In 1859, the necessary arrangements having been concluded for
beginning work on the canopy over the Rock and on the National
Monument, it was decided by the Pilgrim Society to lay at once the
corner stones of those structures with suitable ceremonies. The
anniversary of the embarkation was again selected for celebrating
the event, but as the first of August would fall on Monday, it was
thought best to have the celebration on Tuesday, the second. The
following committee of arrangements was appointed, by whom I was
again appointed Chief Marshal, Richard Warren, Timothy Gordon, Wm. T.
Davis, Samuel H. Doten, Charles O. Churchill and George G. Dyer. A
committee on the ball was appointed, consisting of Edward W. Russell,
Edward B. Hayden, Charles C. Doten of Plymouth, Austin C. Cushman of
New Bedford, and Wm. S. Huntington of North Bridgewater. The chief
marshal appointed as aids, Admiral P. Stone, Wm. Atwood, Samuel H.
Doten, Charles Raymond, Leavitt Finney, John H. Harlow of Plymouth,
James H. Beal of Boston, James Bates of East Bridgewater. He also
appointed twenty-eight assistant marshals from Plymouth, and ten from
other places.
The committee decided on the following plan for the celebration:
The laying of the cornerstone of the canopy by the Masonic order; a
procession; the laying of the cornerstone of the National Monument
with Masonic ceremonies; a dinner provided by J. B. Smith of Boston
in a tent, capable of holding twenty-five hundred persons, pitched
in the field below the present store of Wm. Burn’s, now occupied by
three dwelling houses, owned by Mr. Emery; fireworks, and a ball
in the evening in Davis Hall. At ten o’clock a Masonic procession
was formed on Main street, consisting of the Massachusetts, Boston
and DeMoley encampments of Knights Templar, under command of John
T. Heard, and marched to the Rock, where addresses were made by
President Warren and Mr. Heard, and a hymn was sung, composed by
John Shepard. At half past eleven the grand procession, whose
various divisions had been forming while the ceremony at the Rock
was going on, started from the headquarters of the chief marshal
near the Samoset House, and proceeded through Court, Main, Market,
High, Summer, Pleasant, Green, Sandwich, Market, Leyden, Water,
North, Court and Cushman streets to Monument hill. The procession
marched in the following order: Mounted police, Boston brigade band,
Standish Guards, New Bedford City Guards, Braintree Light Infantry,
So. Abington Infantry, New Bedford brass band, chief marshal and
aids mounted, president of the Pilgrim Society and invited guests,
St. Paul’s lodge of South Boston, lodge of Cambridge, Liberty
lodge of New Bedford, Star of the East lodge of New Bedford, King
Solomon lodge of Charlestown, Boston brass band, Washington lodge of
Roxbury, the Plymouth lodge, Plymouth brass band, Royal Arch chapter
of New Bedford, Boston encampment of Knights Templar, Royal Arch
Chapter of South Abington, South Abington band, DeMoley encampment,
Grand lodge of Massachusetts, American brass band, Odd Fellows,
New England Society of New York, Massachusetts Historical Society,
American Antiquarian Society, Historic Genealogical Society, Cape Cod
Association, Finney’s band, Plymouth Fire Department, Campello Engine
company, North Bridgewater band, and six groups on flats representing
the Landing, Indians, advance of civilization, the thirty-three
states, different nations, and the marine interests of Plymouth.
After addresses at the monument by President Warren, and the ceremony
of laying the cornerstone, conducted by the Grandmaster, John T.
Heard, the invited guests were escorted to the dining tent, where
Rev. Edward H. Hall, pastor of the First Church asked a blessing.
Besides the president the speakers were, Gov. Banks, Salmon P. Chase,
Wm. Maxwell Evarts, Gov. Buckingham of Conn., John P. Hale, Francis
P. Bair, Jr., Anson Burlingame, Gov. Kent of Maine, George Sumner and
Rev. Mr. Waddington of Southwark, London. I have room for notices
of only a few of these speakers. Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, born in
Waltham, Mass., January 30, 1816, was a boy in a factory, editor of
a local paper, representative in 1849, speaker of the Massachusetts
House of Representatives, 1851 and 1853, chairman of the
Massachusetts constitutional convention, 1853, member of congress,
1853 to 1857, and speaker of the National House of Representatives
from 1855 to 1857. He was chosen governor in 1857, serving three
years; after which he was chosen president of the Illinois Central
railroad, made Major General in 1861, serving until 1864, again
member of Congress from 1865 to 1877, excepting one year, when he
was a member of the Massachusetts Senate, and finally United States
Marshal in Boston in 1879. He died in Waltham, Sept. 1, 1894.
Salmon P. Chase was born in Cornish, N. H., January 13, 1808, and
graduated at Dartmouth in 1826. He taught school in Washington, where
he was admitted to the bar in 1830. He was later Senator, Secretary
of the Treasury, and Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court, and
died in New York, May 7, 1873.
William Maxwell Evarts was born in Boston in Feb., 1818, and
graduated at Yale in 1837. He studied law at Cambridge and settled in
New York, and was counsel for President Johnson on his impeachment
trial. Attorney General under Grant in 1868, Secretary of State under
Hayes, and later U. S. Senator. He died in New York, Feb. 28, 1901.
Edward Kent was born in Concord, N. H., January 8, 1902, and settled
as a lawyer in Bangor in 1825. In 1827 he was made chief justice of
the Court of Sessions for Penobscot County, in 1829 was chosen Mayor
of Bangor, and was Governor from 1838 to 1840. He was made U. S.
Consul at Rio by President Taylor, and in 1859 Associate Justice of
the Supreme Court. He died in Bangor, May 19, 1877.
William Alfred Buckingham, born in Lebanon, Conn., May 28, 1804, was
a merchant and manufacturer, and Governor of Connecticut from 1858
to 1866, and in 1869 was chosen U. S. Senator. He died in Norwich,
February 3, 1875.
Anson Burlingame was born in New Berlin, N. Y., Nov. 19, 1822, and
studied law at the Harvard Law school and in Boston, where he was
admitted to the bar. He was a member of the Massachusetts Senate
in 1852, a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention
in 1853, and member of Congress from 1856 to 1861, in which latter
year he was appointed minister to Austria. From 1861 to 1867 he was
minister to China, and while in the service of China, died in St.
Petersburg, February 23, 1870.
George Sumner was a brother of Charles Sumner, born in Boston,
February 5, 1817, where he died October 6, 1863. He published memoirs
of the Pilgrims in Leyden, and delivered the Fourth of July oration
in Boston in 1859.
Francis P. Blair, Jr., son of Francis Preston Blair, and brother of
Montgomery Blair, was born in Lexington, Ky., February 19, 1821, and
graduated at Princeton in 1841. He studied law and began practice in
St. Louis. During the Mexican war he enlisted as private and served
until 1847, when he returned to St. Louis and resumed practice. In
1848 he was a Free Soiler, and edited the _Missouri Democrat_. In
1852 and 1854 he was a member of the Missouri Legislature, and in
1856 was chosen member of Congress, and again in 1860 and 1862. He
was commissioned Colonel in the army in 1861, and Brigadier General
and Major General in 1862. In 1866 he was appointed Collector of
Customs at St. Louis. In 1868 he was the candidate of the Democratic
party for Vice-President. In 1870 he was chosen U. S. Senator from
Missouri, and died in St. Louis, July 8, 1875.
In 1870 the Society voted to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the
Landing of the Pilgrims on the 21st of December, and to establish
that day for the first time and forever as the true day, instead of
the 22d. Without entering upon any detailed explanation of the error
leading to the observance of the 22d, it is sufficient to say that in
1620 the difference between the Julian calendar, and the Gregorian
calendar, now used, was ten days, and that consequently an almanac
made up in accordance with the latter, would have marked the 11th of
December the day of the Landing, as the 21st. It follows, of course,
that what was then the Gregorian 21st, must be the 21st for all
coming time.
I was then Vice-President of the Pilgrim Society, and at a meeting
of the trustees held on the 7th of September, it was voted that
the committee of arrangements for the celebration be appointed,
of which the Vice-President should be chairman. The committee as
appointed consisted of Wm. T. Davis, Wm. H. Whitman, Eleazer C.
Sherman, Charles G. Davis and Wm. S. Danforth, by whom subsequently
the following additional members were appointed, John Morissey,
Albert Mason, Samuel H. Doten, Nathaniel Brown of Plymouth, Thomas
Russell and George P. Hayward of Boston, and Richard Warren of New
York. Albert Mason was appointed chief marshal, and Wm. S. Danforth,
treasurer. A finance committee was also appointed, and to the
committee of arrangements as managers of the ball, the following
honorary managers were added, Richard Warren of New York, Thomas
Russell, Wm. G. Russell, James T. Hayward, Benjamin W. Harris of
Boston, James H. Harlow of Middleboro, James H. Mitchell of East
Bridgewater, Wm. Savery of Carver, Wm. L. Reed of Abington, George
W. Wright of Duxbury, C. B. H. Fessenden of New Bedford, and Charles
F. Swift of Yarmouth. The following were selected as floor managers,
Henry G. Parker of Boston, Dwight Faulkner, Francis H. Russell, B. M.
Watson, Jr., Benjamin O. Strong, Wm. P. Stoddard, James D. Thurber,
Robert B. Churchill, Edward W. Russell and Isaac Damon.
The committee of arrangements voted to have a public dinner in the
Old Colony Railroad station, the use of which had been tendered for
the purpose, and that L. E. Field of Taunton be engaged to furnish
both the dinner, and the supper at the ball. The Standish Guards
were invited to perform escort duty, as the guests of the Society,
and Gilmore’s band of Boston, and the Plymouth brass band were
engaged for the occasion. At an early meeting of the trustees of
the society held before any arrangements had been entered upon, it
was voted to invite Hon. Robert C. Winthrop to deliver an oration,
and it was after his acceptance that the plans for the celebration
were perfected. A large number of guests were invited to attend the
celebration, including one hundred and twenty-two men of distinction,
and fourteen historical, and New England Societies, but it is only
necessary to mention those who were present. At eleven o’clock a
procession was formed at Pilgrim Hall, under the direction of Albert
Mason, chief marshal, assisted by his aids, Capt. Charles C. Doten
and Major James D. Thurber, and by twelve marshals, and under escort
of the Standish Guards, and with the music of the Plymouth brass
band, and Gilmore’s band of Boston, marched through Court, North and
Leyden streets to the First Church. As it passed Plymouth Rock a
National salute was fired on board the U. S. Revenue Cutter Mahoning,
Capt. R. A. Fengar, who was a guest of the society. Seats reserved
for ladies in the church were occupied previous to the arrival of
the procession, and seats reserved for the press were occupied by
representatives of two Plymouth journals, one Abington, one Hingham,
one North Bridgewater, one Middleboro, one New Bedford, one Weymouth,
one Yarmouth, one Northampton, one Hartford, one Chicago, one Mexico,
N. Y., three New York, and nine Boston.
The services in the church were as follows: Voluntary, prayer from
“Moses in Egypt,” by Gilmore’s band, ode, “Sons of Renowned Sires”;
scriptures read by Rev. Dr. Frederic H. Hedge; hymn; oration; prayer,
by Rev. Dr. Joseph P. Thompson of New York; hymn; benediction, by
Rev. Frederic N. Knapp; voluntary, “Selection from Il Trovatore,”
by Gilmore’s band. The choir was a double quartette, consisting of
Mrs. Winslow B. Standish and Miss Olive M. Collingwood, sopranos;
Mrs. E. W. Atwood and Miss Lina Rich, contraltos; Joseph L. Brown and
Dr. Thomas B. Drew, tenors; Chas. H. Richardson and James M. Atwood,
bassos.
In arranging for the celebration, Hon. Edward S. Toby, president
of the Pilgrim Society, stated to the committee that he should be
necessarily absent during most of the time at the dinner, and I,
as vice president, consequently presided in his place. After my
opening address, the following gentlemen made speeches: Hon. Edward
S. Tobey, Major General O. O. Howard, Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, Hon.
Henry Wilson, Hon. George S. Hillard, Hon. John H. Clifford, Rev.
Joseph P. Thompson, Hon. Charles S. Bradley, Hon. Marshal P. Wilder,
Hon. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, Hon. T. Sterry Hunt, and Hon. George
T. Davis. Mr. Clifford spoke as chairman of the board of overseers
of Harvard, Mr. Shurtleff as Mayor of Boston, Mr. Bradley as Chief
Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and Mr. Hunt as President
of the Montreal New England Society. Mingled with the speeches, was a
poem read by Mr. William Everett. In the evening a brilliant ball was
held in Davis Hall.
Hon. Robert Charles Winthrop, son of Thomas Lindall and Elizabeth
(Bowdoin) Winthrop was born in Boston, May 12, 1809, and graduated
from Harvard in 1828. His father was Lieut. Governor of Massachusetts
from 1826 to 1833. He studied law with Daniel Webster, and
was admitted to the Boston bar in 1831. He was a member of the
legislature from 1835 to 1840, being speaker of the House of
Representatives the last two years. He was a member of Congress from
1840 to 1842, and from 1844 to 1850, serving two years as speaker.
When Daniel Webster left the Senate to become secretary of state in
1850, he was appointed to fill out his term. In 1851 he was the Whig
candidate for Governor, and though receiving a plurality vote, failed
to receive a majority, as then required by the law. The election
then went to the legislature, and George S. Boutwell was chosen. He
published the “Life and Letters of Gov. John Winthrop,” and delivered
many speeches and orations, which have been published in a book
form, the most notable of which were his Pilgrim oration of Plymouth
in 1870, and his oration on the Anniversary of the surrender of
Cornwallis in 1881. He died in Boston, November 16, 1894.
Rev. Joseph Parrish Thompson was born in Philadelphia, August 7,
1819, and graduated at Yale in 1838. He became pastor of the Chapel
street church in New Haven in 1840, and from 1845 to was pastor of
the Broadway Tabernacle in New York. He was a prolific writer, and in
1856 received from Harvard the Degree of Doctor of Divinity, and died
in Berlin, Sept. 21, 1879.
Major General Oliver Otis Howard was born in Leeds, Me., Nov. 8,
1830, and graduated at Bowdoin in 1850, and at West Point in 1854.
In 1861 he was Colonel of a Maine Regiment, and commanded a brigade
at Bull Run. He was made a Brigadier General in 1862, and lost his
right arm at Fair Oaks. After the battle of Antietam he commanded a
division, and was made Major General of volunteers Nov. 29, 1862. On
the 27th of July, 1864, he took command of the army of the Tennessee,
and commanded the right wing of Sherman’s army in his march to the
sea. He was appointed brigadier general on Dec. 21, 1864, and brevet
major general, March 13, 1865, and is still living.
Thomas Sterry Hunt was born in Norwich, Conn., September 5, 1826,
and after studying medicine was in 1845, a student in chemistry with
Prof. Benjamin Silliman, Jr., in New Haven, and later his assistant
in the Yale laboratory. In 1847 he was made chemist and mineralogist
to the geological survey of Canada, and held that position until his
resignation in 1872. After retiring from his position in Canada,
he succeeded Prof. Wm. B. Rogers in the chair of geology in the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He published in 1874 a volume
containing his collected scientific essays, and received from Harvard
the honorary degree of LL. D., and of Sc. D. from the Universities
of Montreal and Quebec. He was made a fellow of the Royal Society of
London in 1859, and of the National Academy of the United States in
1873, receiving also an appointment as officer in the French order of
the legion of honor. He died in New York, Feb. 12, 1892.
Hon. Henry Wilson was born in Farmington, N. H., Feb. 16, 1812. In
1829 he was authorized by the New Hampshire legislature to change
his original name of Jones Colbath to that by which he was known
through his public life. From 1822 to 1833 he was employed by a
farmer in his native town, during which time he received only twelve
months’ schooling. About 1833 he walked from Farmington to Natick,
Mass., where he worked as shoemaker two years, and then returning
to New Hampshire attended the academies at Stafford, Wolfeboro and
Concord. In 1838 he returned to Natick and continuing shoemaking,
entered politics in 1840, as a stump speaker in behalf of Harrison
for President. He was three years a representative from Natick, and a
state senator in 1850 and 1851, and president of the senate. He was
a member of the state constitutional convention in 1853, and in 1855
was chosen U. S. Senator, and by re-election continued in that office
until he was chosen vice-president of the United States in 1872, and
died in Washington, Nov. 22, 1875.
George Stillman Hillard was born in Machias, Me., Sept. 22, 1808, and
graduated at Harvard in 1828. He was admitted to the bar in Boston in
1833, and mingled with his professional labors literary pursuits. He
was United States District Attorney from 1867 to 1870, and died in
Boston, January 21, 1879.
Dr. Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff was born in Boston, June 29, 1810,
and graduated at Harvard in 1831. His father born in Carver, Mass.,
studied medicine with Dr. James Thacher of Plymouth, and settled in
Boston. Dr. Nathaniel Bradstreet of Newburyport was a fellow student,
and for him Dr. Benjamin Shurtleff named his son. The son abandoned
practice and devoted himself to historic pursuits. He was a prolific
writer, and one of his most important works was a topographical
History of Boston. He also edited the publication of the Plymouth
Colony and Massachusetts Records, and was mayor of Boston in
1768-’69-’70. He died in Boston, October 17, 1874.
The Pilgrim Society again celebrated the anniversary of the Landing,
on Wednesday the 21st of December, 1880. No attempt at display was
made, and the observance was largely a domestic one. A simple service
was held in the First Church, followed by a dinner in Davis Hall,
furnished by George E. Patterson of Boston.
Thomas Russell, president of the Society, presided, and speeches
were made by Hon. John D. Long, Hon. Alexander H. Rice, Hon. Thomas
D. Eliot, Rev. Dr. McKensie, General Armstrong of Hampton College,
President Drehan of Roanoke College, and Rev. Dr. Geo. W. Briggs. The
next celebration held on Monday, December 21, 1885, was of the same
character. A service was held in the church, and a dinner in Davis
Hall, at which Thomas Russell, President of the Society presided. The
other speakers were: Rev. Dr. George E. Ellis, James Russell Lowell,
Rev. Dr. Henry M. Dexter, Hon. Charles L. Woodbury, Hon. Oliver Ames,
Rev. Dr. J. T. Duryea, Rev. Adoniram J. Gordon, Rev. Dr. Brooke
Hereford, Justin Winsor and Rev. Dr. A. A. Miner.
At a meeting of the trustees of the Pilgrim Society held March 23,
1889, a committee of twelve was appointed to make arrangements for a
celebration of the completion of the National Monument on the first
of August. The committee consisted of John D. Long, President of the
Society, and Wm. T. Davis, Wm. S. Danforth, Charles G. Davis, Wm.
H. Nelson, James D. Thurber, Charles C. Doten, James B. Brewster,
Arthur Lord, Daniel E. Damon, Wm. Hedge and Winslow Warren. At a
town meeting held April 2, the sum of $1,500 was appropriated in aid
of the celebration, and it was voted that the Board of selectmen
be joined to the committee of arrangements in the expenditure of
the money. As Mr. Nelson and myself were already members of the
committee, the other three members of the board, Everett F. Sherman,
Leavitt T. Robbins and Alonzo Warren were added. At a meeting of
the committee it was voted as the president would be unable to
attend its meetings, that Wm. T. Davis be appointed vice chairman.
At a subsequent meeting it was voted that the celebration consist
of a procession and dinner and ball. Hon. W. C. P. Breckinridge of
Lexington, Kentucky, was invited to deliver an oration, and John
Boyle O’Reilly of Boston to deliver a poem, and both accepted. Myron
W. Whitney was also invited to be a guest of the Society, and to
sing the ode of Mrs. Heman’s. Col. Wm. P. Stoddard was appointed
Chief Marshal who subsequently appointed Major George B. Russell, U.
S. A., chief of staff, and Dr. James B. Brewster, Capt. Andrew H.
Russell, U. S. A., William H. Drew, Dr. Warren Peirce, Wm. Hedge,
Albert E. Davis and Elmer E. Sherman, marshals of divisions. Other
marshals appointed were, George L. Osgood, George Russell Briggs, Dr.
H. F. Copeland, Arthur Braman, H. L. Hayden, S. L. Parks, Isaac S.
Brewster, Dr. Edgar D. Hill, Henry A. Atwood, Wm. F. Atwood, Capt.
James L. Hall, Charles S. Davis, Col. Benjamin S. Lovell, Capt. James
D. Thurber, D. Clifton Freeman, Charles A. Strong, Frank H. Holmes,
Henry H. Fowler, Edward Manter, Joseph T. Collingwood, John W.
Herrick and C. E. Small.
Other committees were appointed consisting of a committee on
transportation, committee on decorations, committee on fireworks,
committee on the dinner, committee of reception and committee on the
ball, the last consisting of Wm. Hedge, George B. Russell, Howland
Davis, Thomas Russell, Richard H. Morgan, Benjamin M. Watson, Jr.,
Charles S. Davis, Edwin S. Damon, Alfred S. Burbank, Wm. B. Thurber,
Edward S. Emery, Henry H. Fowler, Joseph T. Collingwood, James
Mullins, George R. Briggs, Harold Whiting and Charles B. Stoddard.
Invitations were sent to the various Plymouth organizations of
Masons, Odd Fellows, Standish Guards, Good Fellows, Pilgrim Fathers,
Iron Hall, Good Templars, Royal Arcanum and the Fire Department, and
liberal appropriations were made by the committee to enable them to
entertain guests. The Independent Corps of Cadets of Boston and
Battery A of Boston were invited to participate in the parade and
accepted. A contract was made with A. Erickson of Boston for a tent
two hundred and fifty feet long and eighty feet wide, which was
pitched in the meadow between the house of Mrs. J. R. Lothrop and
Water street, and arrangements were made with Harvey Blunt of Boston
and David H. Maynard of Plymouth to furnish the dinner, and also
the supper for the ball. It is unnecessary to mention the various
associations and guests invited by the committee, but, including
Masonic bodies, Odd Fellows, Military Companies and associations
and individuals, they numbered about one hundred and fifty. It was
arranged that a salute should be fired by Battery A at six o’clock
a. m., and that at 9.30 a. m. the M. W. Grand Lodge should dedicate
the monument, and that at 11 o’clock the procession should proceed
through Court, Allerton, Cushman, Court, North, Water, Leyden,
Market, Summer, High, Russell, Court, Brewster, Water, North, Main,
Market, Pleasant, South Sandwich and Water, streets to the tent. From
three to five o’clock it was arranged to have concerts in Shirley
Square by the Lynn Cadet Band, on Training Green by the Plymouth
Rock Band, on Cole’s Hill by the Silver Fife and Drum Corps, and
on the Samoset lawn by Lindall’s band. The fireworks were planned
for Monument hill, an electric illumination of the Monument, and a
concert in Shirley Square from nine to ten by the Plymouth Band. With
a ball in the Armory with music furnished by the Germania Band of
Boston, seventeen pieces, the festivities were to close.
The order of the procession is too long to include in this narrative.
It is sufficient to say that it included three companies of Infantry,
Battery A, twelve bands, five Grand Army Posts, delegations from
ten societies and associations, five commanderies of Masons, ten
Masonic Lodges, two Encampments of Odd Fellows, six lodges of Odd
Fellows, and three Fire Departments. It was planned that the seventh
division of the procession, composed of five hundred school children,
should be seated on the slope of Cole’s Hill, and join in singing
appropriate hymns, while the procession passed.
The dinner tent holding two thousand, was full to the last seat.
Governor John D. Long, the president of the Pilgrim Society, had
on his right Lieut. Governor Brackett, Adjt. General Samuel Dalton,
John Boyle O’Reilly, Grand Master Henry Endicott, Hon. Wm. Cogswell,
Hon. Frederic T. Greenhalge, Hon. Charles S. Randall, Hon. Wm. G.
Russell, Hon. Wirt Dexter, Wm. T. Davis and Myron W. Whitney, Esq.,
and on his left, Hon. W. C. P. Breckinridge, Hon. Geo. F. Hoar, Hon.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Hon. John W. Candler, Hon. Elijah A. Morse, Hon.
Henry B. Pierce, Hon. Wm. W. Crapo, Roland Mather, Esq., Rev. Joseph
H. Twichell of Hartford, Hon. William E. Barrett and Hon. Charles F.
Choate. Among others seated on the platform were the Mayor of Boston,
the Mayor of Brockton, the chairmen of the Boards of Selectmen of
Plymouth, Kingston, Duxbury and Plympton, Rev. Samuel Hopkins Emery
of Taunton, Hon. Stephen Salisbury of Worcester, Hon. John Winslow
of Brooklyn, Justin Winsor, Abner C. Goodell, Samuel C. Cobb, Hon.
John E. Russell, Hon. Albert Mason, Prof. Lemuel Stephens, Prof. E.
N. Horsford, Lt. Col. Thomas F. Edmunds, Major Dexter H. Follett, Lt.
Frederick I. Clayton, Francis Bartlett, Esq., and Rev. Charles P.
Lombard. A blessing was asked by Mr. Lombard, and after an opening
address by Hon. John D. Long, President of the Pilgrim Society, the
oration by Mr. Breckinridge, and the poem by John Boyle O’Reilly
followed. After the poem an address of welcome was made by myself,
which was followed by speeches by Lt. Gov. J. Q. A. Brackett, Hon.
George F. Hoar, Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge, Hon. Wm. Cogswell, Hon.
Elijah A. Morse, Hon. Frederick T. Greenhalge, and by the singing
of “Breaking Waves Dashed High” by Myron W. Whitney, Esq., and by a
musical selection rendered by the Temple Quartette Club of Boston.
The decorations along the route of the procession exceeded in
appropriateness and good taste any ever before seen in Plymouth, and
the five arches on Court, North, Leyden, Summer and Pleasant streets
were pronounced by competent critics as models in proportion and
adornment. The press was represented on the occasion by two members
from Plymouth, one from Brockton, one from Burlington, Vt., one from
Troy, ten from Boston, five from New York, and by the Associated
Press. The number of visitors was estimated at fifteen thousand, and
as compared with the celebrations of 1853 and 1859, was from three
to five thousand larger than that at either.
In writing chapters of Plymouth memories it seems unnecessary to
include a celebration as recent as that in 1895, but a complete
record of the observances conducted by the Pilgrim Society may aid
future historic explorers and writers. In the above year the Society
held its celebration on the 21st of December. Arthur Lord was then
President of the Society, and he and Wm. T. Davis, James D. Thurber,
Wm. S. Danforth, Charles C. Doten, Charles B. Stoddard and Gideon
F. Holmes, were appointed a committee of arrangements. Col. Wm.
P. Stoddard was appointed Chief Marshal, with Winslow B. Standish
and Wm. Hedge as aids, and a committee on the ball was appointed,
consisting of Edgar D. Hill, Charles A. Strong, James Spooner, Henry
J. W. Drew, Alfred S. Burbank, W. C. Butler, A. E. Lewis and E. A.
Dunton. Hon. Geo. F. Hoar and Richard Henry Stoddard, who had been
invited to deliver respectively an oration and poem, accepted their
invitations. The Society met at Pilgrim Hall, and with the orator and
poet and invited guests proceeded to the Armory, where exercises were
held, consisting of an overture by the Plymouth Band, anthem by the
Plymouth Musical Club, prayer by Rev. Charles P. Lombard, ode, “Sons
of Renowned Sires,” poem by Richard Henry Stoddard, ode, “Breaking
Waves Dashed High,” sung by Myron W. Whitney, oration by Hon. Geo. F.
Hoar, ode, “The Pilgrim Fathers Where are They,” benediction by Rev.
Ernest W. Shurtleff.
The trustees of the Society, with the chief marshal and aids and
members of committees and guests dined at the Samoset House, where
speeches were made by Lt. Gov. Roger Wolcott, Hon. Winslow Warren,
Hon. Samuel R. Thayer, and Hon. Robert S. Rantoul, and the dinner
closed with a song sung by Myron W. Whitney.
In addition to the above the anniversary of the Landing was
celebrated by the Plymouth Fire Department, Dec. 21, 1886, by a
procession, dinner and a ball, at which the Boston Cadet band
furnished the music. John C. Cave and Henry Harlow were chairman and
secretary of the committee of arrangements, and I was invited to
preside. After my address speeches were made by Chas. H. Howland,
Chas. G. Davis, Rev. F. N. Knapp, Rev. W. P. Burnell, Daniel E.
Damon, Albert E. Davis. Wm. H. Nelson, James Morton, John C. Ross,
Edward B. Atwood. Other celebrations not already mentioned in these
memories have been the following, of which I have space for only
superficial notices. The Fourth of July, 1825, was celebrated by
the citizens of Plymouth. Hon. Wm. Davis presided, assisted by
Joseph Thomas, Coomer Weston, Pelham W. Warren, Bridgham Russell,
Joseph Allen, and Samuel Doten, vice presidents, and an oration was
delivered in the First Church by Wm. Thomas, Esq., of Plymouth. In
1826 the Fourth of July was again celebrated. Hon. John Thomas of
Kingston presided, and an oration was delivered by Hon. Charles Henry
Warren of New Bedford, a native of Plymouth. A ball in Pilgrim Hall
closed the observance of the day. The Fourth of July, 1828, was again
celebrated by citizens, with Hon. Nathaniel M. Davis president of
the day, assisted by Nathan Hayward, Ezra Finney, Abraham Jackson,
Isaac L. Hedge, James G. Gleason of Plymouth and Jonathan Parker of
Plympton. Hon. John A. Shaw of Bridgewater delivered an oration, and
a dinner and ball were held in Pilgrim Hall. In 1832 Washington’s
birthday was celebrated with an oration by Hon. Solomon Lincoln of
Hingham. Capt. Samuel Doten was chief marshal, and Hon. Isaac L.
Hedge was president of the day, assisted by Jacob H. Loud, Nathaniel
Wood, Thos. Paty and John Bartlett as vice presidents. In 1865,
Independence day was celebrated by the citizens, the features of
the celebration being morning salutes, the ringing of bells, and a
march of the ancient and horribles, followed by a procession, and
an oration by Rev. George H. Hepworth of Boston. Hon. Jacob H. Loud
presided, and Thomas Loring was chief marshal, assisted by John T.
Stoddard and Albert Hedge as aids, and Barnabas Hedge, George G.
Dyer, Thomas Pierce, Warren Macomber, Frederic W. Robbins, Charles
Burton, George L. Baxter, B. H. Holmes, T. B. Atwood, Aaron Cornish,
Gustavus D. Bates and Nathaniel C. Lanman, marshals. Among the
features of the procession were the Plymouth Lodge of Masons, the
Mayflower Lodge of Odd Fellows, a car of liberty, and the army and
navy, represented by Ignatius Pierce, Jr., M. A. Diaz, Jr., Wm.
W. Brewster and Herbert Morissey, and five hundred public school
scholars. The services were held on the grounds of the Samoset House,
and at their close the scholars enjoyed a collation at Goddard’s
grove, the general public in Samoset house orchard, the Odd Fellows
at Pilgrim Hall, and the Masons at the Winslow House on Winslow
street.
On the 9th of July, 1869, the dedication of the Soldiers’ monument on
Training Green, was celebrated under the direction of the Soldiers’
Monument Association. As President of the Association I presided
at the ceremonies. A large tent was erected around and over the
monument, and there after my own address, an oration was delivered
by Hon. Joshua L. Chamberlain of Maine. Hon. John Morissey was chief
marshal, assisted by Albert Mason and Charles H. Drew as aids,
and the following marshals of divisions, Charles Raymond, James
D. Thurber, Charles B. Stoddard, Alvin Finney, Henry W. Loring,
Thomas B. Atwood, assisted by Wm. E. Barnes, Elkanah C. Finney,
Stephen C. Drew, B. A. Hathaway, George Finney, Charles Mason, J.
Frank Churchill, A. Merritt Shaw, Robert B. Churchill and Alexander
Atwood. Among the invited guests present were: Governor Claflin of
Massachusetts, Governor Stearns of New Hampshire, Lt. Gov. Tucker
of Massachusetts, Hon. James Buffington, Thos. Russell, General
Benham and members of the executive council. Among the associations
were Collingwood Post G. A. R., the McPherson Post, the Old Colony
Encampment of K. T., the Samoset Chapter of Masons, the Mayflower
Lodge of Odd Fellows, the Bay State Lodge of Lynn, the Palestine
Encampment of Lynn, and the Fire Department. The Standish Guards
and the Bay State Guards of Carver performed escort, and the music
was furnished by the North Bridgewater Band, the Weymouth Band, the
Abington Band, the Lynn Band, and the Plymouth Band.
The reception at Plymouth of Louis Kossuth, May 12, 1852, though
not a celebration, may properly be recorded here. The committee
of arrangements were Capt. John Russell, Andrew L. Russell, E.
C. Sherman and Moses Bates, and Mr. Bates presided with John D.
Churchill, chief marshal. At a dinner at the Samoset House, after the
address made by Kossuth in the First Church, speeches were made by
Mr. Bates, Gov. George S. Boutwell, Stephen H. Phillips, and by M.
Pulzzly and M. Kocielski.
There was a celebration in 1849, which though not a public one, I
may be permitted to include in my narrative. A party of gentlemen,
all of whom were special friends of Daniel Webster, came to Plymouth
and dined at the Samoset on the anniversary of the departure of the
Pilgrims from Old Plymouth. The departure occurred on the 16th of
September, but as that day in 1849 fell on Sunday, Monday was the
day of the dinner. The dinner was proposed by Mr. Webster, and he
presided. The occasion was a memorable one, including among its
guests leading professional and business men of Boston, New York,
Providence and New Bedford. At that time I was living in Boston, and
through the kindness of my uncle, Chas. Henry Warren, who made up the
party, I attended the dinner, the youngest man at the table, and now
the only one living. Such men as Josiah Quincy, Rufus Choate, Edward
Everett, John H. Clifford, George S. Hillard, Benjamin R. Curtis,
Sidney Bartlett and Nathan Appleton were there renewing allegiance
to him from whom some had been alienated by his patriotic refusal
to leave the cabinet of John Tyler, and others by his reluctant
support of the nomination of Zachary Taylor for the presidency. Mr.
Webster’s speech was eloquent and pathetic, feeling as he did, with
the increasing infirmities of age, that it might be the last time
he should address those who had put their trust in him, and on whom
he had leaned for support. It was my privilege to hear Mr. Webster
probably more times than any man now living, and of the thirteen
speeches I have heard from his lips, this was the most tender and
eloquent. Nathaniel P. Willis, in a letter to his journal in New York
said in describing it, that, “it was the most beautiful example of
manly pathos of which language and looks could be capable. No one who
heard it could doubt the existence of a deep well of tears under that
lofty temple of intellect and power.”
Before closing the account of celebrations I ought to say that the
old Standish Guards, which was organized in 1818, made its first
public parade as an escort to the procession on the 22d of December
in the above year. They continued to perform escort duty at the
Pilgrim celebrations until they were disbanded in 1883. After the
change was made in 1870 of the celebrations from the 22d to the
21st of December, the company continued its celebration, not of the
anniversary of the Landing, but of the anniversary of the company’s
first public parade. From 1883 to 1888, there was no military
company in Plymouth, but in the latter year the present company was
chartered, not as Co. B, third Regiment, like the old company, but as
Co. D, 5th Regiment, having no more connection with the old Standish
Guards than the present Old Colony Club on Court street has with
the Old Colony Club which was organized in 1768, and went out of
existence at the beginning of the Revolution. There seems, therefore,
to be no reason why the present company should keep up the observance
of a day with which it has no connection, as the 22d of December
is neither the anniversary of the landing, nor of its first public
parade, which occurred in 1888, and not in 1818.