of us, to carry with us the memories and inspirations of the occasion, you will carry with you the words of Abraham Lincolnyou will have "charity for all and malice to none,” but at all times and everywhere you will stand by the country you saved-by the liberty you established-by the government you maintained, and carry the Republic forward to protect every man in every part of the Republic of America-to continue our country what our country should be, the home of the free and the land of the brave. [Great applause.] There have been brave soldiers before our great civil war. There have been great Generals, great battles and brave soldiers too, but since the morning of the nation, no man ever fought for a cause so holy, so pure, so noble, as you men of the Army of the Tennessee fought for, for four years. [Applause.] And always, everywhere, let it be our pride and our glory that in that great war, that struggle, they fought for the cause of country, of human liberty, and to maintain forever the great republic of the Western world. Gentlemen, I thank you for inviting me here to-night. I am grateful for the privilege, and I trust the occasion will be one gratifying to you, as it certainly has been to me. [Great applause.] Succeeding Mr. Wilson, Generals Belknap, McDowell, Pope, Noyes, Oglesby and Custer, acknowledged the compliment of being called out. All bore testimony to the success, usefulness and prosperity of our Society, vouching for it an existence longer than we shall live to attend. The "Lombard Quartette" sang by request, "Vive l'America," and the Springfield Chorus rendered the "Star Spangled Banner. With "Retreat" by the band, and “ Taps" the audience dispersed, giving hearty expression of their pleasure of the evening's entertainment. SPRINGFIELD, ILL., October 15, 1874. The Society met pursuant to adjournment of yesterday evening, and was called to order by the President at 9 o'clock. General Hedrick, chairman of committee appointed to recommend the place at which, and time when we should have our next meeting, presented the following report: SPRINGFIELD, ILL., October 15, 1874. To the Society of the Army of the Tennessee: Your committee appointed to select the time and fix the place for the next annual meeting of the Society, beg leave to recommend Des Moines, Iowa, as the place, and Wednesday and Thursday, September 29th and 30th, 1875, as the time. Respectfully submitted, J. M. HEDRICK, Chairman. On motion of General Tilson: Resolved, That the report of the committee as made by General Hedrick be accepted, and the recommendation therein named adopted. General Fuller, on behalf of the committee appointed to make a selection of orator for next meeting, made a verbal report that two of the committee had stolen a march and, without consultation with the third member, had agreed to name Colonel Fletcher, though he was a member of the committee. Colonel Fletcher's individual preference had not been solicited. It was the hope of the two members of the committee that their selection would be approved. On motion of Colonel Macfeely: Resolved, That the report as made by the chairman of the committee be accepted, and their selection of Colonel Fletcher for the next orator adopted. General Walcutt made report of the committee appointed to consider and report upon the resolution offered by Colonel Dayton. The committee approved the intention of the resolution, and recommended only that there be added to it: "Any member being so dropped shall be restored at any time, when full payments of fees and dues have been made." Pending action on the report of the committee, the Secretary stated that in presenting the resolution, it was not his intention to put it in such shape as to deprive any member of his membership. The report of the committee was accepted, and on motion of Colonel Cadle: Resolved, That any member who shall be in default of payment of any part of his membership fee at our next annual meeting, or any member who shall be in arrears of dues at any time, after our next annual meeting to the amount of five dollars, shall have his name dropped from the published list of members; any member being so dropped, shall have his name restored at any time, when full payment of arrears for fees and dues have been made. On motion of General Tilson: Resolved, That in appreciation of their faithful, zealous, thoughtful and judicious management of the affairs of our Society, from its inception to the present time, and recognizing that our prosperity and permanence is largely due to them, we place on record this, our testimonial, to Colonel L. M. Dayton, Recording Secretary; Brigadier-General A. Hickenlooper, Corresponding Secretary; Major-General M. F. Force, Treasurer. On motion of Colonel Reynolds: Resolved, That the Society hereby tenders its thanks to the Local Committee of Arrangements, their associates, and the citizens of Springfield, who have aided them in so fully and satisfactorily preparing for this meeting. On motion of Colonel Wilcox: Resolved, That we hereby tender our thanks to members of other societies and armies; who, by being present at this time, have complimented and placed us under obligations. DECORATIONS. The committee having in charge the matter of decoration of the various rooms devoted to the uses of the Society must have given much care and attention to the successful performance of their duties. The Opera-house was appropriately arranged with colors dropping from the circle galleries, many of them showing the effect of service; evergreen wreaths encircled the names of the gallant dead; portraits of Lincoln, Grant, McPherson and Rawlins hung upon the wings of the stage, and the battle scrolls and names of commanders who served in our army covered the walls-especially at the evening exercises was the effect very beautiful. Much time and care must have been given this work, and the beautiful effect obtained was much commended. BANQUET. It was provided that the banquet should be given at the Leland House, the headquarters of the Society, on Thursday evening. As usual at our reunions it was expected this would be a most delightful experience, and the committee seemed to have given the utmost exertion that none should be disappointed. The dining-hall was spread with four tables, three extending lengthwise and one at the upper end, crosswise. At 9 o'clock the doors of the hall were thrown open to the Society, and with the President leading, the members and guests occupied it and were seated, the President, General Sherman, at the upper table; on his right General Grant and Governor Beveridge, and at his left General Belknap and General Pope; the members and invited guests at their pleasure at the other tables. The dinner took the usual course of such entertainments; music given by the 10th U. S. Cavalry Band, and there did not seem to be a lack of enjoyment. The dinner through, before commencing the programme of regular toasts, the President read the following dispatch: GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN, WASHITA RIVER, INDIAN TERRITORY, October 14th, noon, via CADDO, 15th, 1874. Š Springfield, Illinois: Will you please make my regrets to the Society of the Army of the Tennessee at my inability to be present, and my best wishes for the health and happiness of each member. P. H. SHERIDAN, This telegram was received with very hearty cheers. The President, proceeding with the regular programme of the banquet, announced the FIRST TOAST:-"Our Country, and all of it." Response by Major-General POPE. MR. PRESIDENT AND COMRADES OF THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE:-One thing is certain: the man who is called on to address this Society will have a critical and appreciative audience. Whether this fact be an advantage or a disadvantage, depends upon the capacity of the speaker and his experience in public speaking. It is consoling, however, to know that the kindly feeling of the members of this association for each other prompts them to do full justice to everything worth hearing in an address, and to throw a wide mantle of charity over any shortcoming. With this knowledge to sustain me, I address myself to the task you have assigned me. Our Country! The toast is comprehensive enough, and it would require a small effort of memory on my part to deliver the usual Fourth of July oration, and an equally small one on yours to anticipate everything likely to be said. It is not difficult to recount our glorious achievements by land and sea, our triumphs in statesmanship and diplomacy, the courage, the wisdom and the patriotism of our men, the beauty, the virtue and the loyalty of our women; and to wind up all with such glowing predictions of our future greatness as would astonish the worn out peoples of the Old World. All this could be done by a mere effort of memory, as it has been done a thousand times before, and will probably be done a thousand times hereafter, without producing any result. except, probably, "inflation," which it would hardly become me, even had I the inclination, to advocate in such a presence. Stronger meat than this is necessary to satisfy the guests at a banquet of the Army of the Tennessee. Rather, then, in the short time allotted on such occasions, let me devote myself to the effort to present two or three of the subjects bequeathed to us by our civil war, to the careful study of which, it seems to me, we must speedily address ourselves if we would occupy that place among the nations which our eloquent Fourth of July orators have been so long foretelling. It is hardly necessary to say, that although the real and immediate cause of our late civil war was the manifest purpose of the minority.of our people to extend the area of slavery, the avowed principle upon which the war was waged was the old and long controverted doctrine of State sovereignty and State rights. The first of these questions has been completely, and the latter in a limited sense, settled by the result of the war, and it is no longer profitable to discuss them in any relation to the integrity of the Government; but so violent a solution of questions interwoven with all our social and political institutions, has occasioned so much and such wide-spread bitterness of feeling on the part of the losers, and such deep-rooted dislike to the theories which they |