Gettysburg Reunion, 1888

John Hartwell

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Front row: J. L. Chamberlain, D. Butterfield, J. Longstreet, D. Sickles,
at the Gettysburg 25th Anniversary
For the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg the Society of the Army of the Potomac held its annual meeting on the battlefield. At the suggestion of Gen. Dan Sickles, it was stipulated that veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia also be invited to attend, that all together “might on that occasion record in friendship and fraternity the sentiments of good-will, loyalty, and patriotism which now unite all in sincere devotion to the country.” The gathering, held appropriately on July 1, 2, and 3, 1888, drew some 30,000 participants, veterans and their families, mostly from the North. But, about 300 Confederate veterans attended.

Principal speakers at the reunion were generals Sickles, Longstreet, Henry W. Slocum, and John B. Gordon. The Confederates, notably, were those most identified with the spirit of reunification and reconciliation. And, the copious newspaper accounts all stressed those virtues, downplaying, indeed, rarely mentioning, any disaffection.

It was a time for good will and reunification. It was also a significant event in the development of the Gettysburg battlefield. Many monuments were dedicated during those three days, and many more would follow until the Gettysburg National Military Park became the moving experience it is today. Gen. John B. Gordon, then Governor of Georgia, said, in part:

"My fellow countrymen of the North, if I may be permitted to speak for those whom I represent, let me assure you that in the profoundest depths of their nature they reciprocate that generosity with all the manliness and sincerity of which brave men are capable. In token of that sincerity they join in consecrating for annual patriotic pilgrimage these historic heights, which drained such copious drafts of American blood poured so freely in discharge of duty, as each conceived it, a Mecca for the North, which so grandly defended it; a Mecca for the South, which so bravely and persistently stormed it; we join you in setting apart this land as an enduring monument of peace, brotherhood, and perpetual union."

A fuller account can be found at the GNMP blog, "From the Fields of Gettysburg."
Also: "'Killing the Southerners with Kindness."'
 
It does make you glad knowing a general invitation was issued, not Union only or officer's only? Bumped into the 1869-Far-Too-Soon reunion, benefiting That Hotel, you could imagine men too close to the war.

I know we read the level of friendly between Union and ex-Confederates is exaggerated, but reading of what healing took place is awfully nice.
 
It does make you glad knowing a general invitation was issued, not Union only or officer's only? Bumped into the 1869-Far-Too-Soon reunion, benefiting That Hotel, you could imagine men too close to the war.

I know we read the level of friendly between Union and ex-Confederates is exaggerated, but reading of what healing took place is awfully nice.
Yes, there was still a lot of griping in 1888, too: Yankees outraged at the presence of Rebels on "Holy Ground," Rebs refusing to mingle with Yankees anywhere -- but those who felt that way didn't go. Those who did go generally had a grand time.

Here's Gordon on his way home:
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[Columbus Daily Enquirer, 10 July 1888]​

General Gordon's enthusiasm might have been a bit dextreme. But, things were improving
 
But, things were improving


Yes, it is silly to apply too much gloss but you cannot read accounts of the 50th reunion, either, without seeing some awfully heartening things.

Have a book from the Atlanta Exposition, 1895, where Booker T's speech was made? Great grandmother and twin sister were born in DC. 1863, nearly on Capitol Hill ( now ). Twin was a doc, one NY rep to Atlanta. It's a marvelous old, leather embossed thing with her name, etc. That was some Exposition- names galore. My ' signature ' here is part of a speech McKinley gave there, truncated. ( can't find it in his collections, no idea why but it's in Dr. Huson's gift book )

Anyway, there was the Blue and Gray Day, with Longstreet, unbelievably and a huge turnout of Confederate and Union vets.Gosh. You do not care how long winded the speeches, how over reported the event- as a genuinely warm representation of veterans who wanted to be there and said so, it's quite amazing. Keep meaning to scan the chapters.
 
This is a great post. Look at Chamberlain. He just looks like a class act. Big ol top hat and all. Like a guy who could walk into a room and talk and people would listen. For some reason I expected longstreet to tower over the rest of them. I cannot imagine what it was like for those men to step back onto those fields after fighting there.
 
View attachment 164146
Front row: J. L. Chamberlain, D. Butterfield, J. Longstreet, D. Sickles,
at the Gettysburg 25th Anniversary
For the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg the Society of the Army of the Potomac held its annual meeting on the battlefield. At the suggestion of Gen. Dan Sickles, it was stipulated that veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia also be invited to attend, that all together “might on that occasion record in friendship and fraternity the sentiments of good-will, loyalty, and patriotism which now unite all in sincere devotion to the country.” The gathering, held appropriately on July 1, 2, and 3, 1888, drew some 30,000 participants, veterans and their families, mostly from the North. But, about 300 Confederate veterans attended.

Principal speakers at the reunion were generals Sickles, Longstreet, Henry W. Slocum, and John B. Gordon. The Confederates, notably, were those most identified with the spirit of reunification and reconciliation. And, the copious newspaper accounts all stressed those virtues, downplaying, indeed, rarely mentioning, any disaffection.

It was a time for good will and reunification. It was also a significant event in the development of the Gettysburg battlefield. Many monuments were dedicated during those three days, and many more would follow until the Gettysburg National Military Park became the moving experience it is today. Gen. John B. Gordon, then Governor of Georgia, said, in part:

"My fellow countrymen of the North, if I may be permitted to speak for those whom I represent, let me assure you that in the profoundest depths of their nature they reciprocate that generosity with all the manliness and sincerity of which brave men are capable. In token of that sincerity they join in consecrating for annual patriotic pilgrimage these historic heights, which drained such copious drafts of American blood poured so freely in discharge of duty, as each conceived it, a Mecca for the North, which so grandly defended it; a Mecca for the South, which so bravely and persistently stormed it; we join you in setting apart this land as an enduring monument of peace, brotherhood, and perpetual union."

A fuller account can be found at the GNMP blog, "From the Fields of Gettysburg."
Also: "'Killing the Southerners with Kindness."'
Wow...Sickles looks so proud in this photo! Being the first successful " temporary insanity" defense (thanks to E. Stanton) in the US after murdering his wife's lover-the brother of Francis Scott Key -author of the Star Spangled Banner.. guess going to visit your amputated limb didn't hurt him. Talk about an odd juxtaposition.
 
This is a great post. Look at Chamberlain. He just looks like a class act. Big ol top hat and all. Like a guy who could walk into a room and talk and people would listen. For some reason I expected longstreet to tower over the rest of them. I cannot imagine what it was like for those men to step back onto those fields after fighting there.
From a purely fashion point of view, what was Longstreet thinking? Not just those whiskers, which we have seen in so many of his latter-day photos, but that 'hat'?
 
Wow...Sickles looks so proud in this photo! Being the first successful " temporary insanity" defense (thanks to E. Stanton) in the US after murdering his wife's lover-the brother of Francis Scott Key -author of the Star Spangled Banner.. guess going to visit your amputated limb didn't hurt him. Talk about an odd juxtaposition.
Sickles is a very interesting person with a checkered history. He was quite proud of his lost limb. It not only saved him from censure for his actions on July 2, 1863, it helped- or so he thought- his career. But then, he was a Tammany Hall politician....
 
View attachment 164146
Front row: J. L. Chamberlain, D. Butterfield, J. Longstreet, D. Sickles,
at the Gettysburg 25th Anniversary
For the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg the Society of the Army of the Potomac held its annual meeting on the battlefield. At the suggestion of Gen. Dan Sickles, it was stipulated that veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia also be invited to attend, that all together “might on that occasion record in friendship and fraternity the sentiments of good-will, loyalty, and patriotism which now unite all in sincere devotion to the country.” The gathering, held appropriately on July 1, 2, and 3, 1888, drew some 30,000 participants, veterans and their families, mostly from the North. But, about 300 Confederate veterans attended.

Principal speakers at the reunion were generals Sickles, Longstreet, Henry W. Slocum, and John B. Gordon. The Confederates, notably, were those most identified with the spirit of reunification and reconciliation. And, the copious newspaper accounts all stressed those virtues, downplaying, indeed, rarely mentioning, any disaffection.

It was a time for good will and reunification. It was also a significant event in the development of the Gettysburg battlefield. Many monuments were dedicated during those three days, and many more would follow until the Gettysburg National Military Park became the moving experience it is today. Gen. John B. Gordon, then Governor of Georgia, said, in part:

"My fellow countrymen of the North, if I may be permitted to speak for those whom I represent, let me assure you that in the profoundest depths of their nature they reciprocate that generosity with all the manliness and sincerity of which brave men are capable. In token of that sincerity they join in consecrating for annual patriotic pilgrimage these historic heights, which drained such copious drafts of American blood poured so freely in discharge of duty, as each conceived it, a Mecca for the North, which so grandly defended it; a Mecca for the South, which so bravely and persistently stormed it; we join you in setting apart this land as an enduring monument of peace, brotherhood, and perpetual union."

A fuller account can be found at the GNMP blog, "From the Fields of Gettysburg."
Also: "'Killing the Southerners with Kindness."'
I love it. Longstreet standing between Butterfield and Sickles. Now, that’s Irony :D
 
View attachment 164146
Front row: J. L. Chamberlain, D. Butterfield, J. Longstreet, D. Sickles,
at the Gettysburg 25th Anniversary
For the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg the Society of the Army of the Potomac held its annual meeting on the battlefield. At the suggestion of Gen. Dan Sickles, it was stipulated that veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia also be invited to attend, that all together “might on that occasion record in friendship and fraternity the sentiments of good-will, loyalty, and patriotism which now unite all in sincere devotion to the country.” The gathering, held appropriately on July 1, 2, and 3, 1888, drew some 30,000 participants, veterans and their families, mostly from the North. But, about 300 Confederate veterans attended.

Principal speakers at the reunion were generals Sickles, Longstreet, Henry W. Slocum, and John B. Gordon. The Confederates, notably, were those most identified with the spirit of reunification and reconciliation. And, the copious newspaper accounts all stressed those virtues, downplaying, indeed, rarely mentioning, any disaffection.

It was a time for good will and reunification. It was also a significant event in the development of the Gettysburg battlefield. Many monuments were dedicated during those three days, and many more would follow until the Gettysburg National Military Park became the moving experience it is today. Gen. John B. Gordon, then Governor of Georgia, said, in part:

"My fellow countrymen of the North, if I may be permitted to speak for those whom I represent, let me assure you that in the profoundest depths of their nature they reciprocate that generosity with all the manliness and sincerity of which brave men are capable. In token of that sincerity they join in consecrating for annual patriotic pilgrimage these historic heights, which drained such copious drafts of American blood poured so freely in discharge of duty, as each conceived it, a Mecca for the North, which so grandly defended it; a Mecca for the South, which so bravely and persistently stormed it; we join you in setting apart this land as an enduring monument of peace, brotherhood, and perpetual union."

A fuller account can be found at the GNMP blog, "From the Fields of Gettysburg."
Also: "'Killing the Southerners with Kindness."'
I've seen this photo many times, but never with any list identifying the others in the back rows. Does anyone have such a list?
 
Yes, it is silly to apply too much gloss but you cannot read accounts of the 50th reunion, either, without seeing some awfully heartening things.

Have a book from the Atlanta Exposition, 1895, where Booker T's speech was made? Great grandmother and twin sister were born in DC. 1863, nearly on Capitol Hill ( now ). Twin was a doc, one NY rep to Atlanta. It's a marvelous old, leather embossed thing with her name, etc. That was some Exposition- names galore. My ' signature ' here is part of a speech McKinley gave there, truncated. ( can't find it in his collections, no idea why but it's in Dr. Huson's gift book )

Anyway, there was the Blue and Gray Day, with Longstreet, unbelievably and a huge turnout of Confederate and Union vets.Gosh. You do not care how long winded the speeches, how over reported the event- as a genuinely warm representation of veterans who wanted to be there and said so, it's quite amazing. Keep meaning to scan the chapters.
Please do share those pages!
 
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