Litchfield enquirer., 1878-09-19

Rowley, Jas. Coleman, Daniel Galpin, Chas | Fox, s. G. Hayes, D. s. Taylor, Geo. Root,
 Levi Hotchkiss, H. A. Hotckiss, A. H. Will
 COX, Bonnet Hines, Geo. Calender, Ira Thom-
 as, c. I. Tyrill, Oliver Nash, T. Lockwood | H. c. Rogers, Fred Hard.
 O. K.-E. R. Beeman, C. N. Beeman, D. l Briggs, Chas. A Bristol, Geo. R. Colby, A.
 A. Negus, A. B. Palmer, Daniel. Connolly, A.
 B. Tolles, L. J. Welch, John Cooper, Tru-
 man o. Sanford, Frank Parker, Geo. Taylor, James Martin.
 O. L.-Emory Barber.
 Co. ME. 5. Tubbs, A, J. Lounsbury. Among the eighty present from other regi-
 ments were:
 Gen. H. W. Vessels, U. s. A.; Major Ly-
 man Bissell, U. s. A; Lieut. Edwin McNeil,
 U. s. A.; P est Chaplain Hiram Stone, U. s. A.; Col. Justin Hodge, veteran of Mexican War; Tomlinson Wells, veteran of the war of 1812 Chaplain W. H. Thomas, Surgeon H.
 E., Gates, Mai. W. N. Meserve, 4th Mass. Volunteers; Captain w. 0. Doolittle, 2Oth
 Conn; Col. c. L. Blinn, 18th Conn; Lieut..
 A. N. Whittlesey, 18th Conn; T. H. Vaill,
 9th Conn.,. M. A. Nickerson, U. s. N.
 Eddie" Col. Kellogg's son, was present among the invited guests.
 The following letter from Capt. Cad Smith,
 
 good to be lost.
 MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN, Sept. 7th, 1878. D. c. KILBoURN, ESQ. - Yours of August 18th, announcing the reunion of the "Second Heavies," to be held at Litchfield, on the 11th inst, is at hand.
 With the near approach of the anniversary of our original muster, how varied are the
 "reminiscences which I recall, and how am I
 carried back in fancy to that scene. Though fifteen hundred miles intervene between me
 and the old camp ground, yet to-day 1 seem
 to stand in the. very presence of that spot
 around which are clustered so many recollec-
 tions, which are at once the fondest and the
 saddest of my life. Reverently, and in silence, gaze once more
 upon the old familiar pictures which throng
 memory's mystic walls. Upon the shifting canvass l see the comrades of those bygone | days, and I can almost hear the ring of their voices falling upon the air, and then floating | away to swell the harmony of heaven. Many have crossed the dark river to the
 shores of the far country, but the shrill notes
 of the recall have pierced the vale and again | we stand side by side taking our first lessons ] in the "Art of War"
 How tedious and distasteful those early les
 sons were, and how unimportant Gas we then | thought) the discipline to which we were | subjected, is best told by the expression seen
 upon the faces imprinted on the canvass. | But those days pass by; the scene changes 1 and I look upon a battle field. In awful si- | lence, in an agony of suspense awaiting the signal of attack, stand the opposing armies. | Away to the right the boom of solitary gun | has struck the hour of action instinctivelY | the form becomes erect the muscels are rigid; Irot tho aVTn | kindles with supernatural light, and the ear | is strained to catch the first word of command. | An /! hear it now, Forward" is the cry, and l forward forward, "is repeated along the line. ] Oh, how grand the sight as those men move | out in obedience to that command. Slowly, at first, with firm unfaltering step, regardless l of the grinning specter which hOverS OCT them exultlng in the rich harvest he shall reap; | they pass on toward the long line of works be- | hind which the enemy await their coming. Soon, as though the bolts of heaven were un- loosed, the earth trembles beneath the shock, | and with a shout the men throw themselves | forward with resistless fury upon the opposing | battlements. Above the roar of cannon and l musketry is heard the cry of rage from men 1 inf1amed to madness, and the shriek of the wounded and the dying. Black and white, in l dress of blue and gray, are intermingled in the 1 strife, and the crimson flood from their veins,
 mingling on the sod, repeats the oft told story | that 'of one bleod God has made all the na- | tions of the earth"
 The battle is ended and we pause to per l form the last sad office to the dead, and with | tears falling upon the new graves we write a
 word of tender sympathy to those whose hearts will almost break as they read the sad message.
 But pardon me- had not thought to write in this strain, and why should |? 1 cannot
 repress the conviction that those who fell up on those distant fields are more fortunate than
 are we who were spared, for to nem victory is assured and glory, beaming from above | surrounds their graves with walls of living | light, their memory is enshrined in true and | loyal hearts, and their names will be hOnored 1 by every lover of liberty down to the latest generation of men.
 From the heights to which they have attain 1 ed, I doubt not, they are looking down upon 1 us to-day, and their happiness is enhanced by | the thought that the blessings we enjoy were | secured to us through their sufferings and death
 Let us then upon these annual occasions of | reunion resolve, that the sacred charge which | the dying, entrusted to our care shall never be | betrayed, and that we, in the great battle of life which is being relentlessly ragged on every | hand will ''girth our ourselves like men and fight"
 cannot begin to express to you how great | would be my enjoyment in meeting with you on the 11th, but circumstances will prevent
 my presence there that day, but I will fancy | that see the forms of those with whom l was
 so long associated amid the scenes of soldier | life, that I feel the warm pressure of an old | comrades hand and listen to the rehearsal of
 the old stories which had their birthplace
 around the campfire, or else were told to re-
 lieve tho spirits of a worn and weary soldier. must ask of you, that you will convey to
 all who may be present, expressions of my
 warmest friendship and highest regard, and in
 the hope that at no distant day 1 may be al lowed to meet with you.