Greeting to Shipp.
The old boys had formed in the quadrangle, and it would hardly be an exaggeration to say that the wild cheering which greeted
General Shipp when he walked through the sally-port and advanced across the green to the head of the column was followed by half the men in ranks rushing forward to seize the hand of their old commander, and nearly all of them ended by throwing their arms around him.
The shot-torn flag which the battalion carried at
New Market was the decoration of the rostrum.
There was a great deal of bunting displayed over the speakers' chairs, and there were great masses of flowers banked on the front of the stage, but I had not observed any of these until my attention was called to them, so busy was I gazing at the old
New Market ensign.
But there was a profusion of stars and stripes on the walls behind the speakers.
Mr. Joseph R. Anderson, class 70, president of the
Alumni Association, called the meeting to order and introduced
Rev. Charles C. Randolph, of
Fincastle, a New Market man, who made an impressive prayer.
Mr. Armistead C. Gordon, of
Staunton, a cadet of some class since
New Market, then read in most effective manner his beautiful ode.
There was prolonged applause at the conclusion of the reading of the ode, and the band played ‘In the
Sweet Bye and Bye.’
