River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-09-09

Al reunion of his old regiment; the
42nd Ohio at Cleveland Gen. Garfield was
invited to be present and deliver an adj
dress, which he accepted, and spoke as FOL
lows:
FELLOW ClTIzs>s This is a great fam
lily gathering, IA military family, for in
war a regiment il TO the army what fam
lily is to the whole civilized community
Here portion of the platform fell j
A military reunion without some excite
ment and some accident would he alt0gcih-
er too mOnotonous and tame to be interest
ing, and in this good-natured audience we
can have a good many accidents hke
that and still keep quiet and be happy.
Nineteen years ago | met a crowd of earn
est citizens in that courtr room above stairs.
Your bell was rung, your people came out,
the teacher of your schools was among
them; the boys of the school were there,
and after we had talked together little
while about our country and its Imperfect
flag the teacher of the school offered him-
self TO his country, and twenty Of his bows
with him. Two hundred of youI chill
dren stood in the centre Of our military
family and bore t@Dse old banners that yea
see scattered before you to-day. We are
grateful for the welcome rendered lis to-
day by this great assembly Of our old
neighbors and friends Of Ashland county.
Now, fellow-citizens, q regiment, like 2
family, has a right 20 he a little C1annis,
and exclusive. Ii does not deny the righS
of any other family to the same privilege
but it holds the members of its own family
a little nearer and little dearer than any
other family in the world, and 80 the For
ty-second Regiment has always been
band of brothers The worst thing have
ever heard said against ii is that all it,
three field officers came home alive, and
they are all here ON this stand to-day. il
was perhaps "A little against us that no one
of us had the honor to get killed on serl-
ously crippled, but we hold that il was net
altogether our fault, and we trust that
some day or other you will have forgiven
us, il you have not to-day, for being alive
and all here together / want t. say an
other thing about the soldiers work.
know of nothing in all the circle of human
duty that so unites men as the common
suffering and danger and struggle that
war brings upon regiment. You cannot
know a man so thoroughly and 50 soon a.
bv the tremendous tests 10 which the war
subjects him. These men knew each other
by sight long before they knew each other
by heart, but before they got back home
say YOU know song. For they had been
tested by fire. they had been tested by star
walton, they had been tested by the grim
presence of death, and each knew that
those who RENAME were Union men,
men that in all the hard close chances Of
life had the stun in them that enabled
them To stand up tn the very extremes
they did, and such men 50 tried and so az
quainted never got over it, and the rest Of
the world must permit them to be Just a
little clannish towards each other. We
have been meeting together in this way for
Learly fifteen years, and We have made
pledge 10 each other that az long as there
are two Of us left to shake hands we will
meet and greet the survivors | see here
and there bald head like my own, or
white one like Capt Gardeners, but Ia me
these men will be boys until they die We
call them boys We meet and greet them
as boys, even though they become very Old
boys Nothing can get MS a great way
from each other while we live. ! am glad
to meet these men here to-day. ilfre
another portion of the platform broke
down precipitating General Garfield and
two or three Of the reporters t. the ground. !
When he had mounted another portion OF
the platform and recovered his breath he
continued: / was glad also that there was
nobody hurt when that broke, and nobody
made unhappy, and ! will conclude all |
wanted to say more than ! intended to
say, by adding this: These men went out
without one single thought Of revenge in
their hearts. They went out t. maintain
this Union and make it immortal, 70 put
their own immortal lives into il and make
it possible that the people Of Ashland
should make the monogram Of the ! niied
States as you see up there pointing to the
monogram on the building a wreath with
Union" inside Of very large 'N. IA
a capital N that stands for nation, a |
nation 50 large that it includes ~. : A..
all the people Of the republic-and viii
inclade it for eyermOre; that - what we |
meant then and il is what We mean now. !
And now, fellow citizens and soldiers Of
the Fortv-second Regiment, for have |
been talking mainly 70 you. and u any 81 |
this crowd have overheard ] am not 10 |
blame for it, say. fellow-citizens and |
comrades, | greet you to-day with great |
satisfaction and bid Won cordial goodbye |