New-York tribune., 1903-02-01
UNION LEAGUE VETERANS
CLUB TO HONOR THEM.
Fortieh Anniversary of O,1g,anisa-
ton To Be ObserUed.

fortieth anniversary on February g. and while
every member of the organization will be asked
to take part in the festivities, the veterans. the
survivors of the original body, will be the nom
ored guests of the occasion. When the CLUB
was organized, in 1868 1t spoken of as the
child of the United States Sanitary Comms-
sion.'
The executive committee OF that powerful or
ganization consisted OF the Rev. DIR. Bellows
George T. Strong walcott Gibbs. Dr. Cornelius
r. Agnew ana DR.. William II. Van Buren. The
secretary. Frederick Law Olmsted, shared with
the executive committee the cares and RESPONSE
bilities which with the office. and In let
tiers addressed DR.. Gibbs he gave sound coun-
sci as to what the club should be. The call for
a meeting for the purpose Of organization was
issued on January IL. 1867. The first para
graph Of the call read: The urgency or the
present great national crisis and the revolution
airy schemes which unprincipled men are plot
ting TO accomplish make il the immediate duty
Of all loval citizens so organize themselves as
TO give the most efficient support to the national
rauee The call also stated that IL was pro-
posed to organize a body to be known as the
National Club. The signers were Walcott Gloos
George 7. Strong. Henry w Bellows, corneius
R Agnew George c. 7Anthon. George Giops'
George F Allen and William J. Hoppin.
AIr. Olmsted's name did not appear on the
,aIr because he was in Washington at the time
and could not find time TO come to New-fork'
put he was recognized as one Of the most active
workers for the cause which the club represent
ad After several preliminary meetings the or
ganization meeting took place at the home or
George r Strong No. ~ East Thirty-frst-st.
m Friday February s. 1863. at o'clock p m
rhose present were Murray Hoffman. DR.. Wal
,oft Gibbs. the Rev DR.. Hitchcock. Horatio
Allen. William J. FToppin, G. c Anthon' h
Peters Gray Cornelius r. Agnew. Frederick
sheldon William c Bryant. George F. Allen
ana George T. Strong. Judge Hoffman acteu
IS chairman and Mr.. Strong was the secretary
One Of the surviving original members IN
masking Of the first meeting said: Those were
lark lavs in the North. Many influential MEM
,ers Of the community who had large business
interests in the South the situation only
rom the mercantile standpoint and threw thelr
,.a,ence with the South. Then there were men
rho had nothing but their Unborn disloyalty TO
hank fer their antagonisrn to the Union. These
we're the Copperheads. New-1ork was fuli OF
hem They denounced enlstments, they look
very opportunity 10 slander our soldiers, KICKED
tKainst war taxes ana other war measures
md eagerly waited for the defeat OF the army
th;ch they lacked the courage 10 hght openly
= WAS necessary that the good men VINO re-
..,ned a home should organize against this
element"
Tb. renort adopted at the first meeting was
rrit-en with the end in view that those WHO
ead II might see where the members OF lhe
,.,- organization stood. The report read in
art:
THE undersigned agree 10 associate unoer the
.an,e Of the Union League. and to adopt the Iol-
nuing fundamental articles Of association;
..7,oe conditions Of membership shall be ahso-
rte and unqualified loyalty 10 the government
. the United States and unwavering support
,s SIS efforts for the suppression OF the reOeoi,
The primary object of the ASSOCIATION siiaii
70 to disoountenance and rebuke by moral ana
social influences ali disoyalty to the 1ederal
government and TO that end the members WIZ
tse every r,roper means in public and in private
..1E-A 1ladpe ourselves by every means in our
,ov-er collectively and individually to resist 10
he utmost every attempt against the te-rioria'
integrity Of the nation
The olr,l, had in its first year 533 members. W
bese sixty were alive ard members OF the clup
on wears ago. There are now only thlfly-t"'
,,,r-y-ivors for whom special places OF hofor VIII
~ rrovtded on the platform in the large assem-
Il, hall Of the club when the anniversary exer-
>tsez take place These are the men VINO VIII
- tbus honored: Andrew G. Agnew, Daniel F
Anpleton. John c. Barron. Henry Bedlow, lie
Grand B Cannon James c. Carter, watson
: Case. Everett Clapp, Henry CleWs James
: De Forest. John T. Denny, Thomas Denny.
William E Dodge Sigourney ". Fay, Emerson
Foote. Horace W. Fuller, Walcott Gibbs, John
Y A GriswoId. Egbert Guernsey, George ..
5aven Alfred NJ. Hoyt, Adrian lseIin' Charies
anier. J Bowers Lee. Charles H Luolngloh'
francis Il. Macy. Levi P. Morton, Salem fo"he
RUSSELL. Paul y. Spoford, Henry c. thompson
-rarles z Whitehead and Frederick Law Ollii-
Ied.
49, g.. homo ,.-ae the Parrish house, in
seventeenth-st.. near Broadway There the wal
,ov,-oi1+ee consisting Of Alexander Van
r9eneselaer lie Grand 3. Cannon. Sherman J.
E2acon lanes A Roosevelt. Charles P Kirk
and. Elliot c Cowdin. George Bliss, jackson 3
schultz and Edward Cromwell, did much WORK
Within month after lis organization the COM
r1ittee had enlisted q regiment Of over one
thousand colored men, which became known as
he 2oth Regiment, United States Colored
Troops.
The enlistment and departure for the South
3f the 20th Regiment are bright spots IN the
,fetar, Of the Union League New-York was al
.hat time full OF "nigger haters' Under the
leadership of ignorant. bloodLhrsty foes of the
7a+ion men. women and children were butch
ered in the streets Of New-York in the July
-iots os 1863 for no other reason than that
hey were black. and a great mob Of niger
ayre,r7linators cheered when negro children ran
n panic from the orphan asylum which the
mob had set on fire. 1t was bad time TO urge
he enlistment Of colored men and place them
n the army with the white soldiers But the
Union League undertook the work, and, having
succeeded in enlistirg regiment. would not
allow the men 10 go to the front without show
ng the public that the club was proud of its
work On the morning Of the regiments en-
barkation for New Orleans. March .. 1864. it
received at the clubhouse fine stand Of colors.