Evening star., 1901-04-16
VERMONT'S PRAISES SUNG
ANNUAL. GATHERING OF THE STATE
ASSOCIATION.
Addresses by Col. McElrOy, Senator
Proctor md Others-MapIe
Sugar Party.

In the absence of the president, United
States Senator w. p. Dillingham;. the first
vice president, Maj. Z. r. Campbell pre-
sided.
The principal address Of the evening was
delivered by Col. John NJ. McElroy, past
commander Department of Potomac. G.
A. r.. Of this city, who spoke on "ver-
mont in the Civil War" and In part he
| said:
The state Of Vermont at the beginning
| of the rebellion was the twenty-eighth in
Importance of the thirty-two states then
| in the Union, yet 1t gave to the war to-
| tally out of its proportion. The census of
1850 gave the population of the state at
315,09S. Yet out Of this relatively small
community there were 80 262 enlistments,
| or 112 per cent of the population-that is,
| every nine people sent forth one fighting
| man, or one soldier for each four and a
| half males.
While this ratio was eoualed by other
| states, 1t is something absolutely unsur-
passed in the history of the world. Never
before In any age or country have any peo-
pie, civilized or savage, approached such
ratio as one to every four and one-half
| males. And what persistent, long contin-
| ued. stubborn and sanguinary fighting they
| did' Reduced to the ordinary standard at
| the War Department, the 35, 262 enlistments
represented an aggregate of 26,355 men
| who served an average Of three years. OF
this number 5,224, or one In five. were
| Eighteen hundred and nine were actually
| killed In battle and 500 were starved to
| death In prison. The per cent Of Vermont
men killed In action was 6.s, and, next to
| pennsylvania, the highest of any state in
| the Union. She lost 300 more killed in
| battle than the whole United States did
| In the Mexican war, and more than eight
times as many as the whole country did
| during the recent Spanish-American war
The charge of the Light Brigade at
Balaklava represents in modern history
the very maximum Of soldierly. bearing
| and losses on the battlefield Balaklava
| was the sole battle In which the Light
Brigade was engaged, and it lost SO per
| cent or the men who took part in the
| charge The Sth Vermont lost at Cedar
| Creek 67.S per cent of the men engaged
| and the 9th at Savage Station lost 50 9 per
| cent. Yet this regiment had many battles
| before and after this In which they sus-
| tained great losses.
The EnIistments.
1.-THE 35,262 enlistments from Vermont
went into the first regiment Of cavalry,
| three batteries Of light artillery, one regi-
ment Of heavy artillery, which served as
infantry, and seventeen regiments of in
fantry.
THE charge Of the 1st Vermont Cavalry
| at Gettysburg against the masses of Long
| streets 'unshaken infantry ensconced be-
| hind stone walls, was fully desperate
| as the charge of the Light Brigade. While
not a conclusive test of the efficiency of
| regiment yet 1t must be said that when
| ever a Vermont regiment suffered severe
| losses 1t invariably extorted full pay there
| for from the enemy and invariably the dead
| that marked Its position were more than
| duplicated by the line of the enemy's dead.
And the Vermont infantry was simply
| peerless. Among the veterans of the Army
| of the Potomac 1t Is a perennial matter OF
! dispute whether the Vermont brigade or
the Iron Brigade was the best brigade I'M
| the army. The palm lies between them. 1t
| is bright honor to have belonged to either.
| The Vermont brigade lost more men killed
| and wounded than any other brigade in the
| army, without exception:
~ Responses to TOasts.
The program was begun by the playing
of number of patriotic and popular pieces
of music by an orchestra composed of
part of Haley's Band. After prayer by Rev.
DR.. w. G. Davenport, one of the chaplafns
of the association, all present partook of
banquet. The viands having been disposed
of, Vice President Campbell spoke briefly
of the pleasure which it gave him to wei
come so many as were present, whether
they were natives of the green mountain
state, citizens by adoption or had become
entitled to consider themselves Vermonters
by reason of marriage ties or blood rela-
tionship. Continuing, he said 1t was also
great pleasure to himself, as he was sure 1t
was to the other members of the associa-
ton, to have present such distinguished
son of their state as United States Senator
Proctor, and he called on the senator to
make some remarks.
Upon rising Mr. Proctor was greeted with
applause. and when this had subsided the
senator remarked that when he had ac-
cepted an invitation to attend the meeting
1t was with the understanding that he was
not to make speech. His colleague, Gov
ernor Dillingham;, who had been compelled
to leave the city in order to attend to some
pressing business was he said the talking
m m n In he nnofn IL
further remarked somewhat parenthetically
that the next time he was candidate for
office he would do a great deal Of talking,
and 1t would be with much pleasure that
he would then speak to his fellow citizens
He referred to the intense loyalty felt by
Vermonters for their native state, and said
the people Of the green mountain state were
ever ready to step forward when they were
needed in an emergency. He had found this
feeling Of loyalty to exist wherever Ver-
monters are to be found While visiting in
California he had learned this to be true,
then so FAR distant from former home ties.
In concluding he said Vermont is a grand
old state and We all love her"
Proud of His birthplace.
Former Judge H. B. Moulton said he had
never ceased to be proud that he was born
in Vermont. Take any line OF enterprise,
he suggested, and Vermonters will be found
In the front rank. Briefly Mr. Moulton re-
called the names Of some of the heroes
from Vermont who took part in the revo-
lutionary and subsequent wars in which
the United States have been engaged, and
In eloquent terms eulogized the late SEN
ator Morrill, for his labors in Congress, one
result Of which was the people Of the whole
United States can now enjoy the magnifl-
cent building In which is contained the
Library Of Congress In conclusion, he
spoke Of Admiral Dewey as Vermonter
who was the commanding officer Of the
fleet which destroyed the Spanish armada
at Manila.
DR.; Frank T. Howe had been asked to
speak on Vermont by Adoption" He be-
gan his short address by telling a humor-
Gus story. He was not, he said. Yer
monter by birth, but by Inheritance, and
demonstrated the truth Of this by telling
of the ties which he had in Vermont. Some
time previous to the outbreak of the civil |
war 1t was planned by a dear old uncle |
to found an academy in Jamaica, VT, of |
which the doctor should be the principal |
but when the great struggle began he en- |
tered the army, and at the close |
Of the war located in Washington, |
where he had remained ever since. |
He told Of the pleasure it always gave him |
to revisit Vermont, which he did every few |
years. and in language which brought forth |