Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 13.djvu/260

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Reunion of Virginia Division A. N. V. Association. 259

of the statement was gathered from conversations with General Ewell and other officers after the capture.

Respectfully submitted,

G. W. C. LEE, Major- General.

Reunion of the Virginia Division Army of Northern Virginia Association.

The annual gathering in the State Capitol of Virginia of "the men who wore the gray ' ' has been for years an occasion of deep interest. The reunion on the 22d of October, 1885, was no exception. The Hall of the House of Delegates was crowded with fair women and brave men, and the occasion was one of deepest interest.

General W. H. F. Lee, President of the Association, called the meeting to order, and called on the Chaplain (Dr. J. William Jones), who led in prayer. General Lee introduced as orator of the evening, General D. H. Hill, in the following graceful words, which were heartily applauded :

I have the honor, ladies and gentlemen, to introduce to you as our orator of the evening one of the famous Captains of the gallant Army of Northern Virginia, whose name and fame is interwoven with its history. It is especially pleasing to Virginians to greet this distinguished soldier, not only on account of his own great merits, being known as among the bravest of its Generals, but also because he comes from our sister State of North Carolina, whose gallant sons poured out their blood so freely on Virginia's soil in defence of con- stitutional liberty.

General Hill was received with deafening applause, and stood for some minutes before he could proceed.

ADDRESS OF GENERAL D. H. HILL.

Soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia,

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is meet and proper that the Association of the veterans of the noblest, truest and bravest army that the sun ever shone upon, should assemble in the Capital of the late Confederacy. It is eminently fitting, too, that it should meet in the Capital of Virginia, since its name and fame are inseparably associated with three illustrious Vir- ginians. It was a Virginian who first organized it and sent it upon