USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. III > Part 40
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Two low whistles, quaint and clear, That was the signal the engineer -
That was the signal that Guile, 'tis said, Gave to his wife at Providence,
As through the sleeping town, and thence Out in the night,
On to the light,
Down past the farms, lying white, he sped.
As a husband's greeting, scant no doubt Yet to the woman looking out,
Watching and waiting, no serenade, Love song or midnight roundelay
Said what that whistle seemed to say: "To my trust true, So love to you!
Working or waiting, Good night!" it said.
Brisk young bagmen, tourist fine, Old commuters, along the line,
Brakemen and porters glanced ahead. Smiled as the signal, sharp, intense, Pierced through the shadows of Provi- dence -
"Nothing amiss! Nothing! - it is
Only Guile calling his wife," they said.
Summer and Winter, the old refrain
Rang o'er the billows of ripening grain,
Pierced through the budding boughs o'erhead,
Flew down the track when the red leaves burned
Like living coals from the engine spurned; Sang as it flew
"To our trust true,
First of all, Duty - Good night," it said.
And then, one night, it was heard no more From Stonington over Rhode Island shore,
And then the folk in Providence smiled and said,
As they turned in their beds, "The engi- neer
Has once forgotten his midnight cheer." One only knew
To his trust true Guile lay under his engine, dead.
GRANT TAKES BRISTOL
THIS account has to do with two dis- tinguished American figures, although neither was a native born Rhode Islander. First, who were they and why may it be claimed that they were distinguished ? Ulysses S. Grant, the eldest of six children, was born at Point Pleasant, Ohio, April 27, 1822, and, as a boy, worked on his father's farm. In 1843, he was graduated from the U. S. Military Academy and served as an officer under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott in the war with Mexico. Then he retired from the military service and entered upon a business career. At the outbreak of the Civil War he drilled volunteers and was commissioned Colonel of the 21st Illinois Regiment by Governor
Yates. In 1862, after his capture of Fort Donelson he was made a Major General ; he captured Vicksburg July 4, 1863 ; won the Battle of Chattanooga later the same year; in 1864 Grant was made a Lieu- tenant General ; he forced Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, April 9, 1865; and, in 1866, Congress commissioned him General of the Army. General Grant was elected President in 1868, and was re- elected four years later. He died in 1885. That is a rather sketchy review of the life of a great American, but the sequence of events and the dates will help to explain the occasion which is about to be described.
The other distinguished figure, a con- temporary of Grant, and also a graduate
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of West Point, was Ambrose E. Burnside. He was born near Liberty, Union County, Indiana, May 23, 1824, two years after the birth of his future military associate. He started off in life as a tailor's apprentice, but his mind remained on such subjects as deployment, counter-attack, flanking and close order while his fingers mechan- ically basted and stitched. At the termi- nation of his apprenticeship, young Burn- side worked as a journeyman tailor for a time, and then entered into a partnership under the firm name of Meyers and Burn- side. Both partners were said to have been cranks on the subject of military tactics, and stories have been told of their soldier playing with buttons and other handy tailor-shop odds and ends. On one occasion, Burnside the tailor worked out a complicated military maneuver using more than 500 buttons which he patiently moved about on a shop board. Destined for more exciting experiences than cut- ting, fitting and pressing, the young tactician's interest in warfare procured for him an appointment to West Point, from which Academy he was graduated in 1847.
Burnside spent some years in garrison service, being stationed much of the time at Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island. He was a Lieutenant of Artillery in Mexico, and took part in several expedi- tions to quell Indian uprisings. Then followed a business career, spending five years in Bristol, Rhode Island, where he manufactured firearms, including his own invention, the Burnside Breech-loading Rifle. Like Grant, he re-entered the service upon the outbreak of the Civil War, going to the front as a Colonel with the Rhode Island Volunteers. He rose rapidly through the high ranks of line officers, and was finally placed in command of the Army of the Potomac. Several reverses followed this promotion, but he continued to hold important commands in various phases of the several campaigns that finally led to Lee's surrender.
In 1865, Burnside resigned from the service and became prominent as pro- jector and manager of railroads. He settled at Bristol, served as Governor of Rhode Island, from 1866 to 1869, and, from 1875 until his death, was a member of the United States Senate. That too is a
bare outline of a great American's career, but enough has been noted about both Grant and Burnside to reveal the re- markable parallels in their lives. They lived at the same time; their early lives were singularly similar; each graduated from West Point. They served in the same conflict with Mexico; and they promptly re-entered the military service when Lincoln called. They became in- timate friends, close associates in a cause for which they led a people to victory. Both Grant and Burnside attained high ranks in times of war, and they were honored by high offices in times of peace. They had much in common, which will explain what transpired on Rhode Island soil on and after August 17, 1875.
Bristol, Rhode Island, is noted for its enthusiasm and efficiency when it comes to any kind of patriotic display and ob- servance, and, evidently, Bristol's 4th of July super-spirit is not something recently acquired because when one examines the records of the reception given to President Grant in the summer of 1875, it is plain to see that General Burnside's adopted home town already knew plenty about stirring up excitement with bunting, bands and earth-rocking orations. Here are some of the high spots of when "Grant took Bristol."
For days and nights, the whole town directed by a committee headed by Mr. Isaac F. Williams feverishly prepared for the reception to the President. By the night before the day when the distin- guished visitor was to taste the delights of Bristol hospitality, Hope, High and Franklin Streets were "strewed with bunting, flags, streamers and festoons" (as one quaint account reads). The Common was arranged for one huge clam- bake and a mammoth arch was erected across the street opposite the town clerk's office. Private homes were gaily decorated with flags, and Bristol's traditional insti- tution of open-house put everyone into the right frame of mind for celebrating and rejoicing. By carriage, railroad and on foot great hordes crowded into the little seaport; guns boomed; bands blared ; frightened horses pranced ; and the harbor was alive with activities incident to the arrival of a President, several Cabinet
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officers and countless dignitaries who were to take part in the elaborate program.
At two o'clock on the morning of the 17th a special engine "William D. Hilton " (locomotives had names in those days) left Providence to convey the Presidential train from Worcester. A special car named the "Northern Crown" carried the President, and this car, equipped with sleeping and dressing rooms, was elegantly furnished. There was even a sideboard in the car, upon which stood "a large dish of his favorite fruits festooned with flowers." Engine "William D. Hilton" safely hauled car "Northern Crown" to Provi- dence, arriving at India Point about 6:00 A.M., and there the special car was switched to connect with the 7:45 train for Bristol. Few people were at the depot when President Grant arrived, because the time of his arrival had not been an- nounced; but it was not more than two minutes before the whole town, from Poppasquash to Mount Hope, was elec- trified by the startling news "The Presi- dent is here !" Young and old ran pell-mell for the old railroad station, and there the usual observations were overheard, such as, "Why he looks like any man - Is that Grant? - How fat he looks ! - I guess he takes life easy - He doesn't look like his picture." There were no jostling reporters, no acrobatic camera men, no autograph fiends in those days, but local constables, badge-wearing offi- cials, and crowding hero worshippers probably contributed the usual amount of confusion at such a scene.
General, then Senator, Burnside arrived in time to greet his old friend when he stepped from the train, and the official party immediately entered carriages for the ride through Bristol streets to Burn- side's home on Ferry Road. This resi- dence is still standing and can be seen to the east from Ferry Road, just to the north of Ferrycliffe Farm. As this was being written, a very rare photograph of the house, taken at the time of the President Grant visit, stood on the author's desk, and the remarkably clear view of the estate, with the General standing with members of his family and, of course, his favorite horse, helped to visualize what took place there when the two old friends
finally sat down for a quiet chat while the rest of the community fairly boiled over with excitement. Within less than an hour, Chairman Williams and his recep- tion committee appeared to extend formal greetings and the President responded with a few modest remarks. Grant prob- ably took a walk around the spacious grounds, undoubtedly looked at, and admired, the Burnside horse flesh, in- spected the General's famous poultry house, and remarked about the unbroken view of Mount Hope Bay and of the sym- metrical rise of King Philip's ancestral lands off to the left. Breakfast was then served and preparations were made for the grand procession and public appear- ance of the Chief Magistrate.
At 11:45, the various marching units, the First Light Infantry and other mounted commands, bands, patriotic orders invited to participate, lined up on Ferry Road, and the President took his seat in the carriage provided for him. Space does not permit a detailed descrip- tion of this particular Bristol demonstra- tion of patriotism, but, from all accounts, it was glorious tribute to a public hero. Dense crowds banked the line of march on both sides and cheers greeted the Presi- dent the entire distance of the parade. He responded to the salutes by frequent bowing, in the usual Presidential manner. A reception at the Burnside home fol- lowed the spectacular procession and the President was kept busy shaking hands for several hours. Many a veteran from Bristol and elsewhere in Rhode Island came to see their former war leader, for the ranks of the G. A. R., in 1875, were as relatively strong as those of the American Legion are today. The grandson of Chair- man Williams, Mr. W. Fred Williams, Jr., a resident of Bristol at the time of this writing, told the author of the speedy launch that the late Nathaniel G. Herres- hoff provided to convey messages from the Burnside house to the old telegraph office on the harborside. Evidently, the custom of a traveling President keeping in constant touch with the White House is not a modern practice. The following morning Grant was entertained with a sail on Narragansett Bay, and, in the afternoon, he sat down to a real Rhode
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Island clambake served in the open on the Common - Rhode Island's exclusive treat. And that about covers the high
spots of a very active three days in the colorful career of President Ulysses S. Grant.
PRESIDENT HAYES COMES TO PROVIDENCE
R UTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES, nine- teenth President of the United States, followed Grant in the White House and assumed many of the unfinished tasks in the tremendous problem of reuniting a nation, lately torn asunder by the trage- dies of a civil war. Hayes was born at Delaware, Ohio, October 4, 1822. He graduated from Kenyon College ; studied law at Harvard ; and began to practice at Fremont, Ohio. Later he served as a Brevet Major General in the Civil War, and, following the return of peace, rose rapidly in the ranks of political service. Briefly, Hayes served in the House of Representatives 1865, 1867 - elected Governor of Ohio in 1867 - and was re-elected - defeated for Congress in 1872, re-elected Governor in 1875 - the following year he was Republican Party candidate for President. The votes of Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida being in dispute, Congress appointed an Electoral Commission of 5 Senators, 5 Representatives, 5 Justices of the U. S. Supreme Court, who, by a vote of 8 to 7, decided the votes of these States in favor of General Hayes, and he was seated. Out of 26,627 ballots cast by Rhode Islanders in the 1876 election, Hayes received a majority of nearly 5000 votes.
One of the high spots of President Hayes' triumphal tour of New England, in 1877, was his stay in Providence, and, in telling the story of what Rhode Island did in welcoming so distinguished a guest, it should be noted that there must be quite a few living, at the time of this writing, who can remember the event. Of those elder Rhode Islanders who may read this account, the question might be asked, "Do you remember - the morning of June 28, 1877 - when a train arrived from Boston bearing the chief executive, hailed by many as the man who had
singularly reunited the country ?" At exactly 9:25 A.M. as the puffing locomotive appeared at the far end of the long curve to the northeast of the railroad station, cannons began to boom on Exchange Place, a signal for a general cheer through- out downtown Providence, and also for a wild rush to the depot. The police man- aged to keep a small space clear, and before the milling, shouting crowds were aware that the train had come to a stop, President Rutherford B. Hayes appeared on the car platform and stepped from the train. He walked between the Honorable Nathan F. Dixon of Westerly and Honorable Pardon E. Tillinghast of Pawtucket on the way to a waiting car- riage. Then followed the usual scenes when a President virtually rubs elbows with the people. There was much cheering, hat waving and handkerchief fluttering, and plenty of excitement as the President's admirers surged around the carriage. Obligingly the honored guest stood up in the barouche for a moment, quietly bowing acknowledgment of the ovation. When he sat down, hands and arms went at him from all directions, reaching for the priceless privilege of a Presidential shake.
In the meantime, local officials and prominent citizens, and many ladies, were pushing and shoving each other inside the station, all hoping to be in the limelight of the welcoming program. And by the time Hayes had reached his carriage, the attempt of these excited folks, who rushed to get out of the station, and the efforts of police who decided to keep them inside until the President could be moved to a safer, more protected place, caused, according to the record, a "dead lock." Finally, some order was restored; those who belonged in the official parties were allowed to proceed to their carriages and a
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procession was formed. Lined up for a grand parade were many of the civic, military and patriotic organizations of the times, - Wally Reeves and his famous American Band ; the First Light Infantry, commanded by Colonel R. H. I. Goddard ; several Civil War veteran units, police skirmishers, as they were called ; military and naval contingents, and an imposing array of "aides to the commander of the line," General Ambrose E. Burnside.
The procession moved over the cus- tomary route for Providence - West- minster, Mathewson, Broad, North Main Streets, etc. The sidewalks and streets were crowded all along the line of march. People perched in windows and on roof- tops, as they always do, cheering the President, and, at some downtown points, it was difficult for the line to make its way through the milling throngs. Here is a long forgotten touch that the youngsters of today have never seen on an occasion of hero-worship. When the Hayes pro- cession moved through the streets of Providence "The ladies frantically waved handkerchiefs and parasols." All the buildings along the route were covered with flags and tri-colored bunting, and, instead of being showered with confetti and mutilated phone-book sheets, the honored guest, riding with his head un- covered most of the way, knew that the city's enthusiasm was genuine when he beheld, displayed on the fronts of many buildings, huge scrolls bearing the hos- pitable word "Welcome."
The President's carriage finally arrived at the old mansion at the corner of Benefit and John Streets, and there the guest was to make his headquarters during the period of his visit. Governor Charles C. Van Zandt of Rhode Island and his staff received the President at the entrance to the mansion, within the reception room of which the Governor extended an official welcome, and the President responded with a few appropriate remarks, observing that "we have one country, one constitu- tion and one destiny."
A gay and colorful reception period followed, when all who could, for one reason or another, shook hands with the guest. In the line were national, state and city dignitaries, members of various
reception committees, military and naval figures, and social leaders. A few minutes before 11:00 o'clock, the official party was escorted to the steamer "City of New- port," and while guns roared again and bands blared forth with stirring martial music and crowds cheered, the boat pulled away from the wharf and headed down the Bay for Rocky Point, in those days a nationally-famous shore resort. The trip down the Bay turned out to be an enjoy- able phase of the reception for all on board, and there were many. Food and refreshment attracted the attention of everyone, including the President, for a time after passing Field's Point, but when all had been served, an impromptu pro- gram was enjoyed in the saloon aft, where the President remained with the Governor and other officials. The Mayor of Bangor, Maine, had a few remarks to make - Ex-Governor Lippitt read an original poem composed by Dr. J. B. Greene of Providence - and the President again spoke briefly.
On the way, President Hayes expressed delight at the scenery of the Bay, and stated that he was most anxious to try the virtues of a genuine Rhode Island clam- bake. Incidentally, it would be very inter- esting for many present day Rhode Islanders to read over the list of those who journeyed to Rocky Point on that famous excursion. Quite a few names, included then in the list of distinguished guests, are likewise important in this day and age.
Rocky Point was thronged with people waiting to witness the arrival of the President. Amid cheers and salutes the boat party marched to the dining hall be- tween two rows of veterans and Grand Army corps, lined up as a guard of honor. The American Band, under Wally Reeves, played "Hail to the Chief," and those who can remember the world famous bandmaster and composer say that his directing of the local illustrious group of musicians in the playing of this particular selection of salute was something never to be forgotten.
Then came the feast - such as only Rhode Island can place before King or humble servant. Clams, boiled to a tender delectability in steaming gallons of deli- cious chowder ; clams, baked to a mouth-
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watering brown and doused in golden melted butter; clams, stacked high in mountains of lobster, chicken, white and sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, fish, sausages, Indian pudding and water- melon - clams, once more stepped into the spot-light as Rhode Island's exclusive reception feature when President Hayes, his party and hosts, sat down to the long tables in the huge dining hall at Rocky Point. "Clams, more clams," resounded continually from a thousand throats as the empty shells buried the tables in ghastly piles. At last, as one quaint report of the scene recorded, "the veterans of a hundred victories from Williamsburg to Appomattox, whose hearts had never quailed at steel and lead, grounded their arms before the mild, the gentle but invincible clam." President Hayes ate plenty - enjoyed the whole gastronom- ical ritual. He admitted that a real Rhode Island clambake was not in the least over- rated.
After a short period of relaxation in the old Rocky Point Hotel, the President stepped to the piazza - there more speeches, more cheering - more bowing and scraping by distinguished people. It
may be interesting to note that a private demonstration of a new device, called the telephone, was arranged at Rocky Point that afternoon and the President found amusement in talking over the wire to in- dividuals at the City Hotel in Providence.
Later in the afternoon the President returned to Providence and every step taken found crowds awaiting to cheer and salute him. A state dinner in the evening wound up the day's well-filled program, and, doubtless, his wearied head that night had little room for dreams, filled as it was with visions of dancing clams and frolicking lobsters.
Providence was not through - the next morning a grand procession took him to a concert by the school children, thence to Dexter Training Ground, where a grand military review was arranged in honor of the President. At last, in the afternoon, the gaily bedecked Steamer "Massa- chusetts" had steam up to take the President and his party down the Sound to New York. When the last whistle on the Bay had become silent ; when the last cheer echoed down over the shoreline, the chief executive had his first chance to reflect that Providence certainly knew how to entertain a President.
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