Their silent tents are spread,
And glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead.
A splendid type of an American and a true scion of the stock that has furnished statesmen and soldiers to many lands and had given to the Second French Empire its ablest Marshal, and to the Republic of France a President, whose fame is so universal that a single descriptive word would be superfluous.
General McMahon’s successor was Colonel James Cavanagh, a veteran of one hundred fields, known to many of us and beloved by all, who was retired December 1st, 1893, with brevet rank of Brigadier General, who was followed in command by Colonel George Moore Smith, August 9, 1895, who, on July 1, 1901, was commissioned Brigadier General, and in October following was assigned to the command of the First Brigade of the National Guard.
The breaking out of the War with Spain in the Spring of 1898 afforded another opportunity for the conspicuous display of the spirit of valor and loyalty that at all times animates the officers and men of the 69th. Major General Roe, the commander of the National Guard of the State of New York, at that time was desirous of ascertaining the number of members in the different regiments that could be relied upon to volunteer for service beyond the territorial boundaries of the State, and directed the various regimental commanders to question their officers and men upon the subject. Lieutenant Colonel Edward Duffy was then in command of the 69th, and his answer was immediate and characteristic: “The 69th will volunteer to a unit to serve anywhere that the country might require its services.” Upon his return to the Armory after this interview with General Roe, Colonel Duffy issued Order No. 47, which bears date April 1st, 1898, and contains the following stirring words:
“The Commanding Officer, mindful of the record and traditions of the regiment, rests assured of the enthusiastic support and co-operation of every member, and takes occasion to impress upon all the necessity for the vigorous recruiting of the different companies, so that our ranks may be swelled to full numbers. The example of our heroic predecessors of 1861 should be always before us, and it should be our pride to emulate their glorious conduct if called upon to vindicate the nation’s honor and defend in any quarter the flag of our country.”
The strength of the regiment at this time was thirty-one officers and five hundred and twenty-nine enlisted men. On the 28th of April Colonel Duffy received authority to recruit the regiment to twelve companies of three officers and eighty-one men each, and so rapidly was this work performed, that on the 2d of May the regiment left its armory for Camp Black, Hempstead Plains, Long Island, with full ranks, and was mustered into the service of the United States on May 19th following, on which occasion it was presented with a stand of colors by the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of the City of New York. Describing the scene of this presentation in The Criterion the distinguished Irish-American dramatist, poet and journalist, Joseph I. C. Clarke,[[4]] said:
“The deeper notes in the diapason of history vibrate in us, and Irish brigades of other centuries and other lands seem once more enacting their outlined braveries beneath many skies, under many banners fluttering in a breeze as fresh as that blowing cool and damp in our faces now. In a good round voice a civilian orator, Judge Fitzgerald, is telling without oratorical periphrase what the gathering means. His sentences tell clearly that the thousand men before him love the great land of their adoption, the great State that sends them forth and the land that gave them or their fathers birth—a Shamrock of love, he says poetically. As he speaks, flag after flag is unfurled—first the red, white and blue of the Stars and Stripes, eagle crowned; next the white figured flag of the State of New York, and last the green sunburst flag of Ireland, surmounted by a gold pikehead, all brave and beautiful, and each one flapping and whipping from its staff like a great tropical bird first trying its bright wings upon the wind. Cheer upon cheer rises from the crowd, and rolls back as in echo from the regiment. Colonel Duffy salutes, and says briefly that his regiment thanks the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick for their silken gift, and says for his men that they will carry the flags to the war with pride and bring them home without stain. It is all very simple and in proportion touching.”
The regiment left Camp Black, on Hempstead Plains, for Chickamauga, under orders to report to General John R. Brooke, of the United States Army, at that point, and its march through the City of New York on May 24th was a memorable and notable event. The New York Herald of the succeeding day said: