Speeches of Benjamin Harrison, Twenty-third President of the United StatesHarrison, Benjamin
History
Speeches of Benjamin Harrison, Twenty-third President of the United States
Harrison, Benjamin
Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901; Speeches, addresses, etc., American; United States -- Politics and government
After the regiment had been recruited Lieutenant Harrison was elected
Captain of Company A, and when the regiment was organized, August
7, 1862, Captain Harrison was commissioned its colonel. It left
Indianapolis for the front August 13, 1862, and returned thirty-four
months later, with a loss of 189 men. It participated in eleven
engagements, including Resaca, Kenesaw, Marietta, Peach Tree Creek,
Atlanta, Savannah and Bentonville. The regiment was a part of Sherman's
army, and was attached to the First Brigade, Third Division, Twentieth
Corps. For several years past General Harrison has been successively
chosen President of the Regimental Association.
Several hundred veterans, with their families, accompanied the General
from Indianapolis, and were greeted at Clayton by five thousand people.
Three hundred veterans of the Seventieth saluted their Colonel as
he walked to the front and, assuming command, led the column to a
neighboring grove, where the exercises of the day were held. It was the
largest reunion in the history of the Association. Among the prominent
non-resident members in attendance were Lieutenant-Colonel James Burghs,
of Topeka; Capt. Wm. M. Meredith, Chicago (he was captain of Company
E, the color company of the regiment); Captain Tansey, now Judge,
of Winfield, Kansas; Captain Willis Record, of Nebraska; Lieutenant
Hardenbrook and Private Snow, of Kansas, and Cyrus Butterfield, of
Minneapolis. The orator of the day was Comrade J. M. Brown.
General Harrison, as President of the Association, presided. The
proceedings were opened with prayer by Comrade J. H. Meteer, followed by
an address of welcome by Miss Mary L. Mitchell, daughter of Captain W.
C. Mitchell, who directed her closing remarks to General Harrison.
With great earnestness the General replied as follows:
_Miss Mitchell_--I feel quite incompetent to discharge the duty
that now devolves upon me--that of making suitable response to the
touching, cordial and sympathetic words which you have addressed to
us. We thank you and the good citizens of Clayton, for whom you have
spoken, that you have opened your hearts so fully to us to-day. I am
sure we have never assembled under circumstances more attractive than
those that now surround us. The mellow sunshine of this autumn-time
that falls upon us, the balmy air which moves the leaves of those
shadowing trees, the sweet calm and spell of nature that is over
everything, makes the day one of those that may be described in the
language of the old poet as
"A bridal of the earth and sky."
Your hospitable welcome makes us feel at home, and in behalf of this
large representation of our regiment, possibly the largest that has
assembled since the close of the war, gathered not only from these
adjacent counties, but from distant homes beyond the Mississippi and
the Missouri, I give you to-day in return our most hearty thanks for
your great kindness.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account