History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II, Part 28

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1196

USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II > Part 28

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How the great army in camp was to be fed was a serious problem. In May the Camp Committee advertised for proposals at not over thirtyfive cents per meal, but the lapse of a month brought no responses. At this juncture Messrs. Butler, Crawford & Co., who were camp purveyors of experience during the late war, and business men of wellknown personal and financial responsibility, came forward with a proposition to provision the camps, provided suitable dining halls, kitchens, lunch counters and other conveniences of a certain capacity should be furnished them, and provided further that, with the exclusive privilege of fur- nishing provisions in camp, they should be permitted to charge at the rate of fifty cents per meal. Should these proposals be accepted, Butler, Crawford & Co. proposed to pay to the General Council ten per cent. of their gross receipts, out of which sum it was hoped that the eating houses, estimated to cost, gross, about 822,000, might be paid for. Before these proposals could be accepted, it was necessary, on account of the shortage of funds at the disposal of the General Council, that sufficient guaranty should be given for the net cost of the eating houses in case that ten per cent. of Butler, Crawford & Co's gross receipts should fail to pay for their erection. This guaranty to the amount of $14,000 was promptly furnished by twentyone responsible gentlemen, several of whom were members of the General Council. Thereupon the Camp Committee (on the four- teenth of July) closed its contract with Butler, Crawford & Co., and began at once the erection of the eating houses, pursuant to agreement. By the twentyfifth of August the buildings, twentythree in number, were all under roof, and by the eighth of September they were entirely completed. They were of great extent, were admirably arranged, and were illuminated by gas and electric light.

On the twentythird of June camp commanders were appointed, and at a later date rules for the government of the camps were adopted. The commanders of the several camps were as follows: Neil Camp (North and South), Moses H. Neil ; Hayden Camp, E. J. Pocock ; Dennison Camp, Thomas Jeffrey ; Army of West Virginia Camp, J. M. Rite.

By the eighteenth of August 600 tents had been pitched, and by the ninth of September the great camps were fully completed and ready for occupancy. The tents were all provided with an abundance of fresh, clean straw, a large part of which was donated by the farmers of Franklin County. A humorous parade of wagons bringing in contributions of straw took place on the sixth of September.

Jung Truly yours a. G. ration

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PHOTOGRAPHED BY BAKER,

Residence of A. G. Patton, 552 East Broad Street, built in 1878.

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THE GREAT ENCAMPMENT.

Applications for hotel, boardinghouse and residence lodgings began coming in early in the year, and continued coming, in increasing proportion, until the date of the Encampment. During the six weeks next preceding that date they were received in great numbers. The work of receiving, distributing and escorting the arriving organizations was performed by the Reception Committee. During the Encampment Week, and for some days preceding, the chairman of that committee, and his organized corps of helpers, were on duty, by reliefs, day and night, at the Union Station.

The prompt and orderly conveyance into and out of the city, by the railways centering here, of the vast crowds of people attending the Encampment, although a task of stupendous magnitude, was performed without accident, or cause of seri- ous complaint. By joint action of the railway companies, extensive tem- porary buildings were erected for the exchange of tickets, and the care of baggage, and sidetracking amply sufficient for the great mass of sojourning special trains was provided. Probably no city on the Continent could have received and dis- charged such a crowd with more alacrity, or less inconvenience to all concerned.

The crowning event of the Encampment was the parade. Custom requires that this proceeding, which is supposed to signify the arrival of the Grand Army of the Republic, should take place not later in the week than Tuesday. It was confidently expected that a larger body of men would take part in this demon- stration than had participated in any similar event since the review of our return- ing armies at Washington, and this expectation was fully realized. The im- promptu formation of so large a column, and its prompt, unbroken and orderly movement, without confusion or serious fatigue to the participating veterans, pre- sented very great difficulties, which were overcome only by diligent effort and thorough preparation.

The Chairman of the General Council being charged with the command of the parade, appointed as his Adjutant-General the Secretary of the Council, who proceeded at once to organize a uniformed general staff of fifty men. Eugene F. Weigel, of St. Louis, was appointed First Assistant Adjutant-General; with this and a single other exception the members of the Staff were all citizens of Columbus. The city being held responsible for the organization and success of the parade, as indeed, of the entire Encampment, the Staff, like the General Council, in whose immediate behalf it should act, was chosen so as to represent the varied interests of the city, as well as the Grand Army. As fully completed and organized, the Staff was as follows:

GENERAL STAFF.

Adjutant- General, Alfred E. Lee. Assistant Adjutant-General, Eugene F. Weigel. Second Assistant Adjutant-General, J. P. Slemmons.

AIDES DE CAMP. - FIRST SECTION.

Subdivision 1-W. D. Hamilton, Samuel Bachtel, Alexis Cope, Starling Loving. Subdivision 2-Andrew Schwarz, Robert L. Sweeney, George K. Nash, Henry C. Lonnis.

14*

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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

Subdivision 3-J. M. Rife, A. G. Byers, George W. Bright, Amasa Pratt.

Subdivision 4-George M. Peters, James H. Neil, A. G. Gault, R. W. Stevenson.

Subdivision 5-Isaac B. Potts, Fred. W. Herbst, Emory Huff, S. S. Mathers.

Subdivision 6 - James D. Harris, D. D. Bolenbaugh, J. B. Osterhause, George W. Early.

SECOND SECTION

Subdivision 1-Eugene F. Weigel, J. P. Slemmons, M. C. Lilley, James De Wolfe, C. H. Lander.

Subdivision 2-George B. Simons, A. V. R. Patton, John J. Leutz, Edwin Eberly.

Subdivision 3-T. Longstreth, C. O. Tracy, J. B. K. Conelly, John Beatty, Junior.

Subdivision 4-G. K. Jenkins, D. E. Bushnell, A. F. Emminger, David Greene.

Subdivision 5 -J. P. McCune, Winfield S. Huff, S. D. Hutsinpiller, W. H. Halliday Subdivision 6 -Charles R. Wheeler, H. S. Abbott, Charles S. Lilley, William II Roney.

By request and with the concurrence and advice of Mr. C. D. Firestone, chair- man of the Parade Committee, Chairman McMillin, together with the Commander and Adjutant-General of the parade, proceeded to prepare a plan for the organ- ization and movement of the parading column. The limited space as well as time available for systematizing and moving such an immense body of men suddenly brought together from all points of the compass, made it necessary that this plan should be worked out with extreme care in all its details, and that its execution should be directed with trained intelligence, and watched with the utmost vigi- lance. There were also questions of courtesy and precedence, some of them quite unsettled, which had to be managed with tact and delicaey.

After careful examination of the whole ground, it was deemed most advisable to mass the column by divisions on Broad Street, and the streets leading into it from the north, in the eastern part of the city. The reviewing stand was then located on the south side of Broad Street, just east of the north gate to the Capitol Square, and a line of march 2.65-100 miles in length, was adopted as follows : West on Broad to Third, south on Third to State, west on State to High, south on High to Fulton, by countermarch north on High to Naghten, by eountermarch south on High to Broad, east on Broad to Third and north on Third to Gay, Long, Spring, Chestnut and Naghten, where the parade would be dismissed. The advantages of this arrangement were these : It would afford a short, plain and direct route from the principal camps to the place of rendezvous. It would place the divisions, while awaiting movement, upon wellshaded, pleasant streets. The column would move on streets which were wide, smooth and agreeable for march- ing, and upon which an immense number of people could comfortably witness the parade. The two long countermarches on High Street would afford the partiei- pants in the parade excellent opportunities for seeing each other. The review would take place upon a broad and ample streetspace, where it could be witnessed by a vast multitude of spectators occupying the Capitol Square, and the streets and buildings adjacent. The parade would be dismissed at or near the eamps, whither many of the men would naturally desire to go after the march was over.

In its organization the column comprised eighteen divisions constituted and posted for movement as stated in general orders issued by the Commander and Adjutant-General of the parade. To these divisions commanders were appointed as

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follows: First Division, N. B. Abbott ; Second, C. D. Firestone ; Third, Moses H. Neil; Fourth, Emerson MeMillin ; Fifth, John G. Mitchell; Sixth, Thomas B. Van Horne ; Seventh, W. D. Hamilton ; Eighth, Charles T. Clark ; Ninth, David Lanning; Tenth, W. L. Kellogg; Eleventh, Robert N. Rownd ; Twelfth, Eugene Powell; Thirteenth, John C. Brown; Fourteenth, J. F. Oglevee; Fifteenth, Gil- bert C. Hoover; Sixteenth, David F. Pugh ; Seventeenth, Horace Parkf; Eight- eenth, E. W. Poe.

The Ninth Division was composed, in part, of the Naval Squadron, under Symmes E. Brown, Esq., Chairman of the Subcommittee on Naval Display. The Squadron represented one ironclad gunboat, one war sloop, one monitor, two mor- tar boats and five cutters, all mounted on wheels, and appropriately manned. The ironclad and monitor were propelled by steam, and were provided with mortars from which pyrotechnics were fired during the movement of the squadron. The naval display proved to be one of the most interesting and attractive features of the parade. The Eighteenth Division was composed exclusively of members of the order of Sons of Veterans.

In accordance with custom which gave precedence to the Department in which the Encampment was held, the Department of Ohio held the right of the line, comprising the first nine divisions, all led by Department Commander Joseph W. O'Neall.

Prior to the Encampment many of the veteran soldiers of Ohio had made known at the headquarters of the General Council their very earnest wish that the Union battle flags, in the custody of the State, should be carried in the parade. In pursuance of this wish the survivors of each organization to which the flags originally belonged were requested by the Secretary of the Council to select not more than five of their number to carry the flags, permission for which being first obtained, in the usual form, from the Governor and Adjutant-General of the State. Captain J. B. Allen, of the Adjutant-General's office, who lost an arm in the ser- vice of his eouutry, was appointed to command the battalion thus formed, which comprised about 500 men, many of whom had borne the flags they now carried in the battles of the late war. This battalion was given the place of honor, preced- ing the main column, and immediately following the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army and his staff and escort. This exhibition of the old flags, and of the veterans who had carried them through the smoke and flame of battle, was one of the most impressive sights ever seen in a parade.

Following the Battleflag Battalion, and preceding the First Division, marched a battalion of soldiers' and sailors' orphans from the Home at Xenia, commanded by Major Noah Thomas. This battalion, together with the other orphans of the Home, who occupied a platform erected for them near the Reviewing Stand, fur nished an object lesson of the war such as has been seldom seen.

Each division was followed by an ambulance accompanied by a physician of the Volunteer Medical Corps, for the benefit of any marching veterans who might be overcome by heat, illness or fatigue. The streets along the line of march were kept clear, partially by ropes stretched along the curb line, but chiefly by the diligent efforts of the Fourteenth Regiment, Ohio National Guard. That regiment, about

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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

500 strong, was detailed for this service by Governor Foraker, at the request of the General Council, and contributed very materially to the success of the parade by the efficient manner in which it performed the duties with which it was charged. A signal corps for the parade was organized of veterans of that service by Colonel Samuel Bachtel, of the General Staff, and was prepared for active duty, if needed. Owing to the admirable manner in which the streets were cleared, it was found practicable to communicate orders along the line much more readily than was anticipated, and the corps was not brought into requisition.

At ten minutes past eleven o'clock, A. M., the formation of several of the lead- ing divisions being complete, and that of the remainder assured, command was given to fire the signal for the start, and the march began. From this moment until the last battalion passed the reviewing stand at fifteen minutes past five, P. M., the movement was continuons, steady and unbroken. The sidewalks and open spaces along the entire line of march were crowded with tens of thousands of spectators, as were also the windows, balconies and roofs of buildings. The correspondent of the Cincinnati Daily Enquirer wrote thus in description of the scene :

This country has never witnessed but one parade of uniformed men equal to that of the Grand Army veterans today. That was the review of troops in Washington just after the close of the war. The procession which inaugurated the Twentysecond National Encamp- ment was a magnificent and incomparable spectacle. It brought together not only fifty thousand men who fought the battles for the Union, but one hundred thousand people came there to witness the splendid array of warriors and rejoice with them in celebrating their achievements.

The Grand Army of the Republic had today the most notable gathering in its history. The parade, in all probability, will never be equaled by that order again, and the marvelous multitude of marching men was a sight which will be recalled as one of the notable events in the lives of those who participated and those who were only spectators. It was a perfect day. Not a cloud obscured the sun, which beamed benignly, and not too warmly, on the devoted heads of the fifty thousand patriots. Such delightful weather contributed greatly to the numbers and success of the parade. The arrangements for the affair could not have been more complete, nor more admirably carried out. Among the vast crowds of men, women and children there was no disorder, confusion or accident. The citizens of Colum- bus proved themselves equal to the occasion, and no city in America could have managed an affair of such magnitude with more smoothness and order.

The Capital City was in holiday attire. Every dwelling, though ever so humble, bore some mark of respect to the veterans. On the principal streets all the business houses and private residences were decorated. It seemed that there was a spontaneous effort to make the visitors feel that they were welcomed, and among the countless throng not one word of com- plaint was heard. ... During the entire parade there were no blockades, no delay, and all the divisions passed the reviewing stand promptly and in perfect order. The veterans marched with firm step, and in the ranks were many soldiers who would answer the call to war again if the country needed their services. . . . All estimates agree that there were as many old soldiers in the city who did not take part in the parade as there were on the line of march.

The National Tribune, of Washington, D. C .- national organ of the Grand Army-referring to the same subject, said :

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THE GREAT ENCAMPMENT.

The Twentysecond National Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic is now history, and it is difficult to write that history in cool, temperate phrase. The temptation is almost irresistible to go off into panegyric-to use nothing but superlatives. . .. The parade was a pageant, the like of which has not been seen since the grand review in 1865, and probably will not be seen again in this generation. The lowest estimate by competent observers of the number of veterans in line was 40.000, and from that the estimates range to 70.000. The lowest figures make a host more numerous than the army which Grant com- manded at Shiloh, or Roseerans at Stone River. It was nearly four times the men that Scott led in triumph from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. Hosts nich smaller in numbers, and inferior in warlike spirit, bave frequently overturned kingdoms, and changed the course of the world's history. ... The arrangements were perfect ; and were carried out as ordered in every detail. There was not a hitch, or a failure of any kind to mar the perfection of the programme, and as a result there were no long breaks in the procession, nor waits to make the crowd impatient, but an almost unbroken succession of mounted aids, playing bands, and the solid tramp of files of marching veterans in blue. It would be useless to pre- tend to give a detailed description of a spectacle of sneh magnitude, and of evervarying character. There was a constantly changing appearance to the line, owing to tbe numerons bands, the specially uniformed companies, the banners and devices carried by the men.

There had been issued 630 tickets of invitation to the reviewing stand. Among its most prominent occupants additional to the reviewing officer-Com- mander-in-Chief Rea-and his staff, were Ex-President R. B. Hayes, Mrs. Hayes and daughter ; General W. T. Sherman, Governor J. B. Foraker and Mrs. Fora- ker; Mrs. General John A. Logan, Hon. Austin Blair, Hon. Allen G. Thurman, Colonel F. D. Grant, Hon. Jeremiah M. Rusk, Governor of Wisconsin ; Hon. John M. Thayer, Governor of Nebraska ; General Thomas J. Wood, U. S. A .; General B. F. Kelley, of West Virginia; General Lucius Fairchild, of Wisconsin ; Mrs. Rebecca M. Bonsall, Hon. J. H. Outhwaite, Hon. Russel A. Alger, Past-Comman- der-in-Chief John S. Kountz, General R. P. Buckland, General J. M. Duval, Gen- cral J. W. Keifer, Hon. Warner Miller, General John C. Lee, General E. E. Kim- ball, General N. M. Curtis, and others.

The dismissal of the parade, which presented one of its most serious problems, was accomplished smoothly and promptly, without obstruction to the marching column.

Opinions naturally differed much as to the number of men in the line, but those who had the best means of information concurred in the belief that the aggregate was not below fifty thousand. The time occupied by the column in passing a given point was four hours and fortyfive minutes, and tests by actual count indicated that not less than two hundred men passed per minute. The divisions were intended to average about four thousand men cach, and some of them exceeded that number, while others were much below it. The long wait which some of the later divisions were obliged to undergo before reaching their turn to march naturally caused the men to scatter, and it is quite true, as stated in the remarks above quoted, that there seemed to be as many men in Grand Army uniform looking on as there were who took part in the parade.

Estimates also differ very much as to the number of strangers in the city on the day of the parade. On this subject the National Tribune remarked :

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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

The attendance was unprecedented in the history of the Order [G. A. R.] Never sinee the war-seasoned veterans of the Army of the Potomac, and those who had followed when Sherman marched down to Sea, swept through Washington in resistless tide of armed power had there been seen such a gathering of citizen soldiery. To say that there were 100,000 old soldiers in the eity, and 150,000 of their wives, children and friends, does not seem a high estimate to those who were there and saw the immense throngs which filled the acres of tents, the streets, the hotels, the private houses and public buildings of the city of Colum- bus. The railroads reported 250,000 tickets sold up to the Saturday night before the Eneamp- ment met, and this did not represent the attendance by many thousands. There was a constant suprise at the numbers which had come from great distances. It was naturally expected that there would be an immense turnout from the country within easy reach of Columbus, for nearly 1,000,000 sokliers went to the front from the region, within a day's ride of the Ohio Capital. but far off California, Oregon, Montana, Dakota, Texas, Florida and Maine were represented by strong battalions.

The same paper truthfully remarks that " the people of Columbus entertained all comers with a generous, far-reaching hospitality that left nothing to be wished for. They comprehended in advance the magnitude of the occasion, and made their provisions with wise liberality." Some hearsay declarations the opposite of this, made by a few envious newspapers directly after the Encampment, excited universal indignation and protest from all parts of the country. Not only were all comers entertained with a generous hospitality which "left nothing to be wished for," but there was no time during the Encampment Week when the Gen- eral Council was not prepared to provide with food and lodging not less than 25,000 more people than had applied for such accommodations. It should also be stated that while the capacity and readiness of the city to entertain were far in excess of the demand made upon them, the prices charged were almost without exception moderate. Indeed many of our people charged nothing at all for enter- taining the guests whom they accepted. The Grievance Committee had practical- ly nothing to do -- it was the only committee of which that may be said-and the only serious complaints which reached the General Council are those of per- sons who fitted up comfortable lodging places which were not nearly filled. The camps were full but not crowded. The official programme for the week, of which 125,000 copies were printed and distributed was, in brief, as follows :

Monday - Reception and escort of guests, Grand Army posts and other visiting organiz- ations. Parade of Sons of Veterans at 6:30 P. M., and evening mass meeting under the auspiees of that organization at the Big Tent. Meeting of the National Association of Naval Veterans at the Capitol.

Tuesday - Parade of the Grand Army at ten A. M. General reception to the Grand Army at the Big Tent. Reception addresses and responses by Governor J. B. Foraker, Mayor J. P. Bruck, Commander-in-Chief John P. Rea, Ex-President R. B. Hayes, General Stewart L. Woodford and General S. H. Hurst. "Campfire " meetings in all the camps, Reception to the Woman's Relief Corps in the parlors of the halls of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb.

Wednesday - Opening of the National Eneampment at the Opera House. Opening of National Convention of the Woman's Relief Corps at the Second Presbyterian Church. National Convention of Ladies of the Grand Army, at Elks' Hall, Commercial Building. Twelfth Reunion of the Society of the Army of West Virginia, Big Tent, on East Broad Street. National Reunion of Naval Veterans, Sullivant School Building. Reunion meet-

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ings ; open air concert, 4:30 to 6 r. M., by the Children's Centennial Chorus, 1,500 voices, at the East Terrace of the Capitol; W. H. Lott, Musical Director. Evening campfire of the Army of West Virginia, at the Big Tent, East Broad Street, Hon. R. B. Hayes presiding. Evening campfire at the East Terrace of the Capitol. Evening campfires at Camps Neil, Hayden and Dennison.

Thursday - Business meetings of the National Encampment of the Grand Army and National Convention of the Woman's Relief Corps. Reunion meetings of all organizations. Closing reunion meeting of the Army of West Virginia, at the Big Tent. Campfires at all the camps.

Friday - Concluding business meetings of the National Encampment and Convention. Reunion meetings pursuant to adjournment. Last day in camps.

In the course of the week reunion meetings were held by the following organizations :

Ohio Infantry Regiments - First, Second, Third, Eleventh, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seven- ternth, Eighteenth, Twentyfirst, Twentysecond. Twentyfourth, Twentyfifth, Twentysixth, Thirtieth, Thirtysecond, Thirtythird, Thirtysixth, Fortieth, Fortyfourth, Fortyseventh, Fiftieth, Fiftyfirst, Fiftysecond, Fiftyfourth, Fiftyfifth, Sixtysixth, Seventyfourth, Seventy- sixth, Seventyeighth. Seventyninth, Eightieth, Eightyfirst, Eightysecond, Ninetieth, Ninety- fourth, Ninetyseventh, Ninetyeighth, Ninetyninth, One Hundred and First, One Hund- red and Second, One Hundred and Fourth, One Hundred and Twentieth, One Hund- red and Twentyeighth, One Hundred and Thirtythird, One Hundred and Sixtyfourth, and One Hundred and Eightieth.

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History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II, Part 28

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co Publication date: 1892 Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1196

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1196