FROM LIEUTENANT H. M. DUFFIELD. DETROIT, MICHIGAN, September 16, 1890. MY DEAR SIR: I delayed replying to your very kind note of the 10th inst., until I should know definitely whether I could attend the Reunion or not. To-day I regret to be compelled to say that I can not attend at Toledo either the 17th or 18th. A case in court for a jury trial comes on to-morrow morning, and will occupy three or four days. I regret I can not attend, but take some consolation in the fact that you will get a better response to the toast which you assigned to me. Yours truly, HENRY M. DUFFIELD. COLONEL H. S. BUNKER, Secretary Committee on Toasts. FROM LIEUTENANT GEO. I. ROBINSON. MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, September 16, 1890. COLONEL HENRY S. BUNKER, Secretary of Committee. MY DEAR COLONEL: I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of the invitation of your Committee to be present at the Twenty-first Reunion of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, at Toledo, on 17th and 18th inst. I have delayed answering the same, with the hope and expectation of being able to be present, but now, at the last moment, I find pressing business engagement will prevent me from being with you upon this annual era of good fellowship of the Society, and I regret this more than I can tell you. Anticipating for the Society, a joyous Reunion at Toledo, and with kind regards to all, I am, Yours very truly, I am in receipt of the invitation to attend the Twenty-first Reunion Society of the Army of the Cumberland, and regret that I can not have the pleasure of attending, on account of a greater desire to be present at the Annual Reunion of my old regiment, the 1st Tennessee Cavalry (BROWNLOW's), which will be held at Greenville, Tennessee, on the 18th inst. The gallant deeds of the Army of the Cumberland will be perpetuated to future generations in history, poetry, and song. Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Franklin, and Nashville testify to their valor on these fields, and many others where they met worthy foemen, and where they demonstrated a heroism that is surpassed by none of the Nation's great battles. This army hands down to generations that are to come such names as ROSECRANS, THOMAS, SHERIDAN, and BUELL as splendid examples of military genius, whose names have been made illustrious by the heroic valor of the armies they led. To all of these, from the private soldier to the general in command, the Nation owes a debt of gratitude that can not be measured by dollars and cents. Wishing you a pleasant Reunion, I am, Very truly, A. J. GAHAGAN, Late First Lieutenant 1st Tennessee Cavalry. FROM LIEUTENANT H. A. KELLY. DEAR SIR: WASHINGTON, D. C., September 12, 1890. Very grateful to you and the good people you represent, and am sorry not to be able to assure you that I can be present on the 17th and 18th instant. During the trouble of 1861-5, my command was of men who were barred from their homes by the "rebel line," and who knew no one north of it. Near us, on one occasion-Christmas of 1863, I thinka regiment from your region was camped, and their friends, perhaps sweethearts and mothers, had sent them boxes of nice food and little presents. [The gnarled old mountain loyalists and their beardless sons, who constituted a larger portion of the 8th Tennessee Cavalry, had been made to feel they were outcasts, as their pay was withheld on some technicality, and it was only through the kindly interposition of "ANDY JOHNSON" that we had each a tin cup and spoon for scant army rations.] I will never forget my own forlorn sensation and the sad, longing look of our men as they peered over toward those who had friends to remember them. It was your citizens who thus infused hope and courage by kindly remembrance of this soldier representation in the field; and, remembering this, I bow especially low to those citi zens' names I see on your most highly-prized invitation. Please thank them. Sincerely yours, H. A. KELLY, Late Lieutenant 8th Tennessee Cavalry. TO COLONEL HENRY S. BUNKER, Secretary, etc., TOLEDO, OHIO. FROM LIEUTENANT A. S. PROSSER. KNOXVILLE, TENN., September 12, 1890. JUDGE R. H. COCHRAN, GENERAL C. C. DOOLITTLE, COLONEL H. S. BUNKER, And Associates of Local Executive Committee, Society of the GENTS: TOLEDO, OHIO. Your kind invitation to attend the Twenty-first Annual Reunion of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland came duly to hand. I regret that my business affairs are such that I can not meet with you and have the honor of again shaking hands with the grand old veterans, whose bravery and deeds of heroism will be told in story and song while time shall last, and the battles they fought be recorded in the history of our country. Hoping you will have a pleasant and successful Reunion, 17 A. S. PROSSER. FROM LIEUTENANT D. R. FRAZER. COLONEL H. S. BUNKER, SPRINGFIELD, ILL., September 15, 1890. TOLEDO, OHIO. DEAR SIR AND COMRADE: It is with much regret that I find myself unable, on account of duties at the state capital, to accept your kind invitation to attend the Twenty-first Annual Reunion of the "old army." I rode at WILDER'S stirrup and at KILPATRICK's knee on the wild campaigns of these bold horsemen; and although I was an unknown in the great aggregate, my chiefest pride is that I belonged for three years to the Army of the Cumberland. Here's fame to the giants of the old army and imperishable glory TOLEDO, OHIO. DEAR SIR AND COMRADE: Your invitation to attend the Twenty-first An nual Reunion of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, to be held at Toledo, Ohio, September 17 and 18, 1890, is at hand. |