hendrick Hudson on the deck, delighted everyone.
An inkling of the courses served we hardly hope to gain, We know they relished simple food and drank their liquor plain; We know they loved the soothing schnapps and safely may declare, Whatever else the dinner lacked, the olykoek was there !
The feasting o'er, the cloth removed, the long-stemmed pipes were lit, Then burst the floods of eloquence, of sentiment, of wit- And when the curfew bell was heard, its pious precepts scorning, They sang in jubilant accord, We won't go home till morning !
The burden of the speeches made 'tis easy to surmise, George Washington they toasted first and praised him to the skies, And when they heard his deeds rehearsed for man's undying cause, They made that ancient tavern ring with rapturous applause.
And then a toast extolled THE STATE, and he who made reply Fixed on that babe in swaddling-clothes a prophet's glowing eye ; He knew the blood, he knew the nurse, he knew what prospects smiled, And so foretold she'd ever be the Nation's favorite child.
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And speaking thus he raised his glass and uttered CLINTON'S name - They hailed him first of Governors, and gloried in his fame ; They felt each ruler in the line would win the smile of God, If but he followed in the path the noble Clinton trod.
And then, the dearest toast of all was summoned to the fore - With cheer on cheer, with smile and tear, with clamorous encore ; The Mayor, with eyes that overflowed, sprang to his feet to say, " Now is the flood-tide of the feast- I give THE CHARTER DAY !"
At which arose from all their throats so long and loud a roar, The startled echoes raised their voice far up and down the shore, Till ancient vrouws, aroused from sleep, exclaimed-the simple souls- That Hendrick Hudson's phantom crew again was playing bowls !
The gallant son that made response was but a modest man, So though he placed the little town in all the ages' van, He spoke in such impassioned tones, with such a candid air, That those that hung upon his words were sure he witnessed fair.
He said within her palisades the Nation had been born. The child was but a feeble thing, its future looked forlorn, But when her Court-House ope'd its doors to greet that Congress bold Then on his fairest prize of all the Lion lost his hold !
He said that when the war cloud burst, with loyalty intense The town became the Nation's hope, its rock of sure defence ; 'Twas her's to hold the vital gate and - let it still be heard - She held the gate, she played the part that conquered George the Third !
The plaudits of the table rang about the speaker's ears, Those that had fought the rash Burgoyne gave nine tremendous cheers, While all declared with shake of head-why should they not, forsooth ?- He spoke the words of soberness, of plain unvarnished truth.
Before the panegyrist stopped he spread before their eyes The signs of promise in the town, of growth in grand emprise ; Indeed, such cheerful local signs were not deceptive tales, For as he spoke the boast went round of semi-weekly mails !
Besides, the bellman, strong of lungs, whose duty 'twas to tell, As every nightly hour struck, if all went ill or well, Declared unless the city checked its energetic stride He could not cover all the ground - some wards must go uncried !
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