The National tribune., 1881-09-24

Sixteen years ago, in the month of MAY, Wash
ingtOn was made the theatre of the finest mill
tary display ever witnessed in this country, and
considered in connection with the lesson to be
drawn from it, the grandest pageant of modern
times. The rebellion had been crushed; the
vaneuished foe had laid down their arms and
the victOrs. before departing for their homes
were to he reviewed in the Capital Of the Nation
whose integrity they had valiantly and sue
cessfully defended. Having forced the enemy to
surrender the weapons of treason, they, the con-
querOrs, had come to lay down their own arms at
the feet of Columbia whose sworn defenders they
had been through the years when sorrow rested
most heavily upon her heart.
THE DAY OPENED AUsPICIOUsLY,
and long before dawn the troops commenced as
sembling east Of the Capitol, and when daylight
began to creep over the city the reveille sounded
from bivOuac to bivOuac, and the bugle-calls from
Meridian Heights and the CapitOline Hill came
back in faint echoes from the Virginia shore in
the vicinity of Arlington, where the remainder
of the Potomac Army yet lay. 1t would be too
great a task and require too much space to enter
into anything like a detailed narrative of events,
and it is deemed unnecessary to specify the
organizations which formed part of the pageant.
1t may be of interest however especially to those
who were not present on the occasion, to know
that
ON THE FIRST DAY,
between the hours of nine a. M and seven D. m.
one hundred and eighty regiments of infantry.
thirty regiments of cavalry, and thirty-two bat
teres, aggregating nearly two hundred guns. all
belonging to the Army of the Potomac yet con-
stituting less than half of that organization but
all that could be spared from other duties passed
in review. On the oath came Sherman's COM
mand, composed of the Armies of Georgia and
the Tennessee, aggregating more than 5000 men
of all arms. With each army were vast num-
Der OF ambuances, hospital wagons, and the like
adding quite materially TO the general interest
as well as the length of the procession The CITY
was filled to OverfiOwing with visitors. An hun
dred thousand strangers would not be too high
an estimate Of the number of those who had
come to witness the closing scenes of the war.
1T WAS A HAPPY OCCASION.
and yet careful observer might perceive a sad
dened expression upon the face, detect a vein Of
sadness in the voice of even the most iovous
The evidences of mourning still adorned the
buildings, puDllC anu private. O1flceIS and
vet wore the badge Of sorrow for the lamented
Lincoln, and, in consequence of these insignia of
bereavements and the memories they resurrected
from the recent past the general spirit of gladness
though frequently breaking forth in cheers and
shouts of welcome, was nevertheless considerably
subdued. As already intimated, the troops were
set in motion at daylight, and began their tri-
umphal march through the city at about eight
O'Clock. Long before that hour every foot of
standing-roOm upon the pavements along the
route every window, balcony, and roof was liv-
ing mass of eager spectators. The intersecting
streets and public reservations were also utilized
and there was
SCARCELY SUFFICIENT SPACE
lett tunoccupied for another human being to stand,
much less sit in. When the advance reached Fif-
teenth street the prospect, to one stationed near
the South front of the Treasury and looking east
ward was magnificent beyond comparison.
winding down the hill to the northward of the
Capitol, and extending along the avenue to the
point OF observation, marched the " BOYS in Blue"
company front, and at close distance preceded