The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-08-15

be one of cheerful Renaissance instead
OF warllke anticipation. OF course the
camp will not accommodate more than
a small fraction of the visitors, but
the others will be quartered in the var
1ous hotels and in private houses
throughout the city. Doubtless the bat
ties of the rebellion will be fought all
over again, but the spirit of these en-
campments is the spirit of reunion, not
that of division, as General Porter said
1t affords a grand object lesson in
patriotism to the younger generation
of Americans and all it's citizens
A REMINIsCENCE OF SHERMAN.
An incident typical of the spirit of
/ these gatherings was rela-~~ - other
day by General Daniel E. Sickles
When | attended the encampment in
! Pittsburg in 1894" said General Sickles.
1t was arranged, as is usually DONE
that l should meet the men who had
been under my command in a sort of
informal reception. A regular feature
of the encampments are these recep-
tions, at which the members of differ
ent divisions gather to shake hands
with their old commanders. II hap
pened that General Gordon of the Con-
federate army was in Pittsburg at the
time, and as I was acquainted with him
hall where the men were to gather. /
We stood side by side, and as the men
filed past l introduced them to General /
Gordon and we both shook hands with
them. The men were pleased and Gen
eral Gordon was much affected by his
hearty reception
The incident of these two generals |
standing side by side and shaking /
the hands of the men who had fought I
under one and against the other does /
not indicate the revival of lC(animOsi- I
ties. There may have been more en-
thusiasm for the one legged command
er of the Union, but there was a Eearty !
welcome for the one who had fought
under the stars and bars. The men.
some of whom carried Confederate lead
under their skins, welcomed him as
heartily as his own soldiers might have
done
THE presence of corps and division
commanders at the encampments is
always the occasion of great enthusi-
asm among the men who have served
under Them said General Sickies
whenever a group of men see an Of
fcer under whom they have fought the
hats will go into the air and the old
battle cries ring out in a way that
makes the blood run faster. OF course,
there are not many of the most prom-
nent officers left now. For years Cen
eral Sherman was the prominent figure
at the encampments, which he always
attended l suppose nobody who had
served under Sherman or marched
across Georgia with him could appre-
cfate the peculiar generation in which
he was held by the men in the ranks.
He was the idol of the private soldiers
and there was no holding them in
when he was around.
PECULIAR POSITION.
Sherman occupied a rather peculiar
position in the encampment. He was
always in great demand for kissing all
the pretty girls. He always had his
hands full at every meeting, and may
say that he accepted the situation as
brave man should. At the time OF the
Pittsburg encampment Sherman was l
dead, and considerable pressure was
to bear on me to take his place
n this kissing business, but l resisted
and 1 guess the position I
s still vacant. 1 remember, too, that ;
Sherman used to be bombarded with :
albums by school girls and .
others, and to escape the onslaught he
would sometimes put his right arm in
| sling TO give the impression that ne
vas unable to write
Every encampment has its pathetic
Incidents. Men meet who have not seen
ach other since they parted in the 7
mOke or some battle held, and OFTEN Y
he veil is lifted from mysteries that n
ave endured for more than three dec
des An incident of this kind was re- !
ated a few days ago by a man who Z
vas a private in the ranks of one of
he New York regiments.
A PATHETIC INCIDENT. G
AT the Louisville encampment lot L
f us were sitting about at one of the
amp fires talking over the old times. J
nd related an experience at the bat h
lie of Fair Oaks. The regiment to which Y
belonged had been badly shattered at
ne first Bull Run. and had been con-
Olidated with another New York reg
nent. some of the companies being
Dubbed up. Our company was united e.
18th one of the others, that had also
uttered severely. and, as both the cap o:
Inns had been killed, there was some =.
valry between US. Each company of "
purse, wanted one of its own men Sc
cted TO command. The result was that TT
e got a man who had belonged TO 5:
either company, but was taken from al