USA > Virginia > Post-bellum campaigns of the blue and gray, 1881-1882 > Part 2
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many sauntered up to the store to buy tobacco, but could effect no entrance. We knew some per- sons were in the store and we hallooed to them, and received a faint answer from the second story, telling us the 'boss' was away and there was no key to let us in. We knew that was not so, and that their fright alone kept them from letting us in. We expostulated and begged to be admitted. 'We are neither thieves nor Yankee soldiers; wont you let us in? We want to buy some tobacco,' cried one of our men. No response came. Notwithstanding all efforts made by ourselves and some friends of the Waddles, we could not enter. One of the darkies said, 'When d'as see a boat come round de pint, d'as always skeerd.' This incident was the occasion of the formation of the ' Waddle Association,' of which we are all mem- bers. Appropriate badges were made on board the boat by Mr. William Devereux, and presented to each man, who wore it as a token of their appreciation of 'Johnnie and Willie Waddle.'"
The evening and earlier portion of the night was spent in listening to a concert by the colored population of the vicinity. In exchange for which Winkler's band performed some of its livliest se- lections, to the intense delight of the untutored sons and daughters of Ham. After the concert there followed a terpsichorean performance of the "Ole Virginny" breakdown order. All parties were well pleased, and it was only after consider-
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able persuasion that the natives were persuaded to go home. The excitement of the two days and loss of sleep during the previous night, made the signal for retiring a welcome one; and after de- tailing comrade V. D. Priest, as guard, "tired na- ture's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," crept o'er the recumbent forms of the campaigners, and in a short time all was quiet, the only sounds audible being the sonorous breathing of the sleepers.
Tuesday morning broke clear and warm, and shortly after six o'clock farewell was bidden to Wilcox's Landing and to the yet invisible and ex- ceedingly inhospitable Waddles. The "Gratitude," with a full head of steam, ploughed through the fifteen miles that intervened between City Point, and arrived at that place about seven o'clock, where a salute was given by a fleet of U. S. iron clads, which dipped their colors in honor of the flag and the corps flags of the Post. The salute was returned, the whistle blown, and the band played. The boat ran alongside the wharf, and comrade George W. Cubberly leaped ashore and proceeded to the farm of Major William H. Tantum, late major of the 38th N. J. Vols., located near that place. The mouth of the Appomattox river and Bermuda Hundreds are passed, and further up the river a fine view of Malvern Hill was obtained. The famous Dutch Gap canal was entered and passed through; and a short distance from here the remains of the outer line of the defenses of
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Richmond are visible, terminating on the river south of Chapins bluff. About a mile north of these, on the left side of the river, is Drury's bluff, on which was erected the terrible Fort Darling ; and then the spires of the churches of Richmond with the large factories and houses of the southern side of the city became visible. Preparations are begun for debarkment. Clothing is changed and brushes are brought into requisition; and in a brief period the "Gratitude," with flags flying, still steams proudly along, and all are ready to capture or be captured. The vessels at the wharves are decked with bunting, as are also the buildings, which are now in sight.
Richmond is gained at last. The "Gratitude " is alongside the wharf, and the feat which many of the "Yanks" had attempted so often was ac- complished without the loss of a man or a single casualty. By some subtle act of legerdemain-a mysterious paradox-the tables are turned, and the would-be captors are made captives. Captives of love and fraternal regard the campaigners in blue found themselves to be! The reception at the hands of the Boys in Gray was what had been promised, all of it and more. It was soldier greet- ing soldier. Strong hands clasped those of the visitors, and warm hearts bade Wilkes Post " Wel- come to Old Virginia and Fair Richmond on the James." It was truly an event "when thrilling joy repaid the heart-sick faintness of the hope delay'd."
A
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CHAPTER IV.
"Thy voice prevails; dear friend, my gentle friend ; This long shut heart for thee shall be unseal'd, And though thy soft eye mournfully will bend Over the troubled stream, yet once reveal'd Shall its freed waters flow."-Hemans.
Hardly had the " Gratitude " been made fast to the wharf, at Rocketts, than Mayor Carrington, of Richmond, with a committee of the Confederate organizations, came on board and were received in the cabin by General Campbell, E. H. Murphy, Esq., Judge Buchanan, Hon. J. Hart Brewer, Com- rade J. C. Taylor, Jr., and others. A brief consul- tation ensued, it is supposed, upon the terms of capitulation. The result of the conference was, that the Post and Auxiliary Corps were permitted to debark, and it was not long before line was formed on the wharf. Facing the " Boys in Blue" were the "Boys in Gray," who greeted their old opponents with the cheer, or rather yell, which at one time was so familiar. General Campbell. as the Commander of the Post, was formerly intro- duced to Mayor Carrington, who extended the hospitalities of the city to and bade Aaron Wilkes Post welcome. He spoke substantially as follows :
"Soldiers of the North, allow me to extend to you a kindly greeting in behalf of the soldiers of the South, and of the whole
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people of the Old Dominion. We greet you with a warm feeling of chivalrous freedom. My heart is with you in your endeavors to bring about a union of fraternal friendship, and I stretch my hand out to you-not across a bloody chasm, for, thank God, there is no bloody chasm now-but in a spirit of true loyalty, and wel- come you to our homes. We all know what war is. It has left its desolating mark throughout the whole land. Thank God, it is over. May we now live together in unity and peace. Soldiers, you are welcome to the sacred soil of Virginia, and during your sojourn among us I trust you will feel that you are among friends and brothers. General Campbell and soldiers, allow me to extend to you the hospitalities of the people of the City of Richmond."
The welcome of the chief officer of the city was greeted by the visitors with three cheers, given with a will.
When silence was obtained, General Campbell, on behalf of the Post, replied as follows :
" Mr. Mayor, and friends, of the City of Richmond :
"It is a pleasant task my comrades have assigned me, to return our warmest, heartiest thanks for the generous welcome you have given us to your fair and famous city.
" We are but a handful of private citizens-lately Union sol- diers-with a few friends. We have set out to participate in the centennial celebration of an event which deeply moves the heart of every patriotic citizen, and, indeed, of every lover of liberty the world over-the final victory of that eventful contest which vindi- cated the right of man to self-government. We have extended our journey by sailing up your beautiful river to historic Riclı- mond. There is scarcely one of our number who does not bear in his person, by the absence of a favorite limb or otherwise, some token of your former regard. We have all suffered like your- selves, in many ways not now to be recounted, the afflictions con- sequent upon the unhappy civil discord from which our country so lately emerged. Upon calling the roll, we find that several of our number have been here before-when they did not intend to
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come. They tell us they put up at a hotel which has acquired considerable fame among us, more, perhaps, than any other of your hotels, famous as they are. They tell us, also, that it was kept upon the European plan-they didn't get what they didn't order.
"Yet we are more than delighted to clasp you by the hand. In so doing, we believe we can offer you the heart also of every Union soldier. We desire to assure you that we entertain no trace of animosity, but that, on the other hand, we love you as brothers and fellow-citizens of this great republic. We will always realize an especial pleasure in exchanging courtesies and civilities with you. The same love for the Union established by your fathers and ours, which led us to contend for its preservation, prompts us to desire-earnestly desire-that it should be a union of hearts as well as of hands; that it should be one homogeneous political brotherhood throughout its entire length and breadth.
"We have reason to know something of your courage-your abundant endowment with all the qualities which go to make up the perfect soldier ; and we honor you for it, we esteem you the more worthy our regard for having so gallantly displayed upon the battlefield the qualities we claim for our race and nation. We especially esteem you as having had the courage of your convic- tions-a virtue not so nearly universal as it should be in this favored land of unfettered speech and action.
" We have always believed that when the Blue and the Gray were arrayed in hostile camps, it was not because of any root of bitterness in our hearts; not because of anything which required that we should personally hate each other. The proofs of this were frequent, and sometimes touching. It would take volumes to recite them. I trust some soldier who can command the neces- sary leisure will undertake the task of doing so. We must now content ourselves with saying, that throughout that long struggle we constantly witnessed the indications that underneath the nec- essary rigor of military duty, underneath the aggressive zeal and firm resolve born of deep, adverse belief, there still burned the vestal flame of brotherly love, which was kindled a hundred years ago, when here, in your honored city, the voices of Jefferson,
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Henry, the Lees, and others of immortal memory, answered to those of Hancock, Adams and Warren. We believed that the wel- fare of our country, our whole country, the prosperity and happi- ness of the generations by whom we are to be succeeded, the cause of human liberty and progress the world over, were bound up in the preservation of that Union for the establishment of which your fathers and ours pledged "their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor ;" that Union which is sacred in our hearts as having been purchased by their lives, cemented by their blood, and hallowed by their prayers and tears. From our point of view we sincerely believed, whether right or wrong (and we think we do not overstate that belief), that it would be better that every arms-bearing man in our country should fall; that every wife should be made a widow and every child an orphan ; nay, even more than this, horrible as is the thought, that our continent should again become a virgin wilderness, and its habitation by civilized man recommenced from the beginning; than that we should be broken up into dissevered and hostile factions, each the football and scorn of nations which have derided the great exper- iment and ridiculed the essential doctrines which lie at its founda- tion. Please do us the justice to observe that there was nothing selfish in all this; nothing which tended to kindle personal hatred or rancor toward those who differed with us in opinion, and who were willing to maintain their convictions with their swords. Right or wrong, it was the love of liberty, of humanity, of our "dear bought American liberties ;" the love taught us by Wash- ington, Jefferson and Madison, the immortal sons of the grand old commonwealth of Virginia, eldest of the sisterhood, mother of statesmen and presidents, that arrayed us in arms against you. If there were any who were animated by different motives, we are constrained to believe that they were not those who were found upon the line of battle on either side.
" Fellow citizens of this grand old commonwealth of Virginia, permit us, who were so lately arrayed in arms against you, to lay at your feet a friendly challenge. We invite you to an amicable rivalry, as to who, in future, shall be most true and faithful to that star spangled emblem of constitutional liberty, with all that it
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symbolizes. As we have contended with each other in arms, let us contend with each other in the more inviting walks of peace. As we have vied with each other in the courage of the battle field, let us emulate each other in the higher courage required to be good and fearless citizens. Let us do our part to swell the great ocean current of our national life, which, in spite of all the froth and foam and drift upon the surface, will sweep on to its God-ap- pointed destiny."
The address of General Campbell was greeted with the southern yell and applause from the vast assemblage of citizens present, which was accepted by the guests as an endorsement of the cordial welcome of the mayor.
The organizations were then formed into col- umn in the following order :
A carriage containing Mayor Carrington, General Campbell, Hon. J. Hart Brewer and Mayor Withington, of Chambersburg.
A carriage, thoughtfully provided for the wound- ed and disabled, which was occupied by 'Squire James Abbott.
Winkler's Seventh Regiment N. G. N. J. Band.
Aaron Wilkes Post, No. 23, G. A. R. The Post Auxiliary Corps.
The Old First Virginia Infantry, Otey Battery and Richmond Howitzer Associations.
The column moved off in the order given above, over the following route: up Main street, Fifth, Franklin, First, Broad, Fifth and Grace, to the Capitol Square, to Twelfth and Clay streets, to Sanger Halle.
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The weather was delightful, and the march was a long one. The sidewalks were lined with citi- zens who greeted the combined forces, which marched with martial tread to the inspiring strains of the Seventh Regiment Band, (which, by-the bye, never played better), with hearty ap- plause, betokening the fact that the visitors were welcome, and that the hosts, the heroes of the city, were remembered with pride and honored with the affection of the people. It was a spectacle the like of which had never been witnessed in the capital of the Old Dominion-a union of the Gray and Blue-the men who had dared to do and die for the cause each loved and believed to be just. If they, who bore the front of battle, who fought each other to the bitter end, with the generosity of a true soldier's spirit, chose to be as fast friends in peace as they had been fierce enemies in war, who dared to say them nay ! Here it was, in the very citadel that had withstood the whole brunt of war; whose capture had been the aim of a mighty army, and in the effort to achieve which so many brave men had fallen. Here, in the very key- stone of the confederacy, that had been defended by · the brave men who were marching in unison with their opponents in the bright sunlight of a fair October day, was the bond of friendship and per- fect reconciliation sealed. Who dared forbid it ? No lover of his country ; no friend of liberty ; no patriotic man that wished peace and prosperity to
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reign supreme, but echoed in his inmost soul, Thank God ! None dared forbid the bans of those warrior nuptials; and even if there were uneasy politicians, whose capital is to trade in stirring up sectional strife, their craven hearts dared not audibly object. (I, and the reader, I trust, will pardon this digression in introducing the individ- ualty of the writer,) believe I but echo the feeling of every soldier, whether he wore Gray or Blue, when I say : For that union, of the heroes of the north and south, thank God. Those who were most interested consummated it, and set an exam- ple which will no doubt be followed by the people of the entire country.
OF THE BLUE AND GRAY.
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CHAPTER V.
" Fill the bright goblet, spread the festive board ; Summon the gay, the noble and the fair ! Through the loud hall, in joyous concert pour'd, Let mirth and music sound the dirge of care."-Scott.
Sanger Halle will live long in the memory of those of Aaron Wilkes Post who visited Richmond on the occasion here recorded. Upon arriving at its hos- pitable grounds, there was a general, whole-souled interchange of feelings and good wishes. The Gray and Blue fraternized ; healths were drunk ; battles were fought o'er again. Stories were told of " most disastrous chances; of moving accidents by flood and field; of hair-breadth 'scapes i' the imminent deadly breach." Nor was this all; the march had been a long one, and the hosts, not forgetting that their guests had just come off ship- board, had prepared refreshments that let loose the tongue and untied the heart-strings, that soul might flow to soul and mingle in the communion of the gods. In this manner an hour of time, al- most unperceived, passed by, when an invitation was presented each visitor to attend a banquet. A copy of it is here appended :
You are cordially invited to the Reception to be given in honor of Aaron Wilkes Post, No. 23, G. A. R., of Trenton, N. J., by the
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Old First Virginia Infantry, Otey Battery, and Howitzer Associ- ation, at Sanger Halle, on Tuesday, October 18th, 1881.
COMMITTEE : OTEY BATTERY.
C. P. Bridges, M. West, C. A. Spence. OLD FIRST VIRGINIA INFANTRY.
A. R. Woodson, W. U. Bass, W. E. Chockley, C. T. Loehr, G. F. Norton, A. J. Vaughan.
HOWITZER ASSOCIATION.
J. T. Gray, Frank D. Hill, J. T. Ellyson.
The hall was tastefully decorated, and the word " Welcome " was conspicuous at one end of the apartment. The hosts and guests paired with each other; the ex-soldiers of the Blue and Gray, arm in arm, entered the banquet chamber, and were soon seated, side by side, at tables that fairly groaned beneath the weight of good things. Major Robert Stiles presided, and introduced Hon. A. M. Keiley, who made an address of welcome, of which, it is to be regretted, there is no record. It must, therefore, suffice to say that it was an eloquent and patriotic speech.
General E. L. Campbell, on behalf of the guests, replied. He said substantially :
"The law of growth, with nations as with man, is struggle and conflict, within and without, with all their attending and resulting sufferings. No man has ever attained to true nobility of character without first being chastened with humility, and the better part of his humanity brought out by a long and determined struggle with interposing enemies-chiefly himself. So every nation under the sun, in so far as it has attained to that altitude of greatness that
-
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has made it a blessing to its people and the world, has reached it through assaults from without, discords and civil strife within, that have brought to the generations immediately participating, sufferings which no words could describe or figures compute. We may not understand this law; our philosophy may not be able to fathom its justice ; we may murmur against its Almighty author, but the law remains, irrepealable, inexorable, blessing a hundredfold those who lovingly yield, crushing those who refuse.)
" If we, my friends, have had great internal conflicts which have brought upon us sufferings which are indescribable and incalcu- lable, how futile, how unwise to indulge in mutual recrimination -to measure, balance and compare our respective degrees of res- ponsibility. Where every grown up man was more or less guilty, so that not one could say to any other 'my skirts are unstained,' it would be as idle and fruitless, as disingenuous, to inquire with nice discrimination which was most at fault. What would the fathers say to us to-day, could they appear in our midst ? Would they not say, 'we are to have our measure of responsibility ; we accept it humbly before God, in deep sympathy with you ; we builded the best we could; we endured manfully what was given us to endure; we fought a good fight ; we buried our hearts and lives in the legacy we left to you : that legacy was not perfect human wisdom could not have made it so; we commend to you , the same submission, endurance, wisdom and courage, and all will be well; the great republic will be perfected and will endure; its God-appointed mission will be fulfilled; its blessings to mankind will be limitless and countless.'
" If we, as a people, have suffered more bitterly than any other people ever did; if the iron has struck deeper into our souls ; if our hearth-stones have been more desolated, and our homes more broken up; if our lives have been more shattered, and our means of happiness and usefulness more dissipated, may there not be in our sufferings the balm that should staunch the wounds and assuage the pain; may it not be because we are to be lifted to a height of honor and usefulness as a nation, to which no other has ever attained ; may it not be that, through the great conflict of mind with mind, will with will, and hand with hand, through our
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descent into the valley of humiliation and suffering, we are to be chastened and purified, the better elements of our humanity brought into fuller activity, and, by means of our quickened wis- dom, the fabric of free government left us by the fathers we revere, is to be freed from all its imperfections, both in theory and practice, and wrought up to the perfect model of organized liberty, grand, glorious, towering up to the view of all mankind- the object to which their eyes will be turned with wondering ad- miration and thankful hope?
"Can we not see these results already shadowed forth ? Point me, if you can, to a corner of the civilized world which has not already felt our transforming influence. Point me, if you can, to a spot where any class or territorial division of people are op- pressed, and whose hearts do not yearn toward our country as the harbinger of a better day soon to come, when they too shall enjoy the blessings of liberty. Point me, if you can, to a ruling monarch of to-day whose trembling and unsteady crown does not fill him with apprehensions that the days of arbitrary power are numbered; that kings have been weighed in the balance and found wanting ; that after all, the great Virginian was inspired with the spirit of truth when he wrote those burning words, 'To secure these rights governments are installed among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.' In view of the results already obtained, and in view of those which enlightened faith holds up as our 'manifest destiny,' shall we not thank God and take courage ?
" Let us then turn our backs to the past and go forward to future duty, without repining, without recrimination ; always doing the right as God gives us to see the right. There is enough to be done in order that our mission as a people may be fulfilled, at home and abroad. As a political organism we are yet in our infancy. The first century of our national life has laid firm its foundations. Our integrity is assured. External enemies may assail, but they cannot destroy us. Internal dissensions may still distract, but they cannot divide us. The stupendous fabric of free, representative government is to be built. A continent is to be its foundation. Oceans are to be its boundaries. Hundreds of
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millions of people, in the near future (how many hundreds of millions ultimately we cannot tell) are to be its moral factors. Almost resistless in power, and exhaustless in resources, it must be. Words can scarcely exaggerate the influence it must exert among the nations of the earth. But we are still young. The institutions into which all these elements are to be moulded, by and through which they are to be developed, directed, and their energies exerted, are yet in their formative period-not one, per- haps, but is to be remodeled, or more or less modified. I fear it must be said that, after a century of experience with the theory of government first proclaimed by our fathers, we are but moder- ately acquainted with its principles, as they multiply, divide and ramify through all the relations of society. We should confess this with shame. Ideas foreign to our institutions have taken root among us. The literature of our country is full of doubts and insinuations as to the truth of the basic doctrines of that great Declaration which shook the world. Our ablest men, not so careful as they might have been in their study of those doctrines, have been misled by the ingenuity and sophistry of foreign stu- dents and advocates of foreign systems. They have refined away the great doctrines of the right of self-government until its authors would not know it. They have talked about 'glittering generali- ties,' and have apologized for Thomas Jefferson. This is sacri- lege. I repeat, there remains enough to be done, that our mission as a people, may be fulfilled-enough to enlist our ingenuity, talents and energies, for the second century of our national life. Let us be friends and brothers. 'With malice toward none and charity for all,' let us devote ourselves to the well defined duties which lie before us all."
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