The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1878-06-26
The Celebration at the Fort.

The Celebration at the Fort.
Last Tuesday, (the 1Sth) was a memoir
able day for Ninety-Six. Besides the
Governor, the Lieutenant Governor.
General Noise, General Bonham, General
MCGOWAN, Colonel Cothran, Judge
Cooke, and other distinguished guests,
there were perhaps the largest crowd OF
ladies and gentlemen present that ever
assembled ut the "Old Fort" The meet
ing was not intended asa political gather
ing to hear political speeches, but had for
its object the commemoration Of the
ninety-seventh anniversary Of the great
struggle which took place on this ground
during the war for our independence.
AbbeVille County is proud Of the Old
Fort, its history and its traditions. Last
week we failed to get as full a notice OF
the meeting as we would have been glad
to have had, and hence supplement that
notice.
The newspapers have been full Of their
accounts of the meeting since then, and
there is little new for us to add. Fol TINS
reason we will crave the indulgence OF
our neighbors if we should extract from
some of their articles, paragraphs bester
expressed than any we might write.
In our notice last week we ~unintention-
ally omitted Capt. Hampden Brooks
beautiful little speech In introducing
Lieutenant Governor Simpson. The
Captain will excuse US, as we intended TO
make an impartial report.
The Ninety-Siz Guardian, with their
accustomed energy, printed q large and
interesting supplement on the morning
of the 18th, from which we make various
extracts, that may be found elsewhere In
this paper.
The Journalof Commerce says that 1.-THE
celebration was the grandest that has
been seen in the Piedmont section for
years"
The Register says: "a large q com
Portable stand was erected In O very shady
nook of the fort, and was tastefully gar
landed with evergreen. From 1t was sus-
pended the old flag Of the Orr Rifles, in
which were twenty-cight bullet holes,
and from beneath which seventeen men
had been shot down. The staff had been
broken twice. This flag was in only one
fight, but the above evidences prove 1t to
have been a pretty severe one. A large
banner WAS hung in front of the stand,
on which was inscribed in letters made OF
evergreen "l7Sl, Greene; 1878, Hamp-
ton." There were exhibited on the stand
old hatchets, t~omahawks, etc., made OF
stone by the Indians. There were also
on exhibition cannon balls, grapeshot
and other wal materials which had been
taken from the walls of the fort, some OF
which were carried away by the Column
bia bows as souvenirs. "The mana
gers, individually and collectively,
the committees, the railroad Of
~ficials, and all others who had q hand in
the conduct of the celebration, deserve
and fully meritod great praise for the un-
marred success of the celebration or the
ninety-seventh anniversary of the battle
of Star Fort, near Ninety-Six, on the 18th
of June, $751;" :
The Anderson Inteuigencer gave some
interesting dots Of the occasion. That
paper among other things, says: "The
military review at the Star Fort at Cam
bridge, near Ninety-Six, OF last Tuesday
was q great success. From three to four
thousand persons were present, and nine
companies Of the State volunteer troops
participated in the review. The clouds
which had been threatening all disap-
peared, and the day was beautiful and
bright. The music was furnished by the
three bands named, and was very fine.
1t did much to enliven the occasion, and
it is a source Of qualification to know that
the compliments paid the Anderson Pal
metto Band fully warrant what we have
always claimed-that it ia the best band
in upper Carolina"
The Keoree Courier says: "The Star
Fort Celebration was q grand success,
Notwithstanding the rain, which fell in
torrents during the morning. The mill
tary companies from Edgeield arrived
last night, and for their entertainment
was given q banquet in Johnston's Hall.
Gen. Noise, having arrived on the after
noon train, was the life of the evening.
This morning the visiting companies
from Columbia, Newberry, Abbeville
and Hodges arrived, and there was q
grand display when Governor Hampton
emerged from the cars. The grand pro-
cessi0n marched for h old Star Fort
about IL a. m. 1t is variously estimated
that there were from four to five thou
sand people present. But for the rain,
twice that number would have attended.
The affair was we'll managed, throughout,
and everybody was pleased"
Among the newspaper men present we
observed, Mr.. w. II. Faber, Of the Au-
qusta Evening Nc,cs, James Il. Bacon,
Esq, of the Edgefeld advertiser, Col. A.
S. Todd and Mr.. r. R Todd, of the An-
derson Journal, Col. A. NJ. Howell, Of the
G,ecnUiILe NeUs, a reporter of the Amdes~
son I~ntelltgencer whose name we have
forgotten, u reporter of the Neoberry
Herald, whose name We never knew,
Mr.. w. D. Mcdonald, of the Register,
who represented his W paper, and fur
nished quite q creditable account OF the
great commemoration day, besides CIV
ing an occasional glance for the benefit of
the Charleston Journal of Commerce, Mr..
G. Mckinley of the News and Courier
furnished an elaborate and an interesting
report for that paper, including chart OF
the grounds. It seems to us that it
would have been good time for the press
association to have held . meeting.
The GreeavlIe NeUs reporter besides
furnishing interesting statements for the
Re0wee Courier says in his own paper
Following the speeches was a grand
picnic, and everybody was filled, and
many baskets of fragments were left"
Speights Daily Newspaper, Spartan
"Gen. MCGOWAN and Judge Cooke
were called up and respondedin their hap
piest styles giving o most BETTING finale
to the great day of the old Fortat Ninety
Six, we have all heard Of so often. The
military now reformed and marched
back to N~inety-Six, all the visitors van
ished like a sweet dream beneath the
smiles and waving hankerchiefs of the
beautiful women of Ninety-Six, and the
wild huzzas Of their old companions
sic transit till next time when every
body and his wife will be present. Yine
cheers for sc and the Star Fort!"
The Anderson Journal says: "Antici-
pating the grand civic and military dis.
play that was to take place on Tuesday al
the celebration of the nincty-seventh a
niversary of the day upon which Gener.
al Greene made the final assault upon the
Old Star Fort Ninety-Six, two miles
South of the present town. we went
down on Monday to look around the his:
toric spot before the multitude would
gather there, and we found it truly inter
esting pastime examining the old fort
and its surroundings"
Not the Voice Of the Club.
We have been requested to publish the
following communication, which explains
itself:
Tbo ,of;op If q porfiou IF cluh M 9