Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-12-14
A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATING

AAVVo
The Hundredth Anniversary of tho Er..-
uatton Of New York by the British En-.
Enthusiastically and Appropriately Ce,e..
brated in That City-A Statue of w..,,-
ington U~nvelled-An Address Inv p,..,
dent Arthur, and an Grafton by Georu,
W. Curtis.
New YORK, Nov. 2T.-As the hal, fau
from the flagstaff on the Western ITni.,
Building at exactly noon Monday New York
seemed to have been converted into n bod
lam. Every steamer in the harbor footed
what is known as the 'ilong ~salute.n For
FIVE full minutes the whistles We're blown
at full blast Every factory and estab.
lishment in the city that had a whistle
seemed to have expanded all its pressure.
through it. The guns of the North Allan.
tic squadron and the harbor forts
Joined in the noise. A rafting f~usillade.
Of musketry and cannon was kept nm
on the Battery. 1t was the climax of tle
celebration in commemoration Of the evacu.
alton of New York by the British one hun.
dred years ago.
No business was done in the city. Al
early morning the streets were crowded.
Many strangers were in the city. High
prices had been paid for standing room at
windows and OH balconies along the route
of the procession. The housetops Were
alive with people. Men and boys were
perched on fire escapes and telegraph
poles. AS early as eight o'clock
lower Broadway was packed from
Fulton street to Bowling Green. Fully
$4,000 persons were assembled at the Bat.
terry to witness the naval parade. The re-
viewing stands were filled early. The morn
ing opened with a dull, leaden sky and it
was moist but not cold. At ten O'Clock the
fog developed into pronounced rain. But
this drove but few indoors. Broadway be-
came a sea Of umbrellas and the people on
the housetops sought the shelter of chin
neys. The bunting chung to the flag-staffs
and the walls of the houses, and the bright.
ness of the morning disappeared.
The procession was put in motion at a
little after ten O'Clock. 1t formed on Fifth
avenue, the various divisions flanking the
streets from Thirty-second street to Fit.
teenth. General John Cochrane was mar.
shall. Over So 900 men We're in line and
the procession was hours in passing a given
point. 1t embraced every arm in the pres
ent military service, and every uniform
worn by American troops from the cont.
mental period to the present. The most
gorgeous division was the first, which in.
cluded President Arthur. the Cabinet, the
Governors of States with their staff
officers in full dress. There was
q dazzling array of gold lace. The route
was Fifth avenu to Fourteenth street to
Broadway to Bowling Green, five miles.
The President reviewed the procession from
the stand in Bowling Green. There was
little demonstration on the part Of the peo-
pie. The President was applauded FIRE.
Quently. Occasional cries of 'sTewksbury'
greeted General Butler. The regular troops
procession ended at Battery Park and the
parade was dismissed.
Simultaneous with the procession was tile
naval parade. Ext Congressman John II.
Starin was admiral of the day. The flag
ship started from the foot of Twenty-second
street, North River, moving up, and the
different squadrons bertheG in from both
sides. Opposite SiXty-tifth street the flag
ship turned and came down the river close
10 The New York shore. The AdmlralS
vessel came to anchor south of the Battery,
which became the reviewing stand. The
flotiila steamed up East River, turned op-
posite Twenty-third street, came down along
the Brooklyn shore and proceeded to Bay
Ridge, where the parade was dismissed.
At $3.50 O'Clock the statue of Washington
in front Of the Sub Treasury was unveiled.
The building was covered with a mass Of
bunting. After a prayer General Cleveland
unveiled the statue, amid saLutes from the
guns of the vessels and forts in the harbor,
and the cheers of the multitude. President
Lane, of the Chamber of Commerce, for
mally presented the statue to the Govern.
ment- President Arthur made a short
speech of acceptance. George William
Curtis delivered an Grafton, and the crowd
afterward sang "Praise God From Whom
All Blessings Flow" Bishop Potter pro-
nounced the benediction.
The members of the Chamber of Com
merce celebrated the day with a banquet at
Delmonico's. A large and distinguished
party was present. The New York Retail
Grocers' Union celebrated with a reception
at the Teutonia Assembly Rooms. At. the
Hotel Brunswick a dinner was given by Mr..
Stephens, a retired merchant, to over fifty
representatives of families who lived here i'll
17S3. A reception was given by the Seventh
Regiment at their armory to their visiting
guests. The affair was a very brilliant one,
n was kept up until a late hour.
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