Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-06
OF HISTORIC INTEREST
The National Geographic society's Excur-
sion to Fredericksburg.
The Washington House Visited and
Famous Marye's Notwithstanding
Bullet Holes and Securing Relics.

The excursion of the National Geograph-
fc Society Saturday to Fredericksburg was
a success, in spite of threatening weather.
The basket picnic and the literary features
found shelter in the opera house, and were
thoroughly enjoyed. The citizens of Fred
ericksburg and the ladies of the Mary
Washington Monument Association were
most cordial in their hospitality, and made
the day one long to be remembered for it's
pleasures. The exercises in the opera house
opened with happy little speech by Mr..
Gardiner Hubbard, president of the So
ciety. The party welcomed to the
town by A. p. Rowe, mayor of Fredericks-
burg. There was an exceedingly felicitous
address on the part of the state of Vir-
ginia by Maj. Jed Hotchkiss of Staunton,
while Mr.. w. Seymour White spoke on the
points of local interest. Prof. w. J. Nc
Gee of the bureau of etknology spoke on
the geography Of the Rappahannock val
ley, and an interesting address, with many
humorous touches, on Fredericksburg, past
and present, was made by Rev. r. r. How
ison Of Braehead.
There were many in the party who were
In the battle of Fredericksburg, among
them Gen. Gibbon, Col Andrews, Gen.
Batcheller, Gen. Greedy and Maj. Hotch-
kiss. Gen. Greedy was in the nineteenth
Massachusetts infantry. and of thirty-six
We're all who came through unhurt.
The party visited the Mary Washington
house, where George Washington spent his
boyhocd, and the picturesque height, where
Mrs. Washington used to go SO frequently
that the monument to her memory is to
be placed there. At Marye's Heights
the party were interested to see the place
where the hardest fighting ever known in
the history of the world took place. In one
of the buildings they counted sixty-four
bullet holes In a space ten feet square.
The Sunk road, where Cobb's and Ker-
shaw's brigades SO often repulsed the
Union troops, was a place of special inter-
est. One OF the speakers in the Opera
House said that within a radius of eigh-
teen miles of Fredericksburg more fighting
had taken place and more loss of life had
been known than in any other area of the
same size on the face Of the earth. Within
that circle would be included the battle
fields of Charlottesville, Wilderness,
Spottsylvania and Fredericksburg.
Some of the party We're SO lucky as to
find some bullets on the battlefield, and
many bought relics of the hosts of small
boys everywhere abundant At o'clock
the party returned to Washington, all well
pleased with a most enjoyable outing.
Among those who We're in the party were:
Assistant Secretary of Agriculture DIR.
Dabney, Col. J. H. Haldeman, Paymaster
Rand. U. S. N; Capt. Steever, Dr. and Mrs
Thomas Wilson, Miss Wilson and Mr..
Games, Mr.. Sears, Dr.. ]. T. Sotheron, NJ. A.
Carleton. Mrs. M. Patterson, Mrs Pierce,
Assistant Engineer F. H. Bailey, U. S. N;
DR.. Griffith, U. S. N; DR.. Rankin, Prof.
Gordon. Prof. Simon Newcomb and Miss
Newcomb, Gen. Reynolds. Prof. Gannett,
Rev. Mackay-Smith, Gen. Greedy, Prof.
Wiley, Mr.. and Mrs. Farquhar, Prof. Nc
Gee and wife, ex-Assistant Secretary Will
let's, Prof Harrington, Major ]. w. Powell,
John Joy Edison and daughter, Mrs. and
Miss Waite, Col. H. f. Blount, Col. Weston
Flint, Mr. c. J. Bell, Prof. Marcus Baker,
Capt. J: Crittenden Watson, DR.. David T.
Day, Mr.. Crosby S. Moves Major Jed
Hotchkiss, Gen. John Gibbon, Prof. w. B.
Powell, Mr.. N. H. barton, Major Gilbert
Thompson, Miss n. NJ Mack H. w. Taylor,
Mr.. Hendges, Mrs. and Miss White, NJ c.
Summers, Mrs. John A. Young, Gen. ]. C.
Breckenridge, Mrs. Z. L. Smith, Prof Z, L.
Ewell, Austin Cary, Major J. NJ. Williams,
e. J. Dieudonne, Mr.. Campbell and daughter,
F. II. Newell. Mr.. and Mrs. Everett Hay
den, Mrs. S. S. Shedd, A. G. Keaton, ex-
Commissioner Douglass, Prof. L. S. Bur-
CESS, Prof. Foster, Miss Lillian Hayden
Miss Oldham of Bryn Mawr Major Hotch-
kiss. Emile Debitsch, F. H. Newell, Henry
NJ. Paul. A. H. Thompson, E. E. Howell
and Mrs. S. c. Comstock. Mrs. Lieut. Pea
ry was present as the special guest of the
society.