The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1886-09-16
The Big Reunion! !

Virginia at portsmouth last week.
Go where you would on the grounds,
you would find Jackson people every
where. Even the leader of the fine
Fourteenth Regiment Band is jack
son boy. The Reunion was the grand
est thing ever seen in Portsmouth,
and one of the largest crowds of peo-
pie ever congregated in Southern Ohio,
if not in the entire State The i'm
mense tent was filled, the entire field
was full of people. To hear the speak
ing and other exercises in the tent
was simply impossible, save in the
case of few hundreds nearest the
stands.
Gen. Crook, as President of the AS
sociation, was master of ceremonies,
and good one he was. too The Gen.
appeared in uniform, owing to the
presence of his superior officer, Gen.
Sheridan. The latter also appeared in
full uniform. Gen. Crook wore epau-
let's almost precisely like those of the
Silver Cornet Band, of this place.
Gen. Sheridan wore the simple shoul-
der-straps, with yellow sash, and mill
tary cap trimmed in gold braid. He
is short, ''dumpy" man, as jolly as a
landlord, and seemed to enjoy himself
immensely He and Gen. Crook were
| the attractions. Gen. Rosecrans was
present, and met many of his old SOL
| diery. He seemed to enjoy himself
hugely, and looks but little older than
when we saw him, early in the war.
Gen. Sheridan made short address
on Thursday. The appearance of
"Little Phil on the stand, announced
bv Gen. Crook, was the signal for the
widest enthusiasm. There were SOL
diers everywhere, and the appearance
Of any Of these Generals was the start
ing point Of the relation of some anec-
dote Of the war. 1t was grand love-
feast for the Veteran. He lived over
again the past twenty-five years; he
saw in this tented field the other tented
fields amid the hills and valleys, woods
and streams, Of the Southland; he saw
in this Sheridan, the same brilliant,
dashing soldier who sent the Johnnies
whirling through the valleys of Vir-
ginia; he saw in this Crook the same
who beat the life out of the Rebel
lines at Cedar Creek; he saw in this
Rosecrans the excited Commander Of
Chickamauga; he saw in this Camp Of
Sons of Veterans the dashing, jolly,
fearless boys who dashed up Mission
Ridge. Verify the war was not over,
to the old Veteran who moved about
the camps. The thunder of artillery,
the stirring sounds of dozen sheep
skin bands, the waving banners, all
made up a grand military picture Of
which Portsmouth might we'll feel
proud.
To manage such an affair with any,
thing like system, would seem almost
an impossibility, and there were of
course some slipshod mistakes, but the
Committees were all hard at work to
make the affair a success. The i'm
mense tent was comfortably fixed with
seats; there were dining-halls and re-
freshment stands on the grounds, and
every necessity was convenient and
cheap. There were amusements of
various kinds, and some gambling
devices. The grounds were neatly
arranged, and people could move
about safely and pleasantly. Outside
the grounds, the other emo, the
other side of Portsmouth showed up
beautifully. There were two or three
beer-doggeries on the grounds, and a
dance-hall which would have broken
the heart of Harry Hill or John Allen.
When a young Jackson man OCCASION
ally sauntered into this place and saw
any other Jackson man watching him. |
he would fire himself out with remark |
able agility. Great, fat girls would |
crowd into this place and dance, and |
jump, and kick, and sweat, until it |
became marvel how humanity could |
stand against such exercise. But they
"got thar" with great success. And |
so did the boys.
At this Reunion Jackson turned
out with her accustomed liberality,
and put her money in to make it a
big success. And were it not for the
fact that we are a charitable people,
we might complain Of the lack of
courtesy on the part of the Portsmouth
Committees in return. On Wednes-
day Jackson sent an immense crowd
and paid the way Of both bands, yet
the Portsmouth folks would not even
furnish meal to the Little 10 Band.
When the fine Silver Cornet Band
one Of the finest in the State-ap-
peared, they were invited into the
tent to play piece. Portsmouth had
seen the boys and heard them play,
then. There was but one band in the
tent, we believe, at the time. After
some consultation among themselves
the band went upon the stand and
played piece, then left. This band
would have furnished music for the
Reunion just as cheaply, and just as
we'll, as the Columbus Band, and have
4 great deal finer uniforms. But they
lived in jackson.
The vocal music at the Reunion