Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-05-23
The Army Gatherings.

time. we believe, that the President has at
tended any of the army festivals since en-
tsr;nc unon his executive Office, and he eyi-
IDENTIFY relished the patriotic occasion which
brought him again into social companionship
with the soldiers Of the Republic
THE NINTH CORPS REUNION,
which was held on Tuesday was quite sue
cessful. One of the corps commanders
fBurnside). two division commanders pot
ter and Uartranft), and several brigade
commanders were present. The dinner in
the evening was exceedingly pleasant. The
occasion was honored by the presence OF the
Governor of Connecticut, the Mayor OF
Now Haven and the President of Yale Col
lero Several distinguished officers ofother
corns were present, among them Generals
G;bbon Deyens. Sharpe formerly provost
marshal-general of the army Of the Poto-
mac). and Van Zandt, Davies and Sargent
of the cavalry. The speech of the evening
was made by General Devens. The elo-
ouent grafton delivered before the corps by
Rev. Augustus Woodbury., OF Providence,
was considered one of the best productions
of its kind. Senator Buckingham, who was
present. was received with great enthusi-
asm As the war Governor of Connecticut.
The gathering then assumed a more social
character. and amid anecdotes, songs and
speeches, was prolonged to a late hour. The
music was furnished by GilmOre's Band.
THE SOCIETY OF TIE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC
held their literary exercises on Wednesday
afternoon. Union Hall was gayly deco
rated. and the floor filed with members of
the society. and the galleries packed with
spectators. Shortly after the doors were
thrown omen. the distinguished visitors be-
gan TO assemble. First came General
Sherman. then Lieutenant-General Sheri-
dan. Generals Burnside, Shaler, Hartranft,
Mcdowell. Hancock, lIawley and Franklin,
Vice-President Wilson, Lieutenant-Goy-
ernor TYLER, Ex-Governor Jewell of Con-
pecticut and Lieutenant Governor Robinson
of New York, each being greeted with
hearty cheers. When the noise and con-
fusion had partly subsided shout was given
that d" Here comes Grant" and a soon as
the President made his appearance in front
of the audience, the entire assemblage rose
10 their feet, and three deafenihg cheers
went up from a thousand voices in honor Of
the chief magistrate. After quiet had been
restored General Burnside, President Of the
National Encampment, said
NV duty In opening this meeting gives me much
pleasure and as we assemble In this beautiful New
England city 10 meet the comrades OF our soldier
lie let u not forget those who are absent and
leeping under the green sod the southern States
There are 4 great number o. distinguish shed gentle
men present who Will address you this afternoon
and i nv pleasure 70 introduce you the orator
Of the day, Maj0r-General Devens, Of Worcester
As the commanding form Of General
Deyens appeared in front Of the stage three
cheers were given. During his Grafton he
was frequently interrupted by loud applause
and other enthusiastic demonstrations.
GENERAL DEvESss ADDRESS
General Devens's address was devoted to A culosy
upon the character and military achievements % The
late General Meade, and to reeapitalatIcn o. the
stirring scenes that attended the invasion % Penn
svlvania in ls53 and the battle Of Gettysburg. lie
traced Al considerable length the causes which led
to that invasion. He gave long and spirited re-
view o. that reat battle and oflts importance, and
General Meadcs services in connection with it. lie
said;
.Iwould not willingly 60 injustice b the other
great fields Of the and their splendid results.
and yet i has always seemed to me that Gettysburg
saHaf frH~ Inf lie
that the blow struck that day for the Union, ac-
Suuanyiny the fall Of Nckshurg, turned forever is
bloody tide Large varied and constant a were tle
services rendered by Gen. Meade before that day
and after q 10 the very end % the war, i Is by Ms
ud gmeut in So mAneuyering his army a. % compel
The Confederate commander 10 take the Initiative,
By his energy in bringing his troops 10 tins DECISIVE
field by his skill in posting his force and arran--
ng his order Or battle, by his calmness, courage,
and persstency in all his Weiss tudes, that he VII
ever be most gratefully remembered lis iame Is
built upon the rocks and : immoyable a the NILS
o. Gettyshur- Great fields were yet TO be fought,
/ great sacrifices endured, -rea. victories won. the
leader Sc OF head and stout o. heart, who should
gather the springs which moved all our armies into
single band and control them with a single " ~
was vet 70 come before the long tried army % the
Potomac should all that il fought Tor iully s.
cured Yet although all this was eth q he, and
although the waves Of the rebellion were 10 come
again and vet again never was It's bloody crest 70
he reared 50 high a. at Gettysburg.
And the events ofthe succeeding spring he said
In the Ion. series Of battles which now comncnc-
ed General Mcades splendid abilities a a tactic
ian his frmness and ud gment- his devotion % his
tr0ops. we're very conspicuous at the Wilderness,
Spottsylvauia and Cold Harhor. lavish OF their
dead. and in every conflict up 70 the last. "hen
though the malarial fever that ragged within h,s
veins did not permit him 70 sit his horse he still
directed the army Of the Potomac N ts stern pres
sure upon the eucOmpassed and belea-uered Lee
To the great and n idea o. duty which he eA-
pressed In taking command Of the army, he was
faithful 20 the close o. Is existence. and the sue
ceeding years which witnessed his Command n the
southern States attest that the moderation and nrn
ness, the humanity and love Of justice Shich were
essential attributes Of his character, make MS cfil
life as honorable his military career was SPLEEN
did
Then followed a poem by Gen. c. c. Van
Zandt of Newport, r. l., which was full Of
fun and good hits, a. well a fine poetry and
was especially excellent in delineating the
humorous side of the soldiers life. We
quote the correspondence Of the Boston Ad-
rertiser relative to the remaining proceed
ings Of the day
The song of " hummer, which was in
troduced by the poet as an incident Of
campfire scene, upset even the Presidential
gravity. Grants face relaxed more and
more, and at last he fairly shook with laugh
ter, in which Sheridan Joined hilariously,
nudging Sherman violently, as the song al
luded to the General of the army as
d" Humpsy Dumpsey, old Tecumsy, bully
boy with a glass eye" One Of the best ap-
preciated hits in the verses was the follow
ing:
Ben Buffers great head Ike billiard hall shin
He caroms On Bethel and pockets himself;
But the maids Of Orleans his laurels are ~ nlns,
And he always rolls of when he's laid ON the
shelf
This sally set the company in roar,
their mirth being heightened by the unre-
strained merriment of all the dignitarles on
the stage.
THE SPEECHES.
President Grant made speech after the
poem. but it was one Of his shortest. Sher-
man was almost as brief. Assuming an AR
of sternness, he said
GENTLEMEN You know was once volunteer,
but now am regular, every inch OF me, and be-
lieye in adhering to the regular proceedings;
read the programme for this occasion carefully,
and saw that my name did not appear there %
| must beg you to excuse me, after saying that II
always gives me pleasure 70 meet with TINS OF any
army.
Sheridan's face was trimming with good
nature and fun as he came forward to re
spond to n call, and if one of the great
generals had a little heartier greeting
than another, it was Sheridan. lie sad
he didn't come down to make speech
but only as - one of Sherman's bummers,
you know" lie thought he would - come
down and bum around a little, you know
And so far he had done pretty well: Han
cock, to whom Sheridan had alluded. was
received very enthusiastically, but Mcdowell
having different, perhaps indifferent, rePu-
tation among the volunteers, evoked less
warmth President Wilson followed
the example of his predecessors in point OF
brevity, though he claimed exemption from
a regular or hummer" Hawley, Frank
lin, Hartranft, Robinson and Gibbon were
all greeted with applause and cheers. Inc
honsrs bestowed upon General Robinson as
he hobbled to the front on his crutches were
hardly second to those given the government
guests of the day.
CONTEST FOR The PRESIDENCY.
Tbo oor.o-4 G., .bo presidency was very