Benson J. Lossing, Pictorial Field Book of the Civil War. Volume 3.

1 Written for the occasion by George H. Boker, of Philadelphia.

2 In almost every village and city there were public receptions of the returning regiments. As these demonstrations had all features in common, the writer will endeavor to convey to the reader an idea of the manner in which the citizen-soldiers were received, by giving an outline sketch of the reception of the remnant of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Regiment of New York Volunteers, at Poughkeepsie, on the Hudson River, his place of residence.

The One Hundred and Fiftieth Regiment left Poughkeepsie in October, 1862, under Colonel John H. Ketcham, and returned, in a Government transport, from New York, late on a Saturday night, in June, 1865, under Colonel A. B. Smith, who went out as major. Ketcham had been wounded at Savannah, and promoted to brigadier-general. The regiment was expected; and as soon as the transport appeared, the street in the vicinity of the landing was made brilliant by blazing bonfires. Hundreds of citizens quickly assembled and escorted the soldiers to quarters, many of them walking hand in hand with loving wives, mothers, and sisters, who came out at almost midnight to embrace them. At their quarters the soldiers were paroled for the Sabbath.

The public reception was on Monday; the 12th of June. A finer day for the occasion could not have been chosen. The people of Dutchess County and its neighborhood flocked in by thousands, for almost every family had a personal interest in the soldiers. It was estimated that forty thousand persons participated in the ceremonies of the day. A grand procession was formed near the river, in charge of a Marshal and Aids. It was. composed of the returned regiment, the city authorities in carriages, the local military, the Fire Department, various civic associations, and a vast concourse of citizens, on horseback and on foot. As it moved from its rendezvous into Main Street, it was greeted by a multitude of the pupils of the public schools of the city, arrayed in order, on a grassy bank in front of the residence of the Mayor, George Innis. They sang a song of welcome, and then presented to each soldier a bouquet of flowers. These were placed in the muzzles of their guns, and when they moved it seemed as if a garden in bloom was floating along the street. The buildings along the line of march were radiant with flags and banners. The streets were spanned with arches, covered with evergreens and flowers, and having patriotic and affectionate inscriptions; and songs of welcome were sung at two seminaries of learning for young women, as the procession passed. Colonel Smith and his horse were covered with bouquets, wreaths, and festoons of flowers, showered upon the gallant soldier, from the sidewalks, windows, and balconies. His lieutenant, Cogswell, and General Ketcham were recipients of like tokens of regard.

The regiment, bearing its tattered flags, was the center of attraction, and received a thousand tokens of gratitude, as it moved along the streets and into Mansion Square, where it was greeted by a multitude of the fairer sex. Among these were thirty-six young girls, representing the number of States, all dressed in colors of red, white and blue, excepting one, who personified Illinois, the home of the dead President. She was clad in deep mourning. They all wore diadems that glittered with golden stars. They came in a wagon prepared for the occasion, from one of the towns of the county. From a platform in the Park, the regiment was welcomed in a speech, by Judge Emott, of the Circuit Court of New York, to which Colonel Smith replied. The soldiers then partook of a collation, when the war-worn flags which had first been rent by bullets at Gettysburg, had followed Sherman in his great march from Chattanooga to Atlanta, thence to the sea and through the Carolinas, and had been enveloped in the smoke of battle at Bentonsville, were returned to the ladies of Dutchess County (represented by a committee of their number present), from whom the regiment received them on the day before its departure.

Such was the reception given at Poughkeepsie, to the returned defenders of the Republic. Such was the greeting given to them everywhere, by the loyal people of the land. In those receptions, they who, in the hour of their country's peril, refused a helping hand. and even cast obstacles in the way of its earnest defenders, had no part nor lot. That exclusion from a privilege so glorious for an American, left a sad picture in memory for them to contemplate, and an unpleasant record for their children to look upon.