would have been little less than shocking. And, ungrateful wretches that women are, after having been the recipient of such special blessings, they sometimes even dare to surpass their brothers in scholarship, and to snatch from them the university honors and prizes once exclusively their own. Women of wealth and position have everywhere become promoters and officers of many of the most gigantic and beneficent of the charitable institutions which are the crowning glory of the afternoon of the 19th century. A hundred thousand brave, true and modest women are to-day earning a livelihood in occupations in some of which they equal, and in some, perhaps, surpass their brothers, but which, before the war, public opinion had hermetically sealed against the sex. Deep-rooted prejudices have been conquered by exhibitions of fidelity and capacity, and tributes to woman's worth as a worker have been forced from unwilling lips. Of the thousands of women whose positions of trust require them to collect, keep and disburse money, there is no recorded instance in which one has proved a defaulter. No woman has sought the hospitable shores of Canada to escape the rigors of the law against larceny. No lawyer has been consulted by a woman to find in what countries a thief might find a safe asylum. Those in charge of financial institutions may perhaps profitably reflect upon this curious psychological and ethical phenomenon. Thus all unconsciously during that long and fearful struggle, was woman building the broad staircase by which she has since been ascending. In recent years there is also manifest among women a broader and more generous sympathy, a higher appreciation of womanly qualities and a greater magnanimity of character. There is less of petty jealousy and narrow prejudice; less of cold indifference; less of the cruel scorn which delights in another's sufferings. Woman's devotion to her country's cause has served to ennoble her, to weaken the spirit of caste, to minimize selfishness and to enforce the claims of human sisterhood. "Pity and need Make all flesh kin. There is no caste in blood, Which runneth of one hue, nor caste in tears, It was woman's grandest opportunity, and grandly she filled the measure of her devotion. The veteran soldiers who survive may wear the bronze button of the Grand Army of the Republic, or the tri-color of the Loyal Legion; may meet each other in annual reunion of company, regiment, corps or army, revive the memories of long ago and strengthen the ties of comradeship, and may perform the last sad rites over comrades who pass away, but to the survivors of the great army of loyal women none of these compensations come. With few exceptions their heroic achievements and even their very names have passed into unmerited oblivion. But regret is unavailing. No pen however gifted, no tongue however inspired can adequately portray such sublime patriotism, such unsullied purity, such unfaltering courage, such patient endurance, such divine tenderness, such a magnificent efflorescence of womanly virtue and piety. If no record of what they wrought shall survive, its ineffable fragrance will ever remain! Oh! the unwritten deeds of unknown heroes! No, not unknown, for the Omniscient eye beheld them; not unwritten, for they were inscribed upon imperishable tablets by the finger of the Almighty and treasured in the archives of eternity. Comrades, our ranks are rapidly thinning. By far the greater part of the legions of freedom's defenders, in obedience to imperative orders, have crossed the river and encamped upon the other shore. There they await our tardier footIn solemn silence let us pour libations to the illustrious steps. dead. "To the souls of all our perished We who still saluting pass, Dip the flag to hail the saber As with wasted ranks we pass; And we murmur 'Morituri Vos salutant,' as we pass." The annual banquet took place at 9:30 at the Memphremagog House. The toasts and responses were as follows: "The President and His Cabinet," response by U. S. Secretary of War Redfield Proctor; "The United States Congress," Gen. W. W. Grout; "Vermont Patriotism," Major Corbin of Chicago; "The Ladies," Lieutenant Sherman of Chicago; "The Old Soldiers' Need," Lieutenant Colonel F. G. Butterfield of Washington. TWENTY-NINTH REUNION. MONTPELIER, NOVEMBER 3, 1892. The society assembled for its 29th annual meeting in the State House at Montpelier. The business meeting was called to order by the President, Captain Urban A. Woodbury, at 4 o'clock p. m. in the General Committee Room. On motion of Major Jno. L. Barstow, G. G. Benedict, F. Stewart Stranahan and C. P. Stone were appointed a committee to present resolutions upon the death of General William Wells. The committee at a later stage of the meeting presented the following, which were unanimously adopted: Resolved, That in the death, since our last reunion, of Gen. William Wells, who was the first vice-president of this society, its third president, and until his death one of its worthiest and most prominent members, this society has sustained an irreparable loss. Gen. Wells was a brave soldier and a capable and successful commander, enjoying the respect and affection of his men and the fullest confidence of Sheridan, Custer and every superior officer under whom he served. He was a true Vermonter; a public-spirited citizen; a high-minded man, a faithful friend and comrade. His interest in his brother officers and soldiers and this society was unfailing; and its surviving members will sorely miss his cheerful face and wise counsels at its meetings. Resolved, That we extend to his widow and children our sincerest sympathy, assuring them that we share their bereavement, and that those who were so dear to him will always have a place in our interest and regard. Resolved, That the secretary be instructed to spread these resolutions upon the records and send a copy to Mrs. Wells. The usual committee on nominations of one from each organization, reported the following list of officers and the same were elected: OFFICERS FOR 1892-3. President, Major Josiah Grout, Derby Centre. Vice-Presidents, Lieut. E. W. Jewett, Swanton, Capt. J. E. Eldredge, West Randolph. Secretary, Col. Fred E. Smith, Montpelier. Executive Committee, Gen. W. W. Henry, Col. U. A. Woodbury and Gen. T. S. Peck of Burlington. The President at this point requested Lieut. G. G. Benedict to step forward. Col. W. G. Veazey, advancing at the same time, said that his agreeable duty was to present to Lieut. Benedict on behalf of a number of his brother officers and members of the society a token of their esteem and appreciation of his arduous labors in the preparation of the history of "Vermont in the Civil War" and as a testimony to the completeness and accuracy of that work. To this he alluded in terms of high praise, closing by handing to Mr. Benedict an elegant badge of gold and blue enamel in a morocco case. Lieut. Benedict, taken entirely by surprise, said that he lacked words in which to express his sense of the honor done to him by the presentation of such a testimonial from brothers and men whom he held in such warm regard. To have their approval of his work as military historian was the highest praise. He should preserve their beautiful gift as one of his choicest possessions, and hand it down to his children as a priceless heirloom. The badge is a disk of solid gold, suspended by a blue ribbon from a bar-pin of gold, and bearing on its front in blue enamel the circular badge of the Third Division of the First Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac, of which division Stannard's Second Vermont Brigade was the third brigade. Engraved on the back is the following inscription: "Col. G. G. Benedict, 12th Vermont infantry, aide-de-camp on staff 2d Vermont brigade; State military historian; from Vermont officers who, in this manner, desire to show their appreciation of his valuable work entitled 'Vermont in the Civil War.' |