it disappeared to appear no more again, except in its appropriate. place in history; living no more, save as it lives in the hearts and memories of those of whom it was composed, who will, while life lasts, hold dear its associations, and ever cling fondly to its name and fame and record.

And if, during this period from Atlanta to Savannah, Goldsboro, Raleigh and Washington, the two corps of this army achieved anything that was glorious or victorious, if they performed any deeds which they now remember with gladness and pride, if they added to their fame or record, if they did their full measure of duty wherever put, if at Averysboro or Bentonville they performed their part with gallantry and satisfaction, or did anything worthy of brave soldiers, and true American soldiers, it was because they were united in purpose, sympathy and respect, under a well chosen leader, brave and cool, faithful and impartial. And because they felt that they would be bravely supported on every hand by their associated comrades of the Armies of the Cumberland, the Ohio and the Tennessee, conscious that each of these armies would perform its full share and more, and because they felt and knew that they were part of a well-regulated and "one stupendous whole," and that "whole" under the commanding eye of that great military genius of his day and generation— William Tecumseh Sherman.

When I call to mind the Georgia and Carolina marches, starting out that bright November morning, Atlanta in black ruins behind us, with its "pillar of cloud" by day, and its "pillar of fire" by night; when I remember the foragers with their useful, if not ornamental, teams and accompaniments; the pioneers building the bridges and corduroying the roads almost as fast as we could march; the terrified gaze of the "chivalry" along our line of march; the friendly negro, the sweet potatoes and corn and sorghum and chickens; the deep swamps; the occasional news and gossip from some neighboring column; in full time concentration of the columns; the different opinions we used to have as to our final destination, all of them doubtful enough to make us anxious to learn all we could, to study well the maps and keep on guessing, and just about certain enough to make us feel every night that at least we were one day nearer our journey's end. A day's march just sufficing for a day's subsistence, the bummers always hungry, and therefore always efficient. Now, if our mule gave

out we were sure to find two to take his place before the day was over. The strange and ludicrous contrabands tumbling into our line of march, just in season to keep a joke or a laugh always passing down the line. The regular reveille an hour before morn; the lowlands and causeways at the approaches of Savannah, not forgetting those railroads we run into the ground, nor those railroad ties we made "cab-houses" of and burned, nor those railroad iron rails we twisted, as the boy twists his stick of molasses candy, nor the cotton destroyed, nor the houses vacated by their occupants, and how, after that, sometimes, the ground would seem to be vacated by the houses themselves, nor the stores buried in the earth, and unearthed by the forces.

When I remember all these, and many, many other incidents of those two marches, grand and ludicrous, grave and gay, sad and joyous, the bitter and the sweet, the sunshine and the rain, the labor and the pleasure, the novelty and the complete success, and the great place in history which these two campaigns already take as wonderful and useful military achievements, and they all pass in review before my mind, as they do to-night, I stand in wondering admiration at the grandeur and sublimity of the view, and, for one, I thank God that I was permitted to take a part in such great

events.

But I look back to the waste and destruction which inevitably followed the track of our armies, and to the desolation which we caused, with no feelings of exultation or boasting. Look at it as we will, it is no pleasant thing to see a people and a fair country visited with such heavy and severe punishments; to see a people, old and young, driven from their homes, as at Atlanta; burned from their shelter, but not by us, as at Columbia; stripped of their stores, their implements of husbandry and all their means of support; it was a sad sight to behold; it is a sad thought to dwell upon; but I solemnly believe that all the acts dorte, by orders, on those two marches were just and necessary, and that by reason of them, full as much as by anything, the war was ended, the shedding of fraternal blood was stopped, and the deluded people of the South made readier to accept the issue of the contest. And I venture to say that, when peace came, it was no where welcomed more gladly, and sincerely, and earnestly, than by the people whose lot it was to fall in the track of Sherman's army, in the march from the mountains to the sea and through the Carolinas.

So, too, is sad the recollections of prison pens, and their starving victims; starved, too, in the heart of a country in which we found the richest supplies. So, too, is sad the sight of our Union graves all over the land, of youth no generation could afford to lose, fallen in defense of their country and flag, which the bad passions of bad men had determined should be overthrown by a civil war, as unjustifiable and without cause as it was cruel, bloody and unholy. And here, my friends and comrades, I bring to a close my assigned part of this evening's entertainment. It is for the historian in after years to give our armies their just place in history. It was not expected of me that I should more than glance here and there, within the brief limits of my time, and I have but referred hastily and most generally to the army which was, for a time, the left wing of that army which, under Sherman, commencing at Chattanooga, marched over one thousand miles, fought over fifteen battles, besieged and captured two great cities from the enemy, took three State capitals, forced the evacuation of Charleston, destroyed more than two hundred miles of the enemy's railroads, overcoming large hills and difficult rivers almost without number, smashing the shell of the rebellion, and compelling the surrender of its old and hard fought enemy, Johnston's army, and thus closing the last campaign of our great civil war; a war which called forth resources unknown to ourselves and surprising to the world. It came upon us when our Government was unfamiliar with large armies, and was not realizing the necessities of the hour; when our people were ignorant of arms and warlike ways; but a Government honest and loyal, and a people brave and patriotic, soon make themselves equal to the occasion, and before the contest was over, we saw a million and a half of men, armed and in the field, fighting for the country they loved, and defending the flag which they adored; with supplies in quantity and quality unequaled by any Government, or in any war; while the noble women of our land to each and every sick and wounded soldier provided the sweet comforts of kind nursing, together with the choicest delicacies in abundance their hands could make. No defeat dampened the ardor of the people, no disaster weakening their faith, bearing the losses of their sons without a murmur and without a waver in their purpose, each new sacrifice but adding new zeal and vigor to their determination, suffering the blunders of the Government, and the incompetency and inexperience of their officers without

discouragement, ever and always strong and inflexible in their purpose that their Government should live-"a Government of the people, by the people, and for the people."

And when the war was ended, we behold the nation coming out of its civil war unimpaired and in all its former majesty and beauty, with not a star erased, and bearing in its arms the lives and freedom of 4,000,000 of a free-born people. Its sacrifices had been great and its credit had been strengthened, while the results of the war had proved that a Republican form of government could outlive the greatest peril, commanding the respect of all the nations. of the earth, and proving at last, that America, was in fact, as well as in song, "the land of the free and the home of the brave," with its large armies disbanding and pursuing the avocations of industry and peace at their homes, loving peace better than war, and only loving war as a means of peace. Who can look for a moment upon the teachings of that war without having his faith strengthened and his hopes brightened in the future of our country. The nation is strong enough to be magnanimous to its conquered foe, and the people are earnest and sincere enough, as they have so recently shown, to be just to the rewards of the future and true to the lessons of the past. And let us hope that by the experience of war we have learned to value the great blessings of peace, though the lesson has been stern, yet that it has taught us to be pure and high-minded as a nation, honorable and chaste as citizens. Let us never forget those who fell fighting bravely at our sides, nor those they left to mourn and feel their loss. And let us all, "with malice toward none, with charity for all, but, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right,” so act in the present, and teach our children to act in the future, that never again a free and enlightened American people shall be found divided against itself.

The speaking was now done, but loud calls were made for General Grant, he, however, did not respond only in his accustomed manner.

Following "Retreat" by the band, and "Taps" by the drum corps, General Thomas announced that the whole programme of the meeting had been fulfilled, and pronounced it adjourned.

1

BANQUET.

The second day of the reunion was mostly occupied by the members in the transaction of the business before the various societies, and in visitings incidental to the renewal of old acquaintances, and the formation of new ones. But night now approaches, and all minds are turned toward the banquet, the expected great and grand occasion of the reunion meeting, and to which all had looked forward with especial interest.

Here, again, the programme of the Executive Committee of Arrangements was strictly conformed to. They had employed Kinsley, Chicago's caterer, to furnish the dinner, and had secured the Chicago Board of Trade's Chamber of Commerce in which to hold the banquet, than which there is not a more beautiful room in the United States. The hour of the banquet was fixed for seven o'clock in the evening of December 16th, and to be the last of the ceremonies of the reunion. It was also intended to be a special occasion for the members of the societies, and no others were admitted to it except the special invited guests-officers of other armies than our own, and a few prominent citizens of Chicago.

Prompt as they ever were in military operations they are equally so now, and they left their various hotels and made due time, so that the hour appointed found the twelve hundred and seventy-five participants all comfortably seated at the tables prepared for them, and ready to be served. The beautiful appearance of the scene at this time baffles description. Often before has this hall been used for grand occasions, but never has it looked so fine,—with the decorations, bright lights, finely spread tables, and joyous assemblage it was truly magnificent.

Lieutenant-General Sherman, who had been honored with a selection as the chairman of the banquet, sat at the head of the hall on the President's stand, and on his right was General U. S. Grant, on the left Major-General Geo. H. Thomas, and at the same table were Generals Schofield, Terry, M'Dowell, Slocum, Hascall, Logan, Wilson, Hurlbut, Pope, and some others.

General Sherman requesting order, announced that the banquet would be opened with prayer by the Rev. J. H. Forrester, and requested all to rise and stand.