Morning journal and courier., 1880-06-01

observance of the exercises of Decoration
 day. The rain of the previous day had placed
 the streets in splendid condition for the
 march of the veterans, and the resting places
 of the dead in the various cemeteries were
 green and inviting, and seemed to welcome
 the heroes of many hard fought battle who
 gathered to strew springs brightest floral
 offerings over their sleeping trust that were
 resting heath the sod.
 l Everything about Grand Army hall was 8
 scene of activity at an early hour in the
 morning. The children from the public
 schools focked to the hall by hundreds with
 bouquets. Not public school but what was
 represented, and where all did so well it is
 hard to say which did the best. Beside the general donations there were many offerings
 for special graves by friends of the dead
 heroes. Among them was a fine star com posed of white peonies, rose spirea, dutzea, pink rosebuds etc, for Admiral Foote's grave
 It was made by Henry E. Sheppard. There
 was also beautiful wreath for William A
 Goodwin, Company A, 27th; two bouquets l for Monroe s Gillette Company K, 9th
 special offerings for Richard A Fowler, Com
 pany A, 27th; Captain Charles A Buttricks | 1th and George w Chamberlain.
 ! Among the donors of flowers were the fol- 1 lowing:
 Skinner school, 200 children with baskets, 1 wreaths and bouquets Eaton school 20 bouquets Dixwell school, bouquets; Web l ster school 2G bouquets, basket; Dwight | school, 26 bouquets, baskets; Wooster ! school, IT bouquets 1 basket; Washington 1 school, 3 bouquets Davenport avenue school f baskets; Cedar street school, l bunch Fair street school, 1 bouquet Mrs Merwin
 1 basket, bouquet; w H Mansfield, James E Palmer, same; Benjamin Mallory, l bou-
 12 baskets William Goodwin, ,
 wreaths; Sarsfeld Guard, IS bou-
 quets; James Rowland. l bouuuet
 Reed, IF bouquet roses Gracie Hors-
 fall, basket Mamie, Maggie and Eddie
 Munson, boxes Harry Sweezy, bouquet:
 Jennie Bradley bouquets; George Mead,
 bouquets; Masters H and A Gruener, bou-
 quets; Ira Schlein bunch; William Simp- son, punches; Mrs Paul Roessler, basket |
 Ella Hatch, l bunch; Mrs c s Farren, I Charles Farren, each punches; Mrs I George w Chamberlain, l wreath \ Freddie Lord, 1 bunch Lizzie Downes, ? bouquets Tommy Krautman, 1 bou- quet Dr Bronson, 1 large bunch Fannie | McLinn, bouquets Archie Bunnell, ? bou- quets; Minnie Washburn, one bouquet; Mrs \ Moses Rogers, one large bouquet; Jessie | Leavenworth, one box Mrs Leavenworth 4 C . Chatfield, one basket; Mrs Hubbard one q bouquet; Dr J H Smith, one bunch; Ger man. English school IS bouquets; Mrs Mich ols IS punches Mrs L R Bliss and Mrs War ner, one basket; Mrs George Warner, four bouquets Richard M Everett Eli Whitney, jr, and Dr Crane each cut flowers; Henry F ! Mix, cross and basket Mrs Frank Princeton ! same; Harry Mink, four bouquets Francis ! Smith, one bouquet; Winchester gun fac tory, one basket; Hattie Trowbridge, four 1 baskets; Jennie Hotchkiss, one bou- quet; Lizzie Hendricks, three bouquets; rix, one bouquet; Howard Fleming, one bou- quet; Ella and Jessie Taylor 1 large basket; 1 Cornelia Andrews, punches; Minnie Ko- henbach, 1 bunch; E Baldwin, punches Hattie Andrews, punches; - Chatfeld, ! bunch; Fair street school, bunch; John basket; Mrs Stephens, 1 basket; Mrs James l M Evarts, l basket; Richardson, 1 1 basket; Georgie Eggleston, 2 punches; Hen ! ry Kraft, ? punches; Oracle Sharp, 20 bou- l quets; Alice Halliday, bunch; Edna Smith, | 2 bouquets; Mrs Weld, l bouquet; Mrs basket; Mrs s Twitchell, basket; Minnie ! Brightman, l bouquets Russelps school ? 1 large baskets Mrs Edward Peck for Lieu l tenant William Comes grave, wreath of ! white wood blossoms and beautiful cross
 About 9:30 o'clock details visited the cem- eteries. Ten men went to the Grove street ! cemetery, under Leander Parmelee twelve ! to Fair Haven, under Senior Vice Commander 1 k Franklin ten to Evergreen cemetery ! under Commander D w Grosvenor ten to I St Bernard cemetery, under Junior Vice Commander John Charlton and six to Vest ! vile, under l. B Peck.
 Although the services of decoration took ! place at an early hour, yet there were hun 1 dreds of people at the different cemeteries who appeared to take deep interest in the decorative exercises.
 In the afternoon the parade took place, and it was noticeable that many of the mer- chants in various parts of the city closed ! their places of business. Flags displayed at I half mast were also everywhere noticeable The procession under command of Colonel John G Bealy, and consisting of City Guard 1 Capt Tiesing, c Battalion, Second Com pany Governors Foot Guards, acting as escort | to Admiral Foote Post, marched through 1 some of the principal streets of the city and l upon returning to the Green gathered around ! the flagstaff, where the concluding exercises ! took place.
 The band and Grand Army formed in line near the stand, and the large multitude of 1 people who had gathered to witness the clos ng exercises formed in solid mass around | hem. On the stand were Rev Dr Bacon, Rev MT samson, D M Grosvenor, commander of he Post, John Mccarthy and others When I he multitude had gathered about the stand, John Mccarthy, as president, said: s'As is ,ur custom we meet to-day to commemorate ! ! lot only the deeds of our comrades who are ! buried in our own cemeteries but also those U who rest in unknown graves and whose | u hounds are scattered all over this broad land C
 have the honor to introduce the Rev pr 5acon, our orator of the previous year. who l will invoke the divine blessing" Rev Dr 3acon then offered a fervent prayer, after 1 c which Mir McCarthy introduced Rev MT Sam on, who spoke in substance as follows:
 A m I 0 rance and reflection. Memory carries us ! ack to the times when our land was rent | | 7ith civil feuds and her sacrifcial altar l O rank up the best blood of our citizens. It eems but yesterday when the clouds of war ! " adhered and burst with all their fury above s. We seem again to hear the roll and rat l q e of the drum, the steady tramp of armed 1 z, len. We seem again to see our boys l ., larching out from us, with standards fut- 1 n 'ring in the breeze, with eager hopes and 5 rong resolution responding to the call of uty. We remember the long and painful ears of battle and carnage; of camp and ospltal of raid and reconnaissance of :; Till parade and review; of siege by land and 1y a. The names of Bull Run and Chicka- VI Ominy, of Charlottesville and Antietam, of " 1cksburg and Lookout Mountain, of Gettys- v arg and the Wilderness, with their associa- W ons of shot and shell and smoke and blood r 1d death-an pass in vivid review before us "A 'e seem again to see the long trains of am- 1 , nlances as they move in and out among the o< cad and dying on their mission of relief and ss ercy We remember the long lines of the q, cad prepared for their rude and nasty burial. ;r 3e remember the long trenches into which l .. lelr corpses were hurriedly thrown to await a 1 = orious resurrection. All these sad memo VI es and more come dropping before us on N lls day and occasion of. remembrance ut this is no time for reflection, and the II, 1estion comes unbidden, seWhy all this es aughter, this sacrifice of life and treasure | VI Thy d1d these brave men march without | fl 'ar to certain death at the cannon's B mouth ?" n, he nation was in pera-its perpetuity was n 'salled and 1t called upon it's patriotic sons fit ) sacrifice themselves that the union of the ST tates might be maintained Is there any fl otency in such heroes blood? Are these rave lives of any value? /? What does this sac .. hce mean to you and me and to our chil- = ren? It means the civil liberty and equality all men. Whatever the war of the rebellion lay not have secured; whatever grave ques- on or public concern it may not have deter = lined, 1t did establish the fact of personal nd civil liberty to all men within onr bo, l '