A Birthday Reminder of Gallant Service Performed in the War
Charles E. Putney was happily surprised at the opening of the Sunday school of the College Street Church when the Rev. I. C. Smart, pastor of the church, in a most delightful manner, presented him with the insignia of the First Brigade, First Division (General Stannard's), Eighteenth Army Corps, the gift of his friends in the church.
The badge was pinned to the left breast of Mr. Putney's coat by his little granddaughter, Mary P. Lane, and Gen. Theodore S. Peck explained to the children the use of the Corps badge of the army. Although overcome with surprise, Mr. Putney responded most feelingly. The presentation was witnessed by a large number of members of the school and of the Grand Army of the Republic.
The medal bears the following inscription:
"Prof. C. E. Putney, from friends in the College Street Church, Burlington, Vermont, February 26, 1916, in remembrance of his gallant service in the war for the Union, as Sergeant, Co. C, Thirteenth New Hampshire, First Brigade, First Division, Eighteenth Army Corps."
On the two gold bars from which the medal is suspended by a red, white and blue ribbon, are inscribed the eleven battles in which his regiment participated: First Fredericksburg, siege of Suffolk, Port Walthal, Swift Creek, Kingsland Creek, Drewrys Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Fort McConhie, Fort Harrison and Richmond.
The badge was originally intended as a birthday gift to Mr. Putney, but its arrival was delayed so the presentation was made on the anniversary of the death of Abraham Lincoln. The badge was accompanied by a letter from Mr. Putney's friends stating that the gift was intended as a slight token of their esteem and affection and a birthday reminder of the gallant service performed by him as a soldier in the army of the Union, 1861-1865.—National Tribune.
Sleep on, O brave-hearted, O wise man that kindled to flame—
To live in mankind is far more than to live in a name,
To live in mankind, far, far more than to live in a name!
—Nicholas Vachel Lindsay.