CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE GETTYSBURG REUNION.

Speeches of General Sickles, of New York; Governor Beaver of Pennsylvania; Governor Gordon and General Longstreet, of Georgia, at the Gettysburg Reunion July 1, 2 and 3, 1888.

At the reunion of Union and Confederate soldiers at Gettysburg July 1, 2 and 3, 1888, the following speeches were made by leading participants in the battle on both sides:

I.

GENERAL LONGSTREET'S SPEECH.

“ Mr. Chairman, Soldiers, Gentlemen and Friends: I was not in time to witness any part of the engagement of the first day of Gettysburg, but am pleased to be here in time to witness the ceremony commemorating the days of honor of the Army of the Potomac and to express that sympathy that should go out from all hearts to those who know how to appreciate the conduct of soldiers who offer their lives on the altar of their country; and who may better attest to the bravery of the defenders of Gettysburg than those who breasted the measure of battle against them, and who could more forcibly realize that it was their heroism that grasped the culminating moment, resolved to resist the advancing aspirations of State Sovereignty with the firmnesss that was justified by the strong ground upon which fortune cast their lines, amidst these formidable surroundings, these rock-bound slopes and heights, reinforced by balls of lead and iron, and ribs of steel, and American valor.

The gage of the battle was pitched, and here the great army of the South, the pride and glory of that section, found itself overmatched, arrested in its march of triumph and forced to stand and recoil, but not for want of gallantry, fortitude, or faith. The battle of the second day by McLane's and Hood's divisions and part of Anderson's was as spirited as some of the dashing efforts of the First Napoleon, but before the end it was found to be work to upheave the mountain. That of the third day by Pickett's division and Trimble's marching 1,200 yards under the fire of a hundred cannon and 10,000 of musketry has no parallel nor is likely to have in the annals of war. This battle scene recurs to my mind with vivid force. The gallant Pickett at the head of my own old division, and Trimble, of even bearing, like soldiers on parade holding their men to their desperate work; the set features of the veteran Brigadiers Armstead, Garrett, and Lemper, vigilant of their compact files; the elastic steps of the troops whose half-concealed smiles expressed pleasure in their opportunity, marked a period that should fill the measure of a soldier's pride, and well did they meet their promise of their parting salutations with that confidence that commands success where it is possible.

"Their hammered ranks moved steadily on till marching up face to face they fell, their noble heads at the feet of the foe who, standing like their own brave hills, received with welcome the shock of this well-adjusted battle. Such is the sacrifice sometimes demanded by the panoply of armies arrayed for battle. But times have changed. Twenty-five years have softened the usages of war. Those frowning heights have given over their savage tones, and our meetings for the exchange of blows and broken bones are left for more congenial days, for friendly greetings and for covenants of tranquil repose.

"The ladies are here to grace the serene occasion and quicken the sentiment that draws us nearer together. God bless them and help that they may dispel the

delusions that come between the people and make the land as blithe as a bride at the coming of the bridegroom."

II.

GENERAL SICKLES OF NEW YORK.

General Daniel E. Sickles, of New York, made the following speech:

"This assembly marks an epoch. You are survivors of two great armies. You and your comrades fought, here the decisive battle of a long and terrible civil war. Twenty-five years have passed and now the combatants of 1863 come together again on your old field of battle, to unite in pledges of love and devotion to one Constitution, one Union, and one flag. To day there are no victors, no vanquished As Americans we may all claim a common share in the glories of this battlefield. Memorable for so many brilliant feats of arms, no stain rests on the colors of any battalion, battery or troop that contended here for victory. Gallant Buford, who began the battle, and brave Pickett, who closed the struggle, fitly represent the intrepid hosts that for three days' rivaled each other in titles to martial renown. Among the hundreds of memorial structures on this field, there is not one bearing an inscription that wounds the susceptibilities of an honorable and gallant foe.

"This meeting is a historical event. We dedicate here on this battlefield to-day an altar sacred to peace and tranquility and union. We sow the seeds of friendship between communities and States and populations once hostile and now reconciled. We all share in the rich harvest reaped by the whole country, North and South, East and West, from the new America born on this battlefield, where the Republic consecrated her institutions to liberty and justice.

"It is sometimes said that it is not wise to perpetuate the memories of civil war, and such was the Roman maxim. But our civil war was not a mere conspiracy against a ruler; it was not the plot of a soldier to oust a rival from power; it was not a pronunciamento. The conflict of 1861-5 was a war of institutions and systems and policies. It was a revolution, ranking in importance with the French revolution of the eighteenth century and with the English revolution of the seventeenth, universal in its beneficent influence upon the destinies of this country, and ineffaceable in the footprints it made in the path of our national progress. The memories of such a war are as indestructible as our civilization. The names of Lincoln and Lee and Grant and Jackson can never be effaced from our aunals. The valor and fortitude and achievements of both armies, never surpassed in any age, demand a record in American history. And now that time and thought, common sense and common interests have softened all the animosities of war, we may bury them forever, while we cherish and perpetuate as Americans the immortal heritage of honor belonging to a republic that became imperishable when it became free.

"The war of 1861-5 was our heroic age. It demonstrated the vitality of republican institutions. It illustrated the martial spirit and resources and genius of the American soldier and sailor. It was a war in which sentiments and ideas dominated interests. The lavish sacrifices of blood and treasure, the unyielding tenacity of the combatants, the constancy and firmness of the people on both sides, men and women, old and young, rich and poor, signalized the great conflict as the heroic age of the Republic. We now see that the obstinacy of the war on both sides compelled a settlement of all the elements of disunion between the North and the South. An earlier peace might have been a mere truce, to be followed by recurring hostilities. We fought until the furnace of war melted all our discords and molded us in one homogeneous nation. Let us all be devoutly thankful that God has spared us to witness and to share the blessings bestowed by Providence upon our country as the compensation for countless sacrifices made to establish on just and firm foundations a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

"For myself, I rejoice that I am here to day to meet so many comrades and so many foes, and to unite with all of you in pledges of friendship and fraternity. And now I ask you, one and all, the survivors of the blue and the gray, to affirm with one voice our unanimous resolve to maintain our Union, preserve our institutions and defend our flag."

III.

GOVERNOR GORDON OF GEORGIA.

Gen. Sickles introduced Gen. Gordon, who spoke on behalf of the ex-Confederates. As his swinging sentences were uttered there was frequent applause Gen. Gordon said:

Mr. President and Fellow Soldiers: I greet you to-night with far less trepidation, and infinitely more pleasure than in the early days of July, 1863, when I last met you at Gettysburg. I came then, as now, to meet the soldiers of the Union Army. It would be useless to attempt utterance of the thoughts which now thrill my spirit. The temptation is to draw the contrast between the scenes which then were witnessed and those which greet us here to-night; to speak of the men with whom I then marched, and of those whom we met; of those who have survived to meet again twenty five years later, and of those who here fought and fell; of the contrast made by this mass of manly cordiality and good fellowship with the long lines of dusty uniforms which then stood in battle array beneath bristling bayonets and spread ensigns, moving in awful silence and with sullen tread to grapple each other in deadly conflict. I would speak of all these, and of the motives which impelled each, of the swaying tides of the three days' battles, of the final Federal victory, and of its preponderating influence in turning the scales of war, but the nature of the pleasing duty assigned me forbids this.

There is, however, one suggestion which dominates my thought at this hour, to present which I ask brief indulgence. Of all the martial virtues the one which is perhaps more characteristic of the truly brave is the virtue of magnanimity. "My fairest earldom would I give to bid clan Alpines chieftain live" was the noble sentiment attributed to Scotland's magnanimous monarch as he stood gazing into the face of his slain antagonist. That sentiment, immortalized by Scott in his musical and martial verse, will associate for all time the name of Scotland's King with those of the great spirits of the past. How grand the exhibitions of the same generous impulses that characterize the victors upon this memorable field.

My fellow-countrymen of the North, if I may be permitted to speak for those whom 1 represent, let me assure you that in the profoundest depths of their nature they reciprocate that generosity with all the manliness and sincerity of which brave men are capable. In token of that sincerity they join in consecrating for annual patriotic pilgrimage these historic heights, which drank such copious draughts of American blood poured so freely in discharge of duty as each conceived it, a Mecca for the North which so grandly defended it, a Mecca for the South which so bravely and persistently stormed it. We join you in setting apart this land as an enduring monument of peace, brotherhood and perpetual union. I repeat the thought with additional emphasis, with singleness of heart and of purpose, in the name of a common country and of universal human liberty, and by the blood of our fallen brothers, we unite in the solemn consecration of these battle hallowed hills as a holy, eternal pledge of fidelity to the life, freedom and unity of this cherished Republic. I am honored to-night in being selected to introduce one of the distinguished representatives of that spirit of magnanimity of which I have spoken. I present to you a soldier without fear, reproach, or malice; a soldier whose blood was spilled and whose body was maimed, though then but a boy, while he bravely and gladly obeyed his country's commands. I introduce to you a statesman whose services are distinguished and whose record is stainless. I introduce to you a patriot whose extended hand and generous heart are ever open to all of his countrymen. Soldier, statesman, patriot, I present them all in the person of General-Governor James A. Beaver of Pennsylvania.

IV.

GOVERNOR BEAVER OF PENNSYLVANIA.

The introduction of Governor Beaver and the glowing tribute that was paid him as soldier, statesman and patriot was the signal for another outburst of applause and three hearty cheers. In his address of welcome Governor Beaver said:

MEN WHO WORE THE GRAY: I have been commissioned by my comrades of the Society of the Army of the Potomac-men who wore the blue-to address you in their behalf a few words of simple and sincere welcome. I might content myself with expressing the cordial feeling which prompted the invitation in obedience to

which you are here as our guests to-day. Those who commissioned me to speak for them, as well as you, will, however, expect something more. It is, perhaps, due to them, to you, and to the country at large, which views with interest the unique spectacle which we present, that something more should be said in order that it may be seen and understood of all men that we can talk frankly and fully of what has passed while we enjoy the present and resolutely and unitedly face the future. A generation ago we lived together as citizens of one country, subject to the provisions of a compact which had been made three quarters of a century before by our forefathers. In accordance with what you considered its fair and just interpretation, and the agreement being itself, as you supposed, inadequate to protect you in certain rights of property, you determined to annul it so far as you were concerned; to withdraw yourselves from the binding force of its provisions, and to erect a separate and independent government, based for the most part upon the same principles, but providing for the rights of property and your views of interpretation. There was more or less of intense feeling involved; and yet I think I speak the words of truth and soberness when I say that, so far as we were concerned, there was nothing of personal animosity or bitterness or bate involved in the contest.

My own case is that which will, doubtless, illustrate many, many similar ones. My mother lived in Pennsylvania. She had three boys who wore the blue. Her only sister, and the only other child of her father, lived in Virginia. Her three boys wore the gray. They served in the Army of Northern Virginia; we served for the most part in the Army of the Potomac. Our deadly shots were aimed at each other in many batties of the war in which these two armies confronted each other. Did that fact, think you, obliterate the love which those sisters bore to each other, or that which animated their sons? Nay, verily. On our side the war was one of principles, of abstract ideas largely. On your side we admit, with your views of what was to be expected in the future, your property rights and private interests were directly involved; and hence the more intense feeling and ardor which you displayed. It is sufficient for our present purpose that the sword to whose dread arbitrament you had submitted, decided against you, and that your representative and ours so agreed at Appomattox. The questions involved are no longer at issue; that issue was settled and settled forever. The judgment of the court of last resort was pronounced. Your representativehonorable man that he was-accepted it for you. You as honorable men have stood by and are bound to stand by the decision. We as honorable men are bound to see to it that that decision is respected, and that you shall not be called upon to admit more, or to promise more than is involved in the decision.

Upon this platform we meet here to day. Upon this platform we stand as citizens of a common country. In standing upon it we claim no superiority over you; you admit no inferiority to us If such a feeling struggled for a place in our hearts the issues of this field should determine that question. You are our equals in courage, our equals in perseverance, our equals in intelligence, our equals in all that constitutes and dignifies and adorns the American character. You are Americans and so are we. The men and the women who remained in the rear, who took no immediate and active part in the contest on your side and on ours, have more to say about the decision and what is involved in the decision, and are more determined and outspoken in their demands than are we. They are doubtless trembling lest something should be said or done here to day which may unset de the decision of the sword and annul its stern decrees.

But, my countrymen, our care need not be as to the past. Its record is made up, its decrees are recorded, its judgment is final. You and I have something to do with the future. Our faces are to be resolutely turned to the front. I see a grand future for my country. Do I say my country? Your country, our country. North and South. Oh, my countrymen of the gray and of the blue, and you, young men who wore neither gray nor blue, these are the questions about which we should be concerned; and because the consideration of these questions is pressing and imminent, we who wore the blue have invited you men who wore the gray to join us here on this historic field. We welcome you because we need you. We welcome you because you need us. We welcome you because we together must enter in and possess this future and transmit this heritage to the on coming generations. Are we ready? Are you ready? If so, let the dead past bury its dead.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

A "FELLOW" LIKE MORTON.

THE KIND OF MAN SENATOR INGALLS WANTED AND WHICH

REPUBLICAN PAPERS INSIST HE GOT.

THE KIND OF FELLOW SENATOR INGALLS WANTED AND GOT.

"VICE-PRESIDENT'S CHAMBER, WASHINGTON, June 16. "The least conspicuous and therefore the least complicated man will be the best; somebody like Hayes in 1876. Among all the men named there is not one 'leader,' no one whose personal or historical relation to the people would make a difference of 1,000 votes in the canvass. Sherman, Allison, Harrison, each have records that would be awkward on the tariff, the currency, the Chinese question, etc. ** * My impression is that Alger or Gresham come nearer filling the bill than any of the others, with some fellow like Phelps of New Jersey, who could reach the conservative forces of the East and get contributions from the manufacturers and Wall street.

*

JOHN J. INGALLS.

No man was ever nominated on a Presidential ticket who was so conspicuously a nonentity as Levi P. Morton, of New York, the Republican candidate for VicePresident. He was only in Congress for a single term, and then only by virtue of his money; but many a man has made a record in this time which served to show his constituents that there was something in him to excite admiration and to demonstrate a capacity for doing something if he should get a chance to do it.

But in the case of Levi P. Morton there is less than nothing. He was never conspicuous either at home or abroad for anything but his money-and even this is most conspicuous by being invested in London in partnership with a knight of the realm, or in bonds of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, from the directory of which Mr. Morton has just retired for the purposes of this campaign only. His money is there, and nobody has given so much as a hint that he has any idea of giving up his investments in Canadian railroads, however much they may injure the commerce of the country of which he hopes to become the Vice President.

During his service in Congress Mr. Morton did at least one thing for which he deserves some credit, in spite of the fact that he and his friends are belittleing it and almost denying it now. On April 5, 1830, Mr. Townshend, of Illinois, moved to discharge the Ways and Means Committee from further consideration of House Bill No. 5265, and that the same be passed. The bill was as follows:

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, That sections 2503, 2504 and 2505, of Title 33, of the Revised Statutes of the United States, be revised and amended so that the duty on salt, printing-type, printing-paper and the chemicals and materials used in the manufacture of printing-paper, be repealed, and that said articles be placed on the free list.

The result was ayes 112, nays 80; not voting 100. Among those recorded as voting aye is Levi P. Morton, of New York.