Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-07-04
GETTYSBURG.
THE THIRD DAY OF THE QuARrER-cEE-
TENNIAL cELEBRATIoE.
Rraternisation'of she Blpe and the Gray
The Days Exercises sPoem and Ora
tion-Less BnthaEiasm, &C.
m ,eIcernph 10 ,he pIspa,ch.

GETTYsBrRo, Pa, July 3.-There Is a
strange similarity between this day and that
lust twenty-five year. ago. Then the armies
+. OF Meade and Lee confronted each other In
sullen silence. The first day had ended ia
The defeat OF Reynolds men and the con-
tlioi OF the second had been iDdecisiye. True,
Lonestreeps assault on little round top was
unsuccessful aud the Federals still held
their original position, but they were
weak and broken, and the morning OF The
third DAY saw them In no way improved.
All through that sultry day whicn was TO
decide forever the great questions submitted
10 The arbitration oi war silence reigned over
the Two armies. At 4 o'clock. however, the
signal-gun OF Lee opened the Rfeatest artil-
lery duel tie world has ever seen, and until
the columns OF Picketps Virglnlans were
hurled back from the bloody angle the
roar Of cannon and the rattle OF muskeiTy
was never equalled In the history OF the
world.
50 TODAY the morning was quiet. Fede.
rails aud COnfederates we're once more on The
field, and again was the one on Seminary
Ridge and the other on Cemetery Hill. No
thing unusual occurred 10 break the great
mOnOtOny until O'Clock, when the Federals
and Coniedefates met once more at almost
the same hour ut which they had joined in
deadly combat twenty-five wears ago. Gene
raj j. 4. Gordon, OF Georgia, whose elo-
quent speech set the crowd fairly crazy yes
terday afternoon and made him The most
popular man IN the town afterwaTd,
was compelled by his official position az
Chief Executive TO leave for Atlauta
this afternoon. To an Associated. Press
representative, in answer 10 the question
what was his opinion o. the TelniOn, he
10 FThfu a4frf 81
and il these reunions between the soldiers
could occur yearly it would serve to cement
the friendly feeling Of the Blue and Gray
more closely, and to bind the North and
South 50 firmly that there would be no
North aud no South, but one country linked
together by chains Of indissOuble friend.
ship"
Promptly 40 o'clock the procession, COM
posed OF the same military commands as
yesterday, entered the National cemetery,
Colonel Gibson, the ranking officer present,
leading. As COnterno's Band filed past the
rostrum 1t struck up popular airs from
Ermine, the " DOwdy Jail-Blrds Of Fea-
Their ringing ont through the shady lawn,
while a smile rpplcd over the faces OF The
crowd at the appropriateness Of the Sc
leotiOn.s
After the Ninth New York militia had
tramped past and The cavalry had thrown
dust over the prominent people on the ros-
trum and the stately monument hid them
from sight rs they marched back to their
camp on the first DAYS field. General Robin
son, OF New York, arose, and, leaning
heavily on his crttches, requested the Rev.
Mr.. Twitcbell, OF Hartford, Conn. to open
the exercises with prayer. The prayer was
listened to with uncovered heads, and when,
IN concluding, he began the Lords Prayer,
the crowd joined in, and a. il rolled
across the vast lawn the sound was like the
roar Of distant cannon or the beating OF surf
on the rocky coast.
The poet OF the occasion. George Parsons
Lathrop. was unable to be present, but part
Of the poem was read by General Ilorltio e..
King, the secretary OF the Army Of the
Potomac, ana was received by the audience
with much applause.
When the orator, George William Curtis,
was presented three cheers were called for
10y General sharpe, and he was greeted with
hearty applause at the conclusion OF his
Grafton.
The number in attendance was not near so
large as yesterday, nor was the enthusiasm
so great