USA > Virginia > Post-bellum campaigns of the blue and gray, 1881-1882 > Part 4
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board of officers of the United States Army, com- posed of Colonel H. B. Clitz, Tenth Infantry ; Ma- jor Richard Arnold, Fifth Artillery, and Captain R. H. Hall, Tenth Infantry, who had been pre- viously appointed as judges, awarded the prize by a unanimous vote to the New Jersey Battalion.
" The award was based upon the best drill and general appearance, best equipment, best camp discipline and deportment, and handsomest and neatest camp.
" The trophy, which is the award of the York- town Centennial Association, is an antique vase of oxidized silver, valued at one thousand dollars. It bears upon one side a medallion of the late Presi- dent Garfield, and upon the other a representation of the Yorktown monument to be erected. Around the cover are medallions of Washington, Lafay- ette, Rochambeau and Robert Morris. On the top of the cover is a continental soldier in full uniform, standing at parade rest.
" The trophy was presented by Colonel J. E. Peyton, General Superintendent of the Yorktown Centennial Association, on Friday, the twenty- first, at the old Moore House, where the articles of Cornwallis' capitulation had been signed. The Battalion was drawn up in front of the house in close column of divisions. General Grubb, on behalf of the Battalion, received the vase, and, in a brief reply, made suitable acknowledgments.
" The night previous, when the decision of the
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judges awarding the trophy had become generally known throughout the camps of the other troops, the soldiers of our sister States came flocking into the New Jersey camp by thousands, to express their congratulations. Many of the regiments sent their bands to serenade the winning troops, the camp was brilliantly lighted with camp fires, and the wildest enthusiasm prevailed.
" The cordial unanimity with which competing regiments joined in these emphatic congratula- tions is no less gratifying, because it bears the best testimony to the justice of the award, than because such demonstrations, under such circum- stances, show of what generous and soldierly stuff the National Guard of our sister States is com- posed.
" On the evening of the twenty-first, at a given signal, every tent in camp fell at the same instant, and in a few minutes the Battalion marched for the York River, where they embarked for Wash- ington, upon the same steamer which had con- veyed them to Yorktown. Many official courte- sies tendered by Lieutenant Commander Henry C. White, United States Navy, to his Excellency and the officers quartered on board the steamer during the week, contributed largely to their con- venience and enjoyment. Arriving in the national capital in the afternoon of the twenty-second, the Battalion was reviewed by General Sherman and the French and German guests, the trophy being
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borne at the head of the Battalion upon the shoulders of four sergeants, and surrounded by a guard of honor consisting of ten commissioned officers. Departing from Washington without unnecessary delay, the Battalion reached Trenton, and was dismissed early on the morning of the twenty-third."
Early on Friday morning the "Gratitude," which had remained anchored out in the stream all night, weighed anchor and steamed up Chesa- peake Bay for home. Chesapeake City is reached at about eight o'clock the same evening, and a stay of two hours is made at that place, in order to serenade those ladies who had so kindly re- membered the Post by presenting them floral offerings on their departure for the Southern cam- paign. The Mrs. Hopper and Brady were seren- aded and thanked, in brief speeches, by General Campbell, Judge Buchanan and Colonel Murphy. All things have an end, and so did the campaign of the Boys in Blue. After the usual vicissitudes, perils by land and sea, the good boat " Gratitude " arrived in Trenton on Saturday afternoon, and the veterans of Aaron Wilkes Post again set foot upon their native soil, resplendent with the hand- some badges of the ex-Confederates of Richmond. The Home Guard of Aaron Wilkes Post, with a delegation from Bayard Post, No. 8, G. A. R., and a large concourse of citizens, met the returned heroes of Richmond and Yorktown at the Wire
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Mill wharf, and escorted them to the headquarters of the Post, amid the cheers of the citizens who lined the sidewalks. Afterwards Adam Exton, Esq., entertained the campaigners at his hand- some residence on Broad street.
Thus ended the Post-Bellum campaign of the Boys in Blue, on October 22d, 1881. They had not captured Richmond, but they had done more. They had made captive the hearts of its people, and forged with links of love a chain that unites the hearts of the ex-soldiers of the Gray and Blue in a stronger devotion and loyalty to the old flag -the Stars and Stripes-of a re-united and more powerful confederacy of free, sovereign and inde- pendent States than ever existed before.
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OF THE BLUE AND GRAY.
THE ROSTER.
The following is a list of the
OFFICERS OF THE POST.
Gen. Edward L. Campbell, Commander.
Harry B. Lanning, Act. Senior Vice Commander.
William Hatton, Adjutant.
Alfred Hughes, Officer of the Guard. John B. Warner, Officer of the Day.
Curlis T. Williams, Surgeon.
Edward V. Richards, Chaplain.
Lafayette Horner, Quartermaster.
R. C. Ivory, Assistant Quartermaster.
ASSISTANT OFFICERS.
Judge James Buchanan. Captain Uriel B. Titus. Captain Peter Wilkes.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
James C. Taylor, Jr., Chairman.
Bishop W. Mains, Secretary.
Richard C. Ivory.
James Withington.
Robert S. Johnston.
Edward H. Murphy, Chairman Auxiliary Corps.
COMRADES OF THE POST. Ale, Eli K. Laird, Matthew R.
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Anderson, Edward M. Anthony, Nathaniel
Burbank, Orrin A. Blackwood, Thomas Campbell, Edward L. Cahill, Andrew
Lanning, Harry B. Lowry, J.
Lawton, Joseph
Mendham, William
Mains, Bishop W.
Cubberley, George W. Cadwallader, Cyrus Davis, Ethelbert
Disbrow, James P.
Edmonds, Walter
Fox, George W.
Good, Edwin R.
Horner, Lafayette
Howell, William R.
Hughes, Alfred
Vansyckle, Caleb C.
Withington, James
Williams, Curlis T.
Wilkes, Peter
Warner, John B.
Ivory, Richard C.
Zerman, Weistling
INVITED VETERANS.
Abbott, Thomas Lewis, Joseph M.
Lavake, Thomas W. Slack, Charles A.
Udy, George W. Kerr, Andrew
AUXILIARY CORPS.
Brewer, Hon. John Hart Exton, Hon. Adam Gulick, Hon. Henry C. Mellor, Charles
Cranmer, George T. Brock, Harry D., M. D.
McGowan, William McDanolds, James S. Marclaskey, Charles Phillips, Joseph W. Pullen, Frank A. Richards, Edward V. Sparmaker, J. W. Seaman, Charles Taylor, James C., Jr. Titus, Uriel B.
Hazlett, John
Howard Edward R.
Hatton, William
Hughes, Theodore
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OF THE BLUE AND GRAY.
Buchanan, Hon. James Minster, Chas. L., M. D. Stanley, James R. Murphy, Edw. H., Esq., Buxton, George Taylor, Zachariah T.
Everingham, Wm. S. Parks, Garret D.
Walker, Absalom J. Devereux, William K. Witel, John C.
Barwis, Charles P. Lee, Albert W.
Bechtel, Valentine
Grover, William
Lenox, William H.
Everett, Frank Whittaker, George R. Young, Alex. C. Nicklin, Henry
Wooley, Albert M.
Doran, William T.
Hart, W. C. Rockhill Box, John G.
Robbins, Hon. Clayton. Davis, Jeremiah Carr, Griffith W.
Kersey, James E.
Cowgill, Joseph C. Stockton, Allan R.
Kuhn, Anthony
Heath, J. Frank
Boyd, Thomas E.
Howell, Joseph W. Bray, T. S.
Siddall, Thomas
McCoy, William H. Sutphin, James T. Holcomb, C. T. Britton, W. Ogden Crossley, Lewis R. Spracklen, Peter P. Spracklen, George W. Brook, James F. Haines, Walter
Fields, Timothy Jr.
Ashworth, Thomas H. Reese, Thomas D. West, J. H. Young, William S. Young, Charles H. Crozer, Malcomb Bunting, Joseph M. Gordon, William F.
THE BAND. (Winkler's Seventh Regiment N. G. N. J. Band.) Albert Winkler, Leader. Jacob Mayer.
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Emil Winkler.
Samuel Gamble.
Gustav Winkler.
Gottwald Winkler.
William Winkler.
Matt. Hill.
William Kirk.
Alfred Huddy.
C. Messerschmidt.
Ed. McClurg.
M. F. Aledo.
J. Ruggaber.
David James.
Geo. Caraker.
E. P. Southwick.
William Capple, Baggage Master.
John J. Ford, Caterer. George Hettiger, Jr., Barber.
BOOK SECOND.
TRENTON'S REMEMBRANCE TO RICHMOND'S HEROES.
CHAPTER I.
"Give me a bowl of wine :-- In this I bury all unkindness."-Shakspeare.
The members of Aaron Wilkes Post, who had been the recipients of the kindly attention of the ex-Confederate organizations, the "Old First," the Otey Battery, and the Richmond Howitzer Asso- ciations, as well as the other members of the Post, determined that it would only be proper to ac- knowledge their appreciation of the generous treat- ment received by the visitors to Richmond during their stay in that beautiful city. The question was, how best to do so; and a committee was ap- pointed to procure some suitable testimonial for each of the three organizations. The committee appointed was composed of the following: Peter Wilkes, William Young, Charles H. Seaman, James C. Taylor, Jr., Adam Exton, J. Hart Brewer, Curlis T. Williams, C. P. Barwis, James F. Brooke,
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Eli K. Ale, James Buchanan, Edward L. Camp- bell, James Withington, Lafayette Horner, H. D. Brock, M. D., Joseph Lawton, William Hatton, Joseph W. Phillips and James S. McDanolds.
The remembrance of the good time enjoyed at Sanger Halle, and the excellent refreshments par- taken of, suggested that a gift of some article of home manufacture and home art would be most appropriate, and to the minds of the members of the committee nothing was more fitting than a specimen of the peculiar branch of industry for which Trenton is so universally noted-pottery. It was determined to present each of the organiza- tions with the best sample, procurable, of Trenton's pottery and decorative art. Punch bowls, from which the health of the donors and recipients might be drunk, as occasion might warrant, that would bear upon their surfaces the legend of the event they were designed to celebrate, were chosen. They were of the finest material, and were manu- factured at the well-known establishment of Mr. Isaac Davis-the Trenton Pottery Works. The decoration was done at Mr. Jesse Deans', on Car- roll street, and experts say that the work thereon was the finest ever executed in the city of Trenton. The groundwork was pink; near the top, on the inside, were representations of bunches of grapes, with vines and leaves, and at the bottom were views of. the State capitol of New Jersey and its grounds, the latter being executed in what is
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known as the helio-ceramic process. The decora- tions upon the exteriors were particularly hand- some and appropriate. They represented : Clasped hands, the Coats of Arms of New Jersey and Vir- ginia, the Grand Army and Confederate badges, knapsack and muskets, with the figures "23," (the number of Wilkes Post.)
Upon the first were two knapsacks having, res- pectively, a red and a gray blanket strapped to them, and two muskets, together with the inscrip- tion "From Wilkes Post, G. A. R., and Auxiliary Corps, Trenton, N. J., to Old First Virginia Infan- try, Richmond, Va., February 22, 1882."
The second, besides the representation of a field piece, bore the inscription "From Wilkes Post, G. A. R., and Auxiliary Corps, Trenton, N. J., to Otey Battery, Richmond, Va., Feb. 22, 1882."
The inscription upon the third was "From Wilkes Post, G. A. R., and Auxiliary Corps, Tren- ton, N. J., to Richmond Howitzers, Richmond, Va., Feb. 22, 1882." Besides this there was a represen- tation of a howitzer.
They were the finest that could be procured, and were a credit to the manufacturer and deco- rator.
On Sunday evening, February 26th, 1882, a committee, consisting of Captain Peter Wilkes, William Young, Esq., Major Richard A. Donnelly , Past Post Commander, Hon. John Taylor, Comrade E. Hanson, Hon. J. Hart Brewer, M. C., Judge 5
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James Buchanan, Comrade Curlis T. Williams, and Jesse Dean, Esq., the decorator, left Trenton for Richmond as a committee from Aaron Wilkes Post, to present the bowls to the organizations for whom they were intended. The bowls, securely packed, having been previously forwarded by ex- press.
The committee arrived in Richmond on Mon- day night, and on the following evening that famous place, Sanger Halle, was again the scene of festivity. The committee was met by the mem- bers of the associations named, and the acquain- tance formed on the visit of the Post, in October, was renewed. An invitation was extended to those present to repair to the banqueting hall by the committee, and there a sumptuous repast con- fronted the old soldiers. It was a brilliant scene, and great praise is due the Richmond Committee for the manner in which it had discharged its onerous duties. The committee of the Richmond Associations consisted of the following named gen- tlemen : Old First Virginia, George F. Norton, William H. Keiningham, A. R. Woodson, J. L. Meanly, C. T. Loehr; Richmond Howitzers, James T. Grey, John L. Booker, R. H. Bosher; Otey Bat- tery, C. P. Bridges, M. West, J. P. Mckinney.
After the groaning tables had been relieved of a portion of the burden of good things, both solid and liquid, the buzz of conversation was suddenly checked by Mr. James T. Gray, who rapped for order.
-
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Major Robert Stiles, in a fine, full, yet well mod- ulated voice, read the following poem, written by Charles Poindexter, Esq., expressly for the occasion :
Come, friends and brothers, fill the glass And toast the shining hours that pass, As round this genial board we meet The guests whom here to-night we greet. Who come with offerings in their hand Wrought from the soil of their own land, Which, fashioned fair with cunning skill, Attest the mutual good will That on this gracious feast attends, Where men, once foes, now meet as friends.
As brothers of a common land Here on our hallowed soil we stand, In cannon-sound of where we stood Mid war's dread scenes of death and blood, That echoed from Mechanicsville And thundered back from Malvern Hill : Whose grassy slopes yet bear the scar Inflicted by the hand of war. But Nature's kindly hand hath toiled On every field by carnage soiled, And deftly spread her verdant sod To hide the plain where armies trod ; Outpouring from her genial powers The sweet oblivion of flowers That deck the grave of friend and foe, Who now no longer difference know.
What, though in war's embittered strife We lately wagered life for life, And saw the lurid summer sun Go down on battles lost and won !
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Yet can we mingle here to-day When gentle peace hath gained her sway, And look each in the other's eyes With such regard as brave men prize : Pledging in our flowing bowls The peace that reigneth in our souls : The souls of us, who fought and bled, And left on every field our dead. 'Twas bravely met and fought-the rest We left to God, who knoweth best.
Once foes, now friends, a brother band, While peace and plenty crown our land ! And what hath wrought this magic change That skeptic hearts may well deem strange? Thank God ! for memory of a name From whom our common glory came, When Washington, on Yorktown's height, Wrought deeds of glory and of might; Where Jersey, at Virginia's side, Marched on to crush the foeman's pride, And saw the sun of freedom rise With glorious promise in his eyes.
At the conclusion of the reading of Mr. Poin- dexter's beautiful poem there was an outburst of applause-genuine, whole-souled and earnest- which was joined in by all present.
The chairman, Mr. Gray, then read a letter from Colonel James S. Browning, the Governor's Private Secretary, acknowledging, for the Gover- nor, the receipt of an invitation to be present, and regretting that, owing to sickness, His Excellency was unable to attend.
Captain Peter Wilkes, of Aaron Wilkes Post, read the following letter from Hon. John Taylor :
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TRENTON, N. J., February 25th, 1882.
General Peyton Wise and Gentlemen of the Committee : DEAR SIRS :
Having been one of the committee delegated by our Post to visit your city on an agreeable mission ; therefore, the fact that circumstances have arisen which precludes my absence from Trenton at this time (and which will be explained by my com- rades) must serve me as an apology for the questionable propriety of addressing you this letter. But I desire in this manner to ex- press to you, some measure of the gratitude which our people feel towards the citizens of your proudly historic city, for the hospit- able manner in which you received our boys on the recent re- union of the " old thirteen." Your action was nobly characteristic of the true soldier, and is touchingly implanted in the hearts of 50,000 Jerseymen who followed her flag on dangerous fields. This feeling is deepened by the circumstance that these attentions came from the remnants of organizations that were conspicuous in maintaining the powers of Virginia in war, and from the men who followed your gallant Pickett in that famous and final charge at Gettysburg.
Finally permit me to express my deep regret that I cannot be with you in person, a pleasure I have long desired. In fact I once started to walk to Richmond, and got as far as a point be- tween Centreville and Manassas, when I suddenly concluded to go back and "see you later," and now I am once more disap- pointed. In conclusion let me thank you in the name of all our citizens, and propose this sentiment, suggested by the memory of other times, and which ought to be given with the last draught from punch bowl number three: Trenton, the dawn of national hope-Yorktown its full realization-God bless Virginia and New Jersey for their parts in freeing America.
I am, dear sirs, with great respect,
Yours truly, JOHN TAYLOR.
Addresses were made by Colonel Thomas J. Evans, Hon. J. Hart Brewer, General E. H. Lane,
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Carlton McCarthy, Esq., and Captain D. N. Walker; after which the Veterans of the Blue and of the Gray adjourned to the spacious hall above The banquet was one of those festive occasions in which the feast of reason and flow of soul were so mingled that naught but unalloyed good fellow- ship and harmony could possibly exist.
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ยท
CHAPTER II.
"I know
She prizes not such trifles as these are : The gifts, she looks from me, are packed and lock'd Up in my heart ; which I have given already." Shakspeare.
The mission entrusted to the committee from Aaron Wilkes Post had yet to be performed. It was a dual one. The principal, if one was to have precedence over the other, was to obtain the prom- ise of a visit from the Veterans of Richmond-the boys of the Gray-to Trenton. The other was to present a souvenir to each of the three organ- izations which had received the Post with such cordiality, and treated the members so royally on the occasion of their recent visit to their beautiful city.
The first duty was performed by the presenta- tion of a written invitation from the Post to the " Old First," the Otey Battery, and the Richmond Howitzer Associations, to visit Trenton, New Jer- sey, on April twelfth, when a fitting reception would be tendered them.
HEADQUARTERS AARON WILKES POST NO. 23, G. A. R. TRENTON, N. J., February 15th, 1882.
C. T. Loehr, Esq., Secretary Old First Va. Inf. Association, Rich- mond, Va.
DEAR SIR :
In accordance with a resolution unanimously passed by Aaron
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Wilkes Post, No. 23, I have the honor to extend to the Old First Va. Inf't. Association a hearty invitation to visit us on the 12th of April next. Hoping to have a favorable reply I am
Yours very respectfully,
E. V. RICHARDS, Adjutant.
A similar invitation, with the exception of the change of name, was delivered by the committee to the other two associations.
On entering the fine hall the first, and most conspicuous, objects which met the eye were the three bowls, previously described, placed upon tables on the stage.
Captain Peter Wilkes, to whom was delegated the duty of presenting the gifts, performed it. He said :
"Soldiers of old Virginia, Veterans of Otey Battery, Howitzer Association and the Old First Infantry, but a few short months since, it was our good fortune to be your guests. We came among you strangers ; although I doubt not we have often met before, possibly at Manassas, Malvern Hill, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks or Antietam; when introductions, though fashionable, were very undesirable, and compliments passed with shells and canister ; and instead of the juice, you sent us the grapes them- selves. Your reception upon our last visit, I am pleased to say, differed vastly from the one you gave us in '62. Although, if my memory serves me correctly, you did, about that time, entertain quite a number of our people in Richmond, and presented them to a great many of your citizens, among the number was a Miss Libby, though of that I am not positive, but am sure the last name was Prison. 'Twas a miss somewhere, and from a brother-in-law who was one of the captured party, I learned he would rather have been missed than not. I noticed upon our last visit that your Mayor's very gentlemanly and courteous welcome extended
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in that grand old Southern style, so characteristic of your people, whose very gestures were proof positive that he meant just what he said, when he tendered us the hospitalities and freedom of your city, was quite at variance with that given my comrades a few years ago, besides an introduction to Libby Prison and Belle Isle, they had to be content with close confinement. You doubtless did this to keep them out of mischief. Speaking for myself I might say I should rather you had missed me; for at Williams- burg you put a limp in a leg of mine I would prefer you had left out, and which, for the past nineteen years, I have been trying to get out, but have not, as yet, succeeded.
" In a grave yard, back at Trenton, stands a marble shaft, upon whose surface is carved the name of Wilkes. Beneath that shaft and within that silent tomb, rests all that remains of my brother. At Williamsburg he fell to rise no more. A pious old mother, whose gray hairs and feeble step indicate her near ap- proach to the end of time, waits, like many of yours in the South, for the last trumpet to sound, when the grave shall give up its dead and mothers join their sons in that happy world beyond. The silence of our noble dead, mingled with yours, is eloquent pleading that such scenes may never occur again. I pray to God they never will. Gentlemen your last welcome won our hearts and cemented a friendship which death alone can sever. It estab- lished the fact, also, that the followers of Grant and Lee can be bound by the silken cord of friendship, and that the Veterans of Johnston, Pickett and Stonewall Jackson, can be as hospitable in Richmond as they were invincible at the heights of Fredericks- burg; and that the Blue and the Gray can be as sincere friends as they were bitter enemies. That your Lee was a strategist, and your Jackson a fighter, many a hard campaign forced us to admit; and, did we not know differently, we should have thought they planned our last reception. We were met by your committee with the toast "Here's to the Old Flag, 'God bless it.'" That, with the hearty and grand old-fashioned welcome by your honor- able Mayor, completely captured us. Then we were marched to Sanger Halle and again welcomed ; this time punched and feasted. The man who made that punch must be very nearly related to, or
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is himself, the manufacturer of nectar. His recipe I should judge to be about six parts sugar, four parts lemon, eighty-five parts whiskey, five parts ice. But before mixing I think he set the ice in the sun to dry the water out, for fear it might weaken the punch too much, then he added a little more whiskey, then bottled it that it might gain triple strength with age, then painted it to conceal its strength. His labor being done he just sat down with a knowing wink and self satisfied air, and waited for the Yanks to come. That's what we call strategy. After the Yanks smiled once or twice they fell an easy and willing prey. After returning home we determined to send to each of the organizations that made our visit so pleasant a souvenir of some kind, and finally decided to make it a bowl. But a question arose, did we have anything of our local manufacture strong enough to hold your punch ? We, however, risked it, and ordered crockery of Trenton manufacture and artistic design and finish, thinking, if you allowed it to remain in them long enough 'twould be your own fault if it did break them. Now gentlemen, allow me to present you of the Old First Virginia Infantry, Otey Battery, and the Howitzer Association, on behalf of Aaron Wilkes Post and the Auxiliary Corps, a punch bowl each, and express a hope that the friendship formed on this occasion may exist forever. Here's to the Veterans of old Virginia. Here's to the Blue and the Gray, and I trust the differences that once existed have forever passed away."
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