Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1899-09-08
Survival OF the Grand Army.

The rar6rt of Ad'utant General
1homas j. Stewart, of the Grand Army
of the Republic, shows that on June 80
of the present year the organization
had 6,965 posts, with a membership of
2S7 ,9S1. This was a falling off of 24S
poats and 1882 members from the
figures of June 80, 1898. The present
membership is only about two-thirds
of that of the organization at its high
water mark in 1890, when there were
4O9, ,4S9 ex-soldiers of the Union army
of the Civil war connected with it.
There are still many more than enough
surviving Union soldiers to bring the
total membership of the Grand Army
to a higher figure than that attained in
1890, but there does not seem to be
any likelihood of such a result being
years since the veterans of the Union
laid aside their arms and resumed the
paths of peace, they are still numerous
and influential. One of them is today
the Nations head and others are in
the highest positions in its army and
navy. Hundreds of the veterans of the
Civil war held commissions in the war
with Spain and many of them are still
in service in the Philippines, while the
ranks of the enlisted men of our lat
est two wars contained some of the
men who fought for the flag in the
sixties. Death has been busy with the
men of the Grand Army and each day
henceforth will be buster, but many
child yet unborn will see the members
OF the organization gathering around
the old flag and recountlng their deeds
in the days which tried mems souls.
A recent article upon John Paul
Jones states that the last OF the prize
money accruing from the capture of
the Scraps in 1879 was paid in 1874 to
the only two then surviving members
of his command. This was 65 years af-
ter the battle, which was fought dur
ing the fifth year of the Revolutionary
of the four years war for the Union
would bring us to 1880, or 81 years
hence. Benson j. Losing in his
Field Book of the Revolution" de-
scrlbes an interview he had on August
1, 1850, with Maj. Robert Burnet at
Little Britain, Orange county, N. Y.
Mai. Burnet had been an officer under
Washington, and commanded Redoubt
No at West Point at the time of Ar
nolds' treason. He commanded the
rear guard of the American army
when ii marched into New York city
upon the British evacuation, and re-
mained in the army until its muster
ing out in 1888. Sixty-seven years lat
er LOSING describes him standing as
erect and manly as in the prime of
life, although then in his 90th year.
Near him resided another Revolution
AIRY veteran named Usual Knapp, who
was born in 1853, and had fought in
the battle of White Plains in 1776 He
served until 1882, and was the last sur
vivor of Washington's Life Guard.
His mind in 1850 was still active and
clear and he delighted to fight his bat
ties over again. Losing tells of an
other long-lived Revolutionary soldier
who, he says, was alive in January,
1850. This was David Kinnlson, who
was born in I736, and was one of the
parry of men disguised as Indians who
threw overheard the tea in Boston
harbor in December, 1878. Later he
served in the army of the Revolution,
from Lexington and Bunker Hill where
Gen. Warren was killed within few
feet OF him, until the surrender of
CORVALLIS. He also fought in the war
of 1872, and was severely wounded.
General Winfield Scott entered the
United States army in 1903. Thirty
nine years later he made his magnif-
cent campaign in Mexico, and for IA
years thereafter continued in com
mand OF the army OF the United States.
He then went upon the retired list un-