St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-08-03
CORRECTING OUR HISTORY
After Quarter Of Century Has
Elapsed.
NOT SURPRISED AT SHILOH.
Commander Rea Tells of the Glories
and Aims of the Grand Army Of
the Republic.


Mahtomedi yesterday. 1t was "Grand
Army Day. for the Chautauquans, and
1t was also the concluding day of the
assembly. Gen. b. M. Prentiss and
Maj. John p. Rea, commander-in-chief
OF the G. A. R., were the principal
speakers of the day.
There were signs of breaking I'D of
the little colony, which has settled SD
peaceably during the past fortnight alt
Mahtomedi. Huge trunks were being
packed, tents leveled to the ground,
and farewells made. A large portion of
VISITORS spent their last hours of the s.
Sembly in other than intellectual en-
joyment.
The Battle Of Shiloh" was the sub
Ject of Gen. Prentiss' address, and upon
which he spoke for two hours. The lee
ture was preceded by number of war
songs, Rally round the flag,'' solo by
Prof. &. G. Case; "Tenting tonight on
the old camp ground" solo by Miss
Catherine Wall; marching through
Georgia" solo by W. l.. Davidson; 1.-THE
star spangled banner" solo by Mrs.
Foote, of Chicago; and "Tramp, tramp,
tramp" solo by Prof Case.
DR.. j. II. Murphy, of st. Paul, intro
duced Gen. PrentisS to the assembled
company, and said: ''All can read of
TO get anything accurate in relation to
any battle we must have some one to
talk and tell us what he has seen him
self. The battle of Shiloh was one of
the most Important and one of the first
battles in The war of the rebellion: and
about no other battle has there been
more miScOnceptiOn
IN THE PUBLIC MIND"
General Prentlss, who was accorded
royal reception, began:
More silly things have been said.
falSehoods told and cruel utterances
given to the American people concern
ing the battle of Shiloh than any battle
that was fought. am here. not as an
eegotiSt, but perfectly free to say
to the American people 4 know
more of Shiloh than any living man,
and ought to. The men that [ com
manded commenced that battle the
morning of April 6, 1862, and those same
men ended it as the sun was setting in
the West, and yet for twenty years in
American history the youth have
been taught that they were cap
tured early i'll the day. The story
that we were attacked in our
tents and surprised before our lines
we're made is all myth. for the battle
OF Shiloh began a mile in front of any
encampment. No such battle as Shiloh
was ever fought upon the face of the
earth, for more men were killed and
wounded in that battle upon that good
Sunday in proportion to the number of
men engaged than fell or were wounded
IN any battle that we have in history.
You have been led to believe that more
men fell at Gettysburg. 1t is true that
more men were slain, but the percent
age of those killed and wounded at
Gettysburg to the number of men Ell
gagged was barely s, whereas at Shiloh
it was 34115 per cent"
During his address Gen. Prentiss re-
ferred to several comrades in the Shiloh
battle who were among his hearers.
Two of these were Lieut.. T. F. Pender
and Capt. E. NJ. Van DnZee, of st. Paul.
The latter was also confined in the same
prison with Gen. Prentiss for six
months. They met yesterday for the
FIRST TINE SINCE THE WAR.
Kew. Wilbur l.. Davidson led the COM
pany in singing ''My Country. IT'S of
Thee" when Maj. John P. Rea was
formally introduced.
The commander of the G. A. r. said:
81 was one OF those men who got mp to
the battle of Shiloh Monday evening
after the fighting was over, and in time
to hear from the stragglers the army
story of how Prentiss' division had been
captured in their tents on the morning
of Sunday. l never knew the full story
of the service rendered by that division
until head Gen. PrentisS' description
OF the battle few years ago, and then
hunted up the reports of Buell.
Grant, Johnston and Sherman, and
every fact given of that battle bears
Prentiss. You may take the story of
any forlorn hope of any charge ever
made, you may take the story of the
old guard at Waterloo, but the heroic
valor displayed by these men-trained
soldiers OF dozen years; trained under
the greatest martial leader of the world
the herolsm of those men on that day
at Waterloo, did not equal the valor of
the beardless boys gathered up
from cots on the prairies in
ONO, Missouri and Illinois that
stood with General Prentiss in the bat
tie of Shiloh. They stood against the
forces OF the Southern army for twelve
hours, and were not captured until their
ammunition had exhausted; and yet for
twenty years they have been under the
ban of having been surprised, 1t is not
of such scenes as this the associations OF
these men, comprising the Union army,
in scenes like those which General
Prentiss has depicted, that there has
grown that fraternal love which has
crystallized into the organization known
as the Grand Army of the Republic. 1t
Is the cryStalliZed love of men who
shared together the
GRANDEST EVENTS OF HISTORY
You may take have dozen modern
European wars and congregate them
into one and you will not have a war
equal to that which was fought out here
by the unframed soldiers of America.
And what did they fight for? Not for
classes, not because they were devoted
to tie defense of some military hero
they fought for an ideal, and that was
the ideal which to-day underlies the
civilization of this land, which has
given us the progression that we have:
for the establishment of a govern
ment OF the people resting upon
all men; to establish on this
Western continent government based
upon the manhood of men and the
womanhood of women. That is the
idea, and the time is coming when there
will be not a $1,000, 900 on this contiI
nent, but hundreds of millions of people
living under our flag in the great
brotherhood of men on a plane lifted
up by the impetus which is given to
value OF government higher than
the mountain peaks of a ia
vored few of a half century ago.
Members of the G. A. r. have PLAYED
no little part in bringing about this
condition of things. That is the fiag.''i
concluded Major Rea, pointing to the
stars and stripes; mo other flag than
that should wave anywhere in this land.
1t represents the power, the dignity,
the glory of great, free people, grow
ing greater every day." Loud cheers.1
Vesper services and closing words
were afterwards given, and a lecture on
The Moon," by Prof. H. c. Wilson, of