Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-08-22
Che FREEMAN.
MONTPELIER VT.
WEDNESDAY. AUGUST %. 1877.
The Bennington Centennial.

The Bennington Centennial.
The two thousand rebels who whippe
fifteen hundred Hessians, Englishmer
Tories and Indians Just over the New Yor
line from bennington on the 10th of Au
gust, 1777,were happily unconscious of tn
ado that was to be made over their fea
last Thursday. If they had and their head
filled with dreams of glory and ultimate
consequences and that kind of thing it /
very likely there would have been no oc
casion for the very successful celebration
and attendant rejoicings and discomforts o
last week.
The Bennington Centennial may be put
down as II success in its line just as tho
battle was in its own. The latter NIGH
have been mended itself if it hadn't been
for the somewhat premature jollifcatior
before Breyman came up and if the day
had been little longer so that none Of
the second body of Hessians could have
got away, So there were trials and tribu
lations last week and from the talk made
over there those who were not on the
ground might think that there must have
been failure.
The Boston AdvGrtjSer says the trouble
was trying to put a quart celebration into
pint town, and sings in very long metre
the woes that fell upon the Massachusetts
dignitares, especially noting that it is not
often that United States senator and the
chiefiustice of the Bay State have to
trudge through the mud in IL procession.
Of course the local committees, if they
had the thing to do over again, and happi-
ly for them they haven't, would not let
Senator Dawes and Chief-Justice Gray
walk afoot;" and would have things sys-
tematized more than they did. They took
it too much for granted that the visitors
knew the village of Bennington and where
to find committees, but it is always So
Concord and Lexington were oYerrun in the
same way and The Centennial worked itself
into its clock-work order by weeks of prac-
tice on small numbers. 1t should be re-
membered that hundred years ago it was
the Bennington mob" their descendants
are orderly enough and, after the good old
town has had two or three centennial cele-
brations, tradition will have its teachings
and warnings so resting upon the people
that none of them will charge oxorbitant
prices, carriages will be found for all real
and supposed dignitaries, each committee
will have local habitation as well us a
name, and the then successor Gas Mr.. Rob
erts would say Of "Old Probabilities
will have the weather under such control
that showers will be permitted to fall on
one side Of the road only so that each man
can have his own blessed choice between
mud and dust.
The speaking both on Wednesday and
Thursday was excellent. The Grafton Of
Daniel Roberts was q model. 1t was
written in good bible English and its
thought was worthy of its dress. Mrs.
DORIS poem was finely read by Prof
Churchill, and was pretty good poetry too,
though it is rather Il prosaic than poetic
fact which she asserts about the nation and
the state having rough nurses in the Cen
turies-taking into account the sex which
she assigns to the latter.
The Grafton of President Bartlett Thurs
day was q good one, and of course Bry-
ants ode was fitting one. Mr.. Phelps
presided admirably, and some of the short
speeches at the banquet were full of wit
and apt. Here, too, there was trouble
with some of the Bay State brethren.
They had Acknowledgements with them
and he wasn't called on to speak till long
after President Hayes had said his few
words.
The great feature of the celebration was
the success ofthe professions "Wednesday
and Thursday. The regiment of National
Guards under Col, Peck made display of
which they and the state may well be
proud. The Fuller Battery, too was in
the very best shape.
The New Hampshire militia regiment
was fine body of troops and their blue
uniforms gave them the most business like
look of any in the line. The Putnam
Phalanx of Hartford, Conn, and the
Amoskeag veterans of Manchester, N. H.,
added much to the dlsplay-as did the
Cadets from Massachusetts and the Troy
company on Thursday. The enthusiasm
was greatest when the veterans came
along however.
The president arrived Wednesday AFTER
noon and was enthusiastically received
Evidently the people " liked his looks" rs
they had right to, for unless his looks be-
lie him he is II good, square man with
force of will and character; just the kind
of man the American citizen likes to have
for chief magistrate-though the American
citizen in good many of his forms is act
TO have particular line of policy marked
out in his own mind that he nightly
knows if he could be president would be
adopted and give the country wonderful
jog millennium wards.
The celebration really closed with the
veterans torch-light procession Thursday
evening, though the militia were reviewed
by Gov. Fairbanks Friday. The atten-
dance Wednesday was about twenty thou.
sand and on Thursday there was an addi-
ton of ten or fifteen thousand to the
crowd of the day before.
The Maine democracy are not altogether
happy and united over II q results of thair