The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-01-18
FOR TODAY.

PROGRAMME FOR TODAY.
$50 a. m.-AsscmbIe at Headquarters
; and march to boat at DOT of Market
street.
9:3O a. m.-Leave for Fort Fisher.
1890 a. m-Arrive at Fort Fisher.
3:3O D.. m-Lcave Fort Fisher for Will
mingtCn-
$50 Il. m.-Arrive in Wilmington.
500 -. m.-Public meeting at Acad-
.~ envy of Music, with patriotic songs
Il and speeches by distinguished Veter-
~ ans
, Wilmington is now entertaining
within her borders such a gathering
as it has been the fortune of no other
city in all the land to have entertain
ed-the wearers of the blue and of the
gray, who have ONE here to cele-
brate together the And anniversary
of the Battle of Fort Fisher. All in
coming trains yesterday. brought
large crowds of veterans 20 the city,
the surviving cOnfederates having
come freely from all parts of Norm
Carolina and some from others of the
southern states. The old union army
rmen arrived in aubody last night
from the north, coming in on the reg
'ular A. C. l.. train which reached
the city shortly after 6 O'Clock. There
were gatherings then of men who had
not seen ehch others faces in 3aIl
these intervening years and men who
were pitted in deadly strife when
last they met, last night were the
best of friends, swapping cheerily the
tales Of camp life and living over
again the past as they INDUCED in de-
9lightful "reminiscences.
1t was a fact remarked on frequent
ly, that no higher evidence Of the re-
union of the two sections of the caun-
try, the cementing together Of the
gold bonds, could be asked for than
Twas shown by the attitude these old
ssoldiers bore to each other.
? AS the veterans arrived in the city
sthey We're taken to the headquarters
,off ~theRreunion committee at the Odd
4Fellows building, there registered and
AaSOkShCu W III CI1N lA1CI1 ulICSlCu
alto theI general headquarters at the
EWp l.. Ii arnaory where scores of
them passed the afternoon hearing
"reminiscences and the relating camp
fire tales. 4 :" & r
i At night the public meeting in the
fcouft house was held and every vet
that hadsarrived in the city was
apresent. 4 -
- The merchants on all the down
stown streets took the suggestion mace
ain Sundays paper that their stores
sshould be- decorated, and before night
fan nearly all the business houses on
D Front, Market and Princess streets
gaily bedecked in flags anG
Abunting. All the street cars were ap-
draped andSthe guy troll
= lev wires, for several blscks or Front
D street, swere hung with bunting The
streets presented an attractive and
sliveTy appearance.
e. A gentleman of this city, viewing
! the4 old veterans as they passed yes
terday. said to a~sreporter:
: ''Fhat is a sight of no small moment
the hundreds Of these worthy old
veterans who >can make a claim of the
highest distinction. because they fought
in the terrible battles Of Fort Fisher.
For never was there a display Sof the
frightful, grim aspects of war that
eclipsed those historic days. There
was no movement Of great armies
over vast areas, but a stationary, con-
t~inuous, terrific scene of lombard
ment, resistance, attack, bloodshed.
Soldiers who had also fought on the
battlefelds of Virginia say that the
death struggle at Fort Fisher on the
eventful evening. of its capture had no
parallel for vigorous, manly fighting
In any of the campaigns of the great
armies there. At the last stand on
the ramparts, the carnage was fright
1ul, n there were no more men kill
ed tor the simple" reason that wounds
the fatigue of three days of hard
lighting kept away, at the last SUI
preme hour, nearly all the garrison of
the fort. To. these old veterans who
look back AZ years to the b1oodv
scenes at Fort Fisher-we lift orr
mats to them and say God bless
tho-ai" ~
His trIbute iS a worth, "a