The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-05-29
The Proposed Gathering of Northern
and Southern Soldiers on the Same
Field
(wash. Cor. New York sun. !


Tie bill setting apart $4,000 for paving
the expenses of the reunion which is to be
held at Gettysburg next July has been very
promptly reported from the House Military
Committee with a favorable recommends
tion. An appropriation of such character
Is rather exceptional, and its propriety will
perhaps be questioned on the ground that the
occasion is not Governmental celebration.
but only the annual meeting of the Society of
the Army of the Potomac. 1t will perhaps
be urged that this society ought to pay its
own expenses, and that to make an appro-
priation for them is creating bad precedent
for subsequent meetings Of this or any other
army societies, and for the celebration of 9TH
er battles. 1t may also be said that If the So
ciety wishes to invite guests it should defray
their expenses
But the reply will be that the occasion it.
self is no ordinary one Gettysburg, to begin
with, Is no ordinary battlefield, and more
than any other has become a typical scene of
the great struggle, and has received dis
tinctive character also from the establish
ment OF a Government military cemetery
there and the placing of an unexampled array
of monuments of all sorts, from those of ar
my. corps Through those of divisions, bri-
gades, regiments, and companies to individu-
al statues. Above all, the celebration to be
held on the 1st I'd and Sd of July is that of
tAiC sWtnby -ultu anniversary VI bnC BItdb
battle, so that it naturally takes on an unu-
Sual significance. An additional point is
that the Society Of the Army of the Potomac
at its last annual meeting at Saratoga espec-
tally invited the survivors of the Army of
Northern Virginia to meet it on this famous
battlefield at the coming reunion, and this in
vitati0n has been so warmly accepted by in
fuential men that the railroads have made
special rates and arrangements for bringing
veterans from all quarters. The invitation
Or ho : nIf RI hn emu
vors of all the Confederate armies and all the
Union Armies, so that the coming anniver-
sary is expected to be the greatest reunion of
Northern and Southern soldiers since the
close of the war.
Whether the appropriation recommended
ls granted or denied, there is no doubt that
the reunion will be successfully held, and
will be one of the interesting events of the
coming summer Gettysburg will be the
greatest battlefield of the war in the view of
history, although the struggle for secession
continued nearly as long afterward as it had
before. The effects OF Gettysburg however,
on the conduct of the war were felt to the
end, and are even more obvious now than
they were at that time. Important as this
battle proved its occurrence at the obscure
Pennsylvania village was the result of acct
dent since the advance of each army was
cropping forward, not knowing where the
other was and the point where they CHANGED
to find each other was accepted by each as
4,
Meade's army being satisfied to occupy the
strong position on Cemetery Ridge, and Lee
TO assault it there. Even after this placing
of the forces, Gettysburg would have been
robbed of great part of its renown had Lee
followed Longstreets advice and contented
himself with moving past the Union left,
thereby putting himself between it and
Washington
Besides the meeting of the Society Of the
Army Of the Potomac, there will be "a meet
ing of the Pennsylvania posts of the Grand
Army of the Republic, and many dedieations
OF battle monuments will take place. Bar
racks will be erected, tents pitched, and
kitchens bnilt for the cooking Of ratons, so
giving the place some faint reminder of the
scenes of quarter of century ago.
A somewhat difficult task is the one i'm
posed on President Cleveland. He is to be
invited to deliver an address on that occasion
The remembrance of the address of Abraham
Lincoln at Gettysburg, famous for its elo-
quence, will make it hard contrast for his
present successor to speak there: but as if
this were net enough Of an undertaking in
Itself, the programme actually cOntemplates
Mr.: Cleveland's reading the immortal words
OF Lincoln as preface to his own remarks.