The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-06-20

band struck up the "Star Spsngled Banner.
The Governor, taking the beautiful colors
handed them to Col. Fenner, who, with much
impressiveness, said:
GoUerwor-In receiving for our battalion this
beautiful flag we do not know which to con.
graduate ourselves more upon--the warm
sentiments and kindly feelings of the donor
our Major Bond, or the happy occasion which
has'brought you with us-you the Chief Ex-
ecutlve OF our State, as sponsor for these
colors, and through whom they were pre-
} sented. No sentiment Is more beautiful than
the soldiers devotion to his flag. There it is
stick and q bit OF cloth. But consider the
men who have sacrificed everything In the de-
Tense OF this representative standard con-
stder ask you, the wealth of sentiment that
the thousands OF gallant men who followed 1t
to success and founded our country, must
have experienced at the sight of Its unfolding
H the dark and perilous DAYS of our coun-
trys history. It is in itself mere nothing,
but 1t represents our country, the legacy of
our fathers our hearth-stones, around which
llnRer all that ID sacred and dear to every
citizen.
The colonel then, with much feeling, re-
ferred to the duty Of the citizen soldier In
hours Of peril and the relations between the
State and It's militia. In closing he said:
Governor, we feel to-day that we have gone
through with q most solemn ceremony, a
ceremony which has assured the State that
our battalion Is now ready in the time Of need
and at any sacrifice to uphold the law and
the right. [Applause.l It Is impossible to tell
now what duty we may be called upon to per-
form. Society governed by the Christianiz-
ing influences that sway it to-day may suffer
some change, and government itself may,
through the bad motives OF men, become
threatened, but rest assured the organization
Of citizen eoldiery becomes imperative, and.
therefore 1t 10 that the ceremony OF our mus
| tn- &c pfr han NfJf
nifcance to our men, Applause.
| In receiving these colors from you, Cover
nor, as the sponsor for the donor, Major
Bond, need not tell you to say to him that
they will ever be borne in the front where
duty calls, for he as an officer of the battal-
ion, will be there himself, as he has ever
been, to see for himself. And now, Cover
nor, In concluding, in the name OF the battal-
ion, speak. Tell us where that flag is to go,
and so help us God, we will carry it there.
Loud applause.l
At the conclusion Of Col. Fenners speech,
the colors were turned over to the color SER
geant, whilst the band gave "Dixie."
When the music had ceased, Col Fenner
called upon Adiutant Robinson to read let
ter which had been received. The following
Is the letter:
NEW ORLEANS, June 10, 1878.
Lieut.. Col. Chas. e. Fenner, officers and mem
bers OF the Crescent City Battalion:
Gentleme11-T have the honor to tender to
your association the battle flag of the ARMY
OF the Peninsula" belonging and used
throughout the campaign Of 1852 BY the First
then commanded by Lieut.. Col. N. II. Rightor,
and numbering among its rank and file some
now belonging to your battalion.
1t may not prove embarrassing, never hay
ing seen mention of this flag, and believing 1t |
probable thatit may be the only one now In
existence, to relate at this time Its adoption |
and use In April, 1862, when the Federal |
army, under Gen. Mcclellan, advanced on the |
known as the ARMY Of the Peninsula" con-
fronted Them and although greatly inferior
in numbers, kept them at bay for four days,
and enabled Gen. Jos. Il. Johnston, with the
Army of Northern Virginia" to join forces,
gruder had this flag hurriedly prepared, and
by general order distributed to the different
regiments and battalions.
It was used by the First Louisiana Battalion
sorption of the "Army of the Peninsula" by
that of Northern Virginia, and the adoption
Of the battle flag Of the Confederacy.
AS the color sergeant Of the First Louisiana
Battalion l preserved the relic, and now ten
der it to your organization, believing 1t to ap-
proximaGe closely to It's original possessors,
and being Satisfied 1t could not be placed In
worthLer hands. With respect, remain
yours truly, r. FL. BRUNEI, JR.
When the reading Of the letter was con-
,luded Col Fenner again called the attention
II his auditors. He said that there was no
,ne In his battalion better suited and to whom =.
would be more appropriate to receive this
'elic Of hard-fought battles than member of
his staff Capt. John Augustin. He had at
he first call gone out with the Dreux Batta-
ion, and had fought through all the gallant
lights Of the Peninsula and afterwards served
With him until the close of the war. He !
ought under the flag here presented and of
light Is entitled to receive it for our corps.
Capt. Augustin then came forward and
said: c
Ladies, Gentlemen and Fellow-S oldiers-I
hank the colonel for the honor conferred upon
ne and gladly undertake to express to the
lonor, Mr.. Henry Brunet, the gratitude Of the
Crescent City Battalion at receiving from his
hands this flag OF old days, this sacred me-
nento of heroic time.
rom the First Louisiana Battalion, better {
Known as ''DreuxS Battalion" to "Fenner's ,
Crescent City Battalion" The two are kin
hey are Of the same mould and material. I
In the first days OF April, 1861, at the first
'inging of the tocsin of war, four uniformed I
State militia companies from this city, one
rom Shreveport and one from Terrebonne,
Nix In all, averaging one hundred men each,
started for the seat OF war, anxious to stake
heir lives for the protection Of their beloved
State against sectional oppression These
companies were composed, as the Crescent
City Battalion is now, of merchants, lawyers,
clerks and skilled mechanics, and were organ
zed as a battalion under the command Of |
Lieut. Col. Charles D. Dreux. Col. Fenner,
who now commands us, was captain of one
Of these companies, and our beloved White
League General, Fred N. Ogden, the hero of
the Fourteenth of September carried its I
colors until the battalion lost his services by !
promotion and assignment to another corps. (
Dreux's Battalion has the honor of being the
first Of all the volunteer organizations to
leave the State of Louisiana for the seat OF
war, and the companies composing it an I
5wered the call and left their homes and bust
ness, fully armed and equipped, within forty
eight hours after it was made. Those of you
who do not personally remember Charley
Dleux have certainly heard of him; genial
talented, handsome, generous and recklessly
brave, the battalion devotedly loved and adj
mired him. His pallantrV drove him to i'm