The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1913-07-08
Veterans Return
Tired But Happy
Minnesota Men Have Great Tales 10
Tell Of The Gettysburg
Celebration
ALL ARE GLAD THEY WENT
Some Meet Old Comrades-oome
Find Their Old
Enemies
ALL ARE GLAD THEY WENI

A half century ago there returned
to Minnesota several hundred soldiers,
some of the victors in the conflict to
preserve the Union. Many of them
carried wounds which would have
killed men of poorer stuff. Many OF
them were youths.
Sunday about 200 of these same
men, now old and gray, returned to
Minneapolis after having visited the
battlefield on which they engaged In
the most desperate struggle of the re-
bellion and on which the First Mime
sofa wrote its name among the I'M
mortals. They were returning after
mission had been performed by which
the boys of the Blue and Gray, enc
mics on the field of battle, were unit
ed in friendship.
All Glad to be Home
The veterans plodded from the rail-
road stations, all of them weary after
the four-days' celebration of the 5Oth
anniversary of the battle of Gettys-
burg. All of them were glad to be
home again, but there was not one who
wasn't sure that he would not have
missed the encampment under any cir
cumstances.
All of them had great tales to tell
of the big reunion, of the comrades they
had met tafter more than half
a century during which they had not
seen nor heard from one another. All
of them were awed by the magnitude
of the reunion.
1t was not unusual to see veterans
of both the Blue and the Gray clasp
ed in each others arms and weeping
as they met for the first time in 80
years on the battlefield where they
had fought against each other half
century before" said Richard r.
Wright, 1905 University avenue
southeast, one of those who returned
from the celebration. Mr.. Wright
was at Gettysburg as a member of
Co. A, Fifth regiment, Vermont vol
unteers.
Old Comrades Seen
at was the greatest celebration that
/ have ever attended" he continued,
E'and l would not have missed it for
anything. While / was there | met
dozen or more of my old comrades,
members of my company, whom.I had
not seen since the close of the war.
also met several from the Confederate
army against whom | had fought,
man to man, in the battle of Gettys
burg.
"But there was no hard feeling this
time The meeting between the boys
of the Blue and the Gray was splen-
did, Union and Confederate joined
hands in friendly greeting. The old
battlefield was altogether different
from the time we fought upon it.
Everything was changed. Of course
we could find the places where we
stood on the firing line, but we could
MT recognize the old camp ground.
"The camp was the greatest have
ever seen and ever expect to see.
There were more than $4,000 old SOL
diers there, about $4,000 more than
were expected. The state and the ma
tional governments were generous in
their provisions for the veterans.
There was an abundance of every
thing"
Drum Corps Prominent
Morgan post drum corps of Min
neapolis, played prominent part in
the celebrations. The corps is one of
the most famous organizations of it's
kind, being composed of 10 men, all
of them veterans of the Civil war.
The musicians visited the quarters of
the men from various states and dem
onstrated that they could play the
flies and drums just as well as in the
days of so years ago.
"We had a great time" was the
comment of Calvin r. Fix, drum major
of the corps. "There were between
5000 and 5000 tents covering about
200 acres of ground. / should esti-
mate that the camp was about mile
long and about one-half mile wide.
Eight to 10 men were housed in each
tent and they were all well cared for.
Everyone we met declared that the
Morgan post drum corps was the best
one on the grounds. We played at the
headquarters of every state and re-
ceived great receptions from the