The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1913-09-05
CELEBRATION
IN LOUISVILLE
KENTUCKY METROPOLIS WILL
COMMEMORATE INCIDENTS
IN WAR OF 1912.
HUNDRED YEARS OF PEACE
Battles Which kentuckians Won ano
Massacres in Which They Suffered
Will Be Reproduced in Fireworks
and Shams on Land and Water.

MaSsdcres IN Wnlcn iney ouHereo
Will Be Reproduced in Fireworks
and Shams on Land and Water.
A weeks celebration, which Louis
Williams declare will be the greatest
and most spectacular in the history
of celebrations in America, will be
held in the Kentucky metropolis fol-
seven days, commencing September
20, and will be the climax Of a Sc
ries of celebrations held in a dozen
lake cities, to commemorate the suf'
ferings and victories of American
arms in the War of 1872 as well as
to focus attention on the achieve
ments of a century of peace. The
crucial and decisive engagement OF
the War of 1872 was the battle of the
Thames, fought and won on Canadian
soil October 5, 1918. The series of
celebrations, which will be held in
America will close in Louisville, Octo-
Der 8, 1913, and just one hundred
years from the hour that Col. Richard
NJ. Johnston, afterward Vice President
of the United States, slew the Indian
Wilson will probably be addressing
crowd of 100000 people in Louisville,
the home of many of the troops who
fought in the battle of the Thames.
Kentucky was assigned the closing
and choice date of the celebration
because of the distinguished part
played by the Kentuckians in the War
of 1912. Kentucky began to play her
part in the generation before the war
opened, when she sent Gen. George
Rogers Clark and other Louisville
soldiers into the hostile wilderness
which they wrested from the French
and Indians and out of which was aft
erward carved the great States OF
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and
Michigan.
Kentucky was the last state which
could have benefited from the war, in
asmuch as it was brought about chief
" by the British impressment of
American seamen, none OF whom
were Kentuckians, whereas should
war prevail the unfriendly Indians on
the frontier of the border states could
be expected to commit atrocities from
which Kentucky had already received
tie name Dark and Bloody Ground"
However, it was chiefly Henry Clay, In
the Kentucky Congressional Delega-
ton that forced President Madison to
declare the second war with Great
Britain, and Kentucky furnished for
ty per cent of her fighting population
to go into that war, and at the close
of the war of the listed dead more
than eighty per cent were the names
of Kentuckians. Kentucky troops to
a man were massacred at the River
Raisin and again at the first attack
on Fort Meigs.
When the time came to man Perry's
new-hewn ships, he selected Kentuck-
| ians unaccustomed to the motion of
the lakes to mount into the insecure
rigging and from that vantage point,
| with their practiced eye and unerring
aim, fired down upon the British and
won the battle Of Lake Erie. Prac-
| tically every officer and soldier in the
battle of the Thames was a Kentuck-
ian, excepting alone Gen. William
Henry Harrison, who, however, held
his commission as Najor-General from
the Kentucky legislature. The charge
of the Forlorn Hope. about the brief
est, most terrible and most heroic at
tack narrated In the annals of war
fare, consisted exclusively of Ken
lucky soldiers when nineteen of them
and their twenty horses went down
to certain death. 1t was the Ken
lucky sharpshootess who are credited
with having won ,xhe battle of New
Orleans after the war had in reality
closed.
Kentucky proposes to reproduce
most of these scenes of the war of
1912 in the Louisville celebration. The
battle of the Thames will be repro
duced on land In Cherokee Park, to-
geographically situated similar to the
land on which wes fought the battle
of the Thames, and every detail of
the sham battle Will be as nearly
historically correct as can be done.
Louisville will take advantage of her
magnificent river frontage in order
to celebrate suitably the battle of
Lake Erie. The actual battle will be
depicted in a gorgeous entertainment
of fireworks and I'll morning and all
afternoon preceding the engagement
there will be boat races. life saving
feats and aquatic sports. A historical
pageant, depicting various scenes OF
the war of 1912 will also include q
magnificent floral parade, such as
made Louisville famous a year ego
and will include civic and military
parades many miles in length. Drills
and exercises BY 10000 costume
school children viii be held in the
First Regiment Armory; a mammoth
reception will be given to the descend
ents of Kentucky soldiers and sailors
of the war of 1872, and a series o.
costumed balls VII be given in then
honor.
Exceedingly LOW railroad rates
probably as low e. one cent per mile
from a distance Of several hundred
miles of Louisville. will be granted
and efforts are beng made to secure
to other Kentucky points rates from
Louisville for the week Immediately
following the celebration. to enable
former Kentuckians who return home
to visit the celebration, to visit also
their old Kentucky homes.
II