The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-06-03
THE SEVENTH
REGIMENT
Points on the Organiza-
tiOn'S History.
FIRST ON VIRGINIA SOIL.
They Would Not March Through
the City Of Baltimore.
JOHN L. suLLlvAS's LATEST.


pie probably have mado up their minds
that the organization has been more or
less wrong headed In It's recent attitude,
to'say the least. Very possibly this is
just view to take Of the situation, yet 1t
should not be forgotten that this regiment
has many good marks to its credit on the
records.
For instance, though 1t did refrain from
marching through Baltimore In 1891 out
Of respect to the protests of that city, the
Seventh was the first organization of
northern soldiers to set foot on the soil Of
Virginia, and It's march down Broadway
on April 10, 1851, thus assuring the loyal
support Of many men of some consequence
whose views were till then not well de-
fined, meant much to the government.
Yet IL must be admitted that historian
OF the Regiment has set It down In black
and white that some of the Seventies
members at the moment of the Broadway
march were states rights men and that
when they passed over the long bridge
from Washington to the Old Dominion
State there were not wanting those In the
ranks who deprecated the act as ungen-
tlemanly, and unconstitutional.
To Offset this sort OF members in 1851
the regiment carried on its rolls the names
was never questioned. For instance, that
splendid young patriot, Theodore Win
throp who was killed at Big Bethel, wore
the uniform Of the Seventh at the time Of
his death, though he had enlisted In the
engineer corps and was then serving
therein. Winthrop, it will be remembered,
was writer Of great promise, though
better recognized after than before his
death, and his John Brent" Is now al
most a classic. Fitx James O Bricn was
another old time member Of the Seventh,
and so was Tom Mast, the Nestor of
American cartoonists, whose pencil
wrought more powerfully than musket
in certain civil war crises, albeit he seems
now to be virtually out of cartoon making
for good and all.
Seventh Regiment Cavalry.
Away back in the forties the Seventh
regiment had a cavalry troop, and 1t was
called out to help suppress the riots kicked
up by the rivalry between Forrest, tho
American actor, and Macready, the Eng
lishman, in 164s, few months less than
half century ago. There were 80 horsemen
all told In the troop, and they were ordered
TO charge and disperse the mob. But the
mob knew the men were amateurs and,
moreover, that they were mounted on
green horses, and took action accordingly.
This action consisted in bowling big,
heavy cobblestones at the legs Of the beasts
to tho great discomflttire OF the troopers,
who were actually thus forced to disperse,
einco when tho Seventh's troop has never
been in evidence. 1t was the Seventh,
however, that broke up that mob. though
the work had to be done by firing into the
crowd and killing q number of persons.
In 1887 there was a movement to estab-
lish Seventh regiment veteran reserve
corps, to be made use of in New York or
Brooklyn only, in case Of labor or other
riots. This corps was TO consist Of two
companies, eligibility to membership being
former membership in the regiment. Tho
present August Belmont, George K Sis
tare, William Oothout, Richard 8. Satter-
lee and q number of others fairly well
known the country over, but better known
here, were among those prominent in the
movement, but 1t never materialized into
anything of consequence.
John L. Sullivan.
sec that John Il. Sullivan, the ex-
champion, has won for himself an enthu-
siastic vote of thanks from the Central La
Dor union Of this city by dcnouncing the
low wages paid the stage hands at one Of
the theaters and deciding to cancel his en-
gagcmcnt there. A few years ago, when
the "big un" had a political bee In his
bonnet, this action on his part might have
bcen=taken as a bid for votes and that is
at least q possibility now.
Sullivan always has been sorry that he
failed to pcrscvere in his notion of run
ming for congress In one of tho Boston dis
tricts, and the last time saw him he de-
4 A. ~s,t, h<xx h..
was switched of. He also explained what
he thought Of Harvard university and the
negro in one or two brief sentences.
81 uster thiak pretty we'll of old Har-
ward" hc said, "till somc years ngo when
they had a black man speak In public
there. That didn't suit me bit know
that some folks say God thinks as well Of
o negro as he docs Of white man, but II
he does, why, In heaven name, didn't he
mako him white?''
There is probably no man In New York
who regrets the death Of Rcmenyi, the
violinist, moro deeply than Colonel Robert
g. Ingersoll As everybody knows, the
colonel Is exceedingly fond OF music and
1t used to be one Of his delights to haye
Remenyi at his house OF an evening and
Alstcu W HIS Bioy ing AioiV Woo 1ttoic "a
cept their love of music to bind these two
together, for the colonel, intellectually
alert, bubbling over with incisive wit and
fully abreast Of the times, Is about every
thing that poor Remenyi was not, and yet
their common passion for sweet sounds
served as the strongest kind of q bond.
Charles Broadway Rouss, the rich mer-
chant whose boast is that he has made q
great success out OF n mercantile estab-
lishment on New York's greatest street
without advertising, was another enthu-
siastio admirer of Rcmenyis skill with
the violin. Rouss has long been q well
come guest ut Colonel Ingersolls, where
ne used to sit by the hour listening In turn
to the colonel's talk and Remenyis music.
The close friendship between these men,
which might almost be termed affection,
has often been commented on by the inti-
mates OF all three as q decidedly strange
and interesting manifestation. The
charm of the ooloncl's words was always
tatf Al 1t4I l1.li .t lfI1 iI ezra
g 81 f4t y rcfr. craarist, fffafl -io4os