Gettysburg Reunion, 1888

Among the monuments dedicated during the 1888 reunion:
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12th New Jersey

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123rd New York

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21st Pennsylvania​
 
Nice photographs of the reunion. Somewhere in my vast collection I have a book from this reunion that was in my maternal grandfather's library. Much to my surprise several years ago while on a friend's tour of civil war Harrisburg, he stated that Dan Sickles was a frequent visitor to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at a rather large home which is still standing today. I understand he used to visit J. Horace McFarland and J. Howard Wert quite a bit. David.
 
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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."'

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I love this colorized version. "Longstreet was the guest of Major General Henry W. Slocum of New York at the dedication of several New York monuments on Culp’s Hill. Before the ceremonies began, Longstreet 'was decorated with a red rose and a miniature American flag by Miss Sadie Cressey.'" I would love to have been Miss Cressey that day. How about you @FarawayFriend?

GETTYSBURG REUNION, 1888.
 
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'?

I have seen this referred to as a pork pie hat. Pork pie hats have been around since the mid-19th century and I have read they got their name because they bear a slight resemblance to a pork pie dish. I'm not sure about this. Some have a small button on a string located on the back. The string can be wound around the hat in windy weather and the button attached to a jacket's lapel. This keeps the hat from blowing away on a windy day. I can see my favorite General liking that idea. Sadly, I don't think this partcular style suits him. See friends, I'm not totally biased.
 
I have seen this referred to as a pork pie hat. Pork pie hats have been around since the mid-19th century and I have read they got their name because they bear a slight resemblance to a pork pie dish. I'm not sure about this. Some have a small button on a string located on the back. The string can be wound around the hat in windy weather and the button attached to a jacket's lapel. This keeps the hat from blowing away on a windy day. I can see my favorite General liking that idea. Sadly, I don't think this partcular style suits him. See friends, I'm not totally biased.
Thanks for your response and the information about the hat.
I thought maybe a few of the guys had a bet; longstreet lost, and had to wear the silly hat! I can just see these old-timers having a great laugh!
 
I think it would be hard to know who was who with a list of names. Otherwise it would be a long task of comparing wartime photos with the image to identify the various men in the images. It could be done though, just a long process.

There appears to be a young man in the left of the original OP picture. Maybe General Longstreet swapped hats with him for the pic. :giggle:
 
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Early on the morning of July 1, 1888, four men and two women stood on the crown of East Cemetery Hill. One of the men was pointing toward the northeast. “We rushed up that slope, and had a hand-to-hand fight right here where these guns are; some of our boys got as far as the road back there, but it was no use. We did our best, but we were driven back … all who were still alive.”

Close by stood a group of Pennsylvania veterans, who, overhearing this, “looked at each other, and then, as if of one mind, moved forward until they closed in on the party of six.”

“We heard you say you rushed up that slope,” said one of the Pennsylvanians, “well the only men who reached the top, other than the men who defended it, were the ‘Louisiana Tigers’!”

Fred Ober, a smallish man of wiry frame, his hair and goatee flecked with gray, looked up and said, “We are four of those ‘Tigers,’ sah!”

The New Orleans Times Pickayune of July 5th, records: “The veterans made a forward dash, and such a shaking of hands was never seen atop of East Cemetery Hill. The wife and daughter of one of the ‘Tigers’ (Oder) participated in the handshaking, and laughed, and blushed at the earnestness with which the Northern veterans welcomed the representatives of the most desperate fighters the South ever produced.”

Frederick A. Ober was the chosen spokesman for the group, which also included John J. Wax, Thomas Higgins, and L. J. Cordes. When asked why so few Southerners had come, he told the Yanks that he didn’t think the South knew much about the reunion until it was too late to make plans to attend. Word of Sickles’ invitation had only reached the Tigers’ veterans’ association some three weeks before. The organization telegraphed Sickles, and he sent them the details of where and when. At a special meeting, those four men, the only ones who could go on such short notice, were deputed to represent all the surviving “Tigers.” Their instructions were “to say that if defenders of the stars and stripes were needed, the Louisiana ‘Tigers’ were and would always be ready to furnish their full quota.”

The four Louisianans were among the earliest Confederates to arrive, and they were given much attention. “The news jumped quickly from point to point that the ‘Johnnies’ had come,” and they were fairly mobbed by welcoming Yanks, who besieged them for their cards and autographs. Their cards consisted of “a square bit of bristol board, on the face of which was engraved in colors the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia. Under the flag were the words ‘Louisiana Tigers,’ and ‘Here we are again!’” Souvenir hunters scooped them up as quickly as they appeared.

Tom Higgins, who had been in weakened health for some time, lamented he would have to return to his hotel to rest. Immediately, several of the Northern veterans offered their services, and, lashing poles to an ordinary straight chair, constructed a litter, and carried him all over the battlefield so he wouldn’t miss anything. The party was wined and dined everywhere they went.
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The above is condensed mainly from The New Orleans Times Pickayune of July 5; an article expanded in the Chicago Daily Inter-Ocean of July 7. Much more, including an account of the Louisiana Tigers during the battle, appear in the St. Louis Republic, July 2, 1888. Pdfs of all three articles are attached below.
 

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Such a cool thread! These PDF's have a crazy amount of information in them, just interesting stuff- which generals are probably in that photo, more on the Louisiana Tigers, etc. You just cannot beat era papers for gluing together History.

Sorry, snipped from a couple, too good not to post.
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So Howard, Pleasanton, Sickles, Slocum and Butterfield ( and you'd love to know what Meade would have had to say - you have to admit it's kind of an hysterical grouping ), we have senators, not camera shy.

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You get this kind of stuff " Captain White's Company of Wheat's Battalion " the Tiger Rifles. The old guys knew their stuff, you know?

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We waited an awfully long time for a papers to settle down, listen to the vets swap stories like they did, and give them to all of us. These reunions gave us so much.

@John Hartwell , which members here may have missed this thread, with vets from the Louisiana Tigers ' in the flesh? ' I'm terrible at remembering whose ancestors were where.
 
Nice photographs of the reunion. Somewhere in my vast collection I have a book from this reunion that was in my maternal grandfather's library. Much to my surprise several years ago while on a friend's tour of civil war Harrisburg, he stated that Dan Sickles was a frequent visitor to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at a rather large home which is still standing today. I understand he used to visit J. Horace McFarland and J. Howard Wert quite a bit. David.


Really do not wish to know exactly where- but one of the old mansions on the river, on back to 3rd, or lining that now down-at-the-heels hill, in what used to be the posh district? Once was part of an effort to bring one of those ' back '- gosh, there is some decaying beauty up there.
 
Such a cool thread! These PDF's have a crazy amount of information in them, just interesting stuff- which generals are probably in that photo, more on the Louisiana Tigers, etc. You just cannot beat era papers for gluing together History.

Sorry, snipped from a couple, too good not to post.
View attachment 164299
So Howard, Pleasanton, Sickles, Slocum and Butterfield ( and you'd love to know what Meade would have had to say - you have to admit it's kind of an hysterical grouping ), we have senators, not camera shy.

View attachment 164297
You get this kind of stuff " Captain White's Company of Wheat's Battalion " the Tiger Rifles. The old guys knew their stuff, you know?

View attachment 164298
We waited an awfully long time for a papers to settle down, listen to the vets swap stories like they did, and give them to all of us. These reunions gave us so much.

@John Hartwell , which members here may have missed this thread, with vets from the Louisiana Tigers ' in the flesh? ' I'm terrible at remembering whose ancestors were where.
The Louisiana Tigers invaded Gettysburg again in 1908! This time it was the LSU Tiger baseball team on the road in Pennsylvania, which Gettysburg Greg wrote about earlier this year. The schedule I posted in the thread said they played Gettysburg College on June 3 and that day they posed for a team photo on Cemetery Hill near the location of their earlier namesake’s action in 1863. No doubt their fathers and grandfathers had told them of the significance of that site.

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https://civilwartalk.com/threads/lo...ed-on-east-cemetery-hill.134495/#post-1539386
 
On July 3rd, the Philadelphia Inquirer published a long account of the previous day's events.
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After briefly describing the battle itself, the article continues:
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The article (attached below) goes on to describe other events that day, including the dedication ceremonies of several monuments (5 of which are illustrated). It was a full schedule.

PS: a few more possible names to be attached to the men in that picture:
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This reunion was only 25 years after the battle. These men were still young and active -- the average age was in the '50s -- these were not the feeble old codgers of 1913 and 1938. Also, many of the higher ranking officers were still living. They were a decade or so older, on the average, but they were very much the focus of attention. By the 50th anniversary, in 1913, Dan Sickles was about the only one of the generals still on his feet (err ... foot!), and he was still at the very center of things (he saw to that!). But, by then more attention was being paid to the common soldier. By 1938, of course, the old Commanders were all gone, and the 75th was truly a Soldiers' Reunion.
 
Nice photographs of the reunion. Somewhere in my vast collection I have a book from this reunion that was in my maternal grandfather's library. Much to my surprise several years ago while on a friend's tour of civil war Harrisburg, he stated that Dan Sickles was a frequent visitor to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at a rather large home which is still standing today. I understand he used to visit J. Horace McFarland and J. Howard Wert quite a bit. David.

He may have visited The John Harris-Simon Cameron Mansion. According to their website, "Simon Cameron served a total of about 20 years in the U.S. Senate in non-consecutive terms. By 1862, he had resigned the office of Secretary of War, an appointment he had received in recognition of his instrumental support of Abraham Lincoln’s election as President. Cameron’s tenure at the War Department was marked with controversy and numerous scandals involving fraudulent supply contracts. To help avoid continuing political repercussions, Cameron was appointed as Minister (Ambassador) to Russia. This was an important post during the Civil War since the Czar favored the Federal cause while England and France had greater sympathy for the Confederacy."

This house is one of many beautiful homes along South Front Street. @JohnW. lives in Harrisburg and may likely know more. I never knew about a connection between Dan Sickles and Harrisburg. Interesting information @christian soldier.
 
He may have visited The John Harris-Simon Cameron Mansion. According to their website, "Simon Cameron served a total of about 20 years in the U.S. Senate in non-consecutive terms. By 1862, he had resigned the office of Secretary of War, an appointment he had received in recognition of his instrumental support of Abraham Lincoln’s election as President. Cameron’s tenure at the War Department was marked with controversy and numerous scandals involving fraudulent supply contracts. To help avoid continuing political repercussions, Cameron was appointed as Minister (Ambassador) to Russia. This was an important post during the Civil War since the Czar favored the Federal cause while England and France had greater sympathy for the Confederacy."

This house is one of many beautiful homes along South Front Street. @JohnW. lives in Harrisburg and may likely know more. I never knew about a connection between Dan Sickles and Harrisburg. Interesting information @christian soldier.
I doubt it was the Harris-Cameron Mansion (which is damm big)....sounds more like the old executive mansion which used to stand very near the present day PennDOT building on Forster and Commonwealth. From what I understand of THAT mansion...it was HUGE.
 
He may have visited The John Harris-Simon Cameron Mansion. According to their website, "Simon Cameron served a total of about 20 years in the U.S. Senate in non-consecutive terms. By 1862, he had resigned the office of Secretary of War, an appointment he had received in recognition of his instrumental support of Abraham Lincoln’s election as President. Cameron’s tenure at the War Department was marked with controversy and numerous scandals involving fraudulent supply contracts. To help avoid continuing political repercussions, Cameron was appointed as Minister (Ambassador) to Russia. This was an important post during the Civil War since the Czar favored the Federal cause while England and France had greater sympathy for the Confederacy."

This house is one of many beautiful homes along South Front Street. @JohnW. lives in Harrisburg and may likely know more. I never knew about a connection between Dan Sickles and Harrisburg. Interesting information @christian soldier.
Eleanor. Simon Cameron was also accused of stealing and Lincoln supposedly said to him that he would have stolen the pot belly stoves had they not been in use at the time. Let me do some research and I will let you know the Sickles connection with Harrisburg. I cannot recall off the top of my head and at the moment I am in the middle of an important research project for my upcoming magazine article. David.
 
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.
Reconstruction was over,Union troops were leaving the Southern states,an Era of Good Relations was occurring all over the Union.The war was becoming a story of romantic fable.The Lost Cause was being taught to the next generation.The ideal of an American overseas empire was in the thoughts of the Republican party(,China join the European countries in control of markets,Hawaii for the Navy,).The hated Confederacy was no longer around a New South was rising and the industrial North needed their market.The North and South were once again as before in an Era of Good accord.It seems as though the whole past fifty years was just a period of mutual disagreement and the war was just a family fight with no resulting hard feelings. The South returned to their own way of politics and life ,without slavery ,the North had brought the erring brother back to the family,
 
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