Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1892-09-23
NORTH DAKOTA, FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23. 1892

up, as in the actual march through
Georgia, with the swarthy veterans
themselves, with their long swinging
stride that told of forced marches and
hard fighting, some of them barefooted,
but with musket and cartridge box
bright and ready-all of them bearing
the marks of gallant service done-all
this no one who witnessed it will ever
forget.
And many of those in the second
march were those in 1865, and not few
of the spectators of this saw that other
historic scene of twenty-s years past.
The arrangements for the movements
of the armies on the second day were
| admirable. The right wing, composed
of the Army of the Tennessee. including
the Fifteenth and Eighteenth corps,
Major General Logan commanding, and
the left wing, composed of the Army of
Georgia, including the Fourteenth and
Twentieth corps, Major General Slocum
commanding, had bivouaced on the
night previous, without knapsacks, and
with two days cooked rations in their
haversacks, on the Virginia shore of the
Long bridge. Atdaylight in the morn
ing they had moved across the bridge
and taken their position upon the streets
and grounds east of the Capitol. But
there both armies were in position
awaiting, with stacked arms, the signal
for marching. Their marching was
irregular and with frequent gaps, but
the cheering which Sherman and his
army received from first to last of that
long day knew no cessation. In the
Baird division of the Twentieth army
corps at the head of the first brigade
marched Brevet Brigadier General Ben
jamin Harrison, of Indiana.
The hour for the moving of the parade
was $3.50 o'clock, but it was long after
that ere the body started. For two
hours previous to the hour designated
the streets leading to the avenue were
thronged with hurrying people eager to
secure an advantageous view point for
the days event. All along the broad
thoroughfare tiers of seats had been
erected commanding good views of the
procession. These were crowded, as
were the cross streets on the avenue,
windows of houses fronting thereon,
and the sidewalks from the Capitol to
Washington circle, two miles away,
which formed the limits of the parade.
Nearly half as many old soldiers were
in line as passed on the avenue on the
historic days of 1855. The conditions of
the two occasions were widely different,
and although age has somewhat weak
ened the physical powers of the sur
vivors today, they were enabled to cover
the distance with not much more fatigue
than then, being unencumbered with
arms or accouterments, and having q
smooth, firm roadway for their feet, in
stead Of a dusty, rough highway.
The process1onmovedu under the oruers
of the commander-in-chief in double
column, rows of twelve, one on either
side of the car tracks, platoons being
twelve PAGES apart, and between depart
ments, twenty-four PAGES. This process
sion was, as far as possible, strictly a
G. A. R. organization, the first and last
divisions containing the only non
soldiers. Heading the procession was
the citizens committee on parade. They
were mounted, and with the aids sup
ported by the chairman, numbered a
hundred or more.
| Following them came the escort to the
commander-in-chief, the Old Guard, of
| Washington, and the Albany On. W
Grand Army battalion. General Pal
mer's determination to have the process
sion march in double column was the
means Of avoidinga possible controversy
between these two organizations over
the right of the head of the line. AS, it
was, they marched side by side, and
the amour propre was fully preserved.
| General Palmer, commander-in-chief;
Henry M. Dufield, Detroit, senior vice
commander; accompanied by the official
staff of the commander-in-chief,a and his
aides-de-camps followed. The Grand
Army escort, post of honor, was ac-
| corded to the survivors of the famous
Sixth Massachusetts, regiment, and the
first defenders of Washington. The
United States signal corps1 veteran as
sociation, which is holding its seven
teenth annual reunion in connection
with the G. A. R. encampment, closed
the first part of the procession. Then
came the G.. A. R. posts, by depart
ments. The old soldier was apparent in
every step, and the proudly martial
bearing of the veterans was strength
ened by the the plaudits of the multi
tude which rang continually in their
ears as they passed. The posts marched
in the order of their seniority, beginning
| with Illinois where the G.. A. R. was
organized. The rear of the procession
was brought up by the naval veterans
association.
The line of march of the procession
was from the foot of the Capitol along
Pennsylvania avenue. past the treasury
building, the department of Justice, the
White House, the state, war and navy
departments, to Twenty third street,
where the parade disbanded. d