A MEMORABLE EVENT. 
Installation of Officers of Manchester Post Made 
One of the Most Eventful Occasions in 
its History. 
The recently elected officers of Post 
67, G.A.R., of Manchester, were in- 
stalled in town hal] last evening, and 
the event turned out to be one of the 
most memorable in the history of the 
post. For the occasion was not only 
that of installing the officers, but it 
was as well a big camp-fire in which 
the post and their guests joined most 
heartily in relating war experiences 
and in giving vent to patriotic feelings. 
A generous New England surper 
added greatly to the pleasure of the 
occasion. 
Capt. Charles Newhall of Post 90, 
Danvers, was the installing officer. 
He was assisted by Comrade P. H. 
O’Connell, also of Danvers, as officer- 
of-the-day. The officers, elected and 
appointed, were installed to their 
various stations with regular military 
promptitude, as follows : Commander, 
E. P. Stanley; S.V.C., Enoch Crom- 
bie; J.V.C., A. S. Jewett; chaplain, 
Geo. Willmonton; surgeon, J. W. 
Widger; QO M., John G. Haskell; O.- 
day, Chas. St-ne; O.-guard, Geo. A. 
Jones; Adj., James H. Rivers; Ser. 
Mee wii.). Pert; O.M. S., J,-T. 
Stanley. 
After the officers had been given 
their positions, and the installing offi- 
cer had retired, Comm. Stanley said 
he could not but realize the help the 
citizens had been to the old soldiers 
and the assistance they always very 
generously gave. He said they were 
grateful for it all. 
“Last summer, when the encamp- 
ment was held in Boston,” said he, 
“‘you said that every man of us must 
go to Boston, take the band along, 
have a good time, and you would pay 
the bills. We did go to Boston, hada 
good time, and had some money left. 
We decided sometime we would invite 
our friends in with us, and so we have 
you here with us tonight.” 
Mr. Stanley then called upon P. H. 
O’Connell of Post 90, Danvers, who 
has undoubtedly seen as much of rebel 
prison life as any other civil war 
veteran living. He depicted in a very 
interesting manner some of his exper- 
iences. Comrade O’Connell went 
from Amesbury in Co. E, 1st heavy 
artillery, or what is more commonly 
known as the “Old fourteenth.” He 
was captured before Petersburg on 
Jan. 22 and thrown into Libby prison. 
He was later transferred to Belle Isle, 
then to Danville, Columbia, Charles- 
ton, Andersonville, Salisbury, and 
finally reached Knoxville, Tenn. He 
"was wounded twice, losing two fingers 
on one occasion and being struck in 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
the breast on another. He had many 
hair-breadth escapes, was_ severely 
tortured, starved, and set upon by 
hounds, thrown in dungeons, chained 
to iron balls; but through it all he 
came and finally reached the Union 
lines. 
“T recall,” said he, ‘when a couple 
of thousand of us were being changed 
from Danville, N.C., to Andersonville. 
We were packed into cattle cars like 
so many cows. I made up my mind 
I would escape, but the boys laughed 
at me when I made known my plan. 
The cars were going about ten miles 
an hour when I jumped past the guard 
out the door. The guard fired and 
the train stopped, but not before I 
was well on my way to the woods. I 
kept on going till I came toa hay field. 
I crawled under a stack of hay and 
stood up in the middle where I could 
not be seen. They were soon upon 
me. They fired into the very stack I 
was in, poked their bayonets through 
it and even attempted to fire it. I re- 
mained there till toward night when I 
got out and made ready for further 
escape. 
“For four days and four nights I 
lived on berries only. On the morning 
of the fourth day I saw a corn field 
and soon loaded up on corn. I meta 
man whom I told I was a rebel, but 
not long after leaving him I saw I was 
being chased by men and dogs. 
“The hounds were soon upon me and 
when the men saw I was not bitten, 
they set the dogs upon me and I can 
now show you the marks they left. 
«‘ After being thrown into Columbia 
prison, I tried to escape again. I was 
caught in the yard and with five 
others I was chained to iron balls and 
thrown into a dungeon. But here we 
tried to escape again. We had noth- 
ing to work with but a skeleton*of a 
knife one of the men had sewed on 
the inside of his shirt. We worked 
off a big plank on the inside of the 
dungeon and loosened the chains, 
and in four days got out and all but 
one passed the guard. We were fired 
at when climbing the fence, but made 
our way to the city and from there to 
the woods. We were four days and 
nights without food, but finally we 
9 
reached a mountain and came to the 
house of a man named Johnson, and 
stayed there four days.° Finally, after 
having travelled 3865 miles, almost 
starved and frozen we crossed the line 
and reached the union camp. 
“IT could talk of my experiences for 
hours and days,” he said. “I could 
tell how I was hung up by the thumbs, 
how I was chained to heavy balls ten 
days, till you would tire of it. It is 
only a miracle that I am here today to 
tell of it. Twenty years ago I in- 
stalled your camp here, and I hope 
that I may have that privilege again 
20 years hence.”’ 
Capt. Newhall was next called upon, 
and he spoke of the work of Post 67, 
and how proud it should feel of its 
quarters in Memorial hall. The sup- 
per followed, and after that Comrade 
O’Connell was called upon again for 
more of his prison experience. Com- 
rade Lakeman of Salem followed with 
a pleasant talk along a patriotic nature. 
Alfred S. Jewett spoke very interest- 
ingly of some of his experiences, and 
laid great stress on the power of en- 
durance and what it means to the 
soldiers. 
Rev. Walter H. Ashley spoke of 
war, its hostilities and the destructive 
features of modern warfare. He said 
that the G.A.R. could do nothing 
better than to see that our histories 
be re-written, and instead of holding 
up some great leader to the youth of 
the land, hold up the mass of men 
who sacrificed their lives. He proph- 
ecied that in the days that are to 
come that nations will not settle their 
differences by the bayonet and battle, 
but by arbitration and peace confer- 
ences. 
Remarks were also made by P. H. 
Boyle, Fred K. Swett, I. M. Marshall, 
J. A. Lodge, Geo. S. Sinnicks and 
Chas. Dodge. The Manchester brass 
band rendered several selections dur- 
ing the evening. Thomas A. Baker 
read ‘*When the Colonel Lights his 
Pipe.” The gathering closed by sing- 
ing ‘‘America.”’ 
The guests of the post included : 
Dr. Geo. W. Blaisdell, Rev. W. H. 
Ashley, Horace Standley, Charles 
Hooper, F. Clifford Rand, F.B. Rust, 
Geo. E. Willmonton, George Dyer, 
Chester H. Dennis, Charles Dodge, 
I. M. Marshall, Rev. E. H. Brewster, 
Dr. R. T. Glendenning, M. J. Calla- 
han, Chas. A. Howe, G. A. Knoerr, 
E.'S. Bradléy; L2°W.: Floyd: J 2S. 
Reed, Alexander Robertson, Mr. 
Perry, John Baker, Geo. P. Dole, 
Thos. B. Stone, Frank Crombie, Jas. 
K. Pulsifer, F. W. Bell, Abraham 
Lampron, Harry S. Tappan, P. H. 
Boyle, James Bettencourt, F. K. 
Swett, Geo. S. Sinnicks, R. C. Allen, 
Thos. A. Baker and J. Alex. Lodge. 
