The herald., 1896-11-28
COFFEE, BEANS, HARDTACK
We're the Army Refreshments Served to
Those Present
An Interesting Musical and Literary
Program-Paper on Old Soldiers
Graveyards.


ladies of the Stanton Relief corps given
by Stanton Post, No. 50, G. A. r., at
Bixby hall last night. An interesting
literary and musical program was rem
dered, and refreshments, consisting of
beans. hardtack and coffee were heartily
partaken of.
Comrade Nestor A. Young was to
have addressed the meeting on the sub
ject california" but was unable to be
present.
Mr.. West gave a guitar solo and kept
the audience in roar during the per-
formance by the recitation of number
of very funny stories.
CAPTAIN f. j. Cressy was called upon
for speech, and responded in happy
vein. He vividly described some of his
thrilling experiences during the War
and interested everyone in his narration
of how he transferred the confederate
archives to Washington.
w. c. Patterson was to have spoken
on war "reminiscences, but was unable
to be present and sent letter which was
read by Captain Cressy.
After the refreshments had been serV-
ed there We're more songs and stories.
The program was as follows:
Piano and cornet duet--The Misses
Meek
Vocal solo-W L. Deity.
Piano solo-Mrs. w. E. Deity.
Humorous recitation-Tom Barnes.
Talk-Captain f. j. Cressy.
Guitar solo-Mr West.
Paper-W. c. Paterson.
Mr.. Patterson's paper described the
present condition of several old soldiers
burying grounds, and was very inter-
esting article. The paper is given IN
full, as follows:
Captain f. ]. Cressy, Chairman Com
mittee of Arrangements-My Dear Cap
tain: l very much regret that other de-
mands upon me will forbid my partici-
patton in the interesting program which
has been arranged for the enjoyment of
our comrades and friends. To one and
all ask you to convey my cordial greet
ing. Could 1 have been with you to-
night, it had been my thought to speak
somewhat particularly of a visit which
l recently made to some of the battle
fields of the great war of the rebellion.
During the month of April last, in COM
pany with a friend who had been
confederate soldier, I Travelled from
Washington City to Old Point Comfort,
passing through fateful Fredericks burg
and other memorable localities. We Wis
tied Richmond and its environs, which,
during the war constituted one great
fortified military camp. From the dome
of the capitol in that city we surveyed
a multitude of battle fields, including
that of Seven Pines. This field we Wis
tied later in person and inspected it
somewhat in detail.
AS fading m smories have obliterated
the rancor of war times so that as
brothers, my companion and myself,
who years ago belonged to opposite con-
tending forces in fatal strife, could walk
together, so nature, with kindly mien,
has removed and concealed many of the
nf hlnD1y those hat.
tie fields.
At Seven Pines, where once were open
fields, and upon which bloody carnage
rioted during fearful battles. there is
beautiful forest of pines which since the
war have thickly grown and densely
covered the earth. Walking through
this forest we occasionally saw long de-
pressions where the union dead had been
buried in trenches, and from which they
have since been eXhumed and reinterred
in the beautiful national cemetery near
by. In other portions of the fields were
ridges beneath which still repose thou
sands of confederate dead. The long
earthworks and extensive fortifications
remain we'll defined, but grown up with
trees In places beautiful pines thirty
or forty feet high have grown through
the embankments since the war This
fact greatly impressed me with the Hight
of time, and reminded me of the long
period which has elapsed since the aw-
full events, which in memory seem to
have occurred but yesterday
We visited old Point Comfort where
we carefully examined old Fortress
Monroe, which is historic beautiful and
extensive, but out of date. We went to
Newport News and there surveyed the
scene of the memorable conflict between
the Monitor and the Merrimac. AS re-
call the history of the times, which few
years ago was so frightfully real. can
scarcely believe that such momentous
events have occurred within my life
time. The memories seem to be but
dreams When l walked upon fields once
red with the best blood of American
chivalry, I bowed my head and breathed
q prayer that this nation might forever
be spared another fratricidal war. / can
but mediate upon the greatness of
people who, when the war was ended,
soon learned to blend their interests and
mingle in friendly effort to make the
nation greater than before. I can but
contemplate the nobility of citizenship
which can lay aside the bitterness which
war engenders, and whose ex-soldiers
from opposing sides can arm in arm visit
with friendly interest their former
scenes of strife, and do as my eX-confed-
crate companion and myself did, hold
kindly converse he extolling Abraham
Lincoln as the greatest character in his
tory and I adverting to the heroic manli-
ness and military genius of Robert Il.
Lee and the Christian virtues of Stone