ART. 3. It shall be the duty of the President, or in his absence, of one of the Vice-Presidents, to preside at all meetings of the Society.

ART. 4. It shall be the duty of the Corresponding Secretary, in addition to the ordinary duties of his office, to obtain and furnish a full Roster of the Society to the Recording Secretary, who shall keep a record of the same, giving names, rank, organization, company and regiment, and Post Office address of each member. The Recording Secretary shall also keep the records of all meetings.

ART. 5. The Treasurer shall have charge of the funds of the Society, and shall make no payments except on the order of the Executive Committee, approved by the President.

ART. 6. It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to make the arrrangements for the Annual Reunion, and cause notice of the same to be given to all members of the Society; to have the direction and charge of all expenditures; and the accounts for the same shall be paid by the Treasurer, after they are approved by the President or acting President.

ART. 7. Every member of the Society shall furnish to the Corresponding Secretary his P. O. address, and notify him of any change in the same.

ART. 8. The Constitution may be amended by a majority present at any regular meeting.

TWENTY-SECOND REUNION.

8

BURLINGTON, JANUARY 20, 1896.

The twenty-second annual meeting of the Vermont Officers' Reunion Society was held in Burlington, January 20, 1886. Among the prominent gentlemen present were Governor Samuel E. Pingree and members of his staff, ex-Governors Smith, Barstow, Farnham and Proctor, Gen. S. S. Burdette, commander-in-chief of the G. A. R., Gen. Selden Connor of Maine, senior vice-commander, Gen. Paul Vandervoort, excommander-in-chief, beside many prominent Vermont veterans and their wives.

The business meeting took place at 3 p. m. at the Van Ness House, and was called to order by the president, Col. Wm. C. Holbrook of New York city.

A committee to nominate officers for the ensuing year was appointed as follows: Capt. Moore of the 1st regiment, Col. Tracy of the 2d, Col. Seaver of the 3d, Capt. Kinsman of the 4th, Capt. Burnham of the 5th, Capt. Keith of the 6th, Capt. Cronin of the 7th, Maj. Barstow of the 8th, Capt. Leavenworth of the 9th, Gen. Henry of the 10th, Capt. Woodbury of the 11th, Capt. Ormsbee of the 12th, Surgeon Nichols of the 13th, Capt. Lucia of the 14th, Surgeon Bullard of the 15th, Capt. Arms of the 16th, Lieut. May of the 17th, Lieut. Greenleaf of the batteries, Lieut. Stranahan of the cavalry, Adjt. Forbes of the staff, Capt. Morton of the navy.

Lieut. F. E. Smith, from the committee to prepare and print a volume of the proceedings of the society, reported that the volume was ready for delivery. On motion of Capt. T. S.

Peck the thanks of the society were tendered to the publication committee for the satisfactory manner in which they had performed the service assigned to them.

The nominating committee reported the following list of offi

cers:

bans.

ford.

OFFICERS FOR 1886.

President, Col. A. F. Walker of Rutland.

First Vice-President, Lieut. F. S. Stranahan of St. Al

Second Vice-President, Col. Roswell Farnham of Brad

Secretary, Lieut. F. E. Smith of Montpelier.

Treasurer, Major L. G. Kingsley of Rutland. Executive Committee, Gen. P. P. Pitkin, Lieut. F. E. Smith and Gen. Stephen Thomas, all of Montpelier.

PUBLIC EXERCISES.

The public exercises were held in the evening at the Howard Opera House, which was handsomely decorated for the occasion. The procession was formed at the Van Ness House by Marshal W. L. Greenleaf, and led by the Sherman Military band marched under the escort of members of the Burlington Coasting club in uniform and bearing torches to the opera house. The officers of the Society, the Governor and ex-governors, President Buckham and faculty of the University of Vermont, the Mayor, Board of Aldermen and city officials, the clergy of Burlington and many other prominent men occupied seats on the stage.

Mayor U. A. Woodbury welcomed the Society in the following words:

"Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Reunion Society:

The pleasant duty has been assigned me of bidding you welcome to our city. No other men whether citizens of our own State or any other, would be so cordially welcome as you are. However high in society, business or professional life your present positions may be, they are overshadowed by the remembrance of your services for your State and your country more than twenty years ago and to-night we honor you for the honorable part you bore in the great war for the preservation of the Union. In behalf of the citizens of Burlington I bid you a hearty welcome and extend to you the freedom of the city." President Holbrook responded as follows:

"Mr. Mayor: I thank you for the very cordial greeting which you have extended to us. We have come to your city and find you enjoying the distinction of being its chief magistrate. I understand that you are the first veteran who has had that honor and we congratulate you. Your elevation to that position by the citizens of this city attests their confidence in your wisdom and integrity as we can attest to your courage on the field of battle. It shows that Burlington is not unmindful of those whom she sent to the front. Permit me again to thank you for your greeting and to say to the citizens of Burlington that the hospitable reception they have given us will be held in lasting remembrance by the society in whose behalf I speak."

Prayer was offered by the chaplain, Rev. E. P. Gould, pastor of the Berean Baptist Church of Burlington. The Owl Glee Club of St. Albans then sang "Marching through Georgia," the veterans and audience joining heartily in the

chorus.

The president then said: "A little more than eight years ago this society met in Burlington, when the address was delivered by one of the foremost citizens of Vermont, the Hon. George F. Edmunds [applause.] To-night we are to hear from one of Vermont's leading soldiers, who on all occasions has acquitted himself in the field to the credit of himself and his State. I take great pleasure in introducing to you Col. Thomas O. Seaver of Woodstock."

Col. Seaver spoke in part as follows:

COLONEL SEAVER'S ORATION.

`More than twenty years have come and gone since this society composed of the surviving officers of the veteran soldiers of Vermont had its birth. In view of the fact that there are to-day within our State young men and women four and twenty years of age who were unborn when we first hazarded the experiment to determine whether we had in us the stuff out of which the true soldier is made, it has seemed to me I should rather try to speak over your heads to the young men, young women and children of our State, trusting that I may perchance deepen and fix some patriotic impulse born of that great struggle. I believe none but veterans can know how anxious. we are that our children and our children's children should be taught to believe that in that conflict we were right. Notwithstanding all the peril of those sorrow laden years from '61 to '65 it was a great opportunity and a great privilege to be a strong young man then.

The orator then gave a graphic description of the battle of Thermopylae and drew the following lessons therefrom: Down through all the centuries since that day has been celebrated, in song and story, the courage and love of country displayed by that little Spartan band who resolved to return with their shields or upon them. I think we have been too much inclined to suppose that such patriotism as was there displayed is the product only of a bygone and a heroic age, that in earlier and ruder times it might have been seen, but that in these days the world has made such advances in civilization, human life