The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-04-27
THE VETERANS MEETING.
Gen. Hampton Received With Cheer
Col. Olmstead's Speech.

Armory hall at 10 o'clock aud was largely
attended by the local veterans and the
visitors from Bryan and Liberty counties.
| The hall was appropriately decorated for
the occasion. Battle-soarred confederate
| flags were hung around the alls and large
| crayons OF Gen. Lafayette McLawS and
| Gen. Joseph E, Johnston were placed amid
the flags back Of the presidents chair.
| Gen. McLaws presided. After the trans
] action of foutine business and the reading
| OF annual reports the election took place
| with the following unanimous result:
Honorary President-Gen. Lafayette
| McLaws.
Presideut-C. II. OImstead
First Vice PRESIDENT. R. Saussy.
| Second Vice President-~G. NJ. Ryals.
Third Vice President-F. d. Bloodworth,
Recording Secretary-W. P. Schirm.
Assistant Secretary-J. II. II. Osborne.
Treasurer. K. p. Carr.
Adjutant-T. E. Bessellieu.
Sergeant.at- ArmS-W. c.. Workman.
During the meeting Gen. Hampton en-
tered the hall leaning on the arm Of Capt.
| Dillon. The moment the veterans got
| sight OF the face of the old soldier they rose
en- masse and gave him a tremendous ova-
| ton, almost cheering themselves hoarse
| He was vi5ibly affected by the reception,
and bowed right and left Co the veterans as
he passed up and took his seat by the side of
| Gen. McLaws.
Col. Olmstesd's speech in accepting the
| presidency Of the association was a gem.
| AS he pathetically paid tribute to the men
| who died for the south tears welled up in
the eyes of many of his hearers and more
than one old veteran found use for his
| pocket handkerchief TO brush away the
| gathering mist as the eloquent words of the
speaker recalled wildly to their memories
the trials they and Others went through for
their beautiful southland in the darkIl
| of the Cos. COL Olmsteads spoke as fol-
| lows
| 1t is with a sense Of grateful pride that &C.
| cept the honor Just conferred by you in electiug
| me to be your president for the coming year
| An honor the more appreciated because IN
| sought, and offered, moreover, with a Spou-
taneity that tells of the sincerity of your good
| will In assuming the duties thus imposed,
| do so with q profound satisfaction that under
| our new constitution the distinguished soldier
| who has so long been at our head still remains
| our honorary president and will still be our
| leader upon every public appearance of this as
ISOLATION. l recognize his right to leadership
| and for one shall be proud to follow him to the
end of his life as should have gorled in follow
ing him in the stormy days of long ago
To you, my comrades, pledge faithful en-
| deavor to advance the true welfare of the asso-
citation, and If fall the failure shall be attrbut-
| able to lack of ability, aud not to any want of
| good intent or honest effort. From you l only
| ask the cordial support that your individual
| history shows you know so well how to give
| 1t is no common tie that binds together an as
| ISOLATION like this-material interest has no
part in it; No one Of us can help to be the
gamer in what are called ''the good things Of
| HE" by having his name upon the rolls. But it
| is tie based upon all that is highest and best
in our natures. We are knit together in unset
| flsh fellowship, mutual respect and brotherly
| love, while in our very corporate name, in each
| word of it, there is the whispering of glorious
hopes long banished, of tender memor les that
! win remain forever
Confederdte-Yes, that was the name we
| he'd among the nations OF the earth: that was
| the synonym fer high endeaVor and proud
| achievements: that the word by which we still
| delight to be known, even though the lapse of
| time renders the prefix old" entirely appro-
priats and to the point, fight against it as we
| may.
| Teferans-Yes, that, too. we have right to.
| What recollections it brings back of weary
| marches. of privatiOns. OF hard fought fields, of
the fierce exultation Of victory and the bitter
| pangs of defeat, and, as we muse upon them,
| how there rises before the minds eye Of each of
us the loved and gorifed faces of dear COM
rades who marched out with us, but who did
| not return, For long years their sacred dust
has slumbered peacefully beneath the soil they
| loved and died for. The pang of parting has
| long since passed away, and still unbidden do
| those faces come, filling the soul with tender
| longingS and sweet though generally sad, re-
Elections.
| Associdtion-Tels the story of our common
need for oompaniopship and fellowship, it is the
| acknowledgements that we can find in each
| other, and nowhere else in the world, a revival
of the old shoulder to shoulder feeling that
meant so much when we were younger.
Let us then try to realize all that is implied by
| this association OF ours, its privileges for our
selves and the duties to our fellow members that
| itimposs $50 shall we derive from il the bene-
| fit l. at its founders / al in view, and so, in
obedience TO the divine law, in proportion to
our efforts TO cheer and brighten other hearts,
shall We find our own warmed and gladdened
| L3t us each resolve that we shall be more regu-
lar in our attendance upon the meetings
and that will also do al that
in us lies TO make those meetings
interesting and attractive. Some writer has
spoken of the intense interest that would attach
to every little gathering of men and women if
the unusual, striking episodes Of each life were
revealed-bnt how much more certainly IS this
true when those who meet are old soldiers,
familiar for years with death and danger.
remember, as young lad, having my imagi-
nation deeply stirred by an account of meet
ing of the survivors of the battle of Waterloo at
an annual banquet at which they were accus-
toned to assemble. The illustration that &C
companied it represented rather pathetic
| group of elderly men quietly hoonOb6ing over
glass of wine together, but 1t required
no excited fancy to realza what those men had
been. There sat the chief, the imperturhable
soldier whose calm intrepidity through all the
fluctuations OF that bloody day gave him the
sobriquet by which he will go down to history,
1.-The Iron Duke"-there the men who had held
on to the crumbing ruins of the chateau of
Amgonmont, though fire as from hell had
been rained npon them without ceasing for
hours-there the gallant fellows who charged
Win ElCbOu Wien u6 lell-LUeTe tue SURVIVORS
OF those wonderful regiments of British in
fan;ry against whose serried squares the
mailed cuirassiers OF France beat all day long
as waves against rock-in vain. And tier
the Guardsmen who had joined in the last mad
rush that swept the army of the great emperor
from the field mass of panic stricken
fugitives Ali this l saw in those few u let
figures, bit how little coAld then realizs that
the time would come when in my own person
should take part in similar gatherings of the
survivors net Of ole but Of countless fields
Here before me as l speak are men the story
OF whose lives, could they ell be written out
would read like romances, even to those who
are familiar with the great events IN which they
participated. beSeech you one and all to tel
that story. let each member OF the association
write upon the theme or themes that most IN
terested him, now, while all the details are
yet fresh in the memory. start has already
been made in this direction, and if the lead be
clearer ideas OF the battles Of the great war
between the states. but we shall also know ach
other better, aut the future historian shall
come to our little chest of archives as to a kold
mine.
From them he shall be able to dress the dry
bones OF historic facts with warm flesh and
blood. Be not impatient with me that I again
| bring this matter to your notice after having sc
| recently presented it, but it takes many ham
merings to drive in an idsa, as well as a nail
and do want to drive this idea home into ouI
minds, In no way can we better do our duty
to those who come after US. The other side
has too long had the ear Of Clio, the muse oil
/ history.
Col. Olmstead appealed to the veterans
to do all in their power to increase the