12th Annual Reunion - 21st Mo. Vet. Vol. Inf. Assoc

The 21st Missouri Regiment Infantry

Veteran Volunteer Association

TWELFTH ANNUAL RE-UNION

FORT MADISON, IA., Aug. 31st, 1899.

The 21st Missouri I.V.V. Association the guest of the Lee County Soldiers' Association.

At 9:30 a.m. the large number of veterans who had gathered at the headquarters of the Association formed in line under the direction of Marshal D.N. Coon, and proceeded to Central Park, where the exercises of the day were begun.

THE ADDRESS OF WELCOME

Arriving at the park Hon. W.S. Hamilton of Fort Madison, made the welcoming address. Among the many good things he said we record the following:

"The speaker referred to re-unions of soldiers as appealing always to the loftiest of sentiment of our citizenship; a day when we lose ourselves from the environment of time and place- a day of memorials; a day upon which we record the glorious aspirations which thrilled men's souls at a time when to love one's country was to lay down one's life; a day when we feel te same spirit of freedom, devotion, and patriotism which breathed into the clay of ordinary humanity the heroic deeds. He referred in eloquent language to the civil strife and bade the old veterans a warm and hearty welcome."

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Response by T.W. Holman, 21st Missouri:

Mr. President, Ladies and Comrades: - In responding to the words of welcome we have listened to , I am most fortunate, the occasion being a re-union of old comrades, and the theme, the hospitality of the people of Fort Madison. And I assure you, Mr. President, this is a happy meeting to the comrades of the 21st Missouri. The cordial greeting we have met with from the people of Fort Madison and the felicitous words of welcome just spoken renders this meeting a doubly happy one to us. As the years pass by our interest in these annual re-unions becomes more intensified. This year marks the thirty-third mile stone since the close of the war, and the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Regimental Association, and as we clasp the hands of our old comrades of '61 - '66, again in our imagination we hear the wild echoes of the bugle sounding the charge along the battle front; the hoarse commands of officers; the roar of the cannon, and the ping of the minnie ball. We see the ghastly dead, and after four full long years we hear the shouts of the victorious. Then the home-coming - the joyous meeting of loved ones. These are some of the memories these meetings recall. But as we clasp the hands of our comrades here to-day, who of us but does not recall the name of some one who failed to return; their bodies sleep on this battlefield or that one, a soldier's grave, unmarked, unidentified. Mr. President, I need not tell you we are glad to meet our Iowa comrades here to-day. Our record is yours; Shiloh, Corinth, and a score of battlefields attest this fact. No braver men fought on any battlefield than Iowa soldiers, and in the grand constellation of states no star shines brighter than that of Iowa, and no city more worthy the title of Gen City than Fort Madison. In hospitality, equals you may have, but superiors we have never met. You said to us come, and have opened wide the doors of your homes, and have said to us by your greeting:

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"Missourians and Iowans are we,
But all of us Missourians in our welcome to thee."

Mr. President, in the name of and in behalf of the 21st Missouri, I thank you for the reception.

This closed the exercises at the park.

Business meeting at 2 p.m. at the Court House. The President, Maj. A.C. Roberts, called the meeting to order, when the following business was transacted. Minutes of last annual re-union read and approved. Secretary made his report as historian: Mr. President and Comarades: In accordance with instructions given me at Edina, Mo., last year, I have revised, prepared and had printed 500 copies fo historical memoranda of the 21st Missouri for the use of the Assoiciation.

FINANCIAL REPORT

To Roberts & Roberts, printing:
----July 29th, 1899, 500 copies historical memoranda .......................................................... $45.00
----July 29th, 1899, four electro plates...................................................................................... 22.75
Aug. 30th, 1899, to Sec'y, postage and printing ........................................................................ 8.75
$76.50

Aug. 30th, 1899, Treasurer paid Roberts & Roberts ...............$ 44.25
Aug. 30th, 1899, to Secretary ...................................................... 8.75
$53.00

Aug. 30th, 1899, cash received by Secretary by sale of books and contributions ............$53.00

Aug. 30th, 1899, to balance due Roberts & Roberts ........................................................... $23.00

On motion, the following officers were elected for the ensuing year:

President, Fred Walter, Knox City, Missouri.
Vice President, W.P. Leedom, Lancaster, Missouri.
Sec'y and Treas., T.W. Holman, Rutledge, Missouri.

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Memphis, Mo., was selected as the place for holding the next annual re-union, and the Secretary appointed to arrange for the date.

A standing vote of thanks was extended to Dr. A.C. Roberts, the retiring President of the Association, for kindness and courtesies extended the comrades during their stay in the city. Adjourned till 10 a.m. to-morrow.

CAMP-FIRE AT NIGHT BY THE VETERANS OF FORT MADISON.

"And you can bet
It's the best one yet
And don't you forget
To get up and get
To ghe big Camp-fire.

"You will laugh till you're sore
And yet scream for more;
And everybody will roar,
And the Eagle will soar
At the great Camp-fire."

"There will be Some Sense and Nonsense, Some Beans and Some Scenes, Awkward Squad, Three Years Later, "On Guard," "Reveille," "Assembly," "Taps," Some Speaking, Some Singing, Some Fifing and a Drumming, and Soldiers a-Coming and Roaring Spread-Eagle a-Soaring, Old Soldiers Galore, You Bet."

Following was the program at the Opera House.

Music............................................................................................................ By the Band
Prayer ........................................................................................... Rev. Dr. G.D. Stewart
Vocal Greeting ................................................................ Fort Madison Maennerchor
Speech ...................................................................................... Adjt. Joseph R. Frailey
Vocal Music ........................................................................................... Ladies Quartet
Speech .......................................................................................... Lieutenant N.D. Starr
Vocal Music ................................................................................................ Male Quartet
Speech ..................................................................................................... Thomas Hedge
Vocal Music ....................................................................... Fort Madison Maennerchor
Five-minute speeches by Comrades, interspersed with music, closing ode "America."

Captain Peter Okell, President of the Lee County Old Soldiers' Association, presided at the Camp Fire. Although the Captain served in the Gulf Squadron under the Commodores Farragutt and Porter, yet he could sing "Marching Through Georgia" with a spirit and understanding, the equal of any who trudged from Atlanta to the sea.Page 19

August 30th, 10 a.m. - A short business meeting was held at which was considered the marking of the positions of the 21st Missouri at Shiloh, and it was decided that as many as could go should visit the field in 1900 and assist the Park Commissioners in locating accurately the various positions of the regiment on the field and mark the same. several gave their names to the Secretary, who was appointed to arrange for transportation to the field. It was decided to make the trip on the anniversary of the battle, April 6th and 7th, or Memorial Day, May 30, 1900.

Major R.D. Cramer of the 30th Iowa, of Memphis, Mo., and honorary member of the 21st Mo., made the old soldiers an eloquent and interesting address on the steps of the court house.

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED

WHEREAS, In response to an invitation from the Lee County Old Soldiers' Association and James B. Sample Post, G.A.R., surviving members of the 21st Missouri Association to the number of 103 have met in Fort Madison, Iowa, to hold their annual re-union, as guests of the Lee County Old Soldiers' Association and James B. Sample Post, and
WHEREAS, The treatment accorded to us as comrades and guests has been so uniformly and spontaneously warmhearted, we feel it our pleasant duty to make due acknowledgement thereof;
Resolved, That the heartfelt thanks of the 21st Missouri Association here present be tendered the Lee County Old Soldiers' Association and James B. Sample Post and the ladies of the W. R. C., for the opportunity afforded us of meeting with them in this beautiful city of Fort Madison, for the hearty welcome and bounteous entertainment extended us by the Association, Post, Relief Corps and citizens. And it be further
Resolved, That our thanks are especially due to Comrades A.C. Roberts, Peter Okell and A. Scherfe, for their untiring efforts in our behalf.

T.W. HOLMAN, M. CASHMAN, WM. O'CONNOR, Committee.

Adjourned to meet in Memphis, Mo., in 1900.

T.W. HOLMAN, Sec'y.

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