The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1891-06-05


When they marched gayly where they falter
now.
So few, but ah! the golden -fruited years
Have scattered memory-blossoms on their
And glad nation comes with thankful heart
10 tell Its love on Decoration Day.
|-IElizabeth Palmer Matthews in Harper's
Weekly.
The observance of Memorial Day was never
more general, earnest and serious than this
year. Principally day of honor to e
heroic dead Of the Union, 1t has taken on
itself broader Significance, deeper mean.
| vanished hand, the sound of voice that is
still" It's the Day of our Dead. our Sab
bath of souls, kept In memory Of those whom
we count cur slowed and lost"
Saturday delegation of about 90 G. A. r.,
men went up to West BrattleborO, and un.
der the escort of the West Brattleboro banc
there, paid tribute to their comrades with
prayer by Rev. Mr.. Smith and fine address
by Rev. H. II. Shaw, followed by Gen. King
| Sunday similar excursion was taken to
| West Dummerston where the graves OF eight
| comrades were strewn with flowers, about 20
going In a four horse team and few single
carriages. The Putney band met them
prayer was offered and an address made by
Edward Lane, who spoke from the text
Glove is Stronger than Death" and he spoke
very effectively. A recitation, also excellent,
was given by Miss Jenne Walker.
| The exercises here Saturday afternoon were
impressive and well arranged, to the credit OF
the committee In charge. One especially
( striking feature was the presence on the stage
of wounded veterans instead Of the civilians
whoIusualIy fill 1t. The program as previous
| " announced was followed, and another
commendable feature was the presence OF
the school children, some l25 in Dumber.in the
procession. The educational value OF their
participation can hardly be oyer estimated.
the spirited recitation of "Gettysburg" by
Miss Lulu Bracket, the deeply thrilling
| songs by the iadies' quartette, Miss Emma
Gregg, Mrs. W. D. Hubbard, and Misses
George Cook and Alice Veet, were most ad-
| mirably fitted to the occasion. Chaplain Geo.
E. Selleck opened the exercises with prayer.
| The Divine blessing was also invoked at the
Soldiers monument, whittier the procession
went at the conclusion of the exercises at
the town hall, by Rev. G. o. Day, and then
the march was taken to the cemetery. There
after prayer by Rev, A. II. Webb, details
| were sent to the Catholic cemetery and the
government or. hospital yard, and the various
| graves of the war heroes, and at the sound of
the bugle, the graves were all decorated at
once. 1t was very impressive. A salute of
three valleys was fired by the Estey Guard in
| the government cemetery, the rifles being
discharged at once as by one flash. Ihen
Rev. f. J. Parry pronounced benediction
and the taps were sounded, and the sacred
duty OF the day done.
1 The town hall was filed to its utmost ca.
l pacity long before the exercises began, and
| hundreds Of people had to go away unable to
| obtain admittance.
The orator q the day Gen. Horatio G. King
OF brooklyn. n. T., gave our people treat
casions. Gen. King, a dirtinguished lawyer
/ In active practice In New York city,
for years, the secretary Of the society
of the army of the Potomac. the
author of the "Phantom Column" read
In 1889 in reverent memory Of the noble
hearted Mcclellan, Burnside, Hooker, Meade,
Grant. Hancock and the other great leaders
of the army, prominent In political and social
life, having been Judge Advocate General on
Gov. Cleveland's staff in 1854, for
years a member of Br0oklyn's Board of Ed
ucation, and with fine war record himself,
has Just the equipment and the wide scquain-
tapce to fit speaker for just the line he pur-
sued, which was mainly a presentation of
Sherman as a personality, as man, neighbor
and friend. with just the strokes necessary to
bring out the figure OF greatness and to make
all the more striking the lOvabieness OF 1t.
In this respect Gen. Kings address in both
matter and manner was great success.
The general, who entered the service at the
age of 22 and yet has the appearance OF
Young manhood, is an easy, forceful speaker
and held the close attention of his audience
for three quarters of an hour. He began W 18th
a warm tribute to the Vermonters, whose
glorious deeds from the day of Ethan Allen,
Stark and Warner down to the present had
won an imperishable fame, and whe all
through the civil war wherever found had
he highest reputation for neral and courage.
Illustrative Of this, he told about the Ver-
mont brigade IN the sixth corps, who were
ordered to retire from the enemies, works
which they had SO gallant ycharged and cap
ltured two DAYS before the Bloody Angle, and
who had a sort of town meeting and deter
mined to stay, "gs they owned the works by
right of capture. 1t took the combined per-
suasive powers of Generals Upton and Rus
sell to induce them to retire. The fact was
that the voluntary withdrawal was blunder
and unnecessary, and the intelligent YER
monters, who carried brains behind their
muskets, knew 1t"
So to at Gettysburg Vermont again showed Its
mette and added new laurels to Its prouu
escutcheon. In the last charge also of our cav
airy on this famous feldt your men, already
greatly depleted, murmured not but dashed
man fully forward to meet desperate and useless
slaughter You recall the incident. Capt c
Parsons of the First Vermont Cavalry thus de-
| .ribed IL. "The first West Virginia was se-
lected to attack the Texas Regiment. The Sec
ond battalion of the First veImsnt was thrown
out as skirmishers; t1e first and third battalions
were held for the charge on thc mountain. The
trst West Virginia charged at our ieit ana ~ 1ront
| down the open valley, nearly In the direction
but toward the right of the Braman house upon
the First Texas Regiment which was In line be,
hind rai.fence that had been staked ana bsuna
tempted to throw the rails, tugging at
the stakes, cutting with their sabres, an falling
in the vain effort. The regiment came on In
| magnificent style, received deadly volley, be-
fore which 1t recoiled, rallied. charged the Sec
ond time, and fell back with great loss. was,
he continues, near Fitzpatrick when he impetu-
oUsly gave the order to Farnsworth to make the
! ast charge. General, do you mean II? Shall
throw my handful of men over rough ground,
through timber against brigade OF Infantry:
The First Vermont has already been fought half
| to pieces; these are too good men to kill" Kill
patrick said, "Do you refuse to obey my or.
ere? IL you are afraid TO lead this charge,
| will lead It," Farnsworth rose In his stirrups-
| he looked magnificent in his passion-ano cried.
| Take that back" Fitzpatrick said: 81 did not
mean it; forget It." Fora moment there was
| silence, wneD Farnsworth spoke calmly, Gen
eral, II you order the charge, will lead IT, but
| you must take the responsibility" ! did not
hear the low conversation that ioloTei; but as
| your ORDERS" Fitzpatrick said earnestly, 81
| take the responsibility" You know the result.
II was Balaklava repeated.
| Lincoln, Grant and Sherman were the sub
ject of the address, the two former great
characters introduced to give suitable set
ting for the last. Both were powerfully sketch
ed. Lincoln''gentle and yet at-hearted. .beset
with more perplexing problems and greater
responsibilities than any predecessor who
with mastery hand steered the ship OF state
away from the dangerous shoals and breakers
which menaced II on every side. Tender
hearted, generous. forgiving and unselhsh.
with heart overfowing with love for all
classes and conditions ef men throughout III
i whole country. We cannot but feel that b.
death retarded reconstruction and the restor-
alton of good feeling many, many years.
l"IIis powerful grasp of details. bis analytic
capacity, bis unerring logic, his perception OF
human nature, would have made him unusual