Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1868-02-21

4. RegiHielsf, ae BeIgefoltuiasRe, Ohio, sJaH
II, 1seS, bg Aq1or Q. n. HeEtr0g.
Ladies and GeatEemen, and conrade
oftde 96tb'
II is always with delight. as great a
1t is natural, as reasonable as it is sin
cere, that the soldier recOunts with hi
comrade, that long life, crowded into 9,
small a compass, passed Ia the tented
field aud together live over again, tn,
pleasures and trials Of life in camp, thu
incidents and hardships Of the weary
march, the dangers and hair-brsadtI
'scapes on the blood=stained battle field
and so it should be, and ever will be, 81
long as the intelligence and reelection
OF the citizen Is not merged into mere
unthinking machine as a sOldier-sC
long as the sympathies and affections
that adorns elevate, and enObl5 the
man and the soldier, animate and act.
uate all as citizen=soldiers, and as sold.
1er-citizens, and yield not to the bru-
tality Of the mercsnary and hireIlng-
so long as the soldier and patriot are
one.
In addition to all this, it is a sacred
duty incumbent upon soldiers them
selves and with their comrades, to pre-
serve bright and undimmed, with all
the jealousy aud care Of the WOrshippeT
at the vestal shrine, the memories of
those days gone by; the happy recOI-
lectiOns of friendships begun and con-
tinued, Of attachments formed, and the
sad neeollecfiOus toe, OF comrades fall
len the naerrfment Of the camp, made
CHEEKY with wit and joyous with song
the ue1aueholyof the diFge. as our com
radsB we buried. No less IS it the duty
to cherish ana foster friendships FORM
ed, TO form friendships aneW, to encour-
age and cultivate that esprit ollS corps,
SO necessary for our efficiency az sol
diers in the fleld, 50 useful to us as cit
izeua aG home by which. and through
by all, that WhenscomFades meet, there
friend meets with fFiend-that the Wild
oW and orphan may never know the sad
ness and soFrOW Of disappointment,
when they look 9o9 kindness and SYM
pathy to the cOmrade Of the husband
and father, whose humble grave is one
Of the many land marks which point out
here and she waited wanderings OF
the regiments 9ne31s my comrades, Is the
object Of our annual reunion, and well
may it be SO For, after all that has in-
terVened, how far back, and how indis-
tinct upon first thought, is the reCollec-
ton Of it, seems that 1st day of Septem-
and strength, numbering over 3 thous-
and manly forms, left Camp Delaware,
as part Of that mighty army Of fithree
hundred thousand mOre;'' clothed In the
garb of patriots, bearing the color demo-
ting idility to their flag and to their
cOuntry-a noble band of boys in blue, to
have been one of whom, none need be
and all may we'll be proud. Al
most have we forgotten the excitement
and the novelty of the occasion, toned
and mellOwed by the sadness ofthe part
ings but few thinking of, or knowing
the trials and difficulties ahead, none
antici cipating the hardships to be borne.
After q pleasant ride, the evening
found as on Kentucky soil marching in
bold array, frowned upon by the an
armed neutrality, welcomed by the
panic-stricken lOyalists, as protectors
and defenders from the imaginary
hOrdes, still many miles away; here
alone for a day or so till Gov. Morton's
Inducements came, and the squirrel
hunters sWarmed. Here We began TO
experience to some extent the incidents
Of soldier life, with many imagined
and but few real ones; to
learn outpost duty, to give and receive
orders and instructions military and
not military, especially on Outpost dIL-
5g at Long Bridge; to know something
Of the excitement attendent upon the
of an enemy, to occupy ride
pits and there to sit 1mbedded in mud,
ia patient waiting for the sound of the
hostile tramp, or to be aroused by the
shots upon the picket-line
lin happy unconsciousness that half of
our guns were entirely worthless and
that had the enemy approached, we
would have practiced the innocent de-
seption that but few companies were
there to repel the attack, until unde-
oeived by the clash of steel with steel
all this passed away; in the course Of
time it became known that she enemy
came, saw, and retired, unnIolested and
unregretted. We struck tents and took
up the line of march for Falmouth, BIZ
YOuacing the second night at what was
mostapprOpriately termed 'Dry Camp"
for the first time experiencing the pleas
ure of marching from about noon on
one day, till nearly noon on the
next, with short rest at night, Without
even a swallow Of muddy water with
which to moisten our dry hard tack.
A pleasant sojourn at Falmouth with
out any particular incident worthy Of
note, yet here associations were formed
which proved to be of the deepest inter
est 20 the regiment. Here we came full
Iy under the command and formed one
Of the division of the gray-haired old
soldier, who was the terror of the Off
GERS, and not little feared by the men.
One upon whom with all his peculiari-
ties, we afterwards learned to look with
all the implicit confidence of children
upon their father, and to feel, as he
would dash by, proud to say that he
was our general; and to-day the soldiers
Of the 96th, feel heartfelt pleasure and
honest pride in saying that our regi-
ment served under brave old General
A. J. Smith yes, our boys fel5 it, and
said it with shouts that made the well
kin ring, when that brave old soldier
rode through the shattered columns Of
his old command, upon the banks of
the Red river, to revive and reauimate
the discouraged trOOps-he himself, un-
daunted by the misfortune of that ill
fated expedition, indignant at the GRIM
inal blunders-melted with grief aU the
losses and su6erings of those brave
boys he liked to call his own.
Here, at Falmouth, TOO, we received
for our Brigade commander, that chiY-
alTous and noble hearted man, who
though hard upon the march, was kind
and generous in camp, and brave upon
the battle field; now an exile from his
home, broken in health, Impoverished
in means, rejected by the Senate of bis
country Tor q pretty Office, Of which
none of that august body is more
worthy. I am sure I would but give ut
terance to the feelings aud sentiments
of the soldiers of the Goth, to say that
they bear him in grateful remem-
brance and with pride, and in his trials
and misfOrtunes extend their heartfelt
sympathies to their old commander,
General BurbTidRe,
From Falmouth to Cynthiana. from
Cynthiana to Paris, the capital Of that
county Of Bourbon, well known by
name, IL not by lOSality--the heart Of
that beautiful and fertile bluegrass re-
giOn, In which the boys clad In rebel
gray were as we'll known, and aa highly
appreciated as the boys in blue. Here
We emcamped in pleasant grove, f0l-
John Morgan, who but q short time be-
fore that. had amBRmuad i'm the same