The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-06
Departure of Old Soldiers
Brings Reunion Practi-
cally to Close
THOUSANDS LEAVE
THROUGHOUT DAY
Plan for Erection of Monument Re-
vived-Colonel Cowan Speaks to
Gathering in Attempt to
Further Movement

Gettysburg, Pa. July "a great re-
union of the blue and the gray, commemo-
rating the fifteth anniversary of the bat
tie of Gettysburg, practically came to
an end today, although the camp where
more than $1,000 old soldiers were cared
ficlally until tomorrow.
! All day long weary veterans walked
over the dusty roads and streets IN the
railroad stations in the camp and in the
! town of Gettysburg and stood or sat un-
der the rays of scorchng sun while
the trains to take them away were beins
prepared.
| There were no flying banpsse
bands or marching coW--'is' t'e
Grams came to the ssStions and Wai.eo
patiently for the asnouncer with the o's
megapbone to tell them their trains were
made up. usually about u coaches, con-
stituted a train and the railroad people
! faced the biggest problem of the week
| in getting loaded trains away.
Day Uncomfortable
| II was the sultriest and most uneoh-
| Portable day of the week one old soidler
| Ii
| dead in the crowd at the town station
lof cne of the railroads. He was IL. H.
Hodges of Union Hill N. c.
| Tonight the oamp was practically de-
serted. The elecbAc lights In the 81 streets
| in the camp We're burning brightly. but
the streets themselves were deserted save
| for the hurrying back and forth of sol
diers and worxmen who have already
begun the task of dismantlng the camp
Two months will elapse before the ground
on which the camp was pitched VIII have
been resorted to it's original condition,
fences rebuilt and roads made over
| Merry at Dinner
Tonight the army officers, after a week
| of the hardest sort of work made merry
at a dinner In the big mess tent which
they have used Jointly with the newspaper
correspondents. General Liggett presided
and all officers present were felcitated
over the wonderful success of what has
been described as an army camp that will
stand as a model for all the countries Of
the world for years to come.
When the week programme for the
celebration was tentatively laid out some
: time ago. II was arranged that the final
feature of the reunions should be the lay
ing of a cornerstone of a great peace
memorial on the battlefield but the plan
for the monument fell through. Today
Col Andrew Cowan of Louisville. Ky
who was a captain OF the First New York
battery in the battle of Gettysburg re-
vived the plan and as result OF q
meeting over which he presided. a conf
mittee went to Washington with view
to securing the Introduction in Congress
OF bill providing for the erection of a
peace monument and the appropriation
of $l,OOO0oo.
Colonel Cowan's Address
In addressing the gathering Colonel
Cowan said
1T is hard to control my emotions
when recall this battlefield so years
ago. Picketts brave men were in full
retreat and we were holding the ground
in the Angle. Beyond the Emmitts-
burg road was thiclly strewn with their
dead and wounded and our own.
over there on Cemetery ridge stands
today an equestrian statue of Gen
: G. Meade. the great commander of the
Army of the Potomac facing Seminary
ridge. Does he look for the peerless
leader OF the southern army?
Gen. Robert e. Lees lifelike statue
mounted on his famous war horse
Traveller will soon be placed on the
pedestal already reared by Virginia OF
Seminary ridge to receive it, The forms
of the two great commanders on the
battlefield of Gettysburg will then stand
facing each other while time endures
of trees, Is a monument which marks
the high tide of the war on this field
This grand celebration of the hftietf
anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg
marks a high tide of peace between
the north and south which shall never
recede while Americans love liberty and
the union.
"The cornerstone of a monument viii
be laid on Put-in-B Bay Island in com
memoration of the centennial of Per-
ry's victory over the British fleet or
, Lake Erie.
Of Educational Value
"Such monuments possess an educa.
tiona1 value which cannot be measured
by what they cost. Teach the youns
Americans to belieye that we can have
> no fears for the future of our country
|, should not peace monument bs
) raised on this battlefield of Gettysburg
I monument in commemoration of thi:
3 union between the soldiers who fough
t for different principles and fought
bravely from 1851 to 1865 by ane
< Through which has been forever, estab
g llished that this nation under God shall
not perish?
1--WE should highly resolve to do al
i that In us lies to influence the Con
4 gresses the states to erect a peace
: monument which shall be higher an,
: grander than any other now here Of
Continued on Page Tenb