Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-09-11
THE MARSHALL REUNION.


The reunion at Marshall, last week,
assembled one of the largest gatherings
of old soldiers that has taken place
since the war.
At the fair grounds they were well
coined in an eloquent speech by Judge
Jno. p. Strother. The president of the
association replied in equally eloquent
terms, after which Gen. Joseph o.
Shelby was loudly called for and
said:-
Citizens and ex-sol diers: am thank
full that kind Providence has permit
ted US to come together once more and
I think am right when l say the fed
erals feel thankful for the existing state
of affairs. Our ancestors relieved the
colonists from the yoke OF England aud
our forefathers drove the Indians from
the Atlantic sea back to the Rocky
mountains, and the present generation
has effected much by force of arms.
Those who wore the gray were defeat
ed, after four years of bitter strife, and
became at the mercy of the conquer
ors; but how magnanimOusly were
they treated! Hampton, of South
Carolina, who fired the first shot at FIT.
Sumter, is to-day in the senate. Anoth-
er great confederate now in the senate
is Harris, of Tennessee, and there Is
also to be found that great man whose
elouuence influenced so many of you,
myselfamong the number tOdO our duty
in behalf of the south, and then little
later on Gen. Cockrell went to the SEN
ate TIoud cheering and applausel
whose charges with Missourans ware
unsurpassed even at Balaklava. lie is
at this time a member of the senate,
there to frame the laws of the ones he
fought with and against, and there Is
not man in the senate more popular
than he. When Gen. Grant was dying
slowly. day by day, his life being eaten
away by cancer, his snfferings touch
ed tender chord in every sOutherner' S
! heart. They had learned to honor the
great man, and hence their anxiety tor
bis recovery. While the sympathies of
ts,ese people were aroused Gen. Sher-
mas, said that the southern people were
fawning Tolerant. Such was not the case;
while we respected him, our feelings
tow ard the south were unchanged, and
as far as .fsF.ning to Gen. Grant is con-
4 cerned, it was far from it. We fawn
to nothing, but, God and the fair sex;
! Tremendous appisgse and cheering. j
Stataton, Grants right hand man
was down upon Gen. Lee and all the
south, and was conscientious n his be-
lief that after the surrender OK Gen
Lee he ought to have been hung, and
such would have been the case had il
not been for Gen. Grant. will say
my ex-federal brethren, that Gen
Grant acted the part of a true soldier
4 and gentleman all along. When hi
4 heard of this he said that if such VIC
i leace were done to the southern gen
erals he would surrender his sword a
once. So this shows that Gen. Gran
jrespected the south in spite of thei
rebellion and was willing to administe
1justice. 1t is needless for Inc to sa..
THAT if Stanton's plan had been carried
out, and had Gen. Grant indorsed i
4 their bodies would have furnished foo,
for the fish III the Potomac. l vii
also say TO you, my federal brethren
show me a confederate who will no
respect the memory of Gen. Grant, ant
| will show you the confederate wh'
was unworthy to wear the gray. Yol
are the remnant of the 10000 men VIII
surrendered to Grant. Some OF yOl
have grown old and gray-headed, bu
we are here once more to shake hand
with the boys who wore the blue, AM
now you have the accord OF those WIN
fought you. Understand me to say tina
IaIthough we are under one union ant
fi.e same flag waves over us, ant
4 t~fi4 hu tan q
lnes of the past, we have nothing It
regret but our dead, and Furthermore
we have nothing to take back. Ere
mendcus applause Those here OF TIN
fairer sex who showed SO much cour
jage, it is to you we owe all-tirst t.
the mothers and then to those whom
we love best. don't wish anyone t.
say there Is any bitterness in this as
4 senbly. 1t need be we who wore TIN
jgray are at your service. | will sa.
lagain everything is forgotten but yol
must not expect us to have anything t.
take back"
| After the speaking the old soldier
mingled in most pleasant converse
many affecting meetings occurring be.
t~ cen comrades separated since th
war. One of these took place between
the writer and Mr.. Duncan Holiday
who now lives in Indianapolis, but whit
during the war was the orderly ser
geant of the third Missouri Battery
and as true, brave and efficient an Off
Ger as ever carried an order in action
called roll of dark night, or knew
by intuition when one OF the 'boys'
was stealing out a horse from tn
picket-rope. Beside these there wer
of the old battery, Will Kennon, @
Audrain; Caples, of Howard; Peter
son, McGinnis and Chapman, of Saline
and scores OF old brigade comrades
And so it was with all the commands
Iarmaduke's, Shelby's, Parsons g
Bledsoe's, Collins, Ruffner's-a
through the long list They met a
brothers; not to glory in the fact tina
they had once been at enmity with In
Union; but to cherish the love the,
bore one for the other, born of com
paniOnship and common services il
those days which tried mems souls.
In the evening ,on the writer's motion
$4OO was appropriated to help in put
ting head and foot stones at the 50,
graves of the confederate dead a
Springfield. The officers were elected
Col. Robt. Claiborne, of St. Louis
president; and Capt. j. ID. Conner, o
Lexington, vice president tor the tiitl
district. Mexico was chosen as Tin