The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-08-26
GEN. GAgRFIELD's
OLD REGrnENr HOLDS A REUNION
AT ASHLAND.
Largo Attendance aud harmonious Meet
ing-speech by GARFIELD and Resoiu.
lions Of CoDHdeuee and sup
port ON the Part orHis
Old Command. f.

Ohio, was held to-day at Ashland, and th
attendance was large. The welcome &C
dress was made by Rev. Z. Parsonl
Of Ashland, and the response by Genera
L. A. Sheldon, Of Lagrange. Followin
which speech was made.by General Gal
field as follows: & aA
FKLIow CITlzRNs:-This is family gath
ering, military family, for in war req
ment TO the army Is what q family is y
the whole civilized community. Here
portion OF the platform fell. A militar!
reunion without some excitement AMI
some accidents would be altogether tol
monotonous and tame TO be interesting
and in this good natured audience we cal
have good many accidents like that ant
still keep quiet and be happy. | said thil
was a family reunion; an assembly OF the
old Forty.second military family, and 1t II
well for us to meet here. IS years age
/ met q crowd OF earnest citizens ir
that court room above stairs; youl
hell was rung in the tower
your people came out; the teacher oil youl
school was among them. the boys Of the
school were there, and alter We had talk,
ed together little about our country and
its imperilled fsg the teacher OF the school
offered himself to, his country and twenty
OF bis boys with him. They never went
back into the school house again, but in
the dark days OF November, 1861, they
and enough Ashland boys TO make loo
went down with me to Columbus to join
another 100 that had gone before them
from Ashland county, and there 200 OF
your children stood In the centretot our
military family and bore these old BAN
nersthat you see tattered before you to-day.
One OF them was given 70 our family by
the ladies Of Ashland, and Company Y,
from Ashland, carried 1t we'll. Il was rid
died by bullets and torn by underbrnsh,
Flapped by the windsof the Rebellion !
came back tattered as you see, but with
never stain upon its folds, and never
touch OF dishonor upon il anywhere; and
the other OF these banners was given hv
the special friends OF Go. A, in my old
town OF Hiram, the student company from
the head OF the Reserve, and 1t also shared
like It's fellows, the fate, and came home
covered with the gloryof the conflict.
We were family | say again, and we
did not let partisan politics disturb ui
then and we do not let partisanship enter
our circle to-day. We did not quarrel
about controversies outside OF great work.
We agreed to be brethren for the re-
union under the flag, against all It's enc
mics everywhere and brothers to all men
who stood with us under the flag to fight
for the Union, whatever their color or
stain, whatever their previous politics,
whatever their religion. In that spirit
we went out, in that spirit we returned,
and we are glad to be in Ashland to-day,
for II is one Of the homes of=otH regiment,
where we were received In the beginning
and have always been welcomed.
We are grateful for the welcome tender.
ed us to-day by this great assembly OF our
old neighbors and friends OF Ashland
county. Now, fellow citizens, q regiment,
like a family. has tho right to be little
clanish and exclusive. 1t does not deny
the right OF any other family to some
privilege, but 1t holds members oi Its
own family a little nearer and little dear.
er than any other family in the world,
and so the Forty.seCond Regiment has al.
WAYS been q band OF brothers. do not
this day know a Forty.second man in the
world who hates another Forty.second
man. There never was serious quarrel
inside the regiment. There was never q
serious disagreement between ita officers
The worst thing ever heard against II Il
that all OF It's three field officers came
home alive, and they are all here on this
stand to-day. 49, -.
Il was, perhaps, a little against US that
not one OF Us had the "honor TO get killed
or seriously crippled" but we hold that Il
was not altogether our fault, aud we trust
some day or other you will have forgiven
us, II you have not to-day, for being alive
and all here together. want to say an
other thing about soldiers work. lknow
OF nothing in all the circle oil human duty
that so unites men as the wan suffering
danger and struggle that war brings upon
q regiment. sEt t,,
and so sson as by the tremendous tests To
which war subjects him. These mer
knew each other by sight long beior'
they knew each other by heart, but be.
fore they got back home they knew each
other as YOU sometimes say you know {
song, .'by heart" For they had been test
ed BY fire, they had been tested by starva
ton, they had been tested by the grim
presence OF death, and each knew tha
those who remained were Union men
men that In all the hard close chances o.
life had the stuff in them that enabled
them TO stand in the EXTREMIST peril, ant
TO stand up ready to die, and-such men
40 tried and 80 acquainted, never get ovel
Il. and the rest oi the world must permi
tbem 10 be lust little clannish towart
each other.
The rest OF the world will not think "
ara narrow when we consider this particu
lar fault OF ours little closer to us thai
any OF the rest of the world, IN Q militar
yay. Now, we are here to look into you
faces, to enjoy your hospitality, 70 reviy
our old memories OF place, but lar NOR
than anything else 10 look.in each other
faces and revive old memories Of gres
many places less pleasing and homelik
chan Ashland. We have been meetin
together in this way nearly fifteen year
and we have made pledge TO eac
other that as long as there are tw
oi us left 10 shake hands We will met
and greet the survivor. Some Of us te
a little hurt about ten years ago when Ii
papers spoke Of us as the survivors Of tn
Forty.second. We were survivors II WI
true, but we thought as we were survivin
II need not be put as though We were abo.
to die. Now, / don't know how 1t Is wit
the rest OF youi most OF mankind gro
old and you can see 1t in their facesI l 81
here and there bald head like my, owl
or white one like Captain Gardiner
but TO me these men Will
boys till they die. We will ca
them boys. We meet them and gre
them as boys, even though they becon
very old boys, and in that spirit Of youn
hopeful, daring manhood We expect
meet them as long as we live. Nothii
. can get US great way from each 9th
while we live. l am glad TO meet the
men here to-day. [Here another sectiC
OF the platform broke down, precipitatil
Gen, Garfield and two or three reporte
10 hegropnd, Continuing, he said: "
glad also that there waa not any body hu
1 when that broke and nobody made d