Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-11-23

gratified to have this opportunity of ex-
pressing my gratitude and the gratitude of
all our officers for what he has done for us.
Who but Col. Harres could have raised this
magnificent regimeut2 And who but he
could have got 1t into the field and at the
front with such expedition? Who could
have brought the regiment up to a high
standard that made the LIST District of Co.
lumbia the equal, if not the superior, of any
volunteer regiment in the field? No one but
Col. Harries. He worked night and day in
the interest of the regiment and the officers.
No man had the regiments welfare more at
heart than he.
He has been censured by some, by people
who remained at home mere in Washington
and by some who were with us-I do not
say off1cers-but they did not know the man.
To know Col. Harries is to have full faith
and confidence in him. To him is due all
the credit won by the regiment. He work
ed for US when he was well and continued
his labors when sick at Santiago. He was
loyal to the regiment and every officer in
it. He stood up for you, gentlemen, and
fought your battles when you probably
knew nothing about it. l have been
quainted with and worked with Col. Har-
ries for number of years and thought |
knew him. | was confident I understood
him thoroughly. But there was not a day
during the last six months that 1 was not
surprised by the solderly ability and train
ing shown by him time and time again.
There was that in him We did not expect:
We soon found he was the one man fitted
to command our regiment.
IF any one doubted his so}dierly qualities
or patriotism they should have seen him
the 10th of July last when we debarked
from our transport on to Cuban soil; they
should have seen him the next day astride
that old gray mule leading the march to
Santiago; they should also have seen him
the 18th of July, moving along that grand,
superb line of American forces stretching
for miles around Santiago. and have heard
him join with the boys in singing the death
knell OF Spanish rule in the western hemis-
phere, when word came that the Spaniards
had surrendered, and We joined with the
bands in rendering My Country 'Tis of
Thee If any man should then doubt he
was a soldier, / say there was little of
the soldier i'll the doubter.
Presents Token.
Colonel, have attempted to tell you in
some manner how much your officers think
of you. That is impossible, no matter how
eloquent the words might be. We can
only say each Of US, the poet said to
his sweetheart: You will never know how
much / love you AS further testimonial
of our high regard and esteem for you the
officers have delegated me to present you
with this Saber.'
Captain Graham advanced to where Col
onel Harries sat amid the greatest en-
thusiasm.
Regiment District of Columbia Volunteer
Infantry l present this saber with the best
wishes for your future welfare, prosperity
and happiness. Should your country ever
again require your services and this sword
should be drawn. we know 1t will never
be stained Smirched with dishonor
but instead in the end your honor and your
fame will be as bright as this blade at the
present moment
Col. Harries' Response.
Col Harries was deeply affected by the
unexpected honor. Rising, he thanked the
officers for their gift 1T is but fair to
say" he declared, that in my inspection
of volunteer regiments I found none to
rank with you in all that relates to soldier
ly duty and intelligence. I want to dis
claim some things Capt. Graham has said
of me, and to declare. instead, that the
credit belongs to you-you made the regi-
ment what it was. l will confess to some
participation in the preparation of our
plans but you made the plans possible
and carried them through. / would like
to have the opportunity to say something
to the officers of this regiment-just a word
about the critics. 1t is interesting to OBJ
serve that all of our regimental officers are
alive today. and the muster-out has been
completed. The incendiary threats against
the officers so much talked about in some
quarters have not developed and have
amounted to nothing. The officer who did
not succeed in making friends with all the
men in his company or the regiment made
the best officer. With me in the future
such assaults on an officers character will
be his best testimonial,
I'm spite of all this talk, we had first
clas.; regiment And all of you deserve sa-
hers. Each one of you did his duty as he
It; did all in his power to make the
regiment one to be proud of, and to put it
beyond the reach of those who would at
tack its integrity. We managed to feed
our men and to have the best of health
Up to the time of leaving Cuba hau
had eleven deaths, ten being directly due
to the Cuban climate, while the other
would have occurred under any conditions.
The nearest approach to this excellent rec
ord was made by the LIST Illinois Regiment,
which left forty-siX of its officers and men
the victims of disease in Cuba. Other regi-
ments had still larger death rolls. To off