CONSTITUTION. ARTICLE I. The Association shall be known as "THE SOCIETY OF THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE." and shall include every officer who has served with honor in that Army. Honorary members may be elected from those who have served with honor and distinction in any of the Armies of the United States. ARTICLE II. The object of the Society shall be to keep alive and preserve that kindly and cordial feeling which has been one of the characteristics of this Army during its career in the service, and which has given it such harmony of action, and contributed, in no small degree, to its glorious achievements in our country's cause. The fame and glory of all the officers belonging to this Army, who have fallen either on the field of battle, or in the line of their duty, shall be a sacred trust to this Society, which shall cause proper memorials of their services to be collected and preserved, and thus transmit their names with honor to posterity. The families of all such officers who shall be in indigent circumstances will have a claim upon the generosity of the Society, and will be relieved by the voluntary contributions of its members whenever brought to their attention. In like manner, the fame and suffering families of those officers who may hereafter be stricken down by death shall be a trust in the hands of their survivors. ARTICLE III. For the purpose of accomplishing these objects, the Society shall be organized by the annual election of a President and Vice-Presidents. The Vice-Presidents to be chosen, one from each Army Corps of the old Army of the Tennessee, and a Corresponding and a Recording Secretary. The Society shall meet once in every year, and those officers who, for any cause, are unable to attend its meeting, will be expected to write to the Corresponding Secretary of the Society, and impart such information in regard to themselves as they may desire, and which may be of interest to their brother officers. Honoring the glorious achievements of our brothers-in-arms belonging to other armies, whose services have contributed, in an equal degree, in the re-establishment of our Government, and desiring to draw closer to them in the bonds of social feeling, the President or either of the Vice-Presidents of this Society shall be authorized to invite the attendance of any officer of the United States Army at any of our annual meetings. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. FIRST. That the first sentence of the third article of the Constitution be amended so as to read as follows: "The Society shall be organized by the annual election of a President and six Vice-Presidents, a Recording Secretary, a Corresponding Secretary, and a Treasurer." BY-LAWS. ARTICLE I. All persons applying previous to, on, or after the annual meeting in eighteen hundred and seventy, (1870), for enrollment, shall pay a membership fee of ten dollars, ($10); that the annual dues shall continue to be one dollar, ($1), and persons applying for membership shall pay back dues; that all fees and dues are payable to the Recording Secretary, and all money received by him on account of the Society shall be transferred to the Treasurer; and that all money received as fees shall by the Treasurer be added to the Permanent Fund. ARTICLE II. Money for ordinary expenses of the Society may be expended by the Treasurer upon the warrant of the President. All other expenditures, only in pursuance of a vote of the Society. ARTICLE III. The Treasurer shall make a report to the annual meeting of all receipts and expenditures with vouchers. The Recording Secretary shall report to the annual meeting all money received by him, and all transferred by him to the Treasurer. The Corresponding Secretary shall report to every meeting all correspondence of general interest. ARTICLE IV. All questions and resolutions shall be decided by a majority of the members present. But amendments proposed to the Constitution shall be acted upon only at the annual meeting subsequent to the one at which they may be proposed, unless the postponement be dispensed with by a vote of two-thirds of the members present. ARTICLE V. The order of Business shall be as follows: I. Reading of the journal of the previous meeting. 2. Appointment of committees on business and for nomination of officers. 3. Receiving reports. If the Society shall, at any meeting, omit to designate the time and place of the next meeting, the President shall, by due public notice, fix the time and place. FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY OF THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE. SOCIETY OF THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, LOUISVILLE, KY., November 17, 1869. At the third annual reunion of the Society, held in Chicago, a resolution was passed directing the President to appoint a committee to select the place for holding the fourth annual reunion. After much correspondence by that committee, during the past Winter and Summer, they came to the conclusion that it was quite advisable to do so, and did select the city of Louisville, Kentucky, for the reunion. Giving the President due notice, on July 7th, of this conclusion, he, on the 15th of July, issued the following call, which was duly forwarded to the members of the Society by the Corresponding Secretary: SOCIETY OF THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, ) Officers of the Army of the Tennessee: You are respectfully notified that, in accordance with the provisions made at your last annual meeting, the fourth annual reunion of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee" will be held at Louisville, Kentucky, on the 17th day of November, 1869, at 10 o'clock A. M. Every officer who has at any time served with honor in the Army and Department of the Tennessee is, by the Constitution, entitled to a membership in the Society, and to all such an earnest request to be present is extended. Business of unusual importance will claim the attention of the Society at this meeting, and it is hoped there will be a full attendance. The Local Committee of Arrangements at Louisville, to be selected, will make all needed arrangements for the meeting, and give due notice. JOHN A. RAWLINS, L. M. DAYTON, Recording Secretary. A. HICKENLOOPER, Corresponding Secretary. President. On the 31st of July the President gave notice, through the Corresponding Secretary, of his selection of the committee of arrangements. This committee established headquarters at the Galt House, and secured Weisiger Hall for the Society to use for business purposes. At one o'clock the members that had arrived, marched to the hall and organized, being called to order by Major-General G. M. Dodge, the Senior Vice-President present, and at his request the Secretary read the call for the meeting. By request of the chair, Vice-President General Rusk took a seat on the platform, as also did Lieutenant-General Sheridan, Major-General Schofield, Major-General Wilson, and Major-Gencral Hazen. The committee of arrangements had selected Colonel W. J. Landrum to welcome the members in an address, which he delivered at this time, and which is given below in full. ADDRESS OF GENERAL W. J. LANDRUM. MR. PRESIDENT, AND MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY OF THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE:-In the name of the Executive Committee of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee and the citizens of Louisville, I welcome you to the metropolis of Kentucky. If it should be asked, whence the propriety of an organization such as this, and why in times of peace we continue to assemble from year to year, the answer is, that man by nature is a social being; that in the cultivation of friendly relations and the reciprocation of kind offices all good men experience the greatest amount of happiness; and that, as the consciousness of a faithful discharge of duty is a consolation to the soldier who fought to preserve the nation in its hour of greatest peril, so may we rejoice in the reflection that, to the valor of the soldiers of the Army of the Tennessee, together with that of the noble men of other commands, we are indebted for the blessings of peace and a united and prosperous country. Laying aside the acrimony of political warfare, and coming as we do from different sections, representing various interests, yet bound together by ties of affection which have been cemented by common hardships and mutual dangers, pledged to guard as a "sacred trust the fame and glory of our comrades who have fallen upon the field of battle or in the line of duty, and to give relief to the families of those who have claims upon our generosity," may we not, with commendable pride, look forward to our annual reunions as among the most pleasant episodes of a lifetime? These being our aims and these our objects, a cordial welcome must ever await the gallant men of the Army of the Tennessee. The first in the field-the last to return to your homes; welcomed in peace as you were welcomed in war; welcomed by the forces to whose aid you hastened when the safety of Missouri was threatened by overwhelming numbers; welcomed by the navy of the gallant Porter, while struggling for relief from the tortuous and treacherous waters of Red river; welcomed by that noble chieftain, General George H. Thomas, when, on the morning of the 15th of November, our own illustrious commander, General W. T. Sherman, rode into the beleaguered and almost faminestricken lines of Chattanooga; welcomed by the leader of the grand old Army of the Cumberland, when that prince of soldiers, General A. J. Smith, came like a ray of sunshine to his ice-bound camp at Nashville; welcomed on the night of the 5th of December, when all the heads of column communicated at Marysville, where news was received from the hungry, yet indomitable garrison that Burnside was no longer invested in Knoxville; welcomed upon the return of peace to the Capital of the nation; welcomed by the loved ones at home, whose prayers had ascended to Heaven in your behalf through many a night of patient watching. The historian will record with pride the splendid deeds of that army whose prowess silenced the batteries that frowned upon the "father of waters," thus enabling the commerce of the west to float in security from Lake Itasca to the gulf; and the pages of history will contain no nobler or more brilliant campaign than that which won Atlanta, and planted in triumph the flag upon the shore of the sea. Actuated by a pure and lofty patriotism, discarding all jealousies, and yielding at all times a hearty support to your leaders, it is a matter of no surprise that, from Donelson to Bentonville, your banners were ever victorious, and that those under whom you fought took no backward steps upon the ladder of fame. Quietly and patiently, yet promptly and with energy, discharging every |