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28th New York Infantry Regiment

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Staunton News Leader - 3 of 3

Former foes invited to Staunton for reunion

Part three of a three-part series

By Charles Culbertson • mail@stauntonhistory.com • February 9, 2009 • View Article Image

After the emotional reunion of Confederate and Union veterans at Niagara Falls in 1883 and the return of the 28th New York's captured regimental flag, survivors of the 5th Virginia Infantry Regiment wanted to return the hospitality they had been shown.

This desire took the form of an invitation for the 28th to celebrate its annual reunion in Staunton as guests of the 5th Virginia — an invitation the 28th's survivors quickly accepted.

Some 98 former Union soldiers, accompanied by a group of 150 civilians that included wives and family members, boarded a train and made the journey from Niagara Falls to Staunton, where they arrived on May 21, 1884. Along the way they were hailed with cannon salutes and cheering crowds.

"From the time the veterans and their accompanying citizen friends reached the sacred soil of the Old Commonwealth in our lovely Valley to the time they left it ... they received a welcome, akin to an ovation, wherever they stopped long enough to give our people an opportunity to manifest their delight and pleasure at their visit," wrote the Staunton Spectator.

The Spectator also noted Staunton was bedecked as never before.

"Thousands of banners, great and small, decorated the houses," it reported. "As if by magic, a wilderness of flags and pennons seemed to spring up in an hour; red, white and blue cloths festooned many buildings; mottos expressive of welcome were found in many places, the most conspicuous of which, in large letters on cloth, was the inscription, 'Welcome, 28th New York, to our hearts and homes.'"

Nearly all the vehicles on Staunton's streets and the horses drawing them were decorated with flags. Children carried small flags and ladies wore them on their dresses. Countless Chinese lanterns hung in front of houses along Staunton's principal streets and the guns of the Staunton Artillery were poised at the train depot to welcome the 28th.

Also on hand were the West Augusta Guard, the Stonewall Brigade Band and, of course, the survivors of the 5th Virginia. Hundreds of citizens packed the train yard and newspaper reporters from as far away as New York City converged on the town to cover the event. When the former Union soldiers rolled into town at about 8 p.m., the noise from booming cannon, cheering crowd and the Stonewall band was deafening.

The 28th and their guests stayed overnight in Staunton homes. The next day, May 22, thousands of people packed the streets of the town for a procession that included the 28th New York, 5th Virginia, Stonewall Brigade Band, Woodstock Band, Staunton Artillery and honored guests.

"As the 28th New York with their historic and bullet-riddled flag passed along the streets ... cheer after cheer was given, which they reverently acknowledged by uncovering their heads," reported the Staunton Spectator.

Some 1,800 people jammed the Staunton Opera House on Main Street to its rafters for the reunion program, which was kicked off by the 5th Virginia's Col. James W. Newton of Staunton. Newton had been with the 5th Virginia at the battle of Cedar Mountain when the unit captured the 28th's regimental flag.

"Need I say that I rejoice today in the honor of presiding over this assembly," he said, recalling the return of the flag and hailing the Stars and Stripes. "Let us know no North, South, East, West, and may it peacefully and triumphantly wave o'er the land until time shall be lost in vast eternity."

The national flag was waved amid deafening cheers while the Stonewall band played "Dixie."

Col. Edwin Brown of the 28th New York next addressed the throng, admitting that he and his men were overwhelmed by their reception in Staunton.

"Your welcome of our little band of old soldiers ... is so hearty, so complete and in all respects so surprising, that we stand before you in amazement," he said. "Your reception and this grand demonstration overpowers and bewilders us completely ... The days of strife and bitterness are ended, and we are here to tell you this face to face."

Brown's speech was filled with humor, particularly his account of the 28th New York's incursion into Virginia during the war. Tongue firmly in cheek, he noted that the unit's "reception was not cordial" and that no "addresses of welcome" attended their movements in the Valley. The crowd-pleasing speech received cheers, applause and laughter, and was followed up with the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner" by Mrs. Jesse Peterson of Lockport N.Y.

That afternoon, the veterans attended a musical reception at what is now the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind. After dinner, in honor of the ladies who had accompanied the 28th, the young men of Staunton and Augusta County sponsored a dance at the Virginia Hotel. The dance continued into the early morning hours of May 23.

At 10 that morning, the visitors boarded their train amid cheers and farewells. Before they left, however, the former soldiers of the 28th New York passed a resolution that read, in part:

"In the conquest of peace and good will, the 5th Virginia and the 28th New York claim the right and left of the advancing column."