The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1891-04-09
THE LOYAL LEGION.
The open Banquet at the stillman.

The Loyal Legion of Northern OhiC
held an open meeting with an elaborate
banquet at the Btillman, Cleveland, las-
evening. The party did not break W
until after midnight. The Plain Dealer
in noting the affair says:
zone of the most delightful meetings
ever held by the Loyal Legion in Cleve
| land was that last evening at The still
| man. About fifty officers and their ladies
! were present. Among them from other
cities were Col. ConRer and wife OF Ak.
ron, Capt. Plummer of Akron, Col. Kirk
patrick, u. S. A., of Springfield; DR.. w.
II. Parks and wife of Elyria, Capt. ID. NJ.
Clarke and wife OF Elyria. After the re-
ception all assembled in the banquet hall.
Judge Voris OF Akron, acted as master
of ceremonies and announced as the
first number of the program selection
by quintet consisting of Judge Hutchins,
Capt. A. N. Meade, Capt. NJ. G. Browne.
Capt. G.. NJ. Sanderson and Col. S. Il.
Herrick.
Gen. Isaac r. Sherwood read an exceed.
ingly interesting paper on "The Litera-
ture of the War; Numerous quotations
from poems of the war time frightened
the paper"
The Leader in commenting on the af-
fair says:
"General Sherwood began by saying
that people are apt to look at the war per.
iod as dating from the bombardment of
Fort Sumter, but in one sense the "irre-
pressible conflict had been at fever heat
for decade prior to that time.n The lit
erature relating to that period is not ex-
tensive, there being only from 300 to 400
books, growing out of the war. ut was
time," said the general, "for action and
not for thought, for making history and
not recording it," The best historian of
the conflict was not an American, but
Frenchman. But tue chief charm of the
literature of that period is in "tbe songs of
the war; The essay gave an exhaustive
resume of the most noted ones. One OF
the most prominent song writer's,
he said, was George +. Root, au
thor of "Tramp, Tramp" and "The
Vacant Chair" Many of the most popu.
lar songs we're of Southern origin, and
were nung by the Northerners without the
latter knowing whence the verses came.
"Oh, Who Will tare for Mother, Now ?n
and"Somebody's Darlingn wei instanced
as two touching Southern ditties. General
Sherwood told of the first time he heard
Maryland, My Marylandn sung. ut was
at East Houston, on the Tennessee he
said. "We. arrived at the place late at
night and i was placing vidette
shone brightly from the window of
house we were approaching, and within
the room, seated at piano, was beauti-
ful Southern girl. Leaning over her
shoulder was a dashing young Confeder-
ate officer, who turned the page the while
she sang this song. The music was like
the voice of an angel, but the
sentiment was villainous. Suddenly
there was a shot from the picket
some distance to the right, and the
song stopped short at semi.colon. There
was clash of sabers, ringing of horses
hoofs on the roadway, and the members
of his scouting party had escaped in the
darkness" General Sherwood said "Sher-
idan's Ride" is undoubtedly the greatest
dramatic poem of the war and barbara
Fritchien links the name of Whittier in
absolutely with the conflict. The
Battle Hymn of the Republicn was de-
scribed by the speaker as the grandest
lyric poem of the period. Lincoln easily
carries away the palm in prose literature
with bis "Oration on the Battle of Gettys-
burg" Next upon the order of exercises
was a paper written by Mrs. General j. d.
Cox, Of Cincinnati, entitled "Woman's
Partsiu the War;" 1t was read by her
eldest son, Companion j. d. Cox, Jr., and
was intently listened to and greatly en-
joyed by the audience"