The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1913-07-11
Giving Them the Grandest
Victory the World Has
Ever Account
of Gettysburg Reunion
by Confederate Veteran.
Written by G.. G. Buchanan.


I have just returned from the
great reunion at Gettysburg, and it
was great meeting in every sense
of the word.
To begin with, the U. S. govern
ment furnished everything necessary
to make each one comfortable.
On the first day of July, the wires
began working out of Gettysburg to
tell to the world that the United
States was the greatest, the grand
est. the richest, the bravest, the
strongest and the most civilized ma
tion on the globe.
The people of the South were the
guests of the people of the great
State of Pennsylvania. With the
combined efforts of Uncle Sam and
the great commonwealth of Pennsyl-
vania, the boys who wore the grey
were welcomed with greeting that
was almost beyond conception. We
were furnished with everything good
to eat, also with cots, blankets, shell
ter, two wash basins, water bucket
and candles for the tent. The camp
ground was furnished with 600 arc
lights. There were $4,000 tents, &c.
900 cots. There were 10000 old SOL
diers there besides the regular army
soldiers, the hospitals and various
others too numerous to mention.
We were furnished three meals a
day, and the food was such that
kings and potentates would have
been satisfied to partake of. On
Friday a whole refrigerator car load
of ice cream was unloaded, and we
were served ice cream for two meals.
Each old soldier was furnished
with one mess kit, consisting of one
: granite plate, sonel quart cup. knife
and fork and one spoon, and every
man was asked to take these things
home as souvenir of the reunion at
Gettysburg.
The camp was provided with ar
tesian water, of the best quality, and
it was ice cold, for ice had been pack
ed in the ground around the supply
pipes.
Water for common purposes was to
be had from hydrants which could
be found at every turn.
Eight hundred cook stoves, eight
hundred cooks and eight hundred
walters were in service throughout
the encampment.
The comrades of the "Blue and the
Grey" met with the most cordial feel
ing, expressing their gratitude that
they had lived to see this day.
The whole thing was more like
Methodist camp meeting than like
soldiers in camp. In many places in
the camp prayer and praise assended
to God in behalf of the old soldiers
who fought their battle in '61-'65.
Almost every turn it was a hand
shake and words of good cheer.
Speech making was much in evil
dence. This scribe made his first
speech on one of these occasions.
was fearful l could not speak, but
managed to get on with it, for it
was an occasion near to my heart
and a theme l cherish with my
whole heart
/ went to Gettysburg to get me-
mortal to Congress through the
Grand Army of the Republic, urging
the return of the tax levied on our
cotton throughout the South, tax
amounting to $68,202,OO0. Two
years ago my camp, Joe Shelby, No.
975, passed resolutions asking Con-
gress to return that money to Con-
federate veterans, no matter from
what State he hailed. Congress no
ticed our petition, going to the
trouble to give us the figures of the
amount Of the tax so raised, and
hope that .he influence of that pe-
tition, together with the memorial
address to Congress- through the
Grand Army of the Republic may re-
suit in much good to the old Confed-
crate veterans.
Peace and harmony prevailed
throughout the camp, there being
hearty handshaking between the
"Blue and the Grey"