Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 May 1897 — G. A. R. AT RICHMOND. [ARTICLE]

G. A. R. AT RICHMOND.

ANNUAL ENCAMPMENT OF INDIANA DEPARTMENT. Soaking Rainstorm Mars the Pleasure of the First Day—Gov. Mount and Staff of Forty Participate —J. 8. Dodge of Elkhart Chosen Commander Veterans in Reunion, Richmond was crowded with the Grand Army boys in attendance upon the eighteenth annual encampment. They took the town, and nothing was too good for the visitors. The headquarters train arrived Tuesday afternoon from Indianapolis, and was met at the depot by the members of Sol Meredith Post. , The plentiful decoration of bunting received a soaking, and much of it looked badly “frazzled.” Everything was thoroughly soaked, and the whole was a great disappointment to the people of the city, who had set their hearts on outdoing any city in the State that had ever entertained the encampment. The rain also caused trouble at the depot, where the people who came in were compelled to stand and wait until they could be eared for. This resulted in a jam, but the reception and transportation committees did their work well, and the depot was emptied soon after the trains had pulled out. The official program began Tuesday evening with a meeting of the council of administration. At the Pythian Temple t!he Ladies of the G. A. R. had some degree work. This was previous to a public reception given at the Westcott by the local members of the W. R. C. and the Ladies of the G. A. R. There was no program carried out at this event, but it was simply for the renewing of old acquaintances and the innkiug of new ones. At the Phillips Opera House, George H. Thomas Post of Indianapolis conferred degrees on a Richmond candidate. This was witnessed by a large number of members of the organization, visitors from various parts of the State being especially anxious to see it on account of the reputation the post has for excellent work. The department officers of tho-W. It. C. and the Ladies the G. A. R. arrived Tuesday and we’re received in good style. The Indies of the Grand Army were conspicuous in the best room in the Westcott. They are small in numbers, but they are always to the front. Major Clarkson, commander-in-chief, arrived from Cincinnati and attended the reception. The reception was a great success. The hotel was thronged with people for two hours. Short speeches were to have been made by Gen. AVallace and Commander-in-Chief Clarkson, but there was no opportunity. The attendance was unusually large, thunks to Col. Ford of the Pennsylvania for the one-cent-a-mile rate. The business session of the encampment began Wednesday morning. Fully 10,000 people were in attendance. In connection with this meeting was held also the fourteenth annual convention of the Woman’s Relief Corps, the fourth convention of the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic, and the annual meeting of the Loyal Legion. At the business session of the Grand Army an address of welcome was made by Mayor J. S. Ostrander and a response by Gen. Lew Wallace. Commander H. M. Cnylor presented his annual address, and reports submitted by the assistant adjutant general allow the active membership to he 19,500. There were 300 deaths during the year and six more posts disbanded than were formed. Major T. S. Clarkson of Omaha, commander-in-chief, was present and made a brief address. Columbus secured the encampment for 189 S. The parade occurred in the afternoon, and was one of the finest in the history of the department. Gov. Mount and his staff of forty members participated. In the evening four camp fires were held, nt which the chief speakers were Gen. Wallace and Gov. Mount. The encampment, came to an end Thursday. The most important matter was the election of officers, which resulted: Grand Army—Commander, J. 8. Dodge, Elkhart; senior vice, John W. Tingle, Richmond; junior vice, J. D. White, Lafayette; chaplain, Rev. A. Murphy, Greensburg; medical director, F. W. Warford, Cicero- delegate-at-large, Gen. Lew Wallace.

Woman’s Relief Corps—President, Mrs. Mary Travis, Crawfordsville; senior vice, Mrs. Mary Swain, Richmond; junior vice, Mary Edwards, Slielbyvilfe; chaplain, Mrs. Rachel Kenyon, Westfield; treasurer, Jennie Hutchinson, Crawfordsville; secretary, Blanche Gould, Crawfordsville; counselor, Mrs. Mary Sims, Frankfort; instituting and installing officer, Alice Waugh, Tipton; delegate-at-large, Kate Stormont, Princeton. Ladies of the G. A. R. —President, Mrs. Con Graves, Lafayette; senior vice, Lucy Coleman, Elkhart; junior vice, Mary Newman, Richmond; treasurer, Mrs. Mary Frary, Warsaw; counselor, Mrs. Etta Toby, Logansport. Loyal Legion—Commander, Gen. Lew Wallace, Crawfordsville; senior vice, Will Cumback, Greenshurg; junior vice, 0. E. Briant, Huntington; recorder; Col. Z. A. Smith, Indianapolis; treasurer, Horace McKay, Indianapolis; chaplain, Rt. Rev. William Corbe, Notre Dame; chancellor, Elder Cooper, Evansville; registrar, John E. Clelland, Indianapolis. In the Grand Army a report was made condemning Montgomery’s school history on account of alleged inaccuracies regarding the civil war and demanding that the State Board of Education reject it. The Ladies of the G. A. R. voted against consolidation with the W. R. C. The State encampment is the event of the year in the life of hundreds of old soldiers. For weeks they talk of it and take the earliest train to the city where the meeting is held. This year was no exception, or, if an exception, it is that the interest was greater. The streets were early thronged with hundreds of old men wearing some military emblem, but always the badge or button of the G. A. R. Many wore corps badges. Of these there are thirty odd. To the present generation they have no significance. But the veteran who sees the acorn over the heart of a comrade knows that the wearer belonged to Thomas’ old corps, the Fourteenth, and was at Chickamauga. If the insignia be a diamond with a cartridge box in the center, he knows that the wearer belonged to the Fifteenth corps. If the insignia be the trefoil the veteran knows that the wearer was with Hancock in the Second corps, and that the Nineteenth and Twentieth Indiana wore it. During the war every man knew that his corps did the most fighting; now the old man is certain that his corps put down the rebellion. The old men were as excited and gleeful as boys." They told of the past, lived in it, revised its history. But how the years are telling on them! The man who said that 20,000 of them in Indiana would go to fight for Cuba should have seeu them, and taken note of the effect of years as they tried to march; hut few of them could keep step to the time of music. A fatal accident occurred at the residence of George Osborne, a farmer near Bourbon. HU niece, Miss Wilson, was putting; down a carpet. There was a shotgun In the room and,the 9-year-old son of Mr. Osborne picked it up to carry it Into another awn, when it was acci-