Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 11.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

The second day the veterans gathered early on the grounds, and spent some time in organizing the several regiments of the old brigade, and listening to speeches from old comrades. After this they assembled at the stand, where, after prayer by Rev. (General) Gano, there followed an address by General Gano, recalling some deeply interesting incidents of camp and march and battle-field, which he has promised to write out for our Papers.

Major Henry T. Stanton read a very sweet poem on Lee, which we had hoped to publish in this issue, but it has been unfortunately ‘crowded out,’ as is also an admirable paper read by Major Thomas W Bullit, of Louisville, in which he related incidents confirming the tender of the supreme command of the United States Army to General Lee—the high estimate which General Scott had of ‘the best soldier he ever saw.’ and General Lee's freedom from nepotism. These, together with an admirable paper read by Mr. Henry L. Stone, and a deeply interesting and very valuable sketch of the Ohio raid, read by Captain Leland Hathaway, will appear in due season in our Papers. Colonel J. W. Bowles, of Louisville, made an admirable speech.

The proceedings of the morning were appropriately closed with a beautiful poem written especially for the occasion by our friend Mrs. Sally Neil Roach, of Louisville, and read by Major Davis.

In the afternoon, the veterans attended the funeral of one of their comrades who died the day before, (alas! death stills cuts them down, though shot and shell have ceased to do their work)—decorated the graves of Morgan, and other Confederates buried in the beautiful cemetery, and then assembled around a stand erected near the Confederate monument where Major Savfley, of Lincoln county, made to the vast crowd a thrillingly eloquent address on the life and character of Morgan. We hope soon to afford our readers an opportunity of judging of this for themselves.

Rev. Father Major (a ‘Morgan man’) also made a brief address As we walked through the cemetery we paused with uncovered head at the grave of John C. Breckinridge (probably the greatest man that Kentucky has ever produced); of General John H. Morgan, the chivalric knight; of General Roger Hanson, the soldier of two wars; and of a number of other heroes who ‘wore the gray;’ and then lingered for a season at the grave and monument of the great orator ‘Harry of the West,’ who was wont to plead so eloquently for the principles of constitutional freedom for which these men fought and died.