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Sweeter than ever sung,

Our song that finds no tongue;
Nobler than any fact,

Or wish that fails to act."

"In this, the home of the soldier, Toledo's Memorial building, we welcome you. Every man, woman, and child, with open hands and hearts, welcomes you to this our home. If possible, each and every one would turn out en masse and thank you for coming to us. But I can simply say to you, GENERAL ROSECRANS, and these soldiers whom you commanded in some of the hardest fought battles the world has ever known, we welcome you, and may you come again and again to find this welcome ripening with our years and growing with our growth, and may you be blessed with many happy years; and again, in closing, I bid you ten thousand times ten thousand welcomes!

GENERAL ROSECRANS spoke as follows:

Mr. Chairman of the Local Committee, Ladies and Gentlemen of Toledo-On me devolves the duty of returning thanks for the welcome just spoken and wider welcome and hospitality we have experienced since we first arrived in this your beautiful city-The Lady of the Lake. Words would fail me to express the feeling that, I am sure, is felt by every member of this Society by your greeting, and we are prepared to give the Committee thanks most hearty for this reception. But they are of us and with us. So are you, ladies and gentlemen of Toledo. We know we have your sympathy. We feel it, and hear you speak it, and we know it is true.

We have here this evening speakers who will more fully speak of the Army of the Cumberland, so I will close, thanking you again, and hope we shall often meet with you again, although we are on the down hill, and fast going to that bourne from whence no traveler ever returns. I will now give way to the speaker of the evening.

MRS. AINSWORTH then sang "Viva L'America" with splendid effect.

LIEUTENANT COCHRAN :

We will now have delivered the Annual Oration of the Society by one of our distinguished members, GENERAL GATES P. THRUSTON, of Nashville, Tenn., whom it is now my pleasure to introduce.

[See Annual Oration, p. 131.]

After the Oration, MRS. AINSWORTH and the Glee Club sang "Tenting To-night."

LIEUTENANT COCHRAN:

In the early part of the war, GENERAL ROSECRANS was colonel of the 23d Ohio, and GENERAL RUTHERFORD B. HAYES was the major of the 23d Ohio; to-day GENERAL ROSECRANS is presiding over the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, in Toledo, and GENERAL HAYES is presiding over the Society of the Army of West Virginia, at Parkersburg, W. Va., and the Society of the Army of the Cumberland to day sent its greetings to the Society of the Army of West Virginia by wire, signed by GENERAL ROSECRANS, and he has just received a response, as follows:

PARKERSBURG, W. Va., September 17, 1890.

GENERAL WM. S. ROSECRANS :

The Society of the Army of West Virginia cordially reciprocates the fraternal greeting of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, and sends best wishes to their old commander, GENERAL ROSECRANS.

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES.

Now we have a little time yet before it is too late to retire to an orderly symposium, and as GENERAL MORGAN is always suggesting

about "stress," I want to know whether it is on the " orderly" or "symposium" that he wants stress.

I want you to help me run this meeting for a few minutes, and I will suggest that GENERAL MORGAN, one of our old comrades who always meets with us, and who always will as long as he can get here, will now himself put a little stress upon this symposium.

GENERAL MORGAN:

Ladies and Gentlemen and Comrades-The great difficulty with GENERAL MORGAN is that he is not a talker, and I think you have been pretty nearly talked to death this evening. It is always a great pleasure to me to meet you once a year and take you by the hand. In looking around this immense audience, I am carried back some twenty odd years at the close of the war. It was not astonishing at that time that the citizens in the various, places in which we had our Reunions should turn out en masse and show immense enthusiasm, but I am surprised that the interest has continued for a quarter of a century, as shown by this splendid audience here to-night. I am inclined, sometimes, to think that soldiers are awarded rather more praise in the great work of saving this country than they are entitled to. It may be, and probably is, true, that they ought to have the first place, but there were other factors in that great war. What are you going to do with the loyal men that stayed at home, that furnished the wherewith to keep the soldiers in the camp and to comfort us? We would have starved to death in a short time; these men were just as necessary at home as the soldiers in the field. Again there is another factor. What are you going to do with the loyal women of this land? You know, all of you, that one-half of you would have died of home-sickness and melancholy if it had not been for the encouragement you received from your wives and daughters.

LIEUTENANT COCHRAN :

And sweethearts.

GENERAL MORGAN:

Yes. I have known one single letter from a good loyal mother at home wake up a whole regiment. Then what are you going to do with those ladies who were in the camps standing by the side of the wounded and the dying? Is there a soldier here present that has ever forgotten those angels without wings, those quiet, godly women that stood by each bedside when you were sick and wounded? So I say again, that there are other factors in this problem of saving this great country of ours: first the soldier, next the loyal men, and last, but not least, the loyal ladies of this country, God bless them, always God bless them!

LIEUTENANT COCHRAN :

We shall still continue to speak of our deeds. GENERAL KILPATRICK once said, that if there is any thing better than doing a good thing, it is bragging about it afterward. I want to introduce to you another one of our old friends, GENERAL THOMAS J. WOOD, of Dayton, Ohio.

GENERAL WOOD:

Ladies and Gentlemen and Comrades-If any one could look around such an audience as this, of free, intelligent, and enlightened American citizens, without having his heart to pulsate with enthusiasm, he would be a mummy. As one of the soldiers of the Army of the Cumberland, I thank you, citizens of Toledo, for this cordial welcome. I may say that it was nothing more than I expected, and you have fully done your duty.

You have had enough GENERAL THRUSTON'S

I am not going to bore you with a speech. of this Army of the Cumberland to-night. speech was a capital one. I followed it with great interest, and I say here, let us embody all our sentiments, our hopes and aspirations for this great country of ours, in that noble sentiment of GENERAL JACK

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SON, The Federal Union must, and by the Eternal God it shall be preserved."

Here the Glee Club sang "The Union Forever," the au dience joining in the chorus.

LIEUTENANT COCHRAN :

I want you to see GENERAL BARNETT, of our Society. got away back against the wall, so that he would not be seen.

GENERAL BARNETT, being brought forward, said:

He has

I sincerely thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this presentation, but there are so many here that are anxious for the symposium that I can't possibly take your time.

LIEUTENANT COCHRAN :

GENERAL PARKHURST is here to-night, and I want you to know him. He has just lately come from Brussels to attend this Reunion. He can't speak English, but he can fight in English.

GENERAL PARKHURST :

Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen-I am gratified for the compliment of being called before such a magnificent audience, but I am not going to make a speech. I can only add to the thanks that have been expressed here for the splendid manner in which the citizens of Toledo have entertained the members of the Army of the Cumberland. Now, the members have got a little business to transact after this meeting. I see many of them here with parched lips, and we are going down to the symposium, where we will have a little moisture for their relief.

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