Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-09-27
Chase, Jordan, Andrews and Capt. Loring a

apie places from which to select the place Tor
the next reunion. 1t was voted unanimously
that the next reunion be held in Bangor.
At about four o'clock, after the completion
of the business, the meeting adjourned until
100 o'clock, and the members formed into line
and marched to the State House to view again
their old battle flags and other mementoes of
their service in the war.
THE EVENING MEETING.
The convention assembled in Granite Hall
at halfpast seven o'clock, and many Of our
citizens were present, Notwithstanding dis
agreeable rain began to fall during the early
evening and prevented scores from attending.
The Augusta Band furnished some excellent
music. The names Of the battles of the Reg
iment were displayed on the walls. The cx-
ercises consisted of an
Grafton by Maj. j. d. Myrick.
COMRADES You bid me speak for you
What utterance of mine can fifty interpret
the significance of this occasion? How can
paint for you the glories of immortal deeds !?
How render into human speech the thrilling
inspiration Of this hour? How can l sing to
yOu I'LL uOTtal Ups tIlt Ctltslldl strains WHICH
come waited down from the shining shores of
the Eternal? Rather do the grandeur of this
scene,-the sacred memories of the hour, the
swelling emotions which come thronging and
crowding upon me,-hold me by their SPELL
and awe me into solemn silence at the very
threshold ofmy theme, while every symbol and
token and well remembered name and every
battle torn standard and guidon, tells with
magic tongue and matchless eloquence, the
inimitable story Of mighty achievements and
undying fame.
Grand Old Regiment Whose name is a
household word, wherever patient endurance
and exalted fealty are cherished and honored;
whose gallant exploits and whose peerless
valor are published wherever the story of the
war is told; whose heroic dead lie buried on
every battlefield from Getty sburg to Appoma-
tox; whose weary feet trod the valley Of hui
initiation, with that proudest old army Of all
history, and with it, too, at last attained the
mountain summit of glorious fruition, and
beheld its ancient enemy PROSTATE before it.
and the browning triumph of the war, wreath
ing with laurel its victorious eagles!
Dear Old Regiment! whose brilliant history
has clothed with unfading lustre the fair fame
of the noble State whose name it bore, whose
proves was the glory and pride of the Union
arms and the dread of the crushed and beaten
foe the illustrious record on whose stand
ards Of thirty-six battles for the Union is the
proudest blazonry on the escutcheon of its
fame!
Maine may well be proud of her favorite
regiment,-tO which she gave her modest
strength and manhood, and into which sine in
corporated so much of her best material and
patriotic intelligence. Through its whole be-
ing she infused her own heroic devotion to
liberty and union, and impressed upon it her
own sturdy determination, her indomitable will,
her sublime spirit of self-sacrihce, and babe her
chosen sons 60 forth in the name of the Great
Jehovah, to do yeoman's service in her behalf,
for God and common country. With anx-
ious, loving hope she followed its footsteps !;
with swelling heart she heard its praises cele-
brated alike by friend and foe; with joyous
appreciation she watched its triumphant ca
reer, from its earliest organization, until, its
duty done, its mission accomplished, its labors
and its battles ended, it laid at her feet its
proud standards, which had never borne de-
feat its victorious arms all unsullied; its
laurels all undimmed its trophies
from q stubborn foe, on hundred well con-
tested fields, and once more returned to her
bosom quiet, aw-abiding citizens.
From farm and office, from workshop and
from loom from forest, plain and seashore, we
have come together at this hour to perpetuate
the friendships of the days gone by; to inter-
change heartfelt, friendly greetings; to re-
hearse legends and traditions of the times
which tried mems souls; to mingle our tears
over the graves of our martyred heroes to
renew our allegiance to the cause which made
US one; to consecrate ourselves afresh, to
the country we love and the flag under which,
and for which we toiled and suffered and
fought and bled, during the eventtul period OF
the rebellion.
We come not with the pomp and pageantry
of war; with stirring drums and flashing
sabres; with all the glittering insignia of mar
tial array. The cannon which thunders its
welcome is no longer an engine of destruction I;
the bugles which summon US here, call us no
longer to the shock of arms the standards
which wave over US no more, as Of old, lead
US in the victorious onset. We come as those
who have earned the right to be here; as men
who, having borne the burden and heat of the
day, are entitled to rest at its close, and to
survey with proud satisfaction the work
they have done. We come as quiet, peaceful
citizens, having laid aside the sabre and the
musket, but ready whenever the loud tocsin
sounds the deep alarm of national liberties
endangered, or whenever traitor hordes assail
the old flag, to don once more the blue, and
to spring again to arms, with all the alacrity
and ardor and stern determination of the inn
mortal days of 'Gl, when the reverberations
of the first rebellious gun at Sumpter reused
an outraged nation to arms!
And to our words of friendly greeting here,
there comes an answering echo, hushing US like
softly breathing strains of sweetest music
from the banks of the Potomac, the Kappa
hammock, the Chickahominy and the James !;
from the heights of Gettysburg and the tan
gled thickets of the Wilderness; from the
frowning intrenchments of Petersburg and
the green slopes of Appomattox. And from
the mists that dimly veil those hallowed fields
of the nations ensanguined glory, see arise
the Incompatible hosts who made those scenes
historic, marshalled as for the last Grand Re-
view! With silent step and noiseless tread
they once more dress their shining ranks, while
above them floats the starry ensign of the re-
public they loved and died for,-the sublime,
unnumbered Army Of Liberty forevermore.
l see before me, men whose peaceful mi en-
and modest bearing would never impress
the casual observer, who do not look like
men to hold the helm when the storm RACES,
when the angry winds lash the pitiless waves
to fury; when the heavens are dark and the
lightnings flash and the thunders roll, and the
tempest-tossed ship seems driving to destruc
ton among the foaming breakers; but we
remember them on another field,-amid the