occasion, in the name and by the order of the city of Norwich, to welcome you home to old Connecticut. Some who left in your ranks have not returned; they will return no more; their dust mingles with Southern soil, but their lives were not given in vain; and if it is most noble to live for others, and not for ourselves, then certainly no death can be more noble than that which is in defense of the liberties of our country, and for the protection and preservation of the best interests and hopes of all men. . . . Soldiers, during your nine months of service, you have endured the privations. and hardship of the camp and the march, you have faced the perils of sickness, and have braved wounds, mutilation, and death, on the field of battle you have nobly upheld the honor of the State, and have proved, in common with all Connecticut regiments, that though our State is small in size, she is preeminent in the valor and manhood of her sons."

Colonel Kingsley briefly responded, alluding to the sufferings and achievements of the regiment, to the praise it had won for its brief but valuable service from its commanding Generals. The regiment mustered about five hundred and fifty, seven of their number having been buried along the banks of the Mississippi, a few, unable to be moved, were left in Western hospitals, one died within sight of home, and seven were too feeble to be present and participate in the festivities of the occasion. One hundred and sixty-seven are its reported losses in total. This tells substantially the story of the regiment, whose annals are hereafter part of the history of our town.

The city authorities, as well as the military and fire department, shared in this cordial home-reception, and acted as escort to these young heroes of siege and battle.

On the twenty-second of September, 1862, appeared the great proclamation of President Lincoln, declaring, “That

on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or any designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be thenceforward and forever free, and the government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom."

The wisdom of this great act was by the loyal masses of the North deemed unquestionable, while its necessity had long been held to be imperative by leading men throughout the country. Almost unheralded, its appearance debarred that angry discussion which might have followed the announcement of its forthcoming.

At a meeting, September twenty-ninth, in Washington, D. C., composed of the governors of loyal States, an address to Mr. Lincoln was drawn up and presented, which, after pledging to the President their most loyal support, added, in reference to his great act: "We hail with heartfelt gratitude, and encouraged hope, the proclamation, issued on the twenty-second instant, declaring emancipated from their bondage all persons held to service or labor as slaves in the rebel States whose rebellion shall last until the first day of January next ensuing. . . . To have continued indefinitely the most efficient cause, the support and stay of the rebellion, would have been in our opinion unjust to the loyal people whose treasures and lives are made a willing sacrifice on the altar of patriotism, would have discriminated against the wife, who is compelled to surrender her husband, against the parent who is to surrender his child to the hardships of camp, and the perils of battle, and in favor of rebel-masters permitted to retain their slaves. It would

have been a final decision alike against humanity, justice, the rights and dignity of the government, and against a wise national policy. The decision of the President to strike at the root of the rebellion, will lend new vigor to the efforts, and new life and hope to the hearts of the people.

Cordially tendering to the President our respectful assurances of personal and official confidence, we trust and believe that the policy now inaugurated will be crowned with success, will give speedy and triumphant victories over our enemies, and secure to this nation and to this people the blessings and favor of Almighty God."

The address was the work of Massachusetts' distinguished "war-governor," the eloquent and patriotic John A. Andrew. The general verdict of the press of the country was in favor of the grand edict, with which Abraham Lincoln's name will be forever associated. He himself realized the magnitude of the deed, when in proclaiming the act in force on the first of January, 1863, he with that reverent divine faith which so often lifted him far above the mere petty feelings of political expediency, solemnly concluded with these words: "And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God."

Governor Andrew, in his annual Message to the Massachusetts Legislature, bore this graceful and earnest tribute to the great act of the age: "Supporting always the Government without conditions as to its policy, we rejoice with unutterable joy, that its policy is that of human nature, and not that of human sophistry; and we hail the returning day of civic virtues which our national departure from the practice of justice and the principles of our fathers have discouraged in the North, and have overthrown in the South."

Before sunset on that memorable twenty-second of September, the proclamation had been telegraphed to every portion of the Republic. It was hailed by a large majority of the loyal men of the nation with unfeigned joy and gratitude. Bells rang out their joyous peals not only throughout New England, and the teeming cities of the Empire State, but over the broader States of the West, and clear on to those that skirt the base of the Rocky Mountains. Ten States were enumerated as in rebellion, and three million of slaves were set free. After the issue of the proclamation, Mr. Lincoln said, "Now that we have got the harpoon fairly into the monster slavery, we must take care that in his extremity he does not shipwreck the country.”

In the House of Representatives, on motion of Mr. Fessenden, of Maine, the following vote was passed by a large majority: “Resolved, That the proclamation of the President of the United States of the date of September twentysecond, 1862, is warranted by the Constitution; that the policy of emancipation, as indicated in that proclamation, is well adapted to hasten the restoration of peace, was well chosen as a war-measure, and is an exercise of power with proper regard for the rights of the States, and the prosperity of free government.

The citizens of Norwich were not indifferent to this edict of liberty, emancipating an enslaved race, and they gave to it at once their heartfelt approval, and outspoken support. Accordingly, on the day when the proclamation went into effect, January first, 1863, Hon. James Lloyd Greene, the patriotic mayor of the city, whose sympathy with the cause of human freedom, and earnest support of the war from its very beginning had won him a high regard amongst our citizens, ordered a salute to be fired, the city flags to be displayed, and the church bells rung.

In thus doing public honor to the act which made the

year forever memorable, he "had the advice and consent of all the members of the common council whom he could find, being a majority of the whole number." It was fit thus to notice this signal event, and every gun fired gave expression to the feelings that thrilled with joy the hearts of all loyal people. When the bill was presented to the city treasurer for payment, after an appropriation therefor had been unanimously made by the common council, he was restrained by an injunction issued by the Superior court, from paying the The honorable tribute to the edict in question was, however, shorn of none of its significance, when the undaunted mayor promptly relieved the city of all expense, or litigation, and in outspoken words given to the public, in which the facts of the case were plainly stated, and the items of the bill presented, he with genuine quaintness of expression, thus concluded: "And now, upon my soul, I do exult and rejoice that I, James Lloyd Greene, am the man who ordered and paid for the first emancipation salute ever fired in the State of Connecticut."

same.

Concerning this same event, thus wrote the sweet Quaker poet, J. G. Whittier :

“O dark sad millions, patiently and dumb
Waiting for God, your hour at last has come,
And freedom's song

Breaks the long silence of your night of wrong!

"Arise and flee! Shake off the vile restraint
Of ages! but like Ballymena's saint

The oppressor spare ;

Heap only on his head the coals of prayer.

"Go forth, like him, like him return again,

To bless the land whereon in bitter pain

Ye toiled at first,

And heal with freedom, what your slavery cursed !”