The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-01-29

{ 1PelIu5 OL our COnIluOnH calm Nutu ue SdSl. 1 The. Stat= Ot Connecticut wants tO give you all the hOhnr, all the praise. that it can 1 for y0ur great service. and your state wish ] eS tO DeStow the same honor. the same praise and the same glory on the mothers,
 thE wives and the sisters who gave uD their
 sons, their husbands and their brothers, and l with God bless You sent them to the 1 front at the time of their country'> need.' At the close uf llE. exercises hOuntifdl collation. was provided for the guests at the l Coliseum by the citizens uf Hartford. 1 The presence of former commanding Ottl-
 cers of the Artillery brigade added gr atly ] to the interest of the occasion.
 On the Fourth of July the citizens of i Th0maStOn dedicated d beautiful granite
 monumcnt The inscription thereon reads:
 Erected by (. L. Russell Post No. 6S, G.
 A. R., ill communication of the soldiers who
 served ill the civil war
 The ceremonies were very interesting and
 imposing, including the usual tiresone
 march on very hot day, with full supply Of long set speeches.
 In Nallingford on October B another fine
 monument was d. dicated. 1t was erected
 under the auspices of Arthur H. button
 post, C. A. R. Ill the parade attending tine exercises the Second regiment, C. x. G., and
 the Second company, Governors Foot Guard, took part. The other exercises were,
 of course, an Oration, speeches and music. DEATHS.
 The secretary will ill his published report present an unpleasant reminder of the rap idly decreasing line Of the present" or 'ac- counted for" in the list of deaths during the year. Since the formation of thls society,
 twelve years ago. we have published the names of twenty-one hundred and seventy four deceased comrades, and the roll length ens year by year. Besides, there are q large number Of veterans O@ other states Who have died in our limits whose names dre not included ill our report. The most of them are included ill the C. l. +. report, but there are q larG. number Uf Connect cut men ln our report who are not included in i the c. 4. R. list.
 1 While all of our own men are worthy of eulogy and by our record obtain one, there are two or three veterans from other states whose deaths l wish 10 mention.
 One of them, William H. Bulkeley, well known business man of Hartford, died No- yember ', 1902. He was captain in a New York regiment, but was commonly known as General Bulkeley from an appointment on the governors staff of this state. His little granddaughter unveiled the nanument of the First Heavy artillery at Hartford last i September.
 l Another name wish to mention is Cap- i tain Patrick O'Farrell, who died in Wash fngton, b. C., December 31, 1902. He was a captain in the Sixty-ninth New York, and after the war became leading pension at torney in Washington, D. C. Very many ! of our veterans have had corresDond~nte with him in relation to pension matters. He was buried in the National cemetery at Ar l lingtoE.
 Another distinguished name which per haps has been but little known among us is that of Lieutenant Andrew !. Harrison, who died in Bristol November IT, 1902. He was an engineer in the navy during the war and had been credited with a great amount of bravery and daring ill the con duct of his position during as well as since the war.
 REUNIONS.
 The annual reunions of the different asso- citations have cen very fully atbtendod. The older the veterans grow the more choice and tender thn tpS ThDf hind fhpm no more delightful it is to meet with and touch the elbow of former comrades While the numbers of the survivors are constantly decreasing, the number attend ing the reunions is holding full, and in some regiments it seems as if there were an in- creased attendance. Another very interest ] ing feature about them is that they are so largely attended by the wives and families of comrades.
 | As near as I can learn from the records 1 of attendance which 1 have been able to keep, about twenty-four hundred veterans have met on these pleasant occasions dur ing the year. exclusive of the very large number of friends and eccuaintances who have met with them, and of the great num- Der who attended as guests of the First Heavy artillery at Hartford. l feel confident in asserting that railroads have benetted themselves by at least twen- ty thousand fares during the year in c0nse- quence ot our reunions.
 Our thanks are due to the railroads for their courtesy in giving us reasonable excur sion rates.
 Besides our ragular regimpntal reunions and the great annual encampment of tine posts, there are other gatherings of the vet rrans which may be worth noticing at this time.
 On the 22d of February each year the Prisoners of War association meets at Hartford and observes WaShington's birth i day by social exercises and dinner. 1 At the Plainvlle camp meeting there is a ,i,ab attended by veterans from all over north western Connecticut. The exercises are nf q patriotic religious nature and occupy the day and evening. At the latter time fire works are introduced.
 Companies l. B and band of the First Con nectjcut Heavy artillery have been for a number of years holding an annual reunion, i which is very enjoyable.
 At Manchester on the 16th of October there was gathering at Laurel park of vet erans from the neignboring towns. An eX cellent dinner and q camp fire were pleas ant part of the programme.
 Our secretary will in his usual report give the details of the reunions and regimen tai associations in full.
 SOLDIERS HOME. Our state is now comfortably providing for nearly a regiment of veterans at NOrO- ton. Five hundred and thirty-siX are now on its roster, many of whom are ill the hos pital wards. Cannot you go there once OF twice q year and sec the old boys of your regiment! You do not know how glad they will be to greet you. It is not pleasant thought to them 10 be obliged to partake of the states munifcence, and the days there are long and weary. lou will find your old grumblers there, the boys who did so much to make things lively in the camp and who are rather inclined to keep things in motion at the home, but who fought as brave men only can fight and who are now waiting for the summons to be mustered out.
 Can you not impress upon your comrades the good they can do by writing out an &C., count, either brief or -prolix, of their own individual services and leave it with their children or friends for preservation! It will be in future years most valuable history