The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-07-04
AT CITY HALL.
Many Good Speeches Received With
Great Applause.

At City Hall when the hour 1or the annu-
al meeting arrived the galleries were vel
filled with ladies, who looked down upon a
crowded floor. At the front sat the veterans
of the Army of the Potomac with their corps
flags lutteriDg above their heads, as the
folds of red and blue futtered in the cool
breeze which entered from the windows and
made the great room comfortable. Behind
the members of the society sat great au-
dience of Portland people and their guests
who listened to the proceedings with the
closest attention. Chandler's Band occupied
portion of the gallery.
Shortly after o'clock Mayor Melcher and
Gen. John Marshall Brown entered the hall
accompanied by Gen. W. T. Sherman, Gen.
o. .. Howard, Gen. Charles Devens, Gen.
Joshua L. Chamberlain, Gen. Mcmahon,
Gen. p. r. de Trobriand, Gen. Fitz John
Porter, Hon. HoratiO King, Admiral Gherar-
di, Capt Schley of the Baltimore, Capt
Stirling of the Dolphin, Commander Elmer
of the Kearsarge, Lieut.. Bleeker, represent
ing Commander Snow of the Essex, Lieut..
Ropes representing Commander Brownson
of the Petrol and other officers and the
admiraPs staff.
Cheers were given for Gems. Sherman and
Howard with will. Hon. Hannibal Ham
lin who entered few minutes later received
an ovation.
The meeting was called to order by the
acting president, Gen. Charles II. Il. Coils,
who called upon the Rev. Norman Fox,
chaplain of the nth New York to invoke the
d~ine blessing.
At the close of the prayer Gen. Coils in
troduced Mayor H. S. Melcher whe well
coined the society as follows:
Mayor MeIcher's Speech.
Mr.. President and Gentlemen of the Societ,
of the Army or the Potomac:
1t is a great honor and privilege that de.
wolves upon me as the representative of the
City of Portland to welcome to our midst Sc
| illustrious an assembly. The beauties OF
our city are spread out to your gaze; her
hospitalities are freely extended to you, and
| the hearts of her citizens beat in unison in
| our common welcome.
| We have looked forward to this occasion
| with interest and pleasant anticipation; we
| have decked our city in holiday attire in
| your honor; and not only do the citizens of
| Portland with unanimous cordiality unite in
| welcoming you, but also the Governor and
| the people from all parts of our state assist
| by their presence, and the national govern.
ment by attendance of prominent officials
and the magnificent fleet of the North Allan.
| tic squadron rendezv0using in our harbOr
| where 1T now rides ia majesty and power
| all these do honor to you, survivors of the
grand old Army of the Potomac, that for
| four long, weary years of war fought and
| suffered to maintain the honor of the Il ae
and give it a new power and dignity in every
| nation of the earth.
Peculiar interest is given to this reunion
when we recall the fact that it is held on the
9th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg
| where the Army of the Potomac turned back
| the advancing tide of the rebellion, saved the
| North from invasion and assured Appomat
| t0x.
| 1t was 25 years ago that you received the
surrender Of the army that was carrying Sc
| cession on its bayonets, and when these wert
| withdrawn the Southern Confederacy, being
left without support, fell with crash thai
| reSounded around the world. You gentle.
men, have lived to see arise out of that ruin
| new South that Is loyal to the nation, and
many of the most prominent actors in thai
| great drama acknowledge to you, that it is
| better that the cause of the Union was victo-
| ri0us, giving to you an experience and sat
| lsfactl0n that has never come to the Suryy
ors of any other war. 1t is gratifying to the
people of Portland to know, that while rec
| 0gnizing the fact, that we had a friend al
court in the person of your honored Presi
dent Of last year. our beloved General and
Ex-Governor, Chamberlain. your society
voted unanimously to hold its 2lst reunion
| here.
We are glad to know from that vote thai
you looked forward with pleasant anticipa
| tion to your visit to the most beautiful city
of the East, surrounded by the circling sef
and famed by the bracing breezes of the
wild Atlantic, and l trust that the reality
may far exceed the expectation. Welcome
TO our city! Welcome, comrades!
A selection by Shaw's Quartette was fol
lowed by Gen. Collis's response to the may
or's greeting. Gen. Coils spoke as follows
icen. coIlls's Speech.
Mr.. Mayor:
When year ago at our meeting at Orange
| N. D., we received the invitation of your citi
zens to hold our next reunion in Portland
Me-, the suggestion was accepted with a cor
diality. unanimity and enthusiasm which
am glad to hear you say was gratifying, anC
which l assure you was sincere. We hat