Soldiers' record, 1868-08-29

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I > e v o t o < i t o t l i e I w t e f c s i t s oi* t l i o S^olcliei's un<l © t i i l o r o o f tlxo l a t e "VViii*.
VOL 1. HARTFORD, CONN., AUGUST 29, 18G8. NO 8.
lottrji.
POEM.
By S. D. Phelps. Rend at the Memorial Service in
Kcw Haven, July Sixl, 1868,
'Tis a beautiful scenc—'tis a joy-hallowed meetinp;,
'Mid the emblems iuul symbols adorrting the Hall;
The starry bright banners our glad vision greeting,
Awakening response in the bosoms of all.
Sweet evergreen vines and bouquets of fair flowers
Enliven the view and pour fragrance around,
While melodies flow as if fresh from the bowers
Where angels and harpers their music resound.
The orator's spell, through rich language of beauty,
Shall steal o'er our souls with mysterious power;
And from suffering and tears, the behests of high duty
Inspire with a grandeur that chimes with tlie hour.
How fitting the moment!—thb''fevo ere the morning,
Immortal in memories through ages of time;
Linked (irm to the past as its brightest adorning,
And forecasting the Future in promise sublime.'
O birth-day of Freedom ! New star that has guided
To the Bethlehem gift for the Land of the West;
Thy radiance afar through the nations has glided,
And millions have hailed thee and hoped to be blest
We welcome and love thee, bright day of our glory !
We love the grand history linked with thy rise;
Forever thou tcllest the struggle and story
Of the Fathers who reared the Republic we prize
Let the bells at clear sunrise ring clangorous pealing;
Let loud booming cannon shake land and shako sea;
Let the heart overflow with its deluge of feeling,
As it throbs in the thought and the joy of the Free!
Not the common observance, or old celebration,
A long-hallowed custom and still well approved ;
We give to this birth-day a new coronation,—
A niemorial of flowers for our heroes beloved.
The Grand Army moves in procession to-morrow.
Its drum-beating muffled, and solemn its tread ;
With a pall on its banners, with heart-throbs of sorrow.
As it winds to the graves of our patriot dead.
Ah ! think yo, survivors of \Var-waste and battle,
Though worn in the trenches or scarred in the strife,
Of your comrades unflinching in shot-ttorm and rattle
As they sacrificed all for the National Life!
Aye, ye see them again in a beautiful vison.
As farewells were .spoken, as partings were o'er,
And together went forward, so grand in decision.
Your Country to save, and its Flag to restore.
Atthe close of the contest, yoin-high task completing,
In Rebellion subdued, and its cause overthrown.
You were welcomed at home in a rapturous greeting,
With glad music of bolls, and love's heartiest tone.
How ye missed your dear comrades, ne'er homeward
returning;
How ye thought of their valor, their fall, and the
spot
Where each bravo form was sleeping: and tears of
your mourning
Dropt over a scenc that can ne'er be forgot!
Well may ye rccall them, those heroes immorfal,
Tnat f\ill for the Flag,anil were wrapt in its folds,
And in broken ranks nuirch to the grave's hallowed
portal.
And garland the urn wliich their pcccious dust
holds.
Let us gather there, and with hea utiful roses,
Witii loveliest lilies of varyinir hue.
Spread them over each mound where a soldier re-poses.
Our tears falling on them like Heaven's sweet dew.
Hang wreaths oii the marble, la)' crowns on the
granite,
Place crosses and anchors o'er the slumbering
breast,
Find the liuiiiblest of graves and then gratefully
span it
With tliose beautiful symbols of glory and rest.
Nor pass that lone hillock whore a rebel is lying—
For the prisoner antl woimdc'l had tendcrest care—
We jjitied liis treason, we soothed him when dying;
In our fair floral gifts let his restiug-place share.
And think of tlie tombs, though we never may know
them,
Where some of our bravest in quietude sleep ;
And pray that kind hands wiiii swcot garlands may
StrOW tlKMll,
While the ne'er-closing Eye shall the dust treas-ures
keep.
O beautiful task ! tliis bestrewing with flowers
The graves of the lieroes wlio died for their linitl !
Sweet angels might come from tlieir heavenly bowers.
And smile as they aid with invisible hand.
From the banks of Potomae to t)ie Father of Waters,
J5y hillside and vale in the South and the West,
Where army met armv in Imiiles and slaughter,
Our bravf ones fiiuglit nobly, and sank to their rest.
The Pentnsiilar raid, thy sharp strife, Cedar Mountain,
The fierce field of Antictam, where Fredericks-burg
lies,
The siege of I'ort Hudson, by Gettysburg's fountain.
Whore through Hlienandoah host after host Hies :
In the Wilderness cliurncl, in prisons terrific.
The graml marrh to the sea. and the Petersburg
strife,
They Strug, led and fell—and their rest how pacific,
While the country thev saved has sprung forth to
new life.
Some sleep on the fields that had witnessed their valor.
Some in sepulcher-gardens the nation reveres,
And others returned, but in silence and pallor,
To be borne to their graves 'mid our sorrows and
tears.
To honor each hero by name were a pleasure—
The name that henceforth bears the star-sign of
death—
His virtues unfold and his patriot-fame trensure,
As to give to his tomb the memorial wreath.
As memory recalls them, they rise up before us,
In manliest form, and with love-l)eamiiig eye,
And their brave, noble spirits seem hovering o'er us.
To revisit those scenes from their home in the sky.
There is Foote, grand in soul, who on history's pages'
Siuill live in a glory untarnished by time ;
A hero so Christly, with the great of all ages
His name is ent'olled—his reward is sublime.
There is Wiiithrop, whose genius unfolded so brightly;
There are Merwin, and Farnam, and Peck,
Who led forth their regiments so bravely and knightly.
When called by their country at Liberty's beck.
There are Osborn, and Rockwood, true, noble and
loving.
What treasures for service, what prizes for death !
There are Linsley, and Taylor, and Dutton, forth niov-ing,
The choicest young heroes, their swords to unsheath,
There are Chapman, and Cornwall, and Blake, gallant
leaders.
And Bishop, and Fowler, and Barrett beside;
How they rushed to the front to repel the seceders !
How true to the Flag for which nobly they died!
There is Walker, the chaplain, who brought to his
station
The rich acquisitions that learning bestowed,
Whose teaching and prayers were a blest ministration.
As for wounded and sick his deep sympathies flowed.
They sleep in their graves that we brighten with flowers.
Their memories hallowed by affection and tears ;
While in lone hearts and homes shall the sorrowing
hours
Still linger and brood as a pall on the years.
O well may yo mourn them, heroic and splendid.
Early joy of your hearts, and oft pressed to your lips;
For great was your grief when dear life-hopes wore
ended.
And the orb of your being went into eclipse!
Sad, sad was the burden of Death's dread achievement;
The mother, the widow, hencetorth in their weeds :
Our tears have oft flowed o'er young groups in bereave-tnent.
For heavier their loss as time slowly recedes.
In God's glorious purpose, it was not untimely,
The sacrifice precious, the boon of dear life ;
The cause tliat they died for has triumphed .sublimely ;
A bright era of peace has risen out of dark strife.
What benefits rich, in the vast generations
That the years of the future shall grandly disclose.
Will How to our land, and the long-struggling nations.
From the.se patriot-deaths, from our sorrows and
woes !
Now the Stars and the Stripes, in more radiant gloty»
As the symbol of Freedom so ])roudly it waves.
The world's homage attracts, and rejiuats the grand
story
Of a nation enfranchising millions of slaves !
God bless tlie old Flag I May it evermore flying
Its glorious heritage triumi)hantly claim,
And ne'er 'ncath the foot of a traitor bo lying,
Nor shelter a dastard to tarnish its fame! .
While it fioats in the breeze, o'er the latul, o'er the bil-low,
The joy of the myriads that under it dwell.
The deeds of onr warriors who made it their pillow.
It shall, througli the ages, victoriously tell!
We strew the green mounds that rise over their bosoms
With the beautiful flowers of bright summertime;
But as long as plants thrive, till the latest rose blos-soms.
Their menu)rial lives in a freshness sublime !
'Tis said that the flowers arc the letters af angels.
The alphabet swoet of a language divine;
Then, to those who can read tiicm, thoy're blessed
cviiiigcis
From books of high deeds that immortally shine !
With an elo(iuence dec)), each fair coronet floral
Sweeps the chords of our love to the depths of the
heart;
Though till' voices are hushed, without utterance oral.
They thrill the moved soul, and they hid the tear
start.
While patriots shall I'.ve, and the Republic so ample,
Your work luid your memory never shall die,
O irlorious deiul! In our l.iberty's temple
Your fame is engraved on its arches so high !
There is sacredness here—and remembrance long lin"
gcrs
Around the enchantment and rapture to-night—
This fair floral display—as if serajihs' soft fingers
Had touched it with beauty celustially bright.
Let the scene l>e repeated, an annual story;
Let. pure lilies cluster o'er patriots' sod,
While the years i)ass away, and to loftier glory
Our country ascunds with the favor of God !
Eleazcr Fitch ol" Lebanon, late of tlie
2(3tli. 0. V. Htteinj)tcd to commit suicide
on Tliursdiiy ol' last weeli by taking poi-son—
cause domestic troubles.
Co. II, 2nd Reg't, C N G. held a
meeting Tuesday Evening, Aug 11th and
)asscd resolutions of sorrow and condo-ence,
upon the death of Thomas Murnam
a member.
THE ARMY OF THE JAMES.
A re-imion of the officers who served
in the Army of the James will be held at
the St. James Jrlotel, Boston, on Wednes-day,
September 2d It is expected that
Generals Butler, Gillmore, Smith, Terry,
VVeitxel, Gibson, Brooks Turner, Vodges,
Devens, R. S. Foster, Hawley, Shepley,
Jackson, Flaistcd, Curtis, Ames Abbott,
(the new Senator from North Carolina),
G. H Gordon, Osborne of Illinois, Fer-
H. C.
and a
(Torrcsjjoulirnte.
erro, Osborn of Massachusetts,
Lee, Thos. Mann, W. S. Lincoln,
host of others, will be present.
The following is a brief sketch of the
history of the Army of the James, whose
record is a brilliant one, and whose offi-cers
and troops had the honor of partici-pating
under General Grant, in various
skirmishes and engagements which finally
led to the surrender of Lee at Appomatox
Court-house:
The Army of the James was composed
originally of two corps, the Tenth and
Eighteenth. A portion of the Tenth Corps,
under General Hunter' captured Hilton
Head and Beaufort S. C., fought many
fights, and afterward captured Fort Pulas-ki
and the whole of the Atlantic coast of
Florida. The Eighteenth Corps were o-oiginally
a portion of the Ninth Corps,
iind, under General Burnside, captured
Roanoke Island, Newbern and the coast
of >iorth Carolina.
When General Burnside went to the
assistance of General McClellan, the
troops left behind were afterward -reen-forced
by several brigades from the Army
of the Potomac, and formed the Eighteenth
Corps, under General John G. Foster.
When General Foster went to Hilton
Head to assist General Hunter in the re-duction
of Fort Sumpter, he took with
him a great portion of the corps, they
were afterward made a part of the tenth
Corps, and participated in the capture of
Morris Island, the bloody assaults on
Fort wagner, and the long and tedious
siege of Charleston. The continuous hard
work of months and the constant cunnon-ading
wore more trying and fatal than the
battles, with long intervals of rest, of the
Armies in the interior.
Finally the Tenth Corps, under General
Gillmore, sailed for Fortress Monroe, and
joining the Eighteenth Corps, under Gen-eral
-'Baldy" Smith, became the Army
of the James, and ascended thiit river,
under General Butler, at the same time
that General Grant started on his great
campaign with the Army of the Potomac
—holding the position, a very important
one, until the arrival of Geneial Grant's
army, Avhen the siege of Petersburg com-menced.
T H E ARMY OF THE JAMES -The Tenth
Corps, under Birney, and the Eighteenth,
under Ord—crossed the James at Deep
Bottom, and captured Fort Harrison and
the entire line of works around Richmond,
by assault, losing many men. General Ord
was wounded, and General Birney, by
constant exposuie, contracted a disease
that, in a lew weeks, caused his deatii.—
After this the Army was reorganized, the
colored troops from the Army of the Po-toniiic
being joined to those of the Army
of the James, and formed the Twenty- fifth
Corps, under General VVeitzel, while the
white troops formed ihe Twenty-fourth
Cori)S, under General Ord.
Soofi after this a portion of the troops,
under Generals I utler and Weitzel, star-ted
on the expediiion againstFort Fisher,
ai;d retu ned without accompli.shing its
object. General Grant sent them again
under General Terry, with a more success-ful
result. After this tlie Army of the
James participated in the h;ird ligliting
around Petersburg; and while General
Ord, with the Twenty;fouith Corps, join-ed
in the pursuit of liCe, General Weitzel
and the Twenty-fifth Corps, had the honor
of being the first to enter Richmond,
April y, 18U5.
* Sacred Obligq,tions.
Such are the obligations of the Coun-try
to the children of those brate men
whose lives have been sMcrificed in its de-fense;
and yet, in our own State of Con-necticut,
these obligations are practically
ignored or repudiated.
The State has, indeed, made an appro-priation
towards the support of these Or-phans,
but the very terms of the act seem
to deny the obligation; for tlie grant is
only made to such as have no adequate
means of support; but if the obligation is
valid at all, it is so in all cg,ses,-whether
the children have adequate means of sup-port
or not. If I buy a horse of a man, I
am obligated to pay him for it, without
inquiring into his means of support.
Again, the amount of the appropriation
is so small as to indicate that it is consid-ered
rather a "charity" doled outto trou-blesome
paupers, than as the payment of
an obligation.
Seventy-five cents a week to each child
under twelve years of age has been paid
hitherto, and now the amount is increas-ed
to one dollar a week, to each Child
under fourteen years.
But in scarcely any part of the State
can decent board be obtained for less than
four dollars a week, to say nothing of the
expense of clothing,etc.
The General Government also provides
a pension of forty-five-cents a week for
each child under sixteen years of age.
But that, in addition to the sum receiv-ed
from the State, amounts to less than
half the price of board
Those men were told, when asked to
enlist, that their families sho-'-'ldb'e "taken
care of";—that "a generous and grateful
country" would not neglect the children
of its brave defenders, should they full in
the conflict.
Butis it "taking cure" of these chil-dren,
in any proper sense,—is it fulfil-ling
this promise,—to furnish this niggard-ly
stipend which may perhaps keep them
faom actual starvation, but which only
enables them to drag out a miserable ex-istence
in want and suffering?.
Any other orphans, "having no adequate
means of support," would certainly be en-titled
to at least so much from the com-munity,
merely on the ground of common
humanity.
Some will say, perhaps, that those chil-dren
are able to earn a part of their own
subsistence.
Possibly some of them can do this, but
children, and especially these children,
should be educated; and they cannot be
engtiged in study while earning a living.
Again, some will say that we have
Charittible Institutions in which these or-phans
are cared for.
It is true that we have two Institutions,
established by tlic generosity o/'two indi-vidinds
in which a small number of these
children are, for the time being cared for.
But it is a disgrace to the State that
there should beany need of Charitable In-stitutions
to Ciire for these little ones.
They are the wards of the State, and
should be supported and educated at the
public expense,—not as a matter of "chari-ty,"
but r^f rigiit,—as the partial discharge
of a public (Uibt.
This is simply what some of the other
States are doing ^—The State of Pennsyl-vania
makes an a))propriiition averaging
three dollars a week to each of the or-phans
under sixteen years of age,and pro-vides
excellent institutions for their edu-cation.
Tlie State defrays the entire ex-pense
of board, clothing, books, instruc-tion,
medical attendance, etc.
The State of lowu is doing nearly the
same, and this is what the State of Con-nectictit
is abundantly able to do, and
ouulit to do.
Bristol, Conn, W. Colegrovo.