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| Clergymen of Cortland, 1899, Grip's Historical Souvenir of Cortland. |
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| Blood stained ensign of 76th New York Volunteers. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Thursday, October 5, 1899.
STIRRING ADDRESSES.
FINE SPEECHES AT THE SEVENTY-SIXTH REUNION.
Old Veterans Warmly Welcomed by Comrade Benjamin T. Wright—Response by Prison Commissioner Mantanye—Annual Address by Rev. U. S. Milburn—Resolutions Adopted—Campfire in the Evening.
The public exercises in connection with the Thirty-first annual reunion of the Seventy-sixth regiment, New York Volunteers, were held in Grand Army hall in the Burgess block yesterday afternoon. The hall was well filled with the veterans and their friends, the majority of whom had taken dinner at the Cortland House.
The president, David C. Beers, called the meeting to order, and after the invocation by Rev. John T. Stone, pastor of the Presbyterian church, "Happy Bill'' Daniels and his orchestra of six pieces rendered a selection.
At this juncture Comrade O. P. Miner of Cortland appeared on the platform bearing the old tattered, torn and shot ridden flag of the regiment. The sight of it was more than "the boys" could bear in silence, and when Martin Edgcomb proposed three cheers for the ensign, they came with a will.
Comrade Benjamin T. Wright of Cortland delivered the address of welcome, which was full of life, enthusiasm and patriotism, and delivered in his customary impressive style. In his opening remarks he referred to Admiral Dewey, and said that all could with pleasure rejoice at the ovation tendered him, the man whose acts have shown that patriotism is not dead. Among other things he said: While we recall the deeds of Dewey and others on land and sea we are not unmindful of the deeds and valor done by you in fighting that issue of justice, humanity and liberty, which was the same issue involved in the recent conflict with Spain. Men of the Seventy-sixth, gallantly did you stand up against those of the South and gallantly did you come up to the triumphant victory in the sixteenth decisive battle of the world. I think I voice the sentiments of this whole village when I say that the whole town is yours so long as you are of a mind to stay here, and we hope you may live long and return hither on many similar occasions in the future.
Mr. Wright was vociferously applauded as he sat down. He was followed by State Prison Commissioner of Prisons William J. Mantanye of Cortland, who responded as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen of Cortland:
In behalf of the association of the Seventy-sixth New York regiment, I thank you for the hearty welcome you have extended to the remaining comrades to-day, not only by the eloquent words of your speaker, but also as demonstrated by the cordial reception which has been accorded to us from all sides. Let me, if possible, impress upon you that these words of thanks are not a mere formality, but that they come from our hearts. Such acts and words of welcome as have here met us cannot but revive our memories of the past, as well as encourage us in the future.
Thirty-eight years ago—lacking only twelve years of half a century, there stood in line upon your fair grounds, six hundred young men, who there answered to their names and with uplifted hand: ''For God and Country," took the obligation required on muster into the United States service as the Seventy-sixth regiment, N. Y. volunteers. A few days later by the accession of our Otsego comrades the number was increased to 1,000. To-day according to our annual custom, we, the remnant, not only of that thousand, but as well of the thousand more who joined us to fill the places of those who had been expended in the service, meet as we will for a few short years more, on the anniversary of our muster. Each year we find that since the last meeting, some comrades have passed to await our coming at the great bivouac that ends all earthly marches. We mourn our dead as we did those who fell in battle, but bow to the will of the Great Commander as true soldiers must. We look once more into each other's faces and grasp the comrade's hand, and are again the "boys of '61." It is the red letter day of each year of our lives when we thus gather around our old shattered and blood stained flag.
We look back through the mists of the past to the events of that period. How vividly they pass before us again! We see on the one side an oligarchy seeking the ruin of the Republic it would not dominate—conventions declaring their states no longer a part of the nation, senators betraying their constituencies, muskets bought and regiments mustered, rosy lips singing the "Bonnie Blue Flag," the thunder of cannon in Charleston harbor, the flag of Sumter furled but not dishonored, the men of Boston attacked in the streets of Baltimore, the red fires of rebellion lighting the foreground and showing a darker background of manacled forms stretching forth their trembling hands.
Then came the uprising of the people gathering from the green fields and the populous towns, from workshop and from school, from the mills of New England and the mines of the Rocky mountains, the prairies of the West and hills of New York, a mighty host with strength of purpose to preserve the Union and to make it free.
Then came war, terrible and relentless the goddess of victory now with one side and then with the other as in Homer's wars—disaster for the republic, the malarial swamps of Chickahominy, Rappahannock red with patriot blood, the grim demons of Libby and of Andersonville.
But the great heart of the nation quailed not, stalwart hosts pushed to the front, the bankers safe [sic] became a mountain of patriotism, bright tresses were shorn and cast upon the counters as a "sacrifice" to the genius of victory, freedom at last assured by the pen of Lincoln. Now we see "the glory of the coming of the Lord," first gleaming in the West where rose the sun of Grant, Vicksburg sends greeting to Gettysburg, Sherman marches from the mountains to the sea, Sheridan rides up the Shenandoah, Thomas hurls back the legions of Hood in bloody rout, Farragut lashed to the maintop rides through a storm of shot to victory, Grant at last stands conqueror at Appomattox. The Union is restored and all the states are again welded into the great nation.
The men who stood up for muster in your beautiful town thirty-eight years ago were young men offering themselves to the government in its time of sore need. The war had ceased to have the appearance of a brilliant adventure, and the first 75,000 men who had gone gaily to the front with knightly plumes and colors to end the war in ninety days, had been driven back to Washington in tumultuous rout, and the grim cannon of a determined and victorious enemy were pointed at the capitol itself. War had become a stern reality that meant hardships and the doubtful chance of battle. For four long years this regiment marched and countermarched over the bloody fields of Virginia. Its record I am not here to relate. The dark names of Gainesville, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Coal Harbor, Petersburg to Appomattox, do they not tell of the weary march, of the cold bivouac, of the fierce battle where many a dear friend and true comrade went down in blood? To rehearse the names would be a long task for but few were left. Three times reduced to a skeleton and again filled up it returned a skeleton at last.
Our regimental associations have no selfish purpose and no desire to foster political or sectional animosities. No citizen rejoices more than the citizen soldier of 1861 to see the men of the former warring sections standing together, saluting the same flag, the dear old Stars and Stripes that represents freedom, and enlightenment the world over.
The comradeship of four years of hardship and danger holds these old soldiers together and their purpose is to hold up before the younger men of the country the high standard of union, nationality and patriotism, that has already led our country to the front of all the nations and makes it to be recognized and respected even beyond all others, as the exponent of enlightenment and universal peace.
Do not call these old veterans egotistical, but they do rejoice and feel that they have a part in the later war which brought so much glory to this great republic. Dewey and Watson, Sampson and Schley were the pupils of the admirals of our war and they, with Miles and Merritt, Shafter and Lee, Otis and Wheeler, and so many more of the great military commanders, served their apprenticeship and won their spurs in the campaigns of Grant and Sherman, Sheridan and Thomas, that other Lee and Johnson, of Farragut and Porter. It is the strong lessons and [virile] teaching of patriotism that the veterans have kept before their children and children's children, that caused another volunteer army to rally around the standards of the leaders, "for God and Country," forgetting old divisions.
Younger veterans of the last war, we who are about to die, salute you as our comrades and successors in the great work of National progress through the Union we tried to save!
To you older citizens we say that your words and acts of welcome carry us back in thought to the day of our muster. We remember how you then greeted us, feted us and cheered us on to our dangerous duty. We cannot forget the dark and bloody years that followed. Back of us you stood full of courage and good words, though our losses were your losses and your sufferings were as great as ours, for with us were your sons, fathers, brothers and husbands. Your hands and hearts were busy aiding us in our work, and without that assistance our efforts would have been futile.
We returned many times decimated, our old flag is torn by the bullets and shells and stained with blood of its defenders, but it was not dishonored or lost. The names upon it of the long list of Virginia battlefields tell the story of how we tried to do our duty, we know that you did yours, and to you as well as to us, was the victory. To-day we see that the years have not deadened your patriotism.
Citizens of Cortland we salute you as our comrades, not only in the terrible war but in the guardianship of the results of the war.
Again we thank you for this demonstration of your remembrance and approval, and of your love for the republic we served.
A selection by the orchestra was followed by the excellent rendition of a patriotic recitation by Mrs. Arthur G. Koeing, formerly Miss Winifred Smith, daughter of Comrade Nelson W. Smith of McGraw.
The memorial committee through its chairman, Dr. W. J. Burr, reported the four deaths as referred to yesterday in the report of the business session.
The annual address by Rev. U. S. Milbourn, pastor of the Universalist church, was one of the finest ever heard in Cortland on a similar occasion, and was substantially as follows:
Surviving Members of the Seventy-sixth New York, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am honored by being asked to deliver an address at this annual reunion of the gallant Seventy-sixth. No limitations have been placed upon me except as to time, and a polite hint that I should not preach. Evidently the committee have heard me try to preach, and naturally asked me not to attempt it this afternoon. It is with mingled feelings that I address you this afternoon. The old soldier is dear to my heart. I come naturally by this feeling. The G. A. R. badge was the only badge upon my father's breast.
I don't purpose to fight the war ever again. You did that pretty thoroughly yourselves from '61 to '65, and I doubt not that in these annual reunions when the peaceful public is not admitted the "Johnnies" are routed many, many times over. Your history as a regiment is too well known to need repeating here. What an honorable career! Participating in twenty-five battles, Gainsville, South Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville. For three days you struggled for victory at Gettysburg, losing half your men the first half hour of the fight. But why enumerate all these battles. These are fresh in your minds, but I would have the assembled people to-day know with whom they are associating—men whose love of country has been tested by fire; who offered their lives upon their country's altar. Ladies and gentlemen, you are in splendid company. You can never be in better.
Your comrades, many of them, are in unknown graves; they "rest where they wearied and lie where they fell," shrouded many in the soil which their lifeblood sanctified. It is no wonder, men, that you meet year after year in reunion, fight the battles over and enjoy, each recurring year with new avidity, the pranks of camp life, the incidents of the march, and the jokes of long ago. The tie which binds you together is a tie which cannot be appreciated nor understood by the uninitiated. Meet together as long as there are two of you to meet. Your meetings will be few at the best. How gray you boys are. Your sons are older than you when you left the service. Taps will be sounded for all e'er long. Lights out. No answer to the reveille. The whole regiment has been mustered into the larger service of God, but a nation and your children's children will keep sacred your memory.
Coming to our ears from the other side of the globe is the sound of carnage, the [face] of war's devastation, of burning cities and of dying men, in which America is one of the principals. After over a century of training do we forget our fathers, do we forget Concord and Bunker Hill and the emancipation proclamation? Do we forget the liberty which is bequeathed to us, and in our turn violate the trust and oppress those who are striving for freedom and liberty? As a result of the recent war with Spain, the Philippine Islands, more than 1,200 in number, with a population of 7,000,000 became the territory of the United States. Expansion has always been the principle of this government, as is shown from the widening of her domain from the original thirteen colonies to the purchase of Alaska. The acquisition of these islands is no [new] principle but the application of an old one in the far east. Since 1896 the natives have been in revolt with varying success against the tyranny and brutal oppression of Spain. They were in a state of revolt when this government came in possession. The Filipinos were granted all and more than they had asked for, originally, from Spain. But Aguinaldo, not representing the entire population, but a small following, demanded complete independence of the islands, and [set] up, what he called a government, with himself as dictator. Now, the question is asked, why not give them independence?
Why are we fighting them? Because in the first place, they are not fitted for self government. Spain has not permitted education on the islands except that which would correspond with the enlightenment of middle ages. If allowed to attempt self government it would be infinitely inferior to the government which the United States is establishing there. Revolt and insurrection and internal turmoil would be without ceasing until at last—and this is the second reason why we should maintain supremacy there—some other nation, possibly Spain, will again obtain possession of the islands, and set up a government, if not as vicious as the one from which the United States released the people, at least a great deal inferior to the one which the government will maintain there.
Whatever the criticism of those who for political effect are criticizing the government in the present war, my own opinion is that it is one of the great onward movements which this nation has made in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. This nation, with the help of God, is making history, which in the centuries to come will brighten the pages of the chronicle of these stirring and grand times. She will be known by her fruit, and the fruit of the Spanish and Philippine wars. However we might deprecate carnage and pray for the success of the results of the peace conference in the House in the Woods at The Hague. There will be free schools, free religion, and a free people in the fair islands of the eastern and western seas. May the flag which means more to the down trodden of the world than any other, float each year over a fairer country and a freer people. May we be true as the blue, pure as the white, brave as the red. May we, by our Christian citizenship make the nation stronger and her institutions more eternal. Let us be loyal to our country, though it has not a perfect government, ''with all her faults she is my country still." It is our duty to make those faults less. If we would hang the map of the world upon the wall, and take a universal history in our lap and study the nations of the world or, if we would take the greyhounds of the sea, and the rolling palaces of the rail and visit all the nations on the earth, at the conclusion of our study or end of our journey, looking toward America's fair shores, where the Stars and Stripes float over a land of the free and the home of the brave, we could but exclaim she is the dearest, the best, the grandest of all.
On motion of Aaron Sager, Rev. John T. Stone, Rev. U. S. Milburn and Rev. W. J. Howell were made honorary members of the association and the following resolution was adopted:
Resolved, That the thanks of this association be tendered to the speakers who have stirred our hearts with their words of welcome and cheer, to our clerical friends who consented to take their places on our program, to Mrs. Arthur G. Koenig who so beautifully rendered her selection, to Grover post No. 98, G. A. R. who so generously opened its rooms for the use of the association, and all others who have contributed to the success of our reunion.
The afternoon program came to a close with the singing of America and the benediction by Rev. W. J. Howell, pastor of the First Baptist church.
At the morning session dispatches were read from Moses M. Whitney of Washington, D. C, and Dr. George Post of Montour Falls, also letters from G. D. Crittenden of Santa Fe, N. M., U. A. Burnham of Duluth, Minn., E. George Hall of New Berlin, J. S. Loomis of Sherburne, Wm. Volk of East Albany and Harrison Goldsmith of Hicks, Chemung county.
The reunion was brought to a close with a campfire in the assembly room in Grand Army hall in the evening. Mr. Sager presided, and called out "the boys" in the following order, all of whom responded happily: G. W. Wolcott, H. M. Kellogg, O. P. Miner, Mr. Pierce of Elmira, R. L. Davis, Martin Edgcomb, H. B. Greenman, G. W. Edgcomb, P. A. Norton and Rev. W. J. Howell, pastor of the First Baptist church. A number of army songs were sung under the| leadership of Mr. G. W. Edgcomb.
Addendum—Rev. Ulysses Sumner Milburn, pastor of the Universalist church, was born in the little hamlet of Black Lick, ten miles east of Columbus, Ohio, December 16th, 1865. He attended the district schools of that state and for three years taught in the same schools. His thoughts were early inclined toward the profession of ministry, and to prepare himself for that work he entered the Divinity school of the St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York, from which institution he was graduated in 1891. At London, Ohio, he was ordained in October of the same year, and preached there for sixteen months when he was called to Baltimore, Md., as associate pastor of the Second Universalist church, his co-worker being Rev. Royal H. Pullman, D. D. He remained in that position for about a year and a half, when he became pastor of the First Universalist church of Cincinnati. For over four years he performed the arduous duties as pastor of a large city parish, the society during that time erecting a handsome stone church, and also a business block costing $20,000.00 on a lot owned by the church. In October, 1898, he came to Cortland. Grip's Historical Souvenir of Cortland.
BREVITIES.
—The state Y. P. S. C. E. convention will meet in Binghamton in 1900.
—Secretary F. K. Armstrong of the Y. M. C. A. will have charge of the prayer-meeting at the Congregational church this evening.
—New display advertisements to-day are—C. F.
Brown, Roof paints, page 7; Stowell, Make room sale, page 8; Shepard, Millinery
opening, page 7; Theo. Stevenson,
House for sale, page 4.
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