And bless them for this sweet release
From war, and for a glimpse of peace.
And chief our noble Illinois
Is frantic with delight and joy;
She hails her son, a welcome guest,
Returning to his own dear West;
And, with his glorious patriot band,
Thus bids him welcome to her strand:
ILLINOIS TO GEN. GRANT AND HIS COMRADES.
(In the Great Hall of the Sanitary Fair, Chicago.)