The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-02
FORMAL EXERCISES OF BIG
SEMI-CENTENNIAL REUNION
OPENED AT GETTYSBURG
Big Ovation Given Garrison
and Young in Open
ing Speeches
ESTIMATED THAT
$4,000 ARE PRESENT
Veterans of Blue and Gray FIJI the
Pennsylvania City 10 Utmost
Capacity-Touching Tributes
Paid Veteran Heroes


Paid Veteran Heroes
Gettysburg. Pa, July lin the pitt
less glare of a sun that sent the n1er-
curry bubbllng over the hundred mark
and made clothes burden and bath
only delusion, the armies Of the north
and the south today began the formal
exercises set to mark the semi-centen-
NAL of Gettysburg. Veterans to the
number of $4,000, the army officers esti-
mated. filed into the big tent set apart
for the exercises, sat in their seats for
two hours and shook the camp with
their cheers when the speakers made
reference to a reunited nation Every
seat under the canvas was taken long
before Secretary of War Garrison and
Governor Tener the orators of the DAY,
came chugging up in their automo-
biles.
Although the men in gray We're far
outnumbered by those In blue there
was possibly thousand southerners
in the amphitheatre and what they
lacked in numbers they made up In
lung power. When Governor Tener in-
ished his speech. Gen. Bennett r.
Young. commander IN chief of the
leonfederate veterans, rose slowly and
bowed to him i can give YOU some
thing that no one elsd can give you.'
hs said I'VE will now give you the
rebel yeli.-
Kline famous confederate generals and
a thousand veterans Of the south gave
II so loudly that It was heard far back
In the camp toward Getfysbnrg.
Greeted With Cheers
When General Young stepped forward
to deliver his Address he was greeted
with wild cheers. the union veterans.
led by Commander In Chief Beers. Civ
ing him three lusty cheers and 'sti-
ger"
| He took as his keynote the conviction
of each side in the great struggle that
each fought for principle which each
believe was the truth. His opening
statement was that the northern sol
diers deserved more credit that the
southerners for the PRONUNCIATION of u
.uccessful reslzatiop afi he present
great reunion which he characterised as
the greatest movement OF it's kind In
the world
This compliment to the northern vet
Grams was greeted with loud cries of
NO" to which General Young quickly
replied Il know better than you do
His speech captured the audience and
he was overwhelmed by handshakes
Eovarnors praoant
Among the 200 guests on the platform
were Governors Mann, Virginia; Me-
Creary. Kentucky, and Eberhardt, Min
nesota; Senator Penrose of Pennsyl-
vania and the following confederate
generals
Robinson, Texas; West, Georgia.;
Thomas j. Shaffer. louisiana; A. d.
Williams. Florida; e. NJ. Law. Florida.
and Carr, North Carolina.
The invocation was delivered by the
Rev. George Edwards Lovejoy. chap
lain-in-c chief of the grand army of the
republic Tile benediction was to have
been delivered by the Rev. H. M Ham
mill. chaplain general of the confed-
crate veterans, who did not appear.
All through the night the veterans
poured into camp. took graciously of
what small blessings fate passed out
to them for a few hours and found
permanent quarters when the hard
them ready. Late today Major Nor
moyle, second In command to Brigadier
General Liggett, estimated that more
than $4,000 men are quartered in a
camp intended to hold 10000.
Every Man Cared For
Through persistent efforts. however.
every man has been cared for as well as
possible. Thousands have been given
quarters In the big tent and hundreds OF,
others In smaller tents used In the day
time for speechmaking and reunions. one
officer cared to estimate the number OF
southerners here. There are more than
1900 from Virginia, and It Is probable that
one-quarter Of the total number is rep
resented by the men from Dixie.
| Navy veterans got no further than one
| meal in camp and one look at the crowd
| ed tents and then started back home as
quickly as they could go. The real ex-
odus, however, will not begin until Thurs
| day Friday for thousands who might
| have left sooner expect to stay over the
| Fourth TO see President Wilson.
Before the morning exercises began and
after the veterans quartered in the big
tent made their slim toilets. the reunions
! of regiments and companies and squad
| rons began. Confederates who were in
| Picketts charge took keen delight in
marching with fife and drum to Spanglers
woods where the columns of Pickett
that marked the high tide of the lost
cause They didn't charge again like they
once did but they remembered or thought
they remembered, and nobody said them
nay. every stick aud stone and even the
blades of grass in that wide stretch where
death kept step with them before.
Live Over Fight
On the edge of the union side of the
camp the veterans of Mereditils Iron bri-
gade and of Pettgrews brigade of North
Carolina got together to go over the story
of the fight of July /. The struggle be-
tween the regiments of these two brigades
was the most disastrous in number OF
those killed in the entire three days fight
ing and was seldom equaled in the whole
history of the war. They met today
many OF them, for the first time since So.
The doctors amazed today at the
way the veterans wthstood the unusual
heat. for IL poured down in way to
keep men scores of years younger in the
shade. About 80 veterans were taken sick
In the big tent during the exercises, hut
most of them were able to get up and
walk away from the relief stations 10
which they were taken after a few min
utes' rest. The army ambulanees were
fairly busy during the day, and there
were several hundred men who dropped in
at relief stations. got bit Of medicine.
rac tod fn IN M hn4 nr tl..x