Soldiers' record, 1869-06-12

              D e v o t e d t o t l i e I m t e r e s t s o f t h . o S o l d i o i - s a n d of t U e l a , t o W a r .
VOL. I. HAETFOED, COOT., SATUEDAY, JVl^E 12, 18G9. ISO. 49.
i a i i r ^ at i o m e.
THE BEATIFUL EIVER.
Like a fouudliiig in slumber the summer day lay
On tlie crimsoning tlireshoW of oven ;
And I tUouglifc that the glow from the azuro arched
way,
Was a glimpse of the coming of heaven.
There together we sat by the beautiful stream,
Wo had nothing to do but to lovo and to dream,
In the days that, have gone on before.
Thoso are not the same days, though thoy bear the
same name,
With the ones I shall welcome no more.
But it may be the angels are calling them o'er
For a Sabbatii and summer forever,
When years shall forget the December they were,
And the shroud shall be woven, no, never 1
In a twilight like that, Jenny June for a bride,
Oh ! what more of the world could one wish for bo-
• side t
As we gazed on the river enrolled,
Till we heard, or we fancicd, its musical tide,
As it flowed through the gateway of gold.
"Jennie June," then I said, let us linger no more,
Of the banks of the beautiful river;
Let the boat be unmoored, and be muffled the oar,
And we 11 steal into heaven together.
If the ani,^el on duty our coming descries.
You have nothing to do but throw off the disguise,
That you Avore when you wandered with me.
And the sentry shall say 'welcome back to the skies.
We have long been awaiting for thee,"
Oh ! how sweetly she spoke ere she uttered a word,
With that blush partly hers, partly Even's,
And that tone like the dream of a song we have heard,
As she whispered that way is not heaven's;
For the river that runs by the realms of the blest,
Has no song in its ripple, no star in its breast.
Oh ! that river is nothing like this.
For it glides on in shadow beyond the world's west,
Till ifc breaks into beauty and bliss "
I am lingering yet but I linger alone.
On the baaks'of the beautiful river.
'Tisthe twin of that day,but the wave where it shone.
Bears the willow tree's shadow forever.
DECOEAT.ION DAY.
The cercmony of decorating the sol-diers'
graves occiured on Sunday in many
of the towns in this State. In New Hav-en
the Posts were escorted by the Oentei--
ville and Wheeler & Wilson band, and
the Wooster, Sarsfield, City, Governor's
Foot, and Light Guards, the New liaven
Grays, and the National Blues. The Ad-miral
Foote Post of the Grand Army of
the Republic, under whose direction the
ceremonies of the occasion were perform-ed,
appsared in citizen's dress, wearing
white gloves and mourning rosettes, and
carrying in their hands bouquets of flow-ers.
At the cemetery all were drawn up
in line, and while the band played a dirge,
the Grand Army was divided up into
squads, which passed through the various
avenues of the cemetery, to each soldier's
grave. The Rev. Mr. Start made a few
remarks after the decoration. In j\Ieri-den
the programe carried out was as fol-lows
: At the up-town cemetery—Pi-ayer
by the Rev. John Parker ; a short address
by the chaplain of Merriam Post, the Rev.
J. J. AVoolcy. Gatholic ccinotery—Serv-ices
by the Rev. M. Walsh. At West
Meriden cemetery, prayer by the Rev. A.
Barrcile. Suiiday was Decoration day,
also, at New London, Danielsonville aud
Dayvillo. The Bridgeport Post decorated
on Saturday. A procession marched to
the Seaside Park, the Post Band ])hiying
solemn music. A square was formed by
the Grand Army of the Republic, support-ed
by the military, and other organi/.ations
present, around a cenotaph erected upon
the base of tlie proposed soldiers' monu-ment.
Prayer was oifered by the Post
chaplain, and cenotaph was decorated
with flowers, during which ihe band play-ed
dirges, aud the ai'tillery fired minute
guns. An address was delivered by L,
N. Middlebrook, Esq., and the American
Quartette sang "Toll the bell the brave
arc sleeping." The observances were
hold in Norwich on Saturday. Companies
B and 0 paraded with the Sedgwick Post.
The graves in Yantic, the Catholic, Elm
and Greenville were strewn with flowers.
At Breed Hall $77^.20, the balance of ihe
sum raised in 18G5 for celebrating the
4th of Jidy, were divided among the sol-diers'
orphans of the tow n
CELLKMONIES AT KENSINGTON.
The toudiing and boautiful ceremony
of decorating with flowers the graves of
the Union soldiers, as also the Soldiers'
Monument, the first it is believed erected
in the state to the deceased defenders of
the Union in the late war, occurred at
Kensington on May 29th. The uncertain
state of the weather alone prevented a
large attendance. The Washburne Post
of the G. A. R. mustered in goodly force,
with muffled drums and the Old Flag hung
with crape, while the reduced number of
the veterans gave evidence that they had
seen hard service in the field. The pres-ence
of veterans from other fields of the
war added interest to the scene.
The exercises consisted of prayer and
an interesting and patriotic address by the
Rev. Mr, Waterman, the last preceded
by an address by Mr. E. W. Robbins, who
prefaced with a few remarks the reading,
by request, of an original hj'mn sung on
the occasion, both of which appear below.
After this the Post formed, and marching
round it cast their contributions upon the
monument which was gracefully wreath-ed
with the free-will oflerings of floral
tributes tastefully arranged by the ladies
of tlie society. A poem in addition, which
contained sentiments peculiarly appropri-ate
to the occasion, by whom written we
do not know, was read by Rev. Mr. Wa-terman.
Rev. Mr. Baldwin of Berlin pro-nounced
the benediction, after which the
Post proceeded to the different cemeteries
in the neighborhood to perform the same
ceremony over the graves of their deceas-ed
comrades. It will be remembered
that the Washburne Post derives its name
from respect to the memory of one of its
officers (an only, son of Rev. Mr. Wash-burne
of Berlin),who fell in the great
struggle for freedom. The moniunent it-self
is a plain structure—a cenotaph and
engraved with suitable devices—contains
the names of fifteen individuals, natives
or residents of Kensington, which is the
number known to have died in battle, in
the hospital, or in consequence of hard-ships
endured in the service. The follow-ing
are the names inscribed on the monu-ment,
with the place and time of death of
each so far as ascertaiLed :—James L.
Bailey, Cedar Mountain, Aug. 9th, 1861;
Leverett H. Gladding, New Orleans, xUig,
12, 1862 ; John L. Kent, Antietam, Sep.
19, 2862 ; James Ringwood, George W.
Horton, New Orleans, Oct. 6, 1862 j
Henry F. Allen,Pocotaligo,Oct. 22, i862;
Birdaey J. Beckley, Fredericksburg, Doc.
13, \802 ; Captain Frank A. Cole, Wash-ington,
D. C., Oct. 4, 1864, aged 22, Dan-ford
J. Davis, Morton's Ford, Jan. 1,
1864; Charles M. Stanley, Cold Harbor,
June 1,1864; James W. Belden, Char-leston,
S. C., Oct. 1, 1864 ; Roswcll Root,
New Haven, May 5, 1865 ; Wm. W.War-ner,
Charleston, S. 0., Nov. 5, 1864;
John A. Warner, Annapolis, Md., Dec.
23, 1864 ; Richard Ringwood, Auderson-ville,
Ga.
ADDRESS OP MR. ROBBINS.
FcUow-ciiizens, members of ike Grand
Army of the Jicpiibl/c :—1 think the privi-lege
of taking a prominent part in the ex-ercises
of this day belongs to the soldiei's
of the Union, 'i o them it comes fraught
with special and mefancholy interest.
This Post of the Grand Army of the Re-public
conies to i-cnew the touching and
beautiful ceremonial in obedience to the
orders of their chief, let me say in obedi-ence
to tlie best instincts of our nature, to
decorate with floral tril utes the graves of
their deceased comrades. Nor is it, in-deed,
an cm[)ty ceremonial; for though it
cannot benefit the war-worn sleepers
whose record it is that they laid down
their lives to save that of the nation, and
who honor us more than we can honor
them, yet it is of some benefit to the liv-ing,
tu prove that the sense of obligation
has not died oat of the human breast, aud
to stimulate others to like deeds of heroic
sacrifice and valor. 1 rejoice tliat many
of their comrades --as also those veterans
of war who have come up hither from
other posts—survive to-day, to receive
the expressions of our respect and grati-tude.
Nor it is less fitting to acknowledge
here the services of woman, whose taste
and handiwork is seen in the arrangement
of these floral ornaments, the nurse of the
hospital, the "angel of the battle-field,"
without whose patriotic co-operation it is
not too much to say the war would not
have been finished.'
It was my fortune to be acquainted
with some of those individuals whose
names are inscribed on this monument,
(perhaps it is to this circumstance I am
indebted for being called on to speak in
yonr presence) and purer patriots than
those young men, who thus fell victims in
our recent great struggle for freedom, it
was never my privilege to know. Beck-ley,
Gladding, Belden, Davis, Cole, Root,
Stanley, besides those others whose names
here appear, cherished in the community
in which they lived, and in the hearts
whom their too early departure from life
has made desolate, were many of them
choice spirits, yet not too choice to be off-ered
up in sacrifice on the altar of their
country. If the Roman poet could say,
"0 thrice and four times happy ye, to
whom it happened to fall before the faces
of your parents, under the lofty walls of
Troy," how much more fortunate those
who died fighting to achieve the safety of
the Union, earning thereby, not only an
undying earthly renown, (for " it is a
sweet and noble thing to die for one's
country") but n>any of whom I trust, have
received the unfading crown of eternal
life, compared with which the laurels
which Ceasar reaps are weeds. Once liv-ing
they died, dying they lived forever.
HYMN FOR DECORATING.
Again to onr dead braves
Our ti'ibute now wo brinj^;
While on tlieir g-reen ami lioiiorod graves ,
AVo straw the llowers of spring.
And wreath witli garlands fresh,
Our footsteps tiiitlior bent;
Still pointing to the skies aneur
The Soldiers' i\Ionunient.
How sweet the patriots' rest !
How calm tlieir deep re|)oso !
tSo sinks the glorious orb ot day,
In the still evening's close.
For us they boro the strife ;
For us they fought and fell ;
Say, cantiic land they diid to save,
Tlieir memory guard too well?
God of onr Fathers—Thou
Who didst the victory send—
Praise to thy iiaine for mercies given.
Henceforth, world without cud. E. W. E.
AT SOUTH COVENTRY.
Thebeautiful memorial service of st'-ew-ing
with flowers the graves of those who
died in the service of their country, took
place in South Coventry on Saturday af-ternoon
the 29th, and was an occasion of
deep interest. The procession was form-ed
at 3 1-2 o'clock and moved to the cem-tery
in the following order. The line
was nearly quarter of a mile in length :
South Windham Brass Band.
Button Post, No 28. G. A. R., Capt. E.
P. Packer, Post Conimander,
Warren Lodge No. 50, F. & A. M.
Nathan Hale Lodge No. 68, 1. 0 . G. T.
Congregational Sabbath School.
Methodist Sabbath Scliool.
Citizens on Foot.
Citizens ill Oari'iages.
The Post carried tlie elegant silk flag
presented them by the ladies of South Co-ventry
last winter. On arriving at the
cemetery the Baud took a position in the
centre and ])layed dirges, wliile the mem-bers
of the Post marched to each soldier's
grave and placed upon it their floral trib-utes.
After the fiowcrs were placed on
the graves, prayer was oifered by Bev.
iMr. Fitch of South Coventry, then the Or-ator
of the day, Rev. J. E. Dockery of
Plainfield, was introduced and held the
vast assemblage enraptured with the pow-er
of his eloquence for over half an hour,
Brief remarks were made by Daniel Green
and Amos Hammond of South Coventry,
Collins Maine of Bolton, and Rev. Mr.
Hawley of Hartford, after which the ben-diction
was given and the procession
reformed, marched back to the village
and were dismissed.
BIRMINGHAM.
The decoration of the graves of our
patriot dead, took place Sunday the 30th.
The line was formed on Caroline street,
at two o'clock P. M., Cargill'a cornet
band, and the Russell RiSes, Captain
Naraniore, acting as escort; Kellogg
Post of the Grand Army of the Republic;
The Hibernian Benevolent Society ; Fa-ther
Matthew's Total Abstinence Society;
Steam Engine Company No. 2, in citi-zens
dress; Crystal Fount Division S. of
T., also citizens on foot and in carriages.
The attendance was lai-ge, there being
at least two thousand persons in the pro-cession,
besides large numbers in carri-ages.
Tlie ceremonies at the different
cemeteries were exceedingly impressive.
The procession first marclied to the two
Catholic Cemeteries north of the Bor-ough,
then returned to the Birmingham
Cemetery where the principal services
took i)lace. Very pertinent and able
address were made both by Colonel
Wooster and Dr. Beardsley, when tbe
sudden and violent rain occasioned a
quick dispersion of the multitude.
ANSONIA.
These services were of unusual inter-est,
Saturday, atAnsonia. A very large
assemblage gathered at military hall
Saturday morning, a procession was for-med
; they first marched to the two
grave yards east of the town where some
few of our brave boys sleep, then they
reformed, marched to Pine Cemetery
west of the town, where the principal
ceremonies took place. Besides decora-ting
the graves, these consisted of a
prayer by Rev. Nr. Wing of the Method-ist
Church, singiiig, a poem by Mr. Pine,
afterwards suitable addresses were made
by Messrs. Carpenter, Wing, Hyde and
Barber. The day was very beautiful,
everything seemed to contribute to its
objects and aims, more than usually elo-quent
were some of the words spoken,
when the multitude separated.
It is by such services as these are for-ever
consecrated in our hearts the names
of those brave men whom danger trans-formed
to heroes.
DECORATION DAY AT CHESTER.
Post Mather G. A. R. of Chester, aft^r
having decorated the graves of soldiers
in that place on Saturday aftern(>on. May
29th, marched accompanied by the Good
Templars and a goodly number of citizens,
making a long and imposing procession,
with sacred music, and reached E'ountai
Hill Cemetery in Deep River, about
o'clock, to perform the same ceremony as
above. A large number of citizens had
already collected on the spot. Garlands,
wreaths, and choice flowers of every de-scription
were provided in rich abund-ance
and thickly strewn over the graves
of our departed heroes, and the exercises
throughout were of the most deeply in-teresting
character. Dr. Ambrose Pratt
of Chester, surgeon of the 22d Regiment
0. V.,aiid the Rev. 11. Wickes ofDeep
River, gave most eloquent and feeling ad-dresses
on the occasion. The remains of
ten of our deceased sohliers are interred
in the above ground ; all but one were re-sidents
of the town.
OBSETLVANCG OF THE DAY AT BRISTOL.
Decoration day was observed at Bristol
on Sunday (thCiiOth). The wreaths and
boquets were made and arranged by the
ladies of the place on Saturday. The ex-ercises
on Sunday p. in. wore held at the
Baptist church. The sermon Avas by the
Rev. C. 11. Buck, pastor of the lNlethodist
Episcopal church, after which the pro-cession
marched to the cemetery, and, al-though
raining, the attendance was unu-sually
largo. Exercises were held at For-estville
in the forenoon at the Methodist
Episcopal church aud ceniotcry. The
whole was under the auspices of Manross
Post No. 13, G. A. R.