Sangamon County, Illinois - City of Springfield 563, 1881 (part 16 of 25)

On November 7, moved camp to Black river. On the 25th of November, the regiments of the First Brigade, viz: Twentieth, Twenty-ninth, Thirty-first, F'orty-fifth and One Hundred and Twenty fourth Illinois, and Twenty-third Indiana, engaged in a prize drill, the Thirty-first Illinois excelling in drill, and the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth in picket duty, etc. But at a subsequent contest for a prize banner, offered by Brigadier General Leggett, commanding division, the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth received the banner, inscribed "Excelsior Regiment, Third Division, Seventeenth Army Corps," from the hands of Major General McPherson, for excelling in soldiery appearance, discipline, and drill.

On February 3, 1864, commenced the raid to Meriden. On the 14th, had a severe skirmish with the enemy at Chunkey Station. Returned to Vicksburg, March 4th. On May 4th, under Brigadier General McArthur, moved toward Benton and Yazoo City. Was engaged at Benton on the 7th and 10th, and returned on the 21st.

From July Ist to 9th, the regiment moved with General Slocum on his Jackson campaign, and was engaged in the sharp fights at Jackson Cross Roads, July 5th and 7th.

From October 14th to 26th, was in campaign to White river and Memphis. Remained at Vicksburg on provost duty February 25, 1865, when the regiment moved to New Orleans, and was assigned to the Third Brigade, Colonel James A, Geddes, Eighth Iowa, commanding; Third Division, Brigadier General Carr commanding.

The regiment was the extreme left of the investing line, and with one-half deployed as skirmishers, drove the enemy vv'ithin their fortifications.

The brigade consisted of Eighth Iowa, Eightyfirst, One Hundred and Eighth and One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois, and was engaged until the surrender of the fort. On the 13th of April, started for Montgomery.

On July 1*7, 1865, the regiment started home for muster-out. Arrived at Chicago, Illinois, August 3d, and was mustered out August 15, 1865, by Captain George W. Hill, United States Army.

The One Hundred and Thirtieth Infantry Illinois Volunteers was organized at Camp Butler, Illinois, in October, 1862, by Colonel Nathaniel Niles, and was mustered in October 25. Moved from Camp Butler November 10, and arrived at Memphis, Tennessee, on the ISth, and was assigned to provost duty.

The regiment was mustered out of service August 15, 1865, at New Orleans, Louisiana, and arrived at Camp Butler, August 26, 1865, where it received tinal payment and discharge.

Infantry

The One Hundred and Thirty-third Infantry, Illinois Volunteers, was organized at Camp Butler, Illinois, by Colonel Thaddeus Phillips, and mustered in lor one hundred days May 31, 1864.

On the 3d of June, moved to Rock Island Barracks, and was assigned to duty, guarding prisoners of war. The regiment performed the duty faithfully and efficiently during its term of service.

The One Hundred and P'orty-nintli Infantry Illinois Volunteers, was organized at Camp Butler, Illinois, on February II, 1865, by Col. William C Kueffner, and mustered in lor one year. On February 14, moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and from thence to Chattanooga. Was assigned by Major General Steadman to duty guarding railroads. On May 1, was assigned to Colonel Felix Prince Salra's Second Brigade, Second Separate Division, Army of the Cumberland, and on the 2d, moved to Dalton, Georgia. On July 6, moved to Atlanta. On -iOth, being assigned to duty in the Fourth sub-district of Allatoona, it was assigned to guard duty in that district.

The One Hundred and Fifty-second Infantry, Illinois Volunteers, was organized at Camp Butler, Illinois, by Colonel Ferdinand D. Stephenson, and was mustered in February 18, 1865, for one year.

The regiment was mustered out of service to date, September 11, 1865, at Memphis, Tennessee, and arrived at Camp Butler, Illinois, September 9, 1865, when it received its final payment and discharge.

The regiment moved to St. Louis, Missouri, September 25th, October Ist, moved up the Missouri river to JeflFerson City, and from thence marched to Warsaw, arriving October 11th.

On the 23d, marched toward Springfield, Missouri, in Colonel Carr's Brigade, Brigadier General Asboth's Division. On November 2d, General Hunter took command of the Army. On November 13th, the First and Second Battalion!? moved with the army on Rolla, Missouri. The Third Battalion, Major Ruggles commanding, remained with Siegel's Division, and was the last to leave Springfield.

Arriving at Rolla, November 19th, the regiment remained until December 29th, when it moved in the advance of General Curtis' Army for the Southwest. On February 11th, the regiment in Carr's Division moved to Marshfield, and on the 1 3th to near Springfield, where cavalry fought the first engagement and won the first victory of Curtis' campaign.

On February 14, 1862, occupied Springfield, Missouri. On the 15th, came up with Price's retreating army, at Crane creek, capturing some prisoners. On 18th, at Sugar creek, Arkansas, the Third Battalion participated in a cavalry charge, routing the enemy. On the 20th, the Second Battalion marched to Cross Hollows, and on March 5th fell back to Pea Ridge. On the 6th, the First and Third Battalions marched with Colonel Vandever's Brigade from Iluntsville, forty-eight miles.

On the 7th, the First and Third Battalions in Dodge's Brigade, and the Second in Vandever's were engaged all day, losing ten killed and forty wounded.

March 19th, moved to Keetsville. Lieutenant Colonel McCrillis and Major Hubbard arrived and went on duty. April 10th, arrived at Forsyth, and on 9th moved to West Plains, and May 1st started for Batesvil'e, arriving on 3d, On May 14, 1862, moved to Little Red river. On 25th, while crossing White river. Captain McLelland and five men Avere drowned. On June 4, the regiment fell back to Fairview.

Returned to J^atesville on the 11th. June 11, marched to Jacksonport. July 5, moved, with the army, for lielena, where it arrived on the 15th, and went into camp. During the stay at this point, detachments of the regiment were sent on scouts and expeditions to different places, including Captain Kirlcbridge's raid to St. Francis river, and live companies with General Hovey's raid to Grenada, Mississippi.

Companies E and G were on duty with Gen- Carr, at St. Louis. Companies A, K, F and M, Captain Carnahan commanding, reported to Brigadier General Steele, at the mouth of the Yazoo river.

At Chickasaw Bayou, the regiment was detailed as pickets and escorts for commanding generals, and did good service in the disastrous attack on Vicksburg. Companies A, K, L and M, being the last to embark after battle.

In the Spring of 1863, Colonel McCrillis, with a battalion, moved to Memphis, leaving Company L, as escort to Major General McClernand and Captain Carnahan, with Companies A, G, K and E, with Brigadier General P. J. Osterhaus and the Thirteenth Corps. This battalion took part in the battles of Port Gibson, Champion Hills, Black River Bridge, and the siege of Vicksburg.

August 16, 1863, reporting to Major General N, P. Banks, was assigned to Brigadier General Lee's Cavalry Division, and took part in the Western Louisiana campaign, and at Verrailionville, Opelousas and Carrion Crow Bayou.

In December, 1864, Major O'Connor took command of the battalion, and it moved to Port Hudson, and thence to Memphis, Tennessee, rejoining the regiment. The regiment had meantime particij^ated in the battles of Tupelo, Okolona and Guntown, Mississippi.

During the month of July, a large portion of the regiment re-enlisted as veterans. The nonveterans under Major O'Connor were stationed as garrison at Germantown, Tennessee. In July, 1864, a portion of the regiment, Captain Carnahan commanding, went on a scout through western Kentucky. August 24, the non-veterans having been mustered out, the veterans were consolidated into a battalion of six companies, and Captain Carnahan promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.

On September 27, tliey left Memphis and crossed the Tennessee at Clifton, and confronted Hood's army. Fell back skirmisliing, and took part in the battles of Lawrencelnirg, Spring Hill, Campbellville, and Franklin.

On December 15, in the First Brigade, Fifth Division, Brigadier General Hatch commanding, Avas on the right of the army when it turned the enemy's left, and was first in the enemy's works.

In January, 1865, the enemy having been driven across the Tennessee, the cavalry under General Wilson camped at Gravelly Springs, Alabama, and in February moved to Eastport.

On July 4, started on an Indian expedition over the plains of Minnesota and Dakota - north to the British lines, and south and west to Devil's Lake and Fort Bartholet - and returned to Fort Snelling, October 1. Arrived at Springfield, Illinois, October 13, 1865, and was mustered out of service.

The promotions from Sangamon county were as follows: Lafayette McCrillis, Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel; Jesse W. Bice, Sergeant to First Lieutenant, Captain and Major; Joshua Tuthill, Second to First Lieutenant; Harrison L. Bruce, Sergeant to Second and to First Lieutenant; James W. Kincaid, Sergeant to Second Lieutenant.

Buff, Henry Bowers, Asa Bancroft, George Burgess, John Brown, James or John Crowder, Henry Camp, William J. Dinkle, John A. Evans, William D.

Of Sangamon county men, the following promotions were made: Dudley Wickersham, from Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel; James Stuart, Adjutant to Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel; Samuel N. Hitt, Captain to Major and Lieutenant Colonel; Marshall L. Stephenson, Major and Colonel Arkansas Volunteers; Gideon Bi-ainard, to Adjutant; Henry Turney, Battalion Adjutant; Thomas D. Vredenburgh, Second to First Lieutenant, Battalion Adjutant and Major; Thomas O'Conner, Sergeant to Second and First Lieutenant and Captain; Jopeph C. Johns, Private to Second and First Lieutenant; Byron L. Crouch, Corporal to Second and First Lieutenant and Captain; John S. Vredenburgh, Private to Second and First Lieutenant and Captain; John P. Kavanaugh, Private to Second Lieutenant; James E. Butler, Private to Second Lieutenant; William Sands, Richard C. I Keiley, First Lieutenant to Captain; William A,

Montgomery, Sergeant to First Lieutenant; Alexander Rucker, Corporal to Second Lieutenant; Tabner B. Pierce, Quartermaster Sergeant to First Lieutenant, Captain and Major; Barton W. Fox, Private to Second Lieutenant; John A. Koontz, Private to Second Lieutenant; John G. Roberts, First Lieutenant to Captain; Elhanen J. Gearle, First Lieutenant to Captain, and Lieutenant Colonel First Arkansas regiment.

Springfield Light Artillery

This battery was organized at Camp Butler, Illinois, by Captain Thomas F. Vaughn, and was known as the " Springfield Light Artillery." It was mustered in August 21, 1862.

November 1, moved to Columbus, Kentucky, and on the 8th, to Bolivar, Tennessee. December 18, moved to Jackson with the command of Brigadier General M. Brayman. Was engaged in several expeditions from Jackson during the winter. On June 6, 1863, left Bolivar, and was stationed on the Memphis & Charleston railroad - one section at Moscow, Lieutenant Thomas commanding; one at Germantown, Lieutenant Stillings cotnmanding, and one at Collierville, Lieutenant Colby commanding.

On June 20th, the battery was united, and assigned to Second Brigade, First Division, Sixteenth Army Corps, Colonel James M. True commanding brigade, and started for Little Rock, Arkansas, and participated in its capture September 10, 1868.

One section of the battery. Lieutenant Colby commanding, was ordered to Lewisburg, where it remained until March 16. 1864. The battery was then assigned to the Second Brigade, First Division, Seventh Army Corps.

It then moved with General Steele's expedidition to Camden, Arkansas, participating in the several skirmishes of the campaign, and the battles of Prairie D'Arm and at Jenkin's Ferry, when the battery, being with the rear guard,

Roll Of Honor

"It is sweet and honorable to die for one's country." Thus it can be written over the graves of many thousands of men who now sleep the "sleep of death" in soldiers' graves. Sangamon county has furnished her quota of noble dead, as will be seen by the following roll, embracing names of some of the bravest and best of her sons. They are gone, but their names are I'everently remembered by a grateful people. They are gone, but their deeds are remembered. Let them sleep on, while their praises are being sung through all coming time. Following are the names:

Fisher, John B., died at Cairo, December 13, 1S61. Frankh'n, Luther, 'died June 10, 1864, of wounds. Fortune^ Francis A., died at Nashville, Tenn., February 6, 1863.

Hurd, Stephen, died at Memphis, September 12, 1S62. Ham, William P., died May 11, 1862. Harvey, James, died at Arkansas Post, January 11, 1863.

Lawrence, Henry F., ditd at Memphis, Ma}- 10, 1864. Lanhem, George W , died June 27, 1S63 of wounds. Lottis, John, died at Memphis, February 21, 1863. Little, Joseph A., died at Helena, Arkansas, October 12, 1862.

Miller, William, died at Vicksburg, March 14, 1864. Maag, Charles W., killed at Vicksburg May 22, 1863. McDonald, James, died at Pilot Knob, Missouri, January 4, 1863.

Transfer Of The Battle Flags

When the boys came marching home they brought with them their war-worn battle flags, and deposited them in the State Arsenal. When the new State House was built, a room was prepared as a memorial hall, in which were to be deposited the flags and such trophies tliat were captured or collected during the war.

A grand re-union of the boys in blue was made the occasion for the transfer of the flags and trophies. Grand preparations were made and a programme of ceremonies was arranged, and Thursday, May 23, 1878, was appointed the day in which the transfer would be made. Thousands of boys in blue and citizens were upon the street at an early hour. The Illinois National Guards and the Veterans were formed in line. Shortly after noon the column moved, headed by the Marshal-in-Chief, Major General John A. McClernand, and his aides. Then came the Second Brigade I. N. G., as escort, with Brigadier General Reece and his staff; the brigade being composed of the Fifth Regiment, Colonel J. H. Barkley, commanding, and companies above noted of other regiments, and a section of Captain Mack's Battery, another section being engaged tiring a National salute.

The Second Division, General John McConnel, Marshal, was composed of representatives of the First to the Seventeenth Cavalry, and presented a fine appearance. Besides the division commander and staff, there were sixtyfour cavalrymen in line.

The Third Division (artillery) was commanded by General Thomas S. Mather, who, with his aides and command, marched in line. They were representatives of the First and Second Regiments, Vaughn's, Henshaw's, the Mercantile, and the Board of Trade Batteries and the Artillery Brigade. Following came the surviving members of Governor Yates' War Administration and the orators of the day, in carriages. After the Fifth Regiment band, came the First and largest division, commanded by Major General John M. Palmer, with General Richard

The Infantry division included numerous representatives hum every Illinois regiment, except the One Hundred and Third. The men inarched with the old time military "swing." In the line, and noticeable, was a one-legged veteran, John T. Sergeant cf the Thirty-second, whose other leg was left on the battle iield at Shiloh. He, with a cripple in the Artillery Division, attracted more than ordinary attention on the line of march. The infantry, exclusive of division and staff officers, numbered seven hundred and seventy-four men, and there were also in line thirty-two veterans of the Twentyninth United States Infantry, colored.

Colonel Dudley Wickersham commanded the next division, wnich was c imposed of eighteen veterans of the Mexican war, twenty-seven of the Black Hawk and Winnebago wars, and twenty-seven veterans of other States, among the number a Massachusetts officer, who had served on General Benjamin F. Butler's staff.

The column moved according to the order of march previously announced. Along the line there was waving of handkerchiefs from the windows of private residences, and every demonstration of pleasure in the presence of the veterans. In passing Ex-Mayor Jayne's residence, where a handsome portrait of Governor Yates was conspicuously displayed and decorated, there were cheers all along the line. The procession then moved south and halted at the State Arsenal, where the old battle flags were delivered to the veterans, and many of them receiving the colors, were those who had borne them amid the carnage of battle.

While the flags were being delivered, the bands played the Star Spangled Banner and other national airs, and there was much enthusiasm, which a heavy rain shower that suddenly set in did not dampen. From the Arsenal, the procession moved south on Fifth street, and turning to Eighth, the old Lincoln home was passed, amid cheers all along the line. Turning west again, the column passed through the Executive Mansion grounds. Governor CuUom and his staff reviewing the same from the steps. The procession then moved direct to the State House. The Artillery Division had received a recruit by the way, in the person of Master Tingley Wood, Jr., who wore a small, but regulation, heavy artillery uniform.

dor steps, the veterans formed en masse, "bunching colors," in front of the principal entrance, and were surrounded by the Illinois National Guard. The colors being massed, Chief Marshal McClernand made his report to the Govern<jr, in the following elo(}uent remarks :

"Governor: - As Marshal of the day, I have the honor to report to your Excellency that, agreeable to arrangement, I have brought the treasured flags and trophies, lately hxlged in the public arsenal, to this place. It remains for the Adjutant General of the State, formally and officially, to present them to your Excellency, for such order for their final disposition as your Excellency may be pleased to make. This said, I may be permitted to add that, in the part assigned to me on this occasion, I have had the hearty co-operation of a body of the veterans of the several wars, and of a portion of the organized militia, who attend the veterans as an honorary escort. Honor to both ! While the militia, by their soldierly bearing, attest the signal zeal applied by yotir Excellency to foster the martial spirit of Illinoisans, the veterans, on their part, afford an expressive memorial of duty victorionsly performed in the times that tiied men's souls. It is true, some of them are maimed of an arm, or a leg, or an eye; that some of them are wrinkled by age and the wear and tear of long and arduous campaigns, yet they are here once more, to lift their loving and moistened eyes upon the tattered ensigns which they undauntedly upheld amid the fire and thunder of siege and battle. Alas ! many of their former comrades are absent. Where are they ? Silence answers : they are dead I Let us pause to dwell for a moment upon the memories of at least a few of these. Foremost of this revered list is Abraham Lincoln, variously the poor and friendless boy, the genial com])anion, the able lawyer and dialectician, the wary statesman, the patriotic President, the honored Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the Ignited States. Jackson, "the military," one of his predecessors, had aforetime suppressed the seed of disunion, taking the specious form of nullification, by the threat of defiance; but, in later and more disorderly times, sometliing more was required to cut oft" this second growth. Lincoln, the man of peace and gentleness, .was equal, nay, superior to the emergency. With one hand he scattered the swarming assailants of the Union; with the other, he raised up an enslaved race to freedom and equality before the law. Thus, at the same time performing a double act of salvation, national and individual, unsurpassed in the annals of man. His sentiments were in accord with his deeds. He taught the doctrine of the broadest democracy : that ours was ' a government of the people, by the people, for the people.'

"He exemplified the broadest precei)ts of humanity, ' Charity for all; malice toward none.' His tragic martyrdom struck the Nation dumb, while it completed the pathos of his life and character. Illustrious man I his name will ring through the coming ages as one of the noblest of liberators and benefactors.

"Another of the worthy dead is Richard Yates, a remarkable man. To portray his character is a difHcult, if not an impossible task. It was a mosaic; its shades set out its brighter hues in striking and lustrous relief. He was a man to be judged by his own standard. He was chivalrous and honorable; impulsive and generous; ardent and imaginative, ambitious and patriotic. Viewing everything from an elevation, he clothed it with the classic beauty of his own ideals. His eloquence was as the harp inlaid with gems, and strung with strands of gold to the softest or wildest melody. At times it swayed the Senate; at times it stirred or stilled the wondering multitude. Executive vigor and detei'mination won for him the title of the great War Governor of Illinois. His virtues noticed, his intirraaties are not denied. He had his faults, but they were the excess and reaction of an excitable and impressionable nature; of a preternatural exultation and perturbation of mind and sense, born of a stormy period of conflicting ideas, sentiments and opinions. It was of him like the great bard of Avon sung, 'A rarer spirit never did steer humanity; but you Gods, you will give us faults to make us mortals.'

" Wallace, Ransom, Raith, Mudd, Schwartz and a host of others are also dead. Braver and truer men never lived. Not a few of us here have seen them kindled with the intoxicating transport of the conflict; have seen them mount the deadly breach, deliver and resist the headlong onset and conquer, when all was upon the hazzard. No more shall we receive and return soldierly congratulations. No more shall we hear them, with laughing jest, recount their desperate encounters and hairbreadth escapes. No more shall we see them, until we have passed that bourne from which no traveler returns. Our tears bedew their graves, which are strewn with the garlands of our afflictions. The triumph of their country shall be indistinct yet eloquent memorials to future generations. War over, let the bitterness which engendered it pass away forever. Peace returned, let all our paths be now the paths of peace. Let all our councils, North and South, East and West, everywhere through our broad land, which extends from ocean to ocean, be the counsels of accord, fraternity and unity."

Adjutant General Ililliard followed briefly in formal presentation of the flags, and the Governor responded with the following address, being frequently interrupted by applause:

" General and Soldiers of Illinois arid of the Union: It gives me great pleasure to address you for a few minutes on this interesting occasion. I have not words to express to you the feelings of my heart as I stand before you. As you have said you are here in response to orders' and invitations, bringing with you those priceless battle flags, which you have carried before on many a bloody battle fleld, and clung to in victory and defeat.

"I recognize among you men who, as soldiers, served the country in the early history of our State, in the Black Hawk war, clearing the way in this garden region of the West for the civilization which followed, and which we now enjoy. The colors you carried there have decayed and gone. I see before me soldiers who were in the Mexican war, who volunteered to defend our National honor. Your flags and banners, too, are gone. The numbers of patriotic men who served the country in the wars with the Indians and with Mexico, are comparatively few. Your ranks are thinned out in the march of time, and in a few more years your patriotic record alone will be left to tell the story of your devotion to your country. It will not be long before the men who fought by the side of Hardin, Harris, Baker, Bissell, and Shields on the fleld of Buena Vista, all of whom were as brave and ))atriotic men as ever stepped to the music of the Union, and all but the last of whom have long since rendered their account to the great Ruler of men and nations, and the last of whom is now a living example of courage, energy, and patriotism, will pass away, and history will take their places, to tell the generations to come what they did in response to their country's call. I see before me not a few, but thousands of citizen soldiers, who were in the last great war - men who fought for the integrity of the Union against a causeless and wicked rebellion. You come here to-day, carrying with you your old flags and banners. Your presence as old sol- diers speaks louder and stronger to the people of the State and Nation than words. \'oluines would not contain all your presence implies About thirteen years ago you were returning home after years of struggle with the enemy. The ranks of your companies and regiments w^ere depleted. You came back to your State, whose honor and glory you so nobly sustained, tired, worn out, and sick, yet with buoyant hearts, because you were coming home to your families and friends with victory inscribed on your banners and the integrity of our grand old Union established. Y^ou had these old flags with you then. As now, they were tattered and torn - blood-stained - some of them nearly shot away. Many of them had been presented to you by your wives, sisters, and friends when you started to the war. Y^ou brought them back, and as one regiment after another came home and was mustered out, you placed those colors in the old arsenal in charge of Adjutant-General Haynie, a gallant soldier, now gone to his long home, where they have remained until to-day.

"The Constitution and laws of our State require that the military records, banners and relics of the State shall be preserved as an enduring memorial of the patriotism and valor of Illinois. In obedience to these provisions, and for the safe-keeping of the flags, the time has come for transferring them to a safer place. You now place them where they will remain and be cared for, and safely guarded, aye, for generations to come.

" They, and you who carried them in the time of National peril, represent the life, the integrity of the Nation. The history of our State chronicles three struggles in which Illinois men took part: The war with the Indians, in 1812; the Mexican war, in 1846-7; and the great civil war, in 1861-5, besides the Mormon and Winnebago wars. Nations, as a rule, do not become established on right principles and great, without struggles in which the power of the sword is invoked. Our Government has not been an exception to the rule. Its progress and development has met with resistance. Civilization never makes progress without opposition. Its victories are all won, and the condition of the world improved only by the brave men pressing forward in support of right principles, and by hard fighting at every step. Such men are benefactors of the race. When Government is assailed it must be defended, or fall; and the men who take their lives in their hands, and go forth to defend their country and flag, and, as in the late great war, defend liberty and the Union and raise the civilization of the people to a higher plane, are truly benefactois of the race, and entitled to the eternal gratitude of their fellows. You represent every struggle in which the country has been engaged since Illinois became a State. You have successfully defended the Nation's life and honor. I look upon these old battle flags as you carry them the last time. They represent the glory and nationality of our country. The American flag is dear to every patriotic heart in the land, but those flags and banners are dearer to you who carried and followed them on the march and field, than to anyone else.

"That flag is respected everywhere, on land and sea. It represents power; it represents Union and Liberty, and it represenis 'a government of, by and for the people.' While you are engaged in the pleasant duty of transferring the flags, banners and relics, you are doubtless remembered of the time when yen enlisted for the war; you are reminded of the old rallying song:

"Y'^ou are reminded of the battles in which you fought; of the gallant comrades who fell by your side; of the wonderful escapes you made; of the terrible sufferings you endured in hosj)ital and prison, and of the victories you won. You will think over the long list of battles, among which are, Belmont, Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, Vicksburg, Arkansas Post, Pea Ridge, Perryville, Nashville, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Corinth, Atlanta, and the Grand March to the Sea, and the hundreds of terrible struggles. East and South, which I cannot stop to enumerate.

"As you hold those banners you are reminded of the two hundred and tifty thousand other brave Ulinoisans who went out Avith you, and of the long death-roll of gallant boys who never returned. As you stand here you think of the gallant and eloquent War Governor, Richard Yates, the soldiers' friend, and the members of his administration, Dubois, Butler, Hatch and Bateman, two of whom, with him, have passed away; you do not forget that other great and good man, the dearest son of our noble State, a martyr to the cause of Liberty and Union, who was your Commander-in-Chief, Abraham Lincoln, whose ashes rest beneath a monument near by, reared by patriotic people. I am reminded of those beautiful words uttered by him, which cannot fail to touch the heart of every man, 'The mystic chords of memory stretching from every battle-field and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.' What poetry, sweetness and music in these lines.

"But I must not prolong my remarks. Upon the close of these proceedings, the curtain drops, and the last act is ended of the great drama in which you have taken so noble a part. May your services and sacrifices never be needed again to preserve the integrity of our Nation. A portion of the Illinois National Guard, more than half of whom are old soldiers and served with you, have done themselves and you the honor of coming here to serve as your escort, while you are performing this last service to 3^our old flags and banners. They are in the service of the State and ready at a moment's notice, over six thousand strong, to do duty as soldiers, either for the State or Nation, if their services shall be required to maintain the public peace. Now, soldiers, I will detain you no longer. I welcome you, one and all, to the Capital of our State, and the Adjutant General, by your aid, will place the colors and trophies you bear in the apartments designed for them, where they will be diligently cared for and guarded, I trust, so long as they shall endure."

After the speech of Governor Cullom, General Palmer was called for, but not immediately responding, General C. E. Lippincott was called, and was received with much favor. He said:

'-The voice of these flags is eloquent beyond any need or any power of human words. We will do well simply to pause, in the first still hour that shall come to us, and listen to the solemn teaching of these battle worn flags. They are not merely ashen staves upon which flaunt heavy silks, adorned with stripes and bearing golden stars w^hich catch the eye when they are unfurled to the breeze of Heaven, and by their beauty waken the beholder's admiration. Beautiful as is the flag of our country among all the banners of the Nations of earth, its chief excellence is in the noble history of which it is the result, and the lofty ideas and principles of which it is the symbol. Its history may be said to have its beginning on that day when force was first challenged by right, and to represent the long struggle of the people against those who for ages had set themselves against ' the

" It was the beautiful flower of freedom which burst in beauty upon the world's sight when, after so many years of slavery, the sublime words of the Declaration of Independence rang out from the American Congress upon the world: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that man was created equal and endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'

"Coming into existence, as it appears, without a known designer, it made its way by sheer force of its beauty and appropriateness, to the hearts of our struggling fathers - preferred everywhere to all emblems suggested by influence, and devised by the trained taste of many eminent persons. It was baptized in the blood by Washington, and adopted, almost in the present form, by the Congress of the Colonies. It became, at last, when the revolution was over, when the weakly confederation of separate States had given away to the cohesive Government of the United States, it became one Nation's flag as soon as our Nation was born. Co-equal with our Government in its history, it has been, and is, let us pray and believe it ever will be, the tit and perfect emblem of all the holy ideas which are woven into our Nation's structure, and make the enduring rock on which it is founded. Such, friends and comrades, is my idea of the American flag. Such my notion of its sacred history and of its holy symbolic character. But we are especially here to-day to look on these flags, to bear them to their resting place, and to take into our hearts the especial lessons which they teach.

"Oh I but it does seem to me that words are idle and worse than weak. How, in the presence of these memorials of the constancy of Illinois in the times which tried the temper of States and of men, can anyone talk as it deserves of that recent history? So recent is it, that to the men and women of my age, and even those much younger, it is still a part of our present life, and the pulses of our hearts beat in quick response to every mention and memory of the great drama; not as something of the past, but as if its crowded incidents were now about us and before us and with and of us, making the life that we live, the emotions which we feel, in the very present and actual now.

"Again comes to us the thrill of horror as the wires bear us word that the flag is fired upon. Again comes to us the resolve that the holy symbol shall not be disgraced, nor the principles whose triumph it means be lost to our country or to mankind. Again we are in the midst of the enthusiasm and high devotion of an aroused people. Again we feel how patriotism elevates and ennobles individuals; how it sanctities the hearthstone, making it the very altar of God; how it gives to beauty a lovelier glow, to love an added sweetness, and to manhood the consecration of a purer, a nobler, and a stronger aim. Again we hear the tread of the mustering thousands, and are in sympathy with the nobility of that time of unselfishness and high devotion. Again we realize the trials of the tedious camp and the weary march. Again our hearts beat high and fast with the fierce fever and exulting joy of battle. Again we melt in sorrow at the sound of the muffled drum, and shed bitter tears at the gaps in our battle lines, and learn a new and deeper love of country as we realize how much rich and manly blood its redemption has cost. Yes! Let the commonwealth keep these torn and sacred rags with tender care. They are sacred. Around their ashen staves have been clasped brave hands of the noble sons of Illinois, who thought their life blood none too precious to be spilt in their defense; and as the storm of battle surged along the line of those who fought to save the Nation's bfe, the iron hail fell thickest, and noble blood was shed freely under the immediate shadow of these flags. Noble men, with hearts treasuring the deepest love of home, and the tenderest thoughts of the maiden to whom their deep faith was plighted, and beating with perfect consciousness of the ability to win their way to the high place of honor among men, have grasped these flags and carried them with firm step, and flashing eye, and exalting joy into the proud triumph of a certain death. Yes, keep them with proudest care, for they are not emblems of the freedom, the power, the saved unity of our Nation; but of a heroism loftier and i)uier than ever before, since history began, was embodied in an array, and triumphed in the achievements of battle.

" Let any one who, since the war, has been led away by the seductions of selfish ambition to desert his comrades and talk nonsense - be that deserter private or president - say what he will; we know, and the world knows, and all the future shall know, that there was a difference in the inspiration and the heroism which widely distinguished those who fought under these flags, and those like them from other States, and that other and brave army which fought under a hostile flag to destroy what these

"No one can yield readier praise and honor than I can, and do, to the bravery and high personal gallantry of those whose mistaken cause went down before these flags. But their lost cause was a wrong cause, and the world while it remembers and admires forever the brave devotion of those who fought for it, will yet remember that their blood was vainly shed to establish a Government whose corner stone should have been slavery, and that their cause was trampled into the red mire of battle for, those who fought to preserve and maintain the life of the Republic, whose only life is freedom. These flags are the emblem of no hate, no animosity, no feeling of sectional or individual superiority. The language which they hold, the lesson which they teach, with all the force of all their associations, is the lesson of brotherly love for all who dwell under the flag of our Nation.

" These flags, about whom we can almost fancy still cluster the spirits and cling the affections of those who died under them, speak in one voice to the hearts of men all over our broad land exhorting all, of every State, to sink every smaller and more ignoble feeling in one of confidence and respect for each other, as comrades of the army of the present and the future, whose tie is that of a common patriotism, and whose devotion is to a saved, a restored, and forever united Nation."

"The Governor, very sensibly, deprecated any further prolonging of the ceremonies in speech-making, as the boys were already impatient for dinner. He remarked, that as he had observed the flags taken from their late depository and borne through the streets to Memorial Hall, which the people of the State had prepared for these mementoes, he had felt that the occasion was one so grand as to be beyond the reach of oratory. A more sublime triumph could not be desired than would be won by him who could, in fitting language, describe the emotions the appearance of these flags awakened in every mind and every patriotic heart. These banners were mementoes of the greatest and most dreadful struggle this Nation ever had, or ever could pass through. Seventeen years had passed awaj' since he, and many of those who now confronted liim, had sworn to uphold these banners and these things they symbolized. They had gone out, and in battle upheld them. Many of them had been by 'angel hands to valor given,'' and had floated bravely over ensanguined fields. To-day would see them consigned to their final resting place to be no more disturbed. The ceremony is emblematic of those that finally would finish the career, in this life, of all Avho took part in the tremendous drama of which this was the closing scene."

The Veterans then entered the State House basement from the north entrance, and the flags were deposited in Memorial Hall, in the racks prepared for them. Dinner followed, and the Veterans and National Guards surrounding the immense tables were served with a bountiful repast of substantial food, by the ladies, who were heartily cheered for efficiency in dispensing the supplies of the commissary department. An idea of the extent of this grand camp-fire lunch may be gained wnen it is stated that the troops were furnished with eighteen barrels of coffee. Upwards of three thousand one hundred were served.

The dinner over, the Veterans and the (Guardsmen were dismissed, and visited the State House throtighout, and other points of interest about the city, thus occupying the time until the evening festivities. Through the corridors in the State House, the Fifth RegimeJit Band playing in the rotunda, the Veterans and ladies promenaded, and at a late hour dancing was indulged in quite extensively.

Thus ended the re-union and transfer of battle flags. That these, nor similar flags, will have again to be unfurled in a like cause, is the sincere prayer of every loyal heart.

Old Settlers' Society

A society for the preservation of historical events of a Nation, State, county or town, is a commendable affair. The lessons of the past teach us the duties pertaining to the future. The fires of patriotism, the love of country or of home is strengthened b\^ a narration of such important events as tend to stir the blood or quicken to life those divine affections in man. Many a youth has chosen the life of a soldier from reading accounts of the great battles and glorious deeds of an Alexander, a Hannibal, a Napoleon, a Wellington, or our own brave and noble \Vashington. The lists of statesmen have been augmented by the example of a Pitt, a Webster, a Clay, or Calhoun. Patriotism and love of country have been awakened by reading the sublime utterances of Patrick Henry, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Stephen A. Douglas. The love of home, love of parents and kindred have been strengthened by oft-told tales of the aged father or mother, especially of that pioneer father and mother who toiled early and late, hard and long, in order to give their descendants the priceless boon of a home of plenty and of peace, of refinement and love lor God and humanity.

In the spring of 1859, Pascal P. Enos, a wellbeloved pioneer, who now sleeps the " sleep of the just," and who is gratefully remembered by thousands in Sangamon county, circulated the following call :

Old Settlers' Meeting. - The undersigned, desirous of preserving the earl}^ history of the city of Spriugfiekl and of Sangamon county, now known in a great degree to a few pioneers, would suggest a meeting at the Court House, on the first day of June, of all the settk^rs who became residents of the count}" previous to '"the winter of the deep snow" (1830-31), for the purpose of organizing a pernuinent societj'^ in furtherance of this object.

Pursuant to the call, a meeting was held June 1st, and adjourned to the 15th, at which time the society was fully organized and the following constitution was adopted:

Article 1. This Society shall be called the "Old Settlers' Society of Sangamon County," and shall have for its object the collection and preservation of the early history of Sangamon county and the city of Springfield.

Article 2. The officers of this Society shall consist of a President, two Vice Presidents, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary and Treasurer, who shall hold their offices until their successors are elected.

It shall be the duty of the President to call all meetings of the Society and preside at the same, and in his absence this shall be performed bv one of the Vice Presidents.

It shall be the duty of the Recording Secretary to keep a record of the Society's proceedings, and preserve all manuscripts, papers and books belonging to the society, and to keep a book in which all qualified persons desirous of becoming members ma}" enroll their names.

Article 3, All persons residents of Sangamon county previous to "the winter of the deep snow," viz: 1830-31, are qualified for membership in this Society, and after the first day of January, 1860, applicants for membership must show a residence of twenty-five years previous to the time of application. The roll of the Society shall constitute the only evidence of membership.

Article 4. The election of officers shall be annually on the first Monday in .June, and shall be decided by a majority of members voting, and in the same manner at any meeting of the Society. Notice at a former meeting having been given, this constitution may be altered, amended or abolished, and a code of by-hiws may, in the same manner and at any meeting, be adopted, at the discretion of the Society.

It will be observed there is a blank left in the last article. A committee was appointed to inquire on what day the first cabin was erected, which committee afterwards reported, and it was decided that October 20, of each year, should be celebrated as "Old Settlers' Day," in honor of the first cabin in the county having been raised by Robert Pulliam, October 20, islo.

First Annual Celebration

The locality selected for the occasion of the celebration was very properly the spot upon which the first house in the limits of the county was erected, being on Sugar creek, about twelve miles south of Springfield, and four miles southeast from Chatham, on section twenty-one, township fourteen, north of range five west The exact date on which the cabin was commenced or raised, is not known, but the statement w\as made by Martin Pulliam, a son of Robert Pulliam, that it was in October, 1816. It was put up by Mr. Pulliam for the purpose of sheltering himself and four hired men while herding cattle during the following winter. In the winter of 1817-18, the Indians burned oxtt the range, and Mr. Pulliam did not bring his family to the place until May 26, 1818. Meanwhile another cabin had been put up a quarter of a mile distant, by Mr. Shellhouse, and there he temporarily lodged his family.

The spot pointed out on which the Pulliam cabin stood, is in an immense grove of ash, oak and sugar trees, a number of which have since fallen and their trunks cumber the ground. The cabin was about sixteen feet square, and fronted east, with the chimney on the south side. The ground slopes off towards the northeast and draining into Sugar creek, which is but a short distance from it. No trace in 1859 was remaining of the house, except a small mound, showing where the chimney stood, and a little hollow showing where there was a cellar. Several trees, ten or twelve inches thick, are growing on the spot. To the south was pointed out where an apple nursery was planted by Mr. Pulliam in the spring of 1817, and the trunk of an old burr oak of immense size, which still lays there, was said to have been used as a portion of the fence which inclosed the patch. The Pulliam cabin was long and familiarly known as the "Sugar House," from the fact

The weather on the occasion of this first celebration was gloriously fine the day being a sample of the glorious "Indian summer " days, and the number of persons brought together was probably not less than fifteen hui.dred, among whom were many of the pioneers of Sangamon county.

The exercises of the day were commenced by a procession formed at the edge of the timber and headed by a band of music engaged for the occasion. Making a circuit through the timber, the procession marched to the identical spot where the first cabin had been erected. Two wagons had been placed over the spot, in which the officers of the society, the orator of the day, and invited guests, had arranged themselves. Judge, Moffett then called the meeting to order, and the festival was opened by prayer by Rev. Mr. Prentiss, Presiding Elder of the Springfield ' Methodist Episcopal Circuit. The invocation of the reverend gentleman was singularly beautiful and ap})ropriate to the occasion, and in the solemn forest which surrounded, seemed to touch a chord in the breast of all who were present. The band then started u]) "Three Cheers for the Red, White, and Blue," after which James H. Matheny, the orator of the day, was introduced. As well for its appropriateness and eloquence, as for its being a part of the proceedings of the day, the address is here given. Said Mr. Matheny:

Ladies and Gentlemen: - We meet to-day for a singular purpose. We, the remnant spared by time from an almost forgotten past, meet to revive fading reminiscences of other days - meet to re-kindle recollections almost extinct. We come with varied emotions. Some of you, ^ almost at the foot of life's hill, look back and upward at the path you have trod, while others, who have just reached life's summit, gaze down into the valley of tears with many a hope and fear. You, gray-headed fathers, you have done your work; you have done it well; and now, as the stinset of life is closing around you, you are given the rare boon of enjoying the fruits of your own labor. You can see the land won by your good right arm from its wilderness state, and from a savage foe, pass to the hands of your children, and your children's children, literally, 'a land fiowing with milk and honey' - a land over which hovers the white-robed angels of Religion and Peace - a land fairer and brighter and more glorious than any other land beneath the blue arch of Heaven. You have done your work well,

"In this hour, let memory assert her strongest sway - -tear aside the thin veil that shrouds in gloom the misty past - call up before you the long-forgotten scenes of years ago - live over once again the toils, the struggles, the hopes and fears of other days. Let this day be a day sacred to the memory of the olden time. In th?t olden time, there are, no doubt, scenes of sadness, as well as of joy. Perhaps you remember standing by the bedside of a loved and cherished, but dying, wife - one who, in the days of her youth and beauty, when you proposed to her to seek a home in a new, wild land, took your hand in hers and spoke to you in words like these: 'Whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; where thou diest, will I die, and there w^ll I be buried - the Lord do so to me and more also, if aught but death part me and thee.' Or, perhaps, some brave boy, stricken down in the pride of his strength; or some gentle daughter, fading away in her glorious beauty; or some little prattling babe, folding its weary eyes in the 'dreamless sleep.' If so - if there are memories like these, and the unbidden tear wells up to the eye, let it come, and to-day one and all shed a tear or two to the memory of the ' loved and lost.'

" It is not my purpose to deal in historical facts connected with the early settlement of this county. These are now being gathered by other hands, and will, in due time, be given to the world. To one event I am permitted to allude, and that one is the fact that we this day commemorate the building of the first log cabin in the county of Sangamon.

" Forty-two years ago the stillness of the unbroken forest was startled by the clangor of an axe in a strong maa's hands. That day he had rested from a weary journey, but as he stood and gazed upon the beauty of the strange wild scene ab ut him, there arose a longing in his heart to linger there. With that class of men to whom he belonged, to decide was to act. Soon his weary team Avas loosened from their heavy load, and as we have said, the clangor of his axe rung out, wild and clear, and some brave old tree that had stood the storms of a hundred years, crashed headlong to the earth. Wearying of his toil for that day, the camp-fire was kindled, and the rude evening meal prepared and partaken of, and he laid himself down to sleep. We do not know whether in that stilly hour, when all alone with nature and nature's God, he formally kneeled down upon the green e;irth and offered up a prayer for |)rotection through the lonely hours of that first Jiight in tne strange land to which he had come, but we feel that there must at least have been in his heart a calm and unshaken trust that the guardian care of a kind Providence was around about him, to shield and protect him from every harm. This was a singularly marked characteristic of the early pioneers of the West. They had 'faith in God' - an unswerving trust in His Providence. The stern faith of our fathers, and the calm, gentle trust of our mothers, in an over-ruling Providence, presents a broad contrast to the hesitating belief of their cljildren. I have always thought that the most l)eautiful of all life's mysteries, is that calm and unshaken trustfulness in a kind Providence, that cheers and sustains in the darkest hum-; that brings a ray of sunshine, hidden though it be to the outer world, to the saddest and loneliest of hearts - an abiding faith that a kind Father is ever guarding, with a sleepless watchfulness, the welfare of his wandering children. How desolate would earth be without this beautiful faith in the Providence of God.

"Wonderful are the changes that forty years have made since that lone man halted his weary team on that autumn evening. The wilderness that then lay before him in its unbroken solitude, now blooms and blossoms as the rose; the red Indian has gone from his favorite hunting ground, far toward the setting sun; the buffalo, in his untamed wildness, is roaming over other lands, and the frightened elk has wandered away from his accustomed haunts. All has changed! Could that old man now come from his silent grave, with what a wondering awe would he gaze upon the scene that now meets our vision. Let us call him from his lonely bed, let us arouse him from his dreamless sleep. In imagination I can see him coming - in fancy's ear I hear his solemn tread. Slowly he comes, with uncertain tread, as though seeking for the old familiar pathway; now he stands by my side; now he is gazing upon the forms before him. Ah, see! With a mournful shake of the head he turns away. The old familiar faces, where are they? Alas! too many have gone away, and gone forever, and strange forms now fill their places; and now, with wearied, disappointed look he goes back to his dreamless bed. Sleep on, old man, sleep quietly. There are many here who still remember thee, and it may be that on some other day, these strangers whom you pioneered to this goodly land, will gather about yonr humble grave, and erect some monument lelling to coming generations where you are sleeping the ' dreamless sleep.'

"A wondrous change, indeed, has come since that autumn day. What was then a wild and unbroken wilderness, is now the smiling home of thousands, blest with all that makes life joyous and bright. Cities have sprung into existence since that day; churches upon every band point their spires heavenward; the whitened school house is to be seen in well nigh every grove; the busy hum of traffic and trade burdens the very air; and the sweet laugh of merry-hearted children floats like music upon every breeze. Ah, yes! a change indeed, a change glorious beyond all conception. It is well for the world's developnient that man is a creature of change; that he is never satisfied with the present, but is always struggling for better things in the coming future. It is this restless principle in man's nature that is ever prompting him to seek in new scenes happiness that older places seem to deny him. So strong is the principle in some men that everything else in life bends to it. The ties of home, kindred and friends are readily torn asunder; the familiar places of childhood are abandoned forever; the comforts and luxuries of life are scornfully trodden under foot, and alone, or perhaps only accompanied by wife and child, they strike out into untrodden paths in the still further West, to battle until life's close with the rough realities of a fresher and newer existence. And what is it, where man is? What matter the circumstances surrounding him? Happiness is not a creature of time, circumstance or place; man can be happy in any spot upon which shines God's bright sun, and in every land can he find a home.

"A somewhat varied life, checkered with much of sunshine, and some little of shade, has fully taught me this one truth, that 'tis home where theheart is - 'tis home, and only home where the loved ones dwell. It is a matter of small moment what our outward surroundings are - whether in the untrodden wild, or in the city full, whether the rude log cabin or the costly palace shelter us from the beating storm; whether we are an-ayed in 'purple and fine linen,' or clothed in the humble garb of poverty; all these matter but little if the heart is within us; if the loved ones surround us, it is home wherever we are. What is all life worth, unbrightened by home's glad sunshine? How poor an exL-hantre does he make, who barters the calm contentment of a peaceful home for the honors, the distinctions and riches of earth? How worse than dross are all these, when after years of weary toil we gain them. How the tired heart pauses on its weary way, and with many a sad regret, feels that it is bartering the true joys of life for 'dead sea apples,' that turn to ashes and bitterness on the lips.

" It will be the fulfillment of a beautiful hoj^e, if the hour shall ever come, when every man and woman in all our broad land, shall own some spot, no matter how small, hallowed by the name of home. It would be a time of wondrous beauty; all earth would put on a happy smile; songs of gentle melody would roll on from hilltop and valley, gathering force and power, until at last they would swell into one perpetual anthem of gladness and joy, for it is a truth that well-nigh all that is glorious in life emanates from a love of home. Man with unfaltering heart and unwearied arm is toiling ever to decorate and embellish the chosen spot, and woman, with her gentle voice and beautiful smile, is there to cherish and sustain in every weary hour.

" This earth is full of music; glad songs are continually welling up from happy hearts, but the best of them all, the one that nestles closer and fondlier around every heart, is the gentle strain of ' Home, Sweet Home.'

"Nor has the physical earth alone changed. Man, in his social, moral and civil aspect, has felt the influence of thirty years, and yielded to an irresistible tide of an onward progress. How changed in a social point of view. Then a broad humanity, like golden sunshine, rested upon whole communities. The kindly sympathies of the human bosom held full sway. If it was not an age of mind it at least was an age of heart. If misfortunes came sudden, swift and sure, warm hearts and strong hands came unasked to sympathize and assist. Then the latch string always hung on the outside of the batten door; now it is not only pulled in, but the panel door is bolted on the inside. If a neighbor's house then took fire and burned up, they came for miles around and built him another; now the unfortunate victim, whose house is consumed, is simply turned over to the tender mercies of the insurance agent.

"Men sickened and died then and whole communities came with solemn tread and followed them to the rude, unfenced graveyard, and although the dead was placed in a rough, unplaned oaken coffin, yet weeping friends, with their own hands, bore the loved form and laid it inside its last resting place, and with uncovered heads stood aronnd until friendly hands had heaped up tlie little mound above where the loved one was laid. Now men die and a rosewood coffin, lined with costliest silks and satin, receive their remains; they are borne to the fashionable burying ground in a hearse all decked with waving plumes; a half dozen or so of the costliest carriages in the community carry a few acquaintances to the graveyard; they are lowered to their narrow bed, and at the first rumble of a clod upon the coffin lid, the living all hurry away, and, without thought of the one just gone, plunge into the busy whirl of life.

" In those days there were such things as boys, not merely boys in size, but in character and thought. Pure specimens of unadulterated nature in her roughest and most uncouth form. We have no such things now as boys - they have been entirely superseded by a new genius denominated young gentlemen. The real boy is a lost race - as totally extinct as the mysterious animals of the past, about which geologists tell us. I would give a good deal to once again see a real hoyxa fide boy, such as lived in Springfield thirty years ago, when I was one of that now extinct species - but they are all gone. I never expect to see one again; yet I love to think of them. I love to call up reminiscences of my boyish days. I love to think of the unsophisticated trustfulness of our natures, of our abiding faith, that everything in life was earnest, true and beatuiful.

"One little circumstance comes to memory that will perhaps better illustrate the unsophisticated nature of the boys of thirty years ago, than any words that I can employ. The rumor one day went abroad through our boyish community that a stranger boy had come to town with his father, who had just moved from the East, but what was startling and totally incomprehensible to us was, according to the same rumor, he absolutely wore broadcloth clothes; this was asking a little too much, more than we could believe. Our loftiest ambition, our wildest dream had never gone beyond a wool hat and a mixed jeans coat. It is true that we had heard of broadcloth; we knew there was such a thing; we knew that preachers, doctors, and law^yers sometimes, but only upon rare occasions, wore it; but to be told that a boy, no bigger than ourselves, wore broadcloth, it was entirely too much. The news spread rapidly from boy to boy; the excitement ran higher and higher; night after night w^e met to talk over the wonderful news, and finally we resolutely resolved that if such a wonderful thing was true, we must see and know it for ourselves. This was on Saturday night. We had been told that the stranger boy would go to meeting Sunday with his broadcloth coat on; we knew the route he would take; and a committee of three was appointed to hide in a corner of the fence, near which he would pass, and see if the wonderful story could be true, and then report to us. The balance of us were to wait in an old mill until the truth should be known. The three went forth upon their mission; we waited in silence for their return. Shortly they came; we saw at once by their solemn, awe struck countenajices that the truth had been told us, and one by one we left the old mill and passed to our homes, perfectly satisfied that a superior being was in our midst. This was thirty years ago, but all of us, since that day, have fully learned the true estimate to place upon broadcloth, tinsel and show.

"What a change thirty years has made in the worship of God. Come go with me, and let us visit one of the old-time meetings. Itis a beautiful sunshiny day, and as we go up -

"It is a rude, rough looking building; yet let us enter. Step lightly, for there are no carpets to deaden the sound of our feet. Up the rough aisle, tow^ards the pulpit we make our way; upon every side they are moving and inviting us to a seat. Now let us sit down - the rough old bench is rather rude, and don't you lean back, for you may fall into somebody's lap. Now look around at the congregation; scan well their faces and tell me what they came here for. You answer promptly and at once: 'They came here to worship God.' See the humble preacher rise from his seat, hear him line out the grand old hymn:

"With one accord they rise to their feet and pour forth the untaught melody of grateful hearts. The song is ended, and ' Let us pray ' falls solemnly upon every ear, as they kneel before their God, and when the preacher's earnest lips pronounce the 'amen,' it is echoed back from evei'y heart. And now listen to the simple story of a Redeemer's love, told with a kindling fervor that warms and electrifies every soul. Now the benediction is given, and they wend their way homward, happier and better men and women.

ing doors open to give entrance; we are treading down the carpeted aisle; not a soul moves upon their cushioned seats to bid us welcome; not a pew door opens to bid us enter. At the extreme back end of the church we noticed some uncushioned seats unoccupied; let us go back and take a seat there; we retrace our steps. It is true we can't hear much way back here, but then we can see. Now look around upon this congregation; scan well their faces and tell me for what purpose they came. Y"ou answer promptly and at once, 'To see and be seen.' Now look at that pulpit, all dressed in crimson and purple; its occupant casts one glance over the congregation, to see if they are all looking at him I With what a studied grace he rises to his feet; how gracefully he pulls that cambric handkerchief from his pocket and wipes the imaginary perspiration from his brow; how pompously he unclasps that golden bound hymn book and reads -

" And the choir takes up the song, and, with faultless execution, renders the music to perfection. Now the minister again rises with the game studied grace, and daintily opens the gorgeously embossed Bible, and turns it over, leaf by leaf, until the sought for passage is found. He tlien runs his eye over the gorgeous decorations of his church, all painted and frescoed until even the innocent walls are made to deceive you; and then turn over his gay and worldly audience, and then in tones that really sounds serious, reads -

" And then proceeds to deliver a learned discourse on the sinfulness of earthly vanity; warns his hearers to guard against, as deadly sins, 'the lusts of the eye and the pride of life.'

"The ambition of the fashionable minister of our day seems to prompt them to be brilliant and witty, rather than good. The simple truths to be taught arc lost in metaphysical fogs. The humble narrative of the child in the manger can be told only in the jargon of the schools, adorned with all the graces of oratory. The beautiful prayer of our Saviour is simple and unmeaning, in their estimation, unless embellished with rhetorical flourishes. Their own prayers are nothing more nor less than abreviated orations. Y^ou may listen to one of their sermons from the text to its close, and, although they kindle up your fancy, draw largely upon your imagination, appeal logically to your judgment, yet so far as any effect upon your heart is concerned, it will not have any. You may say what you please about it, deny it as much as you may, yet nevertheless it is true, that under the influence of modern progress, religion itself is losing all its old vitality, and is fast becoming a matter of tinsel, parade and show. It will take but little more of the religious progress of the present day until you will hear these gay worshipers in their magnificent temples denying scomfrdhj that t}<eir Savior ever slept in a manger.

"Now let us for a little while contemplate mankind in a civil point of view. What a sad change thirty years has made in the politics and politicians of our land. Perhaps in this point of view the change has been more marked and the contrast more painful than in any other aspect in which that change or that contrast can be viewed. At that age there was an unsophisticated notion prevailing that offices wei'e created for the benefit of the people, rather than for the benefit of the office-holder. They had another quaint and curious idea, and that was, that ' honesty was the best policy' even in poltics, as well as it was in morals. There is another curious fact illustrated in their life, that they were so foolishly patriotic that they positively loved their country better than they loved themselves. There is another thing, perhaps more wonderful still, and that is that the people of that day really thought that an integrity of character and an honesty of purpose were necessar}' characteristics in a political leader. We of course laugh at such crude and unsophisticated notions as these. Such political verdancy is really refreshing in this age of intellectual progress. All such ideas as these we have long since buried in the tomb pf old fogyism. But seriously, the only thing perhaps at which an American citizen should blush or be ashamed of, in this our day, is the party politics of the age, and their embodiment, the very patriotic politician, and it is very difticult to decide whether one should laugh or cry over their recklessness and folly.

"I am disposed to look upon the great mass of the party ])olitics of the present day, classified by whatever name you choose, as a great pool of festering iniquity, and I hesitate not to say that if left to politicians alone, this glorious confederacy would soon be shivered to a thousand fragments. The only thing necessary to perfect in its corruption the seething cauldron of the witches in Macbeth, would be to throw in a specimen or two of politicians, taken from each of the great parties of the country. It would then be ready for the most horrid conjurations.

"I thank God, however, that those who traffic and trade in politics have but little to do with the prosperity of the country; that it is an increasing, swelling tide that rolls on with or without them. Yet these creature politicians have their uses; they are an exhaustless source of amusement to the great thinking mass of the land. And they are useful in another respect; they are living monuments, warning us how frail a thing poor human nature is. Go to Washington City, and hear them rant and mouth their fiery denunciations. They seem to think that they are the people; that they are not only the source of power, but the power itself; they seem to forget that they are but the creatures of a day; thej^ cease to remember that they are but bubbles blown into shape and dimension by the popular breath. One party proposes a measure, the other for that reason only opposes it, and in their mad fury, they threaten that if that measure does or does not become a law, that they will dissolve the Union! Let them dare try it, and they will find that the people, their masters, will have something to say about it.

" Politics at the present day has got to be a species of trade, and it is so recognized and classified by all. We speak of a good farmer, a skillful mechanic, a successful lawyer, and a shrewd politician. AVhen you go to erect a dwelling house or procure the building of machinery, you naturally select the most skillful mechanic of your acquaintance. So when party leaders have any new move to make, or any oftice to fill, they of course select their shrewdest politician ; not him who is the purest patriot ; the truest man ; not him who will best manage the affairs of the country, but him who will give to his party what his whole country has a right to claim - his every energy. Now it is well that all this matter be perfectly understood. Every body knows, so far as the great prosperity of the country is concerned, that politics, in its party sense, means just nothing at all, and every body equally well knows that the patriotism of party is nothing but the patriotism of self. Ilence from all this, nothing really injurious can ever result to the welfare of the country. The merchant and the politician alike, unmolested, go into the market ; the merchant traffics and exchanges his goods and wares for produce and money, and the politician barters and sells his principles for ofKce and place. It is alike expected of both and recognized onlv in the light of a business transaction.

"If you will permit me to illustrate by a figure, I will compare this Republic to a brave oak tree towering in majestic beauty above some green and fiowery plain, wooing to its gentle shade all way-worn and storm-tossed wanderers. Beneath its 'boundless contiguity of shade,' millions of earth's wearied ones are reposina; in calm dignity - joyous, happy and free. ~' Occasionally the winds come, and even the storms shout through the topmost branches of that brave tree, and these branches may lash each other in wild confusion. Yet at the base it stands unmoved, and those that are reposing beneath are scarcely conscious of the storm above. It would be amusing, yet profitable, to spend a little season in analyzing the peculiarities presented to our gaze in and about the tree. Let us for a moment or two turn aside and gaze upon the scene.

"How proudly and how grandly that brave tree rears itself aloft. No dead or withered twig mars its green and vigorous beauty, and on its topmost bough the Eagle - Liberty's own bird - makes its eyrie. Beneath its broad and genial shade, see those teeming millions of nature's noblemen, illustrating and developing the glories of God's own work. Acknowledging no master save the Eternal One, they stand up unawed and front the eternal stars - trampling in the dust the hoary falsehood that kings rule by divine right. Chaining mind to the car of labor they have become gods, and the wild elements cower in submissive subserviency to their will. At the farmer's magic touch the green-robed earth pours forth her million treasures. From the brain of the mechanic the almost thinking machine leaps, like Minerva, from the hand of Jove, full armed to do battle as man's servant in life's contest. These are they that repose at the base of that glorious tree, calm in the consciousness of their own power, and these are they who will guard it from every harm and guard it forever.

" But now cast your eye to the higher branches and amuse yourselves with the antics of the political monkeys who have scrambled to the top. See them leap from limb to limb, and you may bet your life that the limb to which they leap is the one where the acorns grow. See how fierce and savage they get; how they snap and snarl at one another; how they tug and toil and sweat to push and pull each other off the limbs .where the acorns are. and I think the fact is now pretty fully demonstrated that the only beauty that they see in our grand old oak is that it bears acorns. For, take the most fierce and savage of them all, and feed him well on them, and in a wonderfully short period all his ferocity will vanish away, and he will 'coo yon gently as a sucking dove.'

"Politics, in ils truer and better sense, is unquestionably the highest earthly duty of man, and more especially is this true in this land of ours, where the people are the whole source from which emanates political power. It is not only their privilege but their earnest duty to grapple with and thoroughly master every new thought or principle enunciated or proclaimed in the world of politics. He who does less than this falls short of discharging his whole duty as a member of a free community. When I say that we should all be politicians, I desii-e no one to understand me as meaning that we should sink ourselves into the miserable blind paitisan - the mere follower in the party camp - the mere worshipper of the god of party - but I mean that more noble thing, thinking and acting for ourselves like men who are really free.

" To the people of this country a great trust has been committed - to their keeping the Ark of Human Liberty has been intrusted. Let us watch it with a jealous care; guard it with a sleepless eye; never let the miserable, crawling demagogue, whose only aim is self, lay his unhallowed hands upon it.

" There are those who have thought that when official corruption should, unabashed, rear its miscreated front in the high places of government, and official purity becomes contaminated with the baser passions of the heart, that the inevitable consequence would be the total subversion and destruction of our Republic, and they point to tl e ruined and decayed governments of the old world to prove the truth of their position. Yet, I apprehend that their conclusions are false, because they are groundless. Between this goveinment and the governments of the old world no analogy can fairly be drawn - their inception is totally different. There, power descends from the throne - here, it ascends from the people. It is true that when the source of power in a government becomes corrupt it must fall, and it is equally true that so long as the seat of power in a government remains true to itself it will stand. Hence the conclusion is irresistible that this government will live until the people themselves become abased and corrupt - and that can never be. At least it can never be until religion and intelligence, the guardian angels of a free people, leave our shores forever. And it cannot be that they will ever depart. It cannot be that ignorance and infidelity will ever descend u])on this bright land and brood over it with their gloomy wings. If religious altars are ever thrown down and the light of intelligence extinguished, then it may be that those bright guardians of freedom's temple will prepare to wing their everlasting flight; and sad, strangely, wildly sad, will be that hour. 'Piles of clouds whose darkness will be palpable,' even in the midnight, will brood upon the saddened earth. 'Let us go hence,' will be their song of sorrow. 'Let us go hence,' will swell out in mournful cadence upon the starless air. 'Let us go hence,' will be reverberated by the sad echoes of the mountains, and all earth shall darken in the rayless night of despotism.

" Yet, wherefore, thoughts like these - for us no such gloomy fate awaits our coming. Our country is the final earthly home of truth and liberty. Here they make their last great staiui; here they are preparing themselves for their great mission, the regeneration of the earth; here they are arming themselves for their last great battle; here they are forging the thunderbolts that are to shatter to fragments the bulwarks of tvranny.

" Although I have said and spoken as I believed when I said it, that politics and political leaders, in the main, have become corrupt, yet it is a pleasure to have the privilege of truthfully saying that there are some exceptions to this general rule. You will find them in the various political parties of the day. Differing though they do upon matters of lesser import, yet agreeing in the one great desire for the prosperity and glory of our common country. These amid the general corruption, stand like the Abdial of old, amid the faithless, faithful stillstand like lighthouses amid the general gloom, and serve as beacon lights by which Freedom guides her bark through the gathering storm. And it is for us to gather around such men wherever found, and by whatever party name they may be called, and to do to them as was done to the Prophet of old, hold up their hands while they prophecy against the enemies of our country, and so long as we do this we shall triumph over every foe.

'' It is a matter of no great import what are the slightest changes in the written parchment laws of a country, free and enliijhtened like ours. It is still less a matter what party man guides aud controls its political destiuy; for after all, the great unwritten common laws of truth, religion and freedom that find their home in the American heart, gives shape and direction to our onward march, and will guide us, even in freedom's glorious pathway.

" God has stamped in every enlightened soul these great truths - to be happy you must be free, and to be free you must be virtuous. By the light of these great truths let us ever walk, and the accumulating glories of our after history shall gleam in unclouded splendor, brightened b)^ the smiles of an approving God, and we shall become to the political what the sun is to the physical world, a light, a joy, and a gladness. We shall become the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of tire by night, pioneering the nations of earth through the wilderness of despotism to freedom's promised land."

At the conclusion of Mr. Matheny's address Erastus Wright was called out and gave the origin of the name " Suckers," as applied to the people of this State. When Mr. Wright concluded Judge Moffett gave an account of the origin and aims of the society.

At half past twelve o'clock dinner was announced, and the procession was again formed and marched to the tables which were m'ist bountifully spread with substantial food and relishes, furnished by the people of the neighborhood. The dinner was eaten with much relish, and it was an interesting sight to notice the genial and pleasant conversation of the pioneers. The topic discussed was "old times," and each pioneer had some anecdote, or incident, or scrap of history to tell.

As soon as the wants of the inner man had been supplied, the meeting again organized and Martin G. Pulliam, a son of the first settler, was called out. He stated his father's first place was Henry county, Virginia. He emigrated to Kentucky, and from that to this State, to what is now Madison county, but which was then St. Olair, whence he came in 1816 to the " Sangamo" country. His father had six children - Nancy, who raaried John Bronnell, of Macoupin county; Martin G. Pulliam, of Sangamon; Mary, wife of Mr. Ferris, who removed to Iowa; Margaret, who married S. Peters; and George Washington Pulliam, the youngest, who was born in the shell-house cabin, which formerly stood only a few hundred yards distant.

that he had not an unsound Li'otli in his head; that he had never smoked a pipe or a cigar, or used a quid of tobacco in his life; and for many years had not tasted a drop of intoxicating liquors. He said he was born about five miles from Alton, on the old E(3 wards ville road; he could just remember that when a boy, the Indians came down and murdered many of the whites of the settlement, among others the family of Abel Moore. The men were shot in the field while they were plowing. They then went to the house and tomahawked the women, who were boiling soap, and the children were put in soap kettles and boiled up. This happened only one mile from his father's house.

E. D. Taylor, of Chicago, though a former citizen of Sangamon, Munson Carter, Dr. Shields, Elder Prentice, and P. P. Enos made remarks, and the crowd was then adjourned.

Re-Organizatiox Of The Society

The year following the first annual celebiation of the society was that of 186'0. The political excitement at that time being so high, it was deemed best to postpone the annual meeting. The war following, in 1861, continuing over four years, it was impossible to gather men and women together for seasons of rejoicing while fathers, husbands and brothers were upon the tented field, hourly exposed to dangers incident to a time of war. Even after the close of the war, it required time for the minds of men to assume their regular channels. In 1868, the following call was issued and signed by the names accompanying it:

"For the purpose of renewing old associations and reviving recollections of the distant past, the undersigned propose and suggest that on the twentieth day of August next, the old settlers and pioneers of the county meet at Clear Lake. The reunion will be a happy one - the place selected, one of the most desirable in the county. All persons will bring refreshments with them. The selection of the grounds and other arrangements Mall be attended to by the ' old settlers ' residing in the neighborhood of Clear l^ake. George L. Huntington N. W. Matheny N. B. Whitesides Charles Arnold

First Annual Meetixg

The beautiful park on the east side of Clear Lake was the place selected for the occasion, and by 10 o'clock a large crowd had assembled, including old and young.

After music by the Washington Silver Cornet Band, Strother Jones, of Dawson, called the meeting to order, and a prayer was offered by Rev. Mr. Stafford. At the close of the prayer, Munson Carter, of Rochester, was introduced, and proceeded to make an interesting address, in the course of which he related many incidents of his early life and first appearance in Sangamon county. He said that twenty-eight years ago the -JOth of August, he opened a school one and a half miles from Clear Lake, and those who saw the place 'rom 1840 to 1843, little expected to see a gathering like the one now on the shores of Clear Lake. He referred to Sangamon county as being the first in the State in all that constitutes agricultural wealth. Cook county exceeds it in commercial wealth, but in nothing else. He w^as proud to say that he lived in Sangamon county. He remembered with pleasure the first days he spent in this locality. He was a Yankee, and did not deny his colors. He was then a young pedagogue; but the first days he spent in Clear Lake were the bread and butter days of his life. Then the people. had great hearts, and liberal hospitality prevailed, and the people were glad to entertain strangers without price. In this connection, he referred to the early times, \a hen farmers cut their wheat with a sickle, and the neighbors aided each other in the work. Those were good days, and rememl)ered with pleasure by those now present.

David England was next introduced. He stated that in the spring of 1819, his father settled on what was then called Higgins' creek, now Cantrall's creek. He was born in 1811, in Kentucky, and went with his father to Ohio, and from that State came to Sangamon county. He remembered passing through the locality now called Springfield, where there were then a few

Indian wigwams. There is a tie, he said, between the old settlers, fresh and strong to-day. He referred to the time when his father, Stephen England, would call a few of the settlers together and preach to them the word of God, and as he warmed up with his snbject, he would pull off' his coat. Frequently there would be Indians present at these meetings. He also referred to the conduct of the settlers towards emigrants. They were supplied with corn and wheat, as their necessities required, without money and without price. If a family were sick with the ague, they were cared for. But things are changed with the increase of population. He spoke of the time when men who lived within six or ten miles were considered neighbors. Then they had wild honey and an abundance of fresh fish for the taking. Then no man was charged for entertainment - all was free. In this connection, he referred to the great contrast between the present and past with respect to churches and schools. He closed with wishing that the children of the settlers and their children's children might live to enjoy the advantages which came from increased intelligence of the people in religion and all the arts of civilization.

George Anderson, of Springfield, and Samuel Williams, of Rochester, made appropriate remarks, and the meeting adjourned for dinner, a proceeding that few generally objected to.

After dinner, Preston Breckenridge was called out, and commenced with referring to the time he came from Kentucky, and in this connection told many anecdotes illustrating the state of society at that time. When he came to Illinois, Sangamon county was about forty-nine miles square, and in 1834 he did not think there were as many people in Sangamon county as there were people on the grounds to-day. People had then to get seasoned to fever and ague, for everybody had it, and when he inquired how long it required for a person to get seasoned, he was informed nine years, but in his case it required fifteen years. He said that in 1835 there was rainy weather for nearly forty days. There were about forty-two deaths between Buckheart Grove and the South Fork between October, 1834, and October, 1835. Then we had no ready-made coffins, and when he first saw an advertisement of ready-made coffins he thought the man wanted everybody to die. They had to hunt then forplanks for coffins. He had known two persons to be buried in one grave. The people should be thankful that they had passed from the times of 1834-5-0.

James H. Ma lieny was the next speaker. He began by saying that he did not know when he came to the county, but his first recollection was that he was here. His father came to Springfield in 1821, and the change since that time had been great and wondrous. From a wild waste, beauty had sprung into existence. He had been in various sections of the country, and in all his wanderings he had found no place like Sangamon county. If he did not know to the contrary, he should think the Garden of Eden had been located here, and he wondered that a man could be seduced from it by an apple. He said that the first child born in Springfield was that day being borne to her long home - Mrs. Lyman Trumbull, the daughter of Dr. Gershom Jayne. We were all passing away, and soon those that know us would know us no more.

Second Annual Meeting

The second regular annual meeting was held at Clear Lake, August 20, 1869. The meeting was called to order by S. G. Jones, President, and an appropriate prayer was offered by Rev. Mr. Holton, of Springfield.

Rev. J. G, Bergen, of Springfield, M'as introduced, and said he loved to see both old friends and young ones, for he loved them all. He recounted scenes of his early life, and pointed to changes which time had wrought in the fair, bright and beautiful Sucker State. In his youth it required a year and a half to circumscribe the world, and now seventy days suffice to accomplish that object. A mighty God controlled all things, and in His hands the prosperity and glory of the land were unchangeably fixed.

liev. C. B. Stafford then spoke. He had known this country as a howling wilderness, and in his boyhood nothing but the whoop of the Indians and howl of w^olves were heard. Now see the change which had taken place in forty-eight years. When he first came to this country he rocked his child in a sugar trough. They were compelled to plow corn at night, for the prairie flies nearly tortured their hoi'ses to death during the day. It took three persons then to ]>lant a rov^ of corn - now we farm on a different scale. We should love God for his good work.

David England was introduced. He remarked that in the spring of 1820 his father built a church - the first in the county. Provisions then had to be hauled one hundred miles \Yhere the State House now slauds, deer were as plenty as in the far west to-day, and they were here killed every day. His father married Philo Beers to Miss Stillman, and he l)elieved it was the first marriage in the county. It was a wonderful event when it happened.

The following named officers were elected: Preston Breckenridge, President; Samuel Preston, S. G. Jones, Vice Presidents; John F. King, Secretary.

Members Of The Society

The following named enrolled their names as members of the Society, annexing thereto the place of their nativity, and the year in which they came to Sangamon county:

Third Annual Meeting

The annual meeting for 1870 was held on the 3l8t day of August, at Clear Lake. A much larger attendance of old people were present than at any former meeting. The day was warm and pleasant, making the shade of the grove delightful.