USA > Ohio > Circulars, papers and annual meeting of the Ohio commandery of the Military order of the loyal legion during the year > Part 8
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We had grandmothers -- that's a tradition I have at any rate, and I suppose it is correct. I imagine that the women, the wives and the daughters of the men of '76 were the worthy ancestors of the women of '61 to '65. I have studied the history of this country some, and I tell you that whilst the men of the Loyal Legion are putting on airs, I want to say that the women of this country deserve a great deal of praise. (Applause.) And I have a notion to organize a Loyal Legion among the women. (Laughter.) I don't believe we are giv- ing them a fair chance anyway.
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I am a ladies' man and I don't care who knows it. (Laughter.) That's no secret at home. The heroes of '76 were not only men carrying muskets, but they were the wives and daughters of men carrying muskets who were at home spinning flax, carding wool by hand, weaving and sewing garments -- for who? Not for nobles, not for princes, but for men to go out and break the shackles, and let the oppressed go free. (Applause.) Come to think of it, I don't believe we could have got along without them, and the more I think of it the more I am convinced that the heroes of '76 would have been great humbugs if it had not been for the women. (Laughter.)
We are the descendants of the heroes of '76, or else there would not be a Loyal Legion here to-night. Now, Compan- ions, the heroes of '76 did something more than simply throw off the British yoke. They founded here a civil government such as the world had never known before, and sent out into the earth a political evangel that had never reached the cot- tages and homes of the race before. They invited all the race to come here and break with us the bread of political liberty, without money and without price. The world heard that invi- tation and the continents and isles of the sea have sent their millions, and they have come and have been absorbed into this great American Republic, and here we have built up a glorious Nation. How has it been done? Why, that loyal people of the three millions of colonists has within one cen- tury leaped up to be a great Republic of fifty millions of free- men. We had slavery ! You or I did not put that there. It got in some way or the other, but you and I did with our strong right arms break every fetter in the 600 battles of the great struggle, and let God's poor go free. (Applause.) The work our fathers began you and I gloriously finished, and I look at my country to-day, not of three millions of oppressed and poor colonists, but I hail it as a nation of fifty-seven mil- lions of freemen, with freedom's soil beneath our feet, and freedom's banner of glory waving over all. (Applause.)
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That isn't all. We are leading the nations. We are the biggest people on earth, and we are going to keep growing too.
When you and I floundered twenty-four years ago to get out and hang Jeff. Davis on a sour apple tree-which we never did -- we failed in that. But when we started on that we had a nation of thirty-one millions, and one-eighth of them were slaves. Now, we have fifty-seven millions-all free. Then we had a nation without credit, debauched and debased before the civilized world. To-day we have a better credit than any other nation in the civilized or pagan world. When we went into that war to conquer that conspiracy against the Nation's life, we were fourth in rank as to wealth, and now we are richer than any nation on the planet by from nine to eight- een thousand million dollars. When we went into that war to crush the rebellion we were the fifth nation on earth among the Christian powers in point of population ; now we outcount any Christian power by from eleven to nineteen millions, save Russia, and she has to count her wild hordes of Cossacks. We went into the war of the rebellion, you and I, when this Na- tion was the mock and the scoff of the world; now it is the supreme primate among the powers of the earth,-first in war, first in peace, first in wealth, first in all the elements of a national glory and first in the affections of mankind ! (Ap- plause.)
No one on earth talks of emigrating to Ireland ; no one on earth talks of emigrating to England, to Wales, to Germany, to France, or to any other country on the globe but our coun- try -- a country formed by the heroes of '76, who created lib- erty, justice and equality for all mankind.
Wherever upon this broad earth there is man who yearns for freedom, for independence, and for a chance in life, he beholds our glorious banner that waves on high, and incur- ring the perils of the sea, and the dangers of the voyage, he comes here, and kneeling under that starry banner of liberty he kisses it with a devotion that testifies of loyalty to its em- blem, and to what it teaches this whole country and man.
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The heroes of '76 were the pioneers in the grand upward movement of humanity ; all the earth since that great era has been advancing in the principles of a rational liberty, equality and justice.
The laws of England and of all the countries of Europe have been humanized. The grasp of tyranny has been re- laxed and our heroes of '76-for you and I are true to the legacy . left to us-set an example that in the near future will have revolutionized the whole earth. (Applause.) Have you ever thought of it? Of this country of ours! What a grand posi- tion it occupies ! The nations of the earth look to it and be- hold its achievements. Look at the steam engine; it had its birth in the brain of one of our children. Behold our people as they grasp the invisible electricity in its flight through the air, and chain it down, and behold, it administers to the wants of man. Behold the genius of a people that have linked the continents together with an invisible band of communication. Behold in us the grandest nation on the earth !
This evening I picked up a paper, and gave only five cents for it-though that was twice as much as it was worth- and yet I had in it the news from the Nile of to-day! And week before last in Toledo I paid two cents for an afternoon paper at five o'clock in the evening, and in it I saw an account of a battle fought that day in the midst of the burning sands of the dry deserts of the Nile. Who did this? The children of the heroes of '76 did it-no one else !! The world had been figuring on it, but they couldn't catch it. Our fellows did catch on, and behold the result. Then there is the tele- phone ; what a queer thing that is, to be sure. Hello! A few weeks ago I was ninety miles from home. A little boy came into the hotel, and said "Tiffin wants to speak to you, Gen- eral." That sounded strange to me, and I walked over to a little room, and I picked up that little black tube, and held it to my ear, and I heard a voice, and it was the voice of Mrs. Gibson ! I can make solemn oath to that, for I have been familiar with it and it's scolding for thirty-three years, and I
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ought to know it ! (Laughter.) The idea of a fellow talking to his wife ninety miles away ! If there is a young fellow here who isn't married, I want to give him a little advice. Don't you marry a scolding wife. (Laughter.) You see, when I was a young man a man could marry with impunity, because if his wife got on a tear and raised Cain he could clear out- skip! (Laughter.) He could say he was going down to the club, and see the boys, or if he had business he could tell a great many lies, and get out of it, but I want to tell you now when you marry and can be followed by a woman's tongue ninety miles long, you had better stand and take it, and not make a fuss about it. (Laughter.) These are some of the things, gentlemen and Companions, that have grown out of the existence of heroes in '76.
I suppose I am prone to wander from my subject, but others having stolen my regular speech, I must do the best I can. (Laughter.)
Companions of the Loyal Legion, it is quite early-in the morning -- but I greet you, and I greet you for the first time, and I may say I am a judge of humanity, too. I have said this evening you were a fine looking set of gentlemen. I feel that I am flattered by being permitted to mingle with you. I hope I may live to meet you all in a year from this time, and in two years from this time. I don't know how long I shall hang to it, but I want to give you fair notice I am going to hang on to this life as long as possible. (Laughter.) I have heard there was a better world than this, and I have a belief that there is a better world than this, in fact, that's my religious faith, but there is a great deal to be done in this world, and I am going to stay in it just as long as I can. I have, gentlemen, to tell the truth, been in it sixty-three years now, and it ain't likely I shall be here more than sixty years more, but as long as I do remain I intend to come here every year and have a good time. We will repeat the experience of to-night, except that the next time I come here, and have to make a speech, I want to speak first-I don't want to be gouged every time. (Laughter.)
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I congratulate you upon the success of this your second annual banquet. I congratulate you upon your rapid growth, and I hope that in a year from this time we may all meet around these festive boards again, and meet and greet each other as comrades in a most stupendous war. (Applause.) I hope we shall live to see it, and I hope these ladies will all come here again and join with us, and I will bring my wife along the next time. Maybe you don't think I have a wife? (Laughter.) Well, it's all a mistake. I will have her on the boards next time. (Laughter.) I think every Companion had better bring his wife along, and then he will behave. (Laughter.) And I am sure if I had had my wife here to- night she would have protected me against the grand larceny that has been perpetrated on that speech of mine. (Laugh- ter.) I will never come here again without my wife. I have fallen into the hands of the Phillistines. (Laughter.).
I guess I have said about enough about the heroes of '76. I have shown you how we are related to them, that they were great men, and as it is very early -- in the morning-I ask pardon for detaining you so long, and now bid you good night. (Applause.)
LETTER -FROM- GENERAL HORATIO C. KING, Of the N. Y. Commandery.
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 1885. CAPT. A. H. MATTOX,
Recorder Ohio Commandery, Loyal Legion U. S.
Dear Captain :-- I have just received your favor of Jan- uary 29th, and the accompanying invitation.
Accept my hearty thanks for the invitation and also for your courteous desire for me to respond to a toast. The dis- tance and pressure upon my time prevent my acceptance. I sincerely regret it, for no occasions are so happy to me as the gatherings of the old soldiers. Time diminishes none of my enthusiasm.
I was in this city when the war broke out. What lan- guage can describe the grand uprising of the people. Public sentiment, greatly divided on the grave questions of the hour, was consolidated as if by magic, when the "Stars and Stripes" were insulted at Sumter. Patriotism, which scarcely ap- peared above the surface, except on the Fourth of July, now burned with unexampled fervor. The surging mass which lined the streets from Bond to Cortland, was mad with enthu- siasm ; and when the flower of our militia regiments, with martial tread and banners gaily flying, forced its way through the frenzied crowd, their enthusiasm knew no bounds. It was such an ovation as Rome granted to her victorious heroes. The hearts of the people swelled with gratitude, and their lips framed unceasing prayers for their safety and success.
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The sublime spectacle of such an uprising was more than paralleled by the final breaking up. Over a million men, in- ured to war and fascinated to a great degree with the reckless desperation of the profession of arms, melted away like snow before an April sun, leaving no track of devastation or dis- order. Their swords were beaten into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks ; and the pugnacious of our politi- cians were not those who met a gallant foe on many a bloody field, but those who remained at home and fought valiantly with their mouths.
The rank and file-where are they? The officers sur- vive, we know that ; and it is a poor day for Generals and Colonels when, to paraphrase Artemus Ward, a brick thrown from a window of any hotel in a populous city wouldn't hit a dozen. But enlisted men are apparently not so numerous. I recall an incident of the re-union of the Army of the Potomac, in Albany, a few years ago. "Fighting" Joe Hooker was among the guests, and Corporal Tanner was presented to him. General Hooker looked rather skeptical, and asked: “I beg pardon ; Corporal, did you say?" " Yes, Corporal, General." "Well," said the General, in a vernacular common to other officers than Hooker during the service, "I'll be d -- d if you are not the first enlisted man I've seen since the war." Yet, if any one has any serious doubts about it, the pension roll will convince him that a grateful country, with unprecedented generosity, is still caring for the men who cared for it when its integrity was assailed. Their number reminds me of Pat's reply to a tourist in his country, who asked if Ireland did not have a great many absentee landlords? "Faith, and right you are," says Pat, "the country is full of them."
All honor to the brave men who, with steady nerve and unflinching courage, bore the brunt of battle and kept step to the music of the Union in the uniform of a private. Thou- sands there were who were content to carry the musket, care- less of rank or promotion, and only intent on fighting to pre- serve the Union.
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So swift is the flight of time, one can scarcely realize that nearly twenty years have passed since the sun of the Confed- eracy set behind the fair hills of the Appomattox. The mid- dle-aged soldier of 1861 is now the garrulous patriot,
"Who shoulders his crutch, And shows how fields are won ;"
and the stripling of that day now wages the battle of life in the prime of his manhood and vigor. The grand result of the war was notice to the world that this Republic was no longer an experiment, and it has secured to us, in all proba- bility, perpetual peace. The United States is leading the civilized nations in the direction of the arbitrament, no longer of the sword, but of the brain. I believe that within the next twenty-five years the principle of international arbitration will be practically universal. Sober reason is supported now by the great advance in the deadly character of modern guns. The wonderful improvement in this direction is making it, to say the least, dangerous to go to war, and unless scientific in- vention is restrained, the use of stretchers and ambulances in the field will not be required. Everybody will be killed. And when there is a dead certainty that every one will be made food for worms, I think they will be ready to follow the example of the doughty warrior, the hero of this little poem, with which I will close.
"The cannon all were silent, the bugles ceased to sound, And many a valiant warrior lay lifeless on the ground ; For night had forced an armistice upon the eager foes, And all around was quietness, save where the cry arose From wounded and from dying, or where the war-horse neighed, For man and beast alike had felt the keenness of the blade.
And now a lonely maiden is searching o'er the plain, For she would find her lover to kiss, if he be slain ; To tend his wounds, if wounded-to bathe his aching head; And still she weeps, for much she fears he's numbered with the dead. For hours she wanders slowly, and looks at every face, Till weary, sad and foot-sore, she leaves the dreadful place.
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But where-oh, where's her hero? For his country has he died ? And was he foremost in the fight-the bravest on his side? She walked till nearly daybreak, in sad and pensive mood, When suddenly the lost one before the maiden stood. Joy ! joy ! he had not perished. Ere was the fight begun, The owner of the gallant form had turned about and run."
I beg you to present my warmest regards to Commander R. B. Hayes and all my Companions, and believe me, Yours very truly,
HORATIO C. KING.
SPECIAL NOTICE.
On account of the large number of applicants to be balloted for and other business to be transacted, which will con- sume considerable time, the business meet- ing of the Commandery will convene promptly at 4 o'clock, on the afternoon of the 10th of February, in the Headquarter Room, Parlor A, Burnet House. As busi- ness of importance is to be transacted, a full attendance of the Companions is re- quested.
By order of
Brevet Major-Gen'1 R. B. HAYES,
Commander.
Official:
A. H. MATTOX, Recorder.
Jno. G. Mitchell.
First Reg. Band, (O. N. G.) Orchestra,
Burnet House, February 4, 1885.
Second Annual Re~Union and Dinner,
Geo. Smith. Director.
COMMANDERY OF THE STATE OF OHIO.
Loyal Legion of the United States.
-OF THE-
THE MILITARY ORDER
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QUARTETTE.
1
PROGRAMME.
I. Reception Committee will assemble at the Burnet House, at 8:30 o'clock A. M., or as soon thereafter as possible, to welcome and introduce arriving Companions and Ladies, and escort Companions to the headquarter room.
II. Headquarters will be in Parlor No. 12, office floor. The headquarter room will be appropriately decorated for the occasion, and here the re-union of Companions will take place throughout the day.
III. The Headquarters of the Reception Committee will be in Parlor No. 8, office floor. Members of the Committee will be found here to welcome guests and a collation will be served Companions in this room from 9 o'clock A. M. to 5 o'clock P. M.
IV. Visiting Companions and Ladies, and resident Com- panions and Ladies, those who desire to do so, will assemble in the Ladies' Parlors, second floor, at 11 o'clock A. M., to accept an invitation, under the escort of members of the Reception Committee, from Gen'l A. T. Goshorn, to visit Music Hall, the College of Music and the Art Museum,
V. The President and Board of Directors of the Young Men's Mercantile Library Association extend a cordial in- vitation to all Companions of the Loyal Legion and their ladies to visit the Library and Reading Rooms at any con- venient time during the re-union. The Library is situated on the east side of Walnut Street, between Fourth and Fifth Streets, and is open from 8 o'clock A. M. until 10 o'clock P. M.
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VI. Col. L. A. Harris, President of the Cuvier Club, has extended an invitation to Companions to visit the club house, on Longworth Street, near Race, during their stay in the city. Those who wish to avail themselves of this invitation will be escorted to the club by the Committee in charge, at or about 12 o'clock noon, after visiting Music Hall and the Art Museum.
VII. From 3 to 5 o'clock P. M. a reception will be given, in the Ladies' Parlor of the Burnet House, to Mrs Ruther- ford B. Hayes and other visiting ladies. All Companions and their Ladies, resident and non-resident, are cordially and earnestly invited to be present at the reception.
VIII. A Promenade Concert will be given by the First Regiment Band, in the Office Floor Corridor, near the Third Street entrance, from 6 to 7:30 o'clock P. M.
IX. The business meeting will be held promptly at 7 o'clock P. M., in the headquarter room, Parlor No 12. Applicants elected at the meeting, if they desire to do so, can at once be invested and attend the Dinner.
X. Visiting and resident ladies will please assemble promptly at 8:30 o'clock P. M., in the Ladies' Parlor, to be escorted by members of the Reception Committee to the Ladies' Ordinary, where a collation will be served from 9 to 10:30 o'clock. At the close of the Dinner the ladies will be escorted to the large dining room, where they will have an opportunity of hearing responses to toasts.
XI. The Dinner will be served as near 8:30 o'clock as possible, in the large dining room of the Hotel, and will be announced by the " Assembly" bugle call. There will be no special arrangement for seating guests at the table. It is suggested that Companions, before entering the dining hall, shall select some one comrade, or more, with whom ac-
QUARTETTE.
Geo. Smith. Director.
First Reg. Band, (O. N. G.) Orchestra,
Jno. G. Mitchell.
quainted, and with whom intimacies are pleasant, for a vis-a-vis or associate. Resident Companions, however, are especially requested to take charge of the visitors; each Companion making it his duty to see that those he chaperons are seated at the table and proper attention given them.
XII. The price of the Dinner Ticket is Six Dollars ($6.00). They can be purchased at any time during the day at the Office of the Hotel. Companions are respectfully urged to have their tickets ready to show at the door as they enter the dining hall.
XIII. The Song Book of the Ohio Commandery, just pub- lished, will be for sale and distribution throughout the day, in the headquarter room. The price has been fixed at One Dollar ($1.00), and books can be purchased of Major W. R. Lowe, Chairman of the Committee on Music, or Capt. A H. Mattox, Recorder.
XIV. The new Stand of Colors of the Ohio Commandery will be displayed at the Re-union and Dinner.
XV. The Reception Committee, Council and Resident Companions will be happy to serve, in any way, non-resident Companions and Ladies who may remain in the city during Thursday.
XVI. At close of the Dinner-TAPS!
COUNCIL.
MAJOR J. L. FOLEY, Chairman. GEN'L JAMES BARNETT. MAJOR GEORGE A. VANDEGRIFT. CAPT. J. MILTON BLAIR. GEN'L C. C. WALCUTT.
)
Jno. G. Mitchell.
* . .
ORRIGERS. . . *
COMMANDER, Brevet Major-Gen. Rutherford B. Hayes. SR. VICE-COMMANDER, Brevet Lieut. - Col. Ephraim C. Dawes. JR. VICE-COMMANDER, Captain Andrew C. Kemper. RECORDER, First Lieut. A. H. Mattox.
REGISTRAR, Captain William E. Kuhn. TREASURER, Brevet Major-Gen. M. F. Force.
CHANCELLOR. Brigadier-Gen. Joshua H. Bates.
CHAPLAIN Col. Edward Anderson.
COUNCIL, Major James L. Foley, Captain J. Milton Blair, Brevet Major-Gen. C. C. Walcutt, Gen. James Barnett, Major Geo. A. Vandegrift.
First Reg. Band, (O. N. G.) Orchestra, . Geo. Smith. Director.
MILITARY ORDER OF THE LOYAL LEGION OF THE UNITED STATES.
SECOND ANNUAL DINNER
OF THE
" Commandery of the State of Ohio, * .. Burnet. Douse, . Cincinnati, .. February 4, 1885.
MARCH ENTREE,
Orchestra.
PRAYER,
Rev. Geo. A. Thayer. .
MUSICAL SELECTIONS.
OVERTURE, - "Stradella."
Flotow
SELECTION,-"Beggar Student," Milloecker
"Let me Dream Again," R. Schlepegrell
WALTZ,-"See Saw." Arranged by C. Lewis
MEDLEY,-Harrigan and Hart's. Braham
A Welcome, Com'der Brevet Maj .~ Gen. R. B. Hayes.
QUARTETTE.
. . . . TOASTS. . . . *
"A Government of the people, by the people, and for the people."
"A people Who can not find in their own proper force Their own protection, are not worth saving." Capt. Henry L. Morey.
ORCHESTRA.
"The Old Flag." "Its defense the one lesson of patriotism."
Lieut. James S. Ostrander.
QUARTETTE.
"Our Comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic."
"They left the ploughshare in the mould, The flocks and herds without a fold, The sickle in the unshorn grain, The corn half garnered on the plain, And mustered iu their simple dress, For wrongs to seek a stern redress. To right those wrongs, come weal, come woe, To perish or o'ercome the foe !"
Capt. J. A. Watrous.
ORCHESTRA.
"Loyalty."
"Thy hand hath made our Nation free; To die for her is serving Thee."
Gen. Samuel Fallows.
QUARTETTE.
'Humanity in War."
"How glorious fall the valiant, sword in hand, In fronts of battle, for their native land ! *
* beautiful in death the boy appears, The hero boy, that dies in blooming years ; In man's regrets he lives, and woman's tears; More sacred than in life, and lovelier far, For having perished in the front of war." Companion James E. Murdoch. ORCHESTRA.
"The Heritage of Freedom." As our fathers did, so may our sons. "Snatch from the ashes of their sires, The embers of their patriot fires." Surgeon J. R. Weist.
ORCHESTRA.
"Killed and Missing."
"Give me the death of those Who for their country die ; And O! be mine like their repose, When cold and low they lie."
Capt. J. Kent Hamilton.
QUARTETTE.
"The Citizen Soldier." "To fight In a just cause, and for our Country's glory, Is the best office of the best of men." Gen. J. M. Schofield, U. S. A. ORCHESTRA.
"The Heroes of '76." "Each soldier's name Shall shine untarnish'd on the rolls of fame, And stand the example of cach distant age, And add new lustre to the historic page." Gen. Wm. H. Gibson.
QUARTETTE.
VOLUNTEER TOASTS.
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the .. United States, .. * *
COMMANDERY OF THE STATE OF OHIO.
&CIT
Second Annual Dinner.
. Burnet House, February . 4th, . 1885 ...
Address, Columbus, O. Occupation, Banker.
RECOMMENDED BY COMPANIONS :
Chas. C. Walcutt, J. K. Jones, Jno. G. Mitchell.
"A
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. MENC .·*
Blue Points,
Sherry.
Green Turtle Soup.
Sauterne.
Striped Sea Bass,
Dressed Tomatoes.
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