Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1864-06-30

LIST UF kElUhNlNU HEhVES.
O day thrice lovely when at length the soldier
Returns home into life; when he becomes
A fellow man among his fellow men.
The colors are unfurled, the cavalcade
Marshals, and now the buzz is he'd, and bark
Now the glad music beats, home, brothers, home :!
The caps and helmets are all garlanded
With green boughs the last plundering of the fields
The city gates fly open of themselves,
They need longer the petard to tear them.
The ramparts are all filled with men and women,
With peaceful and women that send UPWARDS
Kisses and welcomings upon the air,
Which they N axe breezy with affectonate gestures
From all the towers ring out the merry bells,
The Joyous vespers of q bloody day.
happy man, Fortunate for whom
The wel-known door, the faithful arms are open,
The faithful tender arms witt mute embracing.
Schiller.
1t was three years ago, June Goth, since the
Second Wisconsin Infantry, the first of the
three years regiments from this State, left
Camp Randall to begin their term of active
service.
The country was then unused to war. Eve
rything pertaining to military affairs was no.
vel. An organized regiment was spectacle
to attract people for miles around to witness.
On that bright June morning, our city, now
accustomed to such scenes and scarcely NOV
ed to ripple of excitement by them, turned
out almost en- maasse to view the unwonted
sight of thousand Wisconsin men leaving
their homes to face the perils and hardships
of war. Little did we then know what the
future hid behind its veil. The most saga
cieus had but faint conception of the real
magnitude of the struggle then hardly begun.
Who of the many spectators present that
morning does not wildly recall the scene of
the departure ?-the jubilant spirits of the
new volunteers-the blare of martial music
the roar of artillery-the waving handker-
chiefs-the mingled emotions of sadness and
pride-the hearty hurrahs of the multitude
and the not less enthusiastic responses of the
departing soldiers.
No one Of all that gathering of people an
ticipated what was to follow.
On Saturday 18th, spectacle was exhibited
not less novel, and appealing to the emotions
of those who witnessed it more powerfully even
than the scene Of three years ago; the return
of the little remnant of that noble regiment,
after its long baptism of fire and blood, to
receive the All Hail of grateful people, as
the need of its faithful services. What gaps
have been made by shot and shell in it's full
ranks, how it has been sifted and winnowed
in the tempest of repeated battles, how it has
been refined in the crucible of trial has al
ready been narrated in these columns Not an
officer of the line who left with it came back !
O'Connor, Stevens, Randolph, Colwell, Nc
Zee, Hughes, Noble, Sanford and Spoerri lie
"dead on the field of honor" Col. Mansfield
and Lieut. Col. Rrsons are wounded and in
the hands of the enemy at Gordonsville.
Capts. Rollins and Baldwin are still in Libby
Prison, Richmond, unless they have been re-
Gently sent farther South. The regiment re-
turns under command of Maj. GEO. II. OTIS,
who left the State as private in the ranks
After tedious journey of seven days be-
tween Washington and this city, the Veteran
Second arrived here little before 5 O'Clock
on Saturday afternoon.
The principal streets were gaily decorated
with banners, and the large flags belonging
to the State were suspended above the
streets at the corners of the Park. A tri
umphal arch had been erected at the entrance
to the Park, decorated with flowers, inter
twined with the stars and stripes, bearing in
large letters beautifully wrought from green
oak leaves, this inscription
"WELCOME TO THE SECOND
Thirteen guns were fred, at intervals OF
three minutes, commencing when the process.
sion moved, and all the bells in the city rang
during the progress of the procession, until it
arrived in the Park
One of the most pleasing features of the
procession was company of boys, from ten
to fourteen years of age, uniformed in red
shirts, Garibaldi fashion, and armed with ri
fes. The little fellows marched well and bore
themselves proudly A part of them acted as
guard about the tables to keep back the
crowd of people.
AS the regiment entered the Park and
moved up the walk to the Capitol, little girls,
dressed in white and arranged on either hand,
threw flowers under their feet-the peaceful
flowers of our Wisconsin summer under those
feet SO lately red-wet from the bloody turf
of The Wilderness! Tumultuous cheers went
up from the crowd that thronged around, Ia
dies waved handkerchiefs, and parents who
had sons, and wives who had husbands among
the veterans were straining forward to catch
glimpse of the beloved forms Here and
there among their numbers was an empty
coat sleeve, and bringing up the rear were a
number of wounded who had been conveyed
to the Park from the depot in ambulances,
and now hobbled along on crutches or with
canes, but with the gladness of the occasion
beaming upon their faces.
As whole, though covered with dust and
soiled with travel, the remnant of the Second
is splendid looking body of men. Their three
years Of service has given them development
of muscle, and power of endurance such as is
rarely found. They are indeed iron men, and
a brigade of such is well called the "Iron
Brigade"
The tables were beautifully decorated with
flowers, and loaded with both substantials and
deicacies. The dinner was prepared at the
Capital House and served by the ladies of the
city, who, as the guests seated themselves at
the table, pinned white satin badge upon the
collar of each veteran, bearing this inscrip-
ton in gold letters:
HONOR TO THE BRAvE-Presented to the SURvIy-
ING HEROES of the ID WISCONSIN INFANTRY by the
ladies of Madison, June Is, 1864.
The following is copy of the bill of fare:
BILL OF FARE.