The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1885-06-22
CAMP U. S. GRANT.
Notes of the Advance of the Boys
in Blue
Tothe 18th Annual Encampment of
the C.. A. r.

iotne iStn annual EncamPment OF
the C. A. r.
The Forest City Preparing to Give
ii Them aWarm Reception.
How the Work Is Progressing on the
Promenade.
Some of the Dignitaries Expected to
be Present.
Today Portland, the Forest City, tenders
its warmest welcome to the surviving heroes
of the great civil war-the remnant Of the
Grand Army that conquered the Rebellion
So swiftly do the days pass that it seems
but few years ago we all gathered in the
streets, and at railway stations, with cheers
on our lips and tears in our eyes, to bid
goodbye to these proud spirited men who
had rushed to arms at the insult to our flag,
so many Of whose comrades never returned
to us but whose bones lie bleaching in the
summer sun on many a southern battlefield
h'1Ns 1ts~tA1a 1<AkAA- Ol 9Ct
not the same. The passage of twenty years
I has taken the buoyancy from many STEP
has rounded the shoulder, and frosted the
head, but it has not dimmed the vision nor
daunted the courage of these veterans whose
eyes kindle and whose bent frames straight
en- as they march in line to the martial
strains Of those old familiar airs Marching
through Georgia and when Johnny Comes
Marching Home Again, to whose melody
they went forth in 1861 to 'sdo or die. They
went from us light heated boys; they came
back matured, in many cases mutilated,
men. And what is true of the men from
Maine is true of all these comrades from 9th
er states. The scenes of Portland 1S61-65
were but repetitions of every city, every
town and every hamlet of our country. His
torians, and orators, and poets, from the
greatest to the humblest, have chronicled
their deeds and sacrifices in prose and song
the names of the dead heroes have been pre-
served in marble and stone, and in every
way grateful country has striven to prove
its appreciation of their merits
Today, Portland puts on its most charm
ing robes to greet these yaliaut warriors.
( fAOA pihS WttbCAo lipBlc VIII hlSStu U1
the golden sunbeams. Over hervelvet turf the
wide ieafy elms cast their most entrancing
shadows. Her gardens exhale the most de-
licious perfumes, and her stately residences
and noble business places, are decorated with
the insignia of war and fe.tooned with the
gayest draperies. But it is not warlike oc-
casion. 1t is white winged Peace smiling in
the garb Of grim visaged war
Who can enumerate the skirmishes and
battlefelds these Boys-in-Blue have seen.
They participated in the victories and the
repulses Of the. silent man." who now on
the piazza of his mountain home, awaits the
inevitable, suffering from the most cruel of
diseases, and yet looks death in the face with
the same unfinching courage and GOODNESS
that has made his name historical; his
thoughts are with his old comrades here to-
day and there is not one but would gladly
give him his hearts blood if it would restore
him to health and vigor. The marched with
Sherman to the sea; they formed the army
of the Frontier; they fought nit Sigel 2
they were with Sheridan in the tempest Of
Stone River; they were with Burnside and
stormed the heights of Fredericksburg; with
Mcclellan at Seven Pines and Antietam /;
fought the battle above the clouds, climbing
Lookout Mountain with fighting Joe;" and
were torn to fragments with Pope at Chan
tilly. They were with Meade at Gettysburg
and followed our own Chamberlain to the
| crest of Little Round Top; they took
part in all the battles under Slocum, Kinney,
! Buel, Logan, Hancock, and the many gener-
ais whose names have filed pages with tales
| of a valor before which the Age of Chivalry
| sinks into insignificance. They were as gal
| liant on the water as on the land, and sup
ported Farragut as he passed the forts at
| New Orleans bound to the rigging of his
| ship; served the guns of the Monitor in her
encounter with the Merrimac hauled down
| the flag of the Alabama and left a record
for bravery on the Mississippi which will
never be forgotten.
These are the men we greet to-day. To
them We extend the freedom of the city.
! Their ranks are thinning every year. What
| the prison fever of Libby and Andersonville
began, a few years more will accomp-
| lish. Wounds, disease, and exposure will
surely sap the straightest frameIand it will be
| but few years when the last gray-haired
warrior will answer the final roll call. Re-
| joice then, while We may. Recount over and
over again the scenes and experiences of
other days; and our children shall bid you
welcome, and sit before you the hospitality
that has given the Forest City name of old,
and shall learn from you to value that flag
| which your blood and your struggles have
made power among nations.
CAMP U. S. GRANT.
No more beautiful location than the East
ern Promenade could have been selected for
camp U. s. Grant. Elevated about 100 feet
above tide water, the tents extend for mile
along the shore of Casco Bay, affording theiI
occupants view of the hundred islands in
the bay and the ocean beyond. Every move.
ment of vessels about the outer harbor can
be seen from all parts of the camp. On the
shore part broad esplanade extends the
length of the camp and connects with all the
streets leading to Monioy Hill, and with the
horse cars to any part of the city. A plan OF
the campwill be found in this ISSUE Twenty
\ five electric lights will each night illuminate
the camp, which has been supplied with
abundance of Sebago water and all the requi
sites for cooking, that the veterans may en-
joy all the pleasures of veritable camp life ii
desired. Two thousand tents have beer
pitched and each marked with the number Of
the posts assigned to it. Eighty-five tons Of
straw have been placed in the tents to re
move the dampness of the ground Coco
blankets will be furnished at the head-quart
ers by Secretary A. NJ. Sawyer for 1925, pei
pair, $1.7O per pair, or $1.35 per pair accord
ing to quality. No charge will be made fol
the use of the tents, or for straw, water
water pals, wash basins OF wood for cook
ing.
On account of the number of Maine yeter
ans who will be present during the encamp
ment, the posts of the State have been elias
sifed and assigned to camp quarters by coun
ties, as given below. During the past weel
many changes have been received from tn,
posts Of the different States, SO that it is diff
ficult at present to state just how many per
sons will be present during the week. Al
the time for the encampment draws nearer
more enthusiasm becomes manifest from al
Z parts OF the country, and there is littl,
doubt that the expected number-40 OO0-o